Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Case Study Addressing the Reliability of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Levels Measured at the Time of Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Representing Early-Life Exposure

Background: To date, breast cancer epidemiologic studies have relied on blood or tissue specimens sampled at the time of diagnosis or a few years prior to assess lifetime exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). In this study, we evaluated whether such PCB measurements are indicative of early-life levels by reconstructing lifetime toxicokinetic profiles for women included in the CECILE case–control study, using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model. Methods: We simulated lifetime toxicokinetic profiles of PCB-153 for 2,134 French women by incorporating information on body weight history, height, pregnancies, and breast-feeding in the PBPK model. Oral dose was calculated by considering measured blood PCB-153 and the temporal trend of environmental contamination. Area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) for each decade of life and maximum blood concentration (Cmax) were compiled and compared with measured levels, using Pearson partial correlation analyses adjusting for age at diagnosis. Results: When considering all individuals, simulated AUCs correlated with measured PCBs, with coefficients ranging from 0.735 to 0.981. The weakest correlations were obtained with AUCs for the first decades of life. Stratified analyses suggested that breast-feeding reduces the reliability of late-life blood levels in representing lifetime exposure. Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that PCB levels measured at the time of diagnosis do not fully represent early-life exposures. Impact: PBPK-derived estimates of early-life levels circumvent the limitations of current approaches in assessing PCB lifetime exposure and may be used to address hypothesized windows of breast vulnerability (e.g., puberty) in this population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(2); 281–6. ©2010 AACR.
Risk factors for early childhood caries in Canadian preschool children seeking care.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine family characteristics, beliefs, and habits that contribute to early and severe caries in young children in Canada. METHODS A survey was administered to: (1) parents of 139 children diagnosed with early childhood caries (ECC) in 5 pediatric dentistry practices in Canada over a 33-month period (group 1); and (2) parents of all normal referrals (carious and noncarious children) in one of the practices over a 3 month period (group 2). Group 2 prevented studying an exclusive or polarized population, and allowed direct comparison between children with decoy and without decoy. The survey responses were compared with caries rates in the children, determined by dental examination, to detect important correlations of family and child factors with the disease level. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses described the strength of the relationships. RESULTS Parent responses provided information on: (1) demographics; (2) economic status; (3) birth order; (4) parental education; (5) payment methods; (6) feeding and weaning history; (7) fluoride history; (8) food habits; (9) hygiene; (10) behavior; and (11) medication use. Caries presence and severe caries was linked to: (1) leaving the bottle with a child while sleeping; (2) having problems brushing a child's teeth; (3) prolonged holding of liquids in the mouth; and (4) being Caucasian. The authors did find that bottle use in general and having a difficult child were protective influences against decay. CONCLUSIONS The factors providing the most caries risk are: (1) being left with a bottle while sleeping; (2) parents having problems brushing the child's teeth; (3) holding liquids in the mouth for prolonged times; and (4) ethnicity.
Systematic Screening of Pupils in the Elementary Age Range At Risk for Behavior Disorders

This paper describes a multiple gating screening procedure for the identification of elementary-aged pupils who are at risk for serious behavior disorders. This procedure, entitled Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD), consists of three interrelated assessment stages with teacher judgment as the primary information source in screening Stages 1 and 2 and direct behavioral observations as the primary source in Stage 3. The SSBD is designed to improve the quality of referrals to multidisciplinary teams and to provide each pupil in regular classroom settings with an equal chance to be identified for both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. The paper reviews some of the myriad problems associated with the definition, classification, assessment, and referral of pupils with behavior disorders. A rationale for the SSBD is presented; its operation is described and initial research conducted in its development and trial testing is presented and discussed. A year-long, formal test of the SSBD within an elementary school is also described. Results of this study indicated that the SSBD correctly classified 89.47% of pupils who had been identified as externalizers, internalizers, or normals by their respective teachers in screening Stage 1. The psychometric characteristics of the instruments in SSBD Stages 1, 2, and 3 are judged acceptable by the authors for their intended assessment purposes. Practical implications and uses of the SSBD are discussed, as is future planned research.
A Synthesis of Ethical Decision Models for Marketing

The contributions of current models of ethical decision making are described and evaluated on a comparative basis. From the synthesis of these frameworks an integrated model is derived. The integrated model combines both cognitive-affect and social-learning theory to produce a more complete perspective of the ethical decision process. This perspective acknowledges that ethical decision making is affected by both external (environment, peers, situation) as well as internal (moral value structure) constructs.
The Contribution of Motivational Factors to Instrumental Performance in a Music Examination

