Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Statewide Evaluation of the Outcomes of the Implementation of ASCA National Model School Counseling Programs in Rural and Suburban Nebraska High Schools.

A statewide evaluation of school counseling programs in rural and suburban Nebraska high schools investigated which features of the ASCA National Model were related to student educational outcomes. The authors used hierarchical linear regression and Pearson correlations to explore relationships between program characteristics and student outcomes. Analyses suggested that school counseling program features accounted for statistically significant portions of the variance in a number of important student outcomes. These findings provide support for previous studies linking benefits to students with the more complete implementation of a comprehensive developmental guidance program. Implementing features of the ASCA National Model was associated with improved student outcomes.
Class of majority decodable real-number codes

A majority decoding algorithm for a class of real-number codes is presented. Majority decoding has been a relatively simple and fast decoding technique for codes over finite fields. When applied to decode real-number codes, the robustness of the majority decoding to the presence of background noise, which is usually an annoying problem for existing decoding algorithms for real-number codes, is its most prominent property. The presented class of real-number codes has generator matrices similar to those of the binary Reed-Muller codes and is decoded by similar majority logic.
Evaluation of the ‘Mealtime Magic’ brief leaflet-based intervention in general practice

Aim To assess current primary care childhood obesity prevention activity and experiences of general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses in delivering the ‘Mealtime Magic’ brief intervention. To determine the acceptability of the brief intervention and reported impact upon confidence and behaviour of parents. Background A gap persists in the evidence base regarding brief childhood obesity prevention interventions in primary care, where good opportunities for primary prevention work lie. Methods A quantitative and qualitative evaluation design, without control group, with post-intervention evaluation of parental outcomes and ‘before and after’ evaluation of healthcare professional perspectives was employed, using questionnaires. Five primary care practices in Worcestershire, England took part: six GPs, seven practice nurses (11 females and two males). 110 of 223 parents receiving the intervention completed follow-up measures (107 females, two males and one gender unknown; 106 White British). The intervention involved providing the ‘Mealtime Magic’ leaflet regarding childhood healthy eating behaviours, with verbal reinforcement of three main messages, to all parents with children aged five years and younger presenting to primary care over a six-week period. Staff received a 30-minute training session. Findings Twelve of 13 health professionals ranked childhood obesity of importance relative to other priorities. Secondary prevention activities were undertaken more frequently than primary prevention. All professionals found the intervention easy to deliver; 12 of 13 stated they would use the leaflet in the future. Reported professional confidence in knowledge of evidence-based healthy eating behaviour messages increased following intervention delivery. Resource barriers and perceived parental sensitivity with subject were reported. Ninety two percent (100/109) of parents stated the leaflet was helpful. Up to 52% (57/110) of parents reported more confidence regarding leaflet suggestions and up to 47% (49/105) reported positive behaviour changes. Evaluation of brief intervention approaches may help address perceived barriers to undertaking childhood obesity prevention work in primary care in the UK.
Review: Therapeutic advances in functional gastrointestinal disease: irritable bowel syndrome

Reported prevalence rates of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are between 8% to 20% in the US general population with an average medical expenditure of US$1.35 billion direct and US$205 million indirect costs. Current pathophysiologic theories are based on abnormalities of both the brain and gut, thus setting a new stage for current and future therapeutic approaches. There are numerous treatment options in IBS acting centrally and peripherally by influencing motility and visceral sensitivity. Clinical evidence is variable; however, newer emerging treatments are being evaluated using better-designed clinical trials. Accurate assessment of IBS drug efficacy is still hampered by heterogeneity of the IBS population. Novel methods such as pharmacogenomics or brain imaging may be helpful in the future to better understand and characterize IBS patient subtypes, and this in turn will lead to more specific and efficient therapeutic options. Patient subpopulation measurement of side effects is also a clinical challenge and further understanding could improve treatment efficacy by enhancing the patient compliance.
Percentage scaling: a new method for evaluating multiply impaired images

