Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surrogate Markers for Long‐Term Renal Allograft Survival

Progressive improvement in kidney transplant survival rates and reduction in acute rejection rates have ironically restricted our ability to evaluate newer therapy. Current short‐term endpoints such as acute rejection rates have reduced utility in predicting long‐term survival. Long‐term graft survival is an ideal endpoint, but is limited by longer follow‐up requirements and the large cohort of patients required for such studies. Newer short‐term surrogate markers should be identified and these markers should correlate with long‐term graft failure. Hence, identification of short‐term surrogate markers is critical to test newer immunosuppressive strategies over current therapies, and should also predict long‐term transplant outcome. Potential surrogate markers are clinical parameters such as renal function, renal histological findings of fibrosis and immunological markers. Post‐transplant renal function estimated by serum creatinine within 1 year has been shown to correlate with long‐term survival. Alternative evaluation of renal function such as clearance studies and cystatin C, which are more accurate, could potentially be useful in clinical trials. Renal histological indices such as fibrosis measured as Chronic Allograft Disease Index score or Banff score correlate with long‐term graft survival. Immunological markers such as antidonor antibodies, levels of blood and urine cytokines, real time PCR, ELISPOT and microarrays are attractive surrogates to consider. Measurement of morbidity and mortality after transplantation is critical to further enhance long‐term survival. Thus, there are many potential surrogate markers and these individually or in combination with conventional endpoints should be implemented in clinical trials and validated in long‐term studies.
The Effect of Gender and Social Capital on the Dual Burden of Malnutrition: A Multilevel Study in Indonesia

Introduction The paradoxical phenomenon of the coexistence of overweight and underweight individuals in the same household, referred to as the “dual burden of malnutrition”, is a growing nutrition dilemma in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Aims The objectives of this study were (i) to examine the extent of the dual burden of malnutrition across different provinces in Indonesia and (ii) to determine how gender, community social capital, place of residency and other socio-economic factors affect the prevalence of the dual burden of malnutrition. Methods The current study utilized data from the fourth wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) conducted between November 2007 and April 2008. The dataset contains information from 12,048 households and 45,306 individuals of all ages. This study focused on households with individuals over two years old. To account for the multilevel nature of the data, a multilevel multiple logistic regression was conducted. Results Approximately one-fifth of all households in Indonesia exhibited the dual burden of malnutrition, which was more prevalent among male-headed households, households with a high Socio-economic status (SES), and households in urban areas. Minimal variation in the dual burden of malnutrition was explained by the community level differences (<4%). Living in households with a higher SES resulted in higher odds of the dual burden of malnutrition but not among female-headed households and communities with the highest social capital. Conclusion To improve household health and reduce the inequality across different SES groups, this study emphasizes the inclusion of women's empowerment and community social capital into intervention programs addressing the dual burden of malnutrition.
A new progestogen-estrogen combination for gynecologic therapy and contraception.

A survey of the main data collected on a new progestogen-estrogen combination Lyndiol 2.5 containing 2.5 mg lynestrenol and 75 mcg mestranol during a clinical investigation involving 180 women was presented. Lyndiol 2.5 was administered for the treatment of various gynecologic conditions in some cases of infertility and for contraceptive purposes. The dosage was 1 tablet daily orally from cycle Day 5-24. A total of 896 medication courses were given. The results in the treated cases of amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea hypermenorrhea dysmenorrhea and endometriosis were highly satisfactory regarding induction of regular withdrawal bleedings cycle control and alleviation of clinical complaints. The effects obtained in 7 infertility cases treated in an attempt to obtain a so-called "rebound" effect were not encouraging. Only 1 became pregnant in the months following cessation of treatment. In view of the small series studied and difficulties in interpretation no conclusions were drawn from this part of the investigation. No pregnancies occurred in the group of fertile and highly fertile women given Lyndiol 2.5 for contraception. Judging by urinary pregnanediol excretion and examination of the ovaries at laparotomy no ovulation occurred during treatment with Lyndiol 2.5 in any of the cases studied. Tolerance was unusually good with a negligible incidence of side effects. Laboratory examinations performed to check the safety of Lyndiol 2.5 in long term administration including liver function tests were normal.
Plato on the Omo: reflections on decision-making among the Kara of southern Ethiopia

