Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contextualization of Physical and Sexual Assault in Male Prisons: Incidents and Their Aftermath

Physical and sexual assault are part of the prison experience. Approximately 21% of male inmates are physically assaulted during a 6-month period. Sexual assault is estimated at between 2% and 5%. Although prevalence evidence is growing, less is known about circumstances surrounding and resulting from these incidents. This article presents an analysis of approximately 2,200 physical and 200 sexual victimizations reported by a random sample of 6,964 male inmates. Physical injury occurred in 40% of physical assaults and 70% of sexual assaults between inmates and in 50% of assaults perpetrated by staff. Emotional reactions to assaults were experienced by virtually all victims. Context information is vital in the development and implementation of prevention and therapeutic interventions.
Biological Variation of Cardiac Markers: Analytical and Clinical Considerations

using enhanced chemiluminescence is almost completely accounted for by urate. Ann C/in Biochem 1997; 34: 688-9 2 Whitehead TP, Thorpe GHG, Maxwell SRJ. Enhanced chemiluminescence assay for antioxidant capacity in biologicalfluids. Annal Chim Acta 1992; 266: 265-77 3 Bland IN, Altman DG. Statistical methods for assessing agreement betweentwo methods of clinical measurement. Lancet 1986; i: 307-10 4 Maxwell SRI. An enhanced chemiluminescent assay for antioxidant activity in biological fluids. PhD Thesis, University of Birmingham, 1995 5 Maxwell SRI, Wiklund 0, Bondjers G. Measurement of antioxidant activity in lipoprotein fractions using enhanced chemiluminescence. Atherosclerosis 1994; 111: 79-89 6 Brand FN, McGee DL, Kannel WH, Stokes J, Castelli WP. Hyperuricaemia as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The Framingham Study. Am J Epidemiol1985; 121: 11-8
Grip strength: relationship to shoulder position in normal subjects.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of shoulder position on grip strength. A Jamar dynamometer was used to measure the grip strength of 160 subjects (80 males and 80 females), stratified on both sex and age, in the four testing positions. For each of the tests of grip strength, the subject stood with the shoulder adducted and neutrally rotated while the forearm and wrist were held in the neutral position. The four hand strength tests consisted of three positions in which the elbow was maintained in full extension combined with varying degrees of shoulder flexion (i.e., 0 degree, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees) and of one position in which the elbow was flexed at 90 degrees with the shoulder in 0 degree of flexion. Only the dominant hand was tested. The results showed that the highest mean grip strength measurement was recorded when the shoulder was positioned at 180 degrees of flexion with elbow in full extension; whereas the position of 90 degrees elbow flexion with shoulder in 0 degree of flexion had the lowest grip strength score. In addition, the grip strength measured with the elbow in extension, regardless of shoulder position (i.e., 0 degree, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees of flexion), was significantly higher than when the elbow was flexed at 90 degrees with the shoulder positioned at 0 degree of flexion. Finally, grip strength differed significantly for both sexes and for each age group. The findings are valuable in the evaluation and rehabilitation training of hand injured patients.
Lineage restriction of neuroepithelial precursor cells from fetal human spinal cord

In the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and/or fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), neuroepithelial precursor cells from dissociated fetal human spinal cord are mitotically active and form free‐floating spheres of undifferentiated cells. Proliferating cells were obtained in approximately 40% of preparations with each mitogen, were immunoreactive for the intermediate filament nestin, and did not express neuronal‐ or glial‐specific markers. Early passage neuroepithelial precursor cells were pluripotent and differentiated into neurons expressing MAP2a,b, NF‐M, and TuJ1, and GFAP‐positive astrocytes; however, oligodendrocytes were never seen. As the cells were passaged from P0 to P4, the percentage of differentiating neurons significantly decreased and the prevalence of astrocytes significantly increased. While the majority of cell populations from individual preparations stopped proliferating between 3 and 6 passages, two expanding cell lines have been successfully expanded in EGF and FGF2 for over 25 passages and have been maintained in culture for over one year. These cells express nestin and not other cell‐specific lineage markers. When differentiated, these neuroepithelial cell lines differentiate only into astrocytes, showing no expression of any neuronal marker. These data suggest that continued passage under these conditions preferentially selects for spinal cord neural precursors that are restricted to the astrocytic lineage. Despite the lineage restriction of later passage cell populations, these results provide a rationale for future investigation into the lineage potential of these cells in vivo following transplantation into the adult CNS, potentially as a therapeutic approach for traumatic injury and neurodegenerative disease. J. Neurosci. Res. 57:590–602, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Mast Cells as Potent Producers of IL-9: Costimulatory Function of IL-10 and kit Ligand in the Presence of IL-11