Data compression of digitized images usually leads to pictures with two or more perceptually distinguishable coding artifacts. In this paper, percentage scaling is presented as a new method for analyzing the perceived quality of multiply impaired images. By this method, subjects assess, per coding level, the proportion each artifact contributes to the overall impairment of the perceived quality of the coded image. These proportions are expressed in percentages such that the total sum is always 100%. As an illustration, percentage scaling has been employed to evaluate the perceived quality of JPEG-coded images comprising three types of coding artifacts: blockiness, ringing and blur. In one experiment, eight subjects expressed in percentages how much they believed these artifacts contributed to the overall impairment. In addition, overall impairment as well as the perceived strengths of blockiness, ringing and blur was assessed on 11-point numerical category scales. The percentages were found to vary with the coding level. Blockiness appeared to be the most dominant artifact at high compression levels, whereas ringing turned out to be the most annoying artifact at low compression levels. The results support the claim that perceptually distinguishable coding artifacts can be represented by a set of orthogonal vectors in a multidimensional Euclidean space.
Comparative Analysis of Cardio Metabolic Risk Factors in Context of Insulin Resistance among South Indian Obese and Non-obese Adolescents

Background: Presently, it is of an utmost importance to know the prevalence of cardio metabolic risk factors and insulin resistance among obese adolescents in south Indian population, where genetic predisposition to obesity is high. This knowledge would enable us to take preventive measures as well as health education that can be implemented much early in school going adolescents. Aim and Objectives: To study the prevalence of cardio metabolic risk factors in obese adolescent age group (11-18 years) and to correlate these cardio metabolic risk factors with insulin resistance among them. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 adolescents (two groups: obese versus non-obese healthy controls) were selected for this cross-sectional study. Obesity was defined as per BMI at 95 th percentile. Both groups were analysed for anthropometric parameters: body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference Original Research Article International Journal of Biochemistry Research & Review, 4(5): 430-439, 2014 431 (HC), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and other relevant biochemical parameters viz. glucose (fasting), insulin (fasting), lipid profile and insulin resistance by Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMAIR). Statistical analysis was performed by Pearson’s correlation analysis using SPSS 16.0. Results: The data depicts the prevalence of three or more than three cardio metabolic risk factors among obese adolescents (36.7%). BMI and WC were significantly higher among obese as compared to non-obese adolescents (P<0.001). Similarly, fasting glucose (P<0.05), insulin, insulin resistance (HOMAIR) were significantly increased among obese adolescents (P<0.001). Insulin resistance was having better correlation with BMI, WHR and mean arterial BP. Conclusion: The result of the study clearly suggested a high prevalence of cardio metabolic risk factors among obese adolescents with elevation in insulin level and insulin resistance.
Dentine hypersensitivity: New perspectives on an old problem

Dentine hypersensitivity is a prevalent, painful condition of the teeth. Despite the fact that the accuracy of the terminology is questionable and other terms have been proposed, ‘dentine hypersensitivity’ has been in long-term use and is, therefore, the preferred term. In dentine hypersensitivity, lesions exhibit patent tubules at the exposed dentine surface and appropriate stimuli trigger pulpal nerves via a hydrodynamic mechanoreceptor mechanism to produce a typically short, sharp, painful response. This accepted definition of the condition indicates the need to consider a differential diagnosis. This review will consider evidence that dentine hypersensitivity is a tooth-wear phenomenon characterised predominantly by erosion, which both exposes dentine and, more importantly, initiates the lesions. Abrasion caused by brushing teeth with toothpaste appears to be a secondary aggravating factor, which may even act in synergy with erosion. Gingival recession probably accounts for most dentine exposure at the gingival margin, but the process is poorly understood. Management strategies, which take into account aetiological and predisposing factors, rather than treatment alone, should be considered. There is little clinical research on many aspects of the aetiology and particularly on the management of the condition.
Discerning intersecting fusion‐activation pathways in the Nipah virus using machine learning

