Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Yin and Yang Cognitive Motivational Processes Operating in Multimedia Learning Environments

The purpose of this discussion is to make the point that the complexity and flexibility of multimedia instructional environments can be beneficial but may also bring a large and almost unrecognized danger. Instructional conditions associated with multi-media environments that both help and hinder student learning motivation are described. The first part of the presentation attempts to link research on complex learning and cognitive load on the one hand, and motivational variables that are necessary to support learning, on the other hand. Following Pajares (1996) the discussion engages in “inter-theoretical cross talk” (p. 569) and so draws freely on the many small theories and research hypotheses suggested by research in a variety of learning and motivation traditions, keeping in mind the cautions of Gery D’Ydewalle (1987) concerning the many problems with motivational constructs. Five hypotheses are suggested that attempt to explain why motivation for complex learning may sometimes be damaged by MMI instructional conditions that, for example, overload working memory and/or provide new learning strategies. H1. As cognitive load increases, mental effort increases linearly and positively. H2. Mental effort has an inverted U relationship with task self efficacy so that self efficacy decreases as task novelty increases and vice versa. H3. At the “efficacy threshold” effort stops and an automated cognitive “default” directs attention to different or novel goals. H4. As knowledge automates, mental effort decreases and learner overconfidence is a danger. H5. Persistence at a learning task is a positive, linear, multiplicative function of domain self efficacy, mood and task value. Below a “control threshold”, persistence stops and an automated default focuses attention on novel goals. An explanation for MMI features that may damage or aid learning is drawn from cognitive motivation research, specifically from expectancy-control theory and from cognitive learning theory. The purpose of the five hypotheses is to generate additional research to help explain the many kinds of mistakes and learning failures that are caused by links between motivational and learning processes. A “yin and yang” model is proposed to explain the learning failures associated with instruction in novel, declarative knowledge on the one hand and the use of more familiar, automated, procedural knowledge, on the other hand. It will be suggested that when motivational problems are encountered when learning declarative knowledge, they are caused by “yin processes” that substitute different, novel and unintended learning goals and strategies for the ones intended by MMI instructional systems. When motivation problems are encountered during procedural learning, they are caused by “yang processes” that elicit familiar, automated but unsuccessful learning goals and strategies for over confident students. Where research-based solutions are available for motivational problems, they are described.
Relaxed Purifying Selection and Possibly High Rate of Adaptation in Primate Lineage-Specific Genes

Genes in the same organism vary in the time since their evolutionary origin. Without horizontal gene transfer, young genes are necessarily restricted to a few closely related species, whereas old genes can be broadly distributed across the phylogeny. It has been shown that young genes evolve faster than old genes; however, the evolutionary forces responsible for this pattern remain obscure. Here, we classify human–chimp protein-coding genes into different age classes, according to the breath of their phylogenetic distribution. We estimate the strength of purifying selection and the rate of adaptive selection for genes in different age classes. We find that older genes carry fewer and less frequent nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms than younger genes suggesting that older genes experience a stronger purifying selection at the protein-coding level. We infer the distribution of fitness effects of new deleterious mutations and find that older genes have proportionally more slightly deleterious mutations and fewer nearly neutral mutations than younger genes. To investigate the role of adaptive selection of genes in different age classes, we determine the selection coefficient (γ = 2Nes) of genes using the MKPRF approach and estimate the ratio of the rate of adaptive nonsynonymous substitution to synonymous substitution (ωA) using the DoFE method. Although the proportion of positively selected genes (γ > 0) is significantly higher in younger genes, we find no correlation between ωA and gene age. Collectively, these results provide strong evidence that younger genes are subject to weaker purifying selection and more tenuous evidence that they also undergo adaptive evolution more frequently.
Surface modification of In-Ceram Zirconia ceramic by Nd:YAG laser, Rocatec system, or aluminum oxide sandblasting and its bond strength to a resin cement.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface treatments on bond strength between In-Ceram Zirconia ceramic and Panavia Fluoro Cement. BACKGROUND DATA Although several surface treatments have been used on In-Ceram Zirconia, no study has been conducted to investigate the effect of the Nd:YAG laser. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine In-Ceram Zirconia blocks (10 x 10 x 6 mm) received three different surface treatments (n = 3 per group): group 1-Al2O3 sandblasting + silane; group 2-Al2O3 sandblasting + Rocatec Plus + silane; and group 3-Al2O3 sandblasting + Nd:YAG laser + silane. Resin cement was applied and light-cured, followed by the application of composite resin. The blocks were sectioned to obtain square rods with a cross-sectional dimension of 1.0 mm2 (n = 12 per group). Microtensile bond strength (muTBS) was recorded using a universal testing machine at a cross-head speed of 0.5 mm/min and expressed in megapascals (MPa). RESULTS All groups yielded statistically significantly different muTBS mean values: group 1 (11.81 +/- 3.12 MPa); group 2 (15.75 +/- 4.45 MPa); group 3 (18.70 +/- 5.14 MPa) (ANOVA and Tukey's test; alpha = 0.05). CONCLUSION Nd:YAG laser irradiation is an effective surface treatment for bonding between In-Ceram Zirconia and Panavia Fluoro Cement.
New clinical and experimental approaches for studying tumor dormancy: does tumor dormancy offer a therapeutic target?  

