Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategies to Prevent “Bad Luck” in Cancer

It is impossible to predict exactly who will develop a cancer and who will not. We know that several “risk factors” may increase the chance of getting cancer and that risk increases with age. However, even with that in mind we seem to be able to explain only a certain number of cancers. Recently, Tomasetti and Vogelstein published a provocative article in Science stating that a large percentage of cancers may be due to “bad luck” (stochastic mutation events during DNA replication) and only a few to carcinogens, pathogens, or inherited genes and that this should impact public health policies. However, their intriguing analysis has numerous limitations, some of which have already been commented upon, including the likely biased subset of cancers and that finding a correlation does not signify a cause-effect mechanism. Here, we point out that there may also be an alternative explanation for the data, the cancer stem cell hypothesis, which postulates that cancers are derived from tissue stem cells and not from somatic differentiated cells. We also highlight the importance of the tissue microenvironment in the growth of transformed cells and outline a table of concurrent factors for several cancers. The message communicated to the public should not be one of helplessness in avoiding cancers, particularly given the now extensive knowledge of known risk factors and several agents/behaviors that can lower risk for specific cancers. While some tumors will still be due to chance, prevention should still be a primary goal for public health policies.
Temperament Dimensions in Preschool Children: Links With Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The present cross-sectional study investigated the question of whether 6 different temperament dimensions (inhibition to novelty, social orientation, motor activity, positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and attention) influenced cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM) in 168 children (86 three/four-year-olds and 82 four/five-year-olds). Temperament was measured via a parent-report questionnaire, cognitive ToM via a classical false-belief task, and affective ToM via a comprehensive test tapping 3 levels of emotion comprehension (external, mental, and reflexive). In addition, language competence was assessed with a direct test evaluating both receptive and expressive language. The results showed that after we controlled for language ability, inhibition to novelty predicted higher levels of cognitive ToM in 4/5-year-old children. In addition, higher levels of social orientation predicted better comprehension of the external aspects of emotion in both younger and older children. Practice or Policy: Our results highlight the importance of the early identification of less sociable children, who might benefit from training interventions aimed at increasing their affective ToM abilities. At the same time, they are also consistent with previous evidence indicating that an inhibited approach to social interaction can promote false-belief understanding.
Globalization and Wage Inequality in South and East Asia, and Latin America: A Gender Approach

In this paper we analyse the reasons behind the evolution of the gender gap and wage inequality in South and East Asian and Latin American countries. Health human capital improvements, the exposure to free market openness and equal treatment enforcement laws seem to be the main exogenous variables affecting womenis economic condition. During the second globalization era (in the years 1975-2000) different combinations of these variables in South East Asian and Latin American countries have had as a result the diminution of the gender gap. The main exception to this rule according to our data is China where economic reforms have been simultaneous to the increase of gender differences and inequality between men and women. This result has further normative consequences for the measure of economic inequality. The improvement of women's condition has as a result the diminution of the dispersion of wages. Therefore in most of the countries analysed the consequence of the diminution of the gender gap during the second global era is the decrease of wage inequality both measured with Gini and Theil indexes.
Glass rheology: From mode-coupling theory to a dynamical yield criterion

The mode coupling theory (MCT) of glasses, while offering an incomplete description of glass transition physics, represents the only established route to first-principles prediction of rheological behavior in nonergodic materials such as colloidal glasses. However, the constitutive equations derivable from MCT are somewhat intractable, hindering their practical use and also their interpretation. Here, we present a schematic (single-mode) MCT model which incorporates the tensorial structure of the full theory. Using it, we calculate the dynamic yield surface for a large class of flows.
ANALISIS PERILAKU PENGGUNAAN SISTEM INFORMASI AKADEMIK OLEH MAHASISWA KEPERAWATAN

The use of information technology is essential for the organization, because it can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational performance. But it is not always successful. One of the critical success factors of the application of information technology is the attitude of the users who use the technology. UTAUT is a combination of eight models of user acceptance of technology that had been developed previously. Empirical studies that adopt the model UTAUT have been done. UTAUT also used by some researchers to look at the intentions and behavior of users of information technology in education. Therefore, this study was developed by adopting UTAUT models to see the user's behavior SIAK (Academic Information System) on-study program of nursing studies program at the Catholic University of Musi Charitas neighborhood. Four constructs of UTAUT used as the determinant affecting the intentions of the user (behavioral intention), namely: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. The population of this study is active studentsof Nursing who use SIAK. Data were collected through questionnaireswhich are distributed to 297 respondents. The data was analyzed with multiple linear regression techniques. Testing indicates that the instrument used questionnaires are valid and reliable. The test results show that the classical assumption of normally distributed data and free multicolliniearity, but does not meet the assumption of heteroscedasticity. Hypothesis tests show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating condition has a significant influence on behavioral intention.
Non-Invasive Epigenetic Detection of Fetal Trisomy 21 in First Trimester Maternal Plasma

