Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roles of Serum Clara Cell Protein 16 and Surfactant Protein-D in the Early Diagnosis and Progression of Silicosis

Objective: To study roles of Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) as serum biomarkers in the early diagnosis and the pathogenesis of silicosis. Methods: Thirty healthy volunteers, 30 silica-exposed workers, and 30 workers with suspected silicosis and phase I silicosis were included. Serum CC16 and SP-D concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Serum CC16 concentrations decreased in silica-exposed workers when compared with in controls, but serum SP-D levels increased, and this trend was obvious in phase 0+ and I groups. Discriminant analysis showed that the accuracies of classifying group membership into control, phase 0, phase 0+, and phase I were 86.7%, 46.7%, 66.7%, and 70%, respectively, and the total classification accuracy rate was 67.5%. Conclusion: Serum CC16 and SP-D may be useful biomarkers for early diagnosis, and serum SP-D concentration may associate with the pathogenesis of silicosis.
Mothers with borderline personality and their young children: Adult Attachment Interviews, mother–child interactions, and children's narrative representations

Abstract Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves disruptions in attachment, self, and self-regulation, domains conceptually similar to developmental tasks of early childhood. Because offspring of mothers with BPD are at elevated risk of developing BPD themselves (White, Gunderson, Zanarini, & Hudson, 2003), studying them may inform precursors to BPD. We sampled 31 children age 4–7 whose mothers have BPD and 31 normative comparisons. We examined relationships between mothers' Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) representations (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1984), mothers' observed parenting, and children's narrative representations. Replicating previous studies, mothers with BPD were more likely to be classified as preoccupied and unresolved on the AAI. In a larger sample, which included the current one, we also replicated two underlying AAI dimensions found in normative samples (Roisman, Fraley, & Belsky, 2007; Whipple, Bernier, & Mageau, 2011). Controlling for current mood, anxiety, and other personality disorders, mothers with BPD were significantly higher than were comparisons on the preoccupied/unresolved, but not the dismissive, dimension. Children's narrative representations relevant to disruptions in attachment (fear of abandonment and role reversal), self (incongruent child and self/fantasy confusion), and self-regulation (destruction of objects) were significantly correlated with the preoccupied/unresolved, but not the dismissive, dimension. Furthermore, mothers' parenting significantly mediated the relationship between the preoccupied/unresolved dimension and their children's narrative representations of fear of abandonment.
Cosmological constant and the fate of the DDM theory

We investigate the impact of the non-zero cosmological constant on the classical decaying dark matter theory developed by the late Dennis Sciama. In particular, we concentrate on the change in relevant values of cosmological parameters in comparison to the high-precision estimates given by Sciama (1997). It is shown that the appropriate changes in resulting parameter values are such to make the DDM concept less plausible. This is in complete agreement with recently reported observational results detrimental to this theory.
MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND COMPARISON OF TWO RISER REACTORS IN CONVENTIONAL FCCU AND FCCU ASSISTED BY MICROWAVE ENERGY

A one dimensional dynamic model for a riser reactor in a fluidized bed catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) for gasoil feed has been developed in two distinct conditions, one for industrial FCCU and another for FCCU using various frequencies of microwave energy spaced at the height of the riser reactor (FCCUMW). In addition, in order to increase the accuracy of component and bulk diffusion, instantaneous and overall fractional yield is used in a heuristic manner. Furthermore, the effect of various input temperatures on gasoline yield with FCCU-MW has been studied. The results of the convectional FCCU simulation show great compatibility with the plant data in hand. Comparison of the two models shows that microwave energy gives better results in terms of gasoline yield. Also it has been shown that the increase of feed temperature leads to the increase of gas oil conversion and especially gasoline yield.
Enhancing Tenth Graders' Earth-Science Learning Through Computer-Assisted Instruction

This study investigated the comparative efficiency of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional teaching methods on tenth-graders' learning of earth science in Taiwan. A total of 151 students enrolled in four earth science classes participated in this pretest/post-test controlgroup experiment. Experimental-group students learned earth science concepts through the CAI, whereas comparison group students were taught by a traditional approach. Results include: (1) Students in the experimental group had significantly higher achievement scores than did students in the comparison group (F = 4.90, p<.05); (2) There were also statistically significant differences in favor of CAI on students' test performance, especially on the knowledge (F = 8.00, p<.005) and comprehension (F = 5.80, p<.05) test items, but not on the application (F = 0.12, p>.05) test items. These findings suggest that incorporating CAI into secondary schools has promise in helping students' grasp of earth science concepts.
Intrahepatic Gene Expression during Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Chimpanzees

