Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experiences from a Touch-Based Interaction and Digitally Enhanced Meal-Delivery Service for the Elderly

This paper reports the results of a field experiment where home-dwelling elderly people used a mobile technology-based service to interact with a home care service to order meals to be delivered to their homes. The primary research focus was on examining the suitability of touch-based interaction in the everyday life activities of elderly users. The eight-week experiment took place in the autumn of 2006. The findings are based primarily on user experience and on the socioeconomic analysis done from the data collected before, during, and after the experiment. The results show that touch-based interaction was easy to learn and adopt, and that the users were able to successfully use it regardless of their physical or cognitive weaknesses. However, the socioeconomic value of the service was questionable. The paper also summarises methodological issues and findings related to user experience evaluation in an experimental setting.
Low prevalence of ectopic germinal centre formation in patients with HTLV-I-associated Sjogren's syndrome.

Title Low prevalence of ectopic germinal centre formation in patients with HTLV-I-associated Sjogren's syndrome. Author(s) Nakamura, Hideki; Kawakami, Atsushi; Hayashi, Tomayoshi; Nakamura, Tatsufumi; Iwamoto, Naoki; Yamasaki, Satoshi; Ida, Hiroaki; Eguchi, Katsumi Citation Rheumatology, 48(7), pp.854-855; 2009 Issue Date 2009-07 URL http://hdl.handle. net/10069/23205 Right (c) The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. NAOSITE: Nagasaki University's Academic Output SITE
Steroids inhibit uptake and/or processing but not presentation of antigen by airway dendritic cells

Recent studies from our laboratory indicate that local and (particularly) systemic steroids can modulate the traffic of dendritic cells (DC) through resting and inflamed airway epithelial tissues. The present report focuses upon the T‐cell activating properties of DC, which are controlled by granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) signals, and in particular the question of whether the DC‐stimulating effects of GM‐CSF are susceptible to regulation by steroids. We present evidence that while dexamethasone inhibited GM‐CSF‐dependent uptake and/or processing of exogenous antigen by DC, it was ineffective in blocking the presentation of preprocessed self antigen to alloreactive T cells in a one‐way mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). Associated GM‐CSF‐induced up‐regulation of major histocompatability complex (MHC) class II and CTLA4 ligand expression by DC were also unaffected by dexamethasone phosphate (DX), reinforcing the view that the inhibitory effects of steroids on the T‐cell activating functions of DC are restricted to steps upstream from presentation of processed antigen to the T‐cell receptor (TCR). These findings have potentially important implications in relation to the use of topical steroids in the treatment of atopic asthma, a disease in which local T‐cell activation in airway tissue is a key pathogenic factor, and which furthermore is characterized by intense production of GM‐CSF within the airway epithelium.
Relações entre o número de indicadores de desempenho utilizados e fatores contingenciais: evidências do contexto de uma cadeia agroalimentar de suprimentos.

O objetivo deste artigo e analisar a significância das relacoes entre o numero de indicadores de desempenho utilizados e fatores contingenciais entre empresas que atuam no agronegocio considerando distintas funcoes operacionais dentro da estrutura da cadeia agroalimentar de suprimentos de frutas. Para a realizacao dessa pesquisa foram utilizados dados referentes ao uso de 49 indicadores de desempenho e de cinco fatores contingenciais coletados junto a 121 empresas individuais participantes da cadeia agroalimentar de suprimentos de frutas como fornecedoras de insumos, produtoras rurais, distribuidoras e varejistas. Para a analise dos resultados foi utilizado o coeficiente de correlacao de Spearman. Os resultados obtidos apresentaram evidencias empiricas estatisticamente significativas que apontam especificidades das relacoes entre o numero de indicadores de desempenho utilizados e os fatores contingenciais considerados considerando distintas funcoes operacionais exercidas pelas empresas na estrutura da cadeia agroalimentar.
Membrane transport proteins of the malaria parasite