The fusion of Nipah with host cells is facilitated by two of their glycoproteins, the G and the F proteins. The binding of cellular ephrins to the G head domain causes the G stalk domain to interact differently with F, which activates F to mediate virus–host fusion. To gain insight into how the ephrin‐binding signal transduces from the head to the stalk domain of G, we examine quantitatively the differences between the conformational ensembles of the G head domain in its ephrin‐bound and unbound states. We consider the human ephrins B2 and B3, and a double mutant of B2, all of which trigger fusion. The ensembles are generated using molecular dynamics, and the differences between them are quantified using a new machine learning method. We find that the portion of the G head domain whose conformational density is altered equivalently by the three ephrins is large, and comprises ∼25% of the residues in the G head domain. This subspace also includes the residues that are known to be important to F activation, which suggests that it contains at least one common signaling pathway. The spatial distribution of the residues constituting this subspace supports the model of signal transduction in which the signal transduces via the G head dimer interface. This study also adds to the growing list of examples where signaling does not depend solely on backbone deviations. In general, this study provides an approach to filter out conserved patterns in protein dynamics. Proteins 2014; 82:3241–3254. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Licensing Act 2003: A step in the right direction?

The Licensing Act 2003 (covering England and Wales) introduced greater flexibility to the UK licensing laws, including the possibility of 24‐h licenses. This paper reports a nation wide survey of 225 (63%) local authority chairs of licensing committees/senior members of licensing teams in England evaluating the short‐term impact of the Act. A cumulative impact (saturation) area was only declared in 38 (17%) local authorities. Extended hours applications were more common than new applications in both on‐ and off–licensed premises. The perception of those surveyed was of ‘no change’ in the following alcohol‐related variables; public noise levels (n = 133, 59%) violence and fights (n = 130, 60%), under‐aged drinking (n = 143, 67%), crime (n = 141, 68%), and drink‐driving (n = 157, 86%). Contrary to the picture often presented in certain parts of the mass‐media, the impact of the Licensing Act appears to be neutral. However, these are likely to be the result of a number of intervening factors, rather than the change to a more liberalized licensing regime. The role of the police would seem to be fundamental. Future research will need to disentangle the impact of these intervening factors and it will be a number of years before the impact of these changes can be assessed.
Sleep Disturbance Following Concussion Is a Risk Factor for a Prolonged Recovery

Sleep disturbance is a common problem following concussion. A retrospective chart review was conducted at a regional concussion clinic on patients 13 to 18 years of age between 2005 and 2011. Statistical analysis evaluated sleep disturbance and duration of concussion, as well as the use and effectiveness of melatonin. A total of 417 patients met inclusion criteria. One hundred twenty-three (34%) reported disturbance in sleep. There was no difference in sleep disturbance based on age, gender, or past number of concussions. Sleep disturbance was associated with a 3- to 4-fold increase in recovery time. Non–sport-related concussions were more likely to be associated with sleep disturbance compared to sport-related concussions (45% vs 29%, P = .01). Melatonin improved sleep disturbance in 67% of the patients. Evaluating sleep disorders following concussion is an important part of the assessment. These findings will help clinicians provide anticipatory guidance and treatment for adolescents recovering from concussion.
Recurrence of Fever After Initial Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment in Children With Kawasaki Disease

The standard treatment for Kawasaki disease (KD) is high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). Some patients experienced recurrent fever after IVIG following defervescence. However, little is known about the frequency of such episodes and the clinical outcome for such patients. We classified 195 KD patients into 4 groups based on their fever patterns after initial IVIG treatment: group NR (no response), group EF (early recurrent fever within 72 hours after defervescence), group LF (late recurrent fever >72 hours after defervescence), and group GR (good response). We compared the clinical characteristics and laboratory data among these groups retrospectively. Nearly a third of patients had recurrent fever (group EF, n = 45; group LF, n = 11). In two-thirds of these patients, the fever had subsided spontaneously without retreatment; 2 patients in Group LF with smoldering KD symptoms had developed coronary artery lesions (CALs) even after additional IVIG. Recurrent fever and smoldering symptoms might be risk factors for CAL.
Antipyretic Medication Exposures Among Young Children Reported to US Poison Centers, 2000-2015