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections represent a global health problem and are a major contributor to end-stage liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. An improved understanding of the parameters involved in disease progression is needed to develop better therapies and diagnostic markers of disease manifestation. To better understand the dynamics of host gene expression resulting from persistent virus infection, DNA microarray analyses were conducted on livers from 10 chimpanzees persistently infected with HCV. A total of 162 genes were differentially regulated in chronically infected animals compared to uninfected controls. Many genes exhibited a remarkable consistency in changes in expression in the 10 chronically infected animals. A second method of analysis identified 971 genes altered in expression during chronic infection at a 99% confidence level. As with acute-resolving HCV infections, many interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs) were transcriptionally elevated, suggesting an ongoing response to IFN and/or double-stranded RNA which is amplified in downstream ISG expression. Thus, persistent infection with HCV results in a complex and partially predictable pattern of gene expression, although the underlying mechanisms regulating the different pathways are not well defined. A single genotype 3-infected animal was available for analysis, and this animal exhibited reduced levels of ISG expression compared to levels of expression with genotype 1 infections and increased expression of a number of genes potentially involved in steatosis. Gene expression data in concert with other observations from HCV infections permit speculation on the regulation of specific aspects of HCV infection.
Diet Can Prevent Diabetes in the BB Rat

When compared with laboratory chow, a defined, semipurified diet prevented diabetes, reduced the frequency of insulitis, increased thymus weight and total white blood cell count, and doubled thymus T-helper/T-suppressor cell ratios in diabetes-prone BB rats. These data show that the diabetic syndrome in BB rats may be prevented or delayed by changes in diet, which may occur through alteration of pathogenic defects in the immune system.
Factors Associated With Bacteremia in Young Infants With Urinary Tract Infection

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most frequent severe bacterial infection in infants. Up to 31% of infants with UTI have bacteremia. Methods: We retrospectively identified all infants aged 0–2 months who were managed in our hospital with UTI during a 1-year period. Those with bacteremia were compared with those without bacteremia, according to the following variables: ethnicity, age, gender, white blood cell and polymorphonuclear counts, C-reactive protein, urinalysis and blood creatinine values as related to age-appropriate norms, imaging and outcome. Results: We identified 81 infants with 82 episodes of UTI. Most occurred in males (72.8%) and 35 (42.7%) were in infants of non-Jewish origin. In 14/81 (17.3%) of episodes, Escherichia coli was cultured from blood. In multivariate analysis, increased blood creatinine levels (P = 0.004) and non-Jewish origin (P = 0.006) were associated with bacteremia. Time to defervescence was significantly longer in bacteremic versus nonbacteremic children (P = 0.018). Duration of hospitalization was longer in bacteremic infants—10 (7–17) days in bacteremic versus 7 (1–14) days in nonbacteremic children (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In infants aged 0–2 months with UTI, increased blood creatinine value at admission was associated with bacteremia. This value provides an additional clue on admission, independent of personal judgment, to help identify infants at higher risk for bacteremia, prolonged hospitalization and possible complications.
The influence of motivation and adaptation on students’ subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic performance

ABSTRACT High rates of mental illness among students and discontinuation with university studies are regularly reported. The current study sought to explore relationships between motivation, university adaptation and indicators of mental health and well-being and academic performance of 184 first-year university students (73% female, mean age = 19.3 years). As expected, intrinsic motivation was associated with greater subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic performance. Extrinsic motivations showed few relationships to outcome variables, while amotivation was consistently associated with poor outcomes. Hierarchical regression revealed that after accounting for adjustment, motivational orientations provided a small, though significant, contribution to the prediction of outcomes. These results are discussed in relation to Self-Determination Theory, the eudaimonic/hedonic dichotomy and implications for career counselling and teaching.
Predicting Group Attendance Using In-Session Behaviors

A session-level analysis examines the relationship between intimate behaviors of an individual group member and of the other group members in a session, and individual group member attendance in the following session. Specifically, the model proposed by Kenny, Mannetti, Pierro, Livi, and Kashy (2002) for analyzing individual and group effects in small groups is used to examine session attendance in 575 group sessions for 30 group members in 5 interpersonal growth groups. Either being the member who enacted the most or least intimate behaviors in a session, or having a relatively lower level of intimate behaviors by the other group members in a session, decreases the likelihood that a group member would attend the following group session. These findings are interpreted in terms of Yalom and Leszcz’s (2005) ideas about being a group outlier and the importance of group context. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Evaluating the Performance of SVM in Dust Aerosol Discrimination and Testing its Ability in an Extended Area

