Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute and Chronic Acetaminophen Use and Renal Disease: A Case-Control Study Using Pharmacy and Medical Claims

BACKGROUND: Studies have examined the association between acetaminophen (APAP) use and renal disease; however, their interpretation is limited by a number of methodological issues. OBJECTIVES: To study the association between acute and chronic prescription-acquired APAP use and renal disease. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study of medical and pharmacy claims of a 10% random sample of the enrollees from the IMS LifeLink Health Plans commercial claims dataset for dates of service from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2009. Subjects were continuously enrolled and aged 18 years or older. Cases had at least 1 incident claim of renal disease defined by ICD-9-CM codes in the primary diagnosis field. Controls were randomly selected from individuals without evidence of renal disease, liver disease, or asthma in medical claims and matched to cases in a 3-to-1 ratio based on 3 variables (age, gender, and geographic region). APAP exposure, dosage, and duration of use were measured in the 7 and 30 days (acute) and in the 1-year (chronic) look-back periods. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of APAP exposure adjusted for comorbidities, use of other nephrotoxic drugs, and health system factors. RESULTS: There were 4,724 cases and 14,172 controls with a mean (SD) age of 60.8 (17.8) years, and 52.6% were males; 10.9% of cases and 4.2% of controls had APAP exposure in the 30 days pre-index with mean potential maximum daily dosages of 3,846.5 mg and 3,190.8 mg, respectively. Acute APAP exposure was significantly associated with renal disease, and the risk decreased with longer look-back periods (7 days: adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.61-2.30); 30 days: OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.48-1.97). Cumulative APAP dosage greater than 1 kg and APAP use for longer than 30 days in the pre-index year were not significantly associated with an increased risk of renal disease (both P values = 0.900). CONCLUSIONS: Acute prescription-acquired APAP use was associated with renal disease, while chronic use was not. Because this study assessed APAP use in pharmacy claims, further research accounting for over-the-counter APAP use is warranted before the safety of chronic APAP consumption can be firmly established.
Factors Associated with Perceived Parenting Competence among Special Needs Adoptive Mothers

The study reported here considered the nature of associations among children's behavior problems, parenting stress, and mothers’ feelings of competence. Seventy-two adoptive mothers reported on their adopted children's behavior problems, their own parenting stress, and feelings of competence. Parenting stress was found to mediate the association between children's attention problems and mothers’ feelings of competence. When children exhibited higher levels of attention problems, their mothers felt more stress. In turn, when mothers experienced more parenting stress, they felt less competent as parents. Parenting stress moderated the association between children's internalizing behavior and mothers’ feelings of competence. A negative relationship between children's internalizing behavior and mothers’ feelings of competence was stronger when mothers reported more parenting stress than when they reported less parenting stress.
Complementary and alternative drug therapy in arthritis.

UNLABELLED Utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is universal phenomenon. They are used commonly in chronic diseases like arthritis. To understand the pattern of utilization we undertook this study focussing mainly on the systems, where drug is administered orally. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and fourteen patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), satisfying American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were interviewed for the modalities of therapy and drugs used. We analysed prescriptions of both conventional and CAM practitioners. Direct questionnaires regarding CAM were avoided. RESULTS Fourty three percent (46/114) had used CAM drugs and 50% of them had used more than two modalities. Ayurveda followed by homeopathy were the two common CAM utilized by the patients. Majority believed conventional medicine has no cure for RA and adverse reactions were rare in CAM. These factors predominantly influenced their decision to use CAM. Family income, urban and rural living did not influence usage of CAM. The use of CAM increased as the duration of disease increased. CONCLUSION Majority of the patients utilize CAM drugs, for treatment of arthritis. Their knowledge is essential to avoid drug interactions, recognise their reactions and also appreciate their risks and benefits. A scientific scrutiny to these practices and absolving them if beneficial is needed.
Occludin immunolocalization and protein expression in goldfish

