Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Survey of Artificial Intelligence Techniques Employed for Adaptive Educational Systems within E-Learning Platforms

Abstract The adaptive educational systems within e-learning platforms are built in response to the fact that the learning process is different for each and every learner. In order to provide adaptive e-learning services and study materials that are tailor-made for adaptive learning, this type of educational approach seeks to combine the ability to comprehend and detect a person’s specific needs in the context of learning with the expertise required to use appropriate learning pedagogy and enhance the learning process. Thus, it is critical to create accurate student profiles and models based upon analysis of their affective states, knowledge level, and their individual personality traits and skills. The acquired data can then be efficiently used and exploited to develop an adaptive learning environment. Once acquired, these learner models can be used in two ways. The first is to inform the pedagogy proposed by the experts and designers of the adaptive educational system. The second is to give the system dynamic self-learning capabilities from the behaviors exhibited by the teachers and students to create the appropriate pedagogy and automatically adjust the e-learning environments to suit the pedagogies. In this respect, artificial intelligence techniques may be useful for several reasons, including their ability to develop and imitate human reasoning and decision-making processes (learning-teaching model) and minimize the sources of uncertainty to achieve an effective learning-teaching context. These learning capabilities ensure both learner and system improvement over the lifelong learning mechanism. In this paper, we present a survey of raised and related topics to the field of artificial intelligence techniques employed for adaptive educational systems within e-learning, their advantages and disadvantages, and a discussion of the importance of using those techniques to achieve more intelligent and adaptive e-learning environments.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy and safety of cinacalcet HCl in participants with CKD not receiving dialysis.

BACKGROUND Secondary hyperparathyroidism is observed in patients with early chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated the safety and efficacy of cinacalcet for secondary hyperparathyroidism in participants with CKD not receiving dialysis. STUDY DESIGN Double-blind, randomized, 32-week, phase 3 study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 404 participants with stage 3 or 4 CKD from 73 centers in 9 countries. INTERVENTIONS Cinacalcet:placebo (3:1 ratio). OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS Proportion of participants with a mean decrease of 30% or greater in intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level, proportion with iPTH level of 70 or less or 110 or less pg/mL (stage 3 and 4 CKD, respectively), and mean percentage of iPTH change from baseline, all during the efficacy-assessment phase. RESULTS A greater proportion of cinacalcet than placebo participants achieved a 30% or greater decrease in iPTH level (74% versus 28%; P < 0.001), corresponding to a 43.1% decrease in iPTH level from baseline (cinacalcet) compared with a 1.1% increase (placebo). At week 32, serum calcium levels were 8.9 +/- 0.8 mg/dL (-8.9%; cinacalcet) and 9.9 +/- 0.6 mg/dL (+0.8%; placebo), phosphorus levels were 4.5 +/- 1.0 mg/dL (+21.4%) and 4.0 +/- 0.7 mg/dL (+6.8%), and calcium-phosphorus product values were 40.1 +/- 8.3 mg(2)/dL(2) (+18.9%) and 38.9 +/- 6.9 mg(2)/dL(2) (+17.1%), respectively. During the study course, 62% (cinacalcet) and 1% (placebo) of participants experienced 2 consecutive serum calcium concentrations less than 8.4 mg/dL. They generally were asymptomatic and without significant clinical consequences. Treatment generally was well tolerated, and most adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. LIMITATIONS The study was not designed to assess the effects of cinacalcet on vascular calcification, bone histomorphometric parameters, or other clinical outcomes. It is not known whether the observed differences in changes in iPTH levels are clinically more important than observed differences in changes in serum calcium or phosphorus levels or dosages of vitamin D sterols and phosphate binders. CONCLUSIONS These data show that cinacalcet treatment in patients with CKD not receiving dialysis can decrease plasma iPTH levels, but with frequent (albeit generally asymptomatic) serum calcium levels less than 8.4 mg/dL and increases in serum phosphorus levels.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Understanding Disgust Disgust: Origins and Expansion or Descent with Modification Understanding Disgust

