Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peritonsillar infections: local experience.

INTRODUCTION The disease pattern and management of peritonsillar infections in Singapore General Hospital are studied. Other objectives are to determine if a seasonal variation exists and to examine the role of routine bacterial cultures and interval tonsillectomy. METHODS This is a retrospective review of the management and outcome of patients with peritonsillar infections who were admitted acutely to Singapore General Hospital over a three-year period. RESULTS Of 185 patients studied, 151 (81.6 percent) had peritonsillar abscess or quinsy and 34 (18.4 percent) had peritonsillar cellulitis. There were 139 males and 46 females, with a racial predisposition among Malays (p value is less than 0.0005). There may be a seasonal variation with a bi-annual trend, though no correlation with upper respiration tract infections was noted. Treatment consisted mainly of incision and drainage (66 percent) or needle aspiration (34 percent). No significant difference in the length of stay was noted in patients receiving penicillin alone, penicillin with metronidazole, or broad-spectrum antibiotics (p value is equal to 0.062). Fourteen (7.6 percent) patients had recurrences, all of which occurred after the first month. Two patients (1 percent) had bilateral quinsy. CONCLUSION Peritonsillar infections remain a common admitting diagnosis to the Otolaryngology department. A single episode of infection should no longer be an indication for tonsillectomy as the incidence of recurrence is low.
MRShare

Large-scale data analysis lies in the core of modern enterprises and scientific research. With the emergence of cloud computing, the use of an analytical query processing infrastructure (e.g., Amazon EC2) can be directly mapped to monetary value. MapReduce has been a popular framework in the context of cloud computing, designed to serve long running queries (jobs) which can be processed in batch mode. Taking into account that different jobs often perform similar work, there are many opportunities for sharing. In principle, sharing similar work reduces the overall amount of work, which can lead to reducing monetary charges incurred while utilizing the processing infrastructure. In this paper we propose a sharing framework tailored to MapReduce. Our framework, MRShare, transforms a batch of queries into a new batch that will be executed more efficiently, by merging jobs into groups and evaluating each group as a single query. Based on our cost model for MapReduce, we define an optimization problem and we provide a solution that derives the optimal grouping of queries. Experiments in our prototype, built on top of Hadoop, demonstrate the overall effectiveness of our approach and substantial savings.
One-Stage Augmentation Mastopexy: A Review of 1192 Simultaneous Breast Augmentation and Mastopexy Procedures in 615 Consecutive Patients.

BACKGROUND Despite the increasing popularity of the combined augmentation mastopexy procedure among patients, the safety and efficacy of this surgery have been questioned by many surgeons. OBJECTIVE The authors investigated the safety and efficacy of the combined augmentation mastopexy procedure. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 615 consecutive patients who underwent combined augmentation mastopexy procedures at a single outpatient surgery center from 1992 through 2011. Patient demographics, operative and implant details, and long-term outcomes were analyzed. Rates of complications and revisions were calculated. RESULTS The most common complications were poor scarring (5.7%), wound-healing problems (2.9%), and deflation of saline implants (2.4%). Of the 615 patients evaluated, 104 (16.9%) elected to undergo revision surgery: 54 revision procedures were secondary to implant-related complications, and 50 were secondary to tissue-related complications. Our data compare favorably with previously reported revision rates for breast augmentation alone and mastopexy alone. CONCLUSIONS With a skilled surgeon and proper patient selection, the combined augmentation mastopexy procedure can be safe and effective. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Collaboration, Improvisation, and Memory

Collaborative inhibition is defined as reduced memory performance when people collaborate in a group as compared to a non-collaborating (nominal) group of individuals. Collaborative inhibition is a robust effect that has been widely replicated; moreover, it has proven very difficult to attenuate or eliminate this effect. The present study was designed to determine whether collaborative inhibition persists in a situation where collaboration is central to the creation of the to-be-remembered stimuli. Across two experiments, participants were asked to improvise conversations/scenes and then recall them individually or collaboratively. Results and implications will be discussed. Document Type Thesis Degree Name Bachelor of Arts (BA) Department or Program Psychology First Advisor Matthew R. Kelley Second Advisor Chloe Johnston Third Advisor Susan M. Long
Temperature and supply Voltage aware performance and power modeling at microarchitecture level

