Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synchronised therapy and high‐dose cyclophosphamide in proliferative lupus nephritis

The aim of this open study was to compare the outcomes and side effects of plasmapheresis (PP) in patients with proliferative lupus nephritis treated with cyclophosphamide (Cyc) boluses. The study involved 28 consecutive patients. All of the patients met the ACR modified criteria for SLE and underwent a qualifying renal biopsy. In group I, patients were treated with synchronised therapy (PP, 50 ml/kg, followed by pulse Cyc, 750 mg/m2, repeated monthly for 6 months), whereas in group II, they were given only intermittent Cyc boluses (at the same dosage). The data were collected in the patients' records according to a standardised protocol. Patients were followed‐up for a mean of 4 years. The disease‐free survival was analysed using Kaplan‐Meier estimated survival curves ([S(t)]). At the end of the 6‐month treatment period, a statistically significant number of patients in group I (75%) was in complete remission in comparison to group II (31%) (P < 0.02), whereas at long‐term follow‐up, these percentages were similar (41% vs. 50%, P = n.s.). The main functional and immunological parameters showed a normalisation in both groups. The risk of a poor renal outcome significantly correlated with high serum creatinine levels at the onset of nephritis (P < 0.05). We documented a higher rate of infectious complications in group I. This study reports that synchronised therapy is useful in inducing a faster remission in patients with proliferative lupus nephritis. However, it is not superior to conventional therapy at long term follow‐up analysis. Positive results should be reinforced by a long‐term maintenance therapy. J. Clin. Apheresis 17:72–77, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Using Natural Gradients to Infer a Potential Response to Climate Change: An Example on the Reproductive Performance of Dactylis Glomerata L

An understanding of the climate conditions governing spatial variation in the reproductive performance of plants can provide important information about the factors characterizing plant community structure, especially in the context of climate change. This study focuses on the effect of climate on the sexual reproductive output of Dactylis glomerata L. , a perennial grass species widely distributed throughout temperate regions. An indirect space-for-time substitution procedure was used. Sixty mountain populations of the same target species were surveyed along an elevation gradient, and then, a relevant climate model was used to infer a potential response to climate change over time. Within each population, information on the number of stems, seed number and seed mass were collected. Resource investment in reproduction (RIR) was quantified as seed number × seed mass. A clear variation was found in the reproductive performance of D. glomerata along the elevational gradient: RIR improved with increasing temperature. The best model included only one term: the maximum temperature of the warmest month. This study demonstrates that mountain ecosystems offer particularly good opportunities to study climate effects over relatively short distances and suggests that warming will enhance D. glomerata’s reproductive output throughout its elevational range. Furthermore, it can be hypothesized that a potential migration of D. glomerata toward higher altitudes may occur in response to accelerated climate change.
Polysaccharide covalently linked to the peptidoglycan of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6714

A polysaccharide was found to be covalently linked to the peptidoglycan of the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6714 via phosphodiester bonds. It could be cleaved from the peptidoglycan-polysaccharide (PG-PS) complex by hydrofluoric acid (HF) treatment in the cold (48% HF, 0 degrees C, 48 h) yielding a pure, HF-insoluble peptidoglycan fraction and an HF-soluble polysaccharide fraction. The PG-PS complex was isolated from the Triton X-100-insoluble cell wall fraction by hot sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment and digestion with proteases. Digestion of the complex with N-acetylmuramidase released the glycopeptide-linked polysaccharide, which was further purified by dialysis and gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 and G-200. The polysaccharide consisted of glucosamine, mannosamine, galactosamine, mannose, and glucose and had a molecular weight of 25,000 to 30,000. Muramic acid-6-phosphate was identified as the binding site of the covalently linked, nonphosphorylated polysaccharide as revealed by chemical analysis of linkage fragments of the PG-PS complex.
Understanding and Applying the QAR Strategy to Improve Test Scores

The academic landscape has been changing over the last several years bringing with it an emphasis on high stakes testing. Studies conducted over the past several years that have shown the success of the Question-Answer-Relationships (QAR) strategy in helping students develop their comprehension skill. This study looks at the effects of the QAR strategy on a small group of 4th graders. The study shows how the students become more diligent in their efforts to find the correct answers in academic comprehension tasks, including tests.
Molly Mormons, Mormon Feminists and Moderates: Religious Diversity and the Latter Day Saints Church

Based on data from life history interviews with 28 Latter Day Saints women, this paper considers the process of boundary negotiation on two key sites. First, how do Mormon women maintain their autonomy and agency in the context of institutionalized patriarchy. Secondly, how do women make sense of church prescriptions on male authority both within the family and in the church hierarchy. The study reveals that LDS women are not monolithic in their response to these issues, and that they tend to fall into one of three groups - Molly Mormons, feminists, or moderates. The paper reviews strategies used by Mormon women to negotiate boundaries within their families, the church, and society around four issues: participation in the paid labor force, male headship, the priesthood, and the separation of their faith from decisions made by the male hierarchy of the church.
The effect of different rest intervals between multiple bench press bouts

