Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age-Dependent Association among Helicobacter pylori Infection, Serum Pepsinogen Levels and Immune Response of Children to Live Oral Cholera Vaccine CVD 103-HgR

Background Through its effects on gastric secretion, we hypothesized that Helicobacter pylori infection may influence oral immunization. Accordingly, we examined the association between H. pylori infection, serum pepsinogen (PG) (measures for H. pylori gastritis) and vibriocidal antibody (a correlate of protection) seroconversion following oral immunization with CVD 103-HgR live cholera vaccine among children of different ages. Methods Sera from 422 Chilean children who were vaccinated with a single dose of CVD 103-HgR were tested by ELISA for serum IgG antibodies to H. pylori, PG I and PG II levels and antibodies to Shigella flexneri 2a lipopolysaccharide and hepatitis A virus (as markers of low socioeconomic status and exposure to enteric pathogens). Results The likelihood of vibriocidal antibody seroconversion following vaccination with CVD 103-HgR was significantly decreased in H. pylori-seropositive children age 6 months to 4 years with PG II>8 µg/L (adjusted OR 0.14 (95% CI 0.03–0.61; P = 0.009), and also in H. pylori seropositives with lower PG II level (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14–0.83; P = 0.017), compared to H. pylori-seronegatives. H. pylori-seropositive children aged 5–9 years with serum PG I>30 µg/L (indicating more severe gastritis) had higher odds of vibriocidal seroconversion than those with lower PG I levels (adjusted OR 4.41, 95%CI 1.26–15.38; P = 0.02). There was no significant association between exposures to S. flexneri 2a or hepatitis A virus and vibriocidal seroconversion. Conclusions As H. pylori gastritis progresses with increasing pediatric age in developing country venues, changes in gastric secretion ensue that we believe explain the observed differences in age-related immune responses to immunization with live oral cholera vaccine. The effect of H. pylori and changes of gastric acid secretion on the immunogenicity of various oral vaccines should be studied in different developing, transitional and industrialized country settings.
Evolving Collective Behavior in an Artificial Ecology

Collective behavior refers to coordinated group motion, common to many animals. The dynamics of a group can be seen as a distributed model, each animal applying the same rule set. This study investigates the use of evolved sensory controllers to produce schooling behavior. A set of artificial creatures live in an artificial world with hazards and food. Each creature has a simple artificial neural network brain that controls movement in different situations. A chromosome encodes the network structure and weights, which may be combined using artificial evolution with another chromosome, if a creature should choose to mate. Prey and predators coevolve without an explicit fitness function for schooling to produce sophisticated, nondeterministic, behavior. The work highlights the role of species' physiology in understanding behavior and the role of the environment in encouraging the development of sensory systems.
Reduced connexin43 expression correlates with c‐Src activation, proliferation, and glucose uptake in reactive astrocytes after an excitotoxic insult

In diverse brain pathologies, astrocytes become reactive and undergo profound phenotypic changes. Connexin43 (Cx43), the main gap junction channel‐forming protein in astrocytes, is one of the proteins modified in reactive astrocytes. Downregulation of Cx43 in cultured astrocytes activates c‐Src, promotes proliferation, and increases the rate of glucose uptake; however, so far there have been no studies examining whether this cascade of events takes place in reactive astrocytes. In this work, we analyzed this pathway after a cortical lesion induced by a kainic acid injection. As previously described, astrocytes reacted to the lesion with an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein and a decrease in Cx43 expression. Some of these reactive astrocytes proliferated, as estimated by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and cyclins D1 and D3 upregulation. In addition, the expression of the glucose transporter GLUT‐3 and the enzyme responsible for glucose phosphorylation, Type II hexokinase (Hx‐2), were induced in reactive astrocytes, suggesting an increased glucose uptake. Previous in vitro studies reported that c‐Src is the link between Cx43 and glucose uptake and proliferation in astrocytes. Here, we found that c‐Src activity increased in the lesioned area. c‐Src activation and Cx43 downregulation preceded the peak of Hx‐2 and cyclin D3 expression, suggesting that c‐Src could mediate the effect of Cx43 on glucose uptake and proliferation in reactive astrocytes after an excitotoxic insult. Interestingly, we identify c‐Src, GLUT‐3, and Hx‐2 in the signaling mechanisms involved in the reaction of astroglia to injury. Altogether these data contribute to identify new therapeutical targets to enhance astrocyte neuroprotective activities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Construct Validity and Refinement of Process-Based Policing Measures

