Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adherence to asthma management guidelines by middle-aged adults with current asthma

Background: With the increasing burden of asthma worldwide, much effort has been given to developing and updating management guidelines. Using data from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS), the adequacy of asthma management for middle-aged adults with asthma was investigated. Methods: Information about spirometry, medication history and current asthma status was collected by the most recent TAHS when participants were in their mid 40s. Only those who reported ever having asthma were eligible for analysis. Results: Of the 702 participants who reported ever having asthma, 50% had current asthma (n = 351) of whom 71% were categorised as having persistent asthma (n = 98 mild, n = 92 moderate, n = 58 severe). The majority (85.2%) of participants with current asthma had used some form of asthma medication in the past 12 months, but the proportion of the use of minimally adequate preventer medication was low (26%). Post-bronchodilator airflow obstruction increased progressively from mild to severe persistent asthma for those inadequately managed, but not for those on adequate therapy. Conclusion: Appropriate use of asthma medication by this middle-aged group of adults with current asthma was inadequate, especially for those with adult-onset moderate or severe persistent disease and without a family history of asthma. These results suggest that proper use of preventer medication could protect against the progressive decline in lung function associated with increasing severity. This has implications not just for poor quality of life, but also for the development of fixed airflow obstruction.
D 1 Receptor in Interneurons of Macaque Prefrontal Cortex : Distribution and Subcellular Localization

Working memory performance is influenced by dopamine activation of D1 family dopamine receptors in the prefrontal cortex; working memory performance is maximal at moderate stimulation of D1 family receptors and is reduced by either higher or lower levels of D1 stimulation. The neuronal mechanisms that underlie this complex relationship are not yet understood. Previous work from this laboratory has demonstrated that the D1 family receptors, D1 and D5, are located in different compartments of pyramidal cells. Here we use an antibody specific to the D1 receptor and double-label immunohistochemistry at the light and electron microscopic level to demonstrate that D1-like immunoreactivity (D1-LIR) is also present in interneurons. D1 receptor is prevalent in parvalbumin-containing interneurons and is less common in calretinin-containing interneurons. At the ultrastructural level, D1-LIR is found associated with the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum in the soma, with the membranes of vesicles in proximal dendrites, and with the plasma membrane on distal dendrites, where it is often located near asymmetric synapses. In addition, D1-LIR is also seen in presynaptic axon terminals, which give rise to symmetric synapses onto dendritic shafts and soma. These results raise the possibility that the circuit basis of working memory in the prefrontal cortex involves a D1-mediated inhibitory component.
Flexible query processing for SPARQL

Flexible querying techniques can enhance users' access to complex, heterogeneous datasets in settings such as Linked Data, where the user may not always know how a query should be formulated in order to retrieve the desired answers. This paper presents query processing algorithms for a fragment of SPARQL 1.1 incorporating regular path queries (property path queries), extended with query approximation and relaxation operators. Our flexible query processing approach is based on query rewriting and returns answers incrementally according to their ``distance'' from the exact form of the query. We formally show the soundness, completeness and termination properties of our query rewriting algorithm. We also present empirical results that show promising query processing performance for the extended language.
Testing the Interactivity Model: Communication Processes, Partner Assessments, and the Quality of Collaborative Work

A major consideration in designing and adopting new communication technologies is their impact on communication processes and outcomes. One way to understand this impact is according to the principle of interpersonal interactivity.Findings from two investigations are reported here that address how properties of task-related communication conducted with differing interfaces relate to perceptions of interaction partners and the outcomes of their collaborative work. Study 1 manipulated the interface affordances of mediation, contingency, and modality richness. Study 2 examined the affordance of mediation. Results show that interfaces that promote higher mutuality and involvement lead to more favorable perceptions of partners' credibility and attraction, and those perceptions are systematically related to higher-quality decisions and more influence. Discussion focuses on the relation between user perceptions, design features, and task outcomes in human-computer interaction and computer-mediated communication.
Effects of professional support in school improvement

Abstract At a time when much attention is being paid to teachers’ effectiveness, there is little regard for the effectiveness of their professional support. Although professional development facilitators are frequently involved in school improvement projects, little is known about the interventions they should carry out and the effectiveness of these interventions. In this study, five facilitators’ interventions are operationalised. Multilevel regression analyses show, that the intervention “guiding the process” explains a significant part of variance in teachers’ knowledge, attitude and concerns with respect to an innovation and the degree of implementation. The interventions “team training and coaching”, “creating conditions for innovation at school level” and “individual coaching” explain a significant part of variance in teachers’ knowledge with respect to an innovation. In general, it appears that professional development facilitators have considerable influence on teachers’ knowledge and concerns and reasonable influence on teachers’ attitude and the degree of implementation.
Biomechanics of jumping in the flea

