Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Which aspects of university life are most and least helpful in the transition to HE? A qualitative snapshot of student perceptions

Student Transition Project, University of Derby, Derby, UK Whilst there is a significant consensus, in the literature, that student transition to HE plays a major role in future academic performance and success, there is, as yet, no broad agreement as to how best to support students during this process. Theoretical accounts of transition offer some direction to educators but acting on these accounts may be problematic, as many students do not understand the process they are experiencing or the needs of their new environment. Without this understanding, well-developed interventions may fail to gain student engagement at that time. A better understanding of which aspects of university life do seem most relevant to students, during transition, may help universities to better target their support. This qualitative study requested two cohorts of students to respond to two open statements, seeking to identify which aspects of their experience they found most and least helpful. In this way it was hoped to gain some insight into which aspects of university life were most dominant in their thinking. To identify key themes, among which were (1) social support, (2) psychological mind-set and lifestyle, and (3) university actions, 498 responses were received, coded and analysed. Academic concerns did not appear to be a significant theme. The findings of this study suggest that transition support may gain better student engagement if it is initially focused on social integration and student wellbeing and lifestyle. Universities may also wish to pay more attention to the impact of administrative processes failing to meet student needs in the transition period.
Patients and professionals as research partners: challenges, practicalities, and benefits.

Patient or consumer involvement in research is widely recommended, but although guidelines for researchers and patients have been produced, few practical experiences have been published and involvement remains fragile. This article reports the combined experiences of researchers and patients who are collaborating in rheumatology research, and the working model that has evolved. The article provides one example of a practical model for collaboration based on experience.
Remarks on interacting Neimark–Sacker bifurcations

We study codimension-2 bifurcations of fixed points of dissipative diffeomorphisms with a pair of complex eigenvalues together with either an eigenvalue − 1 or another such a pair. In the previous studies only cubic normal forms were considered. However, in some cases the unfolding requires higher-order terms and these are investigated here. We (re)derive the normal forms and reduce them to a single amplitude map. This map is similar to the amplitude system for the double-Hopf bifurcation of vector fields. We show how the critical normal form coefficients determine the general bifurcation picture for this amplitude map. Representative nonsymmetric perturbations of the normal forms are studied numerically. Our case studies show a detailed picture near various bifurcation curves, which is richer than known theoretical predictions. For arbitrary maps with these bifurcations we give explicit formulas for critical normal form coefficients on center manifolds. We apply them to an example from robotics where we are able to demonstrate the existence of a bubble-structure, which was only observed in perturbed normal forms before.
Therapieresistente Depressionen

Hochdosierung von Antidepressiva Bei Vorliegen einer Therapieresistenz ist der erste Schritt im Behandlungsregime die Optimierung der Dosierung und Behandlungsdauer des aktuell eingenommenen Antidepressivums. Aufgrund der erheblichen interindividuellen Variabilität bezüglich pharmakokinetischer und -dynamischer Prozesse und einer eher selten vorhandenen engen Dosis-Wirkungsbeziehung ist für den Patienten die notwendige Dosierung individuell zu definieren. Wenn trotz zuverlässiger Einnahme der Antidepressiva die Plasmaspiegel unterhalb des therapeutischen Bereichs liegen bzw. wenn bei Antidepressiva weder eine Therapieresponse noch unerwünschte Wirkungen zu beobachten sind, kann eine Hochdosisbehandlung in Erwägung gezogen werden. Hochdosisbehandlung bedeutet dabei eine Dosierung an der oberen Grenze oder oberhalb des empfohlenen Dosierungsbereichs. In einer Übersichtsarbeit von Adli et al. [4] finden sich 11 Studien, welche die Wirksamkeit einer Hochdosisbehandlung bei therapieresistenten Depressionen untersuchten. Von den 11 Studien waren 7 doppelblinde, randomisierte, kontrollierte Studien und 4 kleinere offene Studien. Zu den Trizyklika (TCA) lag keine Studie vor, jedoch fanden sich u.a. 5 Studien zu Fluoxetin, 2 zu Sertralin und 1 zu Paroxetin. Auf der Basis der zur Verfügung stehenden Studien lässt sich die Wirksamkeit einer Antidepressivahochdosisbehandlung nicht eindeutig beantworten. Für Triund Tetrazyklika finden sich keine Studien zur Wirksamkeit der Hochdosisbehandlung, für selektive Serotonin-Wiederaufnahmehemmer (SSRI) scheint die Hochdosisbehandlung eine sinnvolle Strategie zu sein. Für Monoaminoxidase-Hemmer (MAO-Hemmer) lassen sich in einer äußerst dünnen Datenlage Hinweise für eine mögliche Effektivität sehr hoher Dosen Tranycypromin finden. Für Venlafaxin ist die Datenlage ebenfalls eher spärlich, 2 vor Kurzem publizierte Studien [5, 6] belegen jedoch den klinischen Eindruck und weisen auf eine mögliche positive Dosiswirkungsbeziehung hin.
Measuring M Dwarf Winds with DAZ White Dwarfs

Hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs with metal lines, so-called DAZs, show evidence for ongoing accretion of material onto their surfaces. Some DAZs are known to have unresolved M dwarf companions, which could account for the observed accretion through a stellar wind. I combine observed Ca abundances of the DAZs with information on the orbital separation of their M dwarf companions to infer the mass-loss rate of the M dwarfs. I find that for three of the six known DAZs with M dwarf companions, a stellar wind can plausibly explain the observed accretion on the white dwarfs assuming Bondi-Hoyle accretion of solar abundance stellar winds on the order of 10-14 to 10-16 M☉ yr-1. The rest of the sample have companions with orbits ≳1 AU and require companion mass-loss rates of >10-11 M☉ yr-1. I conclude that there must be an alternative explanation for accretion of material onto DAZs with widely separated companions. The inferred winds for two of the close binaries are orders of magnitude smaller than typically assumed for the angular momentum loss of red dwarf-white dwarf pairs due to magnetic braking from a stellar wind and may seriously affect predictions for the formation rate of CVs with low-mass companions.
Comprehensive Analysis of Cytomegalovirus pp65 Antigen-Specific CD8+ T Cell Responses According to Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Allotypes and Intraindividual Dominance

To define whether individual human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I allotypes are used preferentially in human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, CD8+ T cell responses restricted by up to six HLA class I allotypes in an individual were measured in parallel using K562-based artificial antigen-presenting cells expressing both CMV pp65 antigen and one of 32 HLA class I allotypes (7 HLA-A, 14 HLA-B, and 11 HLA-C) present in 50 healthy Korean donors. The CD8+ T cell responses to pp65 in the HLA-C allotypes were lower than responses to those in HLA-A and -B allotypes and there was no difference between the HLA-A and HLA-B loci. HLA-A*02:01, -B*07:02, and -C*08:01 showed the highest magnitude and frequency of immune responses to pp65 at each HLA class I locus. However, HLA-A*02:07, -B*59:01, -B*58:01, -B*15:11, -C*03:02, and -C*02:02 did not show any immune responses. Although each individual has up to six different HLA allotypes, 46% of the donors showed one allotype, 24% showed two allotypes, and 2% showed three allotypes that responded to pp65. Interestingly, the frequencies of HLA-A alleles were significantly correlated with the positivity of specific allotypes. Our results demonstrate that specific HLA class I allotypes are preferentially used in the CD8+ T cell immune response to pp65 and that a hierarchy among HLA class I allotypes is present in an individual.
Ensembles of case‐based reasoning classifiers in high‐dimensional biological domains

