Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of growth by 6-hydroxydopamine in cultured cells of neuronal and nonneuronal origin.

The effect of 6-hydroxydopamine on growth and viability of cultured cells of sympathetic (neuroblastoma), glial, and fibroblast origin was examined. In contrast to previous reports, inhibition of growth was not specific to neuroblastoma cells. The degree of inhibition was correlated with permeability of cell membrane to dopamine-14C or 6-hydroxydopamine-14C and with sensitivity of the membrane energy-dependent transport mechanism. Inhibition of cell division could not be attributed to inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase, DNA polymerase, or thymidine kinase, since 10-4 m 6-hydroxydopamine had no effect on these enzymes in extracts of cells in vitro .
Quality improvement in the continuum of care: impact of atherothrombosis in managed care pharmacy.

OBJECTIVE To review the clinical and economic impact of atherothrombosis, the use of antiplatelet therapy for patients with atherothrombosis, and the impact of disease management programs on quality improvement and health care costs. SUMMARY Atherothrombosis is a new term that describes the formation of a thrombus on an existing atherosclerotic plaque. While simple, this pathophysiologic mechanism underlies a vast array of vascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, ischemia, peripheral arterial disease, vascular death, and many forms of stroke. In fact, atherothrombosis is the leading cause of death worldwide. Treatment approaches include lifestyle modification and the use of pharmacologic agents such as lipid-lowering therapy, antihypertensive agents, hypoglycemic therapy, ACE inhibitors, and beta-blockers. Despite these treatments, studies have indicated that not all patients receive recommended therapies. The continuing upward spiral in health care costs in the United States has spurred numerous initiatives aimed at improving the quality of care while maintaining or reducing costs. Among these approaches to quality improvement are programs that promote adherence to evidence-based clinical data, including published guidelines, and improve the appropriate use of pharmaceuticals. Although expenditures for prescription drugs are rising, they remain a minority of overall health care expenditures, and evidence suggests that improved usage of medications can reduce other direct costs, such as hospitalizations and inpatient care, which may account for a far greater proportion of total costs. CONCLUSION The utilization of quality improvement techniques and disease management tools can be used to improve the quality of care of patients with atherothrombosis. A key component of this strategy is pharmacologic therapy. The appropriate use of prescription drugs involves several key factors, including the proper selection of the agent based on available clinical evidence, choosing regimens that enhance patient compliance, and sound methodologies to evaluate outcomes. Improvements in the quality of care for patients with atherothrombosis can have a significant impact on the overall quality of health care as well as total costs.
Convergence Rate of Stochastic k-means

We analyze online \cite{BottouBengio} and mini-batch \cite{Sculley} $k$-means variants. Both scale up the widely used $k$-means algorithm via stochastic approximation, and have become popular for large-scale clustering and unsupervised feature learning. We show, for the first time, that starting with any initial solution, they converge to a "local optimum" at rate $O(\frac{1}{t})$ (in terms of the $k$-means objective) under general conditions. In addition, we show if the dataset is clusterable, when initialized with a simple and scalable seeding algorithm, mini-batch $k$-means converges to an optimal $k$-means solution at rate $O(\frac{1}{t})$ with high probability. The $k$-means objective is non-convex and non-differentiable: we exploit ideas from recent work on stochastic gradient descent for non-convex problems \cite{ge:sgd_tensor, balsubramani13} by providing a novel characterization of the trajectory of $k$-means algorithm on its solution space, and circumvent the non-differentiability problem via geometric insights about $k$-means update.
Adaptability and Stability Study of Selected Sweet Sorghum Genotypes for Ethanol Production under Different Environments Using AMMI Analysis and GGE Biplots

The genotype and environment interaction influences the selection criteria of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genotypes. Eight sweet sorghum genotypes were evaluated at five different locations in two growing seasons of 2014. The aim was to determine the interaction between genotype and environment on cane, juice, and ethanol yield and to identify best genotypes for bioethanol production in Kenya. The experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Sorghum canes were harvested at hard dough stage of grain development and passed through rollers to obtain juice that was then fermented to obtain ethanol. Cane, juice, and ethanol yield was analyzed using the additive main effect and multiplication interaction model (AMMI) and genotype plus genotype by environment (GGE) biplot. The combined analysis of variance of cane and juice yield of sorghum genotypes showed that sweet sorghum genotypes were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by environments (E), genotypes (G) and genotype by environment interaction (GEI). GGE biplot showed high yielding genotypes EUSS10, ACFC003/12, SS14, and EUSS11 for cane yield; EUSS10, EUSS11, and SS14 for juice yield; and EUSS10, SS04, SS14, and ACFC003/12 for ethanol yield. Genotype SS14 showed high general adaptability for cane, juice, and ethanol yield.
Nail Biting; Etiology, Consequences and Management