Performance and power are two primary design issues for systems ranging from server computers to handhelds. Performance is affected by both temperature and supply voltage because of the temperature and voltage dependence of circuit delay. Furthermore, as semiconductor technology scales down, leakage power's exponential dependence on temperature and supply voltage becomes significant. Therefore, future design studies call for temperature and voltage aware performance and power modeling. In this paper, we study microarchitecture-level temperature and voltage aware performance and power modeling. We present a leakage power model with temperature and voltage scaling, and show that leakage and total energy vary by 38% and 24%, respectively, between 65/spl deg/C and 110/spl deg/C. We study thermal runaway induced by the interdependence between temperature and leakage power, and demonstrate that without temperature-aware modeling, underestimation of leakage power may lead to the failure of thermal controls, and overestimation of leakage power may result in excessive performance penalties of up to 5.24%. All of these studies underscore the necessity of temperature-aware power modeling. Furthermore, we study optimal voltage scaling for best performance with dynamic power and thermal management under different packaging options. We show that dynamic power and thermal management allows designs to target at the common-case thermal scenario among benchmarks and improves performance by 6.59% compared to designs targeted at the worst case thermal scenario without dynamic power and thermal management. Additionally, the optimal V/sub dd/ for the best performance may not be the largest V/sub dd/ allowed by the given packaging platform, and that advanced cooling techniques can improve throughput significantly.
Up‐Regulation of Connexin45 in Heart Failure

Introduction: Heart failure is associated with reduced expression of the major gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43), which may contribute to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in this patient population. Other cardiac connexins may be altered as well. Because connexin45 (Cx45) has been shown to colocalize with Cx43, we determined whether the number, size, or distribution of Cx45 gap junctions is altered in the failing heart.
Functional and neural mechanisms of intertemporal choice

People are daily faced with intertemporal choice, i.e., choices differing in the timing of their consequences, frequently preferring smaller-sooner rewards over larger-delayed ones, reflecting temporal discounting of the value of future outcomes. This dissertation addresses two main goals. New evidence about the neural bases of intertemporal choice is provided. Following the disruption of either the medial orbitofrontal cortex or the insula, the willingness to wait for larger-delayed outcomes is affected in odd directions, suggesting the causal involvement of these areas in regulating the value computation of rewards available with different timings. These findings were also supported by a reported imaging study. Moreover, this dissertation provides new evidence about how temporal discounting can be modulated at a behavioral level through different manipulations, e.g., allowing individuals to think about the distant time, pairing rewards with aversive events, or changing their perceived spatial position. A relationship between intertemporal choice, moral judgements and aging is also discussed. All these findings link together to support a unitary neural model of temporal discounting according to which signals coming from several cortical (i.e., medial orbitofrontal cortex, insula) and subcortical regions (i.e., amygdala, ventral striatum) are integrated to represent the subjective value of both earlier and later rewards, under the top-down regulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The present findings also support the idea that the process of outcome evaluation is strictly related to the ability to pre-experience and envision future events through self-projection, the anticipation of visceral feelings associated with receiving rewards, and the psychological distance from rewards. Furthermore, taking into account the emotions and the state of arousal at the time of decision seems necessary to understand impulsivity associated with preferring smaller-sooner goods in place of larger-later goods.
Low Serum Biotinidase Activity in Children with Valproic Acid Monotherapy

Summary: Purpose: Valproic acid (VPA) is an effective antiepileptic drug (AED), which is associated with dose‐related adverse reactions such as skin rash, hair loss (alopecia), etc. Profound as well as partial biotinidase deficiency causes dermatologic manifestations similar these. Therefore, it was of interest to evaluate serum biotinidase activity in patients receiving VPA monotherapy.
Accurate quantification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA from all HCV genotypes by using branched-DNA technology

In studies monitoring disease progression and therapeutic response, it is essential that the method used for hepatitis C virus (HCV) quantification not be influenced by genotypic variability. The branched DNA assay provides a reliable method for the quantification of HCV RNA. A modified set of oligonucleotide probes for the branched DNA assay was developed to enhance the efficiency of binding to genotypic variants of HCV. The improved branched DNA assay (HCV RNA 2.0) yielded highly reproducible quantification of hepatitis C virus RNA and displayed a nearly 600-fold dynamic range in quantification up to 120 Meq of HCV RNA per ml. The quantification limit was set at 0.2 Meg of HCV RNA per ml to ensure a specificity of > or = 95%. With this lowered quantification limit and the enhanced hybridization of the probes, the HCV RNA 2.0 assay exhibited a high level of sensitivity (96%) and was virtually unaffected by the genotypic variability of HCV. The HCV RNA 2.0 assay may be a useful tool for following HCV RNA levels throughout the course of disease, selecting patients for therapy, and evaluating therapeutic response.
Glutamate Receptor δ2 Associates with Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 1 (mGluR1), Protein Kinase Cγ, and Canonical Transient Receptor Potential 3 and Regulates mGluR1-Mediated Synaptic Transmission in Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons

Cerebellar motor coordination and cerebellar Purkinje cell synaptic function require metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1, Grm1). We used an unbiased proteomic approach to identify protein partners for mGluR1 in cerebellum and discovered glutamate receptor δ2 (GluRδ2, Grid2, GluΔ2) and protein kinase Cγ (PKCγ) as major interactors. We also found canonical transient receptor potential 3 (TRPC3), which is also needed for mGluR1-dependent slow EPSCs and motor coordination and associates with mGluR1, GluRδ2, and PKCγ. Mutation of GluRδ2 changes subcellular fractionation of mGluR1 and TRPC3 to increase their surface expression. Fitting with this, mGluR1-evoked inward currents are increased in GluRδ2 mutant mice. Moreover, loss of GluRδ2 disrupts the time course of mGluR1-dependent synaptic transmission at parallel fiber–Purkinje cells synapses. Thus, GluRδ2 is part of the mGluR1 signaling complex needed for cerebellar synaptic function and motor coordination, explaining the shared cerebellar motor phenotype that manifests in mutants of the mGluR1 and GluRδ2 signaling pathways.
The Impact of Questionnaire Design on Response Times and Responses to Questions

In the past, it has been noted that minor changes in questionnaire design can influence the responses submitted (Jackson, Ing, & Arseneault, 2007). This study looked to evaluate whether variations in item wording or response scale characteristics would influence the way individuals cognitively process and respond to questionnaires. To facilitate this a 3x2x2x2 randomized by repeated measure experimental design was implemented, where scale characteristics and item wording were manipulated. Multiple Analysis of Variance tests were conducted, and it was noted that variations in scale characteristics and item wording resulted in differences in cognitive processing as well as the responses submitted. Questionnaire characteristics interacted with the type of experiences being evaluated, suggesting that some experiences result in different types of cognitive processing than others. The results from this study suggest that researchers should be careful when creating questionnaires, as subtle variations can alter the way individuals process and respond to items. Questionnaire Characteristics v TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY iii ABSTRACT iv
An Expeditious and Greener Synthesis of 2-Aminoimidazoles in Deep Eutectic Solvents

A high-yield one-pot two-step synthesis of 2-aminoimidazoles (2-AI), exploiting an under-air heterocyclodehydration process between α-chloroketones and guanidine derivatives, and using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as nonconventional, “green” and “innocent” reaction media, has been accomplished successfully. The combination of either glycerol or urea with choline chloride (ChCl) proved to be effective for decreasing the reaction time to about 4–6 h in contrast to the 10–12 h usually required for the same reaction run in toxic and volatile organic solvents and under an argon atmosphere. In addition, the use of the ChCl–urea as a DES also enables the direct isolation of triaryl-substituted 2-AI derivatives by means of a simple work-up procedure consisting in filtration and crystallization, and allows the recycle of the DES mixture. A plausible mechanism highlighting the potential role played by hydrogen bonding catalysis has also been illustrated.
The Model Our model runs under ACT-R / PM with the Eye Movements and Movements of Attention Extension

Interactive behavior emerges from the interaction of embodied cognition with task and the artifacts designed to accomplish the task. The current study focuses on how subtle changes in interface design lead to changes in the cognition, perception, and action operations that compose interactive behavior. The Argus Prime task is explained and the nature of the modeling effort is discussed. Insights obtained by exploring differences between model and human performance in one aspect of the Argus Prime task are presented.
Motor Learning in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a Literature Review

OBJECTIVE: To present and discuss the outcomes in the literature regarding the process of motor learning and/or motor ability in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHOD: A timeless search was performed in the electronic databases PubMed and BVS (Virtual Health Library), with the keywords “Duchenne muscular dystrophy” (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy), “motor learning” (learning engine), “motor skills” (ability motor). We used the Boolean AND / OR, and / or to give more specific research and sensitivity to the survey, and papers were only accepted in Portuguese and English. The studies were reviewed independently by two researchers, and after reading the titles and abstracts, they identified the works that were included for analysis and scoring. RESULTS: The search yielded 18 articles and four studies met all inclusion criteria. The results show that DMD maintains motor learning patterns, even with the progressive dysfunction. They also focus on lower performance compared to individuals with normal development. However, there are differences in the impact and magnitude of the influence of factors such as cognitive ability, deterioration of the perceptual motor process and kinetic impairment in the motor learning of people with DMD. CONCLUSION: The process of motor learning in people with DMD remains, even with the progressive nature of the disease, and it is essential to further clarify how this process takes place, as well as the variables behave.
Evaluation of anti-inflammatory effect of statins in chronic periodontitis

