Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Pragmatics of Language Disorders in Adults

Cognitive pragmatics is the study of the mental structures and processes involved in the use of language in communicative contexts. Paradigms of cognitive psychology (off-line and on-line) have been applied to the study of the abilities to go beyond the literal (inference) and derive meaning in relation to context (e.g., metaphor and sarcasm). These pragmatic functions have been examined for the involvement of processes of meaning activation, embellishment, and revision. Clinical investigators have explored abilities and deficits in acquired aphasia, right hemisphere dysfunction, and closed head injury. This article reviews and provides some analysis of clinical studies that are consistent with the themes constituting cognitive pragmatics.
A Framework for Protecting Worker Location Privacy in Spatial Crowdsourcing

Spatial Crowdsourcing (SC) is a transformative platform that engages individuals, groups and communities in the act of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating environmental, social and other spatio-temporal information. The objective of SC is to outsource a set of spatio-temporal tasks to a set of workers, i.e., individuals with mobile devices that perform the tasks by physically traveling to specified locations of interest. However, current solutions require the workers, who in many cases are simply volunteering for a cause, to disclose their locations to untrustworthy entities. In this paper, we introduce a framework for protecting location privacy of workers participating in SC tasks. We argue that existing location privacy techniques are not sufficient for SC, and we propose a mechanism based on differential privacy and geocasting that achieves effective SC services while offering privacy guarantees to workers. We investigate analytical models and task assignment strategies that balance multiple crucial aspects of SC functionality, such as task completion rate, worker travel distance and system overhead. Extensive experimental results on real-world datasets show that the proposed technique protects workers' location privacy without incurring significant performance metrics penalties.
Continuous epidermal growth factor delivery in corneal epithelial wound healing.

PURPOSE To investigate the effects of a single prolonged exposure to recombinant epidermal growth factor on the healing of anterior keratotomy wounds in New Zealand white rabbits. METHODS After wounding, eyes were perfused for 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours with either epidermal growth factor solution at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml or balanced saline solution using a Morgan therapeutic lens (Mortan Inc, Missoula MT) and a syringe pump. Furthermore, concentration response was evaluated by perfusing with epidermal growth factor solutions at concentrations of 5, 50, 100 and 500 micrograms/ml for 4 hours. Wound healing rates were determined by quantitative morphometry of the wound area. The ratio of healing rates of eyes perfused with epidermal growth factor and control eyes provided a measure of the effect of epidermal growth factor on wound healing, and was defined as the epidermal growth factor enhancement factor. RESULTS The enhancement factor was found to be 1.04 +/- 0.08, 1.17 +/- 0.07, 1.43 +/- 0.09, and 1.59 +/- 0.07 for perfusion times of 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours, respectively. The concentration response enhancement factors were 0.99 +/- 0.08, 1.43 +/- 0.09, 1.21 +/- 0.09, and 0.95 +/- 0.07 for the 5, 50, 100, and 500 micrograms/ml 4-hour perfusions, respectively. CONCLUSION The results indicated that continuous epidermal growth factor exposures of as few as 2 hours produced a significant increase in healing rates (P < 0.05); increasing the time of exposure further increases the rate of wound healing. Results from the concentration response experiments showed that the optimum epidermal growth factor concentration for enhancing epithelial wound healing is approximately 50 micrograms/ml.
Structure‐Based Virtual Screening of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3β Inhibitors: Analysis of Scoring Functions Applied to Large True Actives and Decoy Sets

Comparative assessment of nine different scoring functions (OpenEye and Tripos implementation) applied to structure‐based virtual screening based on rigid docking of the pregenerated conformations library of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK‐3β) inhibitors has been carried out. The functions studied belong to the following types: Gaussian (Chemgauss3, Shapegauss), empirical (Chemscore, OEChemscore, Piecewise Linear Potential, Screenscore), force field‐based (D_score and G_score), and potential of mean force (PMF_score). Overall enrichment of the large true inhibitors set against the set of true non‐inhibitors, Directory of Useful Decoys (DUD), cyclin‐dependent kinase 2 subset, and NCI Diversity Set was evaluated by means of ROC (receiver operating characteristic) method. According to this analysis, scoring function Chemscore leads to the best enrichment of the inhibitors whereas the best early enrichment of the actives may be obtained with the help of Chemgauss3 function as estimated by BEDROC (Boltzmann‐enhanced discrimination of ROC) metrics.
Evaluation of a pregnancy prevention program for urban teenagers.