In order to examine the effects of different rest intervals between sets on the training volume completed during a workout, 15 male bodybuilders served as subjects (Mean SD, age=25.28±2.01; mass=73.06±8.33 kg; height=176.33±6.30 cm). All the subjects performed a minimum of three strength workouts per week for a period of two years. Data collection took place over a period of four weeks with four testing sessions. During the first session, one repetition of the maximum (1RM) for the Bench Press (BP) was tested. Each of the next three sessions included four sets of exercises performed with a 75% of 1RM load. Rest between sets was randomly assigned from: a timed three-minute rest period; a 1:3 work: rest (W/R) ratio (1:3 W/R) and achieving a post exercise heart rate (HR) of 60% age-predicted maximum (60% Post-HR). The repetitions to exhaustion from set two to set four were significantly higher in three-minute rest conditions than 1:3 W/R and a 60% Post- HR rest conditions (P repetitions to exhaustion decreased significantly for each set (P≤ 0.01). The results showed that a three-minute rest interval was the most effective method of recovery compared to 60% Post-HR and 1:3 W/R conditions during the four sets of bench press to exhaustion. Key words: Resistance exercise; Rest interval; Work; Rest ratio; Post exercise heart rate
Possible Impacts of the Invasive Plant Rubus niveus on the Native Vegetation of the Scalesia Forest in the Galapagos Islands

Originally from Asia, Rubus niveus has become one of the most widespread invasive plant species in the Galapagos Islands. It has invaded open vegetation, shrubland and forest alike. It forms dense thickets up to 4 m high, appearing to displace native vegetation, and threaten the integrity of several native communities. This study used correlation analysis between a R. niveus cover gradient and a number of biotic (vascular plant species richness, cover and vegetation structure) and abiotic (light and soil properties) parameters to help understand possible impacts in one of the last remaining fragments of the Scalesia forest in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. Higher cover of R. niveus was associated with significantly lower native species richness and cover, and a different forest structure. Results illustrated that 60% R. niveus cover could be considered a threshold for these impacts. We suggest that a maximum of 40% R. niveus cover could be a suitable management target.
Death anxiety, mental health and length of incarceration in male felons

We employed the Templer Death Anxiety Scale and the Langer Mental Health Scale to examine death anxiety and mental health as a function of length of incarceration in 56 male prisoners, categorized according to homicidal, sexual, or nonviolent convictions. Nonoffenders ( N = 60), closely matched by age, race, and socioeconomic background, served as a comparison group. While no significant death anxiety difference was found between offenders and nonoffenders with all participants included, sexual offenders had significantly higher death anxiety scores than nonoffenders. All 3 offender groups had significantly more reported psychopathology than nonoffenders. Both death anxiety and extent of psychopathology were inversely related to length of incarceration. Findings are discussed in terms of current arguments regarding the personality structure of capital offenders, as well as the possible value of a death threat in deterring serious crime.
A multi-agent operator interface for unmanned aerial vehicles

This paper described a scalable, expandable and platform-independent operator interface system for controlling future long range, high endurance unmanned aerial vehicles. MIIIRO (multi-modal immersive and intelligent interface for remote operation), developed based on open Internet technologies including the Java 2 platform, Java 3D, VRML, RMI, and CORBA, enables collaborative planning and coordinated control of UAVs over a network for achieving a common mission goal. Our work now is focused on the Interface Agent which is envisioned to be a personal assistant cooperating with the operator in planning and control the UAVs. The Interface Agent tries to understand the goal and intention of the operator based on the head motion and other inputs, the task context and current situation. When the need of the operator is identified, the Interface Agent invokes the services of other agents to satisfy the operator's desire. When the operator needs to watch for a number of concurrent activities, the Interface Agent coordinates the visualization agents to determine where on the display and what information should be presented to the operator.
Rett syndrome in females with CTS hot spot deletions: A disorder profile

From a series of 107 females with Rett syndrome (RTT), we describe the long‐term history of ten females with a deletion in the C‐terminus of the MECP2 gene. We observed that their disorder profile is clinically recognizable with time and different from other atypical and milder RTT phenotypes. In females with hot spot deletions in the C‐terminus, dystonia is present from childhood and results in a serious spine deformation in spite of preventive measures. Their adaptive behavior is surprisingly better preserved and in contrast with the typical decline in motor functioning. The delineaton of disorder profiles by long‐term clinical observation can teach us about genotype/phenotype relationships and eventually about the effect of epigenetic phenomena on the final phenotype. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Influence of Constraints and Self-Efficacies on Participation in Regular Active Recreation

