Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Academic Counselling

The study investigates the relationship between cognitive and affective outcomes of the quality of teacher–student interaction at different business schools in Pakistan. As early as 1936, Kurt Lewin recognized that the environment was a determinant of human behaviour and performance. Following Lewin's work, Murray proposed a Needs-Press model in which situational variables found in the environment account for a degree of behavioural variance. Attempts were also made to study situational variables found in the environment that affect the learning process, on the one hand, and students’ professional performance, on the other. A multistage stratified random sampling plan was used to select a sample from business schools at Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and Karachi. Stratification was done first at the ownership level, where the two strata consist of public and private sector schools. At the second stage, three strata were made according to the students’ background, where students coming from English-medium schools, semi-English-medium schools and vernacular-medium schools were placed in three strata. In the third stage, the stratification was done on a gender basis. In the final stage, students were selected using systematic sampling. Such a multi-stage stratification plan permitted us to do an in-depth analysis of the whole process of teacher–student interaction. The study identifies the types of interactions that are most likely to enhance students’ progress in business administration courses. It also identifies the important factors inhibiting or encouraging, teacher–student interaction. Further, it provides suggestions to enhance this interaction process.
The Representation of Emotion in Autonomic and Central Nervous System Activity

The Representation of Emotion in Autonomic and Central Nervous System Activity by Philip A. Kragel Department of Psychology & Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Kevin S. LaBar, Supervisor ___________________________ Ahmad R. Hariri ___________________________ Scott A. Huettel ___________________________ Marc A. Sommer An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University 2015 Copyright by Philip A. Kragel 2015 iv Abstract Phenomenologically, humans effectively label and report feeling distinct emotions, yet the extent to which emotions are represented categorically in nervous system activity is controversial. Theoretical accounts differ in this regard, some positing distinct emotional experiences emerge from a dimensional representation (e.g., along axes of valence and arousal) whereas others propose emotions are natural categories, with dedicated neural bases and associated response profiles. This dissertation aims to empirically assess these theoretical accounts by examining how emotions are represented (either as disjoint categories or as points along continuous dimensions) in autonomic and central nervous system activity by integrating psychophysiological recording and functional neuroimaging with machine-learning based analytical methods. Results demonstrate that experientially, emotional events are wellcharacterized both along dimensional and categorical frameworks. Measures of central and peripheral responding discriminate among emotion categories, but are largely independent of valence and arousal. These findings suggest dimensional and categorical aspects of emotional experience are driven by separable neural substrates and demonstrate that emotional states can be objectively quantified on the basis of nervous system activity.
Coarticulation in non-native speakers of English: /.lv/-sequences in non-proficient vs. proficient learners

This is an acoustic study of the production of English /l/ by Standard German speakers. Previous research categorized these speakers as either non-proficient or proficient with regard to their phonetic abilities. Coarticulation differences might be one of several reasons for less proficient speakers not to be able to overcome their foreign accent. The pattern of consonantal velarization influences the degree of /ǝlV/-coarticulation within the group of L2 speakers. Significant F2 and Fv values for non-proficient vs. proficient speakers suggest that proficiency can be characterized due to English stimuli being articulated with more active tongue dorsum control (more velarization) which does not appear as such in German language.
Phase II trial of cetuximab, gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin followed by chemoradiation with cetuximab for locally advanced (T4) pancreatic adenocarcinoma: correlation of Smad4(Dpc4) immunostaining with pattern of disease progression.

PURPOSE This phase II trial was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of cetuximab, gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin followed by cetuximab, capecitabine, and radiation therapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Treatment-naive eligible patients (n = 69) received intravenous gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2)) and oxaliplatin (100 mg/m(2)) every 2 weeks for four doses, followed by radiation (50.4 Gy to the gross tumor only) with concurrent capecitabine (825 mg/m(2) twice daily on radiation treatment days). Cetuximab (500 mg/m(2)) was started on day 1 of chemotherapy and was continued every 2 weeks during chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy. Diagnostic cytology specimens were immunostained for Smad4(Dpc4) expression. RESULTS Median overall survival time was 19.2 months (95% CI, 14.2 to 24.2 months), and 1-year, 2-year, and 4-year actuarial overall survival rates were 66.0%, 25.02%, and 11.3%, respectively. Acneiform rash correlated with improved survival (P = .001), but initial CA19-9, borderline resectable initial stage, and surgical resection (n = 7) did not. The 1-year and 2-year radiographic local progression rates were 22.8% and 61.0%, respectively. The worst acute toxic effects were GI toxicity (32% and 10% for grades 2 and 3, respectively); fatigue (26% and 6% for grades 2 and 3, respectively); sensory neuropathy (9% and 1% for grades 2 and 3, respectively); and acneiform rash (54% and 3% for grades 2 and 3, respectively). Smad4(Dpc4) expression correlated with a local rather than a distant dominant pattern of disease progression (P = .016). CONCLUSION This regimen appears effective and has acceptable toxicity. The primary end point (1-year overall survival rate > 45%) was met, with encouraging survival duration. Smad4(Dpc4) immunostaining correlated with the pattern of disease progression. Prospective validation of Smad4(Dpc4) expression in cytology specimens as a predictive biomarker is warranted and may lead to personalized treatment strategies for patients with localized pancreatic cancer.
Evidence for a Discrete Binding Protein of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor in Plasma

