Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Multidisciplinary Intervention Programs for Chronic Pain: A Randomized Comparative Trial

ObjectivesResearch suggests that an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program (a structured form of meditation) might be effective in the treatment of various health problems including chronic pain. Our objective was to compare the clinical effectiveness of the MBSR program with a multidisciplinary pain intervention (MPI) program in terms of pain intensity, pain-related distress, quality of life, and mood in patients with chronic pain. MethodsA randomized, comparative clinical trial was conducted, including 6-month posttreatment follow-up. Ninety-nine participants, aged 24 to 64 years, with pain for a minimum of 3 months, were recruited from community-based clinics, hospitals, and community service centers. Participants were randomly allocated to either the MBSR program (51 participants) or a MPI program (48 participants). The study used validated Chinese versions of self-reported questionnaires measuring pain, mood symptoms, and health-related quality of life. ResultsThirty-nine participants (77%) completed the MBSR program and 44 (90%) completed the MPI program. Patients in both the groups were comparable with regard to demographical characteristics, pain intensity, mood symptoms, and health-related quality-of-life measures before intervention. In both the groups, patients who completed the trial demonstrated statistically significant improvements in pain intensity and pain-related distress. However, no statistically significant differences were observed in overall results between the MBSR and MPI groups. ConclusionsThis randomized, clinical trial showed that both MBSR and MPI programs reduced pain intensity and pain-related distress although no statistically significant differences were observed between the 2 groups and the improvements were small.
Çevrimiçi Tartışmalara İlişkin Öğrenci Görüşleri

Ogrencilerin kendi bakis acisini, zamandan ve mekandan bagimsiz olarak akranlari ve kendinden daha bilgili kisilerle tartismasina, farkli bakis acilarini inceleyip, kendi bakis acisina gelen elestiriler isiginda anlam olusturmasini saglayan cevrimici tartismalar, arastirma ve uygulama alanlarinda kullanilmaktadir. Yari yapilandirilmis gorusme ile gerceklestirilen bu calismada, durum cozumlemesi amaciyla yapilan cevrimici tartismalari engelleyen ya da kolaylastiran unsurlar, ogrenci gorusleri ile incelenmistir. Gorusmelerle elde edilen verilerde yinelenen temalarin belirlenmesi icin surekli karsilastirmali icerik cozumlemesi yontemi kullanilmistir (Glasser ve Strauss, 1967). 15 ogrenciye ait gorusme verilerinin cozumlenmesi sonucundaki ana temalar sunlardir; (1) ogrenci sayisi, (2) tartisma gruplarinin farkli universiteden olusturulmasi, (3) ogretmen katilimi, (4) cevrimici tartisma deneyiminin olup olmamasi, (5) icerikle ilgili yeterli bilginin olup-olmamasi, (6) yoneticinin tartismaya etkisi, (7) cevrimici tartismalarin ders-gecme notuna etkisi. Bu ana temalara iliskin ogrenci gorusleri incelendiginde, yoneticinin tartismaya katiliminin gerekliligi gibi bazi konularda gorus birligi oldugu ancak grup buyuklugu gibi bazi konularda farkli ogrenci gorusleri oldugu belirlenmistir
"But before You Said You Believed That…": A Longitudinal Study of Structured Text Talks in Small Groups.

A three year longitudinal intervention study is presented where two conditions of reading instruction are compared. In a base condition six teachers – four in the experimental groups and two in the control groups – and their students in grade 4-6 discussed expository texts during a regular lesson. The discussions, which took place in small groups, six students in each group, were videotaped. The majority of the students were poor comprehenders. In the intervention condition, the teachers in the experimental groups used a new approach of comprehension instruction, Questioning the Author, after repeatedly having participated in seminars led by the investigator where the model was practised. Dependent variables were the
Theoretical perspectives on the education of choral conductors: a suggested framework

