Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An epidemiologic study of oral clefts in Iran: analysis of 1,669 cases.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiology and some genetic aspects of oral clefting in Iran. DESIGN The study was a 15-year cross-sectional (prevalence) study from August 1976 to September 1991. SETTING The setting for the study was two plastic surgery departments, both mostly referral centers, and a maternity hospital in Iran. PARTICIPANTS The participants were 1,669 consecutive surgical cases with oral clefts (79% between 1 day and 18 months of age), registered in two centers. In a parallel study, 19,369 livebirths born in a maternity hospital within the same period were surveyed to ascertain prevalence of clefting at birth. Normal children of this population were used as the control group. Samples were analyzed by prevalence of clefting at birth, type of oral cleft, side of clefting, sex ratio, associated malformations, clefts in relatives, and parental consanguinity. RESULTS The prevalence of clefts was 1.03 per 1,000 births. Cleft lip (without cleft palate) had a higher (34.9%) and cleft palate alone had a significantly lower prevalence (17.4%) than expected. Cleft lip (without cleft palate) was more common in females (53.6%) than in males (46.4%). The rate of associated malformations in cleft patients (7.73%) was higher than in controls (0.093%). Association between clefting and consanguinity was significant (45.8% in cases versus 43.1% in controls). Occurrence of noncleft congenital malformations among first-degree relatives of our cases (2.77%) was nearly two times that of controls (1.55%). CONCLUSION Our study reveals that the population incidence of oral clefts in Iran is much closer to European than Arab-African or South East Asian countries. However, significant variations in other epidemiologic and some genetic features were observed.
An Empirical Study of Reading Habits and Interests of Saudi University EFL Learners

This small-scale, quantitative study investigated the reading habits and interests of Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students at a university-level preparatory year program (PYP). The study aimed to identify certain habits and preferences of EFL learners with regard to various personal practices of the reading process in first language (L1) as well as in second language (L2). The study utilized a custom-designed, 10-item questionnaire on a Likert scale format in order to gain more insights into the manners with which students may or may not approach reading. The participants were newly-registered, male and female students ( n=330 ) on the university PYP course with mixed English Language proficiency. Analysis of the data collected using descriptive statistical tools indicated several issues relating to the reading habits in general, including students’ lack of interest as well as lack of motivation towards ‘academic reading’ in both L1 and L2. However, the analysis revealed a greater level of engagement in reading in social media contexts. The study has several implications for future research and pedagogy in EFL reading as well as implications for the EFL classroom.
Adolescents' perceptions of parenting practices with respect to substance abuse.

Substance use among adolescents in South Africa is a growing concern. While a growing body of research is outlining the ability of parents to influence and moderate the uptake of risk behaviours, limited literature is available in South Africa on the links between parenting practices and substance use. The present study explored adolescents’ perceptions of parenting practices with respect to their substance use behaviours. Eight focus group discussions were conducted with grade 8 and 9 school-going learners from four purposively selected public high schools in the eThekwini region of KwaZulu-Natal. The discussions were informed by constructions of the Integrated Model of Change (I-Change Model) and appropriate literature. Data was analysed thematically. This study provides further evidence that parenting behaviours can influence adolescent behaviour. The findings suggest that specific parenting practices pertaining to parent-child communication, parental support, warmth, and monitoring can have an influence on adolescent alcohol and tobacco use. Negative parenting may lead to disruptive behaviour, vulnerability to peer pressure and subsequent substance use. It is recommended that early intervention and prevention programs for substance use include aspects of parenting practices that influence adolescent substance use.
Control of interneurone firing pattern by axonal autoreceptors in the juvenile rat cerebellum

Recent work has shown that certain neurones have axonal GABAA receptors, whose tonic activation modifies their firing properties and neurotransmitter release capability. In addition, results obtained in interneurones of the molecular layer of the cerebellum indicate that action potential‐released GABA binds back to the axon that released it, generating an autoreceptor current. In the present paper, we show that at physiological Cl−i concentration (15 mm) and at 34–36°C, the autoreceptor current generates a large amplitude (up to 21 mV) afterdepolarization that lasts for about 150 ms, and that occasionally leads to double firing. Furthermore we show that elimination of the afterdepolarization, by either blocking GABAA receptors, or eliminating the autoreceptor currents through prolonged whole‐cell recording, decreases burst firing. Ih (a hyperpolarization‐activated current) was previously found to be prominent in interneurone axons. We show that blocking Ih leads to an increase in the amplitude of the autoreceptor current as well as of the associated afterdepolarization, suggesting a shunting effect of Ih on autoreceptor‐mediated afterdepolarization. Conversely, blocking Ih accentuates burst firing. The effects of autoreceptor‐mediated afterdepolarization on firing are prominent during a period of development when interneurone synapses are stabilized and vanish by postnatal day 17 (PN 17), together with the expression of the autoreceptor current. Altogether, this work reveals a new role for autoreceptors in the regulation of cell excitability and firing pattern, which may contribute to the development and stabilization of the cerebellar network.
A Collaborative Approach for Access Control, Intrusion Detection and Security Testing

