Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infant antibiotic use and wheeze and asthma risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Our aim was to systematically review and meta-analyse longitudinal studies on antibiotic use and subsequent development of wheeze and/or asthma with regards to study quality, outcome measurement, reverse causation (RC; wheezing/asthma symptoms have caused prescription of antibiotics) and confounding by indication (CbI; respiratory tract infections leading to antibiotic use may be the underlying cause triggering asthma symptom development). English-language papers and studies published before November 1, 2010 with longitudinal observational design were included. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. We identified 21 longitudinal studies. The effect of antibiotic use on wheeze/asthma risk varied between studies. 18 studies were eligible for meta-analysis showing pooled OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.12–1.43) for wheeze/asthma. When we eliminated studies with possible RC and CbI, the pooled risk estimate in the nine remaining studies was attenuated to OR 1.12 (95% CI 0.98–1.26). Definition of wheeze/asthma and age at follow-up differed between studies. Three studies focused on wheeze/asthma beyond 5–6 yrs of age with the presence of active symptoms and/or medication (pooled OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.93–1.23; dominated by one study). RC and CbI lead to overestimation of the association between antibiotic use and subsequent development of wheeze/asthma. Association was weak when fully adjusted for these types of bias. Heterogeneity of disease definition between studies could affect the results.
Altered state of hypnosis: Changes in the theoretical landscape.

Presentations of theories of hypnosis in scholarly and introductory texts portray the field as dominated by two warring camps, variously referred to as state and nonstate or as special process and social psychological. Current issues and theories in the hypnosis literature are examined. In the process, we seek to dispel the myth that hypnosis theorists can be grouped into two camps. Although there is considerable controversy about the nature of hypnosis, no issues separate all so-called special process theorists from all social psychological theorists. Instead, virtually all substantive differences between theorists cut across this apparent distinction. Furthermore, the positions taken on many of the important issues dividing the field can no longer be portrayed as simple dichotomies, such as state versus nonstate or trait versus situation. Positions on these issues can more accurately be described as points on a continuum. We conclude by drawing attention to specific questions and issues that remain unresolved.
Production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger using cane molasses in a stirred fermentor

The present investigation deals with the kinetics of submerged citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger using blackstrap molasses as the basal fermentation media. A laboratory scale stirred fermentor of 15-L capacity having working volume of 9-L was used for cultivation process and nutritional analysis. Among the 10 stock cultures of Aspergillus niger , the strain GCBT7 was found to enhance citric acid production. This strain was subjected to parametric studies. Major effects were caused due to oxygen tension (1.0 l/l/min), pH value (6.0) and incubation temperature (30oC). All fermentations were carried out following the growth on 150 g/l raw molasses sugars for 144 hours. Ferrocyanide (200 ppm) was used to control the trace metals present in the molasses medium. Ammonium nitrate (0.2%) was added as nitrogen source. Maximum citric acid production (99.56 ± 3.5a g/l) was achieved by Aspergillus niger GCBT7. The dry cell mass and sugar consumption were 18.5 and 96.55 g/l, respectively. The mycelia were intermediate round pellets in their morphology. The specific productivity of GCBT7 (qp = 0.074 ± 0.02a g/g cells/h) was several folds higher than other strains. The specific production rate and growth coefficient revealed the hyperproducibility of citric acid using mutant GCBT7.
Thalidomide maintenance treatment increases progression-free but not overall survival in elderly patients with myeloma

Background Thalidomide maintenance therapy after stem cell transplantation resulted in increased progression-free survival and overall survival in a few trials, but its role in non-transplant eligible patients with multiple myeloma remains unclear. This study assessed the impact of thalidomide-interferon in comparison to interferon maintenance therapy in elderly patients with multiple myeloma. Design and Methods Of 289 elderly patients with multiple myeloma who were randomized to thalidomide-dexamethasone or melphalan-prednisolone induction therapy, 137 finally completed 9 cycles of induction therapy with stable disease or better and thereby qualified for maintenance treatment. Of these, 128 have been randomized to either thalidomide-interferon or interferon alone. Primary study endpoints were progression-free survival and response rates; secondary endpoints were overall survival, toxicity and quality of life. Results Thalidomide-interferon maintenance therapy led to a significantly longer progression-free survival compared to interferon (27.7 vs. 13.2 months, P=0.0068), but overall survival was similar in both groups (52.6 vs. 51.4 months, P=0.81) and did not differ between patients aged 75 years or older, or younger patients (P=0.39). Survival after disease progression tended to be shorter in patients on thalidomide-interferon maintenance therapy (P=0.056). Progression-free survival and overall survival tended to be shorter in patients with adverse cytogenetic (FISH) findings compared to the standard risk group but differences were not significant (P=0.084 and P=0.082, respectively). Patients on thalidomide-interferon presented with more neuropathy (P=0.0015), constipation (P=0.0004), skin toxicity (P=0.0041) and elevated creatinine (P=0.026). Conclusions Thalidomide plus interferon maintenance therapy increased progression-free survival but not overall survival and was associated with slightly more toxicity than maintenance with interferon alone. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00205751).
Perils in the meticulous specification of goals and assessment criteria

