Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Subjective Feelings of Dry Mouth in the Elderly

Dry mouth is a common disorder in elderly individuals. It is not, however, necessarily related to decreased salivary flow rate, since subjective feelings of oral dryness have also been found in those with normal flow rates. The aim of this study was to examine in elderly individuals the prevalence of subjective complaints related to dry mouth, and their association with salivary flow rates and the use of systemic medication. In 1990 and 1991, 368 elderly inhabitants of Helsinki, Finland, had their oral health status examined. In addition to the clinical examination, 341 subjects were interviewed regarding different oral and non-oral complaints related to dry mouth. Findings showed that 46% (n =158) of the subjects had noticed subjective symptoms of dry mouth. Continuous oral dryness was reported by 12% (n = 40) of the subjects, 6% of the men and 14% of the women (p < 0.05). In these 40, the oral and non-oral complaints were studied in more detail. Almost all oral and non-oral symptoms were more frequent in subjects reporting continuous dry mouth compared with controls. Continuous dry mouth was clearly associated with the female gender, with mouth breathing, and with the use of systemic medications.
Differences in Perceptions of Barriers to College Enrollment and the Completion of a Degree Among Latinos in the United States

This study examined the differences in perceptions of barriers in education among Latinos in the United States based on the level of linguistic acculturation, generational status, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status of the participants. This study used data from the Pew Hispanic Research Center. Results indicated that later-generation participants with high levels of linguistic acculturation, high socioeconomic status, and high academic achievement perceived greater barriers to enrollment in college and the completion of a degree. Este estudio examina las diferencias en percepciones de barreras educacionales de latinos en los EUA basado en el nivel de aculturación lingüística, estado generacional, logros académicos, y estado socioeconómico de los participantes. Este estudio utilizó información del Centro de Investigación Hispano Pew. Los resultados indicaron que participantes de generación más alta con altos niveles de aculturación lingüística, alto estado socioeconómico y altos logros académicos, perciben barreras más grandes para la inscripción universitaria y la graduación con un grado académico.
Peak Performance Training Using Prefrontal EEG Biofeedback

The use of biofeedback training to self-regulate EEG patterns with the aim of recovering or optimizing function and behavioral performance is becoming increasingly established. The most reasonable approach is to learn to generate and maintain optimal brain wave patterns and produce associated peak performance states on demand. We report two studies where 12 sessions of prefrontal EEG feedback were used to improve performance in both clinical and nonclinical populations. Neurofeedback using Focus, Alertness, and 40 Hz (Neureka! ) measures resulted in improved selective attention and other cognitive functions. We discuss other potential applications of neurofeedback in the areas of “under-pressure” activity, where peak performance state is an essential part of the job, such as in sports or the performing arts, as well as for human operators, such as air traffic dispatchers and military personnel on duty.
Thriving on challenge stressors? Exploring time pressure and learning demands as antecedents of thriving at work

Summary In the conceptualization of thriving at work, it is emphasized that employees' learning and vitality are two equally important components of thriving and that thriving is facilitated by contextual features and available resources. In this study, we examined the effects of two challenge stressors (time pressure and learning demands) on thriving at work. Based on the literature on challenge and hindrance stressors, we proposed that challenge stressors positively affect learning and negatively affect vitality. To uncover underlying mechanisms, we measured challenge appraisal and hindrance appraisal of work situations in a diary study. A sample of 124 knowledge workers responded to three daily surveys (before the lunch break, during the afternoon, and at the end of the workday) for a period of five workdays. Results indicate that the indirect effects of learning demands and time pressure on learning are mediated by challenge appraisal, whereas indirect effects of learning demands on vitality are mediated by hindrance appraisal. Overall, our study shows that challenge stressors have a positive total effect on learning but no total effect on vitality. These differential relationships call for a finer distinction between the two components of thriving at work in future research. Copyright © 2016 The Authors Journal of Organizational Behavior Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The effects of web‐assisted instruction in a social work research methods course

The objective of this paper is to report on the outcome evaluation of web‐assisted graduate foundation research courses in the summer research sequence of Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville. The quasi‐experimental pretest/posttest comparison‐group design was used to test the hypothesis that students that unknowingly sign up for traditional or web‐assisted courses would acquire knowledge at equal rates, but that the students in the web‐assisted courses would report higher levels of course satisfaction. Although the actual content knowledge gain was better for the students in the traditional course, the two groups did not differ in their research knowledge at the end of the course. There was also a significant amount of knowledge increase for the experimental group, and a higher level of satisfaction in perceived knowledge gain. The students in the web‐assisted courses showed a significantly higher level of overall satisfaction with the course. In conclusion it was found that the benefits of using web‐assisted techniques are maintained even when strategies are used in courses that have not been advertised as web‐assisted, hence eliminating selection effects. The study further indicates that web‐assisted courses are just as effective as traditional courses in transferring knowledge to students. An important benefit of web‐assisted technology is that course‐satisfaction can be enhanced due to the effective path that technology provides to meet the needs of students.
British English: Received Pronunciation