Security Management is becoming a critical aspect for large scale distributed systems. In this paper, we propose a global architecture, based on an original meta-policy approach for access control and intrusion detection, allowing to guarantee global security properties. In contrast with classical meta-policy based systems, by applying verification techniques on the meta-policy, our solution guarantees global security properties while supporting local updates of the security policy. It is thus a powerful solution that provides strong fault tolerance since the control is carried out in a complete decentralized manner. By using a meta-policy, the system can verify the respect of global security properties after meta or local modifications of the policy. Thanks to test components, our system is also able to evaluate and configure in real-time each of its functionalities while tracking self corruption by malicious hackers. Our architecture is a cooperative multi agent-based system, making it possible to activate a functionality independently from some others. It is divided into several levels, each one contributing to the automation of the security management.
Changes in cell migration and survival in the olfactory bulb of the pcd/pcd mouse

Postnatally, the Purkinje cell degeneration mutant mice lose the main projecting neurons of the main olfactory bulb (OB): mitral cells (MC). In adult animals, progenitor cells from the rostral migratory stream (RMS) differentiate into bulbar interneurons that modulate MC activity. In the present work, we studied changes in proliferation, tangential migration, radial migration patterns, and the survival of these newly generated neurons in this neurodegeneration animal model. The animals were injected with bromodeoxyuridine 2 weeks or 2 months before killing in order to label neuroblast incorporation into the OB and to analyze the survival of these cells after differentiation, respectively. Both the organization and cellular composition of the RMS and the differentiation of the newly generated neurons in the OB were studied using specific markers of glial cells, neuroblasts, and mature neurons. No changes were observed in the cell proliferation rate nor in their tangential migration through the RMS, indicating that migrating neuroblasts are only weakly responsive to the alteration in their target region, the OB. However, the absence of MC does elicit differences in the final destination of the newly generated interneurons. Moreover, the loss of MC also produces changes in the survival of the newly generated interneurons, in accordance with the dramatic decrease in the number of synaptic targets available. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007.
Scattering of an Electromagnetic Linearly Polarized Plane Wave by a Multilayered Sphere: Obtaining a computational form of Mie coefficients for the scattered field.

An analysis is presented of scattering of an electromagnetic linearly polarized plane wave by a multilayered sphere. The focus is on obtaining a computational form of the Mie coefficients for the scattered field. A central role is played by ratios of spherical Bessel functions that can be calculated easily, rapidly, and accurately by recurrence relations whose stabilities are demonstrated. Logarithmic derivatives are not employed. A detailed outline is given of a carefully tested computer program for implementing and validating the analysis. Numerous comparisons are given of numerical results obtained with this program with corresponding results in the literature. Important properties of the Mie coefficients and aspects of the scattered field are discussed including the loci of the Mie coefficients in the complex plane; the resonances of the Mie coefficients; the extinction, scattering, and absorption efficiencies of the scattered field; radiation pressure; the Debye series, and the complex angular momentum (CAM) method.
Angiotensin II activates extracellular signal regulated kinases via protein kinase C and epidermal growth factor receptor in breast cancer cells

Angiotensin II (Ang II) induces, through AT1, intracellular Ca2+ increase in both normal and cancerous breast cells in primary culture (Greco et al., 2002 Cell Calcium 2:1–10). We here show that Ang II stimulated, in a dose‐dependent manner, the 24 h‐proliferation of breast cancer cells in primary culture, induced translocation of protein kinase C (PKC)‐α, ‐β1/2, and δ (but not ‐ε, ‐η, ‐θ, ‐ζ, and ‐ι), and phosphorylated extracellular‐regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). The proliferative effects of Ang II were blocked by the AT1 antagonist, losartan. Also epidermal growth factor (EGF) had mitogenic effects on serum‐starved breast cancer cells since induced cell proliferation after 24 h and phosphorylation of ERK1/2. The Ang II‐induced proliferation of breast cancer cells was reduced by (a) Gö6976, an inhibitor of conventional PKC‐α and ‐β1, (b) AG1478, an inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase of the EGF receptor (EGFR), and (c) downregulation of 1,2‐diacylglycerol‐sensitive PKCs achieved by phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA). A complete inhibition of the Ang II‐induced cell proliferation was achieved using the inhibitor of the mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK or MEK), PD098059, or using Gö6976 together with AG1478. These results indicate that in human primary cultured breast cancer cells AT1 regulates mitogenic signaling pathways by two simultaneous mechanisms, one involving conventional PKCs and the other EGFR transactivation. J. Cell. Physiol. 196: 370–377, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of a feedback-based energy conserving content distribution mechanism for mobile networks