Prior tests of Tyler's process-based model of policing have left basic measurement questions unanswered. With a sample of 432 adults from a nationwide telephone survey conducted in spring 2005, factor-analytic procedures were used to develop more valid scales and to test process-based model hypotheses. Regression analyses confirmed that procedural justice judgments affect police legitimacy, which in turn influence both cooperation with police and compliance with the law. When legitimacy was disaggregated, trust in the police predicted both of the outcomes of interest. Obligation to obey, however, was not significantly associated with either compliance or cooperation. Finally, distributive fairness appeared to be as salient as legitimacy in facilitating participant cooperation.
The Psychiatric Status of Patients with the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The prevalence of psychiatric disorder in 48 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was determined. Twenty-two had had a major depressive (non-endogenous) episode during the course of their illness, while seven had a current major (non-endogenous) depression. The pre-morbid prevalence of major depression (12.5%) and of total psychiatric disorder (24.5%) was no higher than general community estimates. The pattern of psychiatric symptoms in the CFS patients was significantly different to that of 48 patients with non-endogenous depression, but was comparable with that observed in other medical disorders. Patients with CFS were not excessively hypochrondriacal. We conclude that psychological disturbance is likely to be a consequence of, rather than an antecedent risk factor to the syndrome.
Public Perceptions of Whistleblowing

This article reports the results of a two-pronged exploration of public perceptions of whistleblowing, the first using a statewide public opinion poll, and the second, a laboratory experiment in which a multistage scenario determined respondents’ support for an employee’s protest actions and their classification of the employee as a whistleblower. One substantial finding is that self-interest taints the purity of the employee’s motivation making it less likely for respondents to classify the employee as a whistleblower. The employee’s gender, the type of action protested, and whether the employee worked in the public or private sector were randomly manipulated, with no significant differences in respondents’ support or classification of whistleblowing. Implications for future research are discussed.
Discreteness and Gradience in Intonational Contrasts

The intonation systems of many languages apparently allow gradient linguistic categories by the side of discrete or categorial contrasts. It is argued that these gradient meanings arise when the intonational phonology leaves a certain amount of unused phonetic space, which may be exploited by speakers to convey “meanings” which are naturally associated with nonlinguistic pitch variation. Because these meanings are often similar to the linguistic meanings attached to the phonological intonational categories, the issue of gradience versus discreteness is more difficult inintonation than in other linguistic domains. Three experimental techniques that can be used to investigate the gradient or discrete nature of intonational differences, the “semantic task,” the “imitation task,” and the “pitch range task,” are discussed and evaluated. In addition, it is pointed out, following an earlier discussion by Newport, that categorical perception is a sufficient, but not a necessary, property of phonological discreteness.
Postprandial Thermogenesis Is Increased 100% on a High-Protein, Low-Fat Diet versus a High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet in Healthy, Young Women

