Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vitro and in Vivo Antitumor Effect of Trachylobane-360, a Diterpene from Xylopia langsdorffiana

Trachylobane-360 (ent-7α-acetoxytrachyloban-18-oic acid) was isolated from Xylopia langsdorffiana. Studies have shown that it has weak cytotoxic activity against tumor and non-tumor cells. This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of trachylobane-360, as well as its cytotoxicity in mouse erythrocytes. In order to evaluate the in vivo toxicological aspects related to trachylobane-360 administration, hematological, biochemical and histopathological analyses of the treated animals were performed. The compound exhibited a concentration-dependent effect in inducing hemolysis with HC50 of 273.6 µM, and a moderate in vitro concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the proliferation of sarcoma 180 cells with IC50 values of 150.8 µM and 150.4 µM, evaluated by the trypan blue exclusion test and MTT reduction assay, respectively. The in vivo inhibition rates of sarcoma 180 tumor development were 45.60, 71.99 and 80.06% at doses of 12.5 and 25 mg/kg of trachylobane-360 and 25 mg/kg of 5-FU, respectively. Biochemical parameters were not altered. Leukopenia was observed after 5-FU treatment, but this effect was not seen with trachylobane-360 treatment. The histopathological analysis of liver and kidney showed that both organs were mildly affected by trachylobane-360 treatment. Trachylobane-360 showed no immunosuppressive effect. In conclusion, these data reinforce the anticancer potential of this natural diterpene.
Observation on Renal Outcomes in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial

OBJECTIVE The Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT) was a randomized, prospective, controlled trial of 1,791 patients with type 2 diabetes to determine whether intensive glycemic control would reduce cardiovascular events compared with standard control. The effect of intensive glycemic control and selected baseline variables on renal outcomes is reported. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Baseline mean age was 60.4 years, mean duration of diabetes was 11.5 years, HbA1c was 9.4%, and blood pressure was 132/76 mmHg. The renal exclusion was serum creatinine >1.6 mg/dL. Renal outcomes were sustained worsening of the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and sustained worsening by one or more stages in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS Intensive glycemic control did not independently reduce ACR progression but was associated with a significant attenuation in the progression of ACR in those who had baseline photocoagulation, cataract surgery, or both. The beneficial effect of intensive glycemic control increased with increasing BMI and with decreasing diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Intensive glycemic control was associated with less worsening of eGFR with increasing baseline ACR and insulin use. Baseline systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and photocoagulation were associated with worsening of eGFR. CONCLUSIONS Intensive glycemic control had no significant effect on the progression of renal disease in the whole cohort but was associated with some protection against increasing ACR in those with more advanced microvascular disease, lower baseline DBP, or higher baseline BMI and on worsening of eGFR in those with high baseline ACR.
Defective natural killer (NK) cell‐mediated cytotoxicity does not imply clonal involvement of NK cells in myelodysplastic syndromes

SUMMARY. The clonality of purified cells was examined in 10 myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients by analysing the restriction fragment length polymorphism and methylation pattern of the phosphoglycerate‐kinase gene. Natural killer (NK) cell‐mediated cytotoxicity was also examined. The granulocytes and monocytes were monoclonal or oligoclonal in all cases, except for the monocytes in one case. Conversely, the NK and T cells had a polyclonal pattern in most cases, including all cases who had defective NK cellmediated cytotoxicty. The hypothesis that reduced NK cellmediated cytotoxicity in MDS is caused by a clonal involvement of NK cells was not supported by the present study.
Family discipline incidents: An analysis of parental diaries

Abstract This study focuses on day-to-day parental disciplinary techniques, what provokes their use with their preschool children, and their outcome. Two hundred and seven parental diary anecdotes of disciplinary incidents with under five-year-old children, were analysed to determine the sequence of events. Children’s disruptive/aversive behaviour was the antecedent for a parental intervention in one third of the incidents, while making a demand occurred in about a quarter of incidents. Parental verbal instruction was the most commonly used first disciplinary technique followed by verbal warning, time-out and praise. In many situations, parents used several different disciplinary techniques to accomplish a child’s compliance. Children showed the most committed compliance after positive and neutral disciplinary strategies. New Zealand parents were shown to use complex communication, positive consequences, and mild punishment as disciplinary techniques, rather than power assertive or negative methods, and these strategies were on the whole effective.
Secular Immortality and the American Ideology of Affluence

Extending the Warnerian tradition of social class dynamics, this article explores the attainment of secular immortality through affluence. A diverse set of literary media directed to or written about wealthy consumers was interpreted in a hermeneutic fashion to discern the dominant themes composing the ideology of affluence. Among the themes identified were entrepreneurial achievement, the achievement of celebrity status via consumption, and secular achievement in artistry and craftsmanship. The ideology of affluence was found to promote the seeking of personal secular immortality through the cultural celebration of achievement, wealth,and the accumulation of possessions. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
Disruption model for Net-on-Roads