Abstract A feedback-based scheme for energy conservative cooperative content distribution for mobile systems is presented together with analysis of its behavior in simulated operation. The mechanism described is designed to address problems of co-operation in transient groups, where group members are assumed to act selfishly to preserve their limited resources. Properties of the resulting barter-trade like economy are discussed as well as design rules when designing exchange systems of this type.
Learning Semantic Signatures for 3D Object Retrieval

In this paper, we propose two kinds of semantic signatures for 3D object retrieval (3DOR). Humans are capable of describing an object using attribute terms like “symmetric” and “flyable”, or using its similarities to some known object classes. We convert such qualitative descriptions into attribute signature (AS) and reference set signature (RSS), respectively, and use them for 3DOR. We also show that AS and RSS can be understood as two different quantization methods of the same semantic space of human descriptions of objects. The advantages of the semantic signatures are threefold. First, they are much more compact than low-level shape features yet working with comparable retrieval accuracy. Therefore, the proposed semantic signatures require less storage space and computation cost in retrieval. Second, the high-level signatures are a good complement to low-level shape features. As a result, by incorporating the signatures we can improve the performance of state-of-the-art 3DOR methods by a large margin. To the best of our knowledge, we obtain the best results on two popular benchmarks. Third, the AS enables us to build a user-friendly interface, with which the user can trigger a search by simply clicking attribute bars instead of finding a 3D object as the query. This interface is of great significance in 3DOR considering the fact that while searching, the user usually does not have a 3D query at hand that is similar to his/her targeted objects in the database.
Novel mutations of CRB1 in Chinese families presenting with retinal dystrophies

Purpose To identify disease-causing mutations in Chinese families who presented with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Methods The pathogenic variant in a Chinese family with autosomal dominant RP was investigated with a specific hereditary eye disease enrichment panel (HEDEP) based on targeted exome capture technology. The identified variant was confirmed with Sanger sequencing. CRB1 mutations in 67 patients with sporadic retinal dystrophy were examined with Sanger sequencing. Results Compound heterozygous mutations were identified in a family who had undergone HEDEP analysis. After complete sequence analysis of the CRB1 gene was performed in 67 patients with sporadic retinal dystrophy, other compound heterozygous mutations were detected in three families. The mutations included three novel heterozygous mutations: c.3059delT (p.M1020SfsX1), c.3460T>A (p.C1154S), and c.4207G>C (p.E1403Q). The mutation frequency of CRB1 in this study was 5.9% (8/136). Conclusions Our findings broaden the spectrum of CRB1 mutations and the phenotypic spectrum of the disease in Chinese patients. The results from this study show that patients with LCA carry CRB1 null mutations more frequently than patients with RP.
A Teaching Scholars Program to Develop Leaders in Medical Education

The authors describe a year-long faculty development initiative to develop leaders in medical education. The Teaching Scholars Program for Educators in the Health Sciences at McGill University enables faculty to improve their educational knowledge and skills while maintaining their clinical, teaching, and research responsibilities. The program, tailored to the participant's individual needs, consists of five main components: two university courses; independent study; participation in faculty-wide faculty development workshops and medical education rounds; a monthly seminar; and attendance at a national or international conference or course. Since its inception in 1997, 22 faculty members have completed the program; four are currently participating in it. This report discusses the experience of 15 scholars who completed the program by September 2000. Evaluations indicate that the scholars achieved most of their stated objectives. The university courses provided a foundation in educational principles and methodology; independent study allowed them to work on educational projects relevant to their disciplines; and the monthly seminars, faculty development workshops, and outside courses offered opportunities for skill acquisition and reflection. Participants also appreciated the opportunity to meet others interested in medical education and to become aware of available educational resources. A year after completing the program, many had joined new educational committees, taken on new leadership roles in medical education, and developed new courses for students and residents. Some of their projects had been presented at national meetings and were being prepared for publication. Two scholars had pursued further study at a master's level. Despite the ongoing challenge of protecting time for educational pursuits, this program has been beneficial in helping to develop educational leaders in the Faculty of Medicine.
Carbon Nanotube-Based CMOS Gas Sensor IC: Monolithic Integration of Pd Decorated Carbon Nanotube Network on a CMOS Chip and Its Hydrogen Sensing

