Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Co-Morbidity on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Hemodialysis

Studies on the outcome of hemodialysis (HD) patients over time have mainly focused on morbidity and mortality, but currently, the importance of measuring the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is being increasingly recognized. On the other hand, comorbidity is the single most important determinant of outcome in patients on HD. The aims of this study were to evaluate HRQoL in patients at the initiation of HD therapy (incident cohort), and in patients on long-term HD treatment (prevalent cohort), and to establish the relationship between the presence of comorbidity and patient's HRQoL. The study enrolled 229 patients on HD, divided into two groups: prevalent cohort comprised 192 patients on chronic HD more than 3 months, and incident cohort with 37 patients who started their dialysis during the study. Comorbidity was assessed using the Index of Coexistent Diseases (ICED), including two sub-indexes: Index of Disease Severity (IDS), a medical record review of 16 medical conditions, and Index of Physical Impairment (IPI), an observer-based assessment of 11 physical functions. ICED scores range from 0 to 3, with higher levels reflecting more severe comorbidity. Patient's self-assessment of HRQoL was measured by the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36), encompassing 8 summary scales and 2 summary dimensions. Based on the ICED index level, in both groups of patients (prevalent and incident group), a high presence of associated diseases was observed, i.e. 56.8 % and 67.6 % respectively. Indicators of comorbidities have negative and statistically significant correlation, so that any increase of IDS and IPI indexes produces significant decrease of HRQoL parameters. HRQoL summary scales in both groups of patients were similar, but generally with lower values in incident subjects and with statistical significance only in social functioning (SF) scale (40.5 ± 24.9 vs 51.0 ± 27.2). In the incident group of patients, one year of HD treatment was associated with a slight improvement in all HRQoL parameters, but statistical significance (p < 0.05) was observed only in the role-physical limitation (RP) scale and SF scale. Conclusions In the patients on HD treatment, comorbid conditions have negative and statistically significant correlation with parameters of HRQoL, and could explain poor HRQoL to a remarkable extent. One year after starting HD, patients reported better scores in some domains, especially in the RP and SF scale. From a clinical perspective, parameters of HRQoL and comorbidities should be considered in the follow up of patients treated with HD. (Int J Artif Organs 2006; 29: 1053–61)
JD‐C Model to Explain Burnout in Frontline Workers: The Useful Contribution of Emotional Demands

Using the Job Demands‐Control (JD‐C) model as the theoretical framework, this study investigated the relationships among burnout, job demands, and autonomy. With a sample of 802 employees from a Portuguese bank, we demonstrated the importance of taking into account emotional job demands when studying the burnout of service providers. Thereby, the unique explanatory power of each emotional demand on burnout was tested with regression analysis, after controlling for the original demands and autonomy variables from the JD‐C model along with demographic variables. The results confirmed the relevance of the study model in explaining burnout and indicated that emotional dissonance was associated with employee burnout, beyond quantitative demands and autonomy. As expected, hierarchical regression analysis provided evidence for the main effects of quantitative demands, emotional dissonance, and autonomy on burnout. These findings have several implications for designing jobs involving interactions with clients. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
O Antigen Allows B. parapertussis to Evade B. pertussis Vaccine–Induced Immunity by Blocking Binding and Functions of Cross-Reactive Antibodies

Although the prevalence of Bordetella parapertussis varies dramatically among studies in different populations with different vaccination regimens, there is broad agreement that whooping cough vaccines, composed only of B. pertussis antigens, provide little if any protection against B. parapertussis. In C57BL/6 mice, a B. pertussis whole-cell vaccine (wP) provided modest protection against B. parapertussis, which was dependent on IFN-γ. The wP was much more protective against an isogenic B. parapertussis strain lacking O-antigen than its wild-type counterpart. O-antigen inhibited binding of wP–induced antibodies to B. parapertussis, as well as antibody-mediated opsonophagocytosis in vitro and clearance in vivo. aP–induced antibodies also bound better in vitro to the O-antigen mutant than to wild-type B. parapertussis, but aP failed to confer protection against wild-type or O antigen–deficient B. parapertussis in mice. Interestingly, B. parapertussis–specific antibodies provided in addition to either wP or aP were sufficient to very rapidly reduce B. parapertussis numbers in mouse lungs. This study identifies a mechanism by which one pathogen escapes immunity induced by vaccination against a closely related pathogen and may explain why B. parapertussis prevalence varies substantially between populations with different vaccination strategies.
Behavioural outcomes of deinstitutionalisation for people with intellectual disability: a review of US studies conducted between 1980 and 1999

