Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of a Direct Aggression and Restriction Observation Checklist (AROC) for Routine Observation in Residential and Inpatient Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

ABSTRACT Introduction: This article describes the development of an Aggression and Restriction Observation Checklist (AROC) for use in residential and in-patient services for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). The AROC was developed in collaboration between researchers and frontline staff. It assesses self-, person-, and object-directed aggressive behaviours and the staff’s use of restrictive measures, as well as mechanical restraints, physical restraints, or exclusions requested by the residents/patients themselves. AROC has been developed as an outcome tool to measure changes in the level of incidents during a two-year collaboration with professional carers (both residential and ward staff) participating in a family-systems staff training SYMPA-ID. Psychometric properties of the checklist and program´s effects on the incidents were examined. Methods: Inter-coder agreements were analysed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Test-retest reliability was tested by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Trends of incidents on the psychiatric ward were analysed by descriptive statistics, changes in group homes over time by linear multilevel mixed-effects models. Results: AROC demonstrates a high interrater and test-retest reliability and is easy-to-use by frontline staff working shifts. Mixed-effects models showed that aggressive behaviour was associated with both autism spectrum disorder and severity of ID. This corresponds with previous findings and indicates a convergent validity of the checklist. No effect of time was found, so that the efficacy of the intervention on the number of incidents could not be shown. Conclusions: AROC provides a low-threshold method for measuring aggression and restrictions in the daily routine of residential care homes and in-patient services as well as in scientific studies. The study provides support for the reliability and validity of the AROC.
Poverty dynamics, income inequality and vulnerability to shocks in rural Kenya

Persistent poverty remains a huge challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, official statistics indicate that the incidence of rural poverty was 49% in 2005/2006. This study uses different approaches and data sources to explore temporal and spatial dimensions of rural welfare in Kenya. The objective is to identify and understand the linkages between welfare, livelihood assets, livelihood strategies, local-level institutions, and exposure to shocks. First, we compared participatory and income approaches to studying poverty and poverty dynamics. We found a significant positive correlation between the results obtained using the two approaches, with both approaches showing evidence of geographical clusters of poverty. Nevertheless, discrepancies in poverty rates and dynamics were found as well. Second, we used asset-based approaches to explore the nature of rural poverty dynamics over multiple periods. We found that majority of households that were poor in two consecutive survey years were structurally poor. Of the households escaping poverty, a large proportion was characterized by stochastic transitions. Few households successfully escaped poverty through asset accumulation, while a large proportion of households declining into poverty experienced structural movements. A combination of livelihood strategies, shocks, and other factors interact to influence household structural transition. Third, we characterized shocks facing rural households. Health expenses, ill-health, funeral expenses, livestock losses, land sub-division, and death of major income earner were the most frequently reported shocks. We also found limited evidence that welfare level affects exposure to specific shocks, but a significant geographical effect. Finally, we revisited the geography versus institutions debate at the micro-level suing local data to explain within-country income differences. We found that certain geographical variables appear more important drivers of per capita income levels than local institutions. Our community-level measures of institutions did not explain within-Kenya income differences. Altogether, the findings underscore the importance of geographical targeting of poverty reduction interventions. Moreover, the coexistence of high rural poverty rates and limited asset accumulation, and strong macroeconomic growth highlight the fact that causes of poverty are complex. Macroeconomic growth policies need to be complimented with policies that enhance escapes from poverty (“cargo net” policies) and those that prevent descents into poverty (“cargo net” policies).
Competitive analysis of the top-K ranking problem

Motivated by applications in recommender systems, web search, social choice and crowdsourcing, we consider the problem of identifying the set of top K items from noisy pairwise comparisons. In our setting, we are non-actively given r pairwise comparisons between each pair of n items, where each comparison has noise constrained by a very general noise model called the strong stochastic transitivity (SST) model. We analyze the competitive ratio of algorithms for the top-K problem. In particular, we present a linear time algorithm for the top-K problem which has a competitive ratio of O( √ n); i.e. to solve any instance of top-K, our algorithm needs at most O( √ n) times as many samples needed as the best possible algorithm for that instance (in contrast, all previous known algorithms for the top-K problem have competitive ratios of Ω(n) or worse). We further show that this is tight: any algorithm for the top-K problem has competitive ratio at least Ω( √ n). Stern School of Business, New York University, email: xchen3@stern.nyu. edu Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, email: sgopi@cs.princeton. edu Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, email: jiemingm@cs.princeton. edu Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, email: js44@cs.princeton. edu 1
Establishing the mitochondrial DNA D‐loop structure of Columba livia