Recently, the Th2-type cytokine IL-9 was identified by genetic mapping analyses as a key mediator that determines the susceptibility to asthma. This has been further supported by data from IL-9-transgenic mice in which the overexpression of IL-9 in the lung causes airway inflammation, mast cell hyperplasia, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. In an accompanying paper, we demonstrate that murine bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) after stimulation with either ionomycin, a combination of ionomycin and IL-1, or via IgE-Ag complexes and IL-1 are very potent producers of IL-9. Herein we show that a dramatic increase of IL-9 production is observed when BMMC activated with ionomycin/IL-1 or with IgE-Ag complexes/IL-1 are treated with either additional kit ligand (KL) or IL-10. Both KL and IL-10 considerably enhance the production of IL-9 mRNA and protein. We were also able to demonstrate that the production of endogenous IL-10 by activated mast cells acts on the production of IL-9. Half-life measurements of IL-9 mRNA revealed no significant effect by KL, but a 2-fold increase of mRNA stability under the influence of IL-10. Reporter gene assays of transfected BMMC showed an enhanced transcriptional activity of the IL-9 promoter in the presence of either IL-10 or KL compared with cells stimulated only with a combination of IL-1 and ionomycin. The influence of KL and IL-10 might be of physiological importance, because it is known that both cytokines are produced by bronchial epithelial cells.
Practicing What We Preach: Teacher Reflection Groups on Cooperative Learning.

This article discusses the use of teacher reflection groups to aid teachers in their efforts to facilitate cooperative learning among their students. It is argued that these teacher reflection groups function best when they are organized with reference to eight cooperative learning principles. Furthermore, it is suggested that these reflective groups enable teachers to learn about cooperative learning and to consider how cooperative learning fits with their beliefs about education and society. Additionally, the article argues that when teachers experience successful peer interaction with their fellow teachers – interaction guided by the literature on teacher reflection and the literature on cooperative learning – teachers will be more likely to want their own students to experience the advantages of well-organized interaction with the students' own peers, their fellow students.
Block-Iterative Fisher Scoring Algorithms for Maximum Penalized Likelihood Image Reconstruction in Emission Tomography

This paper introduces and evaluates a block-iterative fisher scoring (BFS) algorithm. The algorithm provides regularized estimation in tomographic models of projection data with Poisson variability. Regularization is achieved by penalized likelihood with a general quadratic penalty. Local convergence of the block-iterative algorithm is proven under conditions that do not require iteration dependent relaxation. We show that, when the algorithm converges, it converges to the unconstrained maximum penalized likelihood (MPL) solution. Simulation studies demonstrate that, with suitable choice of relaxation parameter and restriction of the algorithm to respect nonnegative constraints, the BFS algorithm provides convergence to the constrained MPL solution. Constrained BFS often attains a maximum penalized likelihood faster than other block-iterative algorithms which are designed for nonnegatively constrained penalized reconstruction.
Influence of envelope impedance termination on RF behaviour of GaN HEMT power devices

The influence of envelope source and load terminations on the RF performance of high power GaN amplifiers is investigated. An error-corrected two-tone measurement system has been developed enabling load- and source pull measurements in the envelope frequency bandwidth. Measured results on a 0.5/spl mu/m-HEMT with a gate width of 8/spl times/125 /spl mu/ show a variation of 1 dB output power and 8% PAE.
Laparoscopy or not: A Meta-analysis of the Surgical Effects of Laparoscopic Versus Open Appendicectomy

