Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power Relations Influencing Catholic Religious Sisters¡¯ Identity Construction: A Study of Intersubjective Exchange in Religious Community Living

Catholic religious sisters live community life in which they encounter communal relationship with each other, intertwined with power relations and dominance. The religious community context provides the sisters with on-going dialogical relationships laden with the discourse of religious obedience and practices associated with diverse status of being i®superior/formatori¯, i®senior/older sisteri¯, i®final professedi¯ or i®temporary professed sisteri¯. Within this discourse and practice of the vow of religious obedience, superiors/formators and senior/older sisters hold the power to instruct others on what to do. Thus, each of these statuses influences the sistersi¯ voices whereby some voices dominate others. Using 18 sistersi¯ self-narratives (based on a doctoral thesis) collected from two religious congregations in Nigeria this paper argues that the dominated voices negotiate their sense of identity either as resistant or submissive. Based on the I-positions dynamism of appropriation or rejection of positions, these sisters negotiate their self-identity either by subjugating their own voice, in which case they allow their voice to be silent or by presenting themselves as resistant, in that they oppose the voices that position them into subordinate or subservient roles. As a consequence the sistersi¯ construction of identity manifests itself in tension, in which the polar opposite status of superior/formator, and final professed sister dominates the voice of other sisters.
Social Exclusion and the Hidden Curriculum: The Schooling Experiences of Chinese Rural Migrant Children in an Urban Public School

Abstract Since 2001, the Chinese government had passed a series of policies known as ‘the two primary responsibilities’ to allow the rural migrant children to attend urban public schools. However, what the migrant children actually experienced in and after negotiating access to these schools deserves serious attention from educators, scholars and policymakers. Based on prolonged ethnographic fieldwork in a Beijing public school, this study demonstrated three key aspects of exclusions in migrant children’s schooling experiences, namely, (1) access to school, (2) in-class participations and (3) peer interactions, and examined the ‘hidden curriculum’ in the existing school practices that prevented migrant children from integrating successfully in the urban school settings. We found that academic performance lay at the root of social exclusions, but the local educators’ perceptions of migrant children as outsiders, the urban-oriented school curricular and urban children’s involvement (vis-à-vis migrant children’s little involvement) in the extracurricular activities at school as well as the paid supplementary trainings outside school together formed the ‘hidden curriculum’ that led to the marginalization of migrant students in the urban school system.
Massage Therapy for Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Although some studies evaluated the effectiveness of massage therapy for fibromyalgia (FM), the role of massage therapy in the management of FM remained controversial. Objective The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence of massage therapy for patients with FM. Methods Electronic databases (up to June 2013) were searched to identify relevant studies. The main outcome measures were pain, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance. Two reviewers independently abstracted data and appraised risk of bias. The risk of bias of eligible studies was assessed based on Cochrane tools. Standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by more conservative random-effects model. And heterogeneity was assessed based on the I2 statistic. Results Nine randomized controlled trials involving 404 patients met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analyses showed that massage therapy with duration ≥5 weeks significantly improved pain (SMD, 0.62; 95% CI 0.05 to 1.20; p = 0.03), anxiety (SMD, 0.44; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.78; p = 0.01), and depression (SMD, 0.49; 95% CI 0.15 to 0.84; p = 0.005) in patients with FM, but not on sleep disturbance (SMD, 0.19; 95% CI −0.38 to 0.75; p = 0.52). Conclusion Massage therapy with duration ≥5 weeks had beneficial immediate effects on improving pain, anxiety, and depression in patients with FM. Massage therapy should be one of the viable complementary and alternative treatments for FM. However, given fewer eligible studies in subgroup meta-analyses and no evidence on follow-up effects, large-scale randomized controlled trials with long follow-up are warrant to confirm the current findings.
Conserved mechanism for sensor phosphatase control of two-component signaling revealed in the nitrate sensor NarX

Two-component signal transduction mediates a wide range of phenotypes in microbes and plants. The sensor transmitter module controls the phosphorylation state of the cognate-response-regulator receiver domain. Whereas the two-component autokinase and phosphotransfer reactions are well-understood, the mechanism by which sensors accelerate the rate of phospho-response regulator dephosphorylation, termed “transmitter phosphatase activity,” is unknown. We identified a conserved DxxxQ motif adjacent to the phospho-accepting His residue in the HisKA_3 subfamily of two-component sensors. We used site-specific mutagenesis to make substitutions for these conserved Gln and Asp residues in the nitrate-responsive NarX sensor and analyzed function both in vivo and in vitro. Results show that the Gln residue is critical for transmitter phosphatase activity, but is not essential for autokinase or phosphotransfer activities. The documented role of an amide moiety in phosphoryl group hydrolysis suggests an analogous catalytic function for this Gln residue in HisKA_3 members. Results also indicate that the Asp residue is important for both autokinase and transmitter phosphatase activities. Furthermore, we noted that sensors of the HisKA subfamily exhibit an analogous E/DxxT/N motif, the conserved Thr residue of which is critical for transmitter phosphatase activity of the EnvZ sensor. Thus, two-component sensors likely use similar mechanisms for receiver domain dephosphorylation.
Children as researchers in Nicaragua: Children’s consultancy to transformative research