In order to extend the capabilities of case‐based reasoning (CBR), we implemented an ensemble for case‐based reasoning (E4CBR) approach where an ensemble of CBR classifiers is combined with clustering and feature selection. We first select a subset of features of all the cases, and then cluster the cases into disjoint groups, where each group of cases forms the case‐base of one of the member classifiers. Finally, in each case‐base, a subset of features is ‘locally’ selected individually. To predict the label of an unseen case, each classifier in the ensemble provides a prediction, and the aggregation component of E4CBR combines the predictions by weighing each classifier using a CBR approach—a classifier with more cases similar to the test case receives a higher weight.We evaluated E4CBR on four publicly available biological data sets, and also compared the classification error of E4CBR with a single CBR classifier. In our experiments, we use TA3—a computational framework for CBR systems. Our results show that E4CBR reduces the classification error of our CBR classifier. On the basis of empirical results, our aggregation method outperforms the existing CBR aggregation methods. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2011 1 164‐171 DOI: 10.1002/widm.22
Massive lossless data compression and multiple parameter estimation from galaxy spectra

We present a method for radical linear compression of data sets where the data are dependent on some number M of parameters. We show that, if the noise in the data is independent of the parameters, we can form M linear combinations of the data which contain as much information about all the parameters as the entire data set, in the sense that the Fisher information matrices are identical; i.e. the method is lossless. We explore how these compressed numbers fare when the noise is dependent on the parameters, and show that the method, though not precisely lossless, increases errors by a very modest factor. The method is general, but we illustrate it with a problem for which it is well-suited: galaxy spectra, the data for which typically consist of similar to 10(3) fluxes, and the properties of which are set by a handful of parameters such as age, and a parametrized star formation history. The spectra are reduced to a small number of data, which are connected to the physical processes entering the problem. This data compression offers the possibility of a large increase in the speed of determining physical parameters. This is an important consideration as data sets of galaxy spectra reach 10(6) in size, and the complexity of model spectra increases. In addition to this practical advantage, the compressed data may offer a classification scheme for galaxy spectra which is based rather directly on physical processes.
Structure of coronavirus hemagglutinin-esterase offers insight into corona and influenza virus evolution

The hemagglutinin-esterases (HEs) are a family of viral envelope glycoproteins that mediate reversible attachment to O-acetylated sialic acids by acting both as lectins and as receptor-destroying enzymes (RDEs). Related HEs occur in influenza C, toro-, and coronaviruses, apparently as a result of relatively recent lateral gene transfer events. Here, we report the crystal structure of a coronavirus (CoV) HE in complex with its receptor. We show that CoV HE arose from an influenza C-like HE fusion protein (HEF). In the process, HE was transformed from a trimer into a dimer, whereas remnants of the fusion domain were adapted to establish novel monomer–monomer contacts. Whereas the structural design of the RDE-acetylesterase domain remained unaltered, the HE receptor-binding domain underwent remodeling to such extent that the ligand is now bound in opposite orientation. This is surprising, because the architecture of the HEF site was preserved in influenza A HA over a much larger evolutionary distance, a switch in receptor specificity and extensive antigenic variation notwithstanding. Apparently, HA and HEF are under more stringent selective constraints than HE, limiting their exploration of alternative binding-site topologies. We attribute the plasticity of the CoV HE receptor-binding site to evolutionary flexibility conferred by functional redundancy between HE and its companion spike protein S. Our findings offer unique insights into the structural and functional consequences of independent protein evolution after interviral gene exchange and open potential avenues to broad-spectrum antiviral drug design.
Videogame distraction using virtual reality technology for children experiencing cold pressor pain: the role of cognitive processing.

