Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Starting the race right: A case study of a first-year program aimed at increasing persistence among urban college students

Since the early part of the 1990s, the City of Boston has made substantial progress in increasing the number of graduates from its school system who go on to college. However, while the Boston Public School system’s postsecondary enrollment rate exceeds national averages, the system faces a serious issue in that the vast majority of its college-bound graduates do not end up earning a college degree. Low college student retention rates plague graduates of the BPS system, a problem that is significant for many reasons given the importance of a college degree in Boston’s metropolitan job market. In response to the disclosures of the college retention rates for BPS graduates, Northeastern University launched Foundation Year, a first-year college program aimed at increasing the level of preparedness of students and, subsequently, their likelihood of completing a college degree. This case study provides an in-depth analysis of the Foundation Year program and, in doing so, illustrates the ways in which one institution is seeking to address low college retention rates amongst urban students. A qualitative research approach was employed to gain insights into the program through the views of individuals associated with the program as well as through the review of archival program documents. The results of the case study provide a comprehensive view of the first-year program and show how, despite sharing many characteristics with first-year programs at other colleges and universities, Foundation Year is unique in its attempt to increase system-wide persistence rates rather than institutional retention rates. The program’s “transition out” pathways model is a distinctive component of Foundation Year that runs counter to the constructs of the dominant theory in the college student retention literature which calls for increased integration between students and institutions of higher education. Additionally, the findings of the study highlight the fact that faculty and the student-centered pedagogical approaches they employed in the classroom were
Separating input and output phonology: semantic, phonological, and orthographic effects in short-term memory impairment

Recent research with both normal and brain-damaged people shows that linguistic representations are important sources of information in short-term memory tasks. This paper addresses the role of semantic and phonological information in the performance of two individuals with severely impaired short-term memory span (HB and MMG). The performance of these individuals is investigated on span tasks manipulating, for example, lexicality, imageability, word length, and phonological similar as well as on their ability to perform other tasks involving the judgment and/or manipulation of phonology (e.g., rhyme judgments, phonological lexical decision, segmentation tasks, and minimal pairs). The subjects' performance across these tasks provides strong evidence for separate but linked language and short-term memory systems, with lexical and semantic representations contributing to immediate serial recall. There is also evidence for separate phonological and semantic short-term stores (buffers), each of which are supported by the corresponding representations in the language system. Furthermore, the results support separate phonological stores at input and output. Finally a cautionary note is cast regarding the significant role of orthography in many tasks previously assumed to reflect manipulation of phonology.
Lifetime profit as an individual trait and prediction of its breeding values in Spanish Holstein cows.

Genetic parameters for lifetime profit and some productive traits were estimated from records of 42,401 Holstein cows with first calving before May 1996 from Navarra and Basque Autonomous Regions of Spain. Profit from the first, first two, and first three lactations were tested as early measures of profitability. Profit prediction was tested for another population of 2127 cows using selection indexes (Type-Production and economic indexes) and multitrait analysis for directly predicting profit from first-lactation records. High genetic correlations of actual profit with estimated profit from the first two or first three lactation records, (0.97 and 0.99, respectively) suggest that lifetime profit can be accurately estimated from data in second lactation. Profit was positively correlated to production traits (0.79 to 0.83), functional herd life (0.38), mature body weight (0.25), and days in milk (0.35), but genetic correlation was found to be close to zero with calving interval. Complicated relationships among profit and economic traits (i.e., calving interval, days in milk, and functional herd life) were found. Although the correlation between calving interval and profit was near zero, calving interval was the most important trait after production in prediction of sire profit by a stepwise regression analysis. Profit breeding values from multitrait analysis obtained higher correlation (0.48) with actual profit than Spanish official Type-Production index ICO (0.44) and economic index MEG (0.46). A correlation of 0.49 between profit breeding values and the economic index MEG2002, where stature and calving interval were included as new traits, was obtained.
The Bystander Effect in Radiation Oncogenesis: I. Transformation in C3H 10T½ Cells In Vitro can be Initiated in the Unirradiated Neighbors of Irradiated Cells