Child workers on Nicaragua’s coffee plantations have become researchers, generating knowledge which leads to action to help solve some of the severe social problems that affect the rural communities where they live and work. This article first looks at how child researchers are seen in the existing literature. It then traces the history of the approach used, known as Transformative Research by Children and Adolescents, from its origins in ‘Children’s Consultancy’ in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, through its adaptation to the Nicaraguan context and subsequent metamorphosis into today’s transformative research approach. It discusses the concept of ‘transformation’ in social research, and CESESMA’s alternative ‘four transformations’ framework, with its emphasis on a coherent concept of empowerment. It then identifies four things child researchers need from their adult supporters: appropriate and effective research methodology, skilled and sensitive process facilitation, technical support and a responsible attitude to child protection that recognises but does not exaggerate risks. It concludes by highlighting some challenges to be addressed in further developing and extending the approach.
Proteomic Insight Reveals Elevated Levels of Albumin in Circulating Immune Complexes in Diabetic Plasma*

A Hyperglycemic condition in diabetes promotes formation of advanced glycation end products, which are known to elicit immune response and form complexes with immunoglobulins called circulating immune complexes. To investigate the involvement of advanced glycation end product (AGE)-modified proteins in the elicitation of an immune response, circulating immune complexes were isolated and proteins associated were identified and characterized. Label-free-based mass spectrometric analysis of circulating immune complexes in clinical plasma of prediabetic, newly diagnosed diabetes, and diabetic microalbuminurea revealed elevated levels of serum albumin in the circulating immune complexes, which were also observed to be AGE modified. Further, to examine the role of glycation, circulating immune complexeswere analyzed in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice treated with or without aminoguanidine, a prototype glycation inhibitor. Mass spectrometric analysis of circulating immune complexes showed elevated levels of serum albumin in plasma from diabetic mice over that of control animals. Aminoguanidine-treated diabetic mice displayed decreased AGE modification of plasma albumin, accompanied by a reduced level of albumin in the circulating immune complexes. In addition, elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1b, IL-2, and TNF-alpha were observed in diabetes, which were reduced with aminoguanidine treatment, suggesting the involvement of glycation in the immune response.
Evaluation of safety and efficacy of the TriFractional RF technology for treatment of facial wrinkles

Abstract Introduction: Skin resurfacing is an accepted gold standard for the treatment of skin laxity, photodamage, and appearance of visible lines and wrinkles. However, the relatively significant risk and the long downtime associated with whole area resurfacing treatments have led to the introduction of fractional resurfacing lasers and radiofrequency (RF) technologies. This study was performed in order to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the new TriFractional technology using the 3F Applicator (A3F), designed to enable skin resurfacing and treatment of wrinkles using fractional RF energy. Methods: Thirty-two subjects were recruited in two sites and were treated with the A3F for the reduction of facial wrinkles and followed for 3 months after the last treatment. The safety of using the TriFractional system was established by the physicians’ assessments and observations of adverse events after each treatment. To evaluate treatment efficacy, subject's pretreatment and posttreatment digital images were assessed and graded by two blinded uninvolved physicians based on Fitzpatrick Wrinkle and Elastosis scale. Results: No significant adverse side effects were detected or reported. Evaluation of photographs of study subjects at baseline and 3 months follow-up by the two blinded physicians, revealed improvement (downgrade of at least 1 score according to the Fitzpatrick scale) in 80% and 73% of subjects as graded by the two reviewers. Study subjects reported no pain to moderate pain during treatment with no need of pain relief medication beyond topical anesthesia. The majority of study subjects (83.3%) noted that treatment results met their expectations to different extent levels, and most of study subjects (70%) indicated that they will recommend the A3F treatment to their friends. Conclusions: The results of this study clearly indicate that the TriFractional technology using the 3F applicator provides a safe, tolerable, and effective treatment of facial wrinkles.
Learning from Binary Labels with Instance-Dependent Corruption