Nail biting (NB) is a common, but unresolved, problem in psychiatry, psychology, medicine and dentistry. While it seems that NB is a simple behavior that can be stopped easily, many of the children with NB have already tried to stop it, but they have not been successful. The frustrations due to failed attempt involve others such as parents and siblings. The present review aims at providing an overview of prevalence, co-morbidities, education and counseling, and management for NB. Overall, the reviewed literatures suggest that co-morbidities of psychiatric disorders and other stereotypic behaviors in clinical sample of children with NB is more than 80%, and more than half of the parents suffer from psychiatric disorders mainly depression. Treatment of NB, however, is not as easy as it seems. The management of NB is much more complicated than just focusing on stopping it. Nail biting cannot be managed without considering its co-morbidities, antecedents and consequences. It might be concluded form the reviewed literature that children with NB, parents, siblings, and teachers should be educated about what to do and what not to do about NB. Punishment is not effective. Moreover, clinical randomized controlled trials are required to make available evidence-based behavioral and pharmacologic treatment protocols.
Does a Family History of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma and Cyst Size Influence the Follow-up Strategy for Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas?

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) family history and PDAC development in patients followed up for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and to assess the cyst size relevance in determining follow-up strategies. Methods We analyzed 300 patients with branch duct and mixed-type IPMN who were followed up at our facility. Results Among the patients aged 70 years or older, the frequency of PDAC did not differ significantly between those with 1 first-degree relative with PDAC and those without a family history. Although patients with IPMNs of greater than or equal to 30 mm were followed up for a significantly shorter duration than those patients with IPMNs of less than 30 mm, the frequency of IPMN progression and malignant IPMN was significantly greater in the former. The frequency of IPMN progression and pancreatic cancer did not differ significantly according to IPMN size (<10, 10–20, and 20–30 mm) in cases without mural nodules. Conclusions Patients with 1 first-degree relative with PDAC can be followed up using the same criteria for patients without a family history. Special attention should be paid to IPMN progression and malignant transformation in patients with IPMNs of greater than or equal to 30 mm, but cyst size need not be considered when determining follow-up strategies for patients with IPMNs of less than 30 mm without mural nodules.
Reader response in elementary classrooms : quest and discovery

Contents: Preface. Part I: Transactional Theory and Literature-Based Teaching. N.J. Karolides, Reading Process: Transactional Theory in Action. C. Cox, Literature-Based Teaching: A Student Response-Centered Classroom. Part II: Initiating and Developing Readers' Responses: Classroom Case Studies. S. Allen, P. Reed, Talking About Literature "In-Depth": Teacher Supported Group Discussions in a Fifth-Grade Classroom. P. Enciso, B. Edmiston, Drama and Response to Literature: Reading the Story, Re-Reading "The Truth. " A.H. Mitchell, If I Were a Poet, I'd Say Something Beautiful. E.J. Davis, Bringing Literature to Life Through Readers' Theatre. E.B. Smith, C.D. Nelson, Body Punctuation: Reader Response in Motion. K. Hirsh, "I Can't Be Pippi 'Cause I'm Afraid to Live Alone'": Third Graders Respond to Novels. R.J. Meyer, Transactions in Action: Life in the Second Grade. P. Boyd-Batstone, Learning to Work Together in a Third-Grade Bilingual Classroom: From Transmission to Transactional Instruction With Literature. Part III: Exploring Issues: Content Area Applications. C.C. Pappas, A. Barry, Scaffolding Urban Students' Initiations: Transactions in Reading Information Books in the Reading Aloud Curriculum Genre. R. Small, Jr., A. Dean, Sharing the Responses of Readers: An Interdisciplinary Pumpkins Unit in the First Grade. E.A. Poe, N. Hicks, Journeying Through the Eastern Hemisphere: Listening and Responding to Many Voices. J.K. Spink, The Aesthetics of Informational Reading. Part IV: Professional Development. L. Karnowski, Reconsidering Teachers' Roles and Procedures: Developing Dialoguing Skills. K.G. Velsor, J. O'Neill, The Making of a Bicultural Teacher: A Classroom Case Study. C. Russell, Reader Response: One District's Initiatives.
The Role of Trait Impulsivity and Novelty-Seeking as Predisposing Factors to the Acquisition and Reinstatement of MDMA Self-Administration