This article reports on a school-based program for the primary prevention of pregnancy among US inner-city adolescents that was designed and administered by the staff of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicines Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 4 schools in the Baltimore school system--2 junior high schools and 2 senior high schools--participated. The program provided the students attending one of the junior high schools and one of the senior high schools with sex and contraceptive education individual and group counseling and medical and contraceptive services over a period of almost 3 school years. The other 2 schools served as controls. A survey was conducted to ascertain knowledge attitudes and behavior of the students. The junior high school in which the pregnancy prevention program was introduced is a community school serving an all-black inner-city population. At the baseline survey 667 male students and 1033 female students completed the questionnaire. At the final survey nearly 3 years later 506 male students and 695 female students answered the questionnaire. The baseline survey data revealed high levels of sexual activity in both the program and the nonprogram schools. Almost 92% of boys in the 9th grade of the program junior high school were sexually active as were 54% of the comparable girls. More overall improvement would be gained by helping students holding positive attitudes toward pregnancy prevention translate those attitudes into action than by attempting to change the attitudes of the few who do not share that view. A large proportion of both male and female students cited an ideal age for childbearing that was lower than the age they considered ideal for marriage. After exposure to the program the % decreased among the girls but not the boys. The proportion of sexually active students in the program schools who attended a clinic rose at all grade levels for both male and female students. At the baseline survey pill use was found to increase with age. After exposure to the program the % using the pill increased among all grade levels. Use of no contraceptive method at last intercourse was reduced to extremely low levels after exposure to the program. After 20 months of exposure to the program the conception rate fell by 22.5%. The program led to decreases in the pregnancy rates of 9th-12th grade students.
Melatonin exacerbates acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by enhancing the serum levels of lactate: A potential biomarker of multiple sclerosis progression

Melatonin has a beneficial role in adult rat models of multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, melatonin treatment (10 mg/kg/d) was investigated in young age (5‐6 weeks old) Lewis rat model of acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) followed by assessing serum levels of lactate and melatonin. Results showed that clinical outcomes were exacerbated in melatonin‐ (neurological score = 6) vs PBS‐treated EAE rats (score = 5). Melatonin caused a significant increase in serum IFN‐γ, in comparison to PBS‐treated EAE rats whereas no considerable change in IL‐4 levels were found, although they were significantly lower than those of controls. The ratio of IFN‐γ/IL‐4, an indicator of Th‐1/Th‐2, was significantly higher in PBS‐ and melatonin‐ treated EAE rats, in comparison to controls. Moreover, results showed increased lymphocyte infiltration, activated astrocytes (GFAP+ cells) but also higher demyelinated plaques (MBP‐deficient areas) in the lumbar spinal cord of melatonin‐treated EAE rats. Finally, serum levels of lactate, but not melatonin, significantly increased in the melatonin group, compared to untreated EAE and normal rats. In conclusion, our results indicated a relationship between age and the development of EAE since a negative impact was found for melatonin on EAE recovery of young rats by enhancing IFN‐γ, the ratio of Th1/Th2 cells, and astrocyte activation, which seems to delay the remyelination process. While melatonin levels decline in MS patients, lactate might be a potential diagnostic biomarker for prediction of disease progression. Early administration of melatonin in the acute phase of MS might be harmful and needs further investigations.
Home care versus hospital care of patients with hematological malignancies and chemotherapy-induced cytopenia.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this review study is to examine the accumulating evidence of safety of home care, with regard to infection-related morbidity and mortality, for patients with chemotherapy-induced cytopenia, in light of previous studies on the necessity of protective isolation (PI). PATIENTS AND METHODS The existing literature on PI, and home care of cytopenic patients after chemotherapy, published in the English language, based on a Medline search, is reviewed. RESULTS The studies published so far on home care versus hospital care are all non-randomized studies and confirm that home care of cytopenic patients is safe, in terms of morbidity and mortality due to infections. On the other hand, the majority of studies on the comparison of PI with standard hospital care conclude that an infection-preventive effect of PI exists. The pooled statistics performed confirmed that such an effect of PI exists regarding the occurrence of severe infections, although no benefit to mortality has been shown. CONCLUSIONS Regarding home care, only the results of a prospective, randomized study of sufficient power will enable definitive conclusions to be drawn as to whether home care is equally safe as hospital-based care with PI.
Eutrophication mediates rapid clonal evolution in
 Daphnia pulicaria

