Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal antibody secretion in the young pig in response to oral immunization with Escherichia coli.

Intestinal immunoglobulins and antibodies in the local immune response to E. coli O somatic antigens have been studied in young fistulated pigs. Antibody levels in intestinal secretion were raised for approximately 2–3 weeks following a single local antigenic challenge with a heat-killed aqueous suspension of E. coli. A second challenge provoked a similar response suggesting a lack of immunological memory. Antibody activity in the secretions was predominantly associated with IgA and immunofluorescent studies of biopsy specimens from young fistulated animals indicated that intestinal synthesis and secretion of IgA had commenced by the 10th day of life. Studies of piglets reared with the sow indicated that oral immunization with E. coli antigen after 10 days of age stimulated intestinal antibody secretion before weaning at 3 weeks. The response of gnotobiotic pigs to oral immunization and infection was evaluated by immunofluorescent histology of the intestinal mucosa. Repeated oral administration of heat-killed E. coli O8 resulted in an immunocyte response in the lamina propria numerically comparable with that produced by infection with the live organism. The early response was dominated by cells of the IgM class whereas after 3 weeks IgA cells predominated. In the germ-free animal very few immunoglobulin-containing cells were detected. In vitro studies of antibacterial activity indicated that the most probable mechanism of immunological control in the alimentary tract is bacteriostasis.
Admission to Higher Education in Israel and the Role of the Psychometric Entrance Test: Educational and political dilemmas

This paper describes the admissions process to higher education in Israel, which is frequently debated in public. It presents the historical background, outlines the psychometric considerations, summarises the extensive research data gathered in validity and evaluation studies, and provides the social and political perspectives. The paper points to how developments in the volume and importance of higher education have affected the way upper-secondary certificates mediate university entrance. Particular reference is made as to how far the pressures are changed by the use of a psychometric entrance test. Two laws, dealing with admissions to higher education, that are currently being put to vote in the Israeli parliament, are described and discussed.
Human T Lymphotropic virus-1 associated gastrointestinal histoplasmosis in Peru

We report a 72-year-old patient with chronic diarrhoea and histologic evidence of gastrointestinal histoplasmosis. He had no history of HIV or of taking immunosuppressive drugs. The patient was found to be a carrier of Human T-lymphotropic virus-1, a condition associated with inflammatory, lymphoproliferative, and opportunistic infectious diseases. To our knowledge, there are only three previous cases reporting this coinfection and this is the first documented case with gastrointestinal involvement.
A Comparison of Survival Outcomes in Advanced Serous Ovarian Cancer Patients Treated With Primary Debulking Surgery Versus Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Objective The management of women with advanced-stage serous ovarian cancer includes a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. The choice of treatment with primary debulking surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy varies by institution. The objective of this study was to report 5-year survival outcomes for ovarian cancer patients treated at a single institution with primary debulking surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods This study included a retrospective chart review of 303 patients with stage IIIC or IV serous ovarian carcinoma diagnosed in Calgary, Canada. The patients were categorized into 1 of the 2 treatment arms: primary debulking surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The 5-year ovarian cancer–specific survival rates were estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results Among the 303 eligible patients, 142 patients (47%) underwent primary debulking surgery, and 161 patients (53%) were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Five-year survival was better for patients undergoing primary debulking surgery (39%) than for patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (27%; P = 0.02). Women with no residual disease experienced better overall survival than those with any residual disease (47% vs. 26%, respectively; P = 0.0002). This difference was significant for those who had primary debulking surgery (P = 0.0004) but not for the patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.09). Women who received intraperitoneal chemotherapy had better overall survival as compared with patients who received intravenous chemotherapy (44% vs 30%, respectively; P = 0.002). Conclusions Our findings suggest that among women with no residual disease, survival is better among those who undergo primary debulking surgery than treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The latter should be reserved for women who are deemed not to be candidates for primary debulking surgery.
It's all in the Record: Assessing Self-Control Theory with an Offender Sample

This study examines self-control theory using the criminal records of 500 adult arrestees. Four indicators taken from official rap sheets (aliases, Social Security numbers, and dates and places of birth) were used to create a self-control measure. Negative binomial regression models indicated that offenders who scored low on the self-control measure accumulated significantly more violent Index, property Index, white-collar, and nuisance arrests net the effects of control variables. These findings contribute to the empirical support for self-control theory and indicate that self-control is salient using a criminal sample.
Protein domain architectures provide a fast, efficient and scalable alternative to sequence-based methods for comparative functional genomics