It has been suggested that the response to novelty and impulsivity predict the latency to acquisition and maintenance of drug self-administration, respectively. The aim of this thesis was to examine the relationship between these two traits and (1) the latency to acquisition and (2) maintenance (drug seeking) of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) self–administration. Impulsivity, measured as premature responding on the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), and novelty seeking, measured as the locomotor response in a novel environment, were measured prior to self-administration. Due to characteristics of the rat strain and test equipment the 5-CSRTT was configurated in the first part of this study and modified from the standard version. Following training in this task animals were implanted with a siliastic catheter and were subsequently screened for their response to a novel environment prior to MDMA self-administration. Latency to acquisition was determined as the number of test sessions required to self-administer an initial criterion of 90 infusions of 1.0 mg/kg/infusion as well as an additional 150 infusions of 0.5 mg/kg/infusion MDMA. For some rats, the ability of MDMA (0, 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg, IP) to produce drug seeking was subsequently measured and for others, impulsivity was again measured following self-administration. Novelty seeking predicted cocaine self-administration but was not significantly correlated with either the acquisition or drug-seeking measures of MDMA self-administration. Impulsivity was not significantly correlated with the latency to acquire self-administration of MDMA but was significantly and positively correlated with the magnitude of MDMA produced drug-seeking. Furthermore, MDMA self-administration produced a number of notable, but transient, deficits in the 5-CSRTT; there was an increase in omission rate and a delayed increase in premature responses in particular. These findings suggest that impulsivity, but not sensation seeking, might be a risk factor for the development of compulsive drug-seeking following withdrawal from MDMA self-administration. A surprising finding from this study was a high acquisition rate amongst rats that acquired the 5-CSRTT prior to self-administration. This difference was examined in a separate set of experiments. This effect could not be explained by an effect of handling, food restriction, or exposure to sweetened condensed milk and might possibly be due to differences in instrumental learning.
The design, implementation and usage analysis of an event-based consumer mashup system

Mashups are web applications that combine data, content and application functionality from multiple sources to produce a single value-added application and they have been gaining wide popularity over the past few years. Due to the inherent programming difficulties required to integrate data and services from multiple sources, mashups have largely been a programmer's affair. Based on the research question "How to bring end-users closer to creating and using mashups", this paper presents the design and implementation of a user-centred mashup system which provides greater motivation for mashup usage by relating every-day calendar events to useful gadgets. The system is evaluated by 131 end-users to test for usability. Also, the system is used as a representative example in proposing a user-acceptance model for consumer mashups.
Parasite vulnerability to climate change: an evidence-based functional trait approach

Despite the number of virulent pathogens that are projected to benefit from global change and to spread in the next century, we suggest that a combination of coextinction risk and climate sensitivity could make parasites at least as extinction prone as any other trophic group. However, the existing interdisciplinary toolbox for identifying species threatened by climate change is inadequate or inappropriate when considering parasites as conservation targets. A functional trait approach can be used to connect parasites' ecological role to their risk of disappearance, but this is complicated by the taxonomic and functional diversity of many parasite clades. Here, we propose biological traits that may render parasite species particularly vulnerable to extinction (including high host specificity, complex life cycles and narrow climatic tolerance), and identify critical gaps in our knowledge of parasite biology and ecology. By doing so, we provide criteria to identify vulnerable parasite species and triage parasite conservation efforts.
Minimal simulations for evolutionary robotics

Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has not been submitted, either in the same or different form, to this or any other university for a degree. Acknowledgements My thanks go first and foremost to Phil Husbands, my supervisor, for his guidance, his patience, his ability to see that there might be something of worth in even the most confused ramblings, and his 'just another quick one then'. Thanks to and all the other members of Alergic and the COGS formation drinking team for crucial discussion, inspiration and theoretical debate. Thanks also to Sally and Stephen Jakobi for financial and moral support, John Byrd and John Anderson for running in the Downs, Suzy Levy for stress-relief, Damon Shaw on saxophone, T.C. for Sunday night pints, Derek Parkinson for showing me how to groan properly and efficiently, Adam Bockrath for importing mathematical rigour and Peter Stuer for saying it couldn't be done. Summary For several years now, various researchers have endeavoured to apply artificial evolution to the automatic design of control systems for robots. One of the major challenges they face is how the fitness of evolving controllers should be tested when each evolutionary run typically involves hundreds of thousands of such assessments. This thesis puts forward new techniques for evolving control systems for real robots using easy-to-build, fast-running simulations. It begins with a tutorial in state-of-the-art Evolutionary Robotics and discusses the best types of neural network, encoding scheme, genetic algorithm and genetic operators to use-and how to use them. Several novel types are introduced, and their relative merits over previous approaches are discussed. After analysing the conditions that must be met by controllers if they are to perform the same behaviour in reality as they do in simulation, a new methodology is proposed for building minimal simulations within which controllers that meet these conditions will successfully transfer into reality. Techniques are then put forward for forcing controllers that evolve to be reliably fit within such minimal simulations to meet these conditions. Four sets of experiments are reported, all involving minimal simulations. Controllers were evolved for a small mobile robot that could solve a T-maze in response to a light cue, target recognition and approach behaviours were evolved for a visually guided mobile robot, walking and obstacle-avoiding behaviours were evolved for an eight-legged robot and motion-tracking behaviours were evolved for a simple panning camera head. In all four cases, the evolution …
Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer among Women Attending a Reference Service in Brazil