Objectives: Statins are the group of lipid-lowering drugs commonly used to control cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Statins have potential anti-inflammatory effect by blocking the intermediate metabolites of the mevalonate pathway. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of statin medication in chronic periodontitis patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients of age group between 40 and 60 years were selected from the outpatient pool of Department of Periodontics, Thaimoogambigai Dental College and Hospital, Chennai. Thirty patients selected were grouped into two groups, Group-I consists of patients with generalized chronic periodontitis and on statin medication and Group-II consists of patients with generalized chronic periodontitis. Clinical parameters were recorded and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were analyzed for interleukin (IL)-1β using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean GCF IL-1β levels in generalized chronic periodontitis patients who are on statin medication (Group-I) were lower than the generalized chronic periodontitis patients without statin medication (Group-II). Conclusion: Reduction of GCF IL-1β levels in statin users indicate that statins have anti-inflammatory effect on periodontal disease.
The Black-White Test Score Gap Through Third Grade

This paper describes basic facts regarding the black-white test score gap over the first four years of school. Black children enter school substantially behind their white counterparts in reading and math, but including a small number of covariates erases the gap. Over the first four years of school, however, blacks lose substantial ground relative to other races; averaging . 10 standard deviations per school year. By the end of third grade there is a large Black-White test score gap that cannot be explained by observable characteristics. Blacks are falling behind in virtually all categories of skills tested, except the most basic. None of the explanations we examine, including systematic differences in school quality across races, convincingly explain the divergent academic trajectory of Black students.
Therapeutic potential of NMDA receptor antagonists in the treatment of alcohol and substance use disorders

Despite the fact that the use of alcohol, nicotine and other drugs is the major external factor contributing to mortality in industrialised countries, there are few medications available to treat alcohol and substance use disorders. In recent years, major advances have been made in the understanding of the neurobiological basis for these disorders and these advances should lead to the development of new pharmacotherapeutics. A substantial amount of the research suggests that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor neurotransmission contributes to mediating the behavioural effects of alcohol and other drugs of abuse. This research supports the therapeutic potential of NMDA receptor antagonists in alcohol and substance use disorders. In this paper the authors present their opinion on the goals and stages of pharmacological treatment of these complex psychiatric disorders. Available preclinical research using designs that model aspects of alcohol and substance use disorders is summarised, with an emphasis on research published in the last two years. In animal models, NMDA antagonists inhibit physical dependence and the reinforcing effects of a variety of abused substances. The ability of NMDA antagonists to inhibit tolerance to drug effects and contribute possible antidepressant and anxiolytic effects are also important from the perspective of drug development. This review summarises the relevant clinical laboratory and treatment data. Finally, it presents the status of the current development of NMDA receptor antagonists and discusses candidates with the greatest potential for clinical development.
Adapting publish-subscribe routing to traffic demands

Most of currently available content-based publish-subscribe systems that were designed to operate in large scale, wired scenarios, build their routing infrastructure as a set of brokers connected in an acyclic network. The topology of such network is critical for the performance of the system. Depending on the traffic profile, the same topology may provide good performance or be very inefficient. Starting from this consideration, in this paper we first analyze this issue in detail, then we describe a distributed algorithm to address it, by adapting the topology of a content-based publish-subscribe routing network to the application demand.
Towards an understanding of the racial identity of bi-racial people: The experience of racial self-identification of African -American/Euro-American adults and the factors affecting their choices of racial identity

TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE RACIAL IDENTITY OF BI-RACIAL PEOPLE: THE EXPERIENCE OF RACIAL SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN/EURO-AMERICAN ADULTS AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING THEIR CHOICES OF RACIAL IDENTITY SEPTEMBER 1992 CHARMAINE WUEYESINGHE, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS M. Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS Ed. D. , UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS Directed by: Professor Bailey W. Jackson The purpose of this study was to examine how a select group of adults of AfricanAmerican/Euro-American heritage came to choose or develop a sense of racial identity. The seven participants were women and men who ranged in age from twenty-one to fifty-nine, and who had chosen Black, White, or Mixed racial identities. Utilizing in-depth phenomenological interviewing, participants were asked how their life experiences had led them to choose a particular racial identity, how they experienced the world in light of their chosen identity, and the meaning which they made of their choice of identity given their actual biological racial heritage. The data was presented as in-depth profiles taken from transcripts of the interviews for each participant. In addition, themes which emerged when participants were compared