SUMMARY Tight junctions (TJs) are an integral component of models illustrating ion transport mechanisms across fish epithelia; however, little is known about TJ proteins in fishes. Using immunohistochemical methods and Western blot analysis, we examined the localization and expression of occludin, a transmembrane TJ protein, in goldfish tissues. In goldfish gills, discontinuous occludin immunostaining was detected along the edges of secondary gill lamellae and within parts of the interlamellar region that line the lateral walls of the central venous sinus. In the goldfish intestine, occludin immunolocalized in a TJ-specific distribution pattern to apical regions of columnar epithelial cells lining the intestinal lumen. In the goldfish kidney, occludin was differentially expressed in discrete regions of the nephron. Occludin immunostaining was strongest in the distal segment of the nephron, moderate in the collecting duct and absent in the proximal segment. To investigate a potential role for occludin in the maintenance of the hydromineral balance of fishes, we subjected goldfish to 1, 2 and 4 weeks of food deprivation, and then examined the endpoints of hydromineral status, Na+,K+-ATPase activity and occludin protein expression in the gills, intestine and kidney. Occludin expression altered in response to hydromineral imbalance in a tissue-specific manner suggesting a dynamic role for this TJ protein in the regulation of epithelial permeability in fishes.
Primate Limb Bone Structural Adaptations

Despite growth in other areas of biological anthropology, osteology, or skeletal biology, remains a dominant subfield in the discipline (50). Although the reasons for this are partly historical (6), continuing interest in describing and interpreting skeletal features is fueled by a practical consideration: For most extinct vertebrates, the skeleton is the only biological system preserved for study. Thus, evolutionary studies will always rely to a large extent on skeletal (including dental) material. This is particularly true for reconstructions of the past biological and behavioral characteristics of a species or individual; while molecular evidence from extant species provides complementary information on possible phylogenetic relationships, it is only through study of the fossils (bones and teeth) themselves that we are able to address such important issues as diet, body size, and locomotor/positional behavior. A functionally oriented rather than descriptive/statistical approach to skeletal morphological variation has many advantages, including much greater explanatory potential (e.g. see 6). Biomechanics, the application of mechanics theory to biological systems, has proven fruitful in addressing several longstanding form/function issues-for example, the significance of variation in mandibular form among early hominids (16, 35) or of limb bone robusticity among extant and extinct anthropoids (42,44,64,65,73). Important to such an analysis is the identification of an appropriate mechanical model for the biological system under study. For example, it has been shown that the human lower limb during gait (walking) can be modeled reasonably accurately by a simple pendulum (55:198-203). This basic concept has been applied to esti-
The New Gateway, An Old Paradox: Immigrants and Involuntary Americans in North Carolina History Textbooks

Abstract The authors conducted a content analysis of North Carolina history textbooks to explore how the definition of immigration has changed over the last century. They also examined how immigrant groups and involuntary Americans have been portrayed throughout the state's history. Findings suggest that as a burgeoning gateway state for immigrants, North Carolina's definition for immigration was slow to evolve and at times contradictory. Moreover, immigrant groups were often presented inaccurately or vaguely. Slavery and Native American conflicts were sanitized in favor of nation building, while texts neglect the lasting consequences of these conflicts. Textbooks from the state symbolically commoditized immigrant groups while ignoring their socio-cultural contributions. The authors discuss implications for textbook publishers, social studies teachers, and teacher education programs.
Specific antibody response to oligomannosidic epitopes in Crohn's disease

Elevated antibody levels against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been reported in sera from patients with Crohn's disease and not with ulcerative colitis. The aim of the study was to identify the nature of the epitopes supporting this antibody response. Whole cells from different S. cerevisiae strains were selected in immunofluorescence assay for their ability to differentiate the antibody responses of patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Their cell wall phosphopeptidomannans were then tested as antigen in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against sera from 42 patients with Crohn's disease, 20 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 34 healthy controls. Graded chemical degradations were performed on the most reactive strain phosphopeptidomannan. The discriminating epitope was determined through gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The greatest discrimination among patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and controls was obtained with Su1, a S. cerevisiae strain used in brewing of beer. ELISA directed against phosphopeptidomannan of this strain was 64% sensitive and 77% specific for discriminating Crohn's disease versus ulcerative colitis and 71% sensitive and 89% specific for Crohn's disease versus controls. Periodate oxidation and selective degradation demonstrated that the most important polysaccharide epitope was shared by both the acid-stable and the alkali-labile domains of the phosphopeptidomannan. The determination of oligomannose sequences of S. cerevisiae Su1 phosphopeptidomannans suggested that a mannotetraose, Man (1 --> 3)Man(1 --> 2)Man(1 --> 2)Man, supported the serological response seen in Crohn's disease. Further identification of the immunogen eliciting this antibody response as a marker of the disease may help to understand its etiology.
Non-music specialist trainee primary school teachers’ confidence in teaching music in the classroom