The implementation of assessment policies can sometimes achieve almost the reverse of what was originally intended. Studies published in a special issue of Assessment in Education provide the basis for this bird’s eye view of particular practices in post‐compulsory education and training in the UK. Problems identified include the trend towards extremely fine‐grained approaches to measuring achievement, and a strong social drive to help learners, some with personal histories of spectacular ‘unsuccess’, to obtain a qualification. The assessment practices focus on methods of getting students through – often at the expense of what it really means to learn. The present situation is unlikely to be turned around unless there is clear articulation of appropriate conceptual foundations for both pedagogy and assessment, followed by practices that are consistent with them. Examination boards could play a critical leadership role in bringing this reform about.
The Internet and the Democratization of Civic Culture

The starting point for my reflections here is a schematic distinction within a democracy between the formal political system, with its institutional structures, laws, parties, elections, etc., and a complex, multidimensional civic culture, anchored in everyday life and its horizons. Civic culture both reflects and makes possible this democratic system, while at the same time it is dependent upon the system for its institutional guarantees and parameters. In Habermasian terms, this notion of civic culture can thus be seen as an important region of the life-world, with its negotiation of norms and values. As such, it is certainly vulnerable to colonization from the system of politics and, yet can potentially also impact on the norms and values that guide those spheres. The political system (but to a lesser degree the economic system) and a civic culture are in principle mutually dependent; both evolve in relation to each other. A civic culture is thus both strong and vulnerable: it generates the normative and cultural resources required for a functioning democracy, yet it sits precariously in the face of political and economic power. It can be shaped by citizens, but can also shape them, since various ‘technologies of citizenship’, as Cruishank (1999) calls them, such as government and education – and I would add the media – can serve to empower or disempower citizens via the civic culture.
Rapid and Reversible Recruitment of Early Visual Cortex for Touch

Background The loss of vision has been associated with enhanced performance in non-visual tasks such as tactile discrimination and sound localization. Current evidence suggests that these functional gains are linked to the recruitment of the occipital visual cortex for non-visual processing, but the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these crossmodal changes remain uncertain. One possible explanation is that visual deprivation is associated with an unmasking of non-visual input into visual cortex. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the effect of sudden, complete and prolonged visual deprivation (five days) in normally sighted adult individuals while they were immersed in an intensive tactile training program. Following the five-day period, blindfolded subjects performed better on a Braille character discrimination task. In the blindfold group, serial fMRI scans revealed an increase in BOLD signal within the occipital cortex in response to tactile stimulation after five days of complete visual deprivation. This increase in signal was no longer present 24 hours after blindfold removal. Finally, reversible disruption of occipital cortex function on the fifth day (by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; rTMS) impaired Braille character recognition ability in the blindfold group but not in non-blindfolded controls. This disruptive effect was no longer evident once the blindfold had been removed for 24 hours. Conclusions/Significance Overall, our findings suggest that sudden and complete visual deprivation in normally sighted individuals can lead to profound, but rapidly reversible, neuroplastic changes by which the occipital cortex becomes engaged in processing of non-visual information. The speed and dynamic nature of the observed changes suggests that normally inhibited or masked functions in the sighted are revealed by visual loss. The unmasking of pre-existing connections and shifts in connectivity represent rapid, early plastic changes, which presumably can lead, if sustained and reinforced, to slower developing, but more permanent structural changes, such as the establishment of new neural connections in the blind.
A NEW MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE MOBILE PHASE COMPOSITION IN HPTLC AND THE COMPARISON WITH OTHER MODELS

Mobile phase optimization is highly important in planar chromatography. Solvent selection based on experience and chromatographic intuition can be very time consuming when applied to complex mixtures. In these cases, more systematic strategies are needed. This paper presents a new mathematical model for the optimization of the mobile phase composition used for the separation of a mixture of 1,4-benzodiazepines and a comparison of this mathematical approach with other models.
Sociometry as a method for investigating peer relationships: what does it actually measure?