Background Down syndrome (DS) is the most common known aneuploidy, caused by an extra copy of all or part of chromosome 21. Fetal-specific epigenetic markers have been investigated for non-invasive prenatal detection of fetal DS. The phosphodiesterases gene, PDE9A, located on chromosome 21q22.3, is completely methylated in blood (M-PDE9A) and unmethylated in the placenta (U-PDE9A). Therefore, we estimated the accuracy of non-invasive fetal DS detection during the first trimester of pregnancy using this tissue-specific epigenetic characteristic of PDE9A. Methodology/Principal Findings A nested, case-control study was conducted using maternal plasma samples collected from 108 pregnant women carrying 18 DS and 90 normal fetuses (each case was matched with 5 controls according to gestational weeks at blood sampling). All pregnancies were singletons at or before 12 weeks of gestation between October 2008 and May 2009. The maternal plasma levels of M-PDE9A and U-PDE9A were measured by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. M-PDE9A and U-PDE9A levels were obtained in all samples and did not differ between male and female fetuses. M-PDE9A levels did not differ between the DS cases and controls (1854.3 vs 2004.5 copies/mL; P = 0.928). U-PDE9A levels were significantly elevated in women with DS fetuses compared with controls (356.8 vs 194.7 copies/mL, P<0.001). The sensitivities of U-PDE9A level and the unmethylation index of PDE9A for non-invasive fetal DS detection were 77.8% and 83.3%, respectively, with a 5% false-positive rate. In the risk assessment for fetal DS, the adjusted odds ratios of U-PDE9A level and UI were 46.2 [95% confidence interval: 7.8–151.6] and 63.7 [95% confidence interval: 23.2–206.7], respectively. Conclusions Our findings suggest that U-PDE9A level and the unmethylation index of PDE9A may be useful biomarkers for non-invasive fetal DS detection during the first trimester of pregnancy, regardless of fetal gender.
Students of Different Subjects Have Different Levels of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation to Learn English: Two Different Groups of EFL Students in Japan

Here is documented an investigation to assess the motivational drivers of a group of Japanese, first-year, dental-university students taking part in compulsory EFL classes and to compare those motivational drivers with an investigation into the motivational drivers of a group of Japanese IT students. There was a clear difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivational drivers between the two groups. It was discovered that dental students valued English much less for work related reasons (intrinsic) and more for personal reasons (extrinsic), and that overall they had a more favourable attitude to their EFL studies. It was demonstrated that for this group of dental students the importance of English for dentists at work and in research needs to be emphasized in lessons and that students have a favourable attitude to using English and would be happy to have more communication-based exercises in class. This work is the first documented evidence of students of different subjects having different motivations. It is important to the wider teaching community as there are few comparisons of motivation in the literature, and the investigation presented here clearly demonstrates that what motivates one group of students does not necessarily motivate another group, and quite probably, the fingerprint of motivational drivers is quite different for students of different subjects.
High level perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) in ulcerative colitis patients before colectomy predicts the development of chronic pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis

BACKGROUND The reported cumulative risk of developing pouchitis in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients undergoing ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) approaches 50% after 10 years. To date, no preoperative serological predictor of pouchitis has been found. AIMS To assess whether preoperative perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) expression was associated with acute and/or chronic pouchitis after IPAA. METHODS Patients were prospectively assessed for the development of clinically and endoscopically proved pouchitis. Serum obtained at the time of colectomy in 95 UC patients undergoing IPAA was analysed for pANCA by ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence. pANCA+ patients were stratified into high level (>100 ELISA units (EU)/ml) (n=9), moderate level (40–100 EU/ml) (n=32), and low level (<40 EU/ml) (n=19) subgroups. RESULTS Sixty of the 95 patients (63%) expressed pANCA. After a median follow up of 32 months (range 1–89), 32 patients (34%) developed either acute (n=14) or chronic (n=18) pouchitis. Pouchitis was seen in 42% of pANCA+ patients compared with 20% of pANCA− patients (p=0.09). There was no significant difference in the incidence of acute pouchitis between the three pANCA+ patient subgroups. The cumulative risk of developing chronic pouchitis among patients with high level pANCA (56%) before colectomy was significantly higher than in patients with medium level (22%), low level (16%), and those who were pANCA− (20%) (p=0.005). Multivariate analysis revealed that the sole parameter significantly associated with the development of chronic pouchitis after IPAA was the presence of high level pANCA before colectomy (p=0.005). CONCLUSION High level pANCA before colectomy is significantly associated with the development of chronic pouchitis after IPAA.
Stereo-matching of Line-segments Based on a 3-dimensional Heuristic with Potential for Parallel Implementation