A functional comparative genome analysis is essential to understand the mechanisms underlying bacterial evolution and adaptation. Detection of functional orthologs using standard global sequence similarity methods faces several problems; the need for defining arbitrary acceptance thresholds for similarity and alignment length, lateral gene acquisition and the high computational cost for finding bi-directional best matches at a large scale. We investigated the use of protein domain architectures for large scale functional comparative analysis as an alternative method. The performance of both approaches was assessed through functional comparison of 446 bacterial genomes sampled at different taxonomic levels. We show that protein domain architectures provide a fast and efficient alternative to methods based on sequence similarity to identify groups of functionally equivalent proteins within and across taxonomic boundaries, and it is suitable for large scale comparative analysis. Running both methods in parallel pinpoints potential functional adaptations that may add to bacterial fitness.
Striking a Chord: A Prelude to Music and Intergroup Relations Research

This article explores the relationships between music and intergroup relations, invoking social identity as an integrative framework. In addition to briefly relating the articles constituting this Special Issue on `music and intergroup relations' to the foregoing, an array of exciting theoretical possibilities for further research and collaborations pursuing this under-investigated domain of intergroup relations is presented.
Modal versus individually-derived beliefs about condom use: Measuring the cognitive underpinnings of the theory of reasoned action

Abstract Several measurement approaches for assessing the belief underpinnings of the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein and Ajmn, 1975), a cognitive model used extensively to understand the determinants of health behaviors, were compared empirically. Specifically, beliefs about condom use were examined in order to determine (a) whether one's own beliefs or a set of modal beliefs are stronger predictors of global measures of attitude toward behavior, subjective norm. and behavioral intention, and (b) whether measures of the perceived importance, accessibility, or cumulative serial sums of individuallyderived behavioral and normative beliefs yield superior predictions of their respective global constructs, as well as behavioral intention, than do the standard modal belief measures. Results suggest that although individuallyderived beliefs are marginally stronger predictors than their modal counterparts, practical considerations may outweigh the modest gain in predictive accuracy.
Severity of obstructive airway disease and risk of osteoporotic fracture

The use of inhaled corticosteroids has been associated with a dose-related increased risk of fracture. This may be related to systemic absorption. However, several studies have found that patients with more severe reductions in pulmonary function had reduced bone mineral density, independent of inhaled corticosteroids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between disease severity and fracture risk. A large case–control study (108,754 cases) was conducted using data from the UK General Practice Research Database. It was found that higher doses of inhaled corticosteroids were associated with greater risks of fracture. The crude odds ratio of fracture among patients exposed to >1,600 μg beclomethasone equivalents per day was 1.95 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68–2.27). When adjustments were made for disease severity and use of bronchodilators, the initial dose–response relationship between inhaled corticosteroids and fracture risk disappeared (adjusted odds ratio of 1.19 (95% CI 1.01–1.41)). In conclusion, patients with severe obstructive airway disease are at risk of fracture. However, adequate adjustment for disease severity is essential when the association between the use of inhaled corticosteroids and risk of osteoporotic fracture is studied in observational research.
Retaliation, Fear, or Rage

An experimental study was conducted in an effort to establish whether hate crimes produce greater harm than similarly egregious crimes. Hate crimes are considered to be worse primarily because they are believed to be more likely to provoke retaliatory crimes and inflict distinct emotional distress on victims and members of the victim's social group or category. In this study, analogous samples of African American and White males observed two videotaped assaults motivated by racial bias in one case, and by an ambiguous motive in the other. Reactions were obtained following observation and revealed that emotional responses and expressed desire for retaliation were associated with participants' race but did not differ for the two types of assault. The findings are discussed in terms of the utility of current hate crime legislation as well as the implications of the observed racial differences.
Visual Field Defects After Selective Amygdalohippocampectomy and Standard Temporal Lobectomy