Abstract The paper presents an ethnographic description of the institutions and processes of decision-making among the Kara of Southern Ethiopia, central among them the council of spokesmen called the borkotto bitti. Comparing these practices as well as the Kara's own discussions of them with equivalent practices of their cultural neighbours, the Hamar, reveals the extent and complexity of social imagination in the Lower Omo Valley. The philosopher Plato's treatise on the philosopher-kings of the utopian city (“Republic”) offers another foil for the ethnographic data in its dense discussion of the links between decision-making, personal virtue, status, accountability and the common weal, which mirrors the Kara's own reflections. The inevitable contradictions in the political system are accordingly treated not simply from an analytical perspective, but as an actors' problem.
Muslim Immigrants in Greece: Religious Organization and Local Responses

Muslims are the second largest religious group in Greece. In this essay their migration process, numbers, settlement patterns and demographic characteristics are presented. It is shown that Muslims in Greece include not only economic migrants but also an indigenous population residing in the northern part of the country. The essay discusses mainly the immigrants' efforts to establish associations and prayer halls as well as the state's initiative to establish a central mosque in the suburbs of Athens. It argues that although Muslims are now an integral part of a multi-religious Greece, there is a long way to go to achieving their integration.
Religious Beliefs, Elite Polarization, and Public Opinion on Foreign Policy: The Partisan Gap in American Public Opinion Toward Israel

Examining American attitudes toward Israel, this article demonstrates that religious beliefs and elite polarization both play a significant role in predicting public opinion about foreign policy. It is argued that the growing gap in partisan support for Israel is explained by two related transformations in the American political parties: the emergence of new religious cleavages and the polarization of the political parties. Using a time series of public attitudes toward Israel since 1967, it is revealed that the partisan support is strongly explained by religious preferences, that these religious preferences have aligned with partisan identification in the 1990s, and that the polarization between Democratic and Republican elites in recent years has further distanced the attitudes of Republican and Democratic identifiers.
Nonlinearity and Propagation Characteristics of Balanced Boolean Functions

Abstract Three important criteria for cryptographically strong Boolean functions are balance, nonlinearity, and the propagation criterion. The main contributions of this paper are to reveal a number of interesting properties of balance and nonlinearity, and to study systematic methods for constructing Boolean functions that satisfy some or all of the three criteria. We show that concatenating, splitting, modifying, and multiplying (in the sense of Kronecker) sequences can yield balanced Boolean functions with a very high nonlinearity. In particular, we show that balanced Boolean functions obtained by modifying and multiplying sequences achieve a nonlinearity higher than that attainable by any previously known construction method. We also present methods for constructing balanced Boolean functions that are highly nonlinear and satisfy the strict avalanche criterion (SAC). Furthermore we present methods for constructing highly nonlinear balanced Boolean functions satisfying the propagation criterion with respect to all but one or three vectors. A technique is developed to transform the vectors where the propagation criterion is not satisfied in such a way that the functions constructed satisfy the propagation criterion of high degree while preserving the balance and nonlinearity of the functions. The algebraic degrees of functions constructed are also discussed.
Traditional healers, treatment delay, performance status and death from TB in rural South Africa.

BACKGROUND People in sub-Saharan Africa frequently consult traditional healers before reaching the government health services (GHS). This can lead to delays in starting effective anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. To our knowledge, no studies have shown a direct relationship between visiting traditional healers, increased morbidity and death from TB. METHODS All patients starting on anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy at a rural hospital in South Africa in 2003 were included in the study. TB nurses interviewed the patients and established how long they had had symptoms before treatment was started, whether they had visited traditional healers before coming to the hospital, their performance status and, later, whether they had died. RESULTS Of 133 patients, those who attended a traditional healer took longer to access anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy (median 90 days, range 0-210) than those who went directly to the GHS (median 21, range 0-120). Patients who visited a traditional healer had worse performance status (P < 0.001), and were more likely to die (24/77 [31%] vs. 4/33 [12%], P = 0.04). CONCLUSION Treatment delay due to visiting traditional healers can have dire consequences for patients with TB. Efforts are required to engage with health care practitioners outside the government sector to improve the prospects for patients with TB.
Using Metaphors as a Tool for Examining Preservice Elementary Teachers' Beliefs About Mathematics Teaching and Learning

This study used metaphors as a tool to gain insight about preservice teachers' conceptualizations of the role of the teacher and the learner and held the view that the examination of these metaphors might provide an opportunity for teacher educators to reflectively and critically examine those beliefs. Thus, this research examined possible differences in the reflected beliefs of elementary preservice teachers as depicted in their metaphors about mathematics teaching and learning at three different points throughout their mathematics education methods courses. The results of this study indicated that elementary preservice teachers' beliefs primarily remained static throughout their mathematics methods courses despite ongoing experiences designed to challenge and extend those beliefs.
Votes and violence