SUMMARY It has long been established that fleas jump by storing and releasing energy in a cuticular spring, but it is not known how forces from that spring are transmitted to the ground. One hypothesis is that the recoil of the spring pushes the trochanter onto the ground, thereby generating the jump. A second hypothesis is that the recoil of the spring acts through a lever system to push the tibia and tarsus onto the ground. To decide which of these two hypotheses is correct, we built a kinetic model to simulate the different possible velocities and accelerations produced by each proposed process and compared those simulations with the kinematics measured from high-speed images of natural jumping. The in vivo velocity and acceleration kinematics are consistent with the model that directs ground forces through the tibia and tarsus. Moreover, in some natural jumps there was no contact between the trochanter and the ground. There were also no observable differences between the kinematics of jumps that began with the trochanter on the ground and jumps that did not. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the tibia and tarsus have spines appropriate for applying forces to the ground, whereas no such structures were seen on the trochanter. Based on these observations, we discount the hypothesis that fleas use their trochantera to apply forces to the ground and conclude that fleas jump by applying forces to the ground through the end of the tibiae.
Regularity of the Density of Surface States

A BSTRACT . We prove that the integrated density of surface states of continuous or discrete Anderson-type random Schr¨odinger operators is a measurable locally integrable function rather than a signed measure or a distribution. This generalize our recent results on the existence of the integrated density of surface states in the continuous case and those of A. Chahrour in the discrete case. The proof uses the new L p -bound on the spectral shift function recently obtained by Combes, Hislop, and Nakamura. Also we provide a simple proof of their result on the H¨older continuity of the integrated density of bulk states.
Equilibration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current by Standing Meanders

The insensitivity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)’s prominent isopycnal slope to changes in wind stress is thought to stem from the action of mesoscale eddies that counterbalance the wind-driven Ekman overturning—a framework verified in zonally symmetric circumpolar flows. Substantial zonal variations in eddy characteristics suggest that local dynamics may modify this balance along the path of the ACC. Analysis of an eddy-resolving ocean GCM shows that the ACC can be broken into broad regions of weak eddy activity, where surface winds steepen isopycnals, and a small number of standing meanders, across which the isopycnals relax. Meanders are coincident with sites of (i) strong eddy-induced modification of the mean flow and its vertical structure as measured by the divergence of the Eliassen–Palm flux and (ii) enhancement of deep eddy kinetic energy by up to two orders of magnitude over surrounding regions. Within meanders, the vorticity budget shows a balance between the advection of relative vorticity and horizontal divergence, providing a mechanism for the generation of strong vertical velocities and rapid changes in stratification. Temporal fluctuations in these diagnostics are correlated with variability in both the Eliassen–Palm flux and bottom speed, implying a link to dissipative processes at the ocean floor. At larger scales, bottom pressure torque is spatially correlated with the barotropic advection of planetary vorticity, which links to variations in meander structure. From these results, it is proposed that the “flexing” of standing meanders provides an alternative mechanism for reducing the sensitivity of the ACC’s baroclinicity to changes in forcing, separate from an ACC-wide change in transient eddy characteristics.
Sub-Compartmental Organization of Golgi-Resident N-Glycan Processing Enzymes in Plants

In all eukaryotes, the Golgi apparatus is the main site of protein glycosylation. It is widely accepted that the glycosidases and glycosyltransferases involved in N-glycan processing are found concentrated within the Golgi stack where they provide their function. This means that enzymes catalyzing early steps in the processing pathway are located mainly at the cis-side, whereas late-acting enzymes mostly locate to the trans-side of the stacks, creating a non-uniform distribution along the cis–trans axis of the Golgi. There is compelling evidence that the information for their sorting to specific Golgi cisternae depends on signals encoded in the proteins themselves as well as on the trafficking machinery that recognizes these signals and it is believed that cisternal sub-compartmentalization is achieved and maintained by a combination of retention and retrieval mechanisms. Yet, the signals, mechanism(s), and molecular factors involved are still unknown. Here, we address recent findings and summarize the current understanding of this fundamental process in plant cell biology.
Real-time haptic rendering of a high-resolution volumetric deformable object in a collaborative virtual environment