This work provides a segment-based alternative to the edge-based stereo algorithm already existing in the TINA system. Our starting point is the algorithm of Ayache & Faverjon (1985). It attempts to recover groups of linematches having low local disparity variations. In our implementation of Ayache & Faverjon's algorithm matches were built quickly, but glaring mistakes occurred and the general behaviour was difficult to control. Therefore the constraints on the continuity of the world implicitly used in the original approach were reformulated to achieve more robust matching, more particularly by requiring mutual support between reconstructed 3-D segments. A new algorithm has been designed that is suitable for parallel implementation, where 3-D matches and their neighbourhood relationships are explicitly computed, cliques found (objects) and uniqueness enforced.
Association of adiponectin protein and ADIPOQ gene variants with lumbar disc degeneration

Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) is a widespread public health problem that may lead to disability and loss of productivity. Adiponectin is an adipokine secreted by adipose tissue and has been shown to be involved in cartilage homeostasis. In the present study, the association between the rs266729 (−11377C/G) and rs2241766 (45T/G) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) and LDD was investigated. In addition, the correlation between the plasma adiponectin level and LDD was examined. A total of 289 subjects, 168 patients with LDD and 122 healthy individuals, were recruited in the study. All subjects were genotyped for rs266729 and rs2241766 SNPs using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Circulating levels of adiponectin protein were measured using the ELISA technique. A strong association was found between adiponectin level and LDD (P<0.01), where high levels of adiponectin were found in patients compared with healthy controls. The increase in adiponectin level was not affected by gender. However, no significant differences were found in the genotype distribution or allelic frequency of the two examined polymorphisms between patients with LDD and healthy controls (P>0.05). In conclusion, adiponectin appears to be elevated in patients with LDD. The rs266729 and rs2241766 SNPs in the ADIPOQ gene are not associated with LDD.
Mental fortitude training: An evidence-based approach to developing psychological resilience for sustained success

ABSTRACT Drawing on the body of knowledge in this area, this article presents an evidence-based approach to developing psychological resilience for sustained success. To this end, the narrative is divided into three main sections. The first section describes the construct of psychological resilience and explains what it is. The second section outlines and discusses a mental fortitude training program for aspiring performers. The third section provides recommendations for practitioners implementing this program. It is hoped that this article will facilitate a holistic and systematic approach to developing resilience for sustained success.
Capital inflows and exchange rate in LDCs: The Dutch disease problem revisited

In this paper, the link between capital inflows and real exchange rate movements in LDCs is revisited theoretically and empirically. On the theoretical side we present a simple model to show that the real exchange rate depends mainly on "real fundamentals" such as terms of trade or productivity differentials. Empirically, we take into account the heterogeneity of the sample, the dynamics of the RER and the non stationary nature of the data. Capital inflows can be oil revenues, foreign aid, remittances or FDI. We show that real fundamentals are the main driving forces of real exchange rate movements in LDCs and not capital inflows. The Balassa-Samuelson effect by itself accounts for 57% of the RER variations while capital inflows account only for 19% of RER variations. The Dutch Disease theory is not rejected but its effect on RER movements in LDCs is weak.
Twisted conjugacy classes, coadjoint orbits of loop groups and D-branes in the WZW-model

We show that untwisted respectively twisted conjugacy classes of a compact and simply connected Lie group which satisfy a certain integrality condition correspond naturally to irreducible highest weight representations of the corresponding affine Lie algebra. Along the way, review the classification of twisted conjugacy classes of a simply connected compact Lie group $G$ and give a description of their stabilizers in terms of the Dynkin diagram of the corresponding twisted affine Lie algebra.
Modelling biofilm-induced formation damage and biocide treatment in subsurface geosystems

