Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Among Chinese American Immigrants Measuring Breast Cancer and Mammography Screening Beliefs

Disparities in breast cancer outcomes persist among Asian American women. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Chinese American women. This article describes the psychometric evaluation of an instrument measuring knowledge and beliefs related to breast cancer and screening among Chinese American women aged 40 or older. A sample of 100 foreign-born Chinese American women were recruited from an Asian community. Guided by the health belief model, a questionnaire was adapted from three existing questionnaires. Principal axis factoring analyses yielded a three-factor solution that accounted for 53% of the variance in the breast cancer items and a four-factor solution that accounted for 69% of the variance in the cultural items (Cronbach's alphas = .71–.89). Whereas these findings contribute to the understanding of the psychometric properties of an instrument targeted for Chinese American women, additional research is needed to evaluate its utility and efficacy for other Asian Americans.
Examining the Relationships Among Antecedents of Behavioural Intentions in Adventure Sports Context

Abstract Introduction. This study aims to examine the structural relationships between value, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions among adventure sports trainees through Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The constructs of service value and satisfaction have been examined as antecedents of behavioural intentions. Material and methods. The conceptual model was tested with primary data which were collected - through multistage sampling - from 230 participants of adventure sports training in Himachal Pradesh, India using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results. Functional value, emotional value, and novelty value were found to significantly influence satisfaction, as hypothesised, while social value and value for money had an insignificant influence on the satisfaction of adventure trainees. Satisfaction was shown to have a significant influence on the intention to revisit, the search for alternatives, and word-of-mouth referral as behavioural intentions of adventure trainees. Conclusions. This study has confirmed the significant positive influence of functional value, emotional value, and novelty value on adventure trainees’ satisfaction. Satisfaction has a direct positive influence on the intention to revisit and word-of-mouth referrals, while it has a negative influence on the search for alternatives. Satisfaction has been found to have a partial mediation effect on the relationships between the five dimensions of service value and behavioural intentions.
α1-Syntrophin Variant Identified in Drug-Induced Long QT Syndrome Increases Late Sodium Current

Drug-induced long-QT syndrome (diLQTS) is often due to drug block of IKr, especially in genetically susceptible patients with subclinical mutations in the IKr-encoding KCHN2. Few variants in the cardiac NaV1.5 Na+ channel complex have been associated with diLQTS. We tested whether a novel SNTA1 (α1-syntrophin) variant (p.E409Q) found in a patient with diLQTS increases late sodium current (INa-L), thereby providing a disease mechanism. Electrophysiological studies were performed in HEK293T cells co-expressing human NaV1.5/nNOS/PMCA4b with either wild type (WT) or SNTA1 variants (A390V-previously reported in congenital LQTS; and E409Q); and in adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes infected with SNTA1 expressing adenoviruses (WT or one of the two SNTA1 variants). In HEK293T cells and in cardiomyocytes, there was no significant difference in the peak INa densities among the SNTA1 WT and variants. However, both variants increased INa-L (% of peak current) in HEK293T cells (0.58±0.10 in WT vs. 0.90±0.11 in A390V, p = 0.048; vs. 0.88±0.07 in E409Q, p = 0.023). In cardiomyocytes, INa-L was significantly increased by E409Q, but not by A390V compared to WT (0.49±0.14 in WT vs.0.94±0.23 in A390V, p = 0.099; vs. 1.12±0.24 in E409Q, p = 0.019). We demonstrated that a novel SNTA1 variant is likely causative for diLQTS by augmenting INa-L. These data suggest that variants within the NaV1.5-interacting α1-syntrophin are a potential mechanism for diLQTS, thereby expanding the concept that variants within congenital LQTS loci can cause diLQTS.
The multifrequency angular power spectrum of the epoch of reionization 21-cm signal