This paper reports on a study with 349 instrumentalists between the ages of 9 and 18 who completed a self-report questionnaire immediately before undertaking an externally assessed music performance examination. The first purpose was to clarify the degree to which internal (e.g. effort, ability, nervousness) and external (e.g. task difficulty, luck) attributions were cited by students to explain their results on the performance examination. The second purpose was to investigate a range of self-regulatory and motivational influences which predict student results in the performance examination. Results show that an ability to perform proficiently relies not only on technical and expressive skill, but also on the employment of a range of motivational resources. It is suggested that how students think about themselves, the task and their performance is just as important as the time they devote to practising their instrument
Iron restriction prevents diabetic nephropathy in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rat

Abstract High body iron levels are found in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Iron excess leads to tissue injury through free radical formation. We investigated the effect of iron restriction on renal damage in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of type 2 DM. OLETF rats (n = 18) were divided into three groups at 10 weeks of age: high fat diet containing 8% NaCl (HFS, n = 6), HFS diet with iron restricted (HFS + IR, n = 6), and HFS with hydralazine (HFS + Hyd, n = 6). Long-Evans Tokushima (LETO) rats served as control. Iron restriction decreased hemoglobin levels, systolic blood pressure, and urinary excretion of protein and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in the OLETF rats fed with HFS diet. Compared to the HFS group, the expression of desmin, renal glomerular injury marker and iron deposition in the renal tubules were attenuated in the HFS + IR group but not in the HFS + Hyd group at 26 weeks of age. Moreover, renal hypoxia (evaluated as pimonidazole adducts) was improved in the HFS + IR group compared to the HFS group in spite of anemia. Iron restriction prevented the production of reactive oxygen species and the development of early stage nephropathy in OLETF rats. Iron restriction may be beneficial in prevention of nephropathy in type 2 DM.
Consonant lenition and phonological recategorization

We examine the weakening of intervocalic voiceless stops in Spanish in order to gain insight on historical processes of intervocalic lenition. In our corpus, about a third of all tokens of intervocalic /ptk/ are fully or partially voiced in spontaneous speech. However, even when fully voiced, /ptk/ tend to show greater constriction than /bdg/, with the velars being less different than labials and coronals. Wordinitial and word-internal intervocalic segments are equally affected. Based on our findings from acoustic measurements of correlates of lenition, we propose that common reductive sound changes, such as intervocalic consonant lenition, start as across-the-board conventionalized phonetic processes equally affecting all targets in the appropriate phonetic context. The common restriction of the sound change to word-internal contexts may be a consequence of phonological recategorization at a later stage in the sound change.
The indirect link between perceived parenting and adolescent future orientation: A multiple-step model

The indirect links between perceived mothers’ and fathers’ autonomous-accepting parenting and future orientation were examined in a mediational model consisting of five steps: perceived mothers’ and fathers’ autonomous-accepting parenting, self-evaluation, and the motivational, cognitive representation, and behavioural components of future orientation. Empirical estimates were carried out by LISREL on data collected from 458 (224 girls) Israeli Jewish adolescents (11th graders) regarding two prospective life domains: career and family. These estimates showed a good fit between the theoretical model and four domain-by-gender estimates (girls’ and boys’ career, and girls’ and boys’ family). Similar to recent findings, only few gender differences were found; particularly, girls scored higher on the motivational component applied to career (counter-hypothesis) and on all three components applied to prospective family. Discussion highlighted the pivotal functions of self-evaluation in linking between perceived parenting and the motivational component, and of the motivational component in linking between self-evaluation and the cognitive and behavioural components.
A laboratory investigation of the upper horizons of the Perth/Guildford formation in Perth CBD

The inter-bedded layers of sand and clayey soils of the ‘Perth Formation’ (often referred to as the ‘G uildford Formation’) underlying Perth CBD provide significan t challenges for geotechnical engineers. Surprising ly, no systematic laboratory investigation of the ‘Perth F ormation’ has been published to date and designers use in situ test data almost exclusively to provide parameters for f oundation design. To address the shortage of elemen t test data in the public domain, this paper presents the findings of a laboratory investigation supplemented by in situ test data for a typical 9 m thick horizon of the ‘Perth Formation’ at St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth CBD. T he paper provides results from classification tests including electro n microscopy and X-ray diffractometer analyses in a ddition to state-ofthe-art triaxial, simple shear and oedometer tests. The in situ test data are compared with these results to provi de a basis for comparison at other sites in the Perth area.
Moderators of Language Acquisition Models and Reading Achievement for English Language Learners: The Role of Emotional Warmth and Instructional Support