The accent described here is the present-day version of the accent that has been used as the standard in phoneticians' description of the pronunciation of British English for centuries. The definition of this accent is a matter of heated debate and frequent controversy: the arguments will not be rehearsed here, but the interested reader is recommended to look at Jones (1917 and subsequent) and Wells (2000). The most important aspects of this accent should, however, be made clear. a. The number of native speakers of this accent who originate in Ireland, Scotland and Wales is very small and probably diminishing, and it is therefore a misnomer to call it an accent of BRITISH English. It is an accent spoken by some English people. b. The great majority of native speakers of this accent are of middle-class or upper-class origin, educated at private schools and (if of appropriate age) university. This does not mean that the accent cannot be acquired by others: the present author (who attended a state school in the Midlands) originally spoke with an accent with noticeable regional features, but has over many years of teaching the phonetics of English acquired an accent not far from the standard one described here. c. The majority of speakers of this accent live in, or originate from, the south-east of England. d. The accent is most familiar as that used by most ‘official’ BBC speakers of English origin (newsreaders and announcers on Radio 4 and Radio 3, and most television channels). It is also frequently heard on the BBC World Service, though that service appears to have adopted the policy of sometimes using newsreaders and announcers with noticeable foreign accents. It is clear that this accent will eventually lose its pre-eminent status in broadcasting as a result of the wish to broaden the social base of broadcast speech, but it will take a long time for this to happen.
ppGpp-Dependent Negative Control of DNA Replication of Shiga Toxin-Converting Bacteriophages in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT The pathogenicity of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains depends on the production of Shiga toxins that are encoded on lambdoid prophages. Effective production of these toxins requires prophage induction and subsequent phage replication. Previous reports indicated that lytic development of Shiga toxin-converting bacteriophages is inhibited in amino acid-starved bacteria. However, those studies demonstrated that inhibition of both phage-derived plasmid replication and production of progeny virions occurred during the stringent as well as the relaxed response to amino acid starvation, i.e., in the presence as well as the absence of high levels of ppGpp, an alarmone of the stringent response. Therefore, we asked whether ppGpp influences DNA replication and lytic development of Shiga toxin-converting bacteriophages. Lytic development of 5 such bacteriophages was tested in an E. coli wild-type strain and an isogenic mutant that does not produce ppGpp (ppGpp0). In the absence of ppGpp, production of progeny phages was significantly (in the range of an order of magnitude) more efficient than in wild-type cells. Such effects were observed in infected bacteria as well as after prophage induction. All tested bacteriophages formed considerably larger plaques on lawns formed by ppGpp0 bacteria than on those formed by wild-type E. coli. The efficiency of synthesis of phage DNA and relative amount of lambdoid plasmid DNA were increased in cells devoid of ppGpp relative to bacteria containing a basal level of this nucleotide. We conclude that ppGpp negatively influences the lytic development of Shiga toxin-converting bacteriophages and that phage DNA replication efficiency is limited by the stringent control alarmone.
Assessment of cognitive biases and biostatistics knowledge of medical residents: a multicenter, cross-sectional questionnaire study

Purpose The aim of this study is to determine the perceived familiarity of medical residents with statistical concepts, assess their ability to integrate these concepts in clinical scenarios, and investigate their susceptibility to the gambler's fallacy and the conjunction fallacy. Methods A multi-institutional, cross-sectional survey of Greek medical residents was performed. Participants were asked to indicate their familiarity with basic statistical concepts and answer clinically oriented questions designed to assess their biostatistics knowledge and cognitive biases. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical models were used for the evaluation of data. Results Out of 153 respondents (76.5% response rate), only two participants (1.3%) were able to answer all seven biostatistics knowledge questions correctly while 29 residents (19%) gave incorrect answers to all questions. The proportion of correct answers to each biostatistics knowledge question ranged from 15 to 51.6%. Residents with greater self-reported familiarity were more likely to perform better on the respective knowledge question (all p<0.01). Multivariate analysis of the effect of individual resident characteristics on questionnaire performance showed that previous education outside Greece, primarily during medical school, was associated with lower biostatistics knowledge scores (p<0.001). A little more than half of the respondents (54.2%) answered the gambler's fallacy quiz correctly. Residents with higher performance on the biostatistics knowledge questions were less prone to the gambler's fallacy (odds ratio 1.38, 95% confidence intervals 1.12–1.70, p=0.003). Only 48 residents (31.4%) did not violate the conjunction rule. Conclusions A large number of medical residents are unable to correctly interpret crucial statistical concepts that are commonly found in the medical literature. They are also especially prone to the gambler's fallacy bias, which may undermine clinical judgment and medical decision making. Formalized systematic teaching of biostatistics during residency will be required to de-bias residents and ensure that they are proficient in understanding and communicating statistical information.
Forces of Gatekeeping and Journalists' Perceptions of Physical Danger in Post-Saddam Hussein's Iraq