Disgust is characterized by a remarkably diverse set of stimulus triggers, ranging from extremely concrete (bad tastes and disease vectors) to extremely abstract (moral transgressions and those who commit them). This diversity may reflect an expansion of the role of disgust over evolutionary time, from an origin in defending the body against toxicity and disease, through defense against other threats to biological fitness (e.g., incest), to involvement in the selection of suitable interaction partners, by motivating the rejection of individuals who violate social and moral norms. The anterior insula, and to a lesser extent the basal ganglia, are implicated in toxicity-and disease-related forms of disgust, although we argue that insular activation is not exclusive to disgust. It remains unclear whether moral disgust is associated with insular activity. Disgust offers cognitive neuroscientists a unique opportunity to study how an evolutionarily ancient response rooted in the chemical senses has expanded into a uniquely human social cognitive domain; many interesting research avenues remain to be explored. Introduction From unsavory foods to squalid restrooms, mutilations to moral depravity, the stimuli that evoke disgust are perhaps the most diverse of any human emotion. Nonetheless, these kinds of objects and events seem to trigger a common experience of revulsion and offence in human beings the world over. 1–3 Disgust has been recognized as a basic and universal human emotion at least since the time of Darwin, 4 but with the exception of pioneering work by Paul Rozin and his colleagues, disgust was largely ignored by the affective revolution that swept through psychology beginning in the 1980s. This trend of neglect has reversed in recent years, however, with an explosion of research on all aspects of disgust. Here we provide a review of recent and classic work on disgust, with an emphasis on what is known about its neural basis. We begin by describing a key evolutionary theory of disgust that makes sense of the heterogeneous assortment of disgusting stimuli, and that provides the conceptual foundation for much of modern disgust research. Disgust is perhaps best understood by analogy to a phylogenetic or evolutionary tree, with more specialized forms branching off from a root that is the " common ancestor " for all of the varied forms of disgust. 1 The ancestral process for disgust is thought to be distaste, a form of motivated food rejection triggered by the ingestion of unpleasant-tasting substances , prototypically those that …
Connected Population Synthesis for Urban Simulation

Urban modeling, including agent-based modeling of the coupled transportation and land use evolution, requires detailed information on each of the agents that represent the population in the region of a study. Traditional ways of obtaining this information include household surveys based on individual travel diaries. The surveys data provide a rich set of features, but they are limited in sampling size, geographical scope and frequency of updates. Moreover, they lack detail on inter-personal connections that give rise to social influences driving choice processes at a range of time scales. While manual surveying techniques are limited in their ability to collect social network data at scale, digital records of inter-personal communications provide an abundance of social networking information. This work proposes an algorithmic procedure that makes use of both traditional survey data as well as digital records of networking and human behaviours in generating connected synthetic populations for urban simulation.
Basal calcium entry in retinal pigment epithelial cells is mediated by TRPC channels.

PURPOSE Ca(2+) is a major regulator of cell function. In the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) is essential for the maintenance of normal retinal function. Therefore, accurate control of [Ca(2+)](i) is vital in these cells. Because Ca(2+) is permanently extruded from the cytosol, RPE cells need a basal Ca(2+) entry pathway that counteracts this Ca(2+) efflux. The purpose of this study was to identify the molecular basis of basal Ca(2+) entry into the RPE. METHODS [Ca(2+)](i) was measured using Fura-2-loaded ARPE-19 cells. The expression pattern of TRPC channels was investigated by RT-PCR with RNA extracted from ARPE-19 cells and freshly isolated RPE cells from human donor eyes. RESULTS In most cells, basal [Ca(2+)](i) is highly controlled by cell membranes that are only slightly permeable to Ca(2+) and by the activity of Ca(2+) pumps and transporters. The authors show here that RPE cells have a basal Ca(2+) conductance that is dose dependently blocked by La(3+). Basal [Ca(2+)](i) was also strongly reduced by the TRP channel blockers Gd(3+), Ni(2+), 2-APB, and SKF96365 and was insensitive to blockers of other Ca(2+) channels. In confirmation of this pharmacologic profile, RPE cells expressed TRPC1 and TRPC4 channels, as shown by RT-PCR experiments. CONCLUSIONS Ca(2+) is needed for several permanently occurring regulatory processes in RPE cells. The Ca(2+) influx pathway identified in this study is essential to define a resting basal [Ca(2+)](i). This resting [Ca(2+)](i) may contribute, for example, to basal cytokine secretion essential for the maintenance of normal retinal function.
Absolute Ages and Distances of 22 GCs Using Monte Carlo Main-sequence Fitting