Background Cumulatively, research indicates that teachers who are emotionally supportive and create positive classroom climates influence the outcomes of at-risk students in nontrivial ways. Prior research has also established that teacher behaviors that support autonomy, provide higher level thinking opportunities, and value students’ social and cultural knowledge also contribute to achievement outcomes. Although research points to several specific aspects of teaching that affect the academic outcomes of students facing barriers, existing theory and research suggest that classroom dynamics do not unfold uniformly across various settings. To date, the chief means of addressing the problem of Hispanic English language learners’ (ELLs’) achievement has been a focus on language acquisition model effectiveness alone. Despite extant bodies of literature examining separately the contribution of classroom dynamics on student achievement and the effectiveness of language acquisition methods for ELLs, there has been no examination of the ways in which classroom dynamics may moderate language acquisition methods for ELLs. Research Questions The present study examined the following research questions: (1) What teacher behaviors and student-level characteristics predict student achievement? (2) Do teacher behaviors moderate the relationship between language acquisition models and ELLs’ achievement? Research Design Sources of data in this study consist of student demographic variables and reading achievement for 995 students and classroom observation data using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System collected across 46 classrooms in an urban school district in Wisconsin. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to address the research questions. Results A two-level hierarchical linear modeling analysis revealed that prior achievement, Hispanic and African American ethnicity, and eligibility for free lunch contributed significantly to the model, but gender did not. Teachers contributed markedly to student reading outcomes when they (1) incorporated student perspectives into instruction; (2) promoted autonomy and responsibility; (3) provided instructional opportunities to support higher level thinking; and (4) applied instruction to real-life applications. Cross-level interactions indicate that emotional warmth was particularly salient for ELLs in dual language immersion, whereas instructional support moderated the relationship between developmental bilingual education and reading achievement. Implications for teachers of students who are at risk for school failure are discussed. Conclusions/Recommendations Findings from the present study suggest that developing teachers’ emotional warmth and instructional support is particularly salient for teachers of ELLs, who must possess qualities associated with good teaching, both in general (such as content knowledge and pedagogical skills) and, more specifically, for ELLs (proficiency in bilingual education methods).
U-Compare: share and compare text mining tools with UIMA

Summary: Due to the increasing number of text mining resources (tools and corpora) available to biologists, interoperability issues between these resources are becoming significant obstacles to using them effectively. UIMA, the Unstructured Information Management Architecture, is an open framework designed to aid in the construction of more interoperable tools. U-Compare is built on top of the UIMA framework, and provides both a concrete framework for out-of-the-box text mining and a sophisticated evaluation platform allowing users to run specific tools on any target text, generating both detailed statistics and instance-based visualizations of outputs. U-Compare is a joint project, providing the world's largest, and still growing, collection of UIMA-compatible resources. These resources, originally developed by different groups for a variety of domains, include many famous tools and corpora. U-Compare can be launched straight from the web, without needing to be manually installed. All U-Compare components are provided ready-to-use and can be combined easily via a drag-and-drop interface without any programming. External UIMA components can also simply be mixed with U-Compare components, without distinguishing between locally and remotely deployed resources. Availability: http://u-compare.org/ Contact: kano@is.s. u-tokyo.ac. jp
Noticing in second language acquisition: a critical review

This article examines the Noticing Hypothesis – the claim that second language learners must consciously notice the grammatical form of their input in order to acquire grammar. I argue, first, that the foundations of the hypothesis in cognitive psychology are weak; research in this area does not support it, or even provide a clear interpretation for it. The problem of interpreting the hypothesis is much more acute in the area of language acquisition. Partly because the hypothesis is not based on any coherent theory of language, it is very difficult to determine exactly what it means in this context,or to draw testable predictions from it.In the absence of specific predictions, research on form-focused instruction and feedback provide indirect tests, the results of which create additional problems for the hypothesis. The various problems can be eliminated or greatly reduced if the Noticing Hypothesis is reformulated as a claim that noticing is necessary for the acquisition of metalinguistic knowledge but not competence.
Parents’ Views of the Impact of Childhood Brain Tumours and Treatment on Young People’s Social and Family Functioning

This article describes the long-term impact of childhood brain tumours on eight families, using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Two major themes emerged from the data: the impact of the illness and treatment on the child’s current functioning, and how parents live day-to-day with the threat of future relapse or further long-term physical and psychological complications. A number of subcategories emerged from these themes, including the difficulties obtaining special educational needs, the manner in which children overcame their physical limitations and the problems caused by peer exclusion and bullying. In discussing the way in which parents and children cope with the problems caused by the tumour, and the possible clinical implications that have emerged from the data, we have drawn upon a number of theoretical concepts, derived from discrepancy theory and coping theory.
Outcome Analysis Of Two Different Injection Solutions For Epidural Injection In Radicular Lumbar Backache Syndromes.