The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) has been run more than five years, and one of its payloads-the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP)-can offer global atmospheric vertical profiles, resulting in it being widely used in aerosol research. Because the Lidar ratio is an important parameter for aerosol parameter retrieval and the choice of the Lidar ratio needs confirm the type of layers (aerosol or cloud), the data process cannot do without accurate and efficient aerosol and cloud classification. Initially, we found the classification errors existed in PDF version 1 data, so we introduce the SVM classifier to improve the accurate of thick dust and cloud classification. Despite NASA issued the PDF version 2 and improve the correct rate greatly, but we cannot ignore SVM advantages. Therefore in this paper, to continue the former study, we will not only validate the feasibility of this method (especially in dust source areas), but also make a thorough study of classification result effected by different feature vectors and samples. Through the accuracy testing we found, with the increase of the number of samples, SVM have the better result, and the feature space which include depolarization ratio have the more stable result. Though we validated the advantage of SVM, but if we want to use this algorithm in global scale or the whole process of dust deposition, there are still some improvements we need to do. To obtain the thinking of algorithm revision, we using MODIS, HYSPLIT, and CALIPSO products in a dust storm and observe its transmission, then the deficiencies of SVM can be found when compare with PDF version 2. Indeed PDF considered the regional variation, with this transmission of dust storm we need adjustment training samples and hyperplane of classifier. The diversity between SVM and PDF will be applied in the future research as the reference to make the new algorithm more robust and accurate.
Bacteraemia due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: an analysis of 45 episodes.

OBJECTIVE Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important nosocomial pathogen and a therapeutic challenge. A ten-year review of episodes of bacteraemia due to S. maltophilia was undertaken in light of reports of an increasing frequency of infection. METHODS A retrospective analysis of bloodstream infections due toS. maltophilia at a tertiary care hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Cases were identified via microbiology laboratory reports, and relevant clinical data were collected from the medical record of each patient. RESULTS Eighty per cent of these 45 episodes were nosocomial. The most common characteristics in cases of bacteraemia were the presence of an indwelling central venous catheter (CVC) (38/45, 84%) and previous antibiotic therapy (33/45, 73%). There were 8 deaths (8/44, 18%) within 7 days of bacteraemia. A significant correlation was found between deaths and a failure to remove the CVC (P = 0.01) or treat with appropriate antimicrobials (P = 0.01). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that isolates were most sensitive to sulphamethoxazole (80%), chloramphenicol (75.5%) and ceftazidime (64.5%). CONCLUSIONS S. maltophilia is an important pathogen especially in the highly compromised host. Isolation of this organism from a blood culture should prompt a careful review of the patient with particular emphasis on removal of indwelling CVCs and commencement of appropriate antibiotic therapy.
Consensus Building: Clarifications for the Critics

Many critiques of consensus building have been uninformed about the nature of this practice or the theory on which it was built, though there is extensive literature on both. It is grounded in the theory and practice of interest-based negotiation and mediation. It is not grounded in Habermas’ concept of communicative rationality, though theorists have found useful illumination in his ideas. Claims are often made about pathologies of consensus building based on cases where the conditions for authentic dialogue recognized by both practitioners and theoreticians were not met. Documentation of cases shows that when these conditions are met, many desirable outcomes occur. The article examines the various critiques, including the claims that external power differentials are deterministic, that lowest common denominator solutions are the outcomes, that valuable tensions are lost in the process, and that agreements are fleeting at best. It shows how and why each of these is not borne out by experience. Consensus building is time consuming and requires skill and training. It is only appropriate in situations of uncertainty and controversy where all stakeholders have incentives to come to the table and mutual reciprocity in their interests.
Attention to local form information can prevent access to semantic information

Humphreys and Boucart (1997) have shown that when processing of local form is required for response, surrounding global information is automatically processed to a semantic level. The generality of this effect was investigated in two experiments in which the perceptual load of the relevant local form information was manipulated, as was uncertainty about perceptual load. Participants attended to a single line segment inside a picture of an animal or a vehicle and then decided which of two pictures in the target/distractor display that followed contained a line segment that matched the first in orientation. The perceptual load of the relevant local form information was either low (the matching line segment was one of the solitary line segments presented in the centre of the target and distractor pictures), or high (the matching line segment was part of one of the solitary letters presented in the centre of the target and distractor pictures). The semantic relations among the pictures were manipulated, and when perceptual load remained constant across trials, semantic relations affected performance in the low-load but not in the high-load condition. When perceptual load varied from trial to trial, there was no evidence of any semantic processing on either low- or high-load trials. The results suggest that in form-matching tasks, attentional priority can be given to local information, thus preventing access to semantic information derived from global shape. They further suggest that the distribution of attention is not dictated entirely by the actual perceptual demands of the relevant stimulus, indicating an important role for top-down processing.
Punishment, Justice, and Compliance in Mandatory IT Settings