This study examined the ways in which perceived constraints and self-efficacies associated with participation in active recreation influenced Hong Kong and Australian university students' interest, intention, and participation in regular active recreation. The study indicated that perceived constraints have weak negative effects whereas self-efficacies have stronger positive effects on students' interest, intention, and participation in regular active recreation. Time efficacy, persistence efficacy, and activity efficacy emerged as important indirect motivators of active recreation engagement. The influences of constraints and self-efficacies on active recreation participation mainly occurred indirectly through adjustments in participation interest and intention.
Speculative Investor Behavior in a Stock Market with Heterogeneous Expectations

I. Introduction, 323. —II. Formulation, 325. —III. An example, 326. —IV. Consistent price schemes, 328. —V. Back to the example, 332. —VI. Relaxing the assumptions, 333. —VII. Concluding remarks, 334.
Interpreting quantum discord through quantum state merging

We present an operational interpretation of quantum discord based on the quantum state merging protocol. Quantum discord is the markup in the cost of quantum communication in the process of quantum state merging, if one discards relevant prior information. Our interpretation has an intuitive explanation based on the strong subadditivity of von Neumann entropy. We use our result to provide operational interpretations of other quantities like the local purity and quantum deficit. Finally, we discuss in brief some instances where our interpretation is valid in the single-copy scenario.
The Development Turn in Comparative Education

They [Soviet government officials] have a habit of taking passports away from tourists. I am a refugee from Communism, and when they took mine away, I followed the passport with my eyes out of the room. They noticed this and on the last day of my visit, they brought back nine passports, but mine was not among them. They looked at me and said, “We will put you in the Soviet university. ” My eyes opened wide and they had a big laugh, and then they pulled out my passport. An apoplectic kind of joke. Which goes to prove that the definition of a foreign country is where everything is funny except the jokes. (Bereday 1959, p. 46)
Exploring Repeatability on Mechanical Turk

Crowdsourcing is gaining attention from companies looking for a low-cost, scalable labor force as well as from researchers seeking to leverage human intelligence and study human cognition. Much current crowdsourcing research is related to discovering methods for obtaining high-quality, trustworthy output from the crowd. One element of quality crowd-generated work is repeatability; ie, results are more trustworthy if they remain constant even if gathered at different times or dates. In this work, we propose and explore various factors that could impact repeatability in the context of a concrete experiment.
Novel word retention in bilingual and monolingual speakers

The goal of this research was to examine word retention in bilinguals and monolinguals. Long-term word retention is an essential part of vocabulary learning. Previous studies have documented that bilinguals outperform monolinguals in terms of retrieving newly-exposed words. Yet, little is known about whether or to what extent bilinguals are different from monolinguals in word retention. Participants were 30 English-speaking monolingual adults and 30 bilingual adults who speak Spanish as a home language and learned English as a second language during childhood. In a previous study (Kan et al., 2014), the participants were exposed to the target novel words in English, Spanish, and Cantonese. In this current study, word retention was measured a week after the fast mapping task. No exposures were given during the one-week interval. Results showed that bilinguals and monolinguals retain a similar number of words. However, participants produced more words in English than in either Spanish or Cantonese. Correlation analyses revealed that language knowledge plays a role in the relationships between fast mapping and word retention. Specifically, within- and across-language relationships between bilinguals' fast mapping and word retention were found in Spanish and English, by contrast, within-language relationships between monolinguals' fast mapping and word retention were found in English and across-language relationships between their fast mapping and word retention performance in English and Cantonese. Similarly, bilinguals differed from monolinguals in the relationships among the word retention scores in three languages. Significant correlations were found among bilinguals' retention scores. However, no such correlations were found among monolinguals' retention scores. The overall findings suggest that bilinguals' language experience and language knowledge most likely contribute to how they learn and retain new words.
The Contest Effectiveness of the Men's National Judo Team of Japan and Character of Their Technical-Tactical Preparation during the World Judo Championships 2010