Suppose we have a sample of instances paired with binary labels corrupted by arbitrary instance- and label-dependent noise. With sufficiently many such samples, can we optimally classify and rank instances with respect to the noise-free distribution? We provide a theoretical analysis of this question, with three main contributions. First, we prove that for instance-dependent noise, any algorithm that is consistent for classification on the noisy distribution is also consistent on the clean distribution. Second, we prove that for a broad class of instance- and label-dependent noise, a similar consistency result holds for the area under the ROC curve. Third, for the latter noise model, when the noise-free class-probability function belongs to the generalised linear model family, we show that the Isotron can efficiently and provably learn from the corrupted sample.
Polymorphic Mutation Frequencies in Escherichia coli: Emergence of Weak Mutators in Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT Polymorphisms in the rifampin resistance mutation frequency (f) were studied in 696 Escherichia coli strains from Spain, Sweden, and Denmark. Of the 696 strains, 23% were weakly hypermutable (4 × 10−8 ≤ f < 4 × 10−7), and 0.7% were strongly hypermutable (f ≥ 4 × 10−7). Weak mutators were apparently more frequent in southern Europe and in blood isolates (38%) than in urinary tract isolates (25%) and feces of healthy volunteers (11%).
A Geração Y no Mercado de Trabalho: um Estudo Comparativo entre Gerações

O presente trabalho propoe um estudo comparativo das tres geracoes ativas no mercado de trabalho: a Geracao Y, Geracao X e Geracao baby boomers, tracando um comparativo entre a geracao mais jovem, Geracao Y, com seus antecessores. Alem disso, buscou-se compreender os principais sentidos referenciados ao trabalho pelos sujeitos das diferentes geracoes, quais suas expectativas em relacao as organizacoes, a visao que as geracoes anteriores concebem acerca da Geracao Y e, ainda, algumas semelhancas e diferencas entre as tres geracoes pesquisadas. Para tal, foi realizada uma pesquisa de carater qualitativo, na qual foram realizadas entrevistas com individuos pertencentes as tres geracoes e atuantes no mercado, analisadas pelo metodo de Analise de Conteudo. A Analise de Conteudo propiciou a constituicao de agrupamentos de elementos de significados mais proximos, viabilizando a formacao de tres categorias gerais.
Transfer Learning and Sentence Level Features for Named Entity Recognition on Tweets

We present our system for the WNUT 2017 Named Entity Recognition challenge on Twitter data. We describe two modifications of a basic neural network architecture for sequence tagging. First, we show how we exploit additional labeled data, where the Named Entity tags differ from the target task. Then, we propose a way to incorporate sentence level features. Our system uses both methods and ranked second for entity level annotations, achieving an F1-score of 40.78, and second for surface form annotations, achieving an F1-score of 39.33.
Fisheries-induced neutral and adaptive evolution in exploited fish populations and consequences for their adaptive potential

Fishing may induce neutral and adaptive evolution affecting life‐history traits, and molecular evidence has shown that neutral genetic diversity has declined in some exploited populations. Here, we theoretically study the interplay between neutral and adaptive evolution caused by fishing. An individual‐based eco‐genetic model is devised that includes neutral and functional loci in a realistic ecological setting. In line with theoretical expectations, we find that fishing induces evolution towards slow growth, early maturation at small size and higher reproductive investment. We show, first, that the choice of genetic model (based on either quantitative genetics or gametic inheritance) influences the evolutionary recovery of traits after fishing ceases. Second, we analyse the influence of three factors possibly involved in the lack of evolutionary recovery: the strength of selection, the effect of genetic drift and the loss of adaptive potential. We find that evolutionary recovery is hampered by an association of weak selection differentials with reduced additive genetic variances. Third, the contribution of fisheries‐induced selection to the erosion of functional genetic diversity clearly dominates that of genetic drift only for the traits related to maturation. Together, our results highlight the importance of taking into account population genetic variability in predictions of eco‐evolutionary dynamics.
In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of the Ceftazidime-Avibactam (NXL104) Combination against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT The β-lactamase inhibitor avibactam (NXL104) displays potent inhibition of both class A and C enzymes. The in vitro antibacterial activity of the combination ceftazidime-avibactam was evaluated against a clinical panel of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. Avibactam offered efficient protection from hydrolysis since 94% of isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime when combined with 4 μg/ml avibactam, compared with 65% susceptible to ceftazidime alone. Ceftazidime-avibactam also demonstrated better antipseudomonal activity than imipenem (82% susceptibility), a common reference treatment.
The international affective picture system: A Flemish validation study

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention [CSEA], 1995) is a set of pictures that is widely used in experimental research on emotion and attention. In this study, the normative ratings of a subset of the IAPS were compared with the ratings from a Flemish sample. Eighty Flemish first-year psychology students from the Ghent University (Belgium) rated valence, dominance and arousal for a stratified sample of 60 IAPS pictures. Reliability coefficients indicate that the self-report ratings are internally consistent. Four findings converge upon the idea that the ratings in the Flemish sample are similar to the normative ratings. First, the affective ratings of the pictures in our sample correlated strongly with the North American ratings: . 95, . 84 and . 87, respectively for valence, arousal and dominance. Second, mean valence and arousal ratings of the 60 pictures did not significantly differ between the Flemish and the North American sample. Third, plotting of the valence and arousal ratings in a two-dimensional figure results in a similar boomerang shaped distribution as the North American affective ratings. And fourth, as predicted, this distribution of the valence and arousal ratings shows the same asymmetry between positive and negative pictures as in North American samples.
Closing the gaps in pediatric laboratory reference intervals: a CALIPER database of 40 biochemical markers in a healthy and multiethnic population of children.

