Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Th 17 and Treg Axis Disorder on Outcomes of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Connective Tissue Diseases

This prospective cohort study is to verify the hypothesis that the balance of Th17 and Treg cells frequencies in the peripheral circulation is disturbed in patients with varying degrees of connective tissue diseases-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-aPAH) and to prove the influence ofTh17/Treg imbalance on prognosis. We detected the frequencies and absolute counts of Th17 andTreg cells and related serum cytokines secretion and expressions of key transcription factors in 117 patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD), 53 patients with CTD-aPAH, and 48 healthy volunteers. Moreover, the median value according to levels of Th17/Treg ratios in patients with CTD-aPAH was chosen as basis of group division for survival analysis. CTD-aPAH patients revealed significant increase in peripheral Th17 cells, Th17-related cytokines, and ROR γt mRNA levels. They also presented a significant decrease in Treg cells, Treg-related cytokines, and Foxp3 mRNA levels as compared with CTD patients and healthy controls. More importantly, the Th17/Treg ratio was significantly related to the severity and prognosis of CTD-aPAH. This study indicated that theTh17/Treg axis disorder plays a critical role in CTD-aPAH. Furthermore, the dynamic balance betweenTh17 and Treg cells was likely to influence prognosis of patients with CTD-aPAH.
Physical Mechanisms of Tropical Climate Feedbacks Investigated Using Temperature and Moisture Trends

Tropical climate feedback mechanisms are assessed using satellite-observed and model-simulated trends in tropical tropospheric temperature from the MSU/AMSU instruments and upper-tropospheric humidity from the HIRS instruments. Despite discrepancies in the rates of tropospheric warming between observations and models, both are consistent with constant relative humidity over the period 1979‐2008. Because uncertainties in satelliteobserved tropical-mean trends preclude a constraint on tropical-mean trends in models regional features of the feedbacks are also explored. The regional pattern of the lapse rate feedback is primarily determined by the regional pattern of surface temperature changes, as tropical atmospheric warming is relatively horizontally uniform. The regional pattern of the water vapor feedback is influenced by the regional pattern of precipitation changes, with variations of 1‐2Wm 22 K 21 across the tropics (compared to a tropical-mean feedback magnitude of 3.3‐4W m 22 K 21 ). Thus the geographical patterns of water vapor and lapse rate feedbacks are not correlated, but when the feedbacks are calculated in precipitation percentiles rather than in geographical space they are anticorrelated, with strong positive water vapor feedback associated with strong negative lapse rate feedback. The regional structure of the feedbacks is not related to the strength of the tropical-mean feedback in a subset of the climate models from the CMIP5 archive. Nevertheless the approach constitutes a useful process-based test of climate models and has the potential to be extended to constrain regional climate projections.
Quantitative analysis of TLR-4-mediated cell responses in murine macrophages

TLR-4 is essential in host defense against bacterial infection. By recognition of specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), TLR-4 can in tandem initiate a pair of downstream signaling pathways to regulate cytokine/chemokine release, endotoxin tolerance and apoptosis, which have been suggested to directly or indirectly participate in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. However, little is known about their detailed signal-response relationships. In this thesis, we sought to identify these potential signal-response relationships in RAW264.7 cells through systematic analysis. We first measured LPS stimulated dynamic signaling profiles over a range of an inhibitor of p38 MAPK, SB202190 concentrations for a distribution of kinases centrally involved in TLR-4 signaling network. We then applied quantitative analytical approaches to determine the most important signals or signal combinations contributing to induction of either IL-6 and TNF-ao secretion or apoptosis and construct their corresponding predictive mathematical models. Particularly, we found that the partial least squares regression (PLSR) models built using the ratio of phosphorylated Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) predicted LPS plus SB202190-induced apoptosis accurately even following perturbation with pharmacological inhibitors of JNK and ERK. Thus, by combining experimental and computational approaches, this thesis has proposed two new potential targets, JNK and ERK, for development of drug therapies against bacterial infection. Thesis Supervisor: Douglas A. Lauffenburger Title: Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology Thesis Supervisor: David B. Schauer Title: Professor of Biological Engineering and Comparative Medicine
Consumer Perceptions towards Radical Innovation: Autonomous Cars

This study aims to investigate consumer perception towards radical innovation in order to provide practitioners with an understanding of consumer behaviour with a particular focus on the correlation between consumer resistance to innovation and intention of adoption. Such knowledge is likely to provide guidance to organisations for the upcoming launch of their radical innovation, and hence to reduce the innovation failure rates. Technological developments over the years have changed how consumers manage their lives. Nowadays consumers’ lives are getting “smarter” stimulated by the development of “smart phones”, “smart homes”, “smart offices” and most recently “smart cars”. In this paper, autonomous cars have been selected as the radical innovation due to its unique status as a widely discussed and globally promoted product but still in the pre-launch stage. Our survey identified financial, tradition and norm as major barriers for consumer resistance towards radical innovation while image and usage were secondary barriers.
Laser interstitial thermal therapy : principles and rationale Treating cancers with heat energy dates back to 1960 s

