Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between student engagement with online content and achievement in a blended learning anatomy course

Blended learning has become increasingly common in higher education. Recent findings suggest that blended learning achieves better student outcomes than traditional face‐to‐face teaching in gross anatomy courses. While face‐to‐face content is perceived as important to learning there is less evidence for the significance of online content in improving student outcomes. Students enrolled in a second‐year anatomy course from the physiotherapy (PT), exercise physiology (EP), and exercise science (ES) programs across two campuses were included (n = 500). A structural equation model was used to evaluate the relationship of prior student ability (represented by grade in prerequisite anatomy course) and final course grade and whether the relationship was mediated by program, campus or engagement with the online elements of the learning management system (LMS; proportion of documents and video segments viewed and number of interactions with discussion forums). PT students obtained higher grades and were more likely to engage with online course materials than EP and ES students. Prerequisite grade made a direct contribution to course final grade (P < 0.001) but was also mediated by engagement with LMS videos and discussion forums (P < 0.001). Student learning outcomes in a blended anatomy course can be predicted the by level of engagement with online content. Anat Sci Educ 11: 471–477. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.
Work Engagement: Trust as a Mediator of the Impact of Organizational Job Embeddedness and Perceived Organizational Support

ABSTRACT This study furthers the research on work engagement, organizational (on-the-job) embeddedness, and perceived organizational support by examining the relationships between these variables through a mediating factor, trust in leadership. Specifically, the study investigates the role of trust as a mediator between organizational job embeddedness and work engagement, and between perceived organizational support and work engagement. In a sample of 318 local county government employees, findings provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Trust in leadership is strongly related to work engagement; trust partially mediates the relationship between organizational job embeddedness and work engagement, and between perceived organizational support and work engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Mind Over Mood

Mind Over Mood , 2nd Edition. D. Greenberger and C. Padesky (2016) New York, The Guilford Press (also available as e-book), ISBN 9781462520428, Pb, 338 pages; US$22.91 ! [Graphic][1] For those familiar with the world of CBT, these authors are particularly well-known and to have a new edition of what has become a classic of CBT practice is welcome. In the apt words of Aaron Beck, who supplies the Foreword, the authors, ‘have distilled the wisdom and science of psychotherapy and written an easily understandable manual for change’ (p. vii). He further suggests that the manual offers a vehicle and road-map for those seeking to make significant changes to their lives. As an eminently practical book, the authors waste no time in getting down to business, with the laying out of considerations, strategies and skills that address … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
Floating point division and square root algorithms and implementation in the AMD-K7/sup TM/ microprocessor

This paper presents the AMD-K7 IEEE 754 and /spl times/87 compliant floating point division and square root algorithms and implementation. The AMD-K7 processor employs an iterative implementation of a series expansion to converge quadratically to the quotient and square root. Highly accurate initial approximations and a high performance shared floating point multiplier assist in achieving low division and square root latencies at high operating frequencies. A novel time-sharing technique allows independent floating point multiplication operations to proceed while division or square root computation is in progress. Exact IEEE 754 rounding for all rounding modes and target precisions has been verified by conventional directed and random testing procedures, along with the formulation of a mechanically-checked formal proof using the ACL2 theorem prover.
The indoor air and asthma: the role of cat allergens

