Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and Evaluation of ‘Briefing Notes’ as a Novel Knowledge Translation Tool to Aid the Implementation of Sex/Gender Analysis in Systematic Reviews: A Pilot Study

Background There is increasing recognition of sex/gender differences in health and the importance of identifying differential effects of interventions for men and women. Yet, to whom the research evidence does or does not apply, with regard to sex/gender, is often insufficiently answered. This is also true for systematic reviews which synthesize results of primary studies. A lack of analysis and reporting of evidence on sex/gender raises concerns about the applicability of systematic reviews. To bridge this gap, this pilot study aimed to translate knowledge about sex/gender analysis (SGA) into a user-friendly ‘briefing note’ format and evaluate its potential in aiding the implementation of SGA in systematic reviews. Methods Our Sex/Gender Methods Group used an interactive process to translate knowledge about sex/gender into briefing notes, a concise communication tool used by policy and decision makers. The briefing notes were developed in collaboration with three Cochrane Collaboration review groups (HIV/AIDS, Hypertension, and Musculoskeletal) who were also the target knowledge users of the briefing notes. Briefing note development was informed by existing systematic review checklists, literature on sex/gender, in-person and virtual meetings, and consultation with topic experts. Finally, we held a workshop for potential users to evaluate the notes. Results Each briefing note provides tailored guidance on considering sex/gender to reviewers who are planning or conducting systematic reviews and includes the rationale for considering sex/gender, with examples specific to each review group’s focus. Review authors found that the briefing notes provided welcome guidance on implementing SGA that was clear and concise, but also identified conceptual and implementation challenges. Conclusions Sex/gender briefing notes are a promising knowledge translation tool. By encouraging sex/gender analysis and equity considerations in systematic reviews, the briefing notes can assist systematic reviewers in ensuring the applicability of research evidence, with the goal of improved health outcomes for diverse populations.
Existence of solutions for mixed volterra-fredholm integral equations

In this article, we give some results concerning the continuity of the nonlinear Volterra and Fredholm integral operators on the space L1[0,∞). Then by using the concept of measure of weak noncompactness, we prove an existence result for a functional integral equation which includes several classes of nonlinear integral equations. Our results extend some previous works.
Perceived social support and life satisfaction among freshmen: Mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment

This study investigated the mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment in the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction among Nigerian university freshmen. A total of 621 beginning university students (females = 50.4%, mean age = 19.67years, SD = 4.56) completed surveys of their academic self-efficacy, academic adjustment, perceived social support, and life satisfaction. Results, following regression analysis with partial mediation, revealed only academic adjustment to significantly mediate the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction. Social support networks from family and faculty members might enhance freshmen’s academic adjustment related life satisfaction.
Protein Kinase C and Epidermal Growth Factor Stimulation of Raf1 Potentiates Adenylyl Cyclase Type 6 Activation in Intact Cells

Adenylyl cyclase type 6 (AC6) activity is inhibited by protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro; however, in intact cells, PKC activation does not inhibit the activity of transiently expressed AC6. To investigate the effects of PKC activation on AC6 activity in intact cells, we constructed human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells that stably express wild-type AC6 (AC6-WT) or an AC6 mutant lacking a PKC and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) phosphorylation site, Ser674 (AC6-S674A). In contrast to in vitro observations, we observed a PKC-mediated enhancement of forskolin- and isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in HEK-AC6 cells. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate also potentiated cyclic AMP accumulation in cells expressing endogenous AC6, including Chinese hamster ovary cells and differentiated Cath.a differentiated cells. In HEK-AC6-S674A cells, the potentiation of AC6 stimulation was significantly greater than in cells expressing AC6-WT. The positive effect of PKC activation on AC6 activity seemed to involve Raf1 kinase because the Raf1 inhibitor 3-(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzylidene-5-iodo-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one (GW5074) inhibited the PKC potentiation of AC6 activity. Furthermore, the forskolin-stimulated activity of a recombinant AC6 in which the putative Raf1 regulatory sites have been eliminated was not potentiated by activation of PKC. The ability of Raf1 to regulate AC6 may involve a direct interaction because AC6 and a constitutively active Raf1 construct were coimmunoprecipitated. In addition, we report that epidermal growth factor receptor activation also enhances AC6 signaling in a Raf1-dependent manner. These data suggest that Raf1 potentiates drug-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in cells expressing AC6 after activation of multiple signaling pathways.
Changes in Surface Area of Intact Guard Cells Are Correlated with Membrane Internalization1