The complete mitochondrial DNA D‐loop structure of pigeon (Columba livia) was established in this study. A strategy of amplifying three partial fragments of the D‐loop and then combing the three fragments to cover the full length of the D‐loop was adopted. Ten samples from pigeons were collected and were successfully amplified and sequenced. Repetitive sequences of a VNTR and an STR were both observed at the 3′‐end of D‐loop region. DNA sequence data revealed polymorphic sequences including indels, SNP, VNTR and STR within the D‐loop. The size of the D‐loop ranged from 1310 to 1327 bp from the initiation site of D‐loop to the site immediately upstream of the repeat sequences depending upon the number of insertions or deletions. Each sample could be distinguished based on four genotyping procedures; being indels, SNPs, VNTRs and STRs. The polymorphic nature of the D‐loop can be a valuable method for maternal identification and genetic linkage of pigeon in particular forensic science investigations.
PIK3CA exon 20 mutations are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients

OBJECTIVES: The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT axis is an important cell-signaling pathway that mediates cell proliferation and survival, two biological processes that regulate malignant cell growth. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA gene encodes the p110α subunit of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase protein. There are phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA mutations in several types of human tumors, and they are frequently observed in breast cancer. However, these mutations have not been investigated in Brazilian breast cancer patients. METHODS: PCR-SSCP and direct DNA sequencing were performed to identify phosphatidylinositol 3-kinaseCA exon 9 and exon 20 mutations in 86 patients with sporadic breast cancer. The relationships between PIK3CA mutations and patient clinicopathological characteristics and survival were analyzed. The presence of the TP53 mutation was also examined. RESULTS: Twenty-three (27%) of the 86 primary breast tumors contained PIK3CA mutations. In exons 9 and 20, we identified the hotspot mutations E542K, E545K, and H1047R, and we identified two new missense mutations (I1022V and L1028S) and one nonsense (R992X) mutation. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA exon 20 mutations were associated with poor overall survival and TP53 gene mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA mutations are common in tumors in Brazilian breast cancer patients, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA and TP53 mutations are not mutually exclusive. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase CA exon 20 mutations are associated with poor survival, and they may be useful biomarkers for identifying breast cancer patients with aggressive tumors and for predicting the response to treatment with PI3K pathway inhibitors.
STELLAR LOCUS REGRESSION: ACCURATE COLOR CALIBRATION AND THE REAL-TIME DETERMINATION OF GALAXY CLUSTER PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS

We present stellar locus regression (SLR), a method of directly adjusting the instrumental broadband optical colors of stars to bring them into accord with a universal stellar color–color locus, producing accurately calibrated colors for both stars and galaxies. This is achieved without first establishing individual zero points for each passband, and can be performed in real-time at the telescope. We demonstrate how SLR naturally makes one wholesale correction for differences in instrumental response, for atmospheric transparency, for atmospheric extinction, and for Galactic extinction. We perform an example SLR treatment of Sloan Digital Sky Survey data over a wide range of Galactic dust values and independently recover the direction and magnitude of the canonical Galactic reddening vector with 14–18 mmag rms uncertainties. We then isolate the effect of atmospheric extinction, showing that SLR accounts for this and returns precise colors over a wide range of air mass, with 5–14 mmag rms residuals. We demonstrate that SLR-corrected colors are sufficiently accurate to allow photometric redshift estimates for galaxy clusters (using red sequence galaxies) with an uncertainty σ(z)/(1 + z) = 0.6% per cluster for redshifts 0.09 < z < 0.25. Finally, we identify our objects in the 2MASS all-sky catalog, and produce i-band zero points typically accurate to 18 mmag using only SLR. We offer open-source access to our IDL routines, validated and verified for the implementation of this technique, at http://stellar-locus-regression.googlecode. com.
Accuracy of a mechanical single-electron shuttle

Motivated by recent experiments, we calculate both the average current and the current fluctuations for a metallic island which oscillates between two symmetric electrodes. Electrons can only tunnel on or off the island when it is close to one of the electrodes. Using a Master equation we investigate the accuracy of such an electron shuttle both analytically and numerically. It is shown that optimum operation is reached when the contact time is much larger than the RC-time.
Pre-service teachers’ approaches to gender-nonconforming children in preschool and primary school: Clinical and educational implications

Abstract Corrective approaches taken by teachers towards gender nonconformity in childhood may increase the gender pressure that children feel, negatively affecting well-being and development. This study was aimed at assessing whether the approaches of 305 pre-service preschool and primary school teachers towards gender nonconformity in childhood are influenced by sexist and homophobic attitudes and feelings. The results indicated that the majority of the sample would adopt a supportive and affirmative approach towards gender nonconformity in childhood. Notwithstanding, the results also showed that sexism influenced the likelihood of adopting corrective approaches only to gender-nonconforming primary school children, whilst homophobia was positively associated with adoption of a corrective approach to gender nonconformity in both preschool and primary school children. Suggestions for educational and clinical practice are discussed.
Noise-Figure Measurement of Differential Amplifiers Using Nonideal Baluns