Abstract Sawant, S. G. , Randers-Pehrson, G. , Geard, C. R. , Brenner, D. J. and Hall, E. J. The Bystander Effect in Radiation Oncogenesis: I. Transformation in C3H 10T½ Cells In Vitro can be Initiated in the Unirradiated Neighbors of Irradiated Cells. It has long been accepted that radiation-induced genetic effects require that DNA be hit and damaged directly by the radiation. Recently, evidence has accumulated that in cell populations exposed to low doses of α particles, biological effects occur in a larger proportion of cells than are estimated to have been traversed by α particles. The end points observed include chromosome aberrations, mutations and gene expression. The development of a fast single-cell microbeam now makes it possible to expose a precisely known proportion of cells in a population to exactly defined numbers of α particles, and to assay for oncogenic transformation. The single-cell microbeam delivered no, one, two, four or eight α particles through the nuclei of all or just 10% of C3H 10T½ cells. We show that (a) more cells can be inactivated than were actually traversed by α particles and (b) when 10% of the cells on a dish are exposed to α particles, the resulting frequency of induced transformation is not less than that observed when every cell on the dish is exposed to the same number of α particles. These observations constitute evidence suggesting a bystander effect, i.e., that unirradiated cells are responding to damage induced in irradiated cells. This bystander effect in a biological system of relevance to carcinogenesis could have significant implications for risk estimation for low-dose radiation.
Application and Evaluation of a Measured Spatially Variant System Model for PET Image Reconstruction

Accurate system modeling in tomographic image reconstruction has been shown to reduce the spatial variance of resolution and improve quantitative accuracy. System modeling can be improved through analytic calculations, Monte Carlo simulations, and physical measurements. The purpose of this work is to improve clinical fully-3-D reconstruction without substantially increasing computation time. We present a practical method for measuring the detector blurring component of a whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) system to form an approximate system model for use with fully-3-D reconstruction. We employ Monte Carlo simulations to show that a non-collimated point source is acceptable for modeling the radial blurring present in a PET tomograph and we justify the use of a Na22 point source for collecting these measurements. We measure the system response on a whole-body scanner, simplify it to a 2-D function, and incorporate a parameterized version of this response into a modified fully-3-D OSEM algorithm. Empirical testing of the signal versus noise benefits reveal roughly a 15% improvement in spatial resolution and 10% improvement in contrast at matched image noise levels. Convergence analysis demonstrates improved resolution and contrast versus noise properties can be achieved with the proposed method with similar computation time as the conventional approach. Comparison of the measured spatially variant and invariant reconstruction revealed similar performance with conventional image metrics. Edge artifacts, which are a common artifact of resolution-modeled reconstruction methods, were less apparent in the spatially variant method than in the invariant method. With the proposed and other resolution-modeled reconstruction methods, edge artifacts need to be studied in more detail to determine the optimal tradeoff of resolution/contrast enhancement and edge fidelity.
Newborn Screening for Pompe Disease: Synthesis of the Evidence and Development of Screening Recommendations

BACKGROUND. Pompe disease is a lysosomal storage disorder that leads to the accumulation of glycogen and subsequently to muscle weakness, organ damage, and death. Pompe disease is detectable through newborn screening, and treatment has become available recently. OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to review systematically all available evidence regarding screening for infantile Pompe disease to help policy makers determine whether Pompe disease should be added to their state's newborn screening battery. METHODS. We searched online databases, including Medline, clinicaltrials.gov, and the Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects database, as well as Web sites maintained by federal organizations (eg, the Food and Drug Administration) and other nonprofit or private organizations (eg, the March of Dimes and Genzyme Corp), by using the terms “glycogen storage disease type II,” “Pompe disease,” and “Pompe's disease. ” We also obtained preliminary findings from a screening program in Taiwan. Data were critically appraised and extracted by 2 investigators, one who is an expert in systematic review methods and the other who is an expert in Pompe disease. RESULTS. The prevalence of Pompe disease has been estimated to be ∼1 case per 40000. Small studies suggest that enzyme therapy is highly efficacious in infantile Pompe disease and that earlier intervention leads to improved outcomes. Screening cannot distinguish between infantile and late-onset Pompe disease. The current screening program in Taiwan has a high false-positive rate; however, the threshold was purposely set low to ensure that no case would be missed. CONCLUSIONS. Pilot studies of screening are needed to identify the most efficacious strategy for screening and determine how to manage cases of late-onset Pompe disease before screening for Pompe disease is adopted widely by newborn screening programs.
Prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder in cancer patients: An institutional experience.