Biofilm growth in subsurface porous media, and its treatment with biocides (antimicrobial agents), involves a complex interaction of biogeochemical processes which provide non‐trivial mathematical modelling challenges. Although there are literature reports of mathematical models to evaluate biofilm tolerance to biocides, none of these models have investigated biocide treatment of biofilms growing in interconnected porous media with flow. In this paper, we present a numerical investigation using a pore network model of biofilm growth, formation damage and biocide treatment. The model includes three phases (aqueous, adsorbed biofilm, and solid matrix), a single growth‐limiting nutrient and a single biocide dissolved in the water. Biofilm is assumed to contain a single species of microbe, in which each cell can be a viable persister, a viable non‐persister, or non‐viable (dead). Persisters describe small subpopulation of cells which are tolerant to biocide treatment. Biofilm tolerance to biocide treatment is regulated by persister cells and includes ‘innate’ and ‘biocide‐induced’ factors. Simulations demonstrate that biofilm tolerance to biocides can increase with biofilm maturity, and that biocide treatment alone does not reverse biofilm‐induced formation damage. Also, a successful application of biological permeability conformance treatment involving geologic layers with flow communication is more complicated than simply engineering the attachment of biofilm‐forming cells at desired sites.
Comprehend DeepWalk as Matrix Factorization

Word2vec, as an efficient tool for learning vector representation of words has shown its effectiveness in many natural language processing tasks. Mikolov et al. issued Skip-Gram and Negative Sampling model for developing this toolbox. Perozzi et al. introduced the Skip-Gram model into the study of social network for the first time, and designed an algorithm named DeepWalk for learning node embedding on a graph. We prove that the DeepWalk algorithm is actually factoring a matrix M where each entry M_{ij} is logarithm of the average probability that node i randomly walks to node j in fix steps.
Strength-based scholarship and good education: The scholarship circle

Abstract In an era in which ‘teaching excellence’ in higher education attracts much attention, what is ‘scholarship’? In this conceptual paper, I re-examine the notion of scholarship in relation to the goals and purposes of higher education. How does ‘scholarship’ speak to value-based conceptions of ‘good’ education in the European tradition, encapsulated in the German term Bildung? How might the notion of scholarship relate to the principles, practices and ‘outputs’ of research? I argue that a more nuanced understanding of the legitimate diversity of scholarly practices in higher education could help individuals develop scholarly careers that draw on their personal values, strengths and goals. It can also help departments and institutions reward education-focused scholars and leaders more equitably. Finally, realising fully the synergies between education and research within a holistic ‘scholarship circle’ can strengthen institutions’ capacities for making an impact for good in the world.
Overview of Emerging Contaminants and Associated Human Health Effects

In recent decades, because of significant progress in the analysis and detection of trace pollutants, emerging contaminants have been discovered and quantified in living beings and diverse environmental substances; however, the adverse effects of environmental exposure on the general population are largely unknown. This review summarizes the conclusions of the comprehensive epidemic literature and representative case reports relevant to emerging contaminants and the human body to address concerns about potential harmful health effects in the general population. The most prevalent emerging contaminants include perfluorinated compounds, water disinfection byproducts, gasoline additives, manufactured nanomaterials, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, and UV-filters. Rare but statistically meaningful connections have been reported for a number of contaminants and cancer and reproductive risks. Because of contradictions in the outcomes of some investigations and the limited number of articles, no significant conclusions regarding the relationship between adverse effects on humans and extents of exposure can be drawn at this time. Here, we report that the current evidence is not conclusive and comprehensive and suggest prospective cohort studies in the future to evaluate the associations between human health outcomes and emerging environmental contaminants.
Construct Validity and Reliability of the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire: A Comparison of Three Factor Models

Objectives and Methods. The aim of the study was to investigate the construct validity of the ARSQ. Methods. The ARSQ and self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness were administered to 774 Italian adults, aged 18 to 64 years. Results. Structural equation modeling indicated that the factor structure of the ARSQ can be represented by a bifactor model: a general rejection sensitivity factor and two group factors, expectancy of rejection and rejection anxiety. Reliability of observed scores was not satisfactory: only 44% of variance in observed total scores was due to the common factors. The analyses also indicated different correlates for the general factor and the group factors. Limitations. We administered an Italian version of the ARSQ to a nonclinical sample of adults, so that studies which use clinical populations or the original version of the ARSQ could obtain different results from those presented here. Conclusion. Our results suggest that the construct validity of the ARSQ is disputable and that rejection anxiety and expectancy could bias individuals to readily perceive and strongly react to cues of rejection in different ways.
Emerging literacy from kindergarten to second grade: Evidence from the Munich Longitudinal Study on the Genesis of Individual Competencies

The opportunity to closely study children's cognitive and affective development longitudinally for five years rarely presents itself. When this opportunity does arise, careful planning for exact methods and content of data collection weighs heavily on researchers' minds. However, at the same time, such an undertaking necessarily requires the flexibility to alter, and sometimes change direction in order to keep up-to-date with new fmdings found in the literature and (most often) as a result of personal insights and innovations. The Munich Longitudinal Study for the Genesis of Individual Competencies (WeinertlSchneider 1987, 1991, 1992) provided the team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich such an opportunity.