The aim of our research was to determine the contest effectiveness of Japanese judo competitors and to state the quantitative an qualitative indices of the tactical-technical preparation (PTT). The values of these indices may be used for controlling the pro cess of special preparation. Medal classification of the national teams from all Olympic Games and World Cham pionships, and contest effectiveness of the national teams during 2007–2010 were determined. The analysis of PTT indices of 16 Japanese competitors was carried out. They fought 78 contests during the World Championships 2010. Predominant techniques were described. The selected indices have been assessed. Japanese competitors prevailed over their opponents in the men’s group during the Olympic Games and the World Championships. After changing sport rules in judo, they overcame their poor performance within 2007–2009, and they have become leaders in world’s judo. Japanese competitors are highly effective in leg throws, especially in such throws as: uchimata, osoto gari, and kouchi gari as well as seoi nage (although this throw is a hand technique). They executed throws forwards and mainly by means of pivot. Japanese competitors had a positive value of activity indices and high indices of defense. Sport results achieved by Japanese judo competitors prove their high contest performance and the dominating position in judo competitions. Among their dominating techniques, we can see leg techniques performed by pivoting and breaking balance forwards on toes. They are also effective in executing grappling techniques such as holdings (immobilizations) for example. During the World Championships in 2010 Japanese competitors were characterized by a positive value of activity indices and high indices of defence.
Detection of infusate leakage in the brain using real-time imaging of convection-enhanced delivery.

OBJECT The authors have shown that convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of gadoteridol-loaded liposomes (GDLs) into different regions of normal monkey brain results in predictable, widespread distribution of this tracking agent as detected by real-time MR imaging. They also have found that this tracking technique allows monitoring of the distribution of similar nanosized agents such as therapeutic liposomes and viral vectors. A limitation of this procedure is the unexpected leakage of liposomes out of targeted parenchyma or malignancies into sulci and ventricles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of CED after the onset of these types of leakage. METHODS The authors documented this phenomenon in a study of 5 nonhuman primates and 7 canines, comprising 54 CED infusion sessions. Approximately 20% of these infusions resulted in leakage into cerebral ventricles or sulci. All of the infusions and leakage events were monitored with real-time MR imaging. The authors created volume-distributed versus volume-infused graphs for each infusion session. These graphs revealed the rate of distribution of GDL over the course of each infusion and allowed the authors to evaluate the progress of CED before and after leakage. RESULTS The distribution of therapeutics within the target structure ceased to increase or resulted in significant attenuation after the onset of leakage. CONCLUSIONS An analysis of the cases in this study revealed that leakage undermines the efficacy of CED. These findings reiterate the importance of real-time MR imaging visualization during CED to ensure an accurate, robust distribution of therapeutic agents.
Assessing the Role of Influential Mentors in the Research Development of Primary Care Fellows

Purpose. To assess the association between mentorship and both subsequent research productivity and career development among primary care research fellows. Method. In 1998, using a self-administered questionnaire, the authors surveyed 215 fellows who graduated from 25 National Research Service Award (NRSA) primary care research programs between 1988–1997 to assess quantitative aspects and qualitative domains of their mentorship experience during fellowship training. Results. A total of 139 fellows (65%) responded to mentorship questions a median of four years after their fellowship. Thirty-seven fellows (26.6%) did not have an influential mentor, 42 (30.2%) reported influential but not sustained mentorship, and 60 (43.2%) had influential and sustained mentorship. Individuals with influential mentorship spent more time conducting research (p = .007), published more papers (p = .003), were more likely to be the principal investigator on a grant (p = .008), and more often provided research mentorship to others (72.5% versus 66.7% of those with unsustained mentorship, and 36.4% of those with no influential mentor, p = .008). After controlling for other predictors, influential and sustained mentorship remained an important determinant of career development in research. On qualitative analysis, fellows identified three important domains of mentorship: the relationship between mentor and fellow (such as guidance and support), professional attributes of the mentor (such as reputation), and personal attributes of the mentor (such as availability and caring). Conclusions. Influential and sustained mentorship enhances the research activity of primary care fellows. Research training programs should develop and support their mentors to ensure that they assume this critical role.
Encontros possíveis: experiências com jogos teatrais no ensino de ciências

What can happen between Theater and Science Education? What are the potentialities for science teaching and theater games? Which outcomes may emerge from this meeting? By following in the tracks of the philosophy of difference in education, inspired by Gilles Deleuze, the experience of theater workshop Ciencia inCena is investigated. In it, student-actors chose the contents to work with in theater games about fish. The process of making the theater play Pedro e o mar ou como os peixes hao de voar indicates possibilities of thinking about other narratives in order to consider the subjects and objects of science classes and the relationships which constitute them.
Learning design research: advancing pedagogies in the digital age

Learning design research (LDR) is establishing itself as a separate and specialised field of educational research. Worldwide, technology-mediated learning experiences in higher and further education are on the increase. LDR investigates their success in providing effective outcomes-based and personalised learning experiences. This paper reports on a meta-ethnographic review study of a subsection of current LDR to document current conceptualisations, preferred methodologies and possible themes and struggles. The findings suggest that LDR often uses an ad hock approach to Learning Design conceptualisation. It is concluded that the current ontological and epistemological disparity presents a great hindrance to the advancement of LDR.