AIM This study aimed to screen the patients with various malignancies for the presence of depressive disorders and anxiety disorder using standardized rating scales. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five hundred and thirty-four (n = 534) patients attending the radiotherapy outpatient services completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Questionnaire. RESULTS About half (n = 248; 46.4%) of the patients had psychiatric morbidity either in the form of depressive disorder or in the form of GAD. Higher stage of malignancy (from early, advanced to metastasis) was associated with higher prevalence of depressive disorder and GAD. The presence of psychiatric morbidity, especially anxiety disorder, was associated with being from low socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION The present study suggests that psychiatric morbidity in the form of depressive and anxiety disorders is very common among patients with malignancies. Accordingly, there is a need for close liaison between oncologists and mental health professionals to improve the outcome of patients with various malignancies.
The Emergence of China and India in the Global Market

ABSTRACT Over the past 20 years, China and India have emerged as the fastest growing economies in the world. In this context, the authors review, examine, and list the factors that have contributed to the emergence of China and India (referred to as Chindia). The authors compare the antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of their emergence in the global market. This article provides insights for the researchers and multinational enterprises from rest of the world to carry out studies on country analysis as well as foreign market entry modes. Besides, we posit theoretical and testable propositions for future research.
Stereotactic amygdalohippocampectomy for temporal lobe epilepsy: promising results in 16 patients.

OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive procedures for treating temporal lobe epilepsy have been investigated recently, namely stereotactic and gamma knife amygdalohippocampectomy (AHE). However, the results are not fully satisfactory. Our aim was to evaluate efficacy and side-effects of stereotactic AHE mimicking the neurosurgical procedure in terms of extent of the lesion. METHODS 16 consecutive patients were assessed using VEEG, MRI, FDG-PET and WADA test. All had definite pharmacoresistant medial temporal lobe epilepsy. The stereotactic AHE was performed on the Leksell stereotactic system. All lesions exceeded 40 mm along the long axis of the hippocamus. RESULTS Seizure outcome was favourable on one year follow-up: 12 patients (75%) were seizure-free (Engel I), three (19%) were Engel II, and one (6%) was Engel III. Side-effects were mild, lasting up to 7 days: cephalea, meningeal syndrome with sterile CSF in three subjects, and CSF leak lasting up to 3 days in seven subjects. CONCLUSION Stereotactic AHE encompassing sufficient volume of the amygdalohippocampal complex appears to be safe, effective, and free from long-term side-effects.
Intracellular recording and injection study of corticospinal neurons in the rat somatosensory cortex: Effect of prenatal exposure to ethanol

The effects of prenatal exposure to ethanol on the structure and function of corticospinal neurons was investigated. The subjects were the 3–4‐month‐old offspring of hooded rats fed a nutritionally balanced liquid diet containing 6.7% (v/v) ethanol (Et), pair‐fed a nutritionally matched isocaloric diet (Ct), or fed chow and water (Ch). Corticospinal neurons in primary somatosensory cortex were examined by intracellularly recording and filling cells that were driven by antidromic stimulation of the pyramidal decussation.
Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: physician and public opinion and potential effects on the physician-patient relationship.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising can influence consumer behavior and that many physicians have negative views of these advertisements. Physician and public opinions about these advertisements and how they may affect the physician-patient relationship are not well established. METHODS Mail survey of 523 Colorado physicians and 261 national physicians and telephone survey of 500 Colorado households asking respondents to rate their agreement with statements about DTC advertising. RESULTS Most physicians tended to view DTC advertisements negatively, indicating that such advertisements rarely provide enough information on cost (98.7%), alternative treatment options (94.9%), or adverse effects (54.8%). Most also believed that DTC advertisements affected interactions with patients by lengthening clinical encounters (55.9%), leading to patient requests for specific medications (80.7%), and changing patient expectations of physicians' prescribing practices (67.0%). Only 29.0% of public respondents agreed that DTC advertising is a positive trend in health care and 28.6% indicated that advertisements make them better informed about medical problems; fewer indicated that advertisements motivated them to seek care (10.5%) or led them to request specific medications from their physicians (13.3%). CONCLUSIONS Most physicians have negative views of DTC pharmaceutical advertising and see several potential effects of these advertisements on the physician-patient relationship. Many public respondents have similarly negative views, and only a few agree that they change their expectations of or interactions with physicians. While these advertisements may be influencing only a few consumers, it seems that the impact on physicians and their interactions with patients may be significant.
Cord blood vitamin D and neurocognitive development are nonlinearly related in toddlers.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the relation between vitamin D status in early life and neurodevelopment outcomes. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to examine the association of cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] at birth with neurocognitive development in toddlers. METHODS As part of the China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study, 363 mother-infant pairs with complete data were selected. Concentrations of 25(OH)D in cord blood were measured by radioimmunoassay. Mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) in toddlers were assessed at age 16-18 mo by using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The data on maternal sociodemographic characteristics and other confounding factors were also prospectively collected. RESULTS Toddlers in the lowest quintile of cord blood 25(OH)D exhibited a deficit of 7.60 (95% CI: -12.4, -2.82; P = 0.002) and 8.04 (95% CI: -12.9, -3.11; P = 0.001) points in the MDI and PDI scores, respectively, compared with the reference category. Unexpectedly, toddlers in the highest quintile of cord blood 25(OH)D also had a significant deficit of 12.3 (95% CI: -17.9, -6.67; P < 0.001) points in PDI scores compared with the reference category. CONCLUSIONS This prospective study suggested that there was an inverted-U-shaped relation between neonatal vitamin D status and neurocognitive development in toddlers. Additional studies on the optimal 25(OH)D concentrations in early life are needed.
A framework for Arabic sentiment analysis using supervised classification