Ten years ago, we published a summary of all US studies published between 1976 and 1988, inclusive, that measured behavioural outcomes associated with the movement of people with mental retardation from public institutions to community residential settings. Those studies found with remarkable consistency that positive adaptive behaviour changes were associated with people moving from institutions to community homes. Now, we revisit this topic to examine whether research conducted since 1988 has continued to support these earlier findings. In this review of literature, 33 of 250 US studies of residential service outcomes met our inclusion criteria of scope, quality, timeliness and design (longitudinal or contrast group study). As in our earlier review, almost all of the reviewed studies found statistically significant increases in overall adaptive behaviour scores associated with deinstitutionalisation. Three studies published since 1990 reported statistically significant improvements in challenging behaviour associated with movement to the community, and nine reported no significant differences in challenging behaviour for persons who moved compared with persons who remained in institutions.
Polish Rhythmic Database ― New Resources for Speech Timing and Rhythm Analysis

This paper reports on a new database ― Polish rhythmic database and tools developed with the aim of investigating timing phenomena and rhythmic structure in Polish including topics such as, inter alia, the effect of speaking style and tempo on timing patterns, phonotactic and phrasal properties of speech rhythm and stability of rhythm metrics. So far, 19 native and 12 non-native speakers with different first languages have been recorded. The collected speech data (5 h 14 min.) represents five different speaking styles and five different tempi. For the needs of speech corpus management, annotation and analysis, a database was developed and integrated with Annotation Pro (Klessa et al., 2013, Klessa, 2016). Currently, the database is the only resource for Polish which allows for a systematic study of a broad range of phenomena related to speech timing and rhythm. The paper also introduces new tools and methods developed to facilitate the database annotation and analysis with respect to various timing and rhythm measures. In the end, the results of an ongoing research and first experimental results using the new resources are reported and future work is sketched.
The Picard Integral Formulation of Weighted Essentially Nonoscillatory Schemes

High-order temporal discretizations for hyperbolic conservation laws have historically been formulated as either a method of lines (MOL) or a Lax--Wendroff method. In the MOL viewpoint, the partial differential equation is treated as a large system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), where an ODE tailored time integrator is applied. In contrast, Lax--Wendroff discretizations immediately convert Taylor series in time to discrete spatial derivatives. In this work, we propose the Picard integral formulation (PIF), which is based on the method of modified fluxes, and is used to derive new Taylor and Runge--Kutta (RK) methods. In particular, we construct a new class of conservative finite difference methods by applying weighted essentially nonoscillatory (WENO) reconstructions to the so-called time-averaged fluxes. Our schemes are automatically conservative under any modification of the fluxes, which is attributed to the fact that classical WENO reconstructions conserve mass when coupled with forward Eu.
Development of Triticum aestivum-Leymus racemosus translocation lines using gametocidal chromosomes

