Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular cytogenetic and phenotypic characterization of ring chromosome 13 in three unrelated patients

Abstract We report on the cytogenetic and molecular investigations of constitutional de-novo ring chromosome 13s in three unrelated patients for better understanding and delineation of the phenotypic variability characterizing this genomic rearrangement. The patient’s karyotypes were as follows: 46,XY,r(13)(p11q34) dn for patients 1 and 2 and 46,XY,r(13)(p11q14) dn for patient 3, as a result of the deletion in the telomeric regions of chromosome 13. The patients were, therefore, monosomic for the segment 13q34 → 13qter; in addition, for patient 3, the deletion was larger, encompassing the segment 13q14 → 13qter. Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed these rearrangement and array CGH technique showed the loss of at least 2.9 Mb on the short arm and 4.7 Mb on the long arm of the chromosome 13 in patient 2. Ring chromosome 13 (r(13)) is associated with several phenotypic features like intellectual disability, marked short stature, brain and heart defects, microcephaly and genital malformations in males, including undescended testes and hypospadias. However, the hearing loss and speech delay that were found in our three patients have rarely been reported with ring chromosome 13. Although little is known about its etiology, there is interesting evidence for a genetic cause for the ring chromosome 13. We thus performed a genotype-phenotype correlation analysis to ascertain the contribution of ring chromosome 13 to the clinical features of our three cases.
Guidance and Navigation for UAV Airborne Docking

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capability is currently limited by the amount of energy that can be stored onboard. Airborne docking, for mid-air refueling, is a viable solution that has been implemented with manned aircraft for decades, but has yet to be achieved with their unmanned counterparts. The prohibitive challenge is the highly accurate and reliable relative positioning performance that is necessary to dock with a small target, in the air, amidst external disturbances. This paper presents a complete solution to airborne docking, which includes vision-aided unscented Kalman filters for leaderrelative navigation and docking appendage motion estimation; and guidance that is suitable for all phases of the mission. The work concludes by demonstrating the proposed algorithms in what is thought to be the first UAV airborne docking.
Selected Nonmusic Predictors of Urban Students’ Decisions to Enroll and Persist in Middle School Band Programs

The purpose of this study was to fit theoretical models of prediction to students’ decisions to enroll and persist in urban middle school band programs using independent variables of academic achievement, socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, mobility, ethnicity, and gender. Two models were fitted to the data using logistic regression analysis techniques. One predicted initial enrollment (i.e., sixth grade); the other predicted retention (i.e., eighth grade). Academic achievement and family structure emerged as the only significant predictors of initial enrollment decisions. Higher academically achieving students and those from two-parent or two-guardian homes were more likely to begin band instruction. Higher academically achieving students and those from two-parent or two-guardian homes also were more likely to persist in band, as were students from higher SES and females. Comparisons between models suggest slight differences in the nonmusic factors affecting initial enrollment and retention.
The Development of Cognitive, Language, and Cultural Skills From Age 3 to 6

This article analyzes the longitudinal development of differences in academic skills between children of Turkish origin and children of native-born German parents from age 3 to 6 in Germany with a focus on the role of immigrant parents’ acculturation to the receiving society. Growth curve models show that Turkish-origin children start with lower test scores at the age of 3 regarding German language skills and cultural knowledge but not with respect to cognitive skills. The difference in the language domain decreases until the age of 6 while it increases regarding children’s cultural knowledge. Immigrant parents’ acculturation to the receiving country is positively related with all three academic skill domains. The results point to the importance of early intervention strategies.
In Vitro Evaluation of Enterococcus faecalis Adhesion on Various Endodontic Medicaments

E. faecalis in endodontic infection represents a biofilm type of disease, which explains the bacteria’s resistance to various antimicrobial compounds and the subsequent failure after endodontic treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare antimicrobial activities and bacteria kinetic adhesion in vitro for three endodontic medicaments with a clinical isolate of E. faecalis. We devised a shake culture which contained the following intracanalar preparations: CPD, Endoidrox (EIX), PulpCanalSealer (PCS); these were immersed in a liquid culture medium inoculated with the microorganism. The shake system velocity was able to prevent non-specific bacteria adhesion and simulated the salivary flow. Specimens were collected daily (from both the medium and medicaments) for 10 days; the viable cells were counted by plate count, while the adhesion index AI° [E. faecalis fg DNA] /mm2 was evaluated in the pastes after DNA extraction, by quantitative real time PCR for the 16S rRNA gene. A partial growth inhibition, during the first 24 hours, was observed in the liquid medium and on the medicaments for EIX and subsequently for CPD (six logs). EIX showed the lowest adhesion coefficient (5*102 [fg DNA]/mm2) for nine days and was similar to the control. PCS showed no antimicrobial/antibiofilm properties. This showed that “calcium oxide” base compounds could be active against biofilm progression and at least in the short term (2-4 days) on E. faecalis cells growing in planktonic cultures.
Internet abuse and internet addiction in the workplace