Purpose of review The objective is to discuss recent progress in our understanding of the role of the indoor environment in asthma, focusing on the special role of cat allergens. Recent findings Sensitization to Fel d 1 is the dominant event in inhalant responses to cat; however, there are also IgE responses to the lipocalin (Fel d 4), to cat albumin (Fel d 2), and to the oligosaccharide galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) on cat IgA (Fel d 5w) and other molecules. The dose response and routes of sensitization for these allergens are now thought to be diverse. It is important to remember that exposure outside a house with a cat is sufficient to cause sensitization. Furthermore, the only solid evidence about a role in asthma relates to Fel d 1. Recently, it has been shown that tolerance associated with early exposure to cats can persist to age 18 and that IgE to alpha-gal (on cat IgA) is not related to asthma. In addition, a recent study of anti-IgE reinforces the evidence that IgE antibodies to indoor allergens make a major contribution to asthma severity. Summary Exposure to Fel d 1 in a home with a cat is far higher than the levels necessary to induce an allergic (IgE antibody) response. In keeping with that, children may develop tolerance, which can be long-lived. In addition, there is increasing evidence that IgE antibodies to an inhalant allergen, such as Fel d 1, dust mite, or cockroach, are causally related to lung inflammation and asthma.
Fulminant presentation of autoimmune hepatitis: clinical features and early predictors of corticosteroid treatment failure

Background and aims Classical features of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) may be altered during the abrupt onset of the disease. Corticosteroid therapy can be life-saving, but its use in the fulminant presentation of AIH (F-AIH) remains controversial. We aimed to assess the clinical features of patients with F-AIH and to describe the role of corticosteroids in this population. Patients and methods We retrospectively analyzed 154 adult patients with fulminant hepatic failure who were admitted to six liver transplantation (LT) programs. The AIH simplified criteria were used to identify patients with F-AIH. Results We identified 40 (26%) patients with F-AIH. Compared with other etiologies, patients with F-AIH presented a longer interval from jaundice to encephalopathy (26 vs. 16 days, P=0.02) and a lower Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score on admission (29 vs. 33, P=0.002). Overall, 25 (62%) patients with F-AIH underwent LT, eight (20%) patients survived, and seven (18%) died without LT. Seventeen patients received corticosteroids therapy, of whom seven (41%) survived without LT. Among the treated patients, higher MELD score and encephalopathy grade of 3 or more were associated significantly with corticosteroid failure. Conclusion Patients with F-AIH have a more indolent presentation compared with the non-F-AIH population. Altogether, only eight (20%) patients presenting with F-AIH survived without LT. A subset of patients with F-AIH and an initial MELD score less than 27 and low-grade hepatic encephalopathy might benefit from administration of corticosteroids.
Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata) Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Reduces Plasma and Hepatic Lipids in Hamsters Fed a High Fat and Cholesterol Diet

Creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (Sesse y Moc. Ex DC, Zygophyllaceae) is a shrub found in the deserts of Northern Mexico and Southwestern United States. In traditional medicine, it is used to treat a variety of illnesses including type 2 diabetes. The present study aims to investigate the effects of creosote bush ethanolic extract on plasma and liver parameters associated with the metabolic syndrome in hamsters fed a high fat and cholesterol diet (HFD), comparing them with those induced by ezetimibe (EZ). Seven groups of six hamsters each were formed. Six groups were fed HFD for 2 weeks. The following 2 weeks, the HFD groups received: (1) only HFD, (2) HFD + 3 mg% EZ, (3) HFD + 0.2% creosote bush ethanolic extract, (4) only standard diet (Std Diet), (5) Std Diet + 3 mg% EZ, (6) Std Diet + 0.2% creosote bush ethanolic extract. The beneficial effects of creosote bush ethanolic extract in the HFD hamster model were a reduction of insulin resistance, associated with lower serum insulin and leptin, lower hepatic lipid peroxidation and higher liver antioxidant capacity. Plasma and liver lipids tended or were reduced to values closer to those of animals fed standard diet. A similar effect on lipids was induced by EZ, although with even lower hepatic cholesterol and total lipids concentrations. In general, the change from HFD to standard diet plus ethanolic extract induced the same but deeper changes, including a reduction in plasma glucose and an increase in the percentage of HDL cholesterol. Unlike creosote bush extract, EZ increased food consumption and neutral fecal steroids, with no significant effect on body weight, epididymal fat pads, liver peroxidation or antioxidant capacity. Also EZ did not modify serum insulin and leptin. However, insulin sensitivity improved to values similar to those induced by the extract. This suggests that the mechanism of action of creosote bush ethanolic extract is different to inhibition of cholesterol absorption or increase excretion. The ethanolic extract of L. tridentata could be useful in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome.
The Role of Intraoperative Thyroglobuline Level of Lymph Node in the Management of Papillary Thyroid Cancer (Determination of a Cutoff Point)