Objective: The recent literature suggests that high-protein, low-fat diets promote a greater degree of weight loss compared to high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets, but the mechanism of this enhanced weight loss is unclear. This study compared the acute, energy-cost of meal-induced thermogenesis on a high-protein, low-fat diet versus a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. Methods: Ten healthy, normal weight, non-smoking female volunteers aged 19-22 years were recruited from a campus population. Using a randomized, cross-over design, subjects consumed the high-protein and the high-carbohydrate diets for one day each, and testing was separated by a 28- or 56-day interval. Control diets were consumed for two days prior to each test day. On test day, the resting energy expenditure, the non-protein respiratory quotient and body temperature were measured following a 10-hour fast and at 2.5-hour post breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fasting blood samples were collected test day and the next morning, and complete 24-hour urine samples were collected the day of testing. Results: Postprandial thermogenesis at 2.5 hours post-meal averaged about twofold higher on the high protein diet versus the high carbohydrate diet, and differences were significant after the breakfast and the dinner meals (p < 0.05). Body temperature was slightly higher on the high protein diet (p = 0.08 after the dinner meal). Changes in the respiratory quotient post-meals did not differ by diet, and there was no difference in 24-hour glomerular filtration rates by diet. Nitrogen balance was significantly greater on the high-protein diet compared to the high-carbohydrate diet (7.6 ± 0.9 and −0.4 ± 0.5 gN/day, p < 0.05), and at 24-hour post-intervention, fasting plasma urea nitrogen concentrations were raised on the high protein diet versus the high-carbohydrate diet (13.9 ± 0.9 and 11.2 ± 1.0 mg/dL respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions: These data indicate an added energy-cost associated with high-protein, low-fat diets and may help explain the efficacy of such diets for weight loss.
Parametric Sensitivity of the Formation of Reversed Electron Energy Spectrum Caused by Plasmaspheric Hiss

Scattering by plasmaspheric hiss is responsible for the newly reported reversed energy spectra with abundant high‐energy but fewer low‐energy electrons between hundreds of kiloelectronvolts and ~2 MeV in the inner magnetosphere. To deepen our understanding of the contributions of plasmaspheric hiss to the formation of reversed electron energy spectrum, we conduct a detailed theoretical parametric analysis through numerical simulations to explore the sensitivity of hiss‐induced reversed electron energy spectrum to ambient magnetic field, plasma density, and hiss wave distribution properties. Given L‐shell, variations of ambient plasma density and wave frequency spectrum contribute importantly to the formation of reversed electron energy spectrum, while variations of background magnetic field (which usually shows small changes in the plasmasphere) and wave normal angle distribution play a less effective role. Our study suggests that the reversed electron energy spectrum has important implications for unveiling the sophisticated energy‐dependent nature of wave‐particle interactions and energetic particle dynamics in geospace.
The study of the relationship between value creation and customer loyalty with the role of trust moderation and customer satisfaction in Sari hospitals

Background Healthcare providers are competitive, owing to heightened customers’ awareness and expectations of health care services. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between customer value creation and loyalty with mediator trust and customer satisfaction. Methods This is a cross sectional survey study. Participants were 196 patients referred to private hospitals in Sari city, Iran from May to June 2014 which were selected by convenience sampling method. Data were collected using questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling software Smart PLS. Results The results revealed a relationship between customer value creation and customer loyalty in a Sari city private hospital, and customer satisfaction and trust, mediate the relationship between customer value creation and customer loyalty. The results also revealed significant positive relationship between customer satisfaction and trust (p=0.000 r=0.585). Conclusion customer satisfaction and trust mediate the relationship between customer value creation and customer loyalty.
Nutrition and Hydration Issues for Combat Sport Athletes

TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS AND TO ENHANCE SKELETAL MUSCLE RECOVERY FROM HIGH-INTENSITY TRAINING, THE ATHLETE NEEDS TO ENSURE ADEQUATE ENERGY AND PROTEIN CONSUMPTION. PROTEIN INTAKE MAY HAVE EVEN GREATER RELEVANCE DURING PERIODS OF WEIGHT LOSS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMBAT SPORT ATHLETE. COMBAT SPORT ATHLETES OFTEN USE WATER RESTRICTION TO ACCOMPLISH DESIRED WEIGHT LOSS. THIS HAS SEVERAL IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS THAT POSE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISKS. THIS PAPER WILL FOCUS ON SEVERAL NUTRITIONAL AND HYDRATION STRATEGIES AND HOW THEY SPECIFICALLY RELATE TO COMBAT SPORTS WITH REGARD TO TRAINING AND COMPETITION.
EXPLORING THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN IMPROVISATION CONCERT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF INTENSITY OF INTERACTION