BACKGROUND Pediatric healthcare is critically dependent on the availability of accurate and precise laboratory biomarkers of pediatric disease, and on the availability of reference intervals to allow appropriate clinical interpretation. The development and growth of children profoundly influence normal circulating concentrations of biochemical markers and thus the respective reference intervals. There are currently substantial gaps in our knowledge of the influences of age, sex, and ethnicity on reference intervals. We report a comprehensive covariate-stratified reference interval database established from a healthy, nonhospitalized, and multiethnic pediatric population. METHODS Healthy children and adolescents (n = 2188, newborn to 18 years of age) were recruited from a multiethnic population with informed parental consent and were assessed from completed questionnaires and according to defined exclusion criteria. Whole-blood samples were collected for establishing age- and sex-stratified reference intervals for 40 serum biochemical markers (serum chemistry, enzymes, lipids, proteins) on the Abbott ARCHITECT c8000 analyzer. RESULTS Reference intervals were generated according to CLSI C28-A3 statistical guidelines. Caucasians, East Asians, and South Asian participants were evaluated with respect to the influence of ethnicity, and statistically significant differences were observed for 7 specific biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS The establishment of a new comprehensive database of pediatric reference intervals is part of the Canadian Laboratory Initiative in Pediatric Reference Intervals (CALIPER). It should assist laboratorians and pediatricians in interpreting test results more accurately and thereby lead to improved diagnosis of childhood diseases and reduced patient risk. The database will also be of global benefit once reference intervals are validated in transference studies with other analytical platforms and local populations, as recommended by the CLSI.
Impulse oscillometry: A measure for airway obstruction

The impulse oscillometry system (IOS) was introduced as a new technique to assess airflow obstruction in patients who are not able to perform forced breathing maneuvers, e.g., subjects with cerebral palsy or severe mental retardation, and young children. This study evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of IOS parameters to quantify changes in airflow obstruction in comparison with forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) measurements. Measurements of FEV1, PEF, and resistance (R) and reactance (X) at frequencies of 5–35 Hz were performed in 19 children with asthma before, during, and after methacholine challenge and subsequent bronchodilatation. All parameters changed significantly during tests. Values of R5 and R10 correlated with FEV1 (r = −0.71 and −0.73, respectively, P < 0.001), as did values of X5 and X10 (r = 0.52 and 0.57, respectively, P < 0.01). Changes in R preceded changes in PEF and FEV1 during methacholine challenge. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to predict a 15% fall in FEV1 showed better sensitivity and specificity for R5 (area under the curve, 0.85) compared to PEF (0.79) or R10 (0.73). We conclude that IOS parameters can be easily used as an indirect measure of airflow obstruction. This might be helpful in patients who are not able to perform forced breathing maneuvers. In individual subjects, R values measured at 5 Hz showed to be superior to PEF measurements in the detection of a 15% fall in FEV1. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003; 35:214–219. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Psychological interventions for rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE To carry out a systematic review of the literature examining the efficacy of psychological interventions (e.g., relaxation, biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Studies that met the following criteria were included: random assignment, wait-list or usual care control condition; publication in peer-reviewed journals; treatment that included some psychological component beyond simply providing education information; and separate data provided for patients with RA if subjects with conditions other than RA were included. Two investigators independently extracted data on study design, sample size and characteristics, type of intervention, type of control, direction and nature of the outcome(s). RESULTS Twenty-five trials met the inclusion criteria. Methodologic quality was assessed, and effect sizes were calculated for 6 outcomes. Significant pooled effect sizes were found postintervention for pain (0.22), functional disability (0.27), psychological status (0.15), coping (0.46), and self efficacy (0.35). At followup (averaging 8.5 months), significant pooled effect sizes were observed for tender joints (0.33), psychological status (0.30), and coping (0.52). No clear or consistent patterns emerged when effect sizes for different types of treatment and control conditions were compared, or when higher quality trials were compared to lower quality ones. Findings do, however, suggest that these psychological interventions may be more effective for patients who have had the illness for shorter duration. CONCLUSIONS Despite some methodologic flaws in the literature, psychological interventions may be important adjunctive therapies in the medical management of RA.