Idea of accessing broadband services from already deployed WiFi APs while travelling at vehicular speed has gained considerable popularity among the researchers. Random location of APs makes it difficult to get continuous internet connection. As a result, a mobile node moving at vehicular speed faces periods of connections and disconnections; this intermittence is termed as “disruption”. Disruption can not be completely eradicated because it arises because of random deployment of WiFi APs. However, special algorithms may be devised to “tolerate” the available disruption. As an initial step towards this final goal, we express disruption in a typical vehicular communication session as Markov Model to ease future analysis. Our model is based on data obtained from different test runs across different areas of the city.
Anisotropic migration velocity analysis: Application to a data set from West Africa

Although it is widely recognized that anisotropy can have a significant influence on the focusing and positioning of migrated reflection events, conventional depth imaging methods still operate with isotropic velocity fields. Here, we present an application of a 2D migration velocity analysis (MVA) algorithm, designed for factorized v(x, z) VTI (transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis) media, to an offshore data set from West Africa. By approximating the subsurface with factorized VTI blocks, it is possible to decouple the spatial variations in the vertical velocity from the anisotropic parameters with minimal a priori information.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Behavioral Analysis of Immature Rats with Kaolin-Induced Hydrocephalus: Pre- and Postshunting Observations

The motor and cognitive dysfunction associated with hydrocephalus remains a clinical problem in children. We hypothesized that young rats with hydrocephalus should exhibit similar dysfunction and that the dysfunction should be reversible by shunting. Hydrocephalus was induced in 3-week-old rats by injection of kaolin into the cisterna magna. Rats were assessed by T2-weighted images obtained with a 7-T magnetic resonance device and by repeated behavioral testing including ability to traverse a narrow beam and ability to find a hidden platform in a water pool. Some of the rats underwent a shunting procedure 1 or 4 weeks after kaolin injection. Magnetic resonance images were used to measure ventricle size. They clearly demonstrated increased signal in periventricular white matter, which corresponded to increased brain water content. A flow-void phenomenon was observed in the cerebral aqueduct. Ability to traverse the beam did not correlate with the degree of ventriculomegaly. Ability to swim to the hidden platform demonstrated a progressive impairment of learning function which may have been accentuated by motor disability. When rats were shunted after 1 week, the behavioral dysfunction was prevented. Late shunting after 4 weeks was associated with gradual recovery of the behavioral disability which was not complete after 4 weeks. We conclude that early shunting is superior to late shunting with regard to behavioral dysfunction. High-resolution MR imaging shows features in hydrocephalic rats similar to those found in hydrocephalic humans.
Formative assessment – an optimistic but incomplete vision

The preceding articles in this issue describe a diverse range of projects which had in common the aim of implementing or improving the practice of formative assessment, and thereby to secure some of the benefits attributed to it. This article attempts to set up a framework within which each of the different studies may be located and inter-related. There are three main sections. The first deals with the roles of assessment, both formative and summative, within a comprehensive model of pedagogy. The second considers the specific ways in which the different practices of assessment feedback help to develop the capacity of each student to become a thoughtful and independent learner. The third reviews the ways in which new assessment practices present problems to teachers in challenging them to re-think their role and similarly to students, when for both groups, new practices affect their ways of coping in the classroom.
Using Outpatient Prescription Claims to Evaluate Medication Adherence In An Acute Myocardial Infarction Population

We have previously shown that using computerized alerts and academic detailing results in significant improvement in physician adherence to secondary prevention guidelines for acute myocardial infarction. However, information about patient medication adherence after hospital discharge was not previously available. Using electronic outpatient prescription claims data, medication adherence for a coronary artery disease population is described.
Affordances and distributed cognition in museum exhibitions

Exhibitions are the primary medium for the public communication of science in museums. Recently, there has been an interest in explaining the educational mechanisms of exhibitions in terms of meaning making, interaction and space; however these concepts have not yet been integrated into one consistent framework. Here, we invoke the notions of affordance and distributed cognition to explain in a coherent way how visitors interact with exhibits and exhibit spaces and make meaning from those interactions, and we exemplify our points using observations of twelve visitors to exhibits at a natural history museum. We show how differences in exhibit characteristics give rise to differences in the interpretive strategies used by visitors in their meaning-making process, and conclude by discussing how the notions of affordance and distributed cognition can be used in an exhibit design perspective.
Demographic Variables and Fathers' Involvement with Their Child with Disabilities.