Iraqi journalists operate in one of the deadliest newsgathering environments in the world. This study, based on a survey of 404 Iraqi journalists, examines the variables influencing journalists' perceptions of physical danger in covering news after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Gatekeeping theory provides a prism to identify and explicate different levels of influence. News organization size, financial support (state, partisan, or private), gender, journalism experience, journalists' perception of their impact on political affairs, journalists' outlook, and size of cities in which journalists operate are significant variables shaping journalists' perception of physical danger.
Within‐group social relationships among females and adult males in wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Within‐group female relationships, and relationships between females and adult males have not been described for wild western lowland gorillas. New data are presented here from Mbeli Bai in the Nouabalé‐Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo. Nine groups were observed over a continuous 2‐year period, and affiliative and agonistic interactions, as well as time spent by females and adult males in proximity to each other were recorded. Affiliative behavior was extremely rare in the bai, and measures of proximity between individuals were inconclusive because of the small sample sizes. Rates of agonistic interaction among females were highly variable between groups. The majority of agonistic interactions were undecided, and the supplant rate was low. Evidence for an agonistic dominance hierarchy is weak. The data do not support hypotheses that increased frugivory in western lowland gorillas raises levels of within‐group contest competition; however, the need for intersite comparisons is stressed. In contrast, rates of agonistic behavior between females and silverback males were higher and more consistent between groups. Agonistic relationships between males and females conformed with patterns seen in mountain gorillas, where male protection from intraspecific aggression is important. The benefit females gain by forming long‐term cooperative alliances appears to be small, and is likely outweighed by reproductive advantages associated with male protection. Am. J. Primatol. 64:233–246, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Infective endocarditis: review of 135 cases over 9 years.

One hundred thirty-five cases of infective endocarditis in adults at the University of Alberta Hospital from 1985 to 1993 were reviewed and the von Reyn and Duke criteria were compared. There were 80 cases of native valve endocarditis, 15 cases of endocarditis in intravenous drug users, 7 cases of early prosthetic valve endocarditis, and 33 cases of late prosthetic valve endocarditis. Valve replacement or repair was performed in 33% of all cases. The overall mortality was 19%. The mortality among patients treated surgically was significantly lower than that among those treated medically (9% vs. 24%, respectively; P = .037). However, when patients who were too medically unstable for surgery or who refused surgery were excluded, the mortality among the medically treated group decreased to 15%, which was not significantly different from that among the surgically treated group. The 33 patients transferred from other hospitals were infected with similar pathogens; however, the rate of surgical intervention among these patients was much higher than that among other patients (64% vs. 24%, respectively; P < .0001), and the mortality was slightly lower (12.1% vs. 21.6%, respectively; P = .31). The 54 surgical and autopsy-proven cases were classified by the von Reyn and the Duke criteria without knowledge of the operative and autopsy results: 15% of these cases were rejected by the von Reyn criteria, and none were rejected by the Duke criteria.
From hindsight to insight – retrospective analysis of language written by a renowned Alzheimer's patient

Abstract Among the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease is a gradual decline of language skills. Longitudinal studies are a useful way to study the development of linguistic abilities in the course of a person's lifetime; subjects producing sufficient language output to allow a study spanning decades are rare but can provide valuable information. In this study, we analysed lexical diversity in three books by Gerard Reve (1923–2006), an acclaimed Dutch literary author who wrote his last novel not long before diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The data show a clear-cut decline in lexical diversity, coinciding with a reported 'forgetfulness' starting halfway during the creative process of writing this last novel. The findings match those of Garrard et al. (2005) in their study of Iris Murdoch.
Proving integrality gaps without knowing the linear program