Summary Gel-filtration experiments of mixtures of functionally active and inactive forms of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) with human plasma or bovine serum albumin have provided evidence for the existence of a discrete binding protein of PAI in plasma. Most likely it is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of approximately 150,000. The data suggest that it forms a very stable complex with functionally active forms of PAI, but not with the inactive or “latent” PAI. However, the PAI activity seems not to be significantly altered by the interaction with the binding protein. Assuming that a stoichiometric complex is formed, titration experiments suggest that a pool of normal human plasma contains about 40–50 mg of PAI-binding protein liter.
On the number of motor units.

s (as first author only) van Dijk JP, van de Ven W, Stegeman DF, . Evaluating the motor unit number index (MUNIX) as a measure for motor unit loss. XVIII Congress of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, Aalborg, Denmark, 2010. van Dijk JP, Schelhaas HJ, van Schaik IN, Stegeman DF, Zwarts MJ. Monitoring disease progression using high-density motor unit number estimation in ALS patients. 20th international symposium on ALS/MND, Berlin, Germany 2009. van Dijk JP, Stegeman DF, Zwarts MJ. High-density EMG and MUNE. Single Fibre and Quantitative EMG conference Venice 2009. van Dijk JP, Kleine BU Stegeman DF. Workshop on high-density EMG. Single Fibre and Quantitative EMG conference Venice 2009.
Correlating Multimodal Physical Sensor Information with Biological Analysis in Ultra Endurance Cycling

The sporting domain has traditionally been used as a testing ground for new technologies which subsequently make their way into the public domain. This includes sensors. In this article a range of physical and biological sensors deployed in a 64 hour ultra-endurance non-stop cycling race are described. A novel algorithm to estimate the energy expenditure while cycling and resting during the event are outlined. Initial analysis in this noisy domain of “sensors in the field” are very encouraging and represent a first with respect to cycling.
Performance of the self-administered psoriasis area and severity index in evaluating clinical and sociodemographic subgroups of patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND There is a need to evaluate severity of psoriasis with a simple, patient-assessed instrument. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the self-administered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (SAPASI) could be used as a measure of severity in different clinical types of psoriasis. DESIGN Hospital-based cross-sectional study, with measures of clinical severity collected separately by dermatologists (PASI) and patients with psoriasis (SAPASI). SETTING Part of a large project on clinical, epidemiological, emotional, and quality-of-life aspects of psoriasis (the IDI Multipurpose Psoriasis Research on Vital Experiences study), performed between February 21 and August 31, 2000, at the inpatient wards of the Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IDI-IRCCS), Rome, Italy. PATIENTS The study population comprised 351 eligible patients with complete sets of information on PASI and SAPASI hospitalized at IDI-IRCCS with a diagnosis of psoriasis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Correlation between PASI and SAPASI scores and analysis of variance on the difference between PASI and SAPASI scores in subsets of patients based on clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS A high correlation between the 2 measures was observed (overall Pearson correlation coefficient, r = 0.69). The SAPASI values were higher and had a wider scattering than PASI values, and SAPASI was able to discriminate properly between clinical types and global severity as assessed by dermatologists. CONCLUSIONS The SAPASI scoring system is well understood and accepted by patients in different populations than previously tested, adding confidence in the validity of the instrument. It could be used as a severity measure for psoriasis even for "at-distance" follow-up. Some caution, though, is needed when using SAPASI strictly to estimate PASI measurements, especially for guttate psoriasis.
Cellular growth and rearrangement during the development of the mammalian organ of Corti

The sensory epithelium of the mammalian cochlea, the organ of Corti, is comprised of ordered rows of cells, including inner and outer hair cells. Recent results suggest that physical changes in the overall size and shape of the cochlear duct, including possible convergence and extension, could play a role in the development of this pattern. To examine this hypothesis, changes in cell size and distribution were determined for different regions of the cochlea duct during embryonic development. In addition, changes in the spatial distribution of sensory precursor cells were determined at different developmental time points based on expression of p27kip1. Unique changes in luminal surface area, cell density, and number of cell contacts were observed for each region of the duct. Moreover, the spatial distribution of p27kip1‐positive cells changed from short and broad early in development, to long and narrow. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that convergence and extension plays a role in cellular patterning within the organ of Corti. Developmental Dynamics 229:802–812, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CONDITIONAL AND HABITUAL ANALYSES OF DISPOSITION ASCRIPTIONS

