Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Observation on the therapeutic effect of a red-hot needle therapy combined with blood-letting puncture and cupping for treatment of neurodermatitis].

OBJECTIVE To search for an effective therapy for neurodermatitis. METHODS Ninety-six cases were divided into 2 groups by random number table. The treatment group (n = 54) were treated by hot-red needle therapy combined with blood-letting puncturing and cupping at skin-injured area, and the control group (n = 42) were treated with external smearing of halometasone cream. RESULTS The cured rate and the total effective rate were 51.9% and 96.3% in the treatment group, and 28.6% and 81.0% in the control group, respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups in the therapeutic effect (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Red-hot needle therapy combined with blood-letting puncture and cupping has a definite therapeutic effect on neurodermatitis, without toxic and adverse effects.
Drexel at TREC 2007: Question Answering

The TREC Question Answering Track presented several distinct challenges to participants in 2007. Participants were asked to create a system which discovers the answers to factoid and list questions about people, entities, organizations and events, given both blog and newswire text data sources. In addition, participants were asked to expose interesting information nuggets which exist in the data collection, which were not uncovered by the factoid or list questions. This year is the first time the Intelligent Information Processing group at Drexel has participated in the TREC Question Answering Track. As such, our goal was the development of a Question Answering system framework to which future enhancements could be made, and the construction of simple components to populate the framework. The results of our system this year were not significant; our primary accomplishment was the establishment of a baseline system which can be improved upon in 2008 and going forward.
Effective Treatment Of Severe Bk Virus-Associated Hemorrhagic Cystitis With Leflunomide In Children After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Pilot Study

Leflunomide, an immunosuppressant with antiviral activity, was used to treat 5 children with severe BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Without severe side effects, BK viral loads in blood and urine decreased significantly after leflunomide treatment. Compared with 7 historical controls, duration of BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis was significantly shorter in patients receiving leflunomide therapy (P < 0.01).
Human skin is protected by four functionally and phenotypically discrete populations of resident and recirculating memory T cells

Four different T cell populations with different functions and migration patterns protect human skin. T cells are more than skin deep Skin is more than just a passive barrier to infection—it’s a dynamic immune microenvironment. Indeed, skin in a human adult is home to around 20 billion memory T cells; however, little is known about the composition and function of these cells. Now, Watanabe et al. characterize four different populations of T cells in the skin, two resident and two recirculating. The resident memory T cells had more potent effector functions than recirculating cells as well as different proliferative capacities. In addition, the recirculating cells returned to the skin at different rates. These data suggest that the different T cell populations in the skin may each provide a singular function in protecting the body from infection. The skin of an adult human contains about 20 billion memory T cells. Epithelial barrier tissues are infiltrated by a combination of resident and recirculating T cells in mice, but the relative proportions and functional activities of resident versus recirculating T cells have not been evaluated in human skin. We discriminated resident from recirculating T cells in human-engrafted mice and lymphoma patients using alemtuzumab, a medication that depletes recirculating T cells from skin, and then analyzed these T cell populations in healthy human skin. All nonrecirculating resident memory T cells (TRM) expressed CD69, but most were CD4+, CD103−, and located in the dermis, in contrast to studies in mice. Both CD4+ and CD8+ CD103+ TRM were enriched in the epidermis, had potent effector functions, and had a limited proliferative capacity compared to CD103− TRM. TRM of both types had more potent effector functions than recirculating T cells. We observed two distinct populations of recirculating T cells, CCR7+/L-selectin+ central memory T cells (TCM) and CCR7+/L-selectin− T cells, which we term migratory memory T cells (TMM). Circulating skin-tropic TMM were intermediate in cytokine production between TCM and effector memory T cells. In patients with cutaneous T cell lymphoma, malignant TCM and TMM induced distinct inflammatory skin lesions, and TMM were depleted more slowly from skin after alemtuzumab, suggesting that TMM may recirculate more slowly. In summary, human skin is protected by four functionally distinct populations of T cells, two resident and two recirculating, with differing territories of migration and distinct functional activities.
Exploring value orientations toward the human–nature relationship: a comparison of urban youth in Minnesota, USA and Guangdong, China

Research exploring urban youths’ value orientations toward the human–nature relationship was conducted with 59 students from a school in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) and 51 students from a school in Guangzhou, Guangdong (China). Quantitative findings suggest that the majority of participants in both groups shared a similar value orientation, harmony with nature. Qualitative findings, however, suggest youth had somewhat different value orientations toward the human–nature relationship (interdependence most frequently for the Guangzhou school participants and stewardship for the Minneapolis school participants). Similarities and differences between the groups are discussed, and implications for environmental education are explored.
Sex differences in the provision of skillful emotional support: The mediating role of self‐efficacy

