Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relation between fetal abdominal circumference and birthweight: findings in 3512 pregnancies

Objectives To establish the relation between fetal abdominal circumference and birthweight in a large population of fetuses; to identify whether the error in estimating birthweight by abdominal circumference varied with the magnitude of abdominal circumference; and to establish whether adding femur length to abdominal circumference caused a clinically important reduction of error in predicting birthweight.
Minority Influence on Focal and Related Attitudes: Change in Size, Attributions, and Information Processing

Three experiments examined how change in minority size influenced information processing and attitude change. Experiment 1 showed that when strong rather than weak arguments were presented, a message attributed to an expanding rather than shrinking minority elicited more issue-relevant thoughts and more related attitude change in the argued direction. Experiment 2 showed more related attitude change in the argued direction when it was unlikely that expanding size was due to the shifting majority members’ self-interest. Experiment 3 replicated these findings. In addition, results indicated that change in size interacted differently with the majority than with minority status of the source: related issues remained largely unaffected in the case of majority support, whereas expanding minorities elicited more related attitude change in the argued direction.
Overexpression of AIB1 negatively affects survival of surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND The amplified in breast cancer 1 (AIB1) gene has been considered to play an oncogenic role in human cancers, but its clinical/prognostic significance in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS The methods of immunohistochemistry and FISH were utilized to examine protein expression and amplification of AIB1 in 230 informative surgically resected NSCLCs and in 30 samples of normal lung tissues. RESULTS Overexpression and amplification of AIB1 were found in 48.3% and 8.2% of NSCLCs, respectively. AIB1 overexpression was associated with AIB1 gene amplification and cell proliferation but not related to estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha, ER-beta, progesterone receptor or androgen receptor status. A positive correlation between AIB1 overexpression and an ascending pathologic node stage in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) was observed (P = 0.043). Univariate survival analysis demonstrated a significant association of AIB1 overexpression with shortened patient survival, especially for those with stage III disease (P < 0.001). Importantly, AIB1 expression was evaluated as the most significant predictor for survival in multivariate analysis (hazards ratio = 2.069, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Overexpression of AIB1 might provide a selective advantage for lymph node metastasis of lung ADC and serve as a useful biomarker for poor prognosis for NSCLC patients.
Negative Impact on Calorie Intake Associated with the 2006–08 Food Price Crisis in Latin America

Background From 2006 to 2008, there were sharp increases in the prices of major food commodities globally, including maize, rice, and wheat. Few studies have contributed empirical evidence of the nutritional impacts of this food price crisis. Objective To assess changes in energy intake in response to food price shocks and in relation to calorie adequacy levels in seven Latin American countries. Methods Data were drawn from nationally representative household budget surveys. The quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model characterized change patterns in consumption for six food groups and one nonfood group under two scenarios: actual change in food prices by country, and standardized 10% increase in prices across all countries. Energy intakes before and after the crisis were determined once calories were assigned to food items from the ProPAN and US Department of Agriculture food composition databases. Results Energy intakes were reduced by 8.0% (range, 0.95% to 15.1%) from precrisis levels across all countries. Ecuador and Panama were the worst affected, followed by Haiti and Nicaragua. There was a consistent, direct relationship between wealth quintile and change in energy intake. Rural areas were affected to the same extent as or a greater extent than urban areas. High positive increases in calorie consumption were found in the richest wealth quintile, exceeding 10% of previous levels in five countries. Conclusions Policies and programs targeting the poorest households in both rural and urban areas may be needed to offset the energy deficits associated with food price increases. More research is needed on the effect of food prices and micronutrient nutrition.
Compilation for Critically Constrained Knowledge Bases

We show that many "critically constrained" Random 3SAT knowledge bases (KBs) can be compiled into disjunctive normal form easily by using a variant of the "Davis-Putnam" proof procedure. From these compiled KBs we can answer all queries about entailment of conjunctive normal formulas, also easily -- compared to a "brute-force" approach to approximate knowledge compilation into unit clauses for the same KBs. We exploit this fact to develop an aggressive hybrid approach which attempts to compile a KB exactly until a given resource limit is reached, then falls back to approximate compilation into unit clauses. The resulting approach handles all of the critically constrained Random 3SAT KBs with average savings of an order of magnitude over the brute-force approach.
Effect of haptic feedback in a trajectory following task with an unmanned aerial vehicle