I argue that Michael Fara"s so-called habitual analysis of disposition ascriptions is equivalent to a kind of ceteris paribus conditional analysis which has no evident advantage over the simpler ceteris paribus conditional analysis already considered in C. B. Martin"s "Dispositions and Conditionals". In §I, I introduce Martin"s challenge to conditional analyses of disposition ascriptions. In §II, I describe an unsatisfactory hypothetical response to Martin"s challenge, explaining why it is lacking in just the same respect as the ceteris paribus conditional analysis already considered by Martin. In §III, I show that Fara"s habitual analysis is equivalent to the hypothetical analysis described in §II. In §IV, I ask whether the feature of Fara"s analysis that makes it equivalent to a ceteris paribus conditional analysis could be harmlessly excised, and I point out that without that very feature, Fara"s analysis would be subject to familiar counterexamples to conditional analyses of disposition ascriptions.
Caudate responses to reward and punishment are preserved in healthy older adults

An fMRI task developed in our laboratory has consistently identified the head of the caudate nucleus as a region with distinct responses to positive and negative outcomes (Delgado et al., 2000, Delgado et al., 2003, Tricomi et al., 2004). Subjects are engaged in a guessing game in which they receive monetary gain for correct guesses and monetary loss for incorrect guesses. Following a rewarding outcome, the caudate exhibits a relatively sustained hemodynamic response, while punishment responses are characterized by an early, high-amplitude peak response followed by a below-baseline dip in the caudate signal. This response pattern has been replicated across multiple studies in young adults; however, no published evidence has yet established the nature of reward and punishment signals in the striatum of healthy older adults. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to establish a valid method for measuring reward- and punishment-related activity in healthy aging, and to describe any age-related effects on the hemodynamic responses found in the striatum. Twenty older adults (51-68 y) and thirteen young adults (18-28 y) were scanned as they completed the card-guessing task. Older adults exhibited robust, outcome-specific responses in the anterior caudate with bilateral foci of activation that overlapped with the activation found in the young adults. Furthermore, older adults retained key features of the typical caudate response profile, with a sustained increase in the signal following reward outcomes and a decrease in the signal following punishments. However, older adults did not demonstrate an early, high-amplitude peak in the punishment response, which has been reported for earlier studies and was observed in the current young-adult sample. Finally, voxel-wise analyses identified two small clusters at or near the anterior caudate where older adults' signal appeared somewhat blunted relative to that of the young adults; similar blunting effects were found in a number of other regions throughout the brain. Overall, these findings validate the use of the card-guessing paradigm to assess outcome-specific responses in the striatum of older adults, and they point to some possible age-related effects that may be worthwhile to investigate in future studies.
Advances in the molecular and serological diagnosis of invasive fungal infection in haemato‐oncology patients

Current laboratory diagnostic methods for invasive fungal infection (IFI) in haemato‐oncology patients are insensitive, resulting in late diagnosis and contributing to high mortality. In recent years, progress has been made in the development and evaluation of sensitive sero‐diagnostic assays, including detection of genomic DNA sequences and fungal antigens, which aid in a rapid, early diagnosis of IFI. The sensitivity and specificity of the assays vary considerably between studies, highlighting the need to correlate serological results with conventional laboratory tests and clinical or radiological findings. As part of management protocols, these assays may help to confirm the diagnosis of suspected IFI; however, the impact on mortality from IFI may be greatest when they are used to screen high‐risk patients. Persistently positive screening results could direct early aggressive antifungal therapy, guided further by radiological and microbiological findings combined with regular clinical review, while the excellent negative predictive value may allow treatment to be withheld in patients with antibiotic resistant neutropenic fever but no other signs of IFI. However, this pre‐emptive approach requires evaluation in prospective randomized trials.
YOUTH WITH A DISABILITY AND THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS

This study explored the experiences of 14 young people (aged 16 to 24) with a disability, who had accessed social services within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) within 12 months of the dates during which the study was conducted. Through in-person and online focus groups, youth were asked to highlight their programs’ positive and constructive attributes and to makes suggestions about how these services could be improved. Content analysis of the semi-structured interviews showed that on the positive side, programs offered a place to belong, an opportunity to share their feelings, and a safe space. The analysis also showed that programs could be enhanced through reducing the size of the groups and increasing the number of sessions. Suggestions for future programs were mixed with some participants preferring disability-focused groups and others preferring groups that are inclusive of all youth.
WKB Approximation for the Sum of Two Correlated Lognormal Random Variables

