Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mimicry of Food Intake: The Dynamic Interplay between Eating Companions

Numerous studies have shown that people adjust their intake directly to that of their eating companions; they eat more when others eat more, and less when others inhibit intake. A potential explanation for this modeling effect is that both eating companions' food intake becomes synchronized through processes of behavioral mimicry. No study, however, has tested whether behavioral mimicry can partially account for this modeling effect. To capture behavioral mimicry, real-time observations of dyads of young females having an evening meal were conducted. It was assessed whether mimicry depended on the time of the interaction and on the person who took the bite. A total of 70 young female dyads took part in the study, from which the total number of bites (N = 3,888) was used as unit of analyses. For each dyad, the total number of bites and the exact time at which each person took a bite were coded. Behavioral mimicry was operationalized as a bite taken within a fixed 5-second interval after the other person had taken a bite, whereas non-mimicked bites were defined as bites taken outside the 5-second interval. It was found that both women mimicked each other's eating behavior. They were more likely to take a bite of their meal in congruence with their eating companion rather than eating at their own pace. This behavioral mimicry was found to be more prominent at the beginning than at the end of the interaction. This study suggests that behavioral mimicry may partially account for social modeling of food intake.
The Spatial Dynamics of Dengue Virus in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand

Background Dengue is endemic to the rural province of Kamphaeng Phet, Northern Thailand. A decade of prospective cohort studies has provided important insights into the dengue viruses and their generated disease. However, as elsewhere, spatial dynamics of the pathogen remain poorly understood. In particular, the spatial scale of transmission and the scale of clustering are poorly characterized. This information is critical for effective deployment of spatially targeted interventions and for understanding the mechanisms that drive the dispersal of the virus. Methodology/Principal Findings We geocoded the home locations of 4,768 confirmed dengue cases admitted to the main hospital in Kamphaeng Phet province between 1994 and 2008. We used the phi clustering statistic to characterize short-term spatial dependence between cases. Further, to see if clustering of cases led to similar temporal patterns of disease across villages, we calculated the correlation in the long-term epidemic curves between communities. We found that cases were 2.9 times (95% confidence interval 2.7–3.2) more likely to live in the same village and be infected within the same month than expected given the underlying spatial and temporal distribution of cases. This fell to 1.4 times (1.2–1.7) for individuals living in villages 1 km apart. Significant clustering was observed up to 5 km. We found a steadily decreasing trend in the correlation in epidemics curves by distance: communities separated by up to 5 km had a mean correlation of 0.28 falling to 0.16 for communities separated between 20 km and 25 km. A potential explanation for these patterns is a role for human movement in spreading the pathogen between communities. Gravity style models, which attempt to capture population movement, outperformed competing models in describing the observed correlations. Conclusions There exists significant short-term clustering of cases within individual villages. Effective spatially and temporally targeted interventions deployed within villages may target ongoing transmission and reduce infection risk.
Interpretation and environmental education associated with national park visitor centres: Framework, development and design

Tourism, especially nature-based tourism, is considered one of the world’s fastest growing industries. Popular tourism destinations include protected areas such as national parks, and do often include a visitor centre. National park visitor centres play a significant role in conveying information such as characteristics and values of national parks. Environmental education plays an important role at visitor centres, and nature conservation, biodiversity and climate are some of the topics that are given a lot of attention. Communication at visitor centres is done through different interpretive products such as exhibitions, brochures, videos and personal communication. Interpretation is an important tool for developing good and meaningful content. It can also enhance the visitor experience. Interpretation has been described as a mission-based approach which aims at provoking meaning and personal connections with things, places, people, and concepts. The overall goal of this thesis is to examine how environmental education and interpretation are rooted at national and local levels in association with national park visitor centres. The study looks into how interpretation and environmental education are reflected in framework, management, development and design. A case study focuses on the Norwegian Mountain Centre (Norsk Fjellsenter) and the Climate Park in Lom (Norway) and key points within framework, management and development are compared with the Aoraki/Mount Cook Visitor Centre (New Zealand). The following research objectives have been addressed: 1. Identify some key elements of framework, management, development and design. 2. Examine how interpretation can be used as a tool to foster environmental education. Interviews were the method chosen for this study and informants were from both Norway and New Zealand. The results show that the Norwegian term ‘nature guiding’ (‘naturveiledning’) should change or be updated in order to include various aspects of interpretation. The use of nature guiding in the Norwegian context can be linked to how strategies and policies have developed over a period of time. Interpretation plays a significant role in changing people’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. The visitor centres stress how they work with topics such as climate change through interpretive products such as role-plays and exhibitions. This is an example of how interpretation can be used as tool to foster environmental education.
Microscopic observations of the different morphological changes caused by anti‐bacterial peptides on Klebsiella pneumoniae and HL‐60 leukemia cells