Specific chromosomes of certain Aegilops species introduced into wheat genome background may often facilitate chromosome breakage and refusion, and finally result in a variety of chromosome restructuring. Such a phenomenon is commonly called gametocidal effect of the chromosomes. The chromosome 2C of Ae. cylindrica is one of such chromosomes. In the present study, scab resistant wheat-L. racemosus addition lines involving chromosomes Lr.2 and Lr.7 were crossed to wheat-Ae. cylindrica disomic addition line Add2C. Then F1 hybrids were subsequently backcrossed with wheat cv “Chinese Spring”. BC1 plants with chromosome structural aberration were identified by C-banding. In the self-pollinated progenies of these plants, three translocation lines were developed and characterized by mitotic and meiotic analysis combined with C-banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using biotin-labeled genomic DNA of L. racemosus as probe. Some other putative translocation lines to be further characterized were also found. The practicability and efficiency of the translocation between wheat and alien chromosomes induced by gametocidal chromosomes, as well as the potential use of the developed alien translocation lines were also discussed.
Can There Be A Feminist Science?

This paper explores a number of recent proposals regarding “feminist science” and rejects a content-based approach in favor of a process-based approach to characterizing feminist science. Philosophy of science can yield models of scientific reasoning that illuminate the interaction between cultural values and ideology and scientific inquiry. While we can use these models to expose masculine and other forms of bias, we can also use them to defend the introduction of assumptions grounded in feminist political values.
Enhancing the Interactions of Teenage Mothers and Their At-Risk Children

This study investigated the impact of a short-term interaction-focused parenting curriculum on maternal behaviors and child development outcomes. Participants were 94 teen-mother—child dyads; 48 in the intervention group received a relationship-focused curriculum offered in 24, 1-hour sessions. Maternal behaviors during play were videotaped and coded preintervention and postintervention. Children were assessed using a developmental screening inventory. When the groups were compared at posttest using analyses of variance, mothers in the intervention group were significantly more responsive, less directive, and more facilitative of child language development. Children of mothers in the intervention group had significantly higher developmental quotient scores than children of mothers in the contrast group. Findings corroborate previous research and offer support for interventions focusing on interaction variables to influence child outcomes.
Analysis According to Gender and Body Mass Index of the Number of Steps Taken by Sedentary Workers as Measured by a Pedometer

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine according to gender and body mass index the number of steps taken by the sedentary workers as measured by a pedometer. [Subjects] Thirty-six sedentary workers in their twenties in Ulsan city were enrolled in for this study and their step counts were investigated. [Methods] Step counts at the workplace between 9 am and 6 pm everyday for 2 weeks were measured by a pedometer. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 to compare step count according to gender and BMI on different days of the week. [Results] Females showed a higher step count than males on every day of the week except Fridays and Sundays. The step count was higher among the low weight group than overweight group on every day of the week. [Conclusion] Future studies should examine ways of helping sedentary workers to increase their step count. Also, more effort should be made to find practical ways of improving the number of steps taken in the workplace to keep workers in good health, as additional benefit would accrue, such as improved work efficiency.
The Ego Factor in Tourism

Tourists travel the entire globe to be in the presence of peoples, places, and objects they cannot buy or otherwise take possession of except in a spiritual sense. This essay explores the noneconomic relation at the heart of tourism, which is now said to be the largest economic sector in the world. The dominant way commercially successful destinations have organized touristic experience has been to model themselves as closely as possible on the ego. Other commodities sold on the basis of their intangible qualities may be implicated in the same narcissistic ego structure. Some questions are raised about the sustainability of ego-based consumption. Copyright 2002 by the University of Chicago.
Exploring the Utility of Collaborative Governance in a National Sport Organization

This paper presents the outcomes of an 18-month developmental action research study to enhance the governance capability of a national sport organization. Bowls Australia, the national governing body for lawn bowls in Australia, includes nine independent state and territory member-associations. An intervention was designed and implemented with the Bowls Australia Board. The purpose of the intervention was to enact collaborative governance to overcome a perceived cultural malaise in the governance of the sport. This study is one of the first to examine collaborative governance in a federal sport structure. Results demonstrate the utility of collaborative governance to overcome adversarial national, member-state relations for the purpose of establishing a common and unifying vision for bowls, while also enhancing governance capability. This study identified the importance of collective board leadership in governance decision-making throughout the sport. It also highlights future research directions in relat.
Adolescent risk taking and the romantic ethic: HIV/AIDS awareness among Year 11 and 12 students

