Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A correlation of symptomatology with lung function in patients with allergic rhinosinusitis

Background: Allergic rhinosinusitis is clinically defined as a symptomatic disorder of the nose induced by an IgE-mediated inflammation following allergen exposure to the membrane lining of the nose. It constitutes a global health problem. Both allergic rhinosinusitis and bronchial asthma are systemic inflammatory conditions that often coexist. Objective: The objectives of the study are to assess the pattern of allergic rhinosinusitis and to correlate nasal symptom score with lung volumes of patients with allergic rhinosinusitis. Methods: This is a prospective study of all the adult patients with clinically diagnosed allergic rhinosinusitis at the study center. Patients' biodata, symptoms, and signs were obtained using a specially designed form. The symptoms were scored using nasal symptom scoring protocol and the lung volumes determined using spirometry. The data were collated and analyzed using SPSS Version 15 statistical software. Results: There were 300 patients and another 300 nonallergic individuals as control. The most common presenting symptom was nasal congestion (98%), whereas the most common sign was engorged turbinates (91%). The most common trigger of allergic symptoms was dust (72.3%). Spirometric test results were below 90% on average in both sexes and significantly (P < 0.05) below those of the participants in the control group. A large number of patients with abnormal spirometry results have total nasal symptom scores of above 5 (n = 119), whereas few (n = 7) had symptom scores of 5 and below. There was a statistically significant correlation between high total nasal symptom score and abnormal spirometry (χ2 = 72, P = 0.0001). Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between nasal symptom score and reduced lung volumes in patients with allergic rhinosinusitis even in the absence of asthma.
Mindsets, Attitudes, and Achievement in Undergraduate Statistics Courses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of theories of intelligence and an intervention of incremental mindset training on students’ attitudes toward statistics and their mastery of content in an introductory statistics college course. The sample was 547 undergraduate students at a small, faith-based, liberal arts college in the Midwest. A pretest-posttest design was used for the three instruments implemented. The Comprehensive Assessment of Outcomes in a first Statistics course (CAOS) assessed students’ statistical literacy. The Student Attitudes Towards Statistics – 36© (SATS©) assessed six components of students’ attitudes toward statistics including affect, cognitive competence, difficulty, effort, interest, and value. The Theories of Math Intelligence Scale – Self Form (TMIS) assessed students’ mindsets toward mathematics. Students in the treatment group received four brief incremental mindset training sessions throughout the semester. The initial mindset categorization had no significant effect on the difference in mean SATS© or CAOS gain (p < .05); the power to detect a difference was limited due to a low response rate. Students in the treatment group decreased at a rate greater than students in the control for the component of effort on the posttest SATS© assessment when the pretest was controlled for, F(1, 138) = 14.778, MSE = 10.954, p < . 001. The remaining components produced no significant differences between groups (p < .05). Students in the control group also improved more on their mastery of statistics as assessed by the posttest CAOS when the pretest CAOS was controlled for, F(1, 297) = 6.796, MSE = . 100, p = . 010. Analysis revealed that females gained more than males in the treatment group on the SATS© component of value, μDiff = 0.829, t(28)= 3.123, p = . 004. The remaining components of the SATS© assessment did not produce statistically significant results (p < .05). Recommendations for practice include creating classrooms that support growth mindsets and the design of mindset training. Recommendations for research include replication of the current research in statistics and other mathematics courses. A final recommendation calls for an examination of the differences by gender on the SATS© assessment.
Neurobiological aspect of suicide; a review of low cerebrospinal 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration and prediction of suicidality

Finding an indicator that can point to a high risk group for suicide has long been a desirable aid for the prevention of completed suicides. The studies reviewed in this essay presume that a biological aspect can point out the high risk individual. The focus of the studies lies on the serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) monoamine neurotransmitter and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) which is the principal metabolite of 5-HT in depression. The studies on 5-HT metabolites have led to the belief that these may play a key role in the neurochemistry of suicidal behaviour. It is suggested that the core behavioural effect of low CSF 5-HIAA concentration might result in an increase in impulsive and violent behaviour to self and others. The predictability is based on the fact that patients with low CSF 5-HIAA are more prone to reattempt and complete suicide by violent means. A number of well-designed studies concerning suicidal individuals and control subjects have however not shown any difference in concentration of CSF 5-HIAA in suicide attempters compared to non-suicide attempters which could be explained by methodological flaws. Low CSF 5-HIAA does seem to characterize the high risk individual, but it is not yet determined what role it plays in actual suicidality.
Prevalence, genetic diversity, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Zhejiang Province, China