Prior research has revealed that non-music specialist trainee primary school teachers lack confidence in teaching music in spite of changes to teacher training and the introduction of music in the National Curriculum in England. The current study investigated the effects on non-music specialist trainee primary teachers’ confidence to teach music in the classroom after having experienced six keyboard-based ‘blues activities’ presented in an asynchronous e-learning environment. Participants were videotaped as they worked with music technology and a ‘remote facilitator’, to play a 12-bar improvised blues with both hands together. Participants also took part in individual, semi-structured interviews before and after engaging in the ‘blues activities’. Video and interview data was analysed employing inductive, qualitative procedures. This exploratory intervention study was undertaken with three participants and is reported as three individual case studies. After the ‘blues activities’ intervention, all participants were able to play the 12-bar improvised blues with both hands together and reported improvements in their confidence to teach music in the primary school classroom. The results also revealed improvements in participant perceptions of their own musicality when compared with ‘other musicians’ and links between perceptions of their own musicality and prior musical experience. Implications for future research and music education are discussed.
Fast Kernel Learning for Multidimensional Pattern Extrapolation

The ability to automatically discover patterns and perform extrapolation is an essential quality of intelligent systems. Kernel methods, such as Gaussian processes, have great potential for pattern extrapolation, since the kernel flexibly and interpretably controls the generalisation properties of these methods. However, automatically extrapolating large scale multidimensional patterns is in general difficult, and developing Gaussian process models for this purpose involves several challenges. A vast majority of kernels, and kernel learning methods, currently only succeed in smoothing and interpolation. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that Gaussian processes are typically only tractable for small datasets, and scaling an expressive kernel learning approach poses different challenges than scaling a standard Gaussian process model. One faces additional computational constraints, and the need to retain significant model structure for expressing the rich information available in a large dataset. In this paper, we propose a Gaussian process approach for large scale multidimensional pattern extrapolation. We recover sophisticated out of class kernels, perform texture extrapolation, inpainting, and video extrapolation, and long range forecasting of land surface temperatures, all on large multidimensional datasets, including a problem with 383,400 training points. The proposed method significantly outperforms alternative scalable and flexible Gaussian process methods, in speed and accuracy. Moreover, we show that a distinct combination of expressive kernels, a fully non-parametric representation, and scalable inference which exploits existing model structure, are critical for large scale multidimensional pattern extrapolation.
Reculturing the Profession of Educational Leadership: New Blueprints

This article provides an in-depth investigation of the foundations of the educational leadership profession. It first overviews the constructs of leadership roles and the discipline-based and practice-based knowledge base of the profession and then focuses on the construct of academic (technical) content. The article subsequently proceeds to reconceptualize the educational leadership profession itself. The goal of the author is to shift from a phenomenon related to “bodies of subject matter” to that of “valued ends. ” Thus, the author encourages his readers to focus their attention on the central roles of the leader in education and identifies three such roles: “moral steward,”“educator” and “community builder. ”
Family business employees’ family communication and workplace experiences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how family member employees’ communicative experiences within their families affect their perceptions of the workplace. The influence of family business employees’ perceptions of family communication patterns on family satisfaction, family involvement, and work involvement within their family businesses were explored. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 138 family business employees, representing 81 family businesses, were surveyed. The questionnaire contained measures of family communication patterns, family involvement, work involvement, family satisfaction, as well as several demographic questions. Path modeling was used to analyze two proposed models of family involvement and work involvement. Findings – Conversation orientation was related to perceptions of family satisfaction and perceptions of family satisfaction were related to perceptions of family involvement. While both proposed models were consistent with the data, no significant relations.
A compact and stiffer shape memory alloy actuator for surgical instruments

Advances in minimally invasive surgery enable the integration of new micro-systems with a micro actuator, as well as self-sensing ability, in surgical instruments. High energy density, self-sensing ability, and shape flexibility make shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators widely suited for volume-compact required applications. This paper presents a two-degrees-of-freedom instrument driven by SMA triple wires having 8 mm diameter and a rotation range near to ±60°. The actuator drive was constructed by antagonistic SMA triple wires and close-loop controlled by self-sensing. Experiments showed that the hysteresis gap between the phase transformation paths of the strain-resistance curve can be minimized under a fitted interstress. The curves of all the wires were then modeled by fitting polynomials, the collected resistance was converted to strain value and used to determine the control signal, and a feedforward compensator was built as the hysteresis compensation to resist overheating. The control accuracy was verified based on the multistep responding tests, and the results were shown in 3-D space. Under the self-sensing hybrid control scheme, the experimental results showed that the root-mean-square error of the rotation angle around the X and Y axes was about 4.2% and 3.5%, respectively.
Maternal Dioxin Exposure Combined with a Diet High in Fat Increases Mammary Cancer Incidence in Mice