BACKGROUND Backache is a significant source of disability and suffering in our society. The treatment modalities need continued enhancement in order to achieve the desired goals of lowering morbidity and financial losses while improving the response of the patient. METHODS This prospective comparative study was conducted at the department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar from July 2013 to June 2015. Two interventional groups were designated; Group 1 was comprised of 54 patients who were injected with epidural bupivacaine plus methylprednisolone while Group 2 included 55 patients who were injected with bupivacaine only. Outcome was assessed using the visual analogue scale and Oswestry disability index (ODI). RESULTS Fifty-five female and 54 male patients with mean age 49.37 years±10.46 SD, Mean symptoms duration was 15.01 months±9.32 SD. Common presenting symptoms were backache (77.1%), lower limbs pain (66.1%), dermatomal paresthesias (54.1%) and neurogenic claudication in 57.8% patients. The mean visual analogue score (VAS) after injection was 3.18±1.29 while mean ODI after injection was 23.615. There was a statistically significant reduction in VAS scores (2-sided p=0.003, OR =4.03, 95% CI: 1.535-10.60) following the injection. CONCLUSIONS An epidural spinal injection is a viable option for achieving relief of pain & improves functioning in individuals with radicular backache. However, further research is advised in order to clarify the role of ESI for long-term relief.
Generating precise and concise procedure summaries

We present a framework for generating procedure summaries that are (a) precise - applying the summary in a given context yields the same result as re-analyzing the procedure in that context, and(b) concise - the summary exploits the commonalitiesin the ways the procedure manipulates abstract values, and does not contain superfluous context information. The use of a precise and concise procedure summary inmodular analyses provides a way to capture infinitely many possible contexts in a finite way; in interprocedural analyses, it provides a compact representation of an explicit input-output summary table without loss of precision. We define a class of abstract domains and transformers for which precise and concise summaries can be efficiently generated using our framework. Our framework is rich enough to encode a wide range of problems, including all IFDS and IDE problems. In addition, we show how the framework is instantiated to provide novel solutions to two hard problems: modular linear constant propagation and modular typestate verification, both in the presence of aliasing. We implemented a prototype of our framework that computes summaries for the typestate domain, and report on preliminary experimental results.
Central command increases muscular oxygenation of the non‐exercising arm at the early period of voluntary one‐armed cranking

This study aimed to examine whether central command increases oxygenation in non‐contracting arm muscles during contralateral one‐armed cranking and whether the oxygenation response caused by central command differs among skeletal muscles of the non‐exercising upper limb. In 13 male subjects, the relative changes in oxygenated‐hemoglobin concentration (Oxy‐Hb) of the non‐contracting arm muscles [the anterior deltoid, triceps brachii, biceps brachii, and extensor carpi radialis (ECR)] were measured during voluntary one‐armed cranking (intensity, 35–40% of maximal voluntary effort) and mental imagery of the one‐armed exercise for 1 min. Voluntary one‐armed cranking increased (P < 0.05) the Oxy‐Hb of the triceps, biceps, and ECR muscles to the same extent (15 ± 4% of the baseline level, 17 ± 5%, and 16 ± 4%, respectively). The greatest increase in the Oxy‐Hb was observed in the deltoid muscle. Intravenous injection of atropine (10–15 μg/kg) and/or propranolol (0.1 mg/kg) revealed that the increased Oxy‐Hb of the arm muscles consisted of the rapid atropine‐sensitive and delayed propranolol‐sensitive components. Mental imagery of the exercise increased the Oxy‐Hb of the arm muscles. Motor‐driven passive one‐armed cranking had little influence on the Oxy‐Hb of the arm muscles. It is likely that central command plays a role in the initial increase in oxygenation in the non‐contracting arm muscles via sympathetic cholinergic vasodilatation at the early period of one‐armed cranking. The centrally induced increase in oxygenation may not be different among the distal arm muscles but may augment in the deltoid muscle.