Background: Some studies have shown that a preoperative high concentration of thyroglobulin (Tg) in wash out of fine-needle aspiration cytology of cervical lymph nodes mandate therapeutic lymph node dissection. However, there is disagreement about the minimum concentration of Tg which could have diagnostic value. Hence, according to our literature review, this study is the first one which designed to do intraoperatively. Therefore, this study was conducted and aimed to determine the clinical diagnostic value of Tg lymph nodes in the diagnosis of metastatic thyroid cancer. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 65 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) who were thyroidectomy candidates were chosen and during surgery, before the removal of lymph nodes in the neck, fine-needle sampling was performed and the level of Tg in the samples, nature of the sample sent for biopsy and Tg levels in affected and unaffected lymph nodes were determined. Results: The mean levels of washout Tg in malignant and nonmalignant lymph nodes were 622.1 ± 66.2 and 1.38 ± 0.43 ng/ml, respectively, and the difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.001). The Tg cut-off point for the detection of lymph node metastases was 0.7 ng/dl, and according to it, Tg washout sensitivity was 93.8%, specificity of 92.4%, false positives 7.76%, false negatives 6.3%, positive predictive value was 92.3%, and negative predictive value was 93.8% and accuracy was 93.1%. Conclusion: Based on the results, Tg level of cervical lymph nodes in patients with PTC is a suitable criterion for the diagnosis of lymph node which can be determined through fine-needle biopsy. Therefore, it is suggested that in patients with suspicion of lymph nodes involvement during surgery, fine-needle biopsy and determination of the Tg level performed.
Leukocyte circulation: one‐way or round‐trip? Lessons from primary immunodeficiency patients

The identification of chemokines has profoundly changed the way we interpret the immune response, elucidating the mechanism by which inflammatory cells are recruited to the site of infection by local secretion of chemoattractants such as CXC chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8)/interleukin‐8, chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2)/monocyte chemoattractant protein 1. This novel view of the immune response has been remodeled further following observations that lymphoid tissue development derives from the coordinated secretion of homeostatic chemokines such as CCL19, CCL21, and CXCL13, which mediate recruitment and clustering of the cells involved in lymphoid organogenesis. The study of primary immunodeficiencies has demonstrated that the number of circulating leukocytes is dependent on migration amongst bone marrow, blood circulation, and inflamed tissues. Defects of leukocyte adhesion and chemotaxis as a result of mutations of β2‐integrins lead to abnormal leukocytosis and susceptibility to skin infections, as observed in leukocyte adhesion deficiency. Conversely, neutropenia in children with myelokathexis is a result of leukocyte retention in the bone marrow because of the mutations of CXC chemokine receptor 4, which affect the capacity of cells to recirculate between blood and bone marrow. Moreover, the identification of the genetic basis of primary immunodeficiencies has shown that many primary immunodeficiencies such as Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome and common variable immunodeficiencies are characterized by altered migration of leukocytes and/or disregulation of cellular response to chemokines. This paper will be focused on the interpretation of primary immunodeficiencies as defects in leukocyte circulation between blood and primary and secondary organs.
Zinc Deficiency: Descriptive Epidemiology and Morbidity among Preschool Children in Peri-urban Population in Delhi, India