Guard cells must maintain the integrity of the plasma membrane as they undergo large, rapid changes in volume. It has been assumed that changes in volume are accompanied by changes in surface area, but mechanisms for regulating plasma membrane surface area have not been identified in intact guard cells, and the extent to which surface area of the guard cells changes with volume has never been determined. The alternative hypothesis—that surface area remains approximately constant because of changes in shape—has not been investigated. To address these questions, we determined surface area for intact guard cells of Vicia faba as they underwent changes in volume in response to changes in the external osmotic potential. We also estimated membrane internalization for these cells. Epidermal peels were subjected to external solutions of varying osmotic potential to shrink and swell the guard cells. A membrane-specific fluorescent dye was used to identify the plasma membrane, and confocal microscopy was used to acquire a series of optical paradermal sections of the guard cell pair at each osmotic potential. Solid digital objects representing the guard cells were created from the membrane outlines identified in these paradermal sections, and surface area, volume, and various linear dimensions were determined for these solid objects. Surface area decreased by as much as 40% when external osmotic potential was increased from 0 to 1.5 MPa, and surface area varied linearly with volume. Membrane internalization was approximated by determining the amount of the fluorescence in the cell's interior. This value was shown to increase approximately linearly with decreases in the cell's surface area. The changes in surface area, volume, and membrane internalization were reversible when the guard cells were returned to a buffer solution with an osmotic potential of approximately zero. The data show that intact guard cells undergo changes in surface area that are too large to be accommodated by plasma membrane stretching and shrinkage and suggest that membrane is reversibly internalized to maintain cell integrity.
Name Tagging with Word Clusters and Discriminative Training

We present a technique for augmenting annotated training data with hierarchical word clusters that are automatically derived from a large unannotated corpus. Cluster membership is encoded in features that are incorporated in a discriminatively trained tagging model. Active learning is used to select training examples. We evaluate the technique for named-entity tagging. Compared with a state-of-the-art HMM-based name finder, the presented technique requires only 13% as much annotated data to achieve the same level of performance. Given a large annotated training set of 1,000,000 words, the technique achieves a 25% reduction in error over the state-of-the-art HMM trained on the same material.
Particle-wall collision in a viscoelastic fluid

In this study, we present experimental results on particle-wall collision in viscoelastic fluids. A sphere is released in a tank filled with poly(ethylene-oxide) (PEO) mixed with water with varying concentrations up to 1.5%. The effect of Stokes and Deborah numbers on the rebound velocity of a spherical particle colliding onto a wall is considered. It has been observed that the slope at which the coefficient of restitution increases with Stokes number is smaller for higher Deborah numbers. Higher rebound occurs for higher PEO concentration at the same stokes number. However, the results for the coefficient of restitution in polymeric liquids can be collapsed together with the Newtonian fluid behaviour if one defines the Stokes number based on the local strain rate.
Scotty: a web tool for designing RNA-Seq experiments to measure differential gene expression

MOTIVATION A common question arises at the beginning of every experiment where RNA-Seq is used to detect differential gene expression between two conditions: How many reads should we sequence? RESULTS Scotty is an interactive web-based application that assists biologists to design an experiment with an appropriate sample size and read depth to satisfy the user-defined experimental objectives. This design can be based on data available from either pilot samples or publicly available datasets. AVAILABILITY Scotty can be freely accessed on the web at http://euler.bc. edu/marthlab/scotty/scotty.php
Multi-feature Multi-pass Dissolve Detection

This paper introduces a new dissolve detection approach focusing on the detection of difficult and slow dissolves, whose reliable detection is still considered difficult up to today. The improvement presented contributes to the existing work based on the use the variance of pixel intensities to detect fades and dissolves. We propose a multi pass approximation of the linear behavior of the mean signal and the semi parabolic behavior of the variance signal for slow dissolves while introducing a detection based on the introduced exp feature for especially fast dissolves and then combining their detection results. Focusing on a multi feature and multi pass approach we aim to improve overall recall and precision rates for dissolves. This is achieved by reducing the number of false positives to a acceptable rate by combing two precise specialized features and detection methods. Experimental results show that the proposed approach provides a 85.96% precision and a 84.01% recall for the selected real TV videos.
Ethnic minority use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): a national probability survey of CAM utilizers.