Purpose – This paper seeks to overview the issues, concerns and challenges relating to internet abuse and internet addiction in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach – Using psychological literature, the paper outlines a number of important and inter‐related areas including brief overviews of internet abuse, and the most extreme form of internet abuse in the workplace (i.e. internet addiction). Findings – The paper reveals that internet abuse is a relatively neglected area of research and that internet abuse is a potentially serious cause of concern for employers. It also highlights that there are many different kinds of internet abuse in the workplace (e.g. cybersexual internet abuse, and online friendship/relationship abuse, internet activity abuse, online information abuse, criminal internet abuse). It is concluded that internet abuse has the potential to be a serious occupational issue.Research limitations/implications – The empirical base for the paper was based on a relatively small number of pee.
Gut metabolites and bacterial community networks during a pilot intervention study with flaxseeds in healthy adult men.

SCOPE Flaxseeds contain the phytoestrogens lignans that must be activated to enterolignans by intestinal bacteria. We investigated the impact of flaxseeds on fecal bacterial communities and their associations with fecal and blood metabolites. METHODS AND RESULTS Nine healthy male adult subjects ingested 0.3 g/kg/day flaxseeds during 1 week. Gut bacteria as well as blood and fecal metabolites were analyzed. Ingestion of flaxseeds triggered a significant increase in the blood concentration of enterolignans, accompanied by fecal excretion of propionate and glycerol. Overall diversity and composition of dominant fecal bacteria remained individual specific throughout the study. Enterolactone production was linked to the abundance of two molecular species identified as Ruminococcus bromii and Ruminococcus lactaris. Most dominant species of the order Bacteroidales were positively associated with fecal concentrations of either acetic, isovaleric, or isobutyric acid, the latter being negatively correlated with blood levels of triglycerides. The relative sequence abundance of one Gemmiger species (Ruminococcaceae) and of Coprococcus comes (Lachnospiraceae) correlated positively with blood levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, respectively. CONCLUSION Flaxseeds increase enterolignan production but do not markedly alter fecal metabolome and dominant bacterial communities. The data underline the possible role of members of the family Ruminococcaceae in the regulation of enterolignan production and blood lipids.
Early Marriage

This article analyses trends in early marriage in Turkey over a period of 30 years from 1978 to 2008, and factors associated with early marriage, based on data from the 1978 Turkish Fertility Survey and 2008 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. The proportion of all women aged 20 to 24 who married before age 18 declined from 38% in 1978 to 14% in 2008. For ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years, the article examines risk factors for the common explanatory variables such as educational level of women, childhood place of residence, type of place of residence, region and spousal age gap, using logistic regression analysis. For women, early marriage is associated with all the explanatory variables in both surveys. Increasing women’s education and achievement of gender equality in all spheres of life emerge as essential steps to cope with the problem of early marriage and to eliminate child marriage.
Lamotrigine pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling in rats

The aim of this study was to perform a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modelling of lamotrigine following its acute administration to rats. Adult male Wistar rats were given 10 mg/kg of lamotrigine intraperitoneally. Plasma and brain samples were obtained at predetermined times over 120 h post‐dose and analysed by liquid chromatography. The anticonvulsant profile against maximal electroshock seizure stimulation was determined over 48 h after dosing. As a linear relationship between lamotrigine plasma and brain profiles was observed, only the plasma data set was used to establish the PK/PD relationship. To fit the effect–time course of lamotrigine, the PK/PD simultaneous fitting link model was used: the pharmacokinetic parameters and dosing information were used in the one‐compartment first‐order model to predict concentrations, which were then used to model the pharmacodynamic data with the sigmoid Emax model, in order to estimate all the parameters simultaneously. The following parameters were obtained: Vd = 2.00 L/kg, kabs = 8.50 h−1, kel = 0.025 h−1, ke0 = 3.75 h−1, Emax = 100.0% (fixed), EC50 = 3.44 mg/L and γ = 8.64. From these results, it can be stated that lamotrigine is extensively distributed through the body, its plasma elimination half‐life is around 28 h and a lamotrigine plasma concentration of 3.44 mg/L is enough to protect 50% of the animals. When compared with humans, the plasma concentrations achieved with this dose were within the therapeutic concentration range that had been proposed for epileptic patients. With the present PK/PD modelling it was possible to fit simultaneously the time‐courses of the plasma levels and the anticonvulsant effect of lamotrigine, providing information not only about the pharmacokinetics of lamotrigine in the rat but also about its anticonvulsant response over time. As this approach can be easily applied to other drugs, it becomes a useful tool for an explanatory comparison between lamotrigine and other antiepileptic drugs.
The Specialist Schools Programme: golden goose or conjuring trick?