Tumor dormancy is a significant clinical problem. Primary treatment of a cancer may be apparently successful, and yet the tumor may recur either locally or as distant metastases years or even decades later. The ability to predict which patients are likely to develop recurrences is imprecise, relying on probabilities of recurrence based on features of the primary cancer. This uncertainty presents clinical challenges regarding who to treat and how, in order to prevent recurrence after periods of dormancy. Recent clinical trials in breast cancer support the idea that some patients may harbor tumor cells that are capable of forming late‐developing metastases years after removal of the primary tumor, and that these dormant cancer cells may in some cases be effectively treated with long‐term therapy. Advances in experimental studies of tumor dormancy are shedding light on the nature of dormancy, and are providing both new technologies and conceptual approaches for studying tumor dormancy. A better understanding of mechanisms responsible for tumor dormancy and recurrence will be important for improving care of patients at risk for late‐developing metastases.
Response to Superantigen Stimulation in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Children Perinatally Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

ABSTRACT Our understanding of the pathogenesis of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is still evolving. We sought to characterize the response to the bacterial superantigen Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) of lymphocytes from HIV-infected children receiving treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Using the flow cytometric methodology, we quantified apoptosis, proliferation, cytokine production, and activation antigen upregulation in CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes following in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with SEB. The levels of proliferation, CD4 interleukin-2 (IL-2) production, CD8 gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production, and upregulation of CD69 expression by cells from HIV-infected children were indistinguishable from those by cells from controls. However, stimulation with SEB dramatically decreased the ratio of resting apoptotic cells to cycling apoptotic cells in the controls but not in the patients. In addition, unstimulated spontaneous apoptosis of CD4 T cells remained greater in the patients than in the controls. The percentages of IL-2-positive CD8 T cells and IFN-γ-positive CD4 T cells following SEB stimulation were significantly lower in the patients than in the controls. Our multiparameter approach was able to demonstrate differences in lymphocyte superantigen responsiveness in HIV-infected children receiving HAART in comparison to that in uninfected controls, notably, an apoptotic versus a proliferative response to stimulation.
Semi-supervised SVM batch mode active learning for image retrieval

Active learning has been shown as a key technique for improving content-based image retrieval (CBIR) performance. Among various methods, support vector machine (SVM) active learning is popular for its application to relevance feedback in CBIR. However, the regular SVM active learning has two main drawbacks when used for relevance feedback. First, SVM often suffers from learning with a small number of labeled examples, which is the case in relevance feedback. Second, SVM active learning usually does not take into account the redundancy among examples, and therefore could select multiple examples in relevance feedback that are similar (or even identical) to each other. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme that exploits both semi-supervised kernel learning and batch mode active learning for relevance feedback in CBIR. In particular, a kernel function is first learned from a mixture of labeled and unlabeled examples. The kernel will then be used to effectively identify the informative and diverse examples for active learning via a min-max framework. An empirical study with relevance feedback of CBIR showed that the proposed scheme is significantly more effective than other state-of-the-art approaches.
Homogenization of the Vlasov Equation and of the Vlasov - Poisson System with a Strong External Magnetic Field

Motivated by the difficulty arising in the numerical simulation of the movement of charged particles in presence of a large external magnetic field, which adds an additional time scale and thus imposes to use a much smaller time step, we perform in this paper a homogenization of the Vlasov equation and of the Vlasov-Poisson system which yield approximate equations describing the mean behavior of the particles. The convergence proof is based on the two scale convergence tools introduced by N'Guetseng and Allaire. We also consider the case where, in addition to the magnetic field, a large external electric field orthogonal to the magnetic field and of the same magnitude is applied.
Accumulation and Soil-to-Plant Transfer of Radionuclides in the Nile Delta Coastal Black Sand Habitats