This paper presents theoretical perspectives for choral conducting education. A wide range of related literature on choral practice and education in higher education contexts, as well as training in the workplace is reviewed. Whilst various attributes for effective choral conducting practice have been identified by research studies, there has been no systematic research on the process of choral conductor education and the contexts in which it occurs, particularly in the UK. The proposed framework consists of six interconnected parameters: (i) the tutor(s), (ii) the learner(s), (iii) the music repertoire and the singers, (iv) the sequence and amount of training, (v) the learning outcomes and (vi) the socio-cultural context(s), including teaching context(s) where practice takes place. The framework itself offers insights and related approaches for the development of choral conducting education.
CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy As First-line Treatments for Imaging-diagnosed Intracranial Meningiomas

Definitive radiotherapy is an important alternative treatment for meningioma patients who are inoperable or refuse surgery. We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of CyberKnife-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (hSRT) as first-line treatments for intracranial meningiomas that were diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT). Between February 2005 and September 2015, 41 patients with intracranial meningiomas were treated with CyberKnife-based SRS or hSRT. Eleven of those tumors were located in the skull base. The median tumor volume was 10.4 ml (range, 1.4–56.9 ml). The median prescribed radiation dose was 17 Gy (range, 13–20 Gy to the 61–88% isodose line) for SRS (n = 9) and 25 Gy (range, 14–38 Gy to the 44–83% isodose line) for hSRT (n = 32). The hSRT doses were delivered in 2 to 10 daily fractions. The median follow-up period was 49 months (range, 7–138). The 5-year progression-free survival rate (PFS) for all 41 patients was 86%. The 3-year PFS was 69% for the 14 patients with tumor volumes of ≥13.5 ml (30 mm in diameter) and 100% for the 27 patients with tumor volumes of <13.5 ml (P = 0.031). Grade >2 toxicities were observed in 5 patients (all of them had tumor volumes of ≥13.5 ml). SRS and hSRT are safe and effective against relatively small (<13.5 ml) meningiomas.
TECHNOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURS AT THE UNIVERSITY AND OPTIMISTIC BIAS

Risk or uncertainty perception is one of those features which have been related to entrepreneurship. Given that a poor risk perception would lead to an optimistic-biased decisions making, we investigate the relationship among optimism and entrepreneurship in a sample of university professors who were classified as entrepreneurs or non-entrepreneurs. Professors were asked to fill in a web-based questionnaire which included an optimistic bias scale. The scale had three sub-scales varying on the degree of controllability for generic life events (controllable, uncontrollable and neutral events). Although we detected some methodological weaknesses, the results show no relation between the entrepreneur profile and the optimistic bias. In any case, our results add evidences related to the detection of potential technological entrepreneurs which could be useful from a practical and theoretical point of view.
Intracorneal blood removal six weeks after canaloplasty

In a 71-year-old patient with bilateral open-angle glaucoma, intracorneal blood was found after a canaloplasty procedure in the right eye. Six weeks after surgery on ultrasound biomicroscopy examination, liquified blood and blood clots could be observed nasally in the deep corneal stroma close to the Descemet's membrane. The intracorneal blood was washed out with balanced saline solution following deep corneal incision and lamellar dissection. Descemet's membrane was reattached with air injection into the anterior chamber. Two months later, visual acuity improved to 20/50, intraocular pressure was 16 mm Hg without medication and confocal microscopy showed deep stromal folds and limited endothelial cell loss. Viscoelastic entering the cornea at Schwalbe's line and reflux of blood from the collector channels to Schlemm's canal can account for corneal hematoma. Even six weeks after canaloplasty, successful blood removal could be fulfilled without rupturing the Descemet's membrane.
Constrained Local Neural Fields for Robust Facial Landmark Detection in the Wild