The Specialist Schools Programme was launched in England in 1993. Under the programme, schools submit a bid to central government to specialise in specified curriculum areas. To qualify to participate they must raise private sponsorship to contribute to the cost of their development plans and set targets, including targets for pupils' attainment. The paper uses multiple linear regression and multi‐level modelling to examine pupils' attainment. Our evidence suggests that, in 2001, pupils at Specialist Schools achieved better examination results than pupils at non‐specialist schools and that those attending the earlier cohorts of Specialist Schools performed particularly well. We also suggest that some cohorts of Specialist Schools were achieving enhanced GCSE results before they became Specialist Schools but also that, for the earlier cohorts, the improvement in examination results associated with specialist status increased as schools had been part of the programme for a longer period. Analysis of GCSE results in specialist and non‐specialist subject areas indicated that Language and Sports Colleges achieved better than expected examination results in their specialist areas, Technology Colleges achieved better results in both specialist and non‐specialist areas but that Arts Colleges did not achieve significantly different results in either specialist or non‐specialist subjects.
The Wider Circle of Friends in Adolescence

Adolescents interact with a variety of peers, in addition to the close friends generally emphasized in the literature. In this article I contrast the style and content of the communications directed to close friends and other youths characterized by varying degress of "nearness and remoteness. " The handwritten messages found in high school yearbooks are analyzed and used to illustrate some of the distinct features of each type of discourse. This analysis suggests that while intimate relations undoubtedly play a key role in development, adolescents also learn a great deal about themselves and the social world they must navigate throught their interactions with the wider circle of friends.
Learning about learning in the primary school

In the recent UK Government policies that aim to raise standards at all levels of education, the drive for lifelong, independent learners has diminished in favour of prescription and consistent teaching approaches. Nonetheless, the ideal outcome of learners who understand, and take responsibility for, their own learning persists, and can be observed implicitly in policies and more explicitly in practice. This paper explores the frameworks and processes of independent learning in the current context. Drawing on previous research, it takes the view that independent learning occurs when pupils have a clear understanding of their own learning needs and strategies; when they are able to recognize and overcome problems in their learning and when they are encouraged to make informed decisions about the nature and conduct of their learning. The study is based on semi‐structured interviews with 24 pupils before their transition from primary to secondary schools. Pupils were asked to reflect on personal strategies and approaches to study in literacy, numeracy and science. Data were analysed in order to identify: (1) the level of responsibility pupils assume for their own learning at the end of Year 6; (2) the skills and strategies for independent learning identified by the pupils; (3) the educational relationships they had (who supported them and how); and (4) pupils' perceptions of promoters and inhibitors of independent learning.
Status Inconsistency and Gender

This study addresses the debate regarding the way in which status-ability inconsistency is resolved in task-oriented groups. Most recent research supports the combining principle, according to which actors aggregate performance expectations based on all relevant status and ability information. The research reported here represents an attempt to test the validity of the combining principle in a more interactive context than is the case in the standard experimental design used by expectation states theory. The authors conducted an experimental investigation of the joint effects of differences in gender (male vs. female) and specific task ability (high vs. low) on influence and also examined changes in social influence patterns over time. Overall, although the combining mechanism does not predict the exact ranking of influence among the different conditions, it is supported in that subjects incorporated expectations based on both their ability and gender in making their decisions.
The Influence of Employee Burnout Syndrome on the Expression of Organizational Dissent

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of employee burnout syndrome on organizational dissent. Two hundred nine employees from various organizations in the midwestern United States participated. Results indicated employees who report high levels of emotional exhaustion, feelings of failure, and isolation from fellow workers report low levels of articulated dissent and avoid using latent dissent. Displaced dissent did not significantly contribute to the equation.
An Examination of Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement in Science Course and Achievement Scores in Performance Assignments with Regard to Different Variables: A Boarding School Example.