This study focuses on associations between sex, self‐efficacy in the domain of emotional support, and the skillfulness (person centeredness) of emotional support messages. In particular, it examines whether self‐efficacy mediates the effect of sex on emotional support skill, and whether targets’ responsibility for their problems moderates this mediating effect. Participants )N = 715) produced messages in response to scenarios depicting distressed friends who were or were not responsible for their problems, and completed a measure of self‐efficacy. Compared to men, women produced emotional support messages with a higher level of person centeredness and reported greater self‐efficacy in the domain of providing emotional support. Regression analyses indicated that self‐efficacy mediated approximately 30% of the sex‐related variance in person centeredness. Target responsibility did not moderate this mediating effect.
Interorganizational teams as boundary spanners: The role of team diversity, boundedness, and extrateam links

Interorganizational teams are rapidly becoming more prevalent as a means to improve organizations' responsiveness. To achieve their objective, interorganizational teams must engage in extensive amounts of boundary spanning activity. This study juxtaposed three structural variables, namely team informational diversity, team boundedness, and extrateam links, in an integrated model aimed at promoting our understanding of how to increase interorganizational team boundary spanning activity and its effectiveness. The model was tested with 49 health promotion teams. Our findings indicated that three types of boundary spanning—scouting, ambassadorial, and coordinating—were positively associated with interorganizational team effectiveness. In addition, for team informational diversity, team boundedness, and extrateam links, scouting and ambassadorial activities fully mediated their relationships with team effectiveness; for team boundedness, coordinating activity also fully mediated its relationship with team effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating structural considerations into the management of interorganizational teams.
Active auditory mechanics in mosquitoes

In humans and other vertebrates, hearing is improved by active contractile properties of hair cells. Comparable active auditory mechanics is now demonstrated in insects. In mosquitoes, Johnston's organ transduces sound-induced vibrations of the antennal flagellum. A non-muscular ‘motor’ activity enhances the sensitivity and tuning of the flagellar mechanical response in physiologically intact animals. This motor is capable of driving the flagellum autonomously, amplifying sound-induced vibrations at specific frequencies and intensities. Motor-related electrical activity of Johnston's organ strongly suggests that mosquito hearing is improved by mechanoreceptor motility.
Associations of Circulating C-Reactive Protein and Interleukin-6 with Survival in Women with and without Cancer: Findings from the British Women's Heart and Health Study

Background: Inflammation is associated with worse prognosis and survival in many cancers. Our aim was to investigate the associations of circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations with all-cause mortality in cancer patients and to determine whether any associations were specific to malignancy. Method: We used data from the British Women's Heart and Health Study, a cohort of 4,286 women aged 60 to 79 years. We investigated the associations between CRP, IL-6, and survival in women with and without cancer using Cox regression and assessed the interaction between cancer status and these inflammatory markers to determine whether these associations differed according to cancer status. Results: Elevated CRP and IL-6 were associated with decreased survival in women with cancer [unadjusted hazard ratio per doubling of CRP, 1.22, 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.03, 1.46; and per doubling of IL-6, 1.52, 95% CI, 1.25, 1.86] and in women without cancer [CRP: 1.24 (1.12, 1.37); IL-6: 1.53 (1.35, 1.75)]. Adjustment for age, body mass index, physical activity level, socioeconomic position, HRT use, and tobacco smoking did not change these associations. After mutual adjustment, IL-6 but not CRP was independently associated with survival. We found no strong evidence that these associations differed between cancer patients and cancer-free women. Conclusions: Elevated CRP and IL-6 concentrations were similarly associated with an increased risk of death in elderly women with and without cancer. Thus, in this group, these markers are likely to be indicators of non-cancer comorbidities rather than related to the malignancy itself. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(6):1155–9)
The Distribution of Superheavy Syllables in Modern English

The present article offers an Optimality-Theoretic analysis capturing the distribution of 'superheavy syllables' in Modern English, i.e. syllables consisting of a long vowel + consonants), a diphthong + consonant(s), or a short vowel + two or more consonants, e.g. feel, rout, farm. It will be shown that superheavy syllables are restricted to surfacing either (i) in word-final position, (ii) before a compound boundary, or (iii) before a consonant-initial suffix. By contrast, superheavy syllables are typically non-occurring in other environments. In the present article the following theoretical claims are made. First, superheavy syllables are analyzed as trimoraic. Second, environments (i)-(iii) above describe the right edge of a phonological word. The distribution of superheavy syllables is captured below with the constraint ALIGN-3μ, which ensures that the third mora in a syllable be situated at the right edge of a phonological word. Finally, ALIGN-3μ will be shown to be violated in certain (predictable) word-internal cases, e.g. the syllable [aun] in mountain; such facts will be accounted for by various language-specific constraint rankings. The present surface based analysis will be argued to be superior to an earlier one proposed for Modern English in a derivational framework by Borowsky (1986, 1989).
Functional Categories in Child L2 Acquisition of French