1Department of Environmental Science and Ecology, The College at Brockport, State University of New York, Brockport, New York, U.S.A. 2Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens,, Georgia, U.S.A. 3School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, U.S.A. 4Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A.
Chitinophaga eiseniae sp. nov., isolated from vermicompost.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterial strain, YC6729(T), was isolated from vermicompost collected at Masan, Korea, and its taxonomic position was investigated by a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strain YC6729(T) grew optimally at 30 °C and at pH 6.5-8.5. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain YC6729(T) belongs to the genus Chitinophaga in the family Chitinophagaceae. It was related most closely to Chitinophaga terrae KP01(T) (96.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Chitinophaga ginsengisegetis Gsoil 040(T) (96.1 %), Chitinophaga arvensicola IAM 12650(T) (96.1 %) and Chitinophaga pinensis DSM 2588(T) (93.3 %). Strain YC6729(T) contained MK-7 as the major menaquinone and homospermidine as the major polyamine. The fatty acids of strain YC6729(T) were iso-C(15 : 0), C(16 : 1)ω5c, iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH, C(16 : 0), anteiso-C(18 : 0) and/or C(18 : 2)ω6,9c, iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or C(16 : 1)ω7c, C(14 : 0), iso-C(15 : 0) 3-OH, iso-C(15 : 1) G, C(18 : 1)ω5c, iso-C(15 : 1) I and/or C(13 : 0) 3-OH, C(13 : 0) 2-OH, C(16 : 0) 3-OH and unknown fatty acid ECL 13.565. The polar lipid profile contained phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown aminolipids and unknown lipids. The total DNA G+C content of strain YC6729(T) was 48.9 mol%. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data showed that strain YC6729(T) represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga eiseniae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YC6729(T) ( = KACC 13774(T) = DSM 22224(T)).
Measurement of Effects of Antibiotics in Bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus RN4220

ABSTRACT The spread of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria is a serious threat to humans and animals. Therefore, unnecessary use should be minimized, and new antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms of action are needed. We have developed an efficient method for measuring the action of antibiotics which is applied to a gram-positive strain,Staphylococcus aureus RN4220. The method utilizes the firefly luciferase reporter gene coupled to the metal-induciblecadA promoter in a plasmid, pTOO24. Correctly timed induction by micromolar concentrations of antimonite rapidly triggers the luciferase gene transcription and translation. This sensitizes the detection system to the action of antibiotics, and especially for transcriptional and translational inhibitors. We show the results for 11 model antibiotics with the present approach and compare them to an analytical setup with a strain where luciferase expression is under the regulation of a constitutive promoter giving only a report of metabolic inhibition. The measurement of light emission from intact living cells is shown to correlate extremely well (r = 0.99) with the conventional overnight growth inhibition measurement. Four of the antibiotics were within a 20% concentration range and four were within a 60% concentration range of the drugs tested. This approach shortens the assay time needed, and it can be performed in 1 to 4 h, depending on the sensitivity needed. Furthermore, the assay can be automatized for high-throughput screening by the pharmaceutical industry.
Equity Effects of Road Pricing: A Review

Abstract Are road pricing strategies regressive or progressive? This is a question that has been confronting researchers, practitioners, and policy‐makers who seek to implement new mechanisms to raise funds for transportation while simultaneously managing demand. The theoretical literature is mixed, as is the empirical literature. In part, this has to do with the various types of road pricing strategies that are being debated, different definitions of equity, and alternative assumptions about revenue recycling. Despite this seeming complexity, the literature is clear that equity issues are addressable. This paper provides a synthesis of the literature to date on both the theory of equity, as applied to road pricing, and the findings of empirical and simulation studies of the effects of particular implementations of road pricing, and suggested remedies for real or perceived inequities. To summarize, while there are certainly potential issues with equity associated with road pricing, those issues can be addressed with intelligent mechanism design that provides the right incentives to travellers and uses the raised revenues in a way to achieve desired equitable ends. These include cutting other taxes and investing in infrastructure and services.
Conceptualization of User Acceptance and Resistance in System Implementation Research : A Re-examination of Constructs

Information systems research has focused on studying system implementation using two important constructs: user acceptance and resistance. Most prior studies have conceptualized these constructs as being at two ends of a continuum. As such, models have been developed primarily to explain user acceptance with the underlying assumption that non-acceptance would be tantamount to resistance and hence, understanding acceptance can help alleviate resistance. We argue that this simple conceptualization of the acceptance-resistance relationship is inadequate for a thorough examination of user behavior in system implementation. Using several vignettes of user resistance we examine the relationship between acceptance and resistance. Towards further understanding this relationship we propose a framework that is based on the premise that under certain circumstances apparent acceptance may in fact be resistance and resistance may signal serious problems and serve as constructive criticism. Implications for IS researchers include the need to reexamine the conceptualizations of acceptance and resistance constructs. For information systems managers a better understanding of resistance can lead to better strategies for managing system implementation.
Idiopathic Aplastic Anemia: An Update

“Bone marrow failure” encompass all the conditions and syndromes in which there are qualitative or quantitative disorders of one or more lineages (erythroid, myelomonocytic, and/or megakaryocytic). A few years ago, the pathophysiology of these syndromes was completely unknown. Today we have better knowledge for these diseases, allowing the development of new treatment options and the improvement of patients' outcome. Acquired bone marrow failure syndromes include myelodysplastic syndromes, aplastic anemia, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, idiopathic neutropenia and large granular leukemia. All these syndromes share some common features and pathophysiology. The most important feature is the possibility of clonal evolution and progression into acute myelogenous leukemia, and open questions still remain on how to prevent evolution in these patients.
An Approximation Algorithm for the Facility Location Problem with Lexicographic Minimax Objective