The malaria parasite‐infected erythrocyte is a multi‐compartment structure, incorporating numerous different membrane systems. The movement of nutrients, metabolites and inorganic ions into and out of the intraerythrocytic parasite, as well as between subcellular compartments within the parasite, is mediated by transporters and channels – integral membrane proteins that facilitate the movement of solutes across the membrane bilayer. Proteins of this type also play a key role in antimalarial drug resistance. Genes encoding transporters and channels account for at least 2.5% of the parasite genome. However, ascribing functions and physiological roles to these proteins, and defining their roles in drug resistance, is not straightforward. For any given membrane transport protein, a full understanding of its role(s) in the parasitized erythrocyte requires a knowledge of its subcellular localization and substrate specificity, as well as some knowledge of the effects on the parasite of modifying the sequence and/or level of expression of the gene involved. Here we consider recent work in this area, describe a number of newly identified transport proteins, and summarize the likely subcellular localization and putative substrate specificity of all of the candidate membrane transport proteins identified to date.
T and B Lymphocyte Subsets in Patients with Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion: IVIG versus Placebo Treatment

Jablonowska B, Palfi M, Matthiesen L, Selbing A, Kjellberg S, Ernerudh J. T and B Lymphocyte subsets in patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion: IVIG versus placebo treatment. AJRI 2002; 48:312–318 © Blackwell Munksgaard, 2002
A quantitative model of optimal data selection in Wason's selection task

The optimal data selection model proposed by Oaksford and Chater (1994) successfully formalized Wason's selection task (Wason, 1966). The model, however, involved some questionable assumptions and was also not sufficient as a model of the task because it could not provide quantitative predictions of the card selection frequencies. In this paper, the model was revised to provide quantitative fits to the data. The model can predict the selection frequencies of cards based on a selection tendency function (STF), or conversely, it enables the estimation of subjective probabilities from data. Past experimental data were first re-analysed based on the model. In Experiment 1, the superiority of the revised model was shown. However, when the relationship between antecedent and consequent was forced to deviate from the biconditional form, the model was not supported. In Experiment 2, it was shown that sufficient emphasis on probabilistic information can affect participants’ performance. A detailed experimental method to sort participants by probabilistic strategies was introduced. Here, the model was supported by a subgroup of participants who used the probabilistic strategy. Finally, the results were discussed from the viewpoint of adaptive rationality.
Hypertensive crisis in pregnancy due to a metamorphosing pheochromocytoma with postdelivery Cushing's syndrome

Abstract Pheochromocytomas in pregnancy are rare but potentially lethal. Even rarer is the combination of pheochromocytoma in pregnancy with subsequent development of ectopic Cushing’s syndrome. We report a 36-year-old woman, previously diagnosed with essential hypertension, who developed severe hypertension in pregnancy complicated by insulin-dependent gestational diabetes. A cesarean section was performed at 32 weeks following a hypertensive crisis after routine administration of betamethasone. Postnatal persistence of signs and symptoms of catecholamine excess led to the diagnosis of a left adrenal pheochromocytoma. Between diagnosis and planned tumor removal, the patient developed signs and symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome (facial edema and hirsutism, myopathy and fatigue). Biochemical testing confirmed hypercortisolism with extremely elevated levels of plasma adrenocorticotropin, urinary cortisol and multiple steroids of a plasma panel that were all normal at previous testing. The previously noradrenergic tumor also started producing epinephrine. Histopathological examination confirmed the pheochromocytoma, which was also immunohistochemically positive for adrenocorticotropin. Full post-surgical recovery was sustained with normal blood pressure and biochemical findings after one year. This report not only underlines the chameleon behavior of pheochromocytoma but also illustrates its potential for a metamorphosing presentation. Corticosteroid administration in pregnancy requires a cautious approach in patients with hypertension.
Simultaneous propagation of bound and leaky dominant modes on printed-circuit lines: a new general effect