This project views musical performances as collaborative practices, within which intensity is a relational phenomenon. The study is in one part a search for and an elaboration of various means of identifying, analyzing, and unveiling the elements, the variety of tendencies and tensions within musical performances. At the same time, the focus is on the musical communication in detail and as a whole. Therefore, the study speaks about the Intensity of Interaction. The presentation demonstrates the method of double stimulation, which is based on the work by Vygotski. Therefore, the study uses intensity ratings as part of the stimulated recall interview. This means that video recordings of the naturally occurring events provide data for investigating the visual and vocal aspects of human conduct, and the ratings in figures from 0% to 100% signify momentary intensity based on personal experiences. In the stimulated recall interview of the performers and the audience, the researcher also use questions in order to stimulate discussion as they watch the video. Video examples of improvisation performances with summary of the collected data constitute the
Raters’ L2 background as a potential source of bias in rating oral performance

Based on evidence that listeners may favor certain foreign accents over others (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Major, Fitzmaurice, Bunta, & Balasubramanian, 2002; Tauroza & Luk, 1997) and that language-test raters may better comprehend and/or rate the speech of test takers whose native languages (L1s) are more familiar on some level (Carey, Mannell, & Dunn, 2011; Fayer & Krasinski, 1987; Scales, Wennerstrom, Richard, & Wu, 2006), we investigated whether accent familiarity (defined as having learned the test takers’ L1) leads to rater bias. We examined 107 raters’ ratings on 432 TOEFL iBTTM speech samples from 72 test takers. The raters of interest were L2 speakers of Spanish, Chinese, or Korean, while the test takers comprised three native-speaker groups (24 each) of Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. We analyzed the ratings using a multifaceted Rasch measurement approach. Results indicated that L2 Spanish raters were significantly more lenient with L1 Spanish test takers, as were L2 Chinese raters with L1 Chinese test takers. We conclude by concurring with Xi and Mollaun (2009, 2011) and Carey et al. that rater training should address raters’ linguistic background as a potential rater effect. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of recognizing rater L2 as a possible source of bias.
Maps and atlases of cancer mortality: a review of a useful tool to trigger new questions

In this review we illustrate our view on the epidemiological relevance of geographically mapping cancer mortality. In the first part of this work, after delineating the history of cancer mapping with a view on interpretation of Cancer Mortality Atlases, we briefly illustrate the ‘art’ of cancer mapping. Later we summarise in a non-mathematical way basic methods of spatial statistics. In the second part of this paper, we employ the ‘Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the European Union and the European Economic Area 1993–1997’ in order to illustrate spatial aspects of cancer mortality in Europe. In particular, we focus on the cancer related to tobacco and alcohol epidemics and on breast cancer which is of particular interest in cancer mapping. Here we suggest and reiterate two key concepts. The first is that a cancer atlas is not only a visual tool, but it also contain appropriate spatial statistical analyses that quantify the qualitative visual impressions to the readers even though at times revealing fallacy. The second is that a cancer atlas is by no means a book where answers to questions can be found. On the contrary, it ought to be considered as a tool to trigger new questions.
Validation and reliability of a modified sphygmomanometer for the assessment of handgrip strength in Parkinson´s disease