The recent Gaia Data Release 1 of stellar parallaxes provides ample opportunity to find metal-poor main-sequence stars with precise parallaxes. We select 21 such stars with parallax uncertainties better than σπ/π ≤ 0.10 and accurate abundance determinations suitable for testing metal-poor stellar evolution models and determining the distance to Galactic globular clusters (GCs). A Monte Carlo analysis was used, taking into account uncertainties in the model construction parameters, to generate stellar models and isochrones to fit to the calibration stars. The isochrones that fit the calibration stars best were then used to determine the distances and ages of 22 GCs with metallicities ranging from −2.4 dex to −0.7 dex. We find distances with an average uncertainty of 0.15 mag and absolute ages ranging from 10.8 to 13.6 Gyr with an average uncertainty of 1.6 Gyr. Using literature proper motion data, we calculate orbits for the clusters, finding six that reside within the Galactic disk/bulge, while the rest are considered halo clusters. We find no strong evidence for a relationship between age and Galactocentric distance, but we do find a decreasing age–[Fe/H] relation.
Cerebellar Fastigial Nucleus Electrical Stimulation Alleviates Depressive-Like Behaviors in Post-Stroke Depression Rat Model and Potential Mechanisms

Objective: To identify the molecular mechanism of post-stroke depression (PSD), and observe the therapeutic effects of cerebellar fastigial nucleus electrical stimulation (FNS) on the behaviors and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a PSD rat model. Methods: Healthy SD rats were randomly divided into four groups (sham, stroke, post-stroke depress and FNS group). Sham group (n = 6) underwent sham operation. The other three groups (n = 6*3) underwent MCAO. Rats were examined twice a week in open filed test. Moreover, neuroprotective effect on cerebellar Purkinje cells and expression of cytokines in hippocampal tissue were examined. Results: The PSD group showed a significant weight loss, decreased consumption of sucrose water, reduced rearing and locomotor activities. The FNS significantly alleviates the body weight loss and sucrose preference, locomotor and rearing activities. The bilateral rCBF was also restored after FNS treatment. Moreover, FNS improved the neuroprotection via suppressing apoptosis of cerebellar Purkinje cells. And the inflammatory cytokines mRNA level in hippocampus was significantly decreased. Conclusion: FNS treatment alleviates depressive-like behaviors and rCBF in PSD rats model, which could be attributed to its ability to protect cerebellar Purkinje cells and decrease the mRNA level of inflammatory cytokines.
E-Cadherin Is Required for Intercellular Motility during Drosophila Oogenesis

Cadherins are involved in a variety of morphogenetic movements during animal development. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint the precise function of cadherins in morphogenetic processes due to the multifunctional nature of cadherin requirement. The data presented here indicate that homophilic adhesion promoted by Drosophila E-cadherin ( D E-cadherin) mediates two cell migration events during Drosophila oogenesis. In Drosophila follicles, two groups of follicle cells, the border cells and the centripetal cells migrate on the surface of germline cells. We show that the border cells migrate as an epithelial patch in which two centrally located cells retain epithelial polarity and peripheral cells are partially depolarized. Both follicle cells and germline cells express D E-cadherin, and border cells and centripetal cells strongly upregulate the expression of D E-cadherin shortly before and during their migration. Removing D E-cadherin from either the follicle cells or the germline cells blocks migration of border cells and centripetal cells on the surface of germline cells. The function of D E-cadherin in border cells appears to be specific for migration as the formation of the border cell cluster and the adhesion between border cells are not disrupted in the absence of D E-cadherin. The speed of migration depends on the level of D E-cadherin expression, as border cells migrate more slowly when D E-cadherin activity is reduced. Finally, we show that the upregulation of D Ecadherin expression in border cells depends on the activity of the Drosophila C/EBP transcription factor that is essential for border cell migration.
Objective assessment of facial asymmetry in rhinoplasty patients.

OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence and nature of facial asymmetry in patients referred for consideration of aesthetic rhinoplasty and to assess whether objective anthropometric facial measurements correlate with subjective perceptions of asymmetry. DESIGN Two independent observers measured facial features, including midline to medial and lateral canthi, tragus, ala, and oral commissure distances, in 234 prerhinoplasty surgical photographs. The photographs were rated by 10 independent observers for a global "first impression" of facial symmetry, and the relationship between anthropometric measurement and subjective perception of facial symmetry was explored with logistic regression. RESULTS Objectively, 97% of patients had significant degrees of facial asymmetry, with the midline to ala distances showing the most variations and the midline to oral commissures showing the least variations. Subjectively, 38% of results were perceived as asymmetrical, with the degree of midline to lateral alar margin asymmetry being an independent predictor of the perception of facial asymmetry on binary logistic regression (P<.003). CONCLUSIONS A significant correlation was found between the degree of objective facial asymmetry, particularly in anthropometric nasal measurements, and the subjective perception of a face as asymmetrical in patients requesting aesthetic rhinoplasty. This relationship may be a factor in patients who request rhinoplasty and should be explored in this patient group.
Short-term medroxyprogesterone acetate in postmenopausal women with sleep-disordered breathing: a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study

ObjectiveMenopause predisposes women to sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and sleep disturbances. Progestin has a potential to stimulate breathing and to induce sleep. Our goal was to test these effects objectively and to compare them with the effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which is the standard treatment of SDB. MethodsIn a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group trial, we investigated 34 postmenopausal women (17 in the placebo group and 17 in the medroxyprogesterone acetate [MPA] group) whose SDB had been treated with nasal CPAP for 6 months to 8 years prior to study entry. The 6-week trial included measurements with CPAP at baseline, after 14 days of placebo or MPA (60 mg daily), and after a 3-week washout. The participants discontinued their nasal CPAP therapy 1 week after baseline measurements and went on with study medication. ResultsTwo weeks after discontinuation of CPAP therapy, nightly oxygen saturation was sustained higher (P = 0.004) and arterial carbon dioxide tension was lower (P < 0.001) with MPA than with placebo. Carbon dioxide was also lower than during CPAP (P < 0.001), and this effect was sustained beyond 3 weeks after the cessation of MPA (P < 0.001). However, the apnea-hypopnea index of CPAP increased and sleep deteriorated similarly on MPA and placebo after withdrawal of CPAP therapy. ConclusionsIn postmenopausal women with SDB, MPA induces a long-lasting stimulatory effect on breathing without improving sleep quality or the apnea-hypopnea index.
THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACH AND ORGANIZATIONAL ECONOMICS : HOW MUCH DO THEY REALLY DIFFER ? AND HOW DOES IT MATTER ?

The knowledge-based approach and organizational economics are usually seen as offering opposing approaches to the explanation of organizational phenomena. Relying on a taxonomic framework from the philosophy of science, we argue that many differences between these approaches are more apparent than real. Thus, many insights associated with the knowledgebased approach can be reduced to organizational economics insights. However, not everything can be thus reduced. There is an important residual, comprising differential cognition, learning, and bounded rationality. The knowledge-based approach (henceforth, “KBA”) and organizational economics (henceforth, “OE”) are often seen as offering rival explanations of organizational phenomena, such as the existence, boundaries, and internal organization of the firm. The main differences between the
Computational simulation of biomechanics in e-PTFE and venous Miller's cuffs: Implications for intimal hyperplasia