Facial feature detection algorithms have seen great progress over the recent years. However, they still struggle in poor lighting conditions and in the presence of extreme pose or occlusions. We present the Constrained Local Neural Field model for facial landmark detection. Our model includes two main novelties. First, we introduce a probabilistic patch expert (landmark detector) that can learn non-linear and spatial relationships between the input pixels and the probability of a landmark being aligned. Secondly, our model is optimised using a novel Non-uniform Regularised Landmark Mean-Shift optimisation technique, which takes into account the reliabilities of each patch expert. We demonstrate the benefit of our approach on a number of publicly available datasets over other state-of-the-art approaches when performing landmark detection in unseen lighting conditions and in the wild.
Probing the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in gliomas: A phase 2 study of everolimus for recurrent adult low‐grade gliomas

Activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is common in patients with low‐grade gliomas (LGGs), but agents that inhibit this pathway, including mTOR inhibitors, have not been studied in this population.
Comparing damage on retrieved total elbow replacement bushings with lab worn specimens subjected to varied loading conditions

Complication rates following total elbow replacement (TER) with conventional implants are relatively high due to mechanical failure involving the UHMWPE bushings. Unfortunately, there are no standardized pre‐clinical durability testing protocols for assessing the durability of TER components. This study examines the damage observed on retrieved humeral bushings, and then uses in vitro durability testing with two different loading protocols to compare resulting damage. Damage on 25 pairs of retrieved humeral bushings was characterized using micro‐computed tomographic imaging techniques. The damage was compared with that of in vitro test specimens which were subjected to 200 K cycles of either high joint reaction force (high JRF) or high varus moment (high VM) loading. Material removal (mass loss) from bushing components was measured using gravimetric techniques. Thinning was less for retrieved bushings which were still assembled in their humeral component, versus bushings which were loose (0.3 ± 0.3 mm vs. 0.6 ± 0.3 mm, p = 0.02). Comparing in vitro test specimens, thinning due to high VM loading was 0.9 ± 0.3 mm, versus 0.2 ± 0.0 mm for high JRF loading (p = 0.08); however, the actual material removal rates from the humeral bushings were not different between the two protocols (48 ± 5 mm3/Mc vs. 43 ± 2 mm3/Mc, p = 1). Neither loading protocol could produce damage patterns fully representative of the spectrum of damage patterns observed on clinical retrievals. Pre‐clinical testing should employ multiple loading protocols to characterize implant performance under a broader spectrum of usage. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:1998–2006, 2018.
Social Work Students ‘Juggling’ Field Placement

Abstract Field education is widely acknowledged as a central component of social work education. However, it requires a substantial commitment of time and energy from students which can present challenges to students who have multiple responsibilities. Based on a literature review conducted in preparation for doctoral research into social work student experience of juggling multiple roles and responsibilities with field placement, this article summarises what is known about the challenges they face and what helps them to complete placement. The findings have implications for students, schools of social work and field placement agencies. Further research should provide guidance for professional social work bodies, schools of social work, field educators and students.
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) promotes osteoclast differentiation and inhibits osteoblast differentiation and high serum GDF15 levels are associated with multiple myeloma bone disease

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic cancer caused by malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. A characteristic feature of this cancer is the destruction of bone, which affects nearly all myeloma patients. The osteolytic bone disease is caused by an increased number and activity of osteoclasts, combined with a reduced number and dysfunction of osteoblasts.1
Different DNA Loidy Patterns for the Differentiation of Common Subtypes of Renal Tumors