This study used the National Poison Data System database to retrospectively analyze the characteristics and medical outcomes of exposures to antipyretic medications involving children younger than 6 years in the United States. From 2000 through 2015, United States Poison Control Centers recorded an average of 74 387 antipyretic exposures annually among children younger than 6 years. Most exposures involved ibuprofen (55.1%) or acetaminophen (40.1%). From 2000 to 2009, the number of exposures increased by 73.0%, followed by a 25.2% decrease from 2009 to 2015. Children exposed to acetaminophen had 1.98 times higher odds of a serious medical outcome compared with those exposed to ibuprofen. Although generally safe at the correct dosage, antipyretic exposures continue to cause pediatric morbidity and, in rare cases, death. Prevention efforts should focus on reducing child access; educating caregivers about the potential dangers of antipyretics; and discouraging their use, except when needed to improve a child’s comfort.
Monologue or dialogue: Role preferences of patients and GPs within the consultation

Abstract Relatively little is known about the role preferences which patients and doctors have of the medical consultation. The study presented here investigates role schemas of the consultation, and how they vary within patients, within doctors, and between doctors and patients. A questionnaire was designed comprising three attitude scales (Beisecker, 1986; Ewart & Howes, 1991; Haug & Lavin, 1983), the Health Locus of Control, the General Health Questionnaire, whether the patient was consulting with a first or repeat consultation, whether the problem was physical, psychological or both, and measures of sociodemographic variables. The questionnaire was completed by 156 GPs (general practitioners) and 250 patients. Factor analyses on the attitude scales revealed five factors for patients and six factors for doctors. In general, patient role schemas focus on decision outcomes and acknowledge the doctors' expertise and authority. Doctors' schemas are more diverse and there is a willingness to receive patient.
Examination of polypeptide substrate specificity for Escherichia coli ClpB

Escherichia coli ClpB is a molecular chaperone that belongs to the Clp/Hsp100 family of AAA+ proteins. ClpB is able to form a hexameric ring structure to catalyze protein disaggregation with the assistance of the DnaK chaperone system. Our knowledge of the mechanism of how ClpB recognizes its substrates is still limited. In this study, we have quantitatively investigated ClpB binding to a number of unstructured polypeptides using steady‐state anisotropy titrations. To precisely determine the binding affinity for the interaction between ClpB hexamers and polypeptide substrates the titration data were subjected to global non‐linear least squares analysis incorporating the dynamic equilibrium of ClpB assembly. Our results show that ClpB hexamers bind tightly to unstructured polypeptides with binding affinities in the range of ∼3–16 nM. ClpB exhibits a modest preference of binding to Peptide B1 with a binding affinity of (1.7 ± 0.2) nM. Interestingly, we found that ClpB binds to an unstructured polypeptide substrate of 40 and 50 amino acids containing the SsrA sequence at the C‐terminus with an affinity of (12 ± 3) nM and (4 ± 2) nM, respectively. Whereas, ClpB binds the 11‐amino acid SsrA sequence with an affinity of (140 ± 20) nM, which is significantly weaker than other polypeptide substrates that we tested here. We hypothesize that ClpB, like ClpA, requires substrates with a minimum length for optimal binding. Finally, we present evidence showing that multiple ClpB hexamers are involved in binding to polypeptides ≥152 amino acids. Proteins 2015; 83:117–134. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dynamics on human Toll‐like receptor 4 complexation to MD‐2: The coreceptor stabilizing function