Natural anti‐bacterial peptides cecropin B (CB) and its analogs cecropin B‐1 (CB‐1), cecropin B‐2 (CB‐2) and cecropin B‐3 (CB‐3) were prepared. The different characteristics of these peptides, with amphipathic/hydrophobic α‐helices for CB, amphipathic/amphipathic α‐helices for CB‐1/CB‐2, and hydrophobic/hydrophobic α‐helices for CB‐3, were used to study the morphological changes in the bacterial cell, Klebsiella pneumoniae and the leukemia cancer cell, HL‐60, by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The natural and analog peptides have comparable secondary structures as shown by circular dichroism measurements. This indicates that the potency of the peptides on cell membranes is dependent of the helical characteristics rather than the helical strength. The microscopic results show that the morphological changes of the cells treated with CB are distinguishably different from those treated with CB‐1/CB‐2, which are designed to have enhanced anti‐cancer properties by having an extra amphipathic α‐helix. The morphological differences may be due to their different modes of action on the cell membranes resulting in the different potencies with lower lethal concentration and higher concentration of 50% inhibition (IC50) of CB on bacterium and cancer cell, respectively, as compared with CB‐1/CB‐2 (Chen et al. 1997. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1336, 171–179). In contrast, CB‐3 has little effect on either the bacterium or the cancer cell. These results provide microscopic evidence that different killing pathways are involved with the peptides. © 1998 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluating The Effective Factors in Pregnancy after Intrauterine Insemination: A Retrospective Study

Background Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in conjunction with intrauterine inseminations (IUI) are commonly used to treat infertile couples. In this study we evaluated the relationship between IUI outcome and special causes of infertility. We also aimed to examine parameters that might predict success following IUI. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study, we included 994 IUI cycles in 803 couples who referred to the infertility Institute. All statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS program, t tests and chi-square. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to compare the association between dependent and independent variables. Logistic regression was conducted to build a prediction model of the IUI outcome. Results Overall pregnancy rate per completed cycle (16.5%) and live birth rate per cycle (14.5%). The mean age in the pregnant group was significantly lower than that of the non-pregnant group (P=0.01). There was an association between cause of infertility and clinical pregnancies (P<0.001). Logistic regression identified four significant factors in determining the success of the IUI [menstrual irregularites (OR:2.3, CI:1.6-3.4, P<0.001), duration of infertility (OR:0.8, CI:0.8-0.9, P<0.001), total dose of gonadotropin (OR:1.02, CI:1.003-1.04, P=0.02) and semen volume (OR:1.1, CI:1.008-1.2, P=0.03)] which were the most predictive of IUI success. Conclusion Our study defined prognostic factors for pregnancy in COH+IUI. These variables can be integrated into a mathematical model to predict the chance of pregnancy rate in subsequent COH+IUI cycles.
Mast cells promote lung vascular remodelling in pulmonary hypertension

Left heart disease (LHD) frequently causes lung vascular remodelling and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Yet pharmacological treatment for PH in LHD is lacking and its pathophysiological basis remains obscure. We aimed to identify candidate mechanisms of PH in LHD and to test their relevance and therapeutic potential. In rats, LHD was induced by supracoronary aortic banding. Whole genome microarray analyses were performed, candidate genes were confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blots and functional relevance was tested in vivo by genetic and pharmacological strategies. In lungs of LHD rats, mast cell activation was the most prominently upregulated gene ontology cluster. Mast cell gene upregulation was confirmed at RNA and protein levels and remodelled vessels showed perivascular mast cell accumulations. In LHD rats treated with the mast cell stabiliser ketotifen, or in mast cell deficient Ws/Ws rats, PH and vascular remodelling were largely attenuated. Both strategies also reduced PH and vascular remodelling in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension, suggesting that the role of mast cells extends to non-cardiogenic PH. In PH of different aetiologies, mast cells accumulate around pulmonary blood vessels and contribute to vascular remodelling and PH. Mast cells and mast cell-derived mediators may present promising targets for the treatment of PH.
Towards an understanding of Internet-based problem shopping behaviour: The concept of online shopping addiction and its proposed predictors