CONTEXT US research results suggest that some sociodemographic characteristics predict use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Specifically, use of CAM has been positively associated with persons from higher socioeconomic status groups and negatively associated with African-Americans. OBJECTIVE To investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of CAM utilizers in a national probability sample, one containing an over-sampling of ethnic minorities. DESIGN We tested the hypothesis that CAM use is prevalent among many different ethnic groups in the US. by analyzing a subset of data from The 1995 National Comparative Survey of Minority Health Care of The Commonwealth Fund, a national probability sample of 3,789 persons with an over-sampling of ethnic minorities. The survey was conducted by telephone in 6 languages. We analyzed use of CAM (defined by 5 items: herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, traditional healer, home remedy) within the last year. RESULTS Use of 1 or more CAM modalities did not differ by ethnicity. Overall, 43.1% of the respondents reported using 1 or more CAM modality. Predictors of CAM use were female gender, being uninsured, and having a high school education or above. CONCLUSION Use of CAM is equally prevalent among white, African-American/black, Latino, Asian, and Native American populations in the US, but characteristics of utilizers vary considerably by specific CAM modality.
A new continuous-time model for current-mode control with constant frequency, constant on-time, and constant off-time, in CCM and DCM

A novel small-signal model for current-mode control of PWM (pulse width modulation) converters is extended to the analysis of converters with constant on-time control, constant off-time control, and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Constant on or off-time converters in continuous conduction mode (CCM) have two complex right-half-plane (RHP) zeros in the current loop feedback, but reduced modulator gain eliminates current-loop instability. The modulator gain exhibits a frequency-dependent phase which introduces an extra gain term in the circuit model. The new model for DCM operation does not have RHP zeros in the current feedback loop, but the buck converter exhibits an instability for higher conversion ratios. <<ETX>>
Surgeon volume and operative mortality in the United States.

BACKGROUND Although the relation between hospital volume and surgical mortality is well established, for most procedures, the relative importance of the experience of the operating surgeon is uncertain. METHODS Using information from the national Medicare claims data base for 1998 through 1999, we examined mortality among all 474,108 patients who underwent one of eight cardiovascular procedures or cancer resections. Using nested regression models, we examined the relations between operative mortality and surgeon volume and hospital volume (each in terms of total procedures performed per year), with adjustment for characteristics of the patients and other characteristics of the providers. RESULTS Surgeon volume was inversely related to operative mortality for all eight procedures (P=0.003 for lung resection, P<0.001 for all other procedures). The adjusted odds ratio for operative death (for patients with a low-volume surgeon vs. those with a high-volume surgeon) varied widely according to the procedure--from 1.24 for lung resection to 3.61 for pancreatic resection. Surgeon volume accounted for a large proportion of the apparent effect of the hospital volume, to an extent that varied according to the procedure: it accounted for 100 percent of the effect for aortic-valve replacement, 57 percent for elective repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, 55 percent for pancreatic resection, 49 percent for coronary-artery bypass grafting, 46 percent for esophagectomy, 39 percent for cystectomy, and 24 percent for lung resection. For most procedures, the mortality rate was higher among patients of low-volume surgeons than among those of high-volume surgeons, regardless of the surgical volume of the hospital in which they practiced. CONCLUSIONS For many procedures, the observed associations between hospital volume and operative mortality are largely mediated by surgeon volume. Patients can often improve their chances of survival substantially, even at high-volume hospitals, by selecting surgeons who perform the operations frequently.
A Visual Analytics Approach to Author Name Disambiguation

Academic publication archives often draw from numerous, heterogeneous sources, whose records can follow differing naming conventions. As such, ambiguity issues concerning authorship of scientific papers often arise, such as authors sharing similar names, the use of first names versus initials, or alternate name spellings for the same author. These ambiguities have plagued research on scientific collaboration and influence. Detecting and correcting these errors is important for maintaining the archive, as well as for ensuring correctness and reliability in any desired subsequent analysis. There are existing analytic methods designed to accomplish this with varying degrees of accuracy, but many of them require fine tuning or manual categorization. We have developed a visual analytics system to interactively control and apply several analytic name disambiguation algorithms in a finely controlled manner, and to present the results to the user for verification or correction. We demonstrate the efficacy of our system by using it to find and resolve ambiguities in authorship data collected from Cornell University Library's arXiv.org and the InfoVis 2004 contest dataset with improved accuracy and speed over existing approaches.
The impacts of leaders' emotional intelligence on organizational commitment among academicans in University Technology Malaysia