The aim of the study is to explore the academic achievement and performance tasks of students studying in a regional primary boarding school in science course with regard to different variables. The study was carried out via survey method and total 96 students, 57 of them boarding students and 39 of them non-boarding students studying in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades in a regional primary boarding schools, participated in the study. The data of the study was obtained from the academic performance grade point average which the students got from three different exams in Science course and performance grade point average the students got from two different performance assignments (preparing a poster). MANOVA and correlation analysis were used for the statistical analysis of the data which were collected to seek answers for the sub-problems stated within the general framework of the research. The findings revealed that there is not a significant difference between the grade levels and the students’ academic achievement scores and performance scores in science course, whereas a significant difference was found between the gender variable and performance scores, which was in favour of females. This result suggests that female students were more successful than male students when compared to performance assignments. Moreover, a meaningful difference was detected in favour of non-boarding students with regard to their academic achievement in science course and their grades in performance assignments. Finally, it was found that there was a moderate positive correlation between the students’ academic achievement scores in science course and performance scores in performance assignments.
Risk Culture, Self-Reflexivity and the Making of Sexual Hierarchies

Recent social and cultural theory has emphasized that in risk culture the achievement of a reflexive self-identity is a key resource, for example, in terms of employment, citizenship and intimacy. Commentators on shifts in the organization of health have also stressed the significance of achieving a self-reflexive identity. So, for example, knowing, self-monitoring subjects have emerged as optimal citizens in relation to health. While there is certainly some critical commentary on these kinds of moves, nevertheless reflexive sexual subjects in relation to health have received less critical attention. In this article, through an analysis of HIV antibody testing and, in particular, by looking at the making of reflexivity through the practice of testing, I consider the emergence of a heterosexuality defined in terms of reflexivity. In so doing I suggest that reflexivity should not be understood - as many commentators suggest - as an effect but rather as constitutive of risk culture.
Diameter measurements of the forearm cephalic vein prior to vascular access creation in end-stage renal disease patients: graduated pressure cuff versus tourniquet vessel dilatation.

BACKGROUND Preoperative assessment of forearm superficial venous diameter may predict early failure of newly created arteriovenous fistulas for haemodialysis access. However, early failure and non-maturation rates remain high (up to 30%) and reported cut-off diameters are inconsistent. We hypothesize that this inconsistency is due to differences in the methods used to achieve venous dilatation prior to diameter measurements and daily variation in superficial venous diameter. We furthermore hypothesize that the use of a cuff will lead to a better inter-observer agreement since the applied pressure can be precisely determined. The purpose of this study was to determine inter-observer agreement of superficial venous diameter measurement under venous congestion by using either a graduated pressure cuff or tourniquet and furthermore, to determine daily variations in superficial venous diameter. METHODS Diameter measurements were performed by two observers on days 1 and 3, in 21 end-stage renal disease patients using either a cuff (60 mmHg) or tourniquet. Measurements were carried out in random order and observers were blinded for each other's results. Inter-observer agreement was expressed as interclass correlation coefficients. Variance components analysis was used to determine possible causes of disagreement. RESULTS Using a cuff, mean venous diameter was 1.8 mm (range, 0.7-3.3 mm). When a tourniquet was used, the mean diameter was 1.8 mm (range, 0.6-3.2 mm). Interclass correlation coefficients between observers were 0.76 and 0.74 for the use of a cuff and tourniquet, respectively. Diameter measurements were revealed to be observer independent. Variations in venous diameter were determined by the patient and the interaction of patient and day. Repeated assessment of venous diameter on different days revealed a variation coefficient of 26.4% when using a cuff, and 26.5% when using a tourniquet. CONCLUSIONS Venous diameter assessment is observer and congestion method independent. Daily variations in forearm superficial venous diameters should be taken into account when defining and using cut-off diameters prior to vascular access surgery.
Changes in Glitazone Use Among Office-Based Physicians in the U.S., 2003–2009

OBJECTIVE Little is known regarding recent changes in glitazone use. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Interrupted time series analyses of nationally representative office-visit data using IMS Health's National Disease and Therapeutic Index. RESULTS From 2003 through 2005, glitazone use increased steadily. From February 2005 to January 2007, rosiglitazone use decreased by 16% (95% CI −20 to −11) annually; pioglitazone use increased at an annual rate of 14% (9–18). During a period of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisories, rosiglitazone use declined sharply from 0.42 million monthly treatment visits (February 2007) to 0.13 million monthly visits (May 2008). Pioglitazone use remained stable, accounting for ∼5.8 million physician visits (77% of all glitazone use) where a treatment was used during the final 12 months of observation. CONCLUSIONS The combined effect of scientific publications, advisories, and media exposure was associated with a substantial decrease in rosiglitazone use. Despite a class-level FDA advisory, pioglitazone use was not similarly affected.
Performance Evaluation of Fuzzy Automata Using VHDL Simulation

Fuzzy automata have been proposed in late 1960's, being among the firsts domains extended through the framework of fuzzy logic. Fuzzy automata (FA) are fuzzy logic extensions of classic, or crisp automata. Despite their long existence, fuzzy automata have quite few real-life applications, most of them related to fuzzy languages, while crisp automata are applied in many devices that are part of our everyday life, from coffee machines to ATMs. In this paper we continue our previous work of investigating by VHDL simulation the performance of fuzzy automata. The new aspect compared to our previous work is the focus on the applications of FA.