Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collaboration leads to success: A study of the effects of using pair-programming teaching technique on student performance in a Middle Eastern society

In pair-programming, two developers share a computer to work together on developing one piece of code. To test Pair-programming effects on student performance in a Middle Eastern society where some interaction restrictions are found, we devised an experiment that was carried out over an entire academic year consists of two semesters. The experiment targeted two sections per semester of an advanced computer programming course. The students of one of the sections worked in pairs during the lab sessions, applying pair-programming rules and techniques. The other section had students who worked individually, as it is the norm in most programming labs. Through this experiment we revealed that pair-programming has the potential to increase the students' confidence, their enjoyment of the course, and improved the course's completion rate. In addition, the students in the pair-programming section showed that they were able to individually produce code of better quality than the students in the traditional section.
Self-Reported Allergies and Their Relationship to Several Axis I Disorders in a Community Sample

Objective: Several community studies have identified associations between allergies and depressive symptoms. In this study, we evaluated the association between self-reported allergies and several Axis I disorders in a community population. Method: The data source was the 2002 Canadian Community Health Study. This study included the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, and collected self-report data about food and environmental allergies. Crude associations were estimated and logistic regression was subsequently used to adjust for demographic variables. Results: Self-reported allergies to food and non-food allergies were associated with mood and anxiety disorders, but not to substance dependence. The adjusted odds ratio for major depression in subjects reporting food allergies was 1.8 (95% CI 1.5–2.3) and for other allergies was 1.5 (95% CI 1.2–1.7). Associations of comparable strength were observed for bipolar disorder and for panic disorder/agoraphobia. The association with social phobia was statistically significant, but not as strong. Conclusions: Cross-sectional epidemiological data are most useful for descriptive purposes. This study is the first to confirm the presence of an association between allergies and mood and anxiety disorders, as opposed to symptom ratings, in a general population sample. Substance use disorders are not associated with self-reported allergies.
Microbiological status of periodontal diseases in Lagos, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES The dynamic nature of oro-facial infections made it imperative to study the epidemiology of gingivitis and periodontitis which are significant clinical conditions in the Nigerian environment. METHODS The clinical and microbiological features of 162 patients with periodontal diseases (gingivitis 68, periodontitis 94) were analysed. The advantage of routine antibiotic susceptibility testing for oral pathogens in patients' management was investigated. RESULTS The incidence of periodontal diseases was more in females than males with a ratio of 0.53 though the difference was not significant. A high incidence of gingivitis (55.9%) occurred within the first 29 years with a cluster of cases (48.6%) between 10 and 29 years of age with incidence tending to decline with advancing age. Though the incidence ofperiodontitis was highest amongst adults over 40 years (42.6%), the incidence of 8.5% in children below 10 years of age was high. Polybacterial aetiology was characteristic; aerobes were the predominant flora in gingivitis with a preponderance of Streptococcus spp, while anaerobes predominated in periodontitis with such species as Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Fusobacterium and Actinobacillus. Significant reduction in duration of treatment was obtained when patients were treated based on susceptibility results as opposed to empirical knowledge (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION The diversity of microbial aetiology of periodontal infections may put much demand on routine laboratory investigations for patient management, but it may be necessary to weigh the benefit of additional cost against the cost of treatment failure associated with antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Association mapping of local climate-sensitive quantitative trait loci in Arabidopsis thaliana

Flowering time (FT) is the developmental transition coupling an internal genetic program with external local and seasonal climate cues. The genetic loci sensitive to predictable environmental signals underlie local adaptation. We dissected natural variation in FT across a new global diversity set of 473 unique accessions, with >12,000 plants across two seasonal plantings in each of two simulated local climates, Spain and Sweden. Genome-wide association mapping was carried out with 213,497 SNPs. A total of 12 FT candidate quantitative trait loci (QTL) were fine-mapped in two independent studies, including 4 located within ±10 kb of previously cloned FT alleles and 8 novel loci. All QTL show sensitivity to planting season and/or simulated location in a multi-QTL mixed model. Alleles at four QTL were significantly correlated with latitude of origin, implying past selection for faster flowering in southern locations. Finally, maximum seed yield was observed at an optimal FT unique to each season and location, with four FT QTL directly controlling yield. Our results suggest that these major, environmentally sensitive FT QTL play an important role in spatial and temporal adaptation.
Decreased cortisol secretion by adrenal glands perfused with the P-glycoprotein inhibitor valspodar and mitotane or doxorubicin