Observations of redshifted 21cm radiation from neutral hydrogen (HI) at high redshifts is an important future probe of reionization. We consider the Multi-frequency Angular Power Spectrum (MAPS) to quantify the statistics of the HI signal as a joint function of the angular multipole l and frequency separation �ν. The signal at two different frequencies is expected to decorrelate as �ν is increased, and quantifying this is particularly importa nt in deciding the frequency resolution for future HI observations. This is al so expected to play a very crucial role in extracting the signal from foregrounds as the signal is expected to decorrelate much faster than the foregrounds (which are largely continuum sources) with increasing �ν. In this paper we develop formulae relating MAPS to different components of the three dimensional HI power spectrum taking into account HI peculiar velocities. We show that the flat-sky approximation provides a very good representation over the angular scales of interest, and a final expression which is very simple to calculate and in terpret. We present results for z = 10 assuming a neutral hydrogen fraction of 0.6 considering two models for the HI distribution, namely, (i) DM: where the HI traces the dark matter and (ii) PR: where the effects of patchy reionization are incorporated through two parameters which are the bubble size and the clustering of the bubble centers relative to the dark mat ter (bias) respectively. We find that while the DM signal is largely featureless, the PR signal peaks at the angular scales of the individual bubbles where it is Poisson fluctuation dominate d, and the signal is considerably enhanced for large bubble size. For most cases of interest at l � 100 the signal is uncorrelated beyond �ν � 1MHz or even less, whereas this occurs around � 0.1MHz at l � 10 3 . The �ν dependence also carries an imprint of the bubble size and the bias, and is expected to be an important probe of the reionization scenario. Finally we find that the l range 10 3 10 4 is optimum for separating out the cosmological HI signal from the foregrounds, while this will be extremely demanding at l < 100 where it is necessary to characterize the �ν dependence of the foreground MAPS to an accuracy better than 1%.
Shaping the Symbolism of Entrepreneurial Forms: A Network Study of Image Homogeneity Among IPO Firms

In the absence of direct experience with entrepreneurial firms, most financial institutions and advisors who evaluate an initial public offering (IPO) on behalf of their clients must rely on images that convey information about the relevant attributes a legitimate publicly held firm should possess (Pollock & Rindova, 2003). Image is the symbolic representation of an organization (Alvesson, 1990) and an important strategic tool through which managers can communicate select aspects of organizational identity to their stakeholders that shape perceptions of legitimacy (Elsbach, 1994; Lamertz, Heugens, & Calmet, 2005). In the case of a firm issuing an IPO, the prospectus is a focal example of interest, a written document that is created in order to present a favourable image of an enterprise about to go public. The representation of such an IPO firm image constitutes a difficult challenge because the emerging public enterprise faces a new and unfamiliar field of stakeholders, institutional constraints, and resource dependencies (Ogden & Clarke, 2005). In addition, changes in the core attributes related to organizational identity (Albert & Whetten ,1985) necessitate a re-constitution of the image in a way that minimizes outsiders’ confusion about the organization’s character (Whetten & Mackey, 2002).
Teacher-Led Math Inquiry: A Cluster Randomized Trial in Belize

Teacher professional development and in-class mentors were used to support structured inquiry with math manipulatives. Twenty-four primary schools (n = 6,628 students) were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups as an experimental field trial to examine the effectiveness of this instructional approach in a scaled-up application in Belize for the duration of a school year. Implementation fidelity measures were collected permitting evaluation of two separate multilevel models: intention-to-treat and test-of-treatment. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence suggest students within this culture respond well to this relatively simple and inexpensive intervention that departs from traditional, expository math instruction in many developing countries. Policy implications are discussed that supported nationwide rollout of the intervention.
A (\mu + \lambda) - GP Algorithm and its use for Regression Problems

The genetic programming (GP) is a powerful technique for symbolic regression. However, because it is a new area, many improvements can be obtained changing the basic behavior of the method. In this way, this work develop a different genetic programming algorithm doing some modifications on the classical GP algorithm and adding some concepts of evolution strategies. The new approach was evaluated using two instances of symbolic regression problem - the binomial-3 problem (a tunably difficult problem), proposed in (J.M. Daida et al., 2001) and the problem of modelling software reliability growth (an application of symbolic regression). The discovered results were compared with the classical GP algorithm. The symbolic regression problems obtained excellent results and an improvement was detected using the proposed approach
The Emerging Role of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase in Mitochondrial DNA Metabolism

Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase specialized in telomere synthesis. The enzyme is primarily nuclear where it elongates telomeres but recent reports have shown that it also localizes to mitochondria. The function of TERT in mitochondria is largely unknown but the available findings point to a role in mitochondrial DNA metabolism. This paper discusses the available data on mitochondrial telomerase with particular emphasis on its effects upon the organellar DNA.
Synthesis of alpha-chemokines IP-10, I-TAC, and MIG are differentially regulated in human corneal keratocytes.