In sociometric research tradition, popularity is defined as the degree to which children are liked or accepted by their peers. However, research indicates that two definitions of popular students should be distinguished: (1) popular students as those students who are well liked by many and disliked by few peers, and (2) popular students as those students who are described as popular by their peers. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity in Slovenian students of different grades of elementary and secondary school. Additionally, the age differences in the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity were examined. Another purpose of the study was to investigate the differential relationships between concepts of popularity and some students' characteristics. The participants were 321 boys and 329 girls who ranged from the 5th grade of elementary school (the mean age 11.04 years) to the 3rd grade of secondary school (the mean age 17.02 years). The results of this study confirm previous findings that peer perceived popularity is a construct that is distinct from sociometric popularity. There are some substantial differences in relations between indices of perceived popularity and sociometric indices between elementary school students and secondary school students—i.e. between early adolescents and middle to late adolescents. It seems that perceived popularity and sociometric popularity are rather similar constructs in elementary school students, whereas in secondary school students they become almost unrelated to each other. Based on these findings, the terminological issues are discussed and some conclusions are made.
Control of Functional Connectivity in Cerebral Cortex by Basal Ganglia Mediated Synchronization

Since the earliest electroencephalography experiments, large scale oscillations have been observed in the mammalian brain. More recently, they have been identified not only in the cerebral cortex and thalamus, but pervasively in the healthy basal ganglia. The basal ganglia mediated synchronization model, introduced here, implicates these oscillations in the combination of cortical association mechanisms with stimulus-response and reinforcement mechanisms in the basal ganglia. In the core mechanism of the model, oscillatory patterns in cortex are selected by and routed through the basal ganglia to the thalamus phase-coherently, then circulated back to widely separated areas of cortex, synchronizing those areas and functionally connecting them. Corticostriatal and striatonigral conduction delays are crucial to this mechanism, and evidence suggests that these delays are unusually long, and unusually varied, in arrangements that might facilitate learning of useful time alignments and associated resonant frequencies. Other structural arrangements in the basal ganglia show further specialization for this role, with convergence in the inputs from cortex, and divergence in many of the return paths to cortex, that systematically reflect corticocortical anatomical connectivity. The basal ganglia also target the dopaminergic, cholinergic, and serotonergic centers of the brainstem and basal forebrain, and the reticular nucleus of the thalamus, structures broadly implicated in the modulation of oscillatory network activity and expressions of plasticity. By learning to coordinate these various output channels, the basal ganglia are positioned to facilitate and synchronize activity in selected areas of cortex, broadly impart selective receptivity, attenuate and disconnect interfering activity, and recurrently process the resulting patterns of activity, channeling cognition and promoting goal [. ]
The melting curve and premelting of MgO

The melting curve for MgO was obtained using molecular dynamics and a non-empirical, many-body potential. We also studied premelting effects by computing the dynamical structure factor in the crystal on approach to melting. The melting curve simulations were performed with periodic boundary conditions with cells up to 512 atoms using the ab-initio Variational Induced Breathing (VIB) model. The melting curve was obtained by computing ΔH m and ΔV m and integrating the Clapeyron equation so that we avoid all problems with nucleation and hysteresis of melting and crystallization. System size dependencies were also carefully checked and accuracy of our melting curve is not limited by small periodic cell sizes. Our ΔH m is in agreement with previous estimates and we obtain a reasonable ΔV m , but our melting slope dT/dP (114 K/GPa) is three times greater than the experimental determination of Zerr and Boehler (35 K/GPa), suggesting a problem with the experimental melting curve or an indication of exotic, non-ionic behavior of MgO liquid. We computed s(q, ω) from simulations of 1000 atom clusters using the Potential Induced Breathing (PIB) model. A low frequency peak in the dynamical structure factor s(q,ω) arises below the melting point which are related to the onset of bulk diffusion below the melting point. Diffusion rapidly increases to near liquid values below the melting point with a large activation energy, with a mechanism of many-atom exchanges and dynamical defect clusters. This destabilizes the crystalline state and leads to the melting transition.
Social Change, Premarital Nonfamily Experiences, and Marital Dynamics

We investigate the effects of nonfamily experiences on marital relationships in a setting characterized by high levels of arranged marriage until recently. Drawing on theoretical frameworks for the study of families and social change, we argue that the expansion of opportunities for nonfamily experiences will increase the likelihood of marital relationships based on an emotional bond between husbands and wives. Using data from 3,724 individuals in rural Nepal, we find consistent effects of educational experiences across multiple dimensions of marriage. These effects point toward the spread of education as a stimulus to marriages characterized by higher levels of love and discussions between spouses, and lower levels of conflict and spouse abuse. Results suggest that studies of marital dynamics in non-Western settings provide a fruitful avenue for new research on marriage.
Argument structure in Specific Language Impairment : from theory to therapy