A computational distal end-to-side Miller's cuff anastomotic model was used to analyse the possible difference in intimal hyperplasia (IH) formed between e-PTFE and venous cuffs. A large strain FEA model was used to compute the strain after physiological loading and the deformed geometries used as wall boundaries for CFD analysis. Regression analysis was performed to investigate relationships between mechanical factors and prior IH [15]. The results showed that the venous Miller's cuff anastomosis deformed twice as much as the e-PTFE cuff and that the expansion of both cuffs generated elevated strains in the artery floor while the fluid shear indices were qualitatively similar in each case. In the e-PTFE cuff, the strain and OSI correlated with IH in a proportional and equivalent manner; however, these regressions grossly over-estimated the predicted IH in the vein cuff. Thus, biomechanical effects may be important in synthetically cuffed anastomoses, but do not account for the reduced IH in venous cuffed anastomoses.
Assessment of quality of prescription by dental students

Objective The main objective of this study was to evaluate changes in prescribing pattern of Dentistry students throughout academic course. Methods A case of non-complicated dental extraction was presented to all students that had completed their pharmacology coursework (from 4th semester to the last semester). The students were grouped according to year of study and were asked to prescribe paracetamol for pain control. A maximal score of 5 points was calculated from three subscores for identification of professional and patient (1.0 point), drug concentration, dosage, and quantity (1.5 points); and drug information, instructions, and warnings (2.5 points). The data were expressed as medians [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] and were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's post hoc test. A p<0.05 value was considered statistically significant. A total of 92 students participated the study (2nd year, N=12; 3rd year, N=32; 4th year, N=28; 5th year, N=20). Results The quality of prescription showed improvement between 2nd-year students [2.0 (1.5-2.5)] and 4th-year students [3.2 (2.9-3.5), p<0.05]; 4th- and 5th-year students [3.6 (3.5-3.8)] performed similarly. Lack of information about pharmacological treatment, side effects, and administration route were the major deficiencies observed. Conclusion Although Dentistry students present a general improvement in their prescribing performance, deficiencies remain even in advanced students. The data suggest that the teaching of good prescription practices should extend throughout the later phases of preprofessional dental education.
Breast cancer subtypes and outcome after local and regional relapse.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the outcome of breast cancer patients after locoregional recurrence (LRR) according to tumor biological features evaluated at first diagnosis and at the time of recurrence. PATIENTS AND METHODS We collected information on all consecutive breast cancer patients operated at the European Institute of Oncology between 1994 and 2005. The tumor characteristics and subsequent outcome of patients who experienced LRR were analyzed. RESULTS Two hundred and seventy nine patients with LRR were identified, 197 and 82 patients with local and regional recurrence respectively. The overall discordance rate between primary cancer and LRR was 9% for estrogen receptor expression, 22% for progesterone receptor and 4% for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. For patients with regional recurrence, the risk of distant metastasis was significantly higher compared with local relapse in case of late recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.76; 95% CI 1.31-5.85). Patients with triple-negative breast cancer at LRR experienced a higher risk of subsequent relapse (HR 2.87 [1.67-4.91]) and death (HR 2.00 [1.25-3.19]). CONCLUSION LRR correlates with a high risk of subsequent events and death in particular in patients with triple-negative subtype.
The Effect of CEO Stock Options on Bank Investment Choice , Borrowing , and Capital 1

In this paper, we assess the effects of CEO stock options on three key corporate policies for banks: investment choice, amount of borrowing, and level of capital. Using a sample of 549 bank-years for publicly-traded banks from 1992-2002, we find that stock option grants lead CEO’s to undertake riskier investments. In particular, higher levels of option grants are associated with higher levels of equity and asset volatility. Consistent with the role of options as a non-debt tax shield, we also show that option grants reduce the banks’ incentive to borrow as evidenced by lower levels of interest expense and federal funds borrowing. Furthermore, we demonstrate that increases in CEO and employee stock options grants result in increased bank capital levels, perhaps, because option grants create a contingent liability for the firm that needs to be funded in advance. JEL classification: G21; G28; G32; J33; M41