PURPOSE Chemokines responsible for recruiting lymphocytes such as activated T cells into the cornea have not been clearly defined. IP-10, I-TAC, and MIG are chemoattractants for these lymphocytes. The goal of this study was to determine whether human corneal keratocyte (HCKs) in culture synthesize these chemokines in response to proinflammatory mediators. METHODS HCKs grown in vitro were stimulated with IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha, or IFN-gamma. Induction of alpha-chemokine gene expression was quantitated by real-time PCR and ELISA. Activation of the transcriptional activator STAT1 by IFN-gamma receptors expressed on HCKs was determined by Western blot analysis. RESULTS HCKs incubated with TNF-alpha, IL-1alpha, or IFN-gamma resulted in a >2000-fold increase in IP-10 protein secretion by 36 hours after stimulation. In contrast, stimulation with TNF-alpha, IL-1alpha, or IFN-gamma induced levels of MIG and I-TAC that were not significantly greater than constitutive levels. Treatment of HCKs with IFN-gamma activated STAT1 and, in combination with either TNF-alpha or IL-1alpha, enhanced MIG and I-TAC synthesis >20-fold. CONCLUSIONS IP-10 synthesis is induced in HCKs by IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma. In contrast, induction of I-TAC and MIG synthesis in HCKs requires costimulation with IFN-gamma and either IL-1alpha or TNF-alpha. The results suggest therefore, that the upregulation of I-TAC and MIG gene expression at sites of corneal inflammation are more tightly regulated than that of IP-10. A role for differential induction of the three alpha-chemokine genes in corneal inflammatory processes at the eye surface is discussed.
Regulation of Purified and Reconstituted Connexin 43 Hemichannels by Protein Kinase C-mediated Phosphorylation of Serine 368*

Indirect evidence suggests that the permeability of connexin 43 (Cx43) gap-junctional channels (connexons) to small organic molecules (Mr < 1,000) is decreased by protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of Ser-368. However, it is currently unknown whether this effect is produced directly by phosphorylation of this residue or whether cytoplasmic regulatory factors are required for the decrease in Cx43 gap-junctional channel permeability. Here we studied the effects of PKC-mediated phosphorylation on purified recombinant wild-type Cx43 and a PKC-unresponsive mutant (S368A). Our studies show that (a) PKC phosphorylates Ser-368, (b) the phosphorylation by PKC of purified and reconstituted connexons abolishes sucrose and Lucifer Yellow permeability, (c) the regulation of Cx43 by PKC is the direct result of phosphorylation of Ser-368 and does not involve intermediary regulatory factors, and (d) phosphorylation of Ser-368 produces a conformational change in purified Cx43 as demonstrated by changes in intrinsic Trp fluorescence and proteolytic digestion pattern. We conclude that phosphorylation of Ser-368 by PKC induces a conformational change of Cx43 that results in a decrease in connexon permeability.
Low-Gain Control of Uncertain Regular Linear Systems

It is well known that closing the loop around an exponentially stable, finite-dimensional, linear, time-invariant plant with square transfer-function matrix $\BG(s)$ compensated by a controller of the form $(k/s)\Gamma_0$, where $k\in {\Bbb R}$ and $\Gamma_0\in {\Bbb R}\mm$, will result in an exponentially stable closed-loop system which achieves tracking of arbitrary constant reference signals, provided that (i) all the eigenvalues of $\BG(0)\Gamma_0$ have positive real parts and (ii) the gain parameter $k$ is positive and sufficiently small. In this paper we consider a rather general class of infinite-dimensional linear systems, called regular systems, for which convenient representations are known to exist, both in time and in frequency domain. The purpose of the paper is twofold: (i) we extend the above result to the class of exponentially stable regular systems and (ii) we show how the parameters $k$ and $\Gamma_0$ can be tuned adaptively. The resulting adaptive tracking controllers are not based on system identification or parameter estimation algorithms, nor is the injection of probing signals required.
Communication techniques for wireless sensor networks using distributed universal compaction algorithms

In this paper novel distributed universal compaction algorithm for support of multipoint to point or point to point transmission in opposite direction is presented. Most of the energy needed for executing the algorithm is used in receiving (supportive) node, which is supposed to have plenty of energy for transmission. It generates appropriate (supportive) sequence, which is received by a supported node with limited energy resources. The supported node when it needs to transmit stored information towards the supportive node sends a short message (in extreme case only one pulse) in agreed time point after it discovers a string in the supportive sequence, which is identical to a prefix of the string of stored data, which waits for transmission towards the supportive node. Results of simplified simulation experiments are presented as well. They give proof of the concept for point to point communication. Possible application in Un-attended WSN in order to increase security (help to hide Wireless Sensors) or in Wireless Passive Sensor Network in order to increase WSN lifetime are viable.
Development and Evaluation of a Combined WLAN and Inertial Indoor Pedestrian Positioning System