Due to the limited field of view of a camera, visual information may not be sufficient to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular when the camera is not pointing into the direction of motion, perception of environment constraints can be considerably difficult. The use of haptic feedback would provide tactile cues complementing the information from the visual channel. This paper presents the results of an experimental evaluation of using haptic feedback for manual control of an UAV helicopter in a trajectory following task. The experiment involves controlling an UAV helicopter along a reference trajectory as fast and accurately as possible. The trajectory is represented by a three-dimensional tunnel-in-the-sky display of which the walls represent the environment constraints. The experiment only considers the horizontal plane. The results of the experiment indicate that haptic feedback can be used to support the operator in perceiving tunnel walls as environment constraints. The performance, control activity and workload strongly depend on the manner in which repulsive forces are fed back to the human operator.
Supporting Patient-Provider Collaboration to Identify Individual Triggers using Food and Symptom Journals

Patient-generated data can allow patients and providers to collaboratively develop accurate diagnoses and actionable treatment plans. Unfortunately, patients and providers often lack effective support to make use of such data. We examine patient-provider collaboration to interpret patient-generated data. We focus on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic illness in which particular foods can exacerbate symptoms. IBS management often requires patient-provider collaboration using a patient's food and symptom journal to identify the patient's triggers. We contribute interactive visualizations to support exploration of such journals, as well as an examination of patient-provider collaboration in interpreting the journals. Drawing upon individual and collaborative interviews with patients and providers, we find that collaborative review helps improve data comprehension and build mutual trust. We also find a desire to use tools like our interactive visualizations within and beyond clinic appointments. We discuss these findings and present guidance for the design of future tools.
Building collaborative structures for teachers’ autonomy and self-efficacy: the mediating role of participative management and learning culture

This study focused on the collaborative structure-building behavior of school principals and examined how such behavior affects teacher empowerment. More important, it tested the mediating effects of participative management and learning culture. By collecting nested data from 104 schools in Hong Kong and adopting multilevel structural equation modeling, we found that teachers’ sense of autonomy and self-efficacy were correlated at the individual level but were independent at the school level. The effect of building collaborative structures on teachers’ self-efficacy was mediated by both participative management and learning culture, whereas the effect on autonomy was mediated by participative management only. The findings contribute to the literature in at least 2 ways. First, the inclusion of both principal leadership and school-level factors provides more refined predications of teacher empowerment. Second, the testing of the theory-grounded hypotheses in an Asian society verifies the validity of certain cultural assertions about this region.
Antibiotic use in urological surgeries: a six years review at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es salaam-Tanzania

Introduction Antimicrobial prophylaxis for urologic procedures is a major issue, as potential advantages of antibiotic administration should be carefully weighed against potential side effects, microbial resistance, and health care costs. This study aimed to review a six years trend of antibiotic use in urological surgeries at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) being an experience in a typical third world environment. Methods This was a six years hospital based descriptive, retrospective study conducted of which all case notes of urological patients operated on in between January 2007 to December, 2012 were reviewed by using a structured data collecting tool. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results Male patients were the majority at 62% (450). The age range was 0 - 90 years, with a mean of 30 ± 22.09. Among the urological surgeries done at MNH 86.5% (628) received prophylactic antibiotics regardless of the type surgery done. Majority 63.7% (463) received antibiotics during induction. Ceftriaxone was the commonly given antibiotic regardless of the type of urological surgery done. Most of patients (86.4%) were given antibiotics for five days regardless whether it was for prophylactic or treatment intention. Conclusion Antibiotic use is still a challenge at our hospital with over use of prophylactic antibiotics without obvious indications. Prolonged use of prophylactic antibiotics beyond five days was the main finding. Ceftriaxone was the most given antibiotic regardless of the urological surgery done and its level of contamination. Antibiotic stewardship needs to be addressed urgently to avoid serious drug resistances leaving alone the cost implication.
Training Failure as a Consequence of Organizational Culture

Organizations spend as much as US$200 billion annually on training and development; however, much of this investment appears squandered on ill-conceived or poorly implemented interventions. Scholars have pondered the causes of failed training for decades, focusing on issues such as methods, program design, and trainee characteristics. Recent interest in the role of organizational context rarely extends to organizational culture. The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between training failure and the manifestations of various levels of culture.
Salidroside Attenuates Concanavalin A-Induced Hepatitis via Modulating Cytokines Secretion and Lymphocyte Migration in Mice

Salidroside, isolated from the medicinal plant Rhodiola, was reported to serve as an “adaptogen. ” This study was designed to explore the protective effect of salidroside on concanavalin A- (Con A-) induced hepatitis in mice and investigate potential mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, Con A group, and salidroside group. Salidroside (50 mg/kg) was injected intravenously followed by Con A administration. The levels of ALT, AST, inflammatory cytokines and CXCL-10 were examined. The pathological damage of livers was assessed, the amounts of phosphorylated IκBα and p65 were measured, and the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the blood, spleen and infiltrated in the liver were calculated. Our results showed that salidroside pretreatment reduced the levels of ALT, AST dramatically and suppressed the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines through downregulating the activity of NF-κB partly. Salidroside altered the distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte in the liver and spleen through regulating CXCL-10 and decreased the severity of liver injuries. In conclusion, these results confirm the efficacy of salidroside in the prevention of immune mediated hepatitis in mice.
Nanoparticles of Polyethylene Sebacate: A New Biodegradable Polymer