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether increasing the demand for central cognitive processing involved in a distraction task, by involving the child in ongoing, effortful interaction with the distraction stimulus, would increase children's tolerance for cold pressor pain. METHODS Seventy-nine children ages 6-15 years underwent a baseline cold pressor trial followed by two cold pressor trials in which they received interactive distraction (i.e., used voice commands to play a videogame) or passive distraction (in which they merely watched the output from the same videogame segment) in counterbalanced order. Both distraction conditions were presented via a virtual reality-type helmet. RESULTS As expected, children demonstrated significant improvement in pain tolerance during distraction relative to baseline. Children showed the greatest improvement during the interactive distraction task. CONCLUSION The effects of distraction on children's cold pressor pain tolerance are significantly enhanced when the distraction task also includes greater demands for central cognitive processing.
The Effect of Reminiscence Therapy on Depression, Quality of Life, Ego-Integrity, Social Behavior Function, and Activies of Daily Living in Elderly Patients With Mild Dementia

This study investigated the effects of reminiscence therapy work on depression, quality of life, ego-integrity, social behavior function, and activities of daily living. This study was a quasiexperimental study using a single-group pretest/posttest design. This therapy consists of eight sessions of 2.5 hours with a specific theme. A total of 19 patients with mild dementia who registered at a mental health center in community-dwelling participated in this study. Hypotheses were supported by quality of life, ego-integrity, and social behavior function. But depression and activities of daily living were not supported. Although all the hypotheses were not supported, a reminiscence therapy was beneficial. Patients with mild dementia can talk to each other naturally without feeling a psychological burden, and they are provided the opportunity to look back on their life.
Second Language Writers' Strategy Use and Performance on an Integrated Reading-Listening-Writing Task.

Integrated writing tasks that involve different language modalities such as reading and listening have increasingly been used as means to assess academic writing. Thus, there is a need for understanding how test-takers coordinate different skills to complete these tasks. This study explored second language writers’ strategy use and its relationship to test performance on an integrated reading-listening-writing test task using a structural equation modeling approach. The results reveal that integrated writing strategy use was a multifaceted construct consisting of three factors: self-regulatory strategy use (SELFS), discourse synthesis strategy use (DSS), and “test-wiseness” strategy use (TWS). SELFS had an executive control over other types of strategy use. DSS had a direct, positive impact on test performance, and TWS had a direct, negative impact on test performance. The study suggests that the task requires not only comprehension and production abilities, but also regulation skills for managing reading, listening, and writing interactions. The findings provide insight into the nature of integrated reading-listening-writing tasks and contribute to validity arguments for the test. The study has implications for second language academic writing assessment, learning, and instruction.
Disordered Eating and Weight Control among Adolescent Female Athletes and Performance Squad Members

Female adolescents and individuals participating in activities that emphasize body shape and control have been identified as risk groups for eating disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether certain groups of adolescentfemales are more vulnerable to disordered eating patterns or usage of pathogenic weight control techniques (e.g., diuretics, diet pills, fasting, laxatives, induced vomiting). Questionnaire responses were obtainedfrom 650 high schoolfemales-302 athletes (basketball, track andfield/crosscountry, volleyball, tennis, and softball), 89 performance squad members (e.g., cheerleaders, pom-pom teams, majorettes), and 259 students not engaged in these activities. Although sport and performance squads emphasized body shape and control, involvement in these organized physical activity contexts did not differentiate adolescents most at risk. However, I of every 5 students in the total sample had responses reflective of disturbed eating patterns, and 5% through 7% reported daily use of pathogenic weight control techniques.
Prospective studies on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in epstein‐barr virus IgA/VCA antibody‐positne persons in Wuzhou city, china

A serological mass survey was carried out in Wuzhou City in 1980, 1,136 IgA/VCA‐positive persons being followed up for 4 years. Altogether 35 NPC cases were detected, of which 15 (43%) were in stage I and 17 (48.5%) in stage II, early cases (I + II) thus amounting to 91.5%. The detection rate of early cases was 2.9 times higher than in our outpatient clinic. IgA/VCA antibody could be detected 16–41 months prior to clinical diagnosis of NPC. We conclude that, if IgA/VCA‐positive individuals are examined routinely once a year, NPC can be detected in the early stages of evolution. The annual detection rate of NPC in IgA/VCA antibody‐positive individuals was 31.7 times higher than that of the annual incidence of NPC in the general population in the same age group, while during the 4‐year follow‐up period the incidence was 7.5 times higher than in the general population for the same age group. These results further indicate that EB virus plays an important role in the development of NPC, and that serological screening and follow‐up studies are valuable for the early detection of NPC.
MDR1 Polymorphisms and Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome in Slovak Children: Preliminary Results