The main purpose of this study is to examine whether fathers' involvement with their child with disabilities is correlated with some of the demographic variables. Data were collected from 243 Polish fathers who were married and who had at least one child with disabilities. The issue was assessed by two measures: a Questionnaire and the Father Involvement Scale. The results of the multiple regression show that fathers' involvement is significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with the level of fathers' concentration on the needs of their child with disabilities, the level of fathers' cooperation with their wives, the number of years during which parents cared for a child with disabilities, time devoted by fathers daily for their child with disabilities, fathers' self-esteem, fathers' education, the level of disability of a child, the level of fathers' skills in dealing with their child with disabilities and the level of fathers' knowledge about their child with disabilities. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: http://youtu.be/XpTojch0j9Y
CHEMICAL INACTIVATION OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII OOCYSTS IN WATER

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is increasingly recognized as a waterborne pathogen. Infection can be acquired by drinking contaminated water and conventional water treatments may not effectively inactivate tough, environmentally resistant oocysts. The present study was performed to assess the efficacy of 2 commonly used chemicals, sodium hypochlorite and ozone, to inactivate T. gondii oocysts in water. Oocysts were exposed to 100 mg/L of chlorine for 30 min, or for 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 hr, or to 6 mg/L of ozone for 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 min. Oocyst viability was determined by mouse bioassay. Serology, immunohistochemistry, and in vitro parasite isolation were used to evaluate mice for infection. Initially, mouse bioassay experiments were conducted to compare the analytical sensitivity of these 3 detection methods prior to completing the chemical inactivation experiments. Toxoplasma gondii infection was confirmed by at least 1 of the 3 detection methods in mice inoculated with all doses (105–100) of oocysts. Results of the chemical exposure experiments indicate that neither sodium hypochlorite nor ozone effectively inactivate T. gondii oocysts, even when used at high concentrations.
Optimisation of an Ammonia Synthesis Loop - Investigation of a Novel Approach for Optimisation of Integrated plants

A Hysys model representing the steady state behaviour of a Haber-Bosch ammonia plant was developed based on a dynamic model and plant data from Norwegian fertiliser company Yara International ASA. The plant model was optimised using matlabs fmincon function with an interior-point method for economical optimisation with the aim to study the performance of different strategies. The Haber-Bosch ammonia plant represents an interconnected complex system with many nested mass and energy streams that make for a challenging optimisation. Therefore this thesis studies the effect of separating the plant model into units that are optimised separately to reduce the computational effort needed for the optimisation. These units consists of the synthesis gas makeup, reaction, separation and refrigeration sections. Two strategies where proposed, one were the plant refrigeration section was separated out from the plant model, which greatly reduced the amount of nested loops in the problem. The 2nd strategy replaced the separation and refrigeration section of the plant with a simplified model in the first optimisation set. The individual sections of both strategies were independently optimised There were several difficulties with developing a model that allowed for a wide range of operating configurations of the ammonia plant in Hysys. In addition a few unphysical aspects of the Hysys model were uncovered, such as the compressor lacking an upstream flow effect and poor methods for evaluating pressure drop for varying conditions. These challenges meant that the optimisation problem was only posed for a limited window of operation for the process. Thus, for application to a real world plant the results should be scrutinised. The optimisation strategies were successful in improving the plant profitability from the nominal operating point. In addition, as expected, the division decreased the computational effort needed for each optimisation. Further work is required to develop the separation strategy and identify possible limitations.
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG) INDUCED DEVELOPMENTAL DYSFUNCTION IN FEMALE ALBINO RATS (RATTUS NORVEGICUS)

Effects of a flavor enhancer, monosodium glutamate (MSG) was evaluated in female albino rats during the gestational period. Different doses of MSG (0.4g/kg and 4g/kg body weight) were administered orally using drinking water as a vehicle for 0 -15 th day of gestational period. The control received water only. On completion of the treatment period, the half of the experimental animals were sacrificed under light anesthesia using ether and the other half were allowed to deliver their pups. The body weight, the gravid uterine weight, organ weight, number of implantations, litter size, litter weight, growth rate of the viable off springs etc. were altered after MSG treatment. MSG also induced some abnormal changes in gestation such as abortion and or resorption of fetuses. The present study suggested that MSG adversely affected the fetal development of the pregnant female rats.
The influence of personality trait and demographics on financial decision making among Generation Y