Objectives: The common subtypes of renal tumors are conventional or clear cell carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, chromophobe carcinoma and oncocytoma. Each subtype has its distinct histogenesis and clinical evolution. DNA ploidy is viewed as a marker of gross genomic aberrations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the DNA ploidy in the common subtypes of renal tumors to increase our understanding of renal tumor biology and to broaden clinical application of DNA ploidy. Methods: 38 renal tumor samples (13 clear cell RCCs, 12 papillary RCCs, 7 chromophobe RCCs, and 6 oncocytomas) were studied. Five biopsies of different parts of each fresh tumor were subjected to a flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy. Results: All tumors except one papillary RCC generated interpretable DNA histograms. Flow cytometric analysis of oncocytomas showed the diploid pattern (29/30 frequencies) while the chromophobe RCC never showed the diploid pattern (0/55 frequencies) (p < 0.01). 3/7 chromopbobe RCCs possessed the hypodiploid stemline. The hypodiploid stemline appeared neither in conventional RCCs (0/63 frequencies) nor in papillary RCCs (0/50 frequencies). The diploid pattern was dominant in conventional and papillary RCCs. 10/13 (76.9%) of clear cell RCCs and 9/11 (81.8%) of papillary RCCs possessed a homogeneous DNA ploidy pattern while only 1/7 (14.3%) has a homogeneous DNA ploidy pattern. 6/7 chromophobe RCCs had multiple aneuploid stemlines. Conclusions: Flow cytometric analysis reveals that conventional and papillary RCCs are more homogeneous than chromophobe RCC. Each subtype of renal tumors possesses a specific DNA ploidy pattern. The analysis of DNA ploidy is useful for the differentiation of common subtypes of renal tumors in morphologically difficult cases.
The Relationship between Perceived Discrimination, Organisation-Based Self- Esteem (OBSE) and Job Satisfaction among Women at Work

iii Acknowledgements iv Chapter One: Rationale 1 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2 2.1. OBSE defined 2 2.2. Theoretical basis of OBSE. 4 2.3. Determinants of OBSE. 5 2.3.1. The role of work environment structures. 6 2.3.2. Social cues from significant others within the social environment. 6 2.3.3. Personal experiences. 6 2.3.4. Workplace determinants of OBSE. 7 2.4. Perceived Discrimination 8 2.5. Discrimination in South Africa 10 2.6. Outcomes: Job Satisfaction 12 2.7. A Mediational Model 15 2.8. Research Questions 17 Chapter Three: Methodology 18 3.1. Research Design 18 3.2. Sample 18 3.2.1. Sampling. 18 3.2.2. Demographics. 19 3.3. Procedure 23 3.4. Research Instruments 25 3.4. 1. Demographic questionnaire. 25 3.4. 2. Organisation-Based Self-Esteem (OBSE) scale. 25 3.4. 3. Global Self-Esteem Scale. 27 3.4. 4. Job satisfaction scale. 28
Involvement of epigenetic modifiers in the pathogenesis of testicular dysgenesis and germ cell cancer

Abstract Testicular germ cell cancer manifests mainly in young adults as a seminoma or non-seminoma. The solid tumors are preceded by the presence of a non-invasive precursor cell, the carcinoma in situ cell (CIS), which shows great similarity to fetal germ cells. It is therefore hypothesized that the CIS cell is a fetal germ cell that has been arrested during development due to testicular dysgenesis. CIS cells retain a fetal and open chromatin structure, and recently several epigenetic modifiers have been suggested to be involved in testicular dysgenesis in mice. We here review the possible involvement of epigenetic modifiers with a focus on jumonji C enzymes in the development of testicular dysgenesis and germ cell cancer in men.
Microprogramming: A Tutorial and Survey of Recent Developments

The present status of microprogramming is developed from Wilkes's initial concept of microprogramming to the more recent bit-slice microprogrammable computer components. This tutorial defines basic concepts and gives a simple example of machine language interpretation. Describing the characteristics of microprogrammed machines provides the background for an examination of microprogrammable bit slice microprocessors, the most significant commercial development since the previous survey paper [3]. The descriptions of recent applications of microprogramming indicate the potential for microprogram use in several areas. A substantial bibliography directs the interested reader to details in many aspects of microprogramming.
Arterial blood pressure variability before and after chronic pacing induced heart failure in conscious dogs

To examine the effects of heart failure on beat-to beat arterial blood pressure (ABP) variability, four adult mongrel dogs (20-25 kg) were chronically instrumented for ventricular pacing and continuous measurements of central ABP and cardiac output (CO). Five minutes recordings with the dogs conscious and at rest took place after recovery from surgery (control) and after a 30 days long period of pacing at 240 bpm (heart failure). Autoregressive spectral analysis of the beat-to-beat ABP fluctuations was performed and paired t-test revealed that ABP total, low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) power all significantly decreased following chronic pacing induced heart failure. No significant difference was found in the contribution of CO to ABP variability. Our results suggest that heart failure induces changes in autonomic reflexes and hemodynamics that dampen the mechanisms responsible for generating ABP variability.
The Impact of Technostress on Role Stress and Productivity