The present study demonstrates feasibility of preparation of nanoparticles using a novel polymer, polyethylene sebacate (PES), and its application in the design of drug-loaded nanocarriers. Silymarin was selected as a model hydrophobic drug for the present study. Two methods of preparation, viz., nanoprecipitation and emulsion solvent diffusion, were evaluated for preparation of nanoparticles. Effect of surfactants polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), lutrol F 68, and Tween 80 on the preparation of blank and silymarin-loaded PES nanoparticles was evaluated. Nanoprecipitation resulted in the formation of nanoparticles with all the surfactants (<450 nm). Increase in surfactant concentration resulted in decrease in entrapment efficiency and particle size except with PVA. The type and concentration of surfactant was critical to achieve low size and adequate drug entrapment. While increase in concentration of PES resulted in larger nanoparticles, inclusion of acetone in the organic phase resulted in particles of smaller size. In case of emulsion solvent diffusion, nanoparticles were obtained only with lutrol F 68 as surfactant and high surfactant concentration. The study revealed nanoprecipitation as a more versatile method for preparation of PES nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed spherical shape of nanoparticles. Freeze-dried nanoparticles exhibited ease of redispersion, with a marginal increase in size. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed amorphous nature of the drug. The study demonstrates successful design of PES nanoparticles as drug carriers.
Prohibitin attenuates insulin‐stimulated glucose and fatty acid oxidation in adipose tissue by inhibition of pyruvate carboxylase

Prohibitin (PHB‐1) is a highly conserved protein involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and function. It is secreted in lipid droplets from adipocytes and is present in the circulation. In adipose tissue it functions as a membrane receptor and can target binding partners to the mitochondria. Here we report that PHB‐1 has a hitherto undescribed role as an inhibitor of pyruvate carboxylase (PC). As a consequence, it can modulate insulin‐stimulated glucose and fatty acid oxidation. It had no effect on insulin‐stimulated 2‐deoxglucose uptake by isolated adipocytes but inhibited insulin‐stimulated oxidation of [14C]glucose with a half‐maximal concentration of ≈ 4 nm. It also inhibited oleic acid oxidation in glucose‐depleted adipocytes via depletion of oxaloacetate. In vitro experiments using broken‐cell assays confirmed that PHB‐1 inhibited PC. MALDI‐TOF analysis of proteins identified by cross‐linking of PHB‐1 to adipocyte membranes indicated that PHB‐1 is closely associated with PC and EH domain 2 (EHD2). On the basis of these data, we propose that PHB‐1 is recycled between the extracellular space and the mitochondria by a mechanism involving lipid rafts and EHD2 and can modulate mitochondrial fuel metabolism by inhibition of PC.
Abiotic dealkylation and hydrolysis of atrazine by birnessite

Atrazine (2‐chloro‐4‐ethylamino‐6‐isopropylamino‐s‐triazine) and its degradation products are important contaminants of world water systems and have effects on aquatic life. These effects are modulated by the degradation of atrazine, which depends, in part, on its reactivity with soil minerals. We have studied the degradation reaction of atrazine on synthetic birnessite (δ‐MnO2) in the aqueous phase using a batch reactor and a developed high‐performance liquid chromatography method. The reaction was studied in the absence of light at 25°C and between pH 2.3 to pH 8.3. The reaction rates increased with decreasing pH and increasing 5‐MnO2 loading, and they did not follow simple first‐order kinetics. The major products are hydroxylated and mono‐ and didealkylatrazine. Ammeline and cyanuric acid also were detected. The half‐life (t1/2) for the degradation of atrazine was approximately 16.8 d and independent of oxygen. Manganese(II) evolution was a minor product. The mechanism of dealkylation involved proton transfer to Mn(IV)‐stabilized oxo and imido bonds, with no net oxidation and reduction. Oxidation was a secondary reaction. The proposed abiotic pathway for the transformation of atrazine on δ‐MnO2 was identical to the reported biotic pathway. Thus, δ‐MnO2, a common soil component, facilitated the efficient N‐dealkylation and hydrolysis of the herbicide atrazine at 25°C, possibly via a nonoxidative mechanisms. The N‐dealkylation has been attributed strictly to a biological process in soils.
An incremental Petri Net-derived approach to modeling of flow and resources in service-oriented manufacturing systems

In order to overcome the myopia problem, routing strategies must be based on formal representations of flow that automatically account for modifications in the values of parameters of interest and in the model itself. This work addresses this problem and discusses how to automatically incorporate resources (e.g. workstations/ transportation devices/ storages) in a Petri Net-derived model of flow that is modifiable at runtime to reflect and influence the routing in a manufacturing line.
Symbolic animals and the developing self