This paper analyzes the noise and gain measurement of microwave differential amplifiers using two passive baluns. A general model of the baluns is considered, including potential losses and phase/amplitude unbalances. This analysis allows de-embedding the actual gain and noise performance of the isolated amplifier by using single-ended measurements of the cascaded system and baluns. Finally, measured results from two amplifier prototypes are used to validate the theoretical principles.
Low-Threshold Primary Afferent Drive onto GABAergic Interneurons in the Superficial Dorsal Horn of the Mouse

Inhibition in the spinal cord dorsal horn is crucial for maintaining separation of touch and pain modalities. Disruption of this inhibition results in allodynia, allowing low-threshold drive onto pain and temperature-sensitive projection neurons. This low-threshold (LT) excitatory pathway is normally under strong inhibition. We hypothesized that superficial dorsal horn inhibitory neurons, which would be ideally located to suppress LT drive onto projection neurons in a feedforward manner, are driven by LT input. In addition, because disinhibition-induced allodynia shares some features with the immature dorsal horn such as elevated sensitivity to LT input, we also questioned whether LT drive onto inhibitory neurons changes during postnatal maturation. To investigate these questions, slices were made at different ages from transgenic mice with enhanced green fluorescent protein expression in GABAergic neurons and whole-cell recordings were made from these fluorescent neurons. Evoked synaptic activity was measured in response to electrical stimulation of the dorsal root. We demonstrate that Aβ fibers activate a significant proportion of superficial dorsal horn GABAergic neurons. This occurs with similar excitatory synaptic drive throughout postnatal maturation, but with a greater prevalence at younger ages. These GABAergic neurons are well situated to contribute to suppressing LT activation of output projection neurons. In addition, the majority of these GABAergic neurons also had convergent input from high-threshold fibers, suggesting that this novel subclass of GABAergic neurons is important for gating innocuous as well as noxious information.
Interleukin 10 (IL-10) inhibits the release of proinflammatory cytokines from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Evidence for an autocrine role of tumor necrosis factor and IL-1 beta in mediating the production of IL-8 triggered by lipopolysaccharide

In this study we have examined the effects of interleukin 10 (IL-10) on polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), and found that it is a potent inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IL-1 beta, and IL-8 secretion triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cytokine production by phagocytosing PMN was also inhibited by IL-10, but to a lesser extent than the LPS-induced production. As shown by Northern blot analysis, IL- 10 diminished the levels of TNF, IL-1 beta, and IL-8 mRNAs late after the onset of stimulation of PMN with LPS. In addition, we provide evidence that the kinetics of LPS-induced IL-8 production by PMN is composed of two distinct phases. Specifically, our experiments demonstrated that in the first phase, the production of IL-8 is a process directly induced by LPS that lasts for some hours. After this early wave, a second phase begins that is sustained and leads to an elevated production of IL-8 that appears to be due to the endogenous release of TNF and IL-1 beta. This second wave can in fact be blocked by anti-TNF and anti-IL-1 beta neutralizing antibodies, and by IL-10 as the consequence of its downregulatory effects on TNF and IL-1 beta release. Taken together, these findings identify novel biological actions of IL-10 as a suppressor of the inflammatory response.
Human Capital Inequality, Life Expectancy and Economic Growth

This paper provides a theoretical model in which inequality affects per capita income when individuals decide to accumulate human capital depending on their life expectancy. The model assumes that life expectancy depends to a large extent on the environment in which individuals grow up, in particular, on the human capital of their parents. After calibrating the life expectancy function according to the international evidence for cross-section data, our results show the existence of multiple steady states depending on the initial distribution of education. In particular, human capital may converge towards different stable steady states. In accordance with the evidence displayed by many developing countries, the low steady state is a poverty trap in which children are raised in poor families, have a low life expectancy and work as non-educated workers all their lives.
Cross-level effects of high-performance work Systems (HPWS) and employee wellbeing: the mediating effect of organisational justice

In this cross-level study, we examine the mediating influence of employee perceptions of the fairness of human resource practices associated with the HPWS model. Data was collected from 187 employees in three companies in Ireland. Using cross-level analyses, employee perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice were found to mediate the relationship between HPWS and job satisfaction, affective commitment and work pressure. The findings also point to a ‘management by stress’ HPWS relationship, suggesting diminished employee well-being, less satisfaction and lower commitment. The research adds to our understanding of the mechanisms through which HR practices influence employee outcomes and contributes to debates that move beyond the polemic high versus low employee well-being debates of HRM. The discussion reviews the theoretical and practical implications of these results.
Post-silicon debug using programmable logic cores