We were the first to report (at the 1993 IEEE International Microwave Symposium) that both the bound and leaky dominant modes can propagate simultaneously on conductor-backed coplanar strips over a frequency range. We have recently studied this interesting and initially unexpected effect in more detail, and we have made two important discoveries: (1) The simultaneous-propagation effect can actually occur on most printed-circuit transmission lines (its presence depending on the relative line dimensions), so that, contrary to earlier belief, the effect is rather general. (2) We have discovered the surprising presence of a new improper (or nonspectral) real solution, which is nonphysical but whose evolution as a function of dimensional change serves to explain how the simultaneous-propagation effect can occur. The new solution, and its behavior in a completely nonphysical region, thus govern otherwise mysterious large changes in the physical, measurable solutions. <<ETX>>
Diversity in Phenotype and Steroid Hormone Dependence in Dendritic Cells and Macrophages in the Mouse Uterus1

Abstract The dendritic cells and related antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that activate lymphocytes for acquired immunity in the female reproductive tract are not well characterized. The aim of the present study was to examine heterogeneity among uterine APCs in mice and, specifically, to determine whether phenotypically and functionally distinct subpopulations of dendritic cells and macrophages can be identified. Using immunohistochemistry, abundant cells expressing APC-restricted molecules major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, F4/80, class A scavenger receptor, macrosialin, and sialoadhesin were evident in estrous mice. Cells expressing the costimulatory molecule B7-2 were rarely observed. Flow cytometric analysis revealed three subpopulations of uterine APCs. Undifferentiated macrophages were F4/80-positive (+), MHC class II-negative (−) cells, of which 70–80% expressed CD11b, but few expressed class A scavenger receptor, macrosialin, or sialoadhesin. Mature macrophages were F4/80+/MHC class II+ cells, of which approximately 50% expressed CD11b, class A scavenger receptor, macrosialin, and sialoadhesin. Uterine dendritic cells were F4/ 80−/MHC class II+ cells, with stimulatory immunoaccessory function relative to uterine macrophages and heterogeneous expression of dendritic markers 33D1, DEC205, CD11c, and CD1. Experiments in ovariectomized mice showed that undifferentiated macrophages were steroid hormone dependent but that mature macrophages and dendritic cells persisted after depletion of ovarian steroid hormones, although with altered phenotypes. In summary, our findings identify three discrete populations of APCs inhabiting the murine uterus and suggest that both mature macrophages and dendritic cells differentiate from undifferentiated macrophage precursor cells. Plasticity in the ontogenetic and functional relationships between uterine dendritic cells and macrophages likely is critical in regulating immune responses conducive to reproductive success.
Systematic review and meta‐analysis: islet autotransplantation after pancreatectomy for minimizing diabetes

Objective Islet autotransplantation (IAT) may decrease the morbidity and mortality of postpancreatectomy diabetes mellitus. The current systematic review and meta‐analysis examined the rate of insulin independence (II) and mortality after IAT post‐total (TP) or partial pancreatectomy (PP).
Resting Esophageal Sphincter Pressures and Deglutition Frequency in Awake Subjects After Oropharyngeal Topical Anesthesia and Laryngeal Mask Device Insertion

We investigated the effects of oropharyngeal topical anesthesia and placement of the standard (LMA) and the ProSeal (PLMA) laryngeal mask airway on resting gastroesophageal barrier pressure (GEBP), upper esophageal sphincter pressure (UESP), and deglutition frequency in awake subjects. Each subject was studied on 2 consecutive days: 1 day with the LMA and the other with the PLMA, in random order. GEBP and UESP were measured between deglutitions by using a pull-through technique in five sequential conditions: 1) after acclimatization to the manometer, 2) after topical anesthesia, 3) after the LMA or PLMA was self-inserted and the cuff inflated with either 10 or 30 mL of air in random order, 4) after the cuff volume was adjusted to the other randomized volume, and 5) after LMA or PLMA removal. Deglutition frequency was determined between pressure measurements by using a neck microphone. UESP was always larger than GEBP (P < 0.001 for all). Topical anesthesia had no influence on GEBP, UESP, or deglutition frequency. LMA and PLMA placement did not influence GEBP or UESP, but deglutition frequency was higher (P < 0.02 for all). GEBP and UESP did not vary between devices for any condition. Cuff volume did not influence GEBP or UESP. Deglutition frequency was more frequent for the LMA than the PLMA at a 30-mL cuff volume (P = 0.008). We conclude that resting GEBP and UESP are unaffected by oropharyngeal topical anesthesia and the LMA or PLMA in awake subjects, but that deglutition frequency is increased by the LMA or PLMA. This may have implications for the incidence of regurgitation in these situations.
Asthma Management Practices at Home in Young Inner‐City Children