This thesis is in two parts: the first focuses on theories of SLI and the development of argument structure while the second focuses on intervention. Chapter 1 reviews experimental findings and theories of SLI and finds that while some areas of language are well-researched, others (including argument structure) have received relatively little attention. Chapter 2 reviews the literature regarding the development of argument structure and concludes that studies of typical development have not investigated use of alternations and omissions of obligatory arguments, whereas studies of SLI have little focus on alternations or overgeneralisations. Chapters 4 and 5 therefore consider the performance of typically developing children and children with SLI on all these areas. I find typically developing children differ from adults in their use of the causative alternation and overgeneralisation of the locative alternation. The children with SLI have difficulties with argument structure, avoiding the ditransitive form of the dative alternation and making more errors with change of state verbs and omission of arguments. A secondary focus (Chapter 6) is on the influence of phonological complexity and length (measured by a non-word repetition test) on the language abilities of children with SLI. The results show a bimodal split where half the children with SLI show normal abilities and half have significant difficulties. Chapter 7 discusses the implications of the experimental findings for theories of SLI. Part 2 reviews intervention studies for SLI (Chapter 8) and presents an intervention study focusing on argument structure (Chapter 9). 27 secondary-aged children with SLI are randomly assigned to three groups, one control and two target therapies focusing on semantics vs constructions. Both target groups show significant progress. Thus, this thesis shows that detailed investigations of the nature of the deficit in SLI can lead to successful interventions even for children with severe, persistent difficulties.
Plasma-Assisted Combustion of Gaseous Fuel in Supersonic Duct

The field of plasma-induced ignition and plasma-assisted combustion in high-speed flow is under consideration. Nonequilibrium, unsteady, and nonuniform modes are analyzed as the most promising in reducing a required extra power. Numerical simulations of uniform, nonequilibrium, continuous, and pulse discharge effect on the premixed hydrogen and ethylene-air mixtures in supersonic flow demonstrate an advantage of such a technique over heating. At the same time, the energetic price occurs rather large to be scheme practical. A reduction of the required power deposition and mixing intensification in nonpremixed flow could be achieved by nonuniform electrical discharges. Experimental results on multielectrode discharge maintenance behind wallstep and in the cavity of supersonic flow are presented. The model test on hydrogen and ethylene ignition is demonstrated at direct fuel injection
Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents: The Joint Task of Revisiting the Adoption History

Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thirty-four couples consisting of one adopted and one non-adopted partner, now parents, were interviewed and a graphic instrument, the Double Moon Test, was administered. Results revealed that most couples showed a shared attitude in valorizing both the origin background and the adoptive family. However, in a number of cases a divergent position emerged, highlighting the crucial role of the non-adopted partner in encouraging the adoptee to revisit his/her adoption history. Overall, the practical relevance of the research findings is discussed and future direction of research are suggested.
Extending the Black Hole Uniqueness Theorems II. Superstring Black Holes

We make use of an internal symmetry of a truncation of the bosonic sector of the superstring and N = 4 supergravity theories to write down an analogue of Robinson’s identity for the black holes of this theory. This allows us to prove the uniqueness of a restricted class of black hole solutions. In particular, we can apply the methods of the preceding paper to prove the uniqueness of a class of accelerating black holes (the Stringy Ernst solution and Stringy C-metric) which incorporate the possibility of the black hole accelerating within an electromagnetic flux tube. These solutions and their associated uniqueness may be useful in future instanton
Forecasting Malaysian exchange rate using machine learning techniques based on commodities prices

This article investigates the dynamic interactions between four commodities prices and the exchange rate for an emerging economy, Malaysia. The literature has identified a series of contradictory claims in the support and against the accurate prediction of the exchange rate. This article provides a new methodology to perform a comparative analysis of the three machine learning techniques, namely: Support Vector Machine, Neural Networks, and RandomForest. The experimental results demonstrate that the RandomForest is comparatively better than Support Vector Machine and Neural Networks, for accuracy and performance. This shows that the fluctuation in the Malaysian exchange rate can be evaluated accurately using RandomForest as compare to other techniques. Furthermore, this paper reveals that Malaysian specific commodities prices-crude oil, palm oil, rubber, and gold, are the strong dynamic parameters that influence Malaysian exchange rate. Hence, these results are beneficial for policy making, investment modeling, and corporate planning.