Producing a functionally correct integrated circuit is becoming increasingly difficult. No matter how careful a designer is, there will always be integrated circuits that are fabricated, but do not operate as expected. Providing a means to effectively debug these integrated circuits is vital to help pin-point problems and reduce the number of re-spins required to create a correctly-functioning chip. In this paper, we show that programmable logic cores (PLCs) and flexible networks can provide this debugging capability. We present an architecture and example implementation. We show that the area overhead of this proposed architecture would be well below 10% for many target ICs.
Loop Groupoids, Gerbes, and Twisted Sectors on Orbifolds

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of loop groupoid associated to a groupoid. After studying the general properties of the loop groupoid, we show how this notion provides a very natural geometric interpretation for the twisted sectors of an orbifold, and for the inner local systems introduced by Ruan by means of a natural generalization of the concept holonomy of a gerbe.
Altered G-Protein Coupling in an mGluR6 Point Mutant Associated with Congenital Stationary Night Blindness

The highly specialized metabotropic glutamate receptor type 6 (mGluR6) is postsynaptically localized and expressed only in the dendrites of ON bipolar cells. Upon activation of mGluR6 by glutamate released from photoreceptors, a nonselective cation channel is inhibited, causing these cells to hyperpolarize. Mutations in this gene have been implicated in the development of congenital stationary night blindness type 1 (CSNB1). We investigated five known mGluR6 point mutants that lead to CSNB1 to determine the molecular mechanism of each phenotype. In agreement with other studies, four mutants demonstrated trafficking impairment. However, mGluR6 E775K (E781K in humans) suggested no trafficking or signaling deficiencies measured by our initial assays. Most importantly, our results indicate a switch in G-protein coupling, in which E775K loses Go coupling but retains coupling to Gi, which may explain the phenotype.
Novel inhibitory activity of the Staphylococcus aureus NorA efflux pump by a kaempferol rhamnoside isolated from Persea lingue Nees.

OBJECTIVES To isolate a plant-derived compound with efflux inhibitory activity towards the NorA transporter of Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS Bioassay-guided isolation was used, with inhibition of ethidium bromide efflux via NorA as a guide. Characterization of activity was carried out using MIC determination and potentiation studies of a fluoroquinolone antibiotic in combination with the isolated compound. Everted membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli cells enriched with NorA were prepared to study efflux inhibitory activity in an isolated manner. RESULTS The ethanolic extract of Persea lingue was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation and led to the isolation of the known compound kaempferol-3-O-α-L-(2,4-bis-E-p-coumaroyl)rhamnoside (compound 1). Evaluation of the dose-response relationship of compound 1 showed that ethidium bromide efflux was inhibited, with an IC(50) value of 2 μM. The positive control, reserpine, was found to have an IC(50) value of 9 μM. Compound 1 also inhibited NorA in enriched everted membrane vesicles of E. coli. Potentiation studies revealed that compound 1 at 1.56 mg/L synergistically increased the antimicrobial activity of ciprofloxacin 8-fold against a NorA overexpresser, and the synergistic activity was exerted at a fourth of the concentration necessary for reserpine. Compound 1 was not found to exert a synergistic effect on ciprofloxacin against a norA deletion mutant. The 2,3-coumaroyl isomer of compound 1 has been shown previously not to cause acute toxicity in mice at 20 mg/kg/day. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that compound 1 acts through inhibition of the NorA efflux pump. Combination of compound 1 with subinhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin renders a wild-type more susceptible and a NorA overexpresser S. aureus susceptible.
Vegetable consumption and colorectal cancer risk: an evaluation based on a systematic review and meta-analysis among the Japanese population.

OBJECTIVE The association between vegetable consumption and colorectal cancer risk remains unclear and may differ by region. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies on this issue among the Japanese population. METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed by searching MEDLINE through PubMed and the Ichushi database for cohort and case-control studies that were published by the end of December 2014. Associations were evaluated based on their magnitude and the strength of the evidence. Meta-analysis was performed by using the random effects model to estimate the summary relative risk with 95% confidence interval according to the study design. The final judgment was made based on a consensus of the research group members with consideration for both epidemiological evidence and biological plausibility. RESULTS We identified six cohort studies and 11 case-control studies on vegetable intake and colorectal cancer among the Japanese population. Of the cohort studies, one study showed a weak inverse association with colon cancer and another study showed a weak positive association with rectal cancer in men, but other studies found no associations between vegetable consumption and colon and rectal cancers. With regard to case-control studies, one study found a strong inverse association with colon cancer, and three studies showed a weak-to-strong inverse association with rectal cancer. In meta-analysis, the summary relative risk (95% confidence interval) for the highest vs. the lowest categories of vegetable consumption were 1.00 (0.92-1.10) and 0.75 (0.59-0.96) for cohort and case-control studies, respectively. CONCLUSIONS There was insufficient evidence to support an association between intake of vegetables and the risk of colorectal cancer among the Japanese population.