The radionuclide content was estimated in the soil of three black sand habitats in the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, namely, sand mounds and coastal sand planes and dunes. In addition, a total of 14 heavy minerals found in the soils were characterized. The soil to plant transfer of uranium and thorium was tested on three black sand species, namely, Cakile maritima Scop. , Senecio glaucus L. and Rumex Pictus Forssk. The transfer of thorium and uranium radionuclides from the soil to plant is complex process that is subjected to many variables; among which are the organic matter and clay content of the soil, the type of radionuclides and plant species. The study revealed a strong negative relationship between uranium and thorium uptake by S. glaucus and R. pictus and the clay and organic matter content of soil. Concentration of thorium in the soil has a negative correlation with soil-to-plant transfer factor. The study results suggest the possibility of using black sand species for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with radioactive elements. The potentiality of S. glaucus as phytoremediator of radionuclides polluted soils is greater than R. pictus which in turn outweigh C. maritima.
Efficacy of oxytocin antagonist infusion in improving in vitro fertilization outcomes on the day of embryo transfer: A meta-analysis

Objective Uterine contraction induced by the embryo transfer (ET) process has an adverse effect on embryo implantation. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of oxytocin antagonist supplementation on the day of ET on in vitro fertilization outcomes via a meta-analysis. Methods We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Four online databases (Embase, Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane Library) were searched through May 2015 for RCTs that investigated oxytocin antagonist supplementation on the day of ET. Studies were selected according to predefined inclusion criteria and meta-analyzed using RevMan 5.3. Only RCTs were included in this study. The main outcome measures were the clinical pregnancy rate, the implantation rate, and the miscarriage rate. Results A total of 123 studies were reviewed and assessed for eligibility. Three RCTs, which included 1,020 patients, met the selection criteria. The implantation rate was significantly better in patients who underwent oxytocin antagonist infusion (19.8%) than in the control group (11.3%) (n=681; odds ratio [OR], 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25–2.96). No significant difference was found between the two groups in the clinical pregnancy rate (n=1,020; OR, 1.57; 95% CI, 0.92–2.67) or the miscarriage rate (n=456; OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.44–1.33). Conclusion The results of this meta-analysis of the currently available literature suggest that the administration of an oxytocin antagonist on the day of ET improves the implantation rate but not the clinical pregnancy rate or miscarriage rate. Additional, large-scale, prospective, randomized studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
GELS OF NORMAL AND SICKLED HEMOGLOBIN

The specific defect in molecules of sickle hemoglobin (HbS) has been known for many years (1), but the nature of the assembled polymers of HbS which distort susceptible erythrocytes remains unclear. Several structural forms of sickled hemoglobin have been observed in electron microscopic studies, including a mat-like arrangement of fibers (2), empty hexagonal crystals (3), microtubules (4), and dense rods (5, 6). I t is unlikely that the process of sickling results in formation of all of the different structural arrangements described by various workers.
The Height Gain in Scoliotic Deformity Correction: Assessed by New Predictive Formula

Height gain after scoliosis correction is of a special interest for the patient and family. Ylikoski was the first to suggest a formula predicting height loss in untreated scoliotic patients. Stokes has recently suggested a new formula by using Cobb angle to determine height loss in idiopathic curves. We hypothesized that new additional variables to Cobb angle such as apical vertebral translation (AVT), number of instrumented segments (N), and disc heights may increase the accuracy of predicted height gain. According to our findings simple expression for height gain by simplified version of the formula is: SPΔH = 0.0059X 1 θ 1 + 2.3(1 − (θ 2/θ 1))N, where θ 1 is preoperative Cobb angle, X 1 is preoperative AVT, θ 2 is postoperative Cobb angle, and N is the number of instrumented vertebra. The purpose of this study is to analyze a new mathematical formula to predict height gain after scoliotic deformity correction.
Digital Watermark Detection in Visual Multimedia Content

Digital watermarking has been proposed as a technology to ensure copyright protection by embedding an imperceptible, yet detectable signal in visual multimedia content such as images or video. Watermark detection is an integral component of a watermarking system. This cumulative thesis addresses watermark detection problems in important application domains such as scalable multimedia, raw/demosaicked digital camera images, and 2D vector graphics with a distortion constraint. Generally, we rely on spread-spectrum watermark embedding and aim to improve performance of the system on the receiving side by taking into account peculiarities of the embedding domain and host signal modelling. A watermarked, scalable multimedia bitstream can be decoded in several quality and resolution layers to meet the demand of different devices. The watermark should be detectable in each layer, with increased detection performance in higher layers, yet without impairing the coding efficiency. We investigate watermarking of scalable JPEG2000, H.264/SVC and MZ-EZBC bit streams. A system for watermarking the raw image sensor data is constrained by the processing resources of the camera. We implement a spatial-domain embedding in camera firmware and propose a watermark detector exploiting the structure of the interpolated, demosaicked image. The computational effort for blind, spread-spectrum watermark detection is analyzed including the determination of the detection threshold and accuracy versus runtime trade-offs for the parameter estimation of the host signal model. We propose two novel detectors with runtime efficiency in mind that show competitive detection performance with state-of-the-art blind watermarking detection approaches. A novel watermark detector based on a joint statistical model for color images is proposed. Further, we investigate watermarking in the dual-tree complex wavelet domain and study the security of several quantization-based watermarking schemes. Digitale Wasserzeichen wurden als eine technische Lösung zum Schutz von Urheberrechten vorgeschlagen. Dabei wird ein nicht wahrnehmbares, jedoch detektierbares Signal in visuelle
Recent Emergence and Spread of an Arctic-Related Phylogenetic Lineage of Rabies Virus in Nepal