Background: Compulsive and addictive forms of consumption and buying behaviour have been researched in both business and medical literature. Shopping enabled via the Internet now introduces new features to the shopping experience that translate to positive benefits for the shopper. Evidence now suggests that this new shopping experience may lead to problematic online shopping behaviour. This paper provides a theoretical review of the literature relevant to online shopping addiction (OSA). Based on this selective review, a conceptual model of OSA is presented. Method: The selective review of the literature draws on searches within databases relevant to both clinical and consumer behaviour literature including EBSCO, ABI Pro-Quest, Web of Science – Social Citations Index, Medline, PsycINFO and Pubmed. The article reviews current thinking on problematic, and specifically addictive, behaviour in relation to online shopping. Results: The review of the literature enables the extension of existing knowledge into the Internet-context. A conceptual model of OSA is developed with theoretical support provided for the inclusion of 7 predictor variables: low self-esteem, low self-regulation; negative emotional state; enjoyment; female gender; social anonymity and cognitive overload. The construct of OSA is defined and six component criteria of OSA are proposed based on established technological addiction criteria. Conclusions: Current Internet-based shopping experiences may trigger problematic behaviours which can be classified on a spectrum which at the extreme end incorporates OSA. The development of a conceptual model provides a basis for the future measurement and testing of proposed predictor variables and the outcome variable OSA.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LUNG AND LARYNX CANCERS IN COAL MINES IN UPPER SILESIA—PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Abstract— The results of the preliminary analysis of the risk of lung and larynx cancers among coal miners in Upper Silesia are presented. The risk increases substantially during the work under conditions of short-lived radon progeny hazard, especially when the concentration of alpha potential energy of short-lived radon progeny is higher than 2.5 (&mgr;J m−3) that corresponds to the possibility of receiving the effective dose higher than 6 mSv y−1. Significant differences of the risk are noticed between sub-populations of autochthon-miners and immigrant-miners: it was found that the relative risk for immigrant-miners was up to 2 times higher than for autochthon-miners.
Convexity and Sheepskin Effects in the Human Capital Earnings Function: Recent Evidence for Filipino Men

Much attention has been paid to the issue of possible nonlinearities in the relationship between log wages and schooling in the literature on both the United States and developing countries. The author uses data from a recent household survey for the Philippines, the 1998 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey, to test the fit of the log-linear specification for Filipino men. He presents results based on various estimation strategies, including spline regressions and semi-parametric regressions with a large number of dummy variables for years of schooling and experience. He concludes that: 1) There appear to be large differences between rates of return to education across different levels in the Philippines. The wage premia for both primary and secondary education are significantly smaller than those for tertiary education. 2) Within each level - primary, secondary, and university - the last year of schooling is disproportionately rewarded in higher wages. That is, there appear to be clear sheepskin effects associated with graduation.
Structure-function analysis of the RNA helicase maleless

Loss of function of the RNA helicase maleless (MLE) in Drosophila melanogaster leads to male-specific lethality due to a failure of X chromosome dosage compensation. MLE is presumably involved in incorporating the non-coding roX RNA into the dosage compensation complex (DCC), which is an essential but poorly understood requirement for faithful targeting of the complex to the X chromosome. Sequence comparison predicts several RNA-binding domains in MLE but their properties have not been experimentally verified. We evaluated the RNA-binding characteristics of these conserved motifs and their contributions to RNA-stimulated ATPase activity, to helicase activity, as well as to the targeting of MLE to the nucleus and to the X chromosome territory. We find that RB2 is the dominant, conditional RNA-binding module, which is indispensable for ATPase and helicase activity whereas the N-terminal RB1 motif does not bind RNA, but is involved in targeting MLE to the X chromosome. The C-terminal domain containing a glycine-rich heptad repeat adds potential dimerization and RNA-binding surfaces which are not required for helicase activity.
Optimized DL Reasoning via Core Blocking