Both open appendicectomy and laparoscopic appendicectomy have their own advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of our meta-analysis is to compare the surgical effects of laparoscopic versus open appendicectomy. In our study, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Only prospective randomized controlled trials that compared the 2 methods of operation were included. Evaluation indexes in our study involved are operating time, complications, hospital stay, time to return to normal activities, time to return to normal diet, and the overall cost. Results showed that operating time of laparoscopic appendicectomy was significantly longer [weighted mean difference (WMD) 7.60; 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.03-9.17 min; P<0.00001]. Time of hospital stay (WMD −0.82; 95% CI: −0.93 to −0.70 d), time to return to normal activities (WMD −6.85; 95% CI: −7.62 to −6.09 d), and diet (WMD −0.61; 95% CI: −0.86 to −0.36 d) were significantly decreased in the laparoscopic appendicectomy group (all P<0.00001). There is no convincing difference in complications (odds ratio 0.99; 95% CI: 0.80-1.22; P=0.92) and death rates (odds ratio 0.97; 95% CI: 0.29-3.25; P=0.96). In conclusion, laparoscopic appendicectomy may have advantages over open appendicectomy in hospital stay and postoperative recovery.
Inverse Hysteresis Models for Transient Simulation

History-dependent and history-independent models of magnetic hysteresis are proposed. Spline approximations to the magnetization curves make these models applicable to major loops of any shape. The H(B) representation of reversal curves permits the development of a method that generates reversal curves guaranteed to be free from nonphysical negative slopes and excursions outside the major loop. The applicability of the models to electrical steels and a powder core is illustrated.
Comparison of propofol and etomidate anaesthesia for elective electrical cardioversion.

BACKGROUND Propofol has been previously shown to be superior to etomidate during electrical cardioversion (EC) of atrial tachyarrhythmias. However, literature on this topic is scarce and the optimal anaesthetic technique for EC has not yet been firmly established. AIM To compare anaesthetic management with propofol against a mixture of etomidate and low-dose fentanyl for EC. METHODS One hundred patients, aged 32 to 87, underwent elective EC for various atrial arrhythmias. All patients were haemodynamically stable before the procedure and were randomly allocated into one of two groups. Group I (n = 50) was given propofol (bolus 1 mg/kg, followed by increments containing 20% of the initial dose). Group II (n = 50) received 1 mg/kg of fentanyl i.v. (single dose) and etomidate (bolus 0.15 mg/kg, followed by increments containing 20% of the initial dose). Heart rate and non-invasive blood pressure values were taken before induction of anaesthesia (T1), before EC (T2), after EC (T3) and when awake (T4). The number of shocks, the total amount of energy, the number of patients in whom EC failed to restore sinus rhythm, and the time taken to achieve maximal Aldrette score, as well as side effects, were all noted. RESULTS Heart rate values were similar in both groups. Blood pressure was significantly lower at T2, T3 and T4 in patients who received propofol. Anaesthesia time was similar; however, maximal Aldrette score was achieved quicker in group I than in group II (4.7 ± 2.2 vs 6.7 ± 4.9 min, p < 0.01). Overall, the efficacy of EC was similar in both groups: 41 (82%) patients from group I and 46 (92%) patients from group II regained sinus rhythm (NS). Significantly more side effects, such as pain at the time of injection, muscle tremor, nausea and vomiting, were noted in group II. CONCLUSIONS In terms of side effects, propofol is superior to etomidate with fentanyl for elective EC of atrial tachyarrhythmias.
Randomized controlled trial of family‐based education for patients with heart failure and their carers