Vainikka and Young-Scholten (1994; in press) argued that adult language learners initially project verb phrases and that subsequent projection of functional categories is input driven, with inflectional phrases emerging before complementizer phrases. They assumed that the same is true for first-language acquisition (Clahsen, Eisenbeiss, and Vainikka (1994)). On this account, one would expect child second language (L2) learners to lack functional categories in the early stages of language learning. In this article, we argue against this position using data drawn from a longitudinal corpus of spontaneous production data from two English-speaking children who started attending French kindergarten at age 5. Our data suggest that functional categories and their projections are present in the earliest utterances available. Relevant data include the productive use of determiners, inflection, case marking, subject clitics, wh-questions, and correct negative placement. Changes were largely quantitative rather than.
Evaluation of intravenous hydroxylethyl starch, intravenous albumin 20%, and oral cabergoline for prevention of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in patients undergoing ovulation induction

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the three different strategies, intravenous (IV) hydroxylethyl starch (HES), IV human albumin (HA), and oral Cabergoline (Cb) in the prevention of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomized clinical trial, 91 women at high risk of developing OHSS were allocated into the three groups, group one received 2 vial (2 × 50 ml) IV HAs, in group two, 1000 ml of 6% HES was administered IV, both groups 30 min after oocyte retrieval within 4 h. Group three, 31 infertile patients received oral Cb 0.5 mg daily for 7 days after oocyte retrieval. Patients were visited 14 ± 1 days after in-vitro fertilization and if β-human chorionic gonadotropin level >10, transvaginal ultrasonography was performed 2 weeks later to confirm intrauterine pregnancy. Patients were followed up weekly for 3 months for signs of OHSS and were also informed about the signs of OHSS and asked to contact immediately if any symptoms of were detected. Results: None of the participants in group HES developed severe OHSS and only 3 patients (10%) developed mild to moderate OHSS. The incident of severe OHSS was significantly higher in albumin group compared to Cb and HES group (P = 0.033 and P < 0.001, respectively). Also, the probability of developing severe OHSS was higher in Cb group than group HES (P = 0.031). Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that administration of 1000 ml of HES 6% has a higher prophylactic effect compared to administration of IV HA and oral Cb.
Project Managers’ Practical Intelligence and Project Performance in Software Offshore Outsourcing: A Field Study

This study examines the role of project managers' PM practical intelligence PI in the performance of software offshore outsourcing projects. Based on the extant literature, we conceptualize PI for PMs as their capability to resolve project related work problems, given their long-range and short-range goals; PI is targeted at resolving unexpected and difficult situations, which often cannot be resolved using established processes and frameworks. We then draw on the information processing literature to argue that software offshore outsourcing projects are prone to severe information constraints that lead to unforeseen critical incidents that must be resolved adequately for the projects to succeed. We posit that PMs can use PI to effectively address and resolve such incidents, and therefore the level of PMs' PI positively affects project performance. We further theorize that project complexity and familiarity contribute to its information constraints and the likelihood of critical incidents in a project, thereby moderating the relationship between PMs' PI and project performance. To evaluate our hypotheses, we analyze longitudinal data collected in an in-depth field study of a leading software vendor organization in India. Our data include project and personnel level archival data on 530 projects completed by 209 PMs. We employ the critical incidents methodology to assess the PI of the PMs who led these projects. Our findings indicate that PMs' PI has a significant and positive impact on project performance. Further, projects with higher complexity or lower familiarity benefit even more from PMs' PI. Our study extends the literatures on project management and outsourcing by conceptualizing and measuring PMs' PI, by theorizing its relationship with project performance, and by positing how that relationship is moderated by project complexity and familiarity. Our study provides unique empirical evidence of the importance of PMs' PI in software offshore outsourcing projects. Given that PMs with high PI are scarce resources, our findings also have practical implications for the optimal resource allocation and training of PMs in software offshore services companies.
Magnetic resonance behavior of normal and diseased lungs: spherical shell model simulations.