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the adrenal gland. It has been presumed that P-gp, rather than being involved in physiological cortisol secretion, plays a role in protecting the adrenacortical cells from xenobiotics. To explore this a study was performed on perfused bovine adrenal glands. Individual experimental groups were perfused with either a selective P-gp blocker (valspodar) alone, with a xenobiotic (mitotane or doxorubicin) alone or with both valspodar and a xenobiotic. The cumulative amounts of cortisol secreted in each individual group were calculated and the two-sample t-test was used to compare the mean values of cumulative amounts. The mean value of cortisol secreted from the group of adrenals perfused with the P-gp blocker was not significantly different from that of the control group. Treatment with either mitotane or doxorubicin decreased the amount of cortisol secreted but not significantly when compared to the amount of cortisol secreted in basal conditions. However, treatment with the P-gp blocker valspodar in addition to either mitotane or doxorubicin significantly decreased cortisol secreted compared to the amount of cortisol secreted by the glands treated with either mitotane (p=0.009) or doxorubicin (p=0.017) alone. The regressive changes discovered in all experimental groups were most prominent when valspodar was used with either mitotane or doxorubicin. We found that P-gp blockade increases by xenobiotic (mitotane and doxorubicin)-induced damage of adrenocortical cells, which points to a role of P-gp in the protection of adrenal gland from xenobiotics.
Proteomic Analysis Reveals Branch-specific Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response by Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay*

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) has originally been described as a surveillance mechanism to inhibit the expression of mRNAs with truncated open reading frames (ORFs) and to contribute to the fidelity of gene expression. It is now recognized that NMD also controls the expression of physiological genes with “intact” mRNA. Stress can decrease NMD efficiency and thus increase the mRNA levels of physiological NMD targets. As stress can also inhibit translation, the net outcome for shaping the proteome is difficult to predict. We have thus analyzed de novo protein synthesis in response to NMD inhibition or the induction of mild endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress by treatment of cells with the reducing agent dithiotreitol (DTT). For this purpose, we combined pulsed azidohomoalanine (AHA) and stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC). Labeled proteins were purified by click chemistry-based covalent coupling to agarose beads, trypsinized, fractionated, and analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). We find that mild ER stress up-regulates the de novo synthesis of components of all three branches of the unfolded protein response (PERK, IRE1 and ATF6) without increasing eIF2α phosphorylation or impairing of protein translation. In contrast, inhibition of NMD induces de novo protein synthesis of downstream targets of the PERK and IRE1 pathways, whereas we could not detect regulation of ATF6-responsive genes. These data thus support a model that implicates a positive feedback loop of ER stress inhibiting NMD efficiency which further promotes the ER stress response in a branch-specific manner.
Multilaboratory Comparison of Proficiencies in Susceptibility Testing of Helicobacter pylori and Correlation between Agar Dilution and E Test Methods