The integration of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based sensor and readout complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor integrated chip (CMOS IC) to detect hydrogen gas in a single chip is presented. First, we have fabricated the CMOS IC using the standard 0.35-μm CMOS process. Then, we have built 8 × 8 CNT-based sensor cells on it using a proposed tractable postprocessing strategy and judicious electrode scheme. The fabricated sensor IC can operate down to 10-ppm concentration of hydrogen in air as a hydrogen sensor. This paper is expected to have a major impact upon the integration of the CNT technology with CMOS technology and be extended to the development of CMOS IC integrated with various nanomaterials.
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. XCVI. Pattern Recognition Receptors in Health and Disease

Since the discovery of Toll, in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, as the first described pattern recognition receptor (PRR) in 1996, many families of these receptors have been discovered and characterized. PRRs play critically important roles in pathogen recognition to initiate innate immune responses that ultimately link to the generation of adaptive immunity. Activation of PRRs leads to the induction of immune and inflammatory genes, including proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. It is increasingly clear that many PRRs are linked to a range of inflammatory, infectious, immune, and chronic degenerative diseases. Several drugs to modulate PRR activity are already in clinical trials and many more are likely to appear in the near future. Here, we review the different families of mammalian PRRs, the ligands they recognize, the mechanisms of activation, their role in disease, and the potential of targeting these proteins to develop the anti-inflammatory therapeutics of the future.
Prediction of Significant Prostate Cancer at Prostate Biopsy and Per Core Detection Rate of Targeted and Systematic Biopsies Using Real-Time Shear Wave Elastography

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) detection is accompanied by overdiagnosis and mischaracterization of PCa. Therefore, new imaging modalities like shear wave elastography (SWE) are required. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate per-core detection rates (DRs) of targeted biopsies and systematic biopsies and to test if SWE findings can predict presence of clinically significant PCa (csPCa) at biopsy. Patients and Methods: Overall, 95 patients scheduled for prostate biopsy in our center underwent SWE. SWE findings were classified into suspicious or normal. Targeted biopsies were taken in up to 3 SWE-suspicious areas. csPCa was defined as the presence of Gleason pattern ≥4, level of prostate-specific antigen ≥10 ng/ml or >2 positive cores. Results: Overall DR for csPCa in our study cohort was 40%. Per-core DR for exclusively SWE-targeted cores versus systematic samples cores was 10.5 vs. 8.6% (p = 0.3). In the logistic regression models, individuals with suspicious SWE findings are at 6.4-fold higher risk of harboring csPCa (p = 0.03). Gain in predictive accuracy was 2.3% (0.82 vs. 0.84, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Presence of suspicious SWE findings is an independent predictor of csPCa. Therefore, SWE may be helpful in selecting patients for biopsy. Nonetheless, per-core DR for SWE-targeted cores was not statistically significant higher than DR of systematic sampled cores. Therefore, additional systematic biopsy is mandatory.
Measuring quantitative and qualitative aspects of the job insecurity climate

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a measure of job insecurity climate by: first, testing whether job insecurity climate and individual job insecurity are two separate constructs; and second, investigating the relative importance of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate in predicting work-related and health-related outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by questionnaires in a simple stratified random sample of 1,380 white-collar workers in Sweden. The response rate was 56 percent. Findings – Confirmatory factor analyses showed that job insecurity climate was distinct from individual job insecurity. Four separate ridge regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity climate was a significant predictor of demands, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and poor self-rated health and that quantitative job insecurity climate predicted demands and work-family conflict. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on sel.
Interorganizational partnership, switching cost, and strategic flexibility in supply chain

Many studies work focusing on the interaction between the various dimensions of supply chain (SC) relationships (such as trust, commitment, satisfaction, investment, communication and collaboration) but far less on the impact of SC relationships on switching cost and strategic flexibility. The partnership interaction between the SC and the strategic flexibility is the most important factor when the manufacturer and subcontractors linked together. However, there has also been a few empirical researches that have examined the impact of switching cost and strategic flexibility. The effect of SC relationships on strategic flexibility has received less attention. As a result, it becomes the key issue in this study. To address these situations, we developed a conceptual framework incorporating dimensions of SC relationships, switching cost, and strategic flexibility. Data is drawn from the survey responses of 202 in Taiwan enterprises. Our findings provide considerable support for our conceptual model.
Treating Postnatal Depression: A Psychological Approach for Health Care Practitioners

UNDERSTANDING POSTNATAL DEPRESSION. Postnatal Depression in the Community. Overcoming Depression and Postnatal Depression. Assessing Postnatal Depression and Treatment Options. TREATING AND MANAGING POSTNATAL DEPRESSION: THE GETTING AHEAD OF POSTNATAL DEPRESSION GROUP PROGRAM. Phase I: Behavioural Interventions. Phase II: Cognitive Interventions. Phase III: Relapse Prevention and Evaluation. CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OPTIONS. Including Fathers. Including Infants: Baby H.U. G.S. Individual Treatment: A Flexible Approach. Concluding Comments on Clinical Issues. References. Index.