Community-based data relating to factors influencing zinc deficiency among preschool children in India are inadequate. Data of a large, double-blinded, randomized, controlled zinc-supplementation trial were used for assessing the descriptive epidemiology of zinc deficiency among children aged 6–35 months (n=940). In total, 609 children were followed up for 120 days for information on morbidity. Of these children, 116 from the control group belonging to the upper and the lower 25th quartile of plasma zinc status at baseline were selected for assessing the association of zinc deficiency with prospective morbidity. At baseline, demographic, socioeconomic and dietary information was collected, and anthropometric measurements and levels of plasma zinc were assessed. At baseline, 73.3% of the children were zinc-deficient (plasma zinc <70 µg/dL), of which 33.8% had levels of plasma zinc below 60 µg/dL. A significantly higher risk of morbidity was prevalent among the subjects with lower plasma zinc compared to those with higher levels of plasma zinc.
Combined Impact of Health Behaviours and Mortality in Men and Women: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study

Background There is overwhelming evidence that behavioural factors influence health, but their combined impact on the general population is less well documented. We aimed to quantify the potential combined impact of four health behaviours on mortality in men and women living in the general community. Methods and Findings We examined the prospective relationship between lifestyle and mortality in a prospective population study of 20,244 men and women aged 45–79 y with no known cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline survey in 1993–1997, living in the general community in the United Kingdom, and followed up to 2006. Participants scored one point for each health behaviour: current non-smoking, not physically inactive, moderate alcohol intake (1–14 units a week) and plasma vitamin C >50 mmol/l indicating fruit and vegetable intake of at least five servings a day, for a total score ranging from zero to four. After an average 11 y follow-up, the age-, sex-, body mass–, and social class–adjusted relative risks (95% confidence intervals) for all-cause mortality(1,987 deaths) for men and women who had three, two, one, and zero compared to four health behaviours were respectively, 1.39 (1.21–1.60), 1.95 (1.70–-2.25), 2.52 (2.13–3.00), and 4.04 (2.95–5.54) p < 0.001 trend. The relationships were consistent in subgroups stratified by sex, age, body mass index, and social class, and after excluding deaths within 2 y. The trends were strongest for cardiovascular causes. The mortality risk for those with four compared to zero health behaviours was equivalent to being 14 y younger in chronological age. Conclusions Four health behaviours combined predict a 4-fold difference in total mortality in men and women, with an estimated impact equivalent to 14 y in chronological age.
Clinical practice guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery.

These guidelines were developed jointly by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Surgical Infection Society (SIS), and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). This work represents an update to the previously published ASHP Therapeutic Guidelines on Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery, as well as guidelines from IDSA and SIS. The guidelines are intended to provide practitioners with a standardized approach to the rational, safe, and effective use of antimicrobial agents for the prevention of surgical-site infections (SSIs) based on currently available clinical evidence and emerging issues. Prophylaxis refers to the prevention of an infection and can be characterized as primary prophylaxis, secondary prophylaxis, or eradication. Primary prophylaxis refers to the prevention of an initial infection. Secondary prophylaxis refers to the prevention of recurrence or reactivation of a preexisting infection. Eradication refers to the elimination of a colonized organism to prevent the development of an infection. These guidelines focus on primary perioperative prophylaxis.
The social dimension of learning through argumentation: Effects of human presence and discourse style.

In spite of its potential for learning, and in particular knowledge revision, argumentation on science concepts is neither easily elicited nor easily sustained. Students may feel uneasy critiquing and being critiqued, especially on complex science topics. We report on a controlled study that tested the role of 2 potential factors that may either relieve or aggravate some of these concerns: the partner’s argumentative discourse style (disputative or deliberative) and belief in interaction with a human or a computer agent. Learners interacted in scripted, computer-mediated interactions with a confederate on their understanding of a scientific concept they had just studied (i.e., diffusion). They were led to believe they were either interacting with a human peer or with a conversational peer agent. The peer confederate’s verbal behavior was scripted to evoke argumentative discourse, while controlling for exposure to conceptual content and the type of dialogue moves, but differed in argumentative discourse style (disputative or deliberative). Results show that conceptual understanding of participants in the deliberative discourse style condition was higher than that in the disputative condition. Further, even though previous studies have reported that the belief in human interaction benefits learning in consensual interactions, the opposite was found to be true in a setting of disagreement and critique: Belief in interaction with a computer agent resulted in higher conceptual learning gains, compared to belief in interaction with a human peer. Implications for theory as well as instructional design are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
INTRASEXUAL SELECTION AND THE SEGREGATION OF POLLEN AND STIGMAS IN HERMAPHRODITE PLANTS, EXEMPLIFIED BY WAHLENBERGIA ALBOMARGINATA (CAMPANULACEAE)