Many of the world’s most infamous terrorist organizations demonstrate clear political aptitude, maintaining highly successful political parties while simultaneously carrying out terrorist attacks. Yet the relationship between terrorism and a group’s political fortune is unclear. Groups like Hamas and Hezbollah appear to have gained significant support as a consequence of certain attacks, most notably those against US and Israeli targets. Other organizations fight for their political life after certain attacks. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing, Sinn Fein, scrambled to restore its public image after bombs in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, killed 11 Protestant civilians. In this article I examine the relationship between violence and political participation. I show that rebel groups are less likely to attack civilians when they simultaneously participate in democratic elections. I argue that attacking civilians is not good for political business. Not only can it distinguish the group as a terrorist organization and alienate supporters as a result, but attacking civilians also imposes high costs on the group’s own civilian support base. For these reasons, civilians frequently withdraw political support for rebel groups after they target civilians, which can be profoundly harmful to rebels. I analyze the violent and political behavior of non-state violent organizations from the Middle East and North Africa from 1980 to 2004. I also examine the IRA as a means of describing the causal mechanism advanced here.
Electronic Cigarettes for Curbing the Tobacco-Induced Burden of Noncommunicable Diseases: Evidence Revisited with Emphasis on Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction. This review examines whether electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) implementation or vulgarization in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) could be helpful in curtailing the toll of tobacco smoking in the region. Discussion. There are about 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, with nearly 80% of them living in developing countries where the burden of tobacco-related illnesses and deaths is the heaviest. Studies report that e-cigs may facilitate smoking cessation, reduction, or abstinence and may pose only a small fraction of the risks of traditional tobacco cigarettes; e-cigs may also considerably reduce second-hand smoking. Thereby, implementation of e-cig use could help to substantially reduce the burden driven by tobacco smoking in SSA, in a particular context of lack of regulations and control policies towards this threat. However, the evidence is not clear on whether e-cigs are risk-free, especially if used in the long term. Conclusions. On the whole, if e-cigs were to be introduced in SSA, they should be strictly recommended to current and/or ex-smokers as a method to quit smoking or prevent relapse and never-smokers should be strongly encouraged to avoid using these devices. Bans on sales of e-cigs to youngsters should be legislated, e-cig advertisements prohibited, and their usage continuously controlled and monitored.
Comparison of Heuristic and Optimal Subcarrier Assignment Algorithms

Wireless multi carrier approaches can support the simultaneous transmissions to several wireless termi- nals, each one getting only some of the available sub- carriers. Judiciously assigning subcarriers to terminals can be used to, e.g., increase the capacity of a wireless cell; however, the resulting assignment problem is diffi- cult. The first subproblem is to decide the number of car- riers assigned to each terminal. Then, carriers have to be assigned to individual terminals. For this assignment problem, we present in this paper an optimal but imprac- tical algorithm as well as two new heuristic ones, which have a considerably lower complexity and can be used in real systems. We show that the performance of even the simple heuristic algorithm is comparable with that of the optimal algorithm. The advanced heuristic increases the performance further, at a modest increase in complexity. Both heuristics are at most 5% off from the optimal algo- rithm's performance 1 .
Exploring Women Track and Field Athletes' Meanings of Muscularity

Women athletes often struggle with attaining the muscular body needed to compete successfully, while at the same time negotiating expectations to conform to a lean and toned ideal. The purpose of this study was to explore women track and field athletes’ meanings of muscularity. Four adult and four adolescent women participated in focus groups and one-on-one interviews, exploring issues surrounding the body, including ideals and expectations. The participants also took photographs to represent their perceptions of their own muscularity. Four themes emerged: (a) many faces of muscularity, (b) a blurred line between appearance and performance, (c) a culture of comparison, and (d) a journey towards self-acceptance. Muscularity was identified as a complex and context specific experience, reflecting the multiple meanings of muscularity and the periods of struggle on the journey towards self-acceptance of the body.
Natural Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Reveal Features of an Uncharacterized Circadian Property