Background The role of the multidrug resistance-1 (MDR1 or ABCB1) gene polymorphisms 1236T>C, 2677T>G, and 3435T>C was studied in relation to susceptibility, demographics, and pathological characteristics, as well as their role in the therapeutic response (TR) to prednisone treatment in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). Material/Methods The polymorphisms were analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method in 46 children with INS and in 100 healthy controls. Different genetic models (codominant, dominant, recessive, and overdominant) were used for testing of associations between polymorphisms and phenotypes. Results Statistical analysis showed a significantly increased chance of TR in children carrying 3435TC genotype (OR=5.13, 95% CI=1.18–22.25; overdominant model). Moreover, INS patients under 6 years of age had significantly decreased frequencies of MDR1 1236CC (7.7% vs. 35%, p=0.029) or 2677GG (3.8% vs. 30.0%, p=0.033) genotypes. We also observed that patients with minimal change in disease and patients under 6 years of age at the onset of INS were initial responders more frequently when compared with children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and patients ≥6 years old at the onset (p=0.0001, p=0.027, respectively). Conclusions These data suggest that prednisone TR may be influenced by histology, age at the onset of INS, and MDR1 3435T>C polymorphism. The MDR1 1236T>C and 2677T>G polymorphisms were significantly associated with age at onset. Larger multicenter studies and studies across other ethnic groups are needed to elucidate the contradictory implications of MDR1 polymorphisms with INS in children.
Retrieving land surface temperature from Landsat TM using different atmospheric products as ancillary data

Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the most important variables associated with the main land surface processes. Previous researches demonstrated the atmospheric heterogeneity at regional scale and advocated that it is vital to get atmospheric parameters properly to retrieve LST precisely by using satellite remote sensing, especially for sensors provided with one thermal infrared channel (e.g. Landsat TM/ETM+). In this paper, MODIS standard atmospheric products (MOD 05 and MOD 07) were selected primarily due to its proximate passing over time to Landsat TM and its relatively high spatial resolution, compared with other ones. Different types of the total atmospheric water vapour (AWV) content were extracted from MOD 05 and MOD 07. At the same time, an interpolating procedure was proposed to estimate the land surface air temperature from MOD 07 air temperature profile. Then these parameters' performances were test in improving the accuracy of LST retrieved from the TM thermal band by means of the single-channel algorithm and the mono-window algorithm respectively, followed by discussions on LST validation processes. The validation results suggest that different atmospheric products and the interpolated parameters are useful for obtaining LST accurately from the single thermal band when local soundings are not available. In particular, the AWV content estimated from the near infrared (NIR) data, stored in MOD 05 provided relatively more accurate LST results when it was input into the single-channel algorithm with the root mean square error (RMSE) is about 1.3K. However, it is not within the scope of this study to find a superior retrieval method. At last, several issues related to the MODIS standard atmospheric products were suggested to be resolved, to enable more scientific and practical uses of this kind of products for atmospheric correction.
Multi Spatio-Temporal Co-occurrence Measures for Human Action Classification

This paper deals with human action classification by utilizing spatio-temporal (ST) co-occurrences between labels of video-words that are stored within ST correlograms. Mutual information based clustering method is employed to reduce the size of the vocabulary created from local descriptors. Multiple characterizations for human actions in videos are extracted from the correlograms that are used for human action classification. These include a highly discriminative co-occurrence vector and a Haralick texture vector. The proposed method is implemented using a SVM classification technique. For evaluation purposes, the KTH and UCF Sports action recognition datasets, are used as they are the most well known and challenging datasets. The proposed method succeed in classifying different action classes, and improves the classification rate obtained by standard bag-of-video-words approach.