ABSTRACT Susceptibility testing was performed at seven Canadian microbiology laboratories and the Helicobacter Reference Laboratory, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to assess susceptibility testing proficiency and the reproducibility of the results for clarithromycin and metronidazole and to compare the Epsilometer test (E test) method to the agar dilution reference method. Control strain Helicobacter pylori ATCC 43504 (American Type Culture Collection) and 13 clinical isolates (plus duplicates of four of these strains including ATCC 43504) were tested blindly. The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) guidelines for agar dilution testing were followed, and the same suspension of organisms was used for agar dilution and E test. Antimicrobials and E test strips were provided to the investigators. Methods were provided on a website (www.Helicobactercanada.org ). Each center reported MICs within the stated range for strain ATCC 43504. Compared to the average MICs, interlaboratory agreements within 2 log2 dilutions were 90% (range, 69 to 100%) for clarithromycin by agar dilution, with seven very major errors [VMEs], and 85% (range, 65 to 100%) by E test, with three VMEs. Interlaboratory agreements within 2 log2 dilutions were 83% (range, 50 to 100%) for metronidazole by agar dilution, with six VMEs and eight major errors (MEs), and 75% (range, 50 to 94%) by E test, with four VMEs and four MEs. At lower and higher concentrations of antibiotic, E test MICs were slightly different from agar dilution MICs, but these differences did not result in errors. When a standardized protocol based on NCCLS guidelines was used, most participants in this study correctly identified clarithromycin- and metronidazole-susceptible and -resistant strains of H. pylori 93% of the time by either the agar dilution or E test method, and the numbers of errors were relatively equivalent by both methods.
Screening the elderly in the community: controlled trial of dependency surveillance using a questionnaire administered by volunteers.

OBJECTIVE--To test the benefits of regular surveillance of the elderly at home using an activities of daily living questionnaire administered by volunteers. DESIGN--Randomised controlled study. PATIENTS--539 Subjects aged 75 and over from two general practices. INTERVENTION--All subjects were visited at the beginning and end of the study by volunteers, who completed a scored activity of daily living questionnaire. The study group were revisited at regular intervals. Individuals with an increase in score greater than 5 were referred to their general practitioners. All interactions with social services and health authorities were recorded for both groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Mortality, activity of daily living score, total number of days in institutions, geriatric and psychogeriatric service contacts, primary health care team contacts, use of community support services. RESULTS--The study group were admitted to hospital more often than the controls (335 occasions v 252), but the control group spent 33% more days in institutions, mainly in long term admissions to residential accommodation. The number of falls reported in the control group doubled (from 17 before the first interview to 36 before the last) and in the study group remained unchanged (12 before both interviews). The study group received community support services sooner than the control group. There was no difference between the groups in mortality or activity of daily living score. CONCLUSION--Regular visiting of old people at home by non-professional volunteers using a simple activity of daily living questionnaire is a practical way of identifying problems and initiating action for this group.
The Entrapment of Migrant Workers in Servile Labour: The Case of Live-in Domestic Workers from Ukraine in Greece

Το άρθρο αποτeλeί μια απόπeιρα ανάλυσης του eγκλωβισμού των μeταναστών στα χαμηλού κύ- ρους eπαγγέλματα. Αυτό γίνeται μέσα από την eξέταση των συνeπeιών της eσωτeρικής οικιακής eργασίας των Ουκρανών μeταναστριών που eρ- γάζονται ως υπηρέτριeς στην Αθήνα. Η μeλέτη χρησιμοποιeί μια Μαρξοβeμπeριανή προσέγγιση που eστιάζeι τόσο στις συνθήκeς όσο και στις αντι- λήψeις γύρω από την eργασία. Υποστηρίζeται πως οι συγκινησιακές απαιτήσeις της οικιακής eργασί- ας οδηγούν τις μeτανάστριeς στο να eρμηνeύουν τα καθήκοντά τους ως προέκταση οικογeνeιακών σχέσeων και υποχρeώσeων. Αυτές οι σχέσeις απα- σχόλησης ορίζονται ως ‘ψeυδο-οικογeνeιακές’ και αποτeλούν τη βάση της υποτακτικότητας στην οικι- ακή eργασία. Σe συνδυασμό μe τα δομικά eμπόδια στην αγορά eργασίας, η υποτακτικότητα αποτeλeί υποκeιμeνικό στοιχeίο του eγκλωβισμού των μeτα- ναστριών στο eπάγγeλμά τους
Effects of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors on breast tissue enhancement in dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MR imaging: a longitudinal intraindividual cohort study.