Most cyclic biological processes are under control of a circadian molecular timing system that synchronizes these phenomena to the 24-h day. One generic property of circadian-controlled processes is that they operate within a specific temperature range, below which the manifestation of rhythm ceases. Little is known about the evolutionary relevance of the lower temperature limit of rhythmicity or about the mechanism underlying the loss of overt circadian behavior below this lower limit, especially in one model organism of chronobiology, Drosophila melanogaster. Natural populations of Drosophila are evolving under divergent selection pressures and so provide a source of diversity necessary to address these issues. Using lines derived from African populations, we find that there is natural variation in the expression of rhythmic behavior under low-temperature conditions. We found evidence that this variability is evolutionarily relevant at extremely low temperature (12 °C) because high-altitude populations exhibit selection for locally adapted genomes that contribute to rhythmic behavior. Lines resistant to 15 °C show an additional layer of diversity in their response to temperature extremes because some lines are resistant to low temperature (15 °C) only, whereas others are cross-resistant to high and low temperature (15 °C and 30 °C). Genetic analysis of one cold-resistant circadian line at 15 °C reveals that the phenotype maps to the X-chromosome but not to the core clock genes, per and sgg. Analysis of the central clock cells of this line reveals that maintenance of rhythm is associated with robust clock function, which is compromised in a standard laboratory strain. These data indicate that the cold-resistant circadian phenotype is clock based. This study highlights the importance of using natural populations to inform us of the basic features of circadian traits, especially those that might be under temperature-based selection.
Effective rating scale development for speaking tests: Performance decision trees

Rating scale design and development for testing speaking is generally conducted using one of two approaches: the measurement-driven approach or the performance data-driven approach. The measurement-driven approach prioritizes the ordering of descriptors onto a single scale. Meaning is derived from the scaling methodology and the agreement of trained judges as to the place of any descriptor on the scale. The performance data-driven approach, on the other hand, places primary value upon observations of language performance, and attempts to describe performance in sufficient detail to generate descriptors that bear a direct relationship with the original observations of language use. Meaning is derived from the link between performance and description. We argue that measurement-driven approaches generate impoverished descriptions of communication, while performance data-driven approaches have the potential to provide richer descriptions that offer sounder inferences from score meaning to performance in specified domains. With reference to original data and the literature on travel service encounters, we devise a new scoring instrument, a Performance Decision Tree (PDT). This instrument prioritizes what we term ‘performance effect’ by explicitly valuing and incorporating performance data from a specific communicative context. We argue that this avoids the reification of ordered scale descriptors which we find in measurement-driven scale construction for speaking tests.
Examining concepts of power and agency in research with young people

Concepts of power and agency have become increasingly prominent in the youth studies literatures and related research. A focus of the research to date has been an examination of how a better understanding of young people's lived experiences can reveal possibilities for young people's agency to emerge. Despite increased interest in the term agency, much less has been said about how the concept is defined and recognized in research with young people, including what the concept may entail but crucially, how the term is linked to and underpinned by the related concept of power. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of power and agency as utilized in research with young people. The discussion that follows identifies the possible ways in which different theoretical positions shape our understanding of how power and agency are investigated and how these understandings inform the ways we interpret young people's perspectives and actions as holding potential for ‘agency’. Drawing on recent empirical examples, we consider how varying interpretations of power and/or agency shape not only the ways in which young people's agentic experiences are theorized (and the related ontological and epistemological assumptions these positions imply) but also the presumed effects of that agency.
Symmetrical Absence/Symmetrical Absurdity: Critical Notes on the Production of Actor-Network Accounts

An enduring concern within management and organization studies (MOS) is how to conduct research from perspectives deemed 'alternatives' to those of functionalism and positivism. Our aim is to address this concern with regard to an approach employed by Karen Legge in research on knowledge workers, namely that of actor-network theory (ANT) (or the 'sociology of translation'). Following an introduction to ANT, the views of some of its key proponents, and Legge's own use of the approach, the paper presents critical notes on five issues related to the production of ANT accounts - the inclusion and exclusion of actors; the treatment of humans and non-humans; the nature of privileging and status; the handling of agency and structure; and the nature of politics and power in 'heterogeneous engineering'. We discuss the relationships between these issues and the key ANT goal of achieving a sense of 'general symmetry' in the accounting process. In so doing, we note how ANT authors are frequently chastised for either failing to take sufficient account of, or promoting too strong a sense of, analytical symmetry in their writing. It is argued that the primary challenge facing ANT researchers is to produce accounts that are robust enough to negate the twin charges of symmetrical absence and symmetrical absurdity.