This study was conducted to determine genetic diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus recovered from bovine mastitis in Zhejiang Province, China. Out of 3178 quarter milk samples from 846 lactating cows, among which 459 cows (54.3%) were found HMT positive, 890 quarters (28%) were found having subclinical mastitis. From 75 representative S. aureus isolates, 16 distinct types were identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Four major PFGE types (A, B, C, and D) accounted for 82.7% of all isolates, and type A (41.3%) was observed in multiple herds across the studied areas. Each region was found to have a predominant type: Hangzhou type A (64.1%), Ningbo type C (34.5%) and type B (23.1%), Jinhua type D (53.3%), and Taizhou type C (62.5%). Results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that 90.7% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial. Resistance to penicillin and ampicillin (77.3%), tetracycline (60.0%), or erythromycin (48.0%) was observed. The bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics such as penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and erythromycin were commonly found. The information obtained from this study is useful for designing specific control programs for bovine S. aureus mastitis in this region.
Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies: Communicative Capitalism and Left Politics

Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies is an impassioned call for the realization of a progressive left politics in the United States. Through an assessment of the ideologies underlying contemporary political culture, Jodi Dean takes the left to task for its capitulations to conservatives and its failure to take responsibility for the extensive neoliberalization implemented during the Clinton presidency. She argues that the left’s ability to develop and defend a collective vision of equality and solidarity has been undermined by the ascendance of “communicative capitalism,” a constellation of consumerism, the privileging of the self over group interests, and the embrace of the language of victimization. As Dean explains, communicative capitalism is enabled and exacerbated by the Web and other networked communications media, which reduce political energies to the registration of opinion and the transmission of feelings. The result is a psychotic politics where certainty displaces credibility and the circulation of intense feeling trumps the exchange of reason. Dean’s critique ranges from her argument that the term democracy has become a meaningless cipher invoked by the left and right alike to an analysis of the fantasy of free trade underlying neoliberalism, and from an examination of new theories of sovereignty advanced by politicians and left academics to a look at the changing meanings of “evil” in the speeches of U.S. presidents since the mid-twentieth century. She emphasizes the futility of a politics enacted by individuals determined not to offend anyone, and she examines questions of truth, knowledge, and power in relation to 9/11 conspiracy theories. Dean insists that any reestablishment of a vital and purposeful left politics will require shedding the mantle of victimization, confronting the marriage of neoliberalism and democracy, and mobilizing different terms to represent political strategies and goals.
Revisiting Tests for Neglected Nonlinearity Using Artificial Neural Networks

Tests for regression neglected nonlinearity based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) have so far been studied by separately analyzing the two ways in which the null of regression linearity can hold. This implies that the asymptotic behavior of general ANN-based tests for neglected nonlinearity is still an open question. Here we analyze a convenient ANN-based quasi-likelihood ratio statistic for testing neglected nonlinearity, paying careful attention to both components of the null. We derive the asymptotic null distribution under each component separately and analyze their interaction. Somewhat remarkably, it turns out that the previously known asymptotic null distribution for the type 1 case still applies, but under somewhat stronger conditions than previously recognized. We present Monte Carlo experiments corroborating our theoretical results and showing that standard methods can yield misleading inference when our new, stronger regularity conditions are violated.
CHROMagar Candida Medium for Direct Susceptibility Testing of Yeast from Blood Cultures

ABSTRACT An evaluation was performed on 95 blood cultures positive for Candida spp. to determine the correlation of direct susceptibility testing of fluconazole versus both standardized disk diffusion and MIC methods. For direct testing, an aliquot taken from BD BACTEC Plus and/or BD BACTEC Lytic/10 bottles (Becton Dickinson [BD], Sparks, MD) positive by gram stain for yeast was subcultured to CHROMagar Candida (BD), and a 25-μg fluconazole disk (BD) was placed on the plate. The area of growth inhibition surrounding the disk was measured at 24 and 48 h. In addition, a subculture of the isolate was tested by a microdilution MIC using YeastOne (TREK Diagnostics Systems Inc., OH) and disk diffusion (NCCLS M44-A) using a standardized inoculum plated onto CHROMagar Candida as well as Mueller-Hinton agar to which 2% glucose and 0.5 μg/ml methylene blue dye was added (MH-GMB). The categorical interpretation derived from the MIC was used as the reference to which the disk diffusion results were compared. There were a total of 41 Candida albicans, 23 Candida glabrata, 20 Candida parapsilosis, 9 Candida tropicalis, and 1 each of Candida krusei and Candida lusitaniae tested. At 24 h there was full agreement among the methods for all C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. lusitaniae, and C. krusei isolates. For the C. parapsilosis isolates at 24 h there was one very major discrepancy using the direct CHROMagar and one major error with the standardized MH-GMB. The majority of the errors were seen at 24 h with the C. glabrata isolates. Of the 23 C. glabrata isolates at 24 h by direct CHROMagar, there were 10 minor and 1 very major error; by MH-GMB there were 12 minor and 2 very major errors; and by standardized CHROMagar Candida there were 13 minor and 2 major errors. There were no very major errors with C. glabrata when all plates were read at 48 h. At 24 h by the direct and standardized CHROMagar the majority of C. glabrata isolates were more resistant, whereas by MH-GMB they were more susceptible than the reference MIC interpretation. In summary, subculturing yeast directly from blood cultures onto CHROMagar to which a fluconazole disk has been added may provide a presumptive identification at 24 h and, with the exception of C. glabrata, was able to predict the susceptibility to fluconazole with the majority of Candida isolates examined in this evaluation.
Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications Dovepress Severe Iatrogenic Bradycardia Related to the Combined Use of Beta-blocking Agents and Sodium Channel Blockers