PURPOSE To prospectively investigate the effects of two antihormonal medications, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitor (AI), on the degree of background enhancement in breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS This institutional review board-approved study was performed in 40 postmenopausal women (mean age, 63 years; range, 49-78 years) with unilateral breast cancer between January 2005 and December 2010. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. All patients underwent breast MR imaging before starting any medication, under tamoxifen, and after switching to an AI. Qualitative and quantitative degrees of benign parenchymal enhancement were investigated before treatment, under tamoxifen, and under AI. Data were analyzed by using the Wilcoxon singed-rank test and Student t test for matched pairs. RESULTS Before treatment, the distribution of background enhancement MR-American College of Radiology (ACR) categories 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 20%, 35%, 33%, and 13%, respectively. With tamoxifen, background enhancement was suppressed, with a distribution of 80%, 15%, 5%, and 0% for MR-ACR categories 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. With AI, background enhancement recovered in part, with a distribution of 25%, 53%, 23%, and 0% for categories 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. In all 40 women, background enhancement rates were highest before treatment (mean, 51.3% ± 33.3 [standard deviation]). By using tamoxifen, background enhancement rates were significantly reduced (mean, 8.4% ± 9.2), and rose again after the switch to an AI (mean, 22.9% ± 19.1 [P < .001]). Prevalence of benign enhancing foci was 65% (26 of 40) at baseline, 12.5% (five of 40) with tamoxifen, and 40% (16 of 40) with AI. CONCLUSION The effects of tamoxifen and AI on benign parenchymal enhancement differ. Whereas tamoxifen leads to a virtually complete suppression of enhancement, the effects of AI are less pronounced. Accordingly, whereas enhancement is unusual and deserves a more careful work-up in a patient in whom tamoxifen is used, this is not necessarily true for women in whom AIs are used. Online supplemental material is available for this article.
Striatal function in normal aging: Implications for Parkinson's disease

Central to several current theories of the etiology of Parkinson's disease is the premise that the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system degenerates with normal aging. Much of the evidence for this assertion has come from postmortem neurochemical studies. We have used L‐6‐[18F]fluoro‐Dopa and positron emission tomography in 26 healthy volunteers (age range, 27–76 years) to examine striatal and frontal cortical tracer uptake. Data have been analyzed by using a graphical approach to calculate an influx constant (Ki) for L‐6‐[18F]fluoro‐Dopa uptake into the caudate, putamen, and medial frontal cortex of each subject. In the population studied, there was no decline in Ki with age for any of these structures. A series of physiological measurements made on the older subjects also showed few significant changes with age. The positron emission tomographic findings demonstrate preservation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in normal aging. The pathological process causing Parkinson's disease may operate closer to the time of presentation than has been suggested.
Transient Erythroblastopenia in a Child with Kawasaki Syndrome: A Case Report

Purpose We describe for the first time the case of a child with Kawasaki syndrome and associated transient eryth-roblastopenia. Patients and Methods A 51/2-month-old infant with Kawasaki syndrome as evidenced by lymphadenopathy, fever, rash conjunctival injection, and extremity changes had associated anemia and reticulocytopenia requiring transfusion and thrombocytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration was consistent with a transient erythroblastopenia. She developed cardiac aneurysms despite therapy with i.v. immunoglobulin and aspirin. Results The anemia and reticulocytopenia resolved with normalization of her hemoglobin. The platelet count increased and she developed a thrombocytosis characteristic of this clinical entity. She completely recovered without recurrence of either the anemia or reticulocytopenia. Conclusions We speculate that the cause of the erythroblastopenia and thrombocytopenia is an inflammatory insult of Kawasaki syndrome on the bone marrow and its various lineages causing the myriad hematological abnormalities now associated with Kawasaki syndrome. It is possible that the i.v. immunoglobulin aids in neutralizing the triggering agent and therefore shortening the duration of the marrow insult.
Evaluation of a New Rapid Diagnostic Kit (FemExam) for Bacterial Vaginosis in Patients With Vaginal Discharge Syndrome in The Gambia