We present a new approximation algorithm to the discrete facility location problem providing solutions that are close to the lexicographic minimax optimum. The lexicographic minimax optimum is a concept that allows to find equitable location of facilities serving a large number of customers. The algorithm is independent of general purpose solvers and instead uses algorithms originally designed to solve the -median problem. By numerical experiments, we demonstrate that our algorithm allows increasing the size of solvable problems and provides high-quality solutions. The algorithm found an optimal solution for all tested instances where we could compare the results with the exact algorithm.
The isotopic composition of dissolved cadmium in the water column of the West Philippine Sea

The dissolved concentration and isotopic compositions of cadmium (Cd) in the seawater of the West Philippine Sea were determined. In general, Cd isotopic composition in the water column decreased with depth, with e114/110Cd (e114/110Cd = [(114Cd/110Cd)sample / (114Cd/110Cd)NIST 3108 - 1]×10000) ranging from +7.2 to +10.1 in the top 60 m, from +4.8 to +5.1 between 100 and 150 m, peaking at +8.2 at 200 m, decreasing from +4.5 to +3.3 from 400 to 1000 m, and remaining constant at +3.0 from 1000 m and deeper. Different to a Rayleigh fractionation model, the isotopic composition and log scale concentrations of Cd do not exhibit a linear relationship. However, from the deep water to thermocline, the variations in Cd concentration and e114/110Cd are relevant to the variations of temperature and salinity, indicating that water mixing is the dominant processes determining the concentration and isotopic composition in the interval. At 200 m where North Pacific Tropic Water dominates the water mass, the elevated e114/110Cd could be linked to the composition in the upper portions of the water mass. In the top 150 m, the e114/110Cd varies similarly to the phytoplankton community structures, implying that Cd uptake by various phytoplankton species may be associated with the isotopic variation. However, the effects of atmospheric inputs to the e114/110Cd in the surface water cannot be excluded. A box model calculation is used to constrain the contributions of various processes to the Cd isotopes of surface water, and the results indicate that the Cd concentration and isotopic composition in most of the water body of the region are controlled by physical mixing, while the effects of biological fractionation and atmospheric inputs are limited in the euphotic zone.
Effect of oral appliance therapy on neurobehavioral functioning in obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a custom-made mandibular advancement splint for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with respect to neuropsychological functioning and mood state. METHODS A randomized controlled crossover design was used in which 73 participants (mean age = 48.4, SD = 11.0, % men = 80.8) with at least 2 symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea and an apnea hypopnea index > or = 10 per hour underwent treatment with both mandibular advancement splint and an inactive oral device. Polysomnographic, neuropsychological and self-report measures were conducted at baseline and repeated after each of the two 4-week treatment phases. RESULTS MAS treatment was associated with improvements on the somatic component of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Vigor-Activity and Fatigue-Inertia scales of the Profile of Mood States. While there were no improvements within the neuropsychological domains of attention/working memory, verbal memory, visuospatial or executive functioning, treatment with the mandibular advancement splint was associated with faster performance on a test of vigilance/psychomotor speed. These changes, however, did not correspond to the improved subjective sleepiness or apnea-hypopnea index during treatment. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with the mandibular advancement splint results in improvements in self-reported sleepiness, fatigue/energy levels and vigilance/psychomotor speed in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Nrf2, a PPARγ Alternative Pathway to Promote CD36 Expression on Inflammatory Macrophages: Implication for Malaria

CD36 is the major receptor mediating nonopsonic phagocytosis of Plasmodium falciparum-parasitized erythrocytes by macrophages. Its expression on macrophages is mainly controlled by the nuclear receptor PPARγ. Here, we demonstrate that inflammatory processes negatively regulate CD36 expression on human and murine macrophages, and hence decrease Plasmodium clearance directly favoring the worsening of malaria infection. This CD36 downregulation in inflammatory conditions is associated with a failure in the expression and activation of PPARγ. Interestingly, using siRNA mediating knock down of Nrf2 in macrophages or Nrf2- and PPARγ-deficient macrophages, we establish that in inflammatory conditions, the Nrf2 transcription factor controls CD36 expression independently of PPARγ. In these conditions, Nrf2 activators, but not PPARγ ligands, enhance CD36 expression and CD36-mediated Plasmodium phagocytosis. These results were confirmed in human macrophages and in vivo where only Nrf2 activators improve the outcome of severe malaria. Collectively, this report highlights that the Nrf2 transcription factor could be an alternative target to PPARγ in the control of severe malaria through parasite clearance.