Purpose: Drug-induced bradycardia is common during antiarrhythmic therapy; the major culprits are beta-blockers. However, whether other antiarrhythmic drugs are also a significant cause of this, alone or in combination with beta-blockers, is not well known. Methods: We retrospectively investigated the records of all patients hospitalized at our institution for drug-related bradycardia from the years 2004 to 2012. Patients with cardiac disease and electrolytic or hormonal abnormalities that could cause bradyarrhythmias were excluded. Three patients were taking only beta-blockers (hereafter referred to as the BB group), while five patients were on both beta-blockers and Na channel blockers (hereafter referred to as the BB + Na group). Heart rates ranged from 20∼49 beats/minute on arrival. The initial electrocar-diogram showed sinus bradycardia (n=6) or sinus arrest with escape beats (n=2). QRS duration was 80–100 ms. The clinical presentation of the BB + Na group was considerably worse than that of the BB group, and included cardiogenic shock and heart failure. Four of the BB + Na patients had been on their medications for over 300 days. The BB group recovered solely with drug discontinuation, while 4 of the 5 patients in the BB + Na group needed additional treatments, such as intravenous administration of atropine or adrenergic agonist and temporary pacing. Bradycardia did not recur during follow-up (median, 687 days). Conclusion: Although wide QRS ventricular tachyarrhythmia is a better known proarrhythmic effect of Na channel blockers, life-threatening bradycardia may also occur in combination with beta-blockers in the elderly, even months after the start of medication, and at plasma concentrations that do not prolong QRS width.
PENGARUH MODEL PEMBELAJARAN INKUIRI TERBIMBING TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS SISWA

This study aimed to know the influence of guided inquiry learning model toward students critical thinking (SCT) skill on living organism characteristic subject matter. This study used design pretest posttest non equivalent. The sample are VII A andVII B class that was elected by using cluster random sampling technique. The quantitative data which obtained was gain which analyzed using t-test at SPSS 17 program. The results showed increased of to SCT skill which average N-gain of experiment class 29.67 was higher than control class 24.55. The average SCT skill of experiment class was increased on 22.2 %. The average percentage of students learning activitied in all aspects of that observed in experimental class was higher than the class of controls (experiment = 70.72; control = 66.52). Thus it can be concluded that guided inquiry learning model was influenced toward SCT skill on living organism characteristics subject matter as significantly. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh model pembelajaran inkuiri terbimbing pada materi pokok ciri-ciri makhluk hidup terhadap Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis (KBK) siswa. Desain penelitian ini adalah pretes postes kelompok tak ekuivalen. Sampel penelitian adalah siswa kelas VII A dan VIIB yang dipilih dengan teknik cluster random sampling. Data kuantitatif berupa gain yang dianalisis menggunakan uji-tdengan program SPSS 17. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terjadinya peningkatan KBK siswa pada kelas eksperimen dengan rata-rata gain 29,67 lebih tinggi dari rata-rata gain pada kelas kontrol 24,55. Selain itu, rata-rata indikator KBK siswa pada kelas eksperimen juga mengalami peningkatan 22,2 %. Rata-rata persentase aktivitas belajar siswa dalam semua aspek yang diamati pada kelas eksperimen lebih tinggi dari kelas kontrol (eksperimen = 70,72; kontrol = 66,52). Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa penerapan inkuiri terbimbing berpengaruh secara signifikan dalam meningkatkan KBK dan aktivitas belajar siswa pada materi pokok ciri-ciri makhluk hidup. Kata kunci : ciri-ciri makhluk hidup, inkuiri terbimbing, kemampuan berpikir kritis
Three Factors Influencing Minima in SGD