Abstract This study examined developmental changes in animal symbols of the self, as revealed by identification with six animals (lion, eagle, bear, rabbit, lamb and cow) by children aged from 4 to 5 years (n=10), 10 to11 years (n=9), and 17 to 18 years (n=10). Overall, the eagle, rabbit and lion received positive identification scores, and the bear, lamb and cow received negative scores. Differences by age showed increases for the lion, eagle and bear, and decreases for the other three. Overall, boys positively identified with the lion and eagle, and rejected the rabbit, lamb and cow. Girls' average scores were positive only for the rabbit. Consideration of animal results by age and gender revealed important patterns, such as a middle age group gender split on rabbit identification. The data support two theories that explain motivations to identify or to dis-identify with symbolic animals. One theory holds that animals may pose a threat to society's symbolic regulation of behavior. This threat must be reduced by categorically distinguishing humans from animals. This theory was not supported in a strong or general form, but was supported in a weaker version that holds that specific animals are appropriated to symbolize individuals' role-specific social selves. The second theory holds that exploitation of animals generates a need for psychological defenses that shield the self from moral approbation or guilt. Thus, exploited animals cannot serve as symbols of the self and must be rigidly repudiated. This theory was supported also, but with data from a different sub-set of the animals. Both theories further articulate a social-developmental theory of how language, and symbolism influence human relations to animals, and help explain the origins of attitudes such as anthropocentrism. Implications for humane education are discussed.
A Comparative study of Load Capacity and Pressure Distribution of Infinitely wide Parabolic and Inclined Slider Bearings

A mathematical model for the hydrodynamic lubrication of infinitely wide inclined and parabolic slider bearings with couple stress lubricants is presented. A numerical solution for the mathematical model using finite element scheme is obtained using three nodes isoparametric quadratic elements for both configurations of bearings. Stiffness integrals obtained from the weak form of the governing equations were solved using gauss quadrature to obtain a finite number of stiffness matrices. The global system of equations was obtained for the bearings and solved using gauss seidel iterative scheme with a convergence criterion on 10-10. Numerical experiments indicate that when the slider bearing is modeled to include couple stress parameter, the finite element method produces stable and convergent result while the finite difference technique does not. Computations reveal that when compared using similar profile and couple stress parameter, greater pressure builds up in a parabolic slider compared to an inclined slider indicating greater wedge effect in the parabolic slider. It has also been shown that when load carrying capacity is the yardstick for comparison, the parabolic slider bearings is superior to the inclined case irrespective of the profile and couple stress parameter.
Advice to Crime Victims:

There is consistent evidence from a variety of sources that crime victims' reporting decisions are influenced by others. The present studies extended this prior work by surveying two statewide stratified random samples (n s = 817 and 832). In Study 1, of 148 respondents who said a family member had been a victim of sexual assault, domestic assault, or robbery, only 65% said that they had advised the victims to report the crime, and women were significantly more likely to advise reporting domestic assault than were men. In both Study 1 and Study 2, respondents were asked about the appropriateness of reporting specific crimes to the police. Based on both within-and between-respondent questions, it appears that reporting advice is contingent on several factors: the seriousness of the offense, the gender of the victim, the victim-offender relationship, and the gender of the respondent.
Amplitudes of Pain-Related Evoked Potentials Are Useful to Detect Small Fiber Involvement in Painful Mixed Fiber Neuropathies in Addition to Quantitative Sensory Testing – An Electrophysiological Study

To investigate the usefulness of pain-related evoked potentials (PREP) elicited by electrical stimulation for the identification of small fiber involvement in patients with mixed fiber neuropathy (MFN). Eleven MFN patients with clinical signs of large fiber impairment and neuropathic pain and ten healthy controls underwent clinical and electrophysiological evaluation. Small fiber function, electrical conductivity and morphology were examined by quantitative sensory testing (QST), PREP, and skin punch biopsy. MFN was diagnosed following clinical and electrophysiological examination (chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy: n = 6; vasculitic neuropathy: n = 3; chronic axonal neuropathy: n = 2). The majority of patients with MFN characterized their pain by descriptors that mainly represent C-fiber-mediated pain. In QST, patients displayed elevated cold, warm, mechanical, and vibration detection thresholds and cold pain thresholds indicative of MFN. PREP amplitudes in patients correlated with cold (p < 0.05) and warm detection thresholds (p < 0.05). Burning pain and the presence of par-/dysesthesias correlated negatively with PREP amplitudes (p < 0.05). PREP amplitudes correlating with cold and warm detection thresholds, burning pain, and par-/dysesthesias support employing PREP amplitudes as an additional tool in conjunction with QST for detecting small fiber impairment in patients with MFN.