Background: Selective amygdalohippocampectomy (SelAH) is increasingly performed in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis. To determine whether visual field defects are less pronounced after SelAH than after standard temporal lobectomy (StTL), we retrospectively analyzed postoperative quantitative visual fields after the 2 procedures. Methods: Humphrey visual field analysis was obtained postoperatively in 18 patients who had undergone SelAH and in 33 patients who had undergone StTL. The SelAH was performed via a transcortical approach through the middle temporal gyrus and included the amygdala, 3 cm of the hippocampus, and the parahippocampal gyrus. The visual field pattern deviation was used for analysis. We considered a defect clinically significant if there were 3 contiguous coordinates affected at the 5% level or 2 at the 1% level. Results: All but 2 of 18 patients who had undergone SelAH had homonymous superior quadrantic visual field defects contralateral to the side of the surgery. One patient had no defects by our criteria, and one had a mild defect that reached significance only in the ipsilateral eye. The averaged defect affected mostly coordinates close to the vertical meridian with relative sparing of points close to the horizontal meridian. All but 3 of the 33 patients who had undergone StTL had homonymous superior quadrantic visual field defects. One patient had no defects; 2 had defects that reached significance in only one eye. The averaged defect involved all points in the affected quadrant, but was also greater near the vertical meridian. Of 13 tested visual field coordinates, 4 were significantly less affected by SelAH in the ipsilateral eye and 3 in the contralateral eye. The coordinates close to the horizontal meridian were significantly spared by SelAH. Conclusions: Visual field defects are very common after SelAH but are significantly less pronounced than after StTL. In particular, the visual field close to the horizontal meridian is relatively spared in SelAH.
Model of human refractive error development.

PURPOSE To construct a model of refractive error development that can account for the different interactive mechanisms and time courses of refractive error in the hyperope (HYP), emmetrope (EMM), early-onset myope (EOM), and late-onset myope (LOM) over the first 30 years of life. METHODS First, a baseline short-term (1 mo.) simulation of a previously developed nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM) model was performed under both far- and near-viewing paradigms to obtain the critical relationships between AErms and refractive error for the four refractive groups. Then, two control pathways were added to the NITM model. The genetically-controlled pathway was associated with the long-term growth of the cornea, lens, and the eyeball. The environmentally-controlled pathway was associated with retinal-defocus during nearwork, wherein the root mean square (rms) of the accommodative error (AE) above a threshold level resulted in an increase in axial length of the eyeball. The thresholds for defocus-induced axial length change were empirically determined to correspond to the differential susceptibility in the four refractive groups. The combination of effects from the two pathways produced the overall refractive error. The relationship between AErms and refractive error was combined with the two control pathways for the long-term simulations (30 yrs: the initial 15 yrs using a far-viewing paradigm followed by an additional 15 yrs using a near-viewing paradigm) to quantify refractive error development as related to daily nearwork activity in the four refractive groups. RESULTS All refractive groups began early in life with a genetically-determined hyperopic refractive error. The HYP had the lowest susceptibility or highest threshold to retinal defocus effects, and remained at a hyperopic level. The EMM exhibited a relative myopic shift in the first 2 years to become and remain at emmetropia. In the myopic groups, the EOM exhibited both a genetically-controlled component (starting 2 years of age) and a defocus-induced component (starting at 15 years of age), whereas the LOM manifested only a defocus-induced factor (starting at 15 years of age) in the development of myopia. In addition, simulations indicated that emmetropization occurred only for "induced" refractive error that was less than 0.5 D, which was consistent with the non-monotonic relationship between AErms and refractive error, wherein the minimum AErms occurred at 0.5 D. CONCLUSIONS The model showed that both genetic and defocus-induced environmental factors play important roles in the development of refractive error in the different refractive groups. The model also provides a framework for further detailed quantitative analysis of the processes of refractive error development and emmetropization.
A mental model analysis of young children's conditional reasoning with meaningful premises

Mental model theory has been used to explain many differing phenomena in adult reasoning, including the extensively studied case of conditional reasoning. However, the current theory makes predictions about the development of conditional reasoning that are not consistent with data. In this article, young children's performance on conditional reasoning problems and the justifications given are analysed. A mental model account of conditional reasoning is proposed that assumes that (1) young children can reason with two models and (2) the fleshing out of conditionals involves activation of information in semantic memory that uses the minor premise as a retrieval cue.
Education and the Allocation of Talent

I study how education affects the allocation of talent into different sectors of the economy. I focus on two forces. First, education adds to a worker’s information capital and, thus, may change her self‐confidence. Second, performance contracts give a worker incentives to choose a sector according to her abilities. The baseline model predicts that workers with intermediate ability educate, while the most able skip education. In an extension, I compare the U.K. and the U.S. bachelor’s degrees and, moreover, discuss hybrid educational systems, common in Europe, that offer both U.K. and U.S. types of bachelor’s degrees.
Arson: characteristics and predisposing factors in offenders with intellectual disabilities