Sentiment analysis aims to determine the polarity that is embedded in people comments and reviews. Sentiment analysis is important for companies and organisations which are interested in evaluating their products or services. The current paper deals with sentiment analysis in Arabic reviews. Three classifiers were applied on an in-house developed dataset of tweets/comments. In particular, the Naive Bayes, SVM and K-nearest neighbour classifiers were employed. This paper also addresses the effects of term weighting schemes on the accuracy of the results. The binary model, term frequency and term frequency inverse document frequency were used to assign weights to the tokens of tweets/comments. The results show that alternating between the three weighting schemes slightly affects the accuracies. The results also clarify that the classifiers were able to remove false examples (high precision) but were not that successful in identifying all correct examples (low recall).
Weight under Steel Wheels: Material Stock and Flow Analysis of High‐Speed Rail in China

The construction of a nation‐wide high‐speed rail (HSR) network has emerged as a hugely expensive and ambitious infrastructure project in China. As of December 2012, some 8,800 kilometers (km) of double‐track HSR lines came into service in the country, accounting for 40% of the total HSR length in the world. The network is expected to expand to 34,000 km or longer in around two decades. As the first HSR system specially built and operated in an economically developing country, it helps integrate the sprawling economy and lift the quality of life of the increasing urban population. China's experiences in HSR are expected to be of value to other countries aiming to adopt bullet train systems, especially those at a similar level of industrialization and urbanization. This work specifically examines material stocks and flows associated with the HSR infrastructure construction in China. A major distinction from the construction of HSR tracks in Europe is that nearly 70% of the HSR tracks in China are laid upon bridges or inside tunnels, which are structures that demand great amounts of raw materials. The entire network, once completed by 2030, will cumulatively require 83 to 137 million tonnes (Mt) of steel and 560 to 920 Mt of cement. This is still a small share of China's use of material resources. Nonetheless, the massive application of the steel‐ and cement‐intensive structures deserves consideration when assessing the environmental performance of HSR over its entire life cycle.
Identification and characterization of P2Y2 nucleotide receptors in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

P2 nucleotide receptor expression in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells was investigated using the photoaffinity ATP analog BzATP, polymerase chain reaction of reverse‐transcribed RNA (RT‐PCR) and fura‐2 fluorescence measurement of changes in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). In experiments carried out in RPE cells at passage 10–15, addition of micromolar concentrations of ATP, UTP, and ATPγS to RPE cells resulted in a rapid, transient 3.5‐fold increase in [Ca2+]i followed by a prolonged elevation that was twofold above the original baseline. Similar results were obtained from cells at passage 2. Characteristics of nucleotide‐stimulated calcium mobilization in RPE cells, including partial inhibition by pertussis toxin, suggest that a G protein‐coupled receptor mediates this response. Consistent with the expression of a P2Y2 nucleotide receptor subtype in RPE cells, [α‐32P]BzATP labeled a 53‐kDa protein in plasma membranes, and RT‐PCR revealed the presence of P2Y2 receptor RNA. Adenosine had no effect on [Ca2+]i in RPE cells, indicating that the A2 subtype of P1 receptor described previously in human RPE is not involved in the response to nucleotides. Together the results indicate that human RPE cells express functional P2Y2 nucleotide receptors. J. Neurosci. Res. 49:43–52, 1997. Published 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc. This article was prepared by a group of United States government employees and non‐United States government employees, and as such is subject to 17 U.S.C. Sec. 105.