The adaptive significance of floral structures lies in general in the means by which they facilitate cross-fertilization, as Darwin (e.g., 1876) first recognized. The selective advantages of adaptations promoting cross-fertilization in angiosperms may stem from one or more of three sources. Some floral characters promote outcrossing only passively by preventing self-fertilization, thereby allowing more opportunities for crossing without directly bringing it about. Self-incompatibility is one such "anti-selfing" mechanism which does not itself promote cross-fertilization-and actually restricts it in incompatible crosses. Other outcrossing mechanisms actively promote the removal of pollen from a potential paternal parent or facilitate the deposition of pollen on the stigma of a maternal parent. Although many flower structures serve both activities of cross-pollination equally, this is not necessarily so. Pollen removal and pollen receipt are separate processes, and structures or behaviors that are optimal for one process do not always coincide precisely with those that are optimal for the other (e.g., Heslop-Harrison, 1972; Willson and Rathcke, 1974; Freeman et al., 1976; van der Pijl, 1978). Hence it is sometimes necessary to distinguish adaptations enhancing paternal fitness in cross-fertilization from those promoting maternal fitness. It has often been stated that sex-differential selection may lead to the separation
Solve Traveling Salesman Problem Using Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is one of the most widely studied NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems and traditional genetic algorithm trapped into the local minimum easily for solving this problem. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm was developed under the inspiration of behavior laws of bird flocks, fish schools and human communities. Compared with the genetic algorithm, PSO algorithm has high convergence speed. In this paper, aim at the disadvantages of genetic algorithm like being trapped easily into a local optimum, we use the PSO algorithm to solve the TSP and the experiment results show the new algorithm is effective for the this problem.
Does religion offer worldviews that dissuade adolescent substance use

Worldviews provide answers to questions such as who am I, why am I here, and how should I behave. We examined whether being religious corresponds with having a stronger worldview and whether the worldview accounts for the commonly observed relationship between religiousness and substance use. Adolescents (N 1,253) completed measures of religiousness, worldview, and alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use. Regarding the dichotomous distinction between using and not using a substance, a stronger worldview corresponded with not using substances and partially mediated the relationship between religiousness and substance use. Among users, however, one’s worldview did not mediate the amount of substance use. These findings suggest that the benefits of a worldview are limited to the decision to use substances, but once an adolescent becomes a user, a strong worldview no longer deters substance use.
Unexpected Role for the Immunoproteasome Subunit LMP2 in Antiviral Humoral and Innate Immune Responses

Proteasomes are multisubunit proteases that initiate degradation of many Ags presented by MHC class I molecules. Vertebrates express alternate forms of each of the three catalytic proteasome subunits: standard subunits, and immunosubunits, which are constitutively expressed by APCs and are induced in other cell types by exposure to cytokines. The assembly of mixed proteasomes containing standard subunits and immunosubunits is regulated in a tissue specific manner. In this study, we report that the presence of mixed proteasomes in immune cells in LMP2−/− mice compromises multiple components that contribute to the generation of antiviral Ab responses, including splenic B cell numbers, survival and function of adoptively transferred B cells, Th cell function, and dendritic cell secretion of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, and type I IFNs. These defects did not result from compromised overall protein degradation, rather they were associated with altered NF-κB activity. These findings demonstrate an important role for immunoproteasomes in immune cell function beyond their contribution to Ag processing.