The alveolar air-tissue interface affects the lung NMR signal, because it results in a susceptibility-induced magnetic field inhomogeneity. The air-tissue interface effect can be detected and quantified by measuring the difference signal (Delta) from a pair of NMR images obtained using temporally symmetric and asymmetric spin-echo sequences. The present study describes a multicompartment alveolar model (consisting of a collection of noninteracting spherical water shells) that simulates the behavior of Delta as a function of the level of lung inflation and can be used to predict the NMR response to various types of lung injury. The model was used to predict Delta as a function of the inflation level (with the assumption of sequential alveolar recruitment, partly parallel to distension) and to simulate pulmonary edema by deriving equations that describe Delta for a collection of spherical shells representing combinations of collapsed, flooded, and inflated alveoli. Our theoretical data were compared with those provided by other models and with experimental data obtained from the literature. Our results suggest that NMR Delta measurements can be used to study the mechanisms underlying the lung pressure-volume behavior, to characterize lung injury, and to assess the contributions of alveolar recruitment and distension to the lung volume changes in response to the application of positive airway pressure (e.g., positive end-expiratory pressure).
Undergraduates' Perceptions Toward the Adoption of Computer-Based Training in Hotels

With the rapid advances in technology, the use of computer-based training (CBT) will soon become prevalent in the hospitality industry. This study was conducted with the aim of understanding the perceived beliefs of hospitality management undergraduates toward the adoption of CBT in hotels. A total of 140 usable self-administered questionnaires were collected. Factor analysis revealed three interpretable factors of undergraduates' perceptions of CBT: perceived compatibility, perceived effectiveness, and perceived self-efficacy. The independent t-test and multiple regression analysis were also used to gain a better understanding of differences in perceptions among the respondents and the likely influences of the three identified factors on the intention to use CBT. Suggestions are provided for practitioners and educators to enhance hospitality student and employee perceptions toward the adoption and usage of CBT.
Outcomes of surgical resection in the management of colorectal pancreatic metastases.

CONTEXT Colorectal pancreatic metastases (CRPM) are uncommon, thus the role of surgical resection is unclear. We present our experience of management outcomes of patients with CRPM in a regional pancreatic unit. METHODS Electronic records of all patients with colorectal cancer (n = 8,228) held by the cancer network were searched for evidence of CRPM. Retrospective analysis of each case was undertaken in relation to diagnosis, management and outcome of CRPM. RESULTS Four cases of CRPM underwent resection (operative group). The interval between diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma and CRPM was 1, 6, 7 and 7 years. CRPM were identified on routine CT surveillance in asymptomatic patients. An additional 5 patients were managed palliatively (non-operative group). In the surgical cohort, median survival was 4 years. One patient remains disease free 4 years 3 months post-surgery. Of 3 patients with recurrent disease, 1 is alive with progressive disease 3 years 11 months post-operatively and 2 passed away at 18 months and 5 years 1 month respectively. Median survival in the palliative group from diagnosis of CRPM was 11 months. CONCLUSIONS In selected patients with CRPM surgical resection does confer survival benefit. CRPM arise late in the disease course, with extra-pancreatic metastases frequently diagnosed in the interim. Surgeons outside of pancreatic units should refer cases to their local pancreatic multi-disciplinary team meeting for consideration of resection.
Application of Mahalanobis-Taguchi Method and 0-1 Programming Method to Cost-Effective Regression Testing

To enhance the cost effectiveness of regression testing, this paper proposes a method for prioritizing test cases. In general, a test case can be evaluated from various different points of view, therefore whether it is worth it to re-run should be discussed using multi criteria. This paper shows that the Mahalanobis-Taguchi (MT) method is a useful way to successfully integrate different evaluations of a test case. Moreover, this paper proposes to use the 0-1 programming method together with the MT method in order to take into account not only the priority of a test case but also its cost to run. The empirical study with 300 test cases for an industrial software system shows that the combination of the MT method and the 0-1 programming method is more cost-effective than other conventional methods.
Structural and functional 3D mapping of skin tumours with non‐invasive multispectral optoacoustic tomography

Recent advances in technology have enabled the development of various non‐invasive skin imaging tools to aid real‐time diagnosis of both benign and malignant skin tumours, minimizing the need for invasive skin biopsy. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) is a recently developed non‐invasive imaging tool, which offers the unique capacity for high resolution three dimensional (3D) optical mapping of tissue by further delivering highly specific optical contrast from a depth of several millimetres to centimetres in living tissues. MSOT enables volumetric, spectroscopic differentiation of tissue, both in vivo and in real time, with and without the application of biomarker‐specific probes, and is further able of providing spatial maps of skin chromophores, as well as underlying blood vasculature.