Information on parental asthma management practices for young children is sparse. The objective of this article is to determine if specific caregiver asthma management practices for children were associated with children's asthma morbidity. Caregivers of 100 inner‐city children diagnosed with persistent asthma and participating in an ongoing asthma intervention study were enrolled and interviewed to ascertain measures of asthma morbidity, medication use, health care use (acute and primary care), and asthma management practices. Overall, asthma morbidity was high with almost two thirds of caregivers reporting their child having one or more emergency department visits within the last 6 months and 63% receiving specialty care for their asthma. Appropriate medication use was reported predominantly as albuterol and inhaled steroids (78%). However, only 42% of caregivers reported administering asthma medicines when their child starts to cough and less than half (39%) reported having an asthma action plan. There were no significant differences by asthma severity level for any asthma management practice. In conclusion, caregivers lack knowledge regarding cough as an early asthma symptom. Caregivers should be encouraged to review asthma action plans with health care providers at each medical encounter.
Structural effects of meteorite impact on basalt: Evidence from Lonar crater, India

Received 31 January 2005; revised 17 August 2005; accepted 26 August 2005; published 8 December 2005. [1] Lonar crater is a simple, bowl-shaped, near-circular impact crater in the � 65 Myr old Deccan Volcanic Province in India. As Lonar crater is a rare terrestrial crater formed entirely in basalt, it provides an excellent opportunity to study the impact deformation in target basalt, which is common on the surfaces of other terrestrial planets and their satellites. The present study aims at documenting the impact deformational structures in the massive basalt well exposed on the upper crater wall, where the basalt shows upward turning of the flow sequence, resulting in a circular deformation pattern. Three fracture systems (radial, concentric, and conical fractures) are exposed on the inner crater wall. On the fracture planes, plumose structures are common. Uplift and tilting of the basalt sequence and formation of the fractures inside the crater are clearly related to the impact event and are different from the preimpact structures such as cooling-related columnar joints and fractures of possible tectonic origin, which are observed outside the crater. Slumping is common throughout the inner wall, and listric faulting displaces the flows in the northeastern inner wall. The impact structures of Lonar crater are broadly similar to those at other simple terrestrial craters in granites and clastic sedimentary rocks and even small-scale experimental craters formed in gabbro targets. As Lonar crater is similar to the strength-controlled laboratory craters, impact parameters could be modeled for this crater, provided maximum depth of fracture formation would be known. Citation: Kumar, P. S. (2005), Structural effects of meteorite impact on basalt: Evidence from Lonar crater, India, J. Geophys. Res., 110, B12402, doi:10.1029/2005JB003662.
Profiles of Dispositional Expectancies and Affectivity Predict Later Psychosocial Functioning in Children and Adolescents With Cancer.