Background Diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in resource-poor primary health care settings is often overlooked; there is a need for a cheap, rapid, objective point-of-care diagnostic test. Goal The goal was to determine the prevalence of BV and to evaluate the performance of a new commercial diagnostic test kit in a developing country environment. Study Design Vaginal and cervical swabs were collected from 230 consecutive women attending a genitourinary medicine clinic with reported symptoms of vaginal discharge and/or itching. Etiological testing was carried out. BV was diagnosed on the basis of the Nugent score, the Amsel clinical criteria, and results of FemExam card tests. Card 1 is for pH and amines, and card 2 measures proline iminopeptidase (PIP) activity. Results BV prevalence was 47.9% according to the Nugent score. When compared with the Nugent score, the Amsel clinical criteria had a sensitivity of 77.9% and specificity of 58.4%, FemExam card 1 had a sensitivity of 71.4% and specificity of 72.8%, FemExam card 2 had a sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 81.0%, and FemExam cards 1 and 2 combined had a sensitiv-ity of 91.0% and specificity of 61.5%. Cost per patient and cost per true case detected ranged from US $0.74 and US $1.54, respectively, for Gram stain diagnosis, to US $8.32 and US $18.49 for the FemExam two-card method. Conclusions In a setting where BV was frequently associated with vaginal discharge, the FemExam test compared favorably with conventional clinical diagnosis, and it has the advantage of being rapid, less subjective, and easily performed. Cutting its cost would provide wider accessibility in developing countries.
From Multi-Scale Decomposition to Non-Multi-Scale Decomposition Methods: A Comprehensive Survey of Image Fusion Techniques and Its Applications

Image fusion is a well-recognized and a conventional field of image processing. Image fusion provides an efficient way of enhancing and combining pixel-level data resulting in highly informative data for human perception as compared with individual input source data. In this paper, we have demonstrated a comprehensive survey of multi-scale and non-multi-scale decomposition-based image fusion methods in detail. The reference-based and non-reference-based image quality evaluation metrics are summarized together with recent trends in image fusion. Several image fusion applications in various fields have also been reported. It has been stated that though a lot of singular fusion techniques seemed to have given optimum results, the focus of researchers is shifting toward amalgamated or hybrid fusion techniques, which could harness the attributes of both multi-scale and non-multi-scale decomposition methods. Toward the end, the review is concluded with various open challenges for researchers. Thus, the descriptive study in this paper would form basis for stimulating and nurturing advanced research ideas in image fusion.
Nasoalveolar Molding Therapy for the Treatment of Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Improves Nasal Symmetry and Maxillary Alveolar Dimensions

Objective:The aim of this study is to assess the esthetic and morphologic outcomes before surgery using nasoalveolar molding (NAM) therapy in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Design:A prospective analysis was performed. Setting:The study was carried out in the Congenital Malformations Craniofacial and Cleft Lip and Palate Unit, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Andalusian Health Service, Granada (Spain). Patients:Twenty consecutively enrolled infants ranging in age from 7 to 30 days with nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate treated from 2008 to 2012. Interventions:All patients were treated with NAM appliances to align the alveolar segments and reduce severity of the nasal deformity. Main Outcome Measure:The extraoral nasal measurements were performed on casts and nasal photographs. The measurements consisted of bialar width (BAW), columellar deviation (CD), cleft nostril height (CNH), cleft nostril width (CNW), non-CNH, non-CNW, and the deviation of the columella to the horizontal line represented by bilateral pupil line (BIA). The authors have made the measurements following Barilla method. Also 2 intraoral measurements were taken. Results:Following NAM the extraoral records showed a statistically significant decrease in CD (P < 0.0001), CNW (P < 0.0001), and BAW (P < 0.001). Furthermore, statistically significant increases in CNH (P < 0.05) and BIA (P < 0.0001) were observed.Following Barilla measurements, the authors have found a high percentage of symmetry in all the nasal measurements after the NAM therapy.Intraoral results showed a statistically significant decrease in the gap between the greater and lesser alveolar segments and a statistically significant increase in maxillary arch width. Conclusions:Nasoalveolar molding improves nasal symmetry and achieves an improvement of all maxillary alveolar dimensions, increasing alveolar rim width, reducing the size of alveolar cleft gap, and improving shape of the maxillary dental arch. As a consequence of reducing the alveolar and nasal deformities before surgery, it is expected that the primary repair will be easier for the surgeon and more successful.