In this paper we apply the idea of the WKB method to derive an effective single lognormal approximation for the probability distribution of the sum of two correlated lognormal variables. An approximate probability distribution of the sum is determined in closed form, and illustrative numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the approximate distribution. Our analysis shows that the proposed method is able to provide a simple, efficient and accurate approximation to this probability distribution of the sum of two correlated lognormal variables. We also discuss how this new approach can be straightforwardly extended to study the sum of N lognormals.
Effects of Nitrogen fertilizer on yoeld and som physiological charachteristics on two drought resistance and susceptible wheat ( Tritticum aestivum L . ) cultivars in response to water stress

Drought stress and nutrient deficiency are the major limiting factors in crop production around the world. In order to investigation the effects of nitrogen on physiological characteristic and yield of two winter wheat varieties under drought stress, a pot experiment was carried out in a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications at the University of Kurdistan during 2008. Treatments included drought stress (irrigation at soil water potential -3 bar as control and irrigation at soil water potential -13 bar as water deficit), nitrogen fertilizer (control treatment as non fertilizer application, 0.35 and 0.70 g nitrogen per pot), applied on Zarrin and Azar2 of wheat cultivars. Results showed that despite of lower values of SPAD in drought stress condition, it was increased in each of nitrogen application. Under drought stress treatment, however we observed a reduced amount of photosynthesis (Pn), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration (E) and mesophyll conductance (MC). After exposure to recovery condition, the levels of photosynthesis and mesophyll conductance in Azar2 was significantly higher than Zarrin cultivar. Nitrogen fertilizer application under non stress condition caused in increasing trend of mesophyll conductance and concentration of soluble proteins was also increased.
Cardiac remodeling in preterm infants with prolonged exposure to a patent ductus arteriosus

BACKGROUND Sustained volume load due to a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) leads to cardiac remodeling. Remodeling changes can become pathological and are associated with cardiovascular disease progression. Data on remodeling changes in preterm infants is not available. METHODS Clinical and echocardiography data were collected in preterm infants <30 weeks gestation on postnatal day 3 and then every 7-14 days until closure of the ductus arteriosus. Images were analyzed using conventional techniques and speckle tracking. Remodeling changes of infants with prolonged (>14 days) exposure to a PDA were compared to control infants without a PDA. RESULTS Thirty out of 189 infants had prolonged exposure to a PDA. The left heart remodeled to a larger and more spherical shape and thus significantly increased in volume. Most changes occurred in the first 4 weeks, plateaued, and then returned to control values. Systolic function and estimates of filling pressure increased and effective arterial elastance reduced with a PDA, however contractility was unchanged. Wall thickness increased after 4 weeks of increased volume exposure. CONCLUSION The preterm PDA induces early and significant remodeling of the left heart. A compensated cardiac physiology was seen with preserved systolic function, suggesting adaptive rather than pathological remodeling changes with prolonged exposure to a PDA.
Identical TCR β-Chain Rearrangements in Streptococcal Angina and Skin Lesions of Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris1

Tonsillar infection with Streptococcus pyogenes may induce several nonsuppurative autoimmune sequelae. The precise pathogenetic mechanisms behind this clinically well-established association are still unresolved. Using TCR analysis, we sought to identify a link between streptococcal tonsillitis and the T cell-mediated autoimmune response in psoriasis. Three patients with streptococcal-induced psoriasis underwent tonsillectomy. Using size spectratyping and sequencing of TCR β-chain variable region gene (TCRBV) rearrangements, we compared the TCR usage of psoriatic skin lesions, blood, tonsils, and tonsillar T cells fractionated according to the expression of the skin addressin “cutaneous lymphocyte-associated Ag” (CLA). TCRBV-size spectratype analysis of the blood lymphocytes, tonsils, and the CLA-negative tonsillar T cells revealed largely unselected T cell populations. Instead, TCRBV gene families of the psoriatic lesions and skin-homing CLA-positive tonsillar T cells displayed highly restricted spectratypes. Sequencing of TCRBV cDNA identified various clonal TCRBV rearrangements within the psoriatic lesions that indicated Ag-driven T cell expansion. Several of these clonotypes were also detected within the tonsils and, in one of the patients, within the small subset of CLA-positive tonsillar T cells, suggesting that T cells from the same T cell clones were simultaneously present within skin and tonsillar tissue. Because after tonsillectomy psoriasis cleared in all three patients our observations indicate that T cells may connect psoriatic inflammation to streptococcal angina. They suggest that the chronic streptococcal immune stimulus within the tonsils could act as a source for pathogenic T cells in poststreptococcal disorders, and they may help to explain why eliminating this source with tonsillectomy may improve streptococcal-induced sequelae.