We study the statistical properties of the endpoint of stochastic gradient descent (SGD). We approximate SGD as a stochastic differential equation (SDE) and consider its Boltzmann Gibbs equilibrium distribution under the assumption of isotropic variance in loss gradients. Through this analysis, we find that three factors – learning rate, batch size and the variance of the loss gradients – control the trade-off between the depth and width of the minima found by SGD, with wider minima favoured by a higher ratio of learning rate to batch size. In the equilibrium distribution only the ratio of learning rate to batch size appears, implying that it’s invariant under a simultaneous rescaling of each by the same amount. We experimentally show how learning rate and batch size affect SGD from two perspectives: the endpoint of SGD and the dynamics that lead up to it. For the endpoint, the experiments suggest the endpoint of SGD is similar under simultaneous rescaling of batch size and learning rate, and also that a higher ratio leads to flatter minima, both findings are consistent with our theoretical analysis. We note experimentally that the dynamics also seem to be similar under the same rescaling of learning rate and batch size, which we explore showing that one can exchange batch size and learning rate in a cyclical learning rate schedule. Next, we illustrate how noise affects memorization, showing that high noise levels lead to better generalization. Finally, we find experimentally that the similarity under simultaneous rescaling of learning rate and batch size breaks down if the learning rate gets too large or the batch size gets too small.
Insulin resistance, insulin‐like growth factor I and breast cancer: A hypothesis

Consideration of existing data regarding clinical and biochemical risk factors for the development of breast cancer leads to the hypothesis that enhanced insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) activity plays a significant role in the development of this disease. Abnormal IGF‐1 activity may be related to events occurring prenatally, during puberty, or during adult life. Insulin resistance, a common feature in populations characterized by high caloric intake, may result in the amplification of IGF‐1 action at the tissue level by altering serum concentrations of IGF‐1 binding proteins. Several approaches toward testing the hypothesis are proposed, and potential opportunities for clinical application are described. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Constructive and Unifying Framework for Zero-Bit Watermarking

In the watermark detection scenario, also known as zero-bit watermarking, a watermark, carrying no hidden message, is inserted in a piece of content. The watermark detector checks for the presence of this particular weak signal in received contents. The article looks at this problem from a classical detection theory point of view, but with side information enabled at the embedding side. This means that the watermark signal is a function of the host content. Our study is twofold. The first step is to design the best embedding function for a given detection function, and the best detection function for a given embedding function. This yields two conditions, which are mixed into one 'fundamental' partial differential equation. It appears that many famous watermarking schemes are indeed solution to this 'fundamental' equation. This study thus gives birth to a constructive framework unifying solutions, so far perceived as very different
Defending against an Internet-based attack on the physical world

We discuss the dangers that scalable Internet functionality may present to the real world, focusing upon an attack that is simple, yet can have great impact, which we believe may occur quite soon. We offer and critique various solutions to this class of attack and hope to provide a warning to the Internet community of what is currently possible. The attack is, to some degree, a consequence of the availability of private information on the Web, and the increase in the amount of personal information that users must reveal to obtain Web services.
Enhancement of Brightness Uniformity by a New Voltage-Modulated Pixel Design for AMOLED Displays

This letter presents a new pixel design and driving method for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays using low-temperature polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs). The proposed pixel circuit consists of five TFTs and one capacitor to eliminate the variation in the threshold voltage of the TFTs, and the drop in the supply voltage in a single frame operation by the source-follower-type connection and the bootstrap. The proposed pixel circuit has been verified to realize uniform output current by the simulation work using the HSPICE software. The novel pixel design has great potential for use in large-size and high-resolution AMOLED displays
Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 is an essential receptor for myelin phagocytosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease in which myelin is progressively degraded. Because degraded myelin may both initiate and accelerate disease progression, clearing degraded myelin from extracellular spaces may be critical. In this study, we prepared myelin vesicles (MV) from rat brains as a model of degraded myelin. Murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) rapidly internalized MVs, which accumulated in lysosomes only when these cells expressed low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP1). Receptor-associated protein (RAP), which binds LRP1 and inhibits interaction with other ligands, blocked MV uptake by LRP1-expressing MEFs. As a complementary approach, we prepared primary cultures of rat astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes. All three cell types expressed LRP1 and mediated MV uptake, which was inhibited by RAP. LRP1 gene-silencing in oligodendrocytes also blocked MV uptake. Myelin basic protein (MBP), which was expressed as a recombinant protein, bound directly to LRP1. MBP-specific antibody inhibited MV uptake by oligodendrocytes. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice, LRP1 protein expression was substantially increased in the cerebellum and spinal cord. LRP1 colocalized with multiple CNS cell types. These studies establish LRP1 as a major receptor for phagocytosis of degraded myelin, which may function alone or in concert with co-receptors previously implicated in myelin phagocytosis.
Is the Devil in the Details?

Abstract Numerical information is an important feature in green advertising claims. In four experiments, the authors examine the extent to which numerical precision signals the competence of an advertised company. The results suggest that consumers who are low in advertising skepticism tend to perceive the advertised company as more competent when presented with precise numbers, which are considered more informative and scientific. Highly skeptical consumers are less likely to be affected by numerical precision. Furthermore, the moderation effect of advertising skepticism can be mitigated by consumer topic knowledge about the advertised environmental issue: Highly skeptical but less knowledgeable consumers are also susceptible to numerical precision.