In this paper we have presented an indoor positioning system for pedestrians combining Wireless LAN fingerprinting with foot mounted inertial and magnetometer sensors. To achieve a system capable of real-time processing we have employed a hierarchical Bayesian filtering approach using cascaded extended Kalman filters. The accuracy of the combined system was quantitatively evaluated in a real building against ground-truth. Our results show that accuracy is much higher than using Wireless LAN fingerprinting alone; in our experiment we achieved a positioning error (standard deviation) of roughly 1.6 meters. The approach requires only minimal fingerprinting effort since the high accuracy is achieved by the support of the inertial-based step estimation in the overall estimation process.
Radial Color Gradients in K + A Galaxies in Distant Clusters of Galaxies

Galaxies in rich clusters with z ≳ 0.3 are observed to have a higher fraction of photometrically blue galaxies than their nearby counterparts. This raises the important question of what environmental effects can cause the termination of star formation between z ≈ 0.3 and the present. The star formation may be truncated because of ram pressure stripping, or the gas in the disk may be depleted by an episode of star formation caused by some external perturbation. To help resolve this issue, surface photometry was carried out for a total of 70 early-type galaxies in the cluster Cl 1358+62, at z ∼ 0.33, using two-color images from the Hubble archive. The galaxies were divided into two categories based on spectroscopic criteria: 24 are type K + A (e.g., strong Balmer lines, with no visible emission lines), while the remaining 46 are in the control sample, with normal spectra. Radial color profiles were produced to see whether the K + A galaxies show bluer nuclei in relation to their surrounding disks. Specifically, a linear gradient was fitted to the radial color profile of each galaxy. We find that the K + A galaxies on average tend to have slightly bluer gradients toward the center than the normal galaxies. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test has been applied to the two sets of color gradients. The result of the test indicates that there is only a ∼2% probability that the K + A and normal samples are drawn from the same parent distribution. There is a possible complication from a trend in the apparent magnitude-versus-color gradient relation, but overall our results favor the centralized star formation scenario as an important process in the evolution of galaxies in dense clusters.
An Immunoassay Platform Based on CMOS Hall Sensors

We describe an immunoassay utilizing standard CMOS technology. An array of Hall sensors is used to detect the magnetic beads that serve as the assay signal. Electrical and magnetic modulation is employed to improve the sensitivity of the sensors. The devices receive two post-processing steps to improve sensitivity and biocompatibility. We have fabricated prototype devices using a 0.25-μm BiCMOS process, and have successfully detected anti-Hu IgG antibody at a concentration of 200pM.
What basic clinical procedures should be mastered by junior clerkship students? Experience at a single medical school in Tanzania

Background Clinical training in most medical schools, including the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (CUHAS), is offered in the form of junior and senior rotations. During these clinical rotations, students are expected to acquire and master the basic procedural skills. However, students’ learning process should be evaluated for quality improvement. Objectives This study was conducted to identify the basic medical procedural skills that third-year medical students should acquire and master and determine the level of students’ exposure on these procedures at the end of junior rotation in internal medicine. Identification of the gap between clinicians’ opinions, skills practiced by students, and third-year students’ curriculum in the medical department at CUHAS was also done. Methods The descriptive cross-sectional study was used to collect data through a self-administered, structured questionnaire from clinicians in medicine. A review of logbooks was considered to determine level of students’ exposure, and a document analysis was done using existing medical curriculum. Results The response of 71% (n=22) was obtained. Clinicians agreed on basic procedures that students should perform independently (ie, Foley catheter insertion, venipuncture, and intravenous drip insertion). Clinicians thought that lumbar punctures, abdominal paracentesis, and nasogastric tube insertion should be done under minimal supervision. A considerable number of students (25%, n=75) did not practice any procedure throughout their rotation. The majority of the students performed venipuncture independently (82.14%, n=56) and lumbar punctures (73.21%, n=56) under supervision. Less than 25% (n=56) of the students met the required number of exposures on the basic procedures. The procedures to be performed and the level of competency in the procedures are not specified in the current curriculum. Conclusion The study identified the procedures that should be taught and practiced by students. It also highlighted the discrepancies in the existing curriculum and the need to monitor and supervise students’ practice.
IMPRECISE MARKOV CHAINS AND THEIR LIMIT BEHAVIOR

When the initial and transition probabilities of a finite Markov chain in discrete time are not well known, we should perform a sensitivity analysis. This can be done by considering as basic uncertainty models the so-called credal sets that these probabilities are known or believed to belong to and by allowing the probabilities to vary over such sets. This leads to the definition of an imprecise Markov chain. We show that the time evolution of such a system can be studied very efficiently using so-called lower and upper expectations, which are equivalent mathematical representations of credal sets. We also study how the inferred credal set about the state at time n evolves as n→∞: under quite unrestrictive conditions, it converges to a uniquely invariant credal set, regardless of the credal set given for the initial state. This leads to a non-trivial generalization of the classical Perron–Frobenius theorem to imprecise Markov chains.