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is endemic in many parts of the developing world, especially in Africa and Asia. However its epidemiology remains largely unappreciated in much of these regions, such as in Nepal, where limited information is available about the spatiotemporal dynamics of the main etiological agent, the rabies virus (RABV). In this study, we describe for the first time the phylogenetic diversity and evolution of RABV circulating in Nepal, as well as their geographical relationships within the broader region. A total of 24 new isolates obtained from Nepal and collected from 2003 to 2011 were full-length sequenced for both the nucleoprotein and the glycoprotein genes, and analysed using neighbour-joining and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic methods with representative viruses from all over the world, including new related RABV strains from neighbouring or more distant countries (Afghanistan, Greenland, Iran, Russia and USA). Despite Nepal's limited land surface and its particular geographical position within the Indian subcontinent, our study revealed the presence of a surprising wide genetic diversity of RABV, with the co-existence of three different phylogenetic groups: an Indian subcontinent clade and two different Arctic-like sub-clades within the Arctic-related clade. This observation suggests at least two independent episodes of rabies introduction from neighbouring countries. In addition, specific phylogenetic and temporal evolution analysis of viruses within the Arctic-related clade has identified a new recently emerged RABV lineage we named as the Arctic-like 3 (AL-3) sub-clade that is already widely spread in Nepal.
Risk of thromboembolism, recurrent hemorrhage, and death after warfarin therapy interruption for gastrointestinal tract bleeding.

BACKGROUND Patients who not only survive a warfarin-associated gastrointestinal tract bleeding (GIB) event but also have an ongoing risk for thromboembolism present 2 clinical dilemmas: whether and when to resume anticoagulation. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of thrombosis, recurrent GIB, and death, as well as the time to resumption of anticoagulant therapy, during the 90 days following a GIB event. METHODS In this retrospective, cohort study using administrative and clinical databases, patients experiencing GIB during warfarin therapy were categorized according to whether they resumed warfarin therapy after GIB and followed up for 90 days. Variables describing the management and severity of the index GIB were also collected. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to estimate the survival function of thrombosis, recurrent GIB, and death between the "resumed warfarin therapy" and "did not resume warfarin therapy" groups, with Cox proportional hazards modeling to adjust for potentially confounding factors. RESULTS There were 442 patients with warfarin-associated index GIB included in the analyses. Following the index GIB, 260 patients (58.8%) resumed warfarin therapy. Warfarin therapy resumption after the index GIB was associated with a lower adjusted risk for thrombosis (hazard ratio [HR], 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.58) and death (HR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15-0.62), without significantly increasing the risk for recurrent GIB (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.50-3.57). CONCLUSIONS The decision to not resume warfarin therapy in the 90 days following a GIB event is associated with increased risk for thrombosis and death. For many patients who have experienced warfarin-associated GIB, the benefits of resuming anticoagulant therapy will outweigh the risks.
Incidence of Spondyloarthropathy in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: A Population-based Study

Objective. Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is an important extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We assessed the cumulative incidence and clinical spectrum of SpA in a population-based cohort of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods. The medical records of a population-based cohort of residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA, diagnosed with UC from 1970 through 2004 were reviewed. Patients were followed longitudinally until moving from Olmsted County, death, or June 30, 2011. We used the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group, Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria, and modified New York criteria to identify patients with SpA. Results. The cohort included 365 patients with UC, of whom 41.9% were women. The median age at diagnosis of UC was 38.6 years (range 1.2–91.4). Forty patients developed SpA based on the ASAS criteria. The cumulative incidence of a diagnosis of SpA after an established diagnosis of UC was 4.8% at 10 years (95% CI 95% CI 2.2%–7.3%), 13.7% at 20 years (95% CI 9.0%–18.1%), and 22.1% at 30 years (95% CI 4.3%–29.1%). Conclusion. The cumulative incidence of all forms of SpA increased to about 22% by 30 years from UC diagnosis. This value is slightly greater than what we previously described in a population-based cohort of Crohn disease diagnosed in Olmsted County over the same time period. SpA and its features are associated with UC, and heightened awareness on the part of clinicians is needed for diagnosing and managing them.