Purpose – Financial planning is important in promoting the social well‐being of a nation. Without proper financial planning, individuals may be ill‐prepared in coping with the escalating cost of living, medical costs as well as enjoying their desired quality of life. However, financial decision making is not always made in a rational manner. This study aims to investigate the influence of personality traits, genders and course majors on decision making dimensions of risk aversion, cognitive biases and socially responsible investing (SRI) criteria among Generation Y undergraduates.Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes a sample of undergraduates from a business school in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study adapts the Big 5 personality scales from McCrae and Costa. The scales for the financial decision making dimensions, namely risk aversion, cognitive biases and SRI constructs, were developed for this study based on concepts developed from the extant literature. The validity and reliability of the .
What is Humanistic Psychotherapy

This paper attempts to outline the identity of the humanistic approach to psychotherapy. It does this by laying out certain characteristic themes of humanistic psychology as background, and then going on to discuss the person-centred approach, psychodrama and Gestalt therapy, experiential psychotherapy, body work, catharsis, the transpersonal, integration and training and development. It ends by stating the boundaries with neighbouring disciplines.
Immediate Effects of Region-Specific and Non–Region-Specific Spinal Manipulative Therapy in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Manual therapists typically advocate the need for a detailed clinical examination to decide which vertebral level should be manipulated in patients with low back pain. However, it is unclear whether spinal manipulation needs to be specific to a vertebral level. Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the immediate effects of a single, region-specific spinal manipulation defined during the clinical examination versus a single non–region-specific spinal manipulation (applied on an upper thoracic vertebra) in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain for the outcome measures of pain intensity and pressure pain threshold at the time of the assessment. Design This was a 2-arm, prospectively registered, randomized controlled trial with a blinded assessor. Setting The study was conducted in an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Brazil. Patients The study participants were 148 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (with pain duration of at least 12 weeks). Randomization The randomization schedule was generated by an independent statistician and was concealed by using consecutively numbered, sealed, opaque envelopes. Interventions A single high-velocity manipulation was administered to the upper thoracic region of the participants allocated to the non–region-specific manipulation group and to the painful lumbar levels of the participants allocated to the region-specific manipulation group. Measurements Pain intensity was measured by a 0 to 10 numeric pain rating scale. Pressure pain threshold was measured using a pressure algometer. Limitations It was not possible to blind the therapist and participants. Results A total of 148 patients participated in the study (74 in each group). There was no loss to follow-up. Both groups improved in terms of immediate decrease of pain intensity; however, no between-group differences were observed. The between-group difference for pain intensity and pressure pain threshold were 0.50 points (95% confidence interval=−0.10 to 1.10) and −1.78 points (95% confidence interval=−6.40 to 2.82), respectively. No adverse reactions were observed. Conclusion The immediate changes in pain intensity and pressure pain threshold after a single high-velocity manipulation do not differ by region-specific versus non–region-specific manipulation techniques in patients with chronic low back pain.
Inter-Regional Wage Dispersion in Portugal

This paper examines the size of inter-regional wage dispersion in Portugal. For this purpose, we estimate a Mincer-type human capital wage equation, including controls for a large number of regions, and calculate a weighted and adjusted standard deviation (WASD) of inter-regional wage differentials. The value is high and quite stable over time. The highest wages are found in the region of Lisbon. Moreover, the results are quite sensitive to inclusion of human capital and industry controls. A decomposition analysis reveals that differences average years of education and in the return to education across regions account for a significant fraction of observed wage differentials.
Stress, coping, and mental health outcomes following a natural disaster: Bereaved family members and friends compared

Abstract A longitudinal exploratory design was used to assess levels of stress, self-efficacy, social support, health status, and recovery one and three years following a disaster. Study participants were 31 relatives and 18 friends of deceased disaster victims. Data were collected by questionnaires and interviews and were analyzed by multivariate statistics. Results indicate that relatives' scores in two of the three health outcome measures were significantly higher than friends. Only four of the 49 participants reported full recovery three years postdisaster. Opportunities for innovative interventions as well as advancing theory development for practice are discussed.
Supporting pupils with EAL and their teachers in Ireland: the need for a co-ordinated strategy

Since the establishment of a Language Support Service in 1999, all newcomer children with limited English skills arriving in schools in Ireland are entitled to two years of additional English language support. This is provided mainly by designated Language Support Teachers (LSTs). During the peak of the Celtic Tiger, there was a sharp growth in the intake of students with English as an additional language (EAL). In response to this, the LST–pupil ratio dramatically increased in 2007, but this new policy was short-lived due to the emerging economic crisis. The present paper investigates the current status of language support provision for newcomer children in Irish schools and the role of LSTs in this process. This is complemented by the findings of a small-scale study of primary school LSTs. A mixed methods approach was adopted involving a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. Key themes identified include the need for focussed pre-service training and continuing professional development for all teachers involved in teaching students with EAL, and the provision of appropriate resources for teaching and assessment of these students. These issues are discussed in the context of national and international research on best practice in the area.