Background Results from previous studies have suggested that breast cancer risk correlates with total lifetime exposure to estrogens and that early-life 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure or diets high in fat can also increase cancer risk. Objectives Because both TCDD and diet affect the estrogen pathway, we examined how TCDD and a high-fat diet (HFD) interact to alter breast cancer susceptibility. Methods We exposed pregnant female FVB/NJ mice (12.5 days postcoitus) to 1 μg/kg TCDD or vehicle; at parturition, the dams were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD). Female offspring were maintained on the same diets after weaning and were exposed to 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene on postnatal days (PNDs) 35, 49, and 63 to initiate mammary tumors. A second cohort of females was treated identically until PND35 or PND49, when mammary gland morphology was examined, or PND50, when mammary gland mRNA was analyzed. Results We found that maternal TCDD exposure doubled mammary tumor incidence only in mice fed the HFD. Among HFD-fed mice, maternal TCDD exposure caused rapid mammary development with increased Cyp1b1 (cytochrome P450 1B1) expression and decreased Comt (catechol-O-methyltransferase) expression in mammary tissue. Maternal TCDD exposure also increased mammary tumor Cyp1b1 expression. Conclusions Our data suggest that the HFD increases sensitivity to maternal TCDD exposure, resulting in increased breast cancer incidence, by changing metabolism capability. These results provide a mechanism to explain epidemiological data linking early-life TCDD exposure and diets high in fat to increased risk for breast cancer in humans.
The Effects of Loss of Loved Ones on Life Satisfaction Among Residents in a Southwest Retirement Community

The authors examine the roles of social connectedness in mediating the relation between the loss of loved ones and life satisfaction in older residents living in a retirement community. Data were collected through a mail survey on a random sample of 734 older residents (M age = 67 years, SD = 9.6 years) in a retirement community in the Southwest. Analyses were conducted using SPSS macros for estimating the indirect effects through multiple mediators. Participants who experienced the loss of loved ones in life reported statistically significantly higher life dissatisfaction scores than those who reported no such loss. The effects of loss on perceived life dissatisfaction were partially mediated by individual connectedness and satisfaction with received social support but not by support network size or collective connectedness. Interventions with older adults who experienced loss in life need to help alleviate their loneliness and increase their satisfaction with social support.
Study of cisplatin-vinblastine plus amifostine in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether pretreatment with amifostine would reduce the toxicity of cisplatin with no reduction in antitumor efficacy in patients with advanced non-small lung cancer PATIENTS AND METHOD Patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, aged less than 75 years, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 were enrolled in the study. Amifostine was administered at a dose of 740 mg/m2 before chemotherapy. Then cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 was administered on day 1 and vinblastine 5 mg/m2 given on days 1, 8 and 15 in a 28 day cycle. RESULTS Forty one patients were enrolled Baseline characteristics included; a median age of 58 years (range, 28-72); 23 males and 18 females; performance status of 0 (1 patient), 1 (38 patients) and 2 (2 patients); stage IIIa (1 patient), stage IIIb (10 patients) and stage IV (30 patients). The predominant histology was adenocarcinoma (60.97%). A median of 4 cycles (range, 1-6) were administered Thirty six cases out of forty one patients were assessable for response. The response rate was 38%. All those responding gave partial response. The median survival time was 33 weeks. One and two years survival were 23.9% and 9% respectively. Grade 3/4 toxicity was primarily hematologic. Grade 3/4 leukopenia occurred in 12.4%. Grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia occurred in 1.2%. Anemia grade 3/4 occurred in 7.5%. The observed grade 3/4 nonhematological toxicities were hypertension, hypocalcemia, nausea and vomiting and sensory neuropathy. Other toxicities were grade 2 or below. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that amifostine has the potential to be a broad spectrum cytoprotectant of normal tissues from toxicity caused by chemotherapy and no effect on therapeutic outcome in lung cancer patients.
Neural Shift-Reduce CCG Semantic Parsing

We present a shift-reduce CCG semantic parser. Our parser uses a neural network architecture that balances model capacity and computational cost. We train by transferring a model from a computationally expensive log-linear CKY parser. Our learner addresses two challenges: selecting the best parse for learning when the CKY parser generates multiple correct trees, and learning from partial derivations when the CKY parser fails to parse. We evaluate on AMR parsing. Our parser performs comparably to the CKY parser, while doing signiﬁcantly fewer operations. We also present results for greedy semantic parsing with a relatively small drop in performance.