The prevalence rate of arson in offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID) has been reported to be higher than that in the general population. This retrospective study focuses on examining the characteristics of offenders with ID and the range of identified reasons for the index offence. The findings indicate a higher prevalence of arson in this population, along with the fact that the majority of people with ID who have committed arson tend to bypass the Criminal Justice System. A significant number are likely to repeat the behaviour and will also commit other offences. The most common reason for arson appears to be revenge, closely followed by suggestibility. The majority had an associated diagnosis of personality disorders along with an Axis 1 psychiatric diagnosis. Other factors include large family size, history of childhood psychiatric disorders, abuse, homelessness, unemployment and relationship difficulties.
A Christian Politics of Friendship on a Brazilian Frontier

This paper explores ethnography of municipal elections, promise-making and miracles to show how Christians problematise both friendship and politics on a settler frontier in Brazilian Amazonia. Bringing these themes together generates new anthropological perspectives on each, while complementing Derrida's critique of Schmitt's friend–enemy distinction – his definition of the political. Yet the main ethnographic point complicates the argument that both Schmitt and Brazilianist anthropologists critiquing clientelism have made: that Christianity reflects and legitimises the political order. In contrast, I show how the problem of friendship, produced through Christian concerns with the constancy of presence, legitimises and deligitimises politics at once. The overarching message is that politics, friendship (sociality) and Christianity – usually kept analytically separate – are uniquely clarified where they intersect, as they pass through persons, who foreground and background these domains themselves.
The Implications of the Norms of Undergraduate College Students for Faculty Enactment of Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

This study examined the student normative support for Chickering and Gamson's (1987) seven principles of good undergraduate education. The findings suggest that there is empirical evidence of student support for 3 of the 7 principles: faculty-student contact, cooperation among students, and high expectations. However, this support is differentiated by a student's race and social fraternity membership. Implications for theory and practice are suggested by the findings of this study, as are several avenues for future research.
Transforming a random graph drawing into a Lombardi drawing

The visualization of any graph plays important role in various aspects, such as graph drawing software. Complex systems (like large databases or networks) that have a graph structure should be properly visualized in order to avoid obfuscation. One way to provide an aesthetic improvement to a graph visualization is to apply a force-directed drawing algorithm to it. This method, that emerged in the 60's views graphs as spring systems that exert forces (repulsive or attractive) to the nodes. A Lombardi drawing of a graph is a drawing where the edges are drawn as circular arcs (straight edges are considered circular arcs of infinite radius) with perfect angular resolution. This means, that consecutive edges around a vertex are equally spaced around it. In other words, each angle between the tangents of two consecutive edges is equal to $2\pi/d$ where d is the degree of that specific vertex. The requirement of using circular edges in graphs when we want to provide perfect angular resolution is necessary, since even cycle graphs cannot be drawn with straight edges when perfect angular resolution is needed. In this survey, we provide an algorithm that takes as input a random drawing of a graph and provides its Lombardi drawing, giving a proper visualization of the graph.
Saccharification Performances of Miscanthus at the Pilot and Miniaturized Assay Scales: Genotype and Year Variabilities According to the Biomass Composition

HIGHLIGHTS Biomass production and cell wall composition are differentially impacted by harvesting year and genotypes, influencing then cellulose conversion in miniaturized assay. Using a high-throughput miniaturized and semi-automated method for performing the pretreatment and saccharification steps at laboratory scale allows for the assessment of these factors on the biomass potential for producing bioethanol before moving to the industrial scale. The large genetic diversity of the perennial grass miscanthus makes it suitable for producing cellulosic ethanol in biorefineries. The saccharification potential and year variability of five genotypes belonging to Miscanthus × giganteus and Miscanthus sinensis were explored using a miniaturized and semi-automated method, allowing the application of a hot water treatment followed by an enzymatic hydrolysis. The studied genotypes highlighted distinct cellulose conversion yields due to their distinct cell wall compositions. An inter-year comparison revealed significant variations in the biomass productivity and cell wall compositions. Compared to the recalcitrant genotypes, more digestible genotypes contained higher amounts of hemicellulosic carbohydrates and lower amounts of cellulose and lignin. In contrast to hemicellulosic carbohydrates, the relationships analysis between the biomass traits and cellulose conversion clearly showed the same negative effect of cellulose and lignin on cellulose digestion. The miniaturized and semi-automated method we developed was usable at the laboratory scale and was reliable for mimicking the saccharification at the pilot scale using a steam explosion pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Therefore, this miniaturized method will allow the reliable screening of many genotypes for saccharification potential. These findings provide valuable information and tools for breeders to create genotypes combining high yield, suitable biomass composition, and high saccharification yields.