A collaborative virtual environment (CVE) is a shared environment that allows geographically separated users to watch and manipulate the same object at the same time. This paper presents a fast haptic rendering method when users interact with a virtual object at multiple points or multiple areas in a CVE. Previously, we proposed a new model (Shape-retaining Chain Linked Model) for real-time volume haptic rendering. The haptic rendering of an object represented by our model guarantees real-time performance because the deformation of the object is computed locally and is then propagated outward through its volume. However, this local computation approach presented us with a new issue for handling virtual deformable objects in a CVE, where interactions occur at multiple points or multiple areas. In order to overcome the limitation of the local computation, we construct a modeling framework that allows colliding interactions among geographically separated users. For the modeling framework, we vectorially sum forces generated at interaction points or areas. In order to inspect the behavior of objects modeled with our method, experiments are conducted with volumetric objects consisting of about 500 000 nodes at a haptic update rate of 1000 Hz. We perform a calculation time analysis to investigate real-time performance and conduct human factor studies to show that the feedback force from our model is realistic. Our experiments verify that our model provides realistic haptic feeling to participants in real-time under a CVE.
Social supremacy at work: Insights from the natural world

Social behaviour, its origins, development, and manifestation are the foundation upon which the game of life and survival are built. The biological and inherited basis for behaviour as seen in the natural world can provide valuable insights into how people behave and organise themselves at work. One or more individuals can rise above all others by displaying ‘social supremacy’. Conflict, competition, the fight for dominance, leadership and survival, are as apparent in the natural world as in modern organisations where colleagues jostle for power, position and place. Even within socially cohesive societies, structure, hierarchy and cooperation are required to ensure effective functioning of the group. The end result could be the continuation of the business for humans, or the survival of individuals or groups within animal communities. This paper focuses on the ‘conflict – cooperation’ dimension of work and draws comparisons between social supremacy at work and the natural world.
Aortic Constriction Exacerbates Atherosclerosis and Induces Cardiac Dysfunction in Mice Lacking Apolipoprotein E

Despite considerable evidence suggesting that hypertension contributes to the development and progression of atherosclerosis, the causative links remain unclear. We have tested the effects of chronic hypertension induced by suprarenal aortic constriction on the development of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E–deficient (Apoe−/−) mice. Compared with a sham operation, narrowing the aortic luminal diameter by 33% increased blood pressure proximal to the constriction by ≈15 mm Hg, but the pressures distal to the constriction were unchanged. Kidney renin mRNA and plasma renin activity were also unaffected. Compared with plaque size after the sham operation, atherosclerotic plaque size in the aortic root 8 weeks after coarctation was increased to 245% and 152% in males and females, respectively. Aortic segments at the constriction were free of atherosclerotic deposits, but segments proximal to the constriction were dilated and had atherosclerotic lesions. Thrombi were present immediately below the constriction in Apoe−/− and wild-type vessels. Surprisingly, compared with wild-type mice, the Apoe−/− mice were more susceptible to the cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction induced by pressure overload. Thus, aortic coarctation exacerbates atherosclerosis in vessels proximal to the constriction without a concomitant increase in the renin-angiotensin system. Our study also suggests that apolipoprotein E plays an important role in modulating cardiac hypertrophy.
A Residual-Based A Posteriori Error Estimator for the Stokes-Darcy Coupled Problem

In this paper we develop an a posteriori error analysis of a new conforming mixed finite element method for the coupling of fluid flow with porous media flow. The flows are governed by the Stokes and Darcy equations, respectively, and the transmission conditions are given by mass conservation, balance of normal forces, and the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman law. The finite element subspaces consider Bernardi-Raugel and Raviart-Thomas elements for the velocities, piecewise constants for the pressures, and continuous piecewise linear elements for a Lagrange multiplier defined on the interface. We derive a reliable and efficient residual-based a posteriori error estimator for this coupled problem. The proof of reliability makes use of suitable auxiliary problems, diverse continuous inf-sup conditions satisfied by the bilinear forms involved, and local approximation properties of the Clement interpolant and Raviart-Thomas operator. On the other hand, Helmholtz decomposition, inverse inequalities, and the localization technique based on triangle-bubble and edge-bubble functions are the main tools for proving the efficiency of the estimator. Up to minor modifications, our analysis can be extended to other finite element subspaces yielding a stable Galerkin scheme.
My Name is Legion: Estimating Author Counts Based on Stylistic Diversity