OBJECTIVE Examined how individual differences in disposition among pediatric cancer patients predict their later psychosocial functioning. METHODS Patients aged 8-17 years (N = 223) reported on their disposition at baseline. One and three years later, self-reports and parent reports of patient psychosocial functioning were obtained. Latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups that differed on baseline disposition and to compare them on later outcomes. ESULTS Three groups were identified: The "Positive" group (59%) had high optimism and positive affectivity and low pessimism and negative affectivity; the "Moderate" group (39%) had a similar profile, with less exaggerated scores; a small, "Negative" group (2%) had the opposite profile (low optimism/positive affectivity; high pessimism/negative affectivity). These groups differed in psychosocial functioning at follow-up, generally in expected directions. CONCLUSIONS Most patients have a disposition that may be protective. A small minority at high risk for maladjustment is distinguished by their disposition.
Association Between Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain and Adverse Left Ventricular Dilatation After ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Background—Myocardial infarct size is a major determinant of left ventricular (LV) remodeling after ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction. We evaluated whether LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), proposed as a novel marker of infarct size, is associated with 3- and 6-month LV dilatation after ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction. Methods and Results—In the first ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, baseline LVGLS was measured with 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography. Patients were dichotomized according to median value. The independent relationship between GLS groups and LV end-diastolic volume at 3 and 6 months (adjusted for clinical and echocardiographic variables) was assessed. The final study population comprised 1041 patients (60±12 years; 76% men). Median LVGLS was −15.0%. Patients with baseline LVGLS >−15.0% exhibited greater LV dilatation at 3 and 6 months compared with patients with GLS ⩽−15.0% (LV end-diastolic volume 123±44 versus 106±36 mL and 121±43 versus 102±34 mL, respectively; global group–time interaction P<0.001). This association retained the same statistical significance after adjustment for various relevant demographic, clinical, and echocardiographic characteristics. Further, net reclassification improvement index demonstrated significant incremental value of LVGLS for prediction of LV end-diastolic volume increase (0.14 [95% confidence interval, 0.00034–0.29]; P=0.04). Conclusions—LVGLS before discharge after ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction is independently associated with LV dilatation at follow-up.
Data Mining Through Neural Networks Using Recurrent Network

With the development of database, the data volume stored in database increases rapidly and in the large amounts of data much important information is hidden. If the information can be extracted from the database they will create a lot of profit for the organization. The question they are asking is how to extract this value. The answer is data mining. There are many technologies available to data mining practitioners, including Artificial Neural Networks, Genetics, Fuzzy logic and Decision Trees. Many practitioners are wary of Neural Networks due to their black box nature, even though they have proven themselves in many situations. This paper is an overview of artificial neural networks and questions their position as a preferred tool by data mining practitioners.
The burden of being exemplary: national sentiments, awkward witnessing, and womanhood in occupied Palestine

This paper offers an analysis of how Palestinian wives of detainees are made into examples, both by themselves and by the people they are intimate with, whilst considering also the context of these women's awkward place in Palestinian narratives of national becoming. The main objective is to examine the burden of being an example, and what that implies for those who aspire to or are subtly coerced into inhabiting the position of an ‘exemplary’ woman in Palestine. Particular modalities of being an example are expected from Palestinian wives of detainees in order to sustain a shared version of the ordinary under military occupation. Not surprisingly, the emotional labour it takes to appear exemplary is necessarily eliminated from public as well as intimate registers of speech in order to keep up the collective aspiration to maintain a so-called ‘ordinary life’ during ongoing conflict.
The intestinal anti‐inflammatory effect of dersalazine sodium is related to a down‐regulation in IL‐17 production in experimental models of rodent colitis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Dersalazine sodium (DS) is a new chemical entity formed by combining, through an azo bond, a potent platelet activating factor (PAF) antagonist (UR‐12715) with 5‐aminosalicylic acid (5‐ASA). DS has been demonstrated to have anti‐inflammatory effects on trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS)‐induced colitis in rats and recently in UC patients in phase II PoC. There is Increasing evidence that Th17 cells have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to further characterize the anti‐inflammatory effects of DS.
A Low-Profile, Low-Backlobe and Wideband Complementary Antenna for Wireless Application

A new complementary antenna (or Huygens source) with a very low profile is presented. This antenna, composed of a pair of planar monopoles, a pair of bowtie shaped slots and a microstrip antenna, provides a broadband operation while its height is only 0.035 λ0, where λ0 is the wavelength referring to the center frequency of the operating band. More importantly, the proposed antenna radiates unidirectionally without the need of a metallic reflector. And therefore the total antenna volume is reduced to 0.011 λ03. A prototype was fabricated and measured. It exhibits an impedance bandwidth (SWR ≤ 2) of 20.7% from 1.387 GHz to 1.696 GHz, a stable boresight gain of 6.11 dBi and a unidirectional radiation pattern with low back radiation ( dB), low cross-polarization ( dB).