Findings discussed are drawn from a study of Year 11 and 12 students in Tasmania with regard to accuracy of knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission, sexual attitudes and activities, and the extent of protective behaviours. The reasons for the gap between intentions and actual 'safe' sex practices highlight the influence of the 'romantic ethic' and the characteristics of modern consumerism upon adolescents' perceptions of intimate relationships within the post-modern society. The degree to which 'caring for one's partner' and 'trusting one's partner' are regarded as a protection against HIV/AIDS trans mission, and the association with levels of condom use, are examined along with implications for preventive health education programs.
Environmental and Socioeconomic Determinants of Child Mortality: Evidence from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey

Despite the global decline in under-five mortality rate from 91 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 43 deaths per 1000 live births in 2015 and Nigeria’s under-five mortality reduction from 201 per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 128 per 1,000 live births in 2013 as against the Sustainable Development Goal target of 25 per 1,000 live births, child mortality rate still remain unacceptably high in Nigeria and thereby has a long way to go in achieving this target. This study explores the household’s environmental, socio-economic characteristics, maternal demographic and their effect on child mortality. Data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2013 was used to investigate the predictors of child (aged 0-4 years) mortality in Nigeria. Data for the currently married women who had experienced child mortality and those who have not, totaling 20,192. Cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression techniques were employed in the statistical analysis. The result indicated that child mortality rate was highest (46.0%) among mothers with no educational and lowest (13.6%) among mothers with tertiary education and was statistically significant in reducing the child mortality rate. Children born in households with unimproved toilet experienced highest mortality rate (41.0%) compared to those who were born in households with improved toilet (30.4%) and have substantial impact on child mortality. Maternal education and provision of sanitation facilities should be advocated as a strategy to reduce child mortality.
Nonmonotonic Probabilistic Logics under Variable-Strength Inheritance with Overriding: Algorithms and Implementation in NMPROBLOG

In previous work, I have introduced nonmonotonic probabilistic logics under variable-strength inheritance with overriding. They are formalisms for probabilistic reasoning from sets of strict logical, default logical, and default probabilistic sentences, which are parameterized through a value 2[0,1] that describes the strength of the inheritance of default probabilistic knowledge. In this paper, I continue this line of research. I present algorithms for deciding consistency of strength and for computing tight consequences of strength , which are based on reductions to the standard problems of deciding satisfiability and of computing tight logical consequences in model-theoretic probabilistic logic. Furthermore, I describe an implementation of these algorithms in the system NMPROBLOG.
Insulin-induced hyperpolarization in retinal capillary pericytes.

PURPOSE This study investigated the mechanism of insulin-induced membrane voltage hyperpolarization in retinal capillary pericytes, which possess electrical membrane properties typical for smooth muscle cells and are supposed to regulate retinal microcirculation by a contractile mechanism. METHODS The mechanism of insulin-induced hyperpolarization was studied in cultured bovine retinal capillary pericytes using conventional microelectrodes. RESULTS Resting voltage averaged -28 +/- 0.9 mV (mean +/- SEM, n = 45). Insulin (10(-9) to 10(-7) mol/l) induced a slow hyperpolarization in a dose-dependent fashion. Voltage change (delta V) was -3.1 +/- 0.4 mV (n = 14, P < 0.0001, = control) with an insulin concentration of 10(-8) mol/l. Blockade of potassium channels with Ba2+ (5 mmol/l) completely abolished the hyperpolarizing effect of insulin (n = 5). Apamin (10(-9) mol/l), a blocker of low-conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels, also completely inhibited the insulin-induced hyperpolarization (n = 4). Blocking ATP-sensitive potassium channels with glibenclamide (10(-7) mol/l) did not reduce the hyperpolarizing action of insulin (delta V = -2.2 +/- 0.4 mV, n = 5, P = 0.29). Equivalent hyperpolarizations were recorded when insulin was added in the presence of ouabain (10(-4) mol/l) to inhibit the electrogenic Na+/-/K+/-ATPase (delta V = -3.5 +/- 1.0 mV, n = 4, P = 0.68). When pericytes were grown for 3 days in culture medium with elevated glucose concentrations (22.5 mmol/l), the resting membrane voltage and the insulin-induced hyperpolarization were not significantly altered. CONCLUSION Insulin hyperpolarizes the membrane voltage of retinal pericytes probably mediated by activation of apamin-sensitive Ca(2+)-activated potassium channels. Therefore, hormonal modulation of membrane voltage by insulin might be an important factor in the regulation of pericyte contractility and retinal microcirculation under physiological conditions and in diabetes mellitus.
Relative Contribution of Transcription and Translation to the Induction of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α by Lipopolysaccharide*