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate a heart failure education programme developed for patients and carers in Thailand. BACKGROUND Heart failure is major health problem. This is the first trial of a family-based education programme for heart failure patients and carers residing in rural Thailand. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. METHODS One hundred patient-carer dyads attending cardiac clinics in southern Thailand from April 2014 - March 2015 were randomized to usual care (n = 50) or a family-based education programme (n = 50) comprising face-to-face counselling, a heart failure manual and DVD and telephone support. Assessments of heart failure knowledge, health-related quality of life, self-care behaviours and perceived control were conducted at baseline, three and six months. RESULTS Linear mixed-effects model revealed that patients and carers who received the education programme had higher knowledge scores at three and six months than those who received usual care. Among those who received the education programme, when compared with those who received usual care, patients had better self-care maintenance and confidence, and health-related quality of life scores at three and six months, and better self-care management scores at six months, whereas carers had higher perceived control scores at three months. CONCLUSION Addressing a significant service gap in rural Thailand, this family-based heart failure programme improved patient knowledge, self-care behaviours and health-related quality of life and carer knowledge and perceived control.
How not to prepare for a consulting assignment, and other ugly consultancy truths

Irecently did some consulting for a computing organization in industry. For some personal reasons, I hadn’t consulted for a while. I worried about the risk that in my several years of uninvolvement I would be out of date on how an organization could and should improve itself. So I decided to do a little more preparation than usual for this assignment, and I prepared some checklists of problems to look for. Given the popularity of the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM), I decided to start there. I would not be conducting an official CMM evaluation, of course, but I figured the CMM was a good place to look for a set of activities that good software organizations should be engaged in. I picked out the key process areas— at all five levels, since I wasn’t sure what the status of my client’s organization might be—and made them into a checklist. Preparatory
Muscle strength, pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis

Objective: Reduced muscle strength is regarded as a risk factor for pain and disability in osteoarthritis (OA). Currently, various indices for muscle strength are used when assessing determinants of pain and disability. The goal of the present study was to evaluate these indices of muscle strength. Design: Isometric muscle strength was measured for 16 muscle actions around the knees and hips in 52 patients with OA of the hip and 70 patients with OA of the knee. Various indices of muscle strength were derived from these measurements, applying five alternative approaches. These approaches ranged from a single overall index to a set of 16 separate indices. The internal consistency of these indices was determined (Cronbach's α), and it was determined to what extent they could reveal the association between reduced muscle strength on the one hand and pain and disability on the other hand. Results: Internal consistency was satisfactory for all indices (Cronbach's α >0.74). As expected, reduced muscle strength was associated with increased disability, but no clear relationship could be established between muscle weakness and pain. The strength of these associations did not depend on the approach used to derive the indices for muscle strength. Conclusions: The indices did not show major differences with regard to internal consistency or the extent to which the association with pain and disability could be revealed. For reasons of parsimony, approaches resulting in few indices appear to be most useful. However, muscle strength was found to be significantly reduced around affected joints, compared with muscle strength around unaffected joints. Therefore, the most suitable approach for reducing muscle strength data into indices is one that results in as few indices as possible, but with separate indices for muscle strength around affected and unaffected joints.
Critique of the Common Service Centre Scheme

february 11, 2012 vol xlviI no 6 EPW Economic & Political Weekly 18 believe in ourselves and in the need to craft a credible public system. Even if the trend of the last two years in the decline of IMR is sustained and marginally improved over the next five years and a significant effort at fighting malnutrition with a human development approach adopted even now, India will surely achieve the health MDGs of 30 IMR and 100 MMR. By a mere increase of public expenditure on health from a little below to a little above 1% GDP, the gains of the NRHM are perceptible. Yes there is a long way to go and over 3% public expenditure is required for universal health coverage. A beginning has been made. Let us not focus only on privatisation and public-private partnerships. Let the country focus on crafting credible public systems with public accountability in the health sector. That is where the answer lies. Health does not lend itself to market principles very easily and the countervailing presence of the public system of healthcare is necessary to ensure quality and reasonable cost in the private sector. Let us have partnerships with the non-governmental sector but within a framework of publicly-funded universal healthcare. That is what the NRHM evidence confirms.
Anchoring Bias and Value Strategy