BACKGROUND: Handgrip strength is currently considered a predictor of overall muscle strength and functional capacity. Therefore, it is important to find reliable and affordable instruments for this analysis, such as the modified sphygmomanometer test (MST). OBJECTIVES: To assess the concurrent criterion validity of the MST, to compare the MST with the Jamar dynamometer, and to analyze the reproducibility (i.e. reliability and agreement) of the MST in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHOD: The authors recruited 50 subjects, 24 with PD (65.5±6.2 years of age) and 26 healthy elderly subjects (63.4±7.2 years of age). The handgrip strength was measured using the Jamar dynamometer and modified sphygmomanometer. The concurrent criterion validity was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and a simple linear regression test. The reproducibility of the MST was evaluated with the coefficient of intra-class correlation (ICC2,1), the standard error of measurement (SEM), the minimal detectable change (MDC), and the Bland-Altman plot. For all of the analyses, α≤0.05 was considered a risk. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation of moderate magnitude (r≥0.45) between the MST and the Jamar dynamometer. The MST had excellent reliability (ICC2,1≥0.7). The SEM and the MDC were adequate; however, the Bland-Altman plot indicated an unsatisfactory interrater agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The MST exhibited adequate validity and excellent reliability and is, therefore, suitable for monitoring the handgrip strength in PD. However, if the goal is to compare the measurements between examiners, the authors recommend that the data be interpreted with caution.
Deep Low-Rank Coding for Transfer Learning

Recent researches on transfer learning exploit deep structures for discriminative feature representation to tackle cross-domain disparity. However, few of them are able to joint feature learning and knowledge transfer in a unified deep framework. In this paper, we develop a novel approach, called Deep Low-Rank Coding (DLRC), for transfer learning. Specifically, discriminative low-rank coding is achieved in the guidance of an iterative supervised structure term for each single layer. In this way, both marginal and conditional distributions between two domains intend to be mitigated. In addition, a marginalized denoising feature transformation is employed to guarantee the learned single-layer low-rank coding to be robust despite of corruptions or noises. Finally, by stacking multiple layers of low-rank codings, we manage to learn robust cross-domain features from coarse to fine. Experimental results on several benchmarks have demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm on facilitating the recognition performance for the target domain.
Measuring and Modeling of Application Flow Length in Commercial GPRS Networks

New mobile access networks provide reasonable high bandwidth to allow true Internet access. This paper models two dominant applications of those networks. One application, WAP, is novel and specific to mobile networks, the other is HTTP, which is already dominantly present in the Internet. However, our measurements reveal that WAP traffic is the dominant application in mobile networks. Therefore, this paper models in particular the flow length of WAP and as comparison the flow length of HTTP. The flow length is a good approximation of the object size structure and hence can be used in further simulation or analytical modeling of mobile networks. We apply different distribution fitting techniques and the KS goodness of fit test to specify exactly the underlying distribution of the empirical data
Green by Choice?: Cross-National Variations in Firms' Responses to EMS-Based Environmental Regimes

Environmental Management Systems (EMSS) represent a new generation of voluntary "beyond compliance" environmental policies that neither set substantive goals nor specify final outcomes. As a result, many stakeholder groups are lukewarm toward them. Since 1993 two major supranational EMSS--ISO 14001 and the European Union's Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)--have been introduced. Firms receive formal accreditation after their ems has been certified by outside verifiers. This accreditation can potentially bestow monetary and nonmonetary benefits on these firms. Firm-level ems adoption patterns in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States vary, thereby suggesting that national contexts influence firms' responses to them. In Germany and the U.K. a significant number of sites have become either iso 14001 or emas certified, while the take-up of iso 14001 in the U.S. (EMAS is available only to European sites) has been less enthusiastic. This article begins with the hypothesis that firms in countries with adversarial economies--where regulators and business are on less than friendly terms--are less likely to adopt ems-based programs. This hypothesis explains why iso 14001 take-up has been relatively high in the U.K. and relatively low in the U.S. However, it cannot explain (1) the high rate of take-up of both iso 14001 and EMAS in Germany, where the stringency of environmental legislation has been a contentious issue between the government and industry and (2) why EMAS has been more popular in Germany than in the U.K. This article argues that the original hypothesis, while largely correct, is underspecified. To better explain the cross-national differences in EMS adoption, one must take into account the type of adversarial economy (adversarial legalism versus prescriptive interventionism) and the nature of the policy regime (procedural versus substantive).