The synthesis of tumor necrosis factor-α has been suggested to be regulated at both the transcriptional and translational levels in response to stimulation by bacterial lipopolysaccharide, although the relative contribution of these two mechanisms has not been quantitatively evaluated. Here, using the murine monocytic cell line RAW 264.7 as a model system, we show that steady-state TNF-α mRNA levels increase ∼77-fold following treatment with lipopolysaccharide for 2 h and to a maximum of 164-fold after 8 h as measured by an RNase protection assay. The TNF-α gene transcription rate increases ∼5-fold following exposure to lipopolysaccharide for 2 h as measured by a nuclear run-on assay. TNF-α mRNA stability did not change in the presence of lipopolysaccharide. A ribosomal sedimentation assay and an RNA transfection assay revealed that the translation rate of endogenous as well as transiently transfected TNF-α mRNAs increases only ∼2–3-fold after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide for 2 h. Taken together, these results suggest that the large increase in the level of secreted TNF-α protein in RAW 264.7 cells is due primarily to activation of TNF-α gene transcription.
Do respiratory symptoms predict job choices in teenagers?

Existing guidelines advise adolescents with asthma and allergies against high-risk occupations. The aim of the current authors' analyses was to investigate the resulting self-selection in a prospective cohort study. The participants of Phase II of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood in Germany (aged 9–11 yrs at baseline) were re-contacted after 7 yrs (response rate was 77%) and were asked to complete a questionnaire, which included items on atopic diseases. The subjects were also asked about the type of job they would like to have in the future (preferred job choice). Exposure to agents with potential asthma risk was evaluated using a job exposure matrix. The analyses were restricted to those in school-based vocational training programmes without occupational exposures. A total of 33% of subjects chose jobs with high asthma risk, 23% selected low asthma risk jobs and the remaining adolescents indicated jobs without known asthma risk (reference category). There were no statistically significant associations between asthma, allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis and selecting jobs with asthma risk. Participants with allergic rhinitis tended to select high risk jobs less frequently. In conclusion, self-selection into low risk jobs seems to play a minor role in teenagers with asthma or allergies.
THE EFFECT OF MAGNETIC SPOTS ON STELLAR WINDS AND ANGULAR MOMENTUM LOSS

We simulate the effect of latitudinal variations in the location of star spots, as well as their magnetic field strength, on stellar angular momentum loss (AML) to the stellar wind. We use the Michigan solar corona global magnetohydrodynamic model, which incorporates realistic relation between the magnetic field topology and the wind distribution. We find that the spots' location significantly affects the stellar wind structure, and as a result, the total mass loss rate and AML rate. In particular, we find that the AML rate is controlled by the mass flux when spots are located at low latitudes but is controlled by an increased plasma density between the stellar surface and the Alfvén surface when spots are located at high latitudes. Our results suggest that there might be a feedback mechanism between the magnetic field distribution, wind distribution, AML through the wind, and the motions at the convection zone that generate the magnetic field. This feedback might explain the role of coronal magnetic fields in stellar dynamos.