Based on empirical survey data, this paper uses concepts from sociotechnical theory and role theory to explore the effects of stress created by information and computer technology (ICT)—that is, "technostress"—on role stress and on individual productivity. We first explain different ways in which ICTs can create stress in users and identify factors that create technostress. We next propose three hypotheses: (1) technostress is inversely related to individual productivity, (2) role stress is inversely related to individual productivity, and (3) technostress is directly related to role stress. We then use structural equation modeling on survey data from ICT users in 223 organizations to test the hypotheses. The results show support for them. Theoretically, the paper contributes in three ways. First, the different dimensions of technostress identified here add to existing concepts on stress experienced by individuals in organizations. Second, by showing that technostress inversely affects productivity, the paper reinforces that failure to manage the effects of ICT-induced stress can offset expected increases in productivity. Third, validation of the positive relationship between technostress and role stress adds a new conceptual thread to literature analyzing the relationship between technology and organizational roles and structure. In the practical domain, the paper proposes a diagnostic tool to evaluate the extent to which technostress is present in an organization and suggests that the adverse effects of technostress can be partly countered by strategies that reduce role conflict and role overload.
Dentine Hypersensitivity - A Review of Mechanisms and Treatment Alternatives

Dr. Rajul Vivek 1 , Dr. Romesh Soni 2 , Dr. T.P. Chaturvedi 3 , Dr. Atul Bhatnagar 4 , Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Sciences, IMS, BHU Assistant Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Sciences, IMS, BHU Professor & Head, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty Of Dental Sciences, IMS, BHU Associate Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Sciences, IMS, BHU
Use of frequency diversity to improve the performance of RSSI-based distance measurements

In several fields of application of wireless sensors networks (WSNs) the ability of estimating the position of a node with respect to a reference coordinate is a key feature. The most of the WSN applications involve indoor environments and low costs requirements, so the Global Position System cannot always assure a reliable operating and cheap solution. As a consequence, other methods have to be considered for nodes locating, among all, the most widespread methods are based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurements. The main advantage of this method is that it does not require additional hardware since the measurement of RSSI is often built-in in radio chipsets for the most common standards in use for a WSN (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee). However, solutions based on RSSI measurements suffer of high uncertainty due to several phenomena as high variability of RSSI measurements, external interferences and multipath to cite a few. In this paper the influence of the multipath is investigated and the effects of different processing techniques for multipath mitigating, based on the employment of frequency diversity, are analyzed in simulation environment and in real scenarios.
Echo decorrelation from displacement gradients in elasticity and velocity estimation

Several ultrasonic techniques for the estimation of blood velocity, tissue motion and elasticity are based on the estimation of displacement through echo time-delay analysis. A common assumption is that tissue displacement is constant within a short observation time used for time delay estimation (TDE). The precision of TDE is mainly limited by noise sources corrupting the echo signals. In addition to electronic and quantization noise, a substantial source of TDE error is the decorrelation of echo signals because of displacement gradients within the observation time. The authors present a theoretical model that describes the mean changes of the crosscorrelation function as a function of observation time and displacement gradient. The gradient is assumed to be small and uniform within the observation time; the decorrelation introduced by the lateral and elevational displacement components is assumed to be small compared with the decorrelation caused by the axial component. The decorrelation model predicts that the expected value of the crosscorrelation function is a low-pass filtered version of the autocorrelation function (i.e., the crosscorrelation obtained without gradients). The filter is a function of the axial gradient and the observation time. This theoretical finding is corroborated experimentally. Limitations imposed by decorrelation in displacement estimation and potential uses of decorrelation in medical ultrasound are discussed.