More recently, many researchers revealed that emotional intelligence (EI) is a very important skill that required for success in nowadays organizations. It has been linked to improve workplace behaviour, such as, organizational commitment (OC). The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of the EI of leaders on the OC of their subordinates. The study was conducted at University Technology Malaysia, and used stratified sampling consisting of 191 academicians from 14 faculties as the research respondents. The leaders' EI was evaluated with the Bar-On Emotional Quotient-360 (EQ-360) which is multi-rater instrument. On the other hand, the organizational commitment survey (OCS) which is developed by Meyer and Allen, was used to evaluate the OC of the academicians. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistic, Pearson correlation, and regression analyses. UTM academicians' leaders were found as high emotionally intelligent leaders. Besides, academicians' OC was at a moderate level. This study also found that there are significant relationships between leaders’ EI that operationalized by intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and general mood, and subordinate (academicians) organizational commitment. Furthermore, the impact of leaders' EI on academicians OC was significant. Recommendations for futrure research and organization were presented.
Teacher Empathy and Attitudes Towards Individuals with Disabilities

Abstract The article presents research results of a study aimed at determining the correlation between empathy understood as a personality disposition and general attitudes towards individuals with disability. The sample consisted of 300 special education teachers working with persons with intellectual disabilities in primary and secondary schools and institutions of rehabilitation, and 280 general education teachers working with able-bodied students in primary and secondary schools. Two instruments were used: Empathic Understanding of Other People Questionnaire, and the Scale of Attitudes towards Individuals with Disability. In the group of special education teachers, only Syndrome 2 of empathy was statistically significant for shaping the attitudes, whereas among teachers, Syndromes 1, 3 and 4 were significant. In Syndromes 1, 2 and 4, including the highest level of emotional, cognitive, motivational and communication aspects of empathy, the correlations were positive as expected. In the case of Syndrome 3, including the considerable level of cognitive empathy, the correlation was negative.
Do software libraries evolve differently than applications?: an empirical investigation

More and more, developers use reusable components like libraries to produce high quality software systems. These systems need to satisfy not only the initial demands of their stakeholders, but they need to also offer support for future, changing requirements. While several studies have looked at the cost of modifying systems, there exists no work verifying if libraries evolve differently than applications. This study attempts to do so quantitatively. In this paper, we define design changes metrics to estimate the amount of high-level change required of individual classes and use metrics to describe their structure. These measures are then used as inputs in models capable of predicting code change. We used machine learning techniques to build these models and tested them on the evolution of industrial open-source systems. Two of the systems were libraries, and two were standalone applications. We found that while design changes are systematically correlated with code changes, structure metrics are better predictors of code change in libraries with well developed class hierarchies. With the two applications without this characteristic, structure alone was a poor predictor.
Rural livelihood diversity in developing countries: evidence and policy implications

This paper examines livelihood diversification as a survival strategy of rural households in developing countries. Although still of central importance, farming on its own is increasingly unable to provide a sufficient means of survival in rural areas. The paper’s objectives are first, to increase awareness of livelihood diversification in approaches to rural development; second, to consider the interactions among diversification and poverty, farm productivity, natural resource management and gender relations in rural areas; and third, to advance the policy understanding of diverse rural livelihoods.
Sex in Midlife: Women's Sexual Experiences in Lesbian and Straight Marriages.

Objective This study examines how married straight and lesbian women understand sexual changes in midlife. Background Sexual satisfaction is key to marital quality, yet marital sex typically diminishes in midlife. Little is known, however, about how married straight and lesbian women make sense of midlife sexuality. Comparing the narratives of lesbian and straight women can reveal how midlife events, relational contexts, and gender norms drive women's experiences of and responses to diminishing sex. Method Inductive and deductive analyses were performed on interviews with a convenience sample of 16 straight and 16 lesbian mostly high-status married couples in Massachusetts. Results Lesbian and straight women suggest that sexual activity and desire diminish over time due to health, aging, and caregiving events, yet lesbian women additionally emphasize the importance of weight gain, caregiving for adult parents, and shared experiences of menopause. Women further describe distress when their sex lives diverge from norms specific to marriage and their sexual identities. Moreover, women report relationship work designed to maintain or reignite sex; when compared with straight women, lesbians describe more work and a stronger sense of duty to keep sex alive and uniquely describe medical providers as unhelpful in addressing sexual challenges. Conclusion The results suggest that relational contexts and cultural discourses shape straight and lesbian women's experiences of distress and comfort about diminishing sex in marriage.
The impact of network topology on self-organizing maps

In this paper, we study instances of complex neural networks, i.e. neural networks with complex topologies. We use Self-Organizing Map neural networks whose neighborhood relationships are defined by a complex network, to classify handwritten digits. We show that topology has a small impact on performance and robustness to neuron failures, at least at long learning times. Performance may however be increased (by almost $10\%$) by evolutionary optimization of the network topology. In our experimental conditions, the evolved networks are more random than their parents, but display a more heterogeneous degree distribution.