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for reducing mortality. This study aimed to analyze factors associated with delay in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment among women attending a reference cancer service. Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed with data collected from medical records and interviews conducted with women diagnosed with breast cancer and treated from October 2013 to October 2014 at a cancer reference hospital in Paraná, Southern Brazil. Results: A total of 82 participants were enrolled during the study period; their average age was 58.2 ± 11.5 years. The average time taken for final diagnosis of breast cancer was 102.5 ± 165.5 days. Treatment onset was delayed in the majority of cases, and the average time elapsing from diagnostic biopsy to onset of primary treatment was 72.3 ± 54.0 days. The odds of treatment delay were higher among the women with a low educational level. Conclusions: The results underline the need for proposals aimed at early detection, identification of risk factors and timely provision of treatment by health managers that focus on this group.
Cosmology with photometric redshift surveys

We explore the utility of future photometric redshift imaging surveys for delineating the large-scale structure of the Universe, and assess the resulting constraints on the cosmological model. We perform the following two complementary types of analysis. (i) We quantify the statistical confidence and the accuracy with which such surveys will be able to detect and measure characteristic features in the clustering power spectrum such as the acoustic oscillations and the turnover, in a 'model-independent' fashion. We show for example that a 10 000-deg2 imaging survey with depth r= 22.5 and photometric redshift accuracy δz/(1 +z) = 0.03 will detect the acoustic oscillations with 99.9 per cent confidence, measuring the associated preferred cosmological scale with 2 per cent precision. Such a survey will also detect the turnover with 95 per cent confidence, determining the corresponding scale with 20 per cent accuracy. (ii) By assuming a Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model power spectrum we calculate the confidence with which a non-zero baryon fraction can be deduced from such future galaxy surveys. We quantify 'wiggle detection' by calculating the number of standard deviations by which the baryon fraction is measured, after marginalizing over the shape parameter. This is typically a factor of 4 more significant (in terms of number of standard deviations) than the above 'model-independent' result. For both analyses, we quantify the variation of the results with magnitude depth and photometric redshift precision, and discuss the prospects for obtaining the required performance with realistic future surveys. We conclude that the precision with which the clustering pattern may be inferred from future photometric redshift surveys will be competitive with contemporaneous spectroscopic redshift surveys, assuming that systematic effects can be controlled. We find that for equivalent wiggle detection power, a photometric redshift survey requires an area approximately 12[δz/(1 +z)]/0.03 times larger than a spectroscopic survey, for a given magnitude limit. We also note that an analysis of luminous red galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey may yield a marginal detection of acoustic oscillations in the imaging survey, in addition to that recently reported for the spectroscopic component.
Bayesian Network Learning via Topological Order

We propose a mixed integer programming (MIP) model and iterative algorithms based on topological orders to solve optimization problems with acyclic constraints on a directed graph. The proposed MIP model has a significantly lower number of constraints compared to popular MIP models based on cycle elimination constraints and triangular inequalities. The proposed iterative algorithms use gradient descent and iterative reordering approaches, respectively, for searching topological orders. A computational experiment is presented for the Gaussian Bayesian network learning problem, an optimization problem minimizing the sum of squared errors of regression models with L1 penalty over a feature network with application of gene network inference in bioinformatics.
Polarization of Starlight by Unresolved and Oblate Extra-solar Planet in Elliptical Orbit

We calculate the degree of linear polarization of radiation from stars having planets that may not be resolved spatially. We assume single scattering by water and silicate particulates in the planetary atmosphere. The dilution of the reflected polarized radiation of the planet by the unpolarized stellar radiation and the effect of oblateness of the planet as well as its elliptical orbit are included. We employ a chemical equilibrium model to estimate the number density of water and silicate condensates and calculate the degree of linear polarization at R band of starlight as a function of (1) mean size of condensates, (2) planetary oblateness, (3) inclination angle, (4) phase angle, (5) orbital eccentricity e and (6) the epoch of periastron passage. We show that the polarization profile alters significantly at all inclination angles when elliptical orbit is considered and the degree of polarization peaks at the epoch of periastron passage. We predict that detectable amount of linear polarization may arise if the planetary atmosphere is optically thin, the mean size of the condensates is not greater than a few microns and the oblateness of the planet is as high as that of Jupiter.