Value strategies purchase stocks that have high fundamental values relative to prices. The interpretation of why value strategies outperform is controversial. Based on the fact that investors may rely too heavily, or “anchor,” on one piece of information when making investment decisions, this study shows that value strategies can yield higher returns by exploiting anchoring bias, and that the risk premium is also tripled. The returns cannot be rationalized with a variety of factor models. Overall, this study confirms the predictability of stock expected returns based on fundamental values relative to prices in the context of investor behavior.
Comparative Properties of Two Cysteine Proteinases (Gingipains R), the Products of Two Related but Individual Genes ofPorphyromonas gingivalis *

Proteolytic enzymes produced byPorphyromonas gingivalis are important virulence factors of this periodontopathogen. Two of these enzymes, referred to as arginine-specific cysteine proteinases (gingipains R), are the product of two related genes. Here, we describe the purification of an enzyme translated from the rgpB/rgp-2 gene (gingipain R2, RGP-2) and secreted as a single chain protein of 422 residues. The enzyme occurs in several isoforms differing in pI, molecular mass, mobility in gelatin zymography gels, and affinity to arginine-Sepharose. In comparison to the 95-kDa gingipain R1, a complex of catalytic and hemagglutinin/adhesin domains, RGP-2 showed five times lower proteolytic activity, although its activity on various P1-arginine p-nitroanilide substrates was generally higher. Gingipains R amidolytic activity, but not general proteolytic activity, was stimulated by glycyl-glycine. However, in cases of limited proteolysis, such as the inactivation of α-1-antichymotrypsin, glycyl-glycine potentiated inhibitor cleavage. In contrast, α-1-proteinase inhibitor was not inactivated by gingipains R and only underwent proteolytic degradation during boiling in reducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis treatment buffer. Similarly, native type I collagen was completely resistant to cleavage by gingipains but readily degraded after denaturation. Together, these data explain much of the controversy regarding gingipains structure and substrate specificity and indicate that these enzymes function asP. gingivalis virulence factors by proteolysis of selected target proteins rather than random degradation of host connective tissue components.
Dietary intake of phytoestrogen is associated with increased circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with cardiovascular disease

Endogenous estrogen is known to positively influence the level and functionality of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). However, the effect of phytoestrogen on EPC is unknown. Isoflavone is a major component of phytoestrogen. This study aims to investigate if the intake of isoflavone has any impact on the circulating level of EPC. We studied 102 consecutive patients (mean age: 66.5 ± 9.5 years, 78% male, all female post-menopausal) with cardiovascular disease (atherothrombotic stroke 62%, coronary artery disease 38%). Circulating levels of CD133+ EPC were determined by flow cytometry. Non-invasive pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured. Long-term intake of isoflavone was determined by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Isoflavone intake was positively associated with circulating CD133+ EPC (r = 0.31, p = 0.001). Patients with circulating CD133+ EPC <10th percentile had significantly lower isoflavone intake than patients with CD133+EPC ≥10th percentile (4.6 ± 3.7 mg/day versus 19.3 ± 30.2 mg/day, p < 0.001). A significant overall linear trend of circulating EPC across increasing tertiles of isoflavone intake was observed (p = 0.004). Adjusted for potential confounders, increased isoflavone intake from the 1st to the 3rd tertile independently predicted increased circulating CD133+ EPC level by 221 cells/µl (95%CI: 71.4 to 369.8, relative increase 160%, p = 0.004). Gender was not a significant factor (p > 0.05). Furthermore, circulating CD133+ EPC <10th percentile was independently predictive of increased PWV by 261.7 cm/s (95% CI: 37.1 to 486.2, p = 0.024). The study demonstrated that circulating EPC increased by more than one fold in patients with cardiovascular disease who had higher intake of isoflavone, suggesting that isoflavone may confer vascular protection through enhanced endothelial repair.