The interaction between human Toll‐like receptor 4 (hTLR4) and its coreceptor, myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD‐2), is important in Gram‐negative bacteria lipopolysaccharide (LPS) recognition. In this process, MD‐2 recognizes LPS and promotes the dimerization of the complex hTLR4–MD‐2–LPS, triggering an intracellular immune signaling. In this study, we employed distinct computational methods to explore the dynamical properties of the hTLR4–MD‐2 complex and investigated the implications of the coreceptor complexation to the structural biology of hTLR4. We characterized both global and local dynamics of free and MD‐2 complexed hTLR4, in both (hTLR4–MD‐2)1 and (hTLR4–MD‐2)2 states. Both molecular dynamics and normal mode analysis reveled a stabilization of the terminal regions of hTLR4 upon complexation to MD‐2. We are able to identify conserved important residues involved on the hTLR4–MD‐2 interaction dynamics and disclose C‐terminal motions that may be associated to the signaling process upon oligomerization. Proteins 2015; 83:373–382. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Combination of BCM and TCM with 90°, 180°, and 270° phase rotational invariance

Two systematic schemes to combine block-coded modulation (BCM) and trellis-coded modulation (TCM) are proposed. In the first scheme, the signal points which are used in TCM should be partitioned by the proper BCM systems constructed by a multilevel construction method. The asymptotic coding gain will be 6.02-3.01/n dB, where n is the length of the BCM systems. Since the average transmission power can be reduced by using a denser signal lattice, the main idea of the second scheme is to construct the TCM system based on the signal points of a denser lattice formed by a proper BCM system. Hence, we can get a higher coding gain which is a combination of both the distance gain of TCM and the density gain of BCM. Theoretically, the net coding gain of this proposed scheme can reach 5.27 dB in the case of an 8-D constellation and 7.15 dB in the case of a 16-D constellation. For practical implementation, the phase ambiguity problems for both schemes are considered and solved by a differential encoder/decoder.
Funciones de riesgo en la prevención primaria de las enfermedades cardiovasculares

Las funciones de riesgo cardiovascular constituyen la mejor herramienta para establecer prioridades en prevencion primaria. Despues de descartarse la original de Framingham por sobrestimar excesivamente el riesgo real, las funciones adaptadas de REGICOR y SCORE son las dos disponibles en Espana, aunque la funcion de REGICOR es la unica validada en nuestra poblacion. La estimacion del riesgo ha mostrado su utilidad en la toma de decisiones, especialmente para el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia; sin embargo, el hecho de que la mayoria de los acontecimientos cardiovasculares se den en individuos clasificados en el grupo de riesgo moderado refleja la escasa capacidad de discriminacion de los factores de riesgo clasicos. Con todo, los nuevos elementos propuestos para el calculo del riesgo (proteina C-reactiva, deteccion de calcio intracoronario, indice intima-media carotidea, indice tobillo/brazo) no mejoran la capacidad predictiva de los factores de riesgo clasicos. La alternativa mas solida parece entonces la identificacion del «paciente vulnerable» basada en los marcadores de placa vulnerable (inestable o de alto riesgo), sangre vulnerable (tendencia a la trombosis) y miocardio vulnerable (electricamente inestable o arritmogenico). Discutimos la posible efectividad de la utilizacion combinada de las funciones de riesgo, junto con nuevos marcadores de riesgo y pruebas no invasivas, para aumentar la precision de la seleccion de pacientes candidatos a prevencion primaria de las enfermedades cardiovasculares.
Using the Stan Program for Bayesian Item Response Theory

Stan is a new Bayesian statistical software program that implements the powerful and efficient Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm. To date there is not a source that systematically provides Stan code for various item response theory (IRT) models. This article provides Stan code for three representative IRT models, including the three-parameter logistic IRT model, the graded response model, and the nominal response model. We demonstrate how IRT model comparison can be conducted with Stan and how the provided Stan code for simple IRT models can be easily extended to their multidimensional and multilevel cases.