Proving integrality gaps for linear relaxations of NP optimization problems is a difficult task and usually undertaken on a case-by-case basis. We initiate a more systematic approach. We prove an integrality gap of 2-o(1) for three families of linear relaxations for vertex cover, and our methods seem relevant to other problems as well.
Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese Version of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire for Physical Activity (TSRQ - PA)

Aim : The aim of the present study was to analyze the reliability and factorial validity of the Portuguese Version of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire for physical activity (TSRQ-PA). Method: In this study, 148 healthy adults (Mean age = 44.70, 96.6% women) and 89 chronic fatigue patients (Mean age = 47.39, 97.8% women) filled out questionnaires related to behaviour regulation style (TSRQ – PA) and physical activity. Results : The confirmatory factor analysis adjustment indices of a two-factor structure (Autonomous Regulation scale and Controlled Regulation scale) of the TSRQ-PA were satisfactory and internal consistency estimates were acceptable for both factors. A higher degree of autonomous behaviour regulation was significantly associated with higher levels of physical activity. Conclusion : These findings provide support for the validity and reliability of the TSRQ – PA for measuring behaviour regulation style for engaging in physical activity, in different settings.
Feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in multifocal/multicentric breast cancer.

BACKGROUND Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy can replace axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in prediction of nodal status in node-negative breast cancer. However, patients presenting with multifocal/multicentric (MF/MC) breast cancer are usually excluded from studies of SLN biopsy. This study evaluated the efficacy of SLN biopsy in patients with MF/MC breast cancer. METHODS Breast cancer patients who underwent preoperative lymphoscintigraphy and SLN biopsy with backup ALND from 2004 to 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients enrolled in this study had clinically node-negative unifocal or MF/MC breast cancer based on final histology. Sentinel node biopsy was performed with a 2-day protocol with intradermal radiocolloid injection on day one and SLN biopsy on day two. Histopathologic parameters and the efficacy of the SLN biopsy were compared between unifocal and MF/MC breast cancers. RESULTS This study enrolled 158 breast cancer patients; one hundred and thirty-five patients were diagnosed with unifocal and 23 with MF/MC breast cancer. The mean numbers of SLNs retrieved were 1.3 for the unifocal and 1.1 for the MF/MC groups. The identification rate, sensitivity, accuracy, and false-negative rate for unifocal and MF/MC breast cancers were 94.8%, 92.6%, 98.4%, and 7.4%; and 100%, 100%, 100%, and 0%, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the two groups for SLN identification, sensitivity, accuracy, and false-negative rate. CONCLUSION Sentinel lymph node biopsy using intradermal radiocolloid injection method is feasible for MF/MC breast cancer.
Student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: the starting-points of geographers and scientists

Postgraduate student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by the entire cohort of geography (N = 21) and science (N = 40) students starting the University of Oxford Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary course. Responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of categories to capture features of sustainable development; (ii) scrutiny of individual responses for the presence or absence of key features (specifically environmental, economic and social factors); and (iii) in contrast to these grounded approaches, examination of the responses in light of a pre-specified framework. Notable findings were: (i) the large numbers recognizing the centrality of environmental (87%), economic (69%) and social (49%) factors—about a third highlighted all three factors (the geographers significantly more so than the scientists), while a further third mentioned two of them; (ii) when compared with the pre-specified framework, the aspects of sustainable development largely missing were to do with preservation of diversity, and with uncertainty and precaution in action; (iii) only one response contained an aesthetic element; and (iv) when comparing education for sustainable development with environmental education, the most frequent view identified the former as broader. The findings are related to contemporary literature in the field and some implications for PGCE learning are considered.
PREDICTING GROWTH AND FINDING BIOMASS PRODUCTION USING THE GENERAL GROWTH MECHANISM

First, we briefly describe the general growth mechanism, which governs the growth of living organisms, and its mathematical representation, the growth equation. Using the growth equation, we compute the growth curve for S. cerevisiae and show that it corresponds to available experimental data. Then, we propose a new method for finding the amount of synthesized biomass without complicated stoichiometric computations and apply this method to evaluation of biomass production by S. cerevisiae. We find that obtained results are very close to values obtained by methods of metabolic flux analysis. Since methods of metabolic flux analysis require finding produced biomass, which is one of the most important parameters affecting stoichiometric models, a priori knowledge of produced biomass can significantly improve methods of metabolic flux analysis in many aspects, which we also discuss. Besides, based on the general growth mechanism, we considered evolutionary development of S. cerevisiae and find that it is a more ancient organism than S. pombe and is apparently its direct predecessor.