State of the art reasoners for expressive DLs are typically model building procedures that decide the (un)satisfiability of a knowledge base K via a constructive search for an abstraction of a model for K. Despite numerous optimizations, certain existing and emerging knowledge bases still pose significant challenges to such reasoners mainly because these abstractions can be very large. To ensure that only finite model abstractions are constructed (hyper)tableau reasoners use a cycle detection technique called blocking. It has already been demonstrated that using a more fine-grained blocking condition can make the constructed abstractions smaller, resulting in a significant speedup [1]. Even with such a blocking condition, however, the constructed model abstractions can be very large; furthermore, checking such fine-grained conditions can itself be costly. To address these problems, we propose a new core blocking technique. Our technique first employs an easy-to-check and very “aggressive” blocking condition that can halt the model construction much earlier than existing techniques. This condition is so aggressive that, if used alone, it is not necessarily the case that the constructed abstraction can be expanded into a model. Therefore, after a model abstraction has been constructed, a detailed check is performed to ensure that all blocks are indeed valid, and the model construction terminates only if all blocks pass this check. We further present an empirical evaluation using a prototypical implementation of our technique in the HermiT reasoner. The evaluation compares the performance of the hypertableau algorithm employing the original blocking condition and several core blocking variants on widely used ontologies. The evaluation shows that the model abstraction size can be reduced significantly. The effects of core blocking are most pronounced with large and complex ontologies such as DOLCE or GALEN. Furthermore, core blocking allows HermiT to classify an OWL version of the FMA ontology [2], whereas with standard blocking the reasoner runs out or memory. Further details and evaluation results are available in a technical report [3].
Cutaneous trematode Collyriclum faba in wild birds in Costa Rica

SummaryAn adult Collyriclum faba was found in a cutaneous cyst at the base of the lower mandible in a blue-gray tanager (Thraupis episcopus, Thraupidae) examined in the Zona Protectora Las Tablas, Costa Rica on 18 August 2010. A total of 1878 birds belonging to 217 species were examined in the country during 2004, 2009, and 2010. C. faba was found for the first time in blue-gray tanager and for the first time in Costa Rica as well.
Visual Performance and Subjective Discomfort in Prolonged Viewing of Chromatic Displays

Visual search and decision-making performance together with subjective fatigue were investigated over a 4-hr time block as a function of display foreground and background chromaticity using colors matched for brightness. Although some small differences in performance related to chromaticity were observed, these were not exacerbated over time. On the basis of the performance data obtained and the subjective reports, there was no support for the general recommendation to avoid the use of red and blue stimuli, either alone or in combination, in CRT displays.
BULLOUS DISEASES IN MALAYSIA: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

The characteristics of three primary bullous diseases, pemphigus, pemphigoid, and dermatitis herpetiformis, seen in this country, probably reflecting this region, are discussed and compared to those reported in the literature in the West. One hundred and forty‐eight patients with bullous diseases were seen over a period of 15 years. The criteria for confirmation of clinical diagnosis were the findings of the direct immunofluorescent test. Pemphigus vulgaris was the commonest bullous disease. The incidence of bullous pemphigoid was highest in the Indians of Malaysian origin, and they are also more likely to develop pemphigus vulgaris than any other ethnic group. Linear IgA type formed the entire group of dermatitis herpetiformis. The granular type was not seen at all. The patients were treated with prednisolone alone or together with methotrexate or aza‐thioprine. Dapsone alone controlled the dermatitis herpetiformis. The known association between pemphigus and other diseases with immunologic disturbances was not found in this study. The natural history of the bullous disease as seen in the followup patients is described. Deaths in pemphigus and pemphigoid were more due to either complications of steroid therapy or unassociated diseases than the primary disease itself. Introduction of immunofluorescence as a diagnostic tool in pemphigus’ and extension of this facility to other bullous diseases has led to detailed characterization of these diseases as seen in the West; however, publications in English dealing with epidemiologic aspects of bullous diseases in this region are rare. The three primary bullous diseases, pemphigus vulgaris, bul‐lous pemphigoid, and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), as seen in Malaysia, probably reflecting the pattern of disease in this region, will be discussed and features peculiar to this region will be highlighted.
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY

This chapter covers multiple aspects of reproductive endocrinology in both male and female patients. Gender dysphoria is also included. It begins with reproductive physiology, then goes on to regulation of gonadal function. Hirsuitism, PCOS, and CAH in adults are all discussed with reference to evaluation, investigation, and treatment. Menstrual function disorders are described, as is menopause and hormone replacement therapy regimens. Contraception and emergency contraception are discussed. Male hypogonadism, androgen replacement therapy, gynaecomastia, and testicular tumours are all evaluated, alongside erectile dysfunction. The investigation and management of male and female infertility are both described, alongside fertility preservation and the induction of ovulation.
Matching Results of Latent Dirichlet Allocation for Text

Many approaches have been introduced to enable Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) models to be updated in an on-line manner. This includes inferring new documents into the model, passing parameter priors to the inference algorithm or a mixture of both, leading to more complicated and computationally expensive models. We present a method to match and compare the resulting LDA topics of different models with light weight easy to use similarity measures. We address the on-line problem by keeping the model inference simple and matching topics solely by their high probability word lists.