Online propaganda is a growing concern. Fraudulent users write under multiple signatures to give the impression that the opinions they promote are more widespread than they really are, or held by a different demography. The problem as such is not new, but it is becoming increasingly organised and therefore has effects on a larger scale. In this work, we develop methods for assessing the true number of authors of a body of work, to detect artificially inflated user sets. The assessments are based on stylistic richness, here measured as the number of unique features (e.g., words or syntactic fragments) divided by the sum of all features. Initial results suggest that the order of magnitude can be reliable estimated. It is for example possible to differentiate the works of hundreds and thousands of writers.
The Effect of One-way and Two-way Tasks on Iranian EFL Learners’ Lexical Learning

This study investigated the effect of one-way and two-way tasks on lexical learning of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. Participants included 40 male and female Iranian EFL learners with the age range of 11-21, at the pre-intermediate level and from two English language institutes. They were assigned to two experimental groups: a one-way-task group and a two-way-task group. Knowledge of the intended lexes was established by a pre-test. The experimental groups underwent different treatments for eight 30-minute sessions during which they told stories based on the picture-cued stories. After the treatment, a post-test and a delayed post-test were administered. The results of the one-way repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that both one-way and two-way tasks had a significant effect on the learning of lexis. Meanwhile, gain scores of pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest were compared using independent samples T-tests. It indicated that two-way tasks, compared to one-way tasks, were more effective in the retention of lexes. The findings of this study could attract the attention of material developers to include one-way and two-way tasks in the books. Teacher trainers and EFL teachers could utilize similar task types in the classroom and could provide EFL learners with an effective way of vocabulary acquisition.
Estimating Hurst Index Based On Wavelet

Long range persistence has been observed in many fields. A variety of methods have been proposed to estimate Hurst index of non-stationary and stationary process, which has power- law decay. In this paper, non-stationary process (fractional Brownian motion) is transformed to a stationary process and the autocorrelation decay exponentially by using discrete wavelet transformation. Then a novel unbiased estimator is developed. Wavelet method not only effectively eliminates the trend of series, but also deals with the abrupt change of series. Even the series contains some noise, wavelet method can perform well. At last, by comparing with R/H method, we conclude that estimator based on wavelet is more robust and more exact than that on R/H.
The Role of Culture and Ethnicity in Psychological Theory and Practice: A Three Part Study with a Particular Emphasis on the Black British Second and Third Generation

Thirteen group interviews collected data from randomly recruited second and third generation black British individuals. The interview format used was largely unstructured. The participants were informed that black and ethnic minority groups are largely underrepresented in psychological and mental health services with the ensuing topic of discussion constituting the query as to why this may be. A constructivist abbreviated version of grounded theory was applied to the transcribed material resulting from the interviews. All together 16 categories emerged from the data. These were organised under four broad headings: External Struggle (Trauma), Internal Struggle (Trauma), Private Self and ‘It’s Good to Talk! ’ A theoretical process model ensued from the data pointing towards various factors working together in affecting the prevention and obstruction of help-seeking in the studied population. Informed by external trauma factors such as the concept and occurrence of slavery, via a sense of collective memory, and lived observations of discriminatory practice and attitudes, internal trauma components of distrust, sense of powerlessness and disillusion are in their interplay suggested to be primary causes of avoidance and omission of help-seeking outside of the own group. This study has made an important contribution to the knowledge base on factors preventing help-seeking in the black British second and third generation population of today. Future studies can use the knowledge gained to further theory development in this area and expand theory development to other ethnic minority groups.
MicroRNA-93 inhibits ischemia-reperfusion induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting PTEN

MicroRNAs have been implicated in some biological and pathological processes, including the myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Recent findings demonstrated that miR-93 might provide a potential cardioprotective effect on ischemic heart disease. This study was to investigate the role of miR-93 in I/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury and the potential mechanism. In this study, we found that hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) dramatically increased LDH release, MDA contents, ROS generation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-mediated cardiomyocyte apoptosis, which were attenuated by co-transfection with miR-93 mimic. Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was identified as the target gene of miR-93. Furthermore, miR-93 mimic significantly increased p-Akt levels under H/R, which was partially released by LY294002. In addtion, Ad-miR-93 also attenuated myocardial I/R injury in vivo, manifested by reduced LDH and CK levels, infarct area and cell apoptosis. Taken together, our findings indicates that miR-93 could protect against I/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/PTEN signaling.