This paper aims to understand the influence of punishment and perceived justice on user compliance with mandatory information technology (IT) policies. Drawing on punishment research and justice theory, a research model is developed. Data collected from a field survey of enterprise resource planning (ERP) users are analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that IT compliance intention is strongly influenced by perceived justice of punishment, which is negatively influenced by actual punishment. When perceived justice of punishment is considered, the effect of satisfaction on compliance intention decreases and that of perceived usefulness becomes insignificant. This paper contributes to information systems (IS) research and practice by drawing attention to the importance of punishment, particularly perceived justice of punishment, in mandatory IT settings. It delineates the relationships among actual punishment, punishment expectancy, perceived justice of punishment, and IT compliance intention, and thus provides a better understanding of user compliance behavior in mandatory IT settings.
'I Can See it in Your Eyes': Biased Processing and Increased Arousal in Dishonest Responses

According to Self-Maintenance theory, people notice their dishonest acts, and thus experience ethical dissonance between their misconduct and their positive moral self. In this view, dishonesty is facilitated by justifications that redefine moral boundaries. By contrast, the Bounded Ethicality approach suggests that biased perception prevents people from becoming aware of their dishonesty. We tested the key process assumptions behind these accounts using pupillary responses and fixation data and found physiological evidence for both kinds of mechanisms. In particular, physiological arousal increased at the initial stage of cheating responses. This suggests that people are on some level aware of their wrongdoings. At the same time, however, we found attentional biases that can reduce the likelihood for detecting potentially disadvantageous information. We suggest that dishonest acts come at the internal cost of increased tension, which people aim to avoid by preemptive biased processing as well as post-hoc justifications.
Examination of synovial fluid and serum hyaluronidase activity as a joint marker in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients (by zymography)

OBJECTIVE Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an important joint marker and the substrate for hyaluronidase (HAase). Synovial fluid (SF) and serum HAase were measured to investigate the potential use of HAase as a joint marker in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. METHODS The subjects were 39 patients with RA and 42 patients with OA. HAase activity was measured by zymography and its relation with various parameters examined statistically. RESULTS In RA SF a positive correlation (r=0.458, p=0.0186) was found between SF HAase activity and the concentration of serum C reactive protein. A positive correlation (r=0.45, p=0.024) was also found between SF HAase activity and platelet count in the RA group. Serum HAase activity in the RA group was significantly higher than in the OA group (p<0.0001) and normal controls (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION The results suggest that SF HAase activity could be used as a marker of synovial inflammation.
Admissibility in blind adaptive channel equalization

A tutorial survey is presented of an open problem, namely, the admissibility of the memory-less-error-function class of blind adaptive channel equalizers. The problem is treated in a manner that stresses control engineering, rather than communications engineering, terminology. A simple, simulated experiment is set up and referred to throughout. It is used to illustrate intersymbol interference and its removal by a cascaded (fixed) equalizer approximating the inverse channel dynamics followed by a nearest-element decision device. Then, a training signal is assumed to be available at the receiver, and a traditional, prediction-error-based adaptive algorithm (i.e. LMS) is applied, and its parameter estimates observed. The two most widely studied adaptive algorithms for blind channel equalization are then considered. <<ETX>>
Rinorea niccolifera (Violaceae), a new, nickel-hyperaccumulating species from Luzon Island, Philippines

Abstract A new, nickel-hyperaccumulating species of Rinorea (Violaceae), Rinorea niccolifera Fernando, from Luzon Island, Philippines, is described and illustrated. This species is most similar to the widespread Rinorea bengalensis by its fasciculate inflorescences and smooth subglobose fruits with 3 seeds, but it differs by its glabrous ovary with shorter style (5 mm long), the summit of the staminal tube sinuate to entire and the outer surface smooth, generally smaller leaves (3–8 cm long × 2–3 cm wide), and smaller fruits (0.6–0.8 cm diameter). Rinorea niccolifera accumulates to >18,000 µg g-1 of nickel in its leaf tissues and is thus regarded as a Ni hyperaccumulator.