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) has emerged as a potential tool in the armamen‐ tarium of neurosurgeons managing patients with deep-seated and difficult-to-access brain tumors. Advances in stereotactic neurosurgery coupled with neuroimaging tools have led to the resurgence of interest in laser therapy for a variety of neurosurgical indications. Stereotactic placement of laser probe using minimally invasive techni‐ ques and the ability to monitor the tissue ablation in real time using MR thermometry are two distinct advantages of LITT. Patients with recurrent gliobastoma multiforme (GBM) or newly diagnosed gliomas with significant medical comorbidities, radiation necrosis, radiosurgery-resistant brain metastasis and cancer-related pain pose significant challenges in the field of neuro-oncology. LITT offers an opportunity to obtain stereotactic biopsy and cytoreduction in a minimally invasive nature. In this chapter, we have described the current applications of LITT in neuro-oncology, including malignant gliomas, brain metastatic disease, radiation necrosis and other indications such as cancer-related pain and epilepsy. We have also described the principles, technical nuances and LITT systems currently available in the clinical practice. With growing interest and acceptance of LITT in neuro-oncology, we are likely to obtain high-quality evidence supporting the utility of this modality in patients with a variety of neuro-oncological conditions in the near future.
A Multinomial Logit Based Evaluation of the Behavior of the Life Insureds in Romania

The Romanian life insurance market is in full expansion. There exists competition between insurance companies as well as between different products of the same company. In this article we describe a study using data that we collected from clients of a Romanian insurance company. We have observed two types of variables: attributes of the insurance products (e.g., profitability, risk), as well as characteristics of the individuals (e.g., sex, age, income). Using elements of economic theory and a multinomial logit model we explain the behavior of the life insureds. We estimate the variations in the market shares of life insurance products using marginal effects. The variations are due to possible changes in the values of some attributes or characteristics.
Experiences with Use of Various Pedagogical Methods Utilizing a Student Response System -- Motivation and Learning Outcome.

This paper describes use of an online Student Response System (SRS) in a pre-qualification course for engineering studies in Norway. The SRS in use, where students answer quizzes using handheld mobile devices like Smartphones, PADs, iPods etc., has been developed at Sor-Trondelag University College. The development of the SRS was co-funded by the Lifelong Learning Program KA3-ICT in 2009-2010. SRS has been designed to help teachers effortlessly i) break the monotony of a lecture and allow the students to actively take part in the lecture, ii) increase teacher-student interaction, and iii) give teacher and students immediate anonymous feedback on learning outcome. The response system was used in mathematics in two groups with different lecturers during two semesters in 2009-2010. The pedagogical methods in use wŝůů ďĞ ƌĞĨĞƌƌĞĚ ƚŽ ĂƐ PĞĞƌ IŶƐƚƌƵĐƚŝŽŶ ĂŶĚ CůĂƐƐŝĐ IŶ ĞĂĐŚ ŵĞƚŚŽĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚƐ ǁŝůů ĂŶƐǁĞƌ Ă ŵƵůƚŝƉůĞ ĐŚŽŝĐĞ ƋƵŝǌ ƵƐŝŶŐ their mobile devices. In both cases the result of the quiz will immediately appear as a histogram on a screen in the classroom. The closing parts will also be identical. The lecturer then highlights the correct option in the histogram and explains why this option actually is the correct one. In the Peer Instruction method there will be an additional element. The first poll will be followed by a discussion in student groups, where the students are urged to defend their choice and convince their fellow students that their chosen option is the correct one. The discussion is then followed by a new individual voting session before the final results are shown and the closing part takes place. The paper will compare this method with the peer instruction method as described in existing literature. The learning outcome will be discussed ĂĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŝŶƚĞƌǀŝĞǁƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ůĞĐƚƵƌĞƌƐ Ğ xperiences from the classroom. In addition we will analyze ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚƐ ŐƌĂĚĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƚĞƐƚ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ŝŶ ŵĂƚŚĞŵĂƚŝĐƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƌĞƐƉĞĐ ƚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĞǆƉĞĐƚĞĚ ůĞǀĞů ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĂĐŚŝĞǀĞŵĞŶƚƐ We will present results showing that when students are arguing their point of view, they will have a stronger tendency to convince their fellow students when they themselves already have found the correct option in the quiz. Finally we will suggest pedagogical improvements for future use of response systems in mathematics. Input from lecturers and from students has already been used in the process of developing a new version of SRS, finished in January 2013.
Risk Management Through Enterprise Diversification: A Farm-Level Analysis

Enterprise diversification is a self-insuring strategy used by farmers to protect against risk. This paper examines the impact of various farm, operator, and household characteristics on the level of on-farm diversification. Results provide evidence that larger farms are more specialized. Also, farmers who participate in off-farm income and farms located near urban areas are less likely to diversify. Additionally, results also show a significant positive relationship between diversification and farm/crop insurance and sole proprietorships. Finally, there is also evidence that farms that received government payments are more diversified than their counterparts.
Applications of Subleading-Color Amplitudes in N = 4 SYM Theory

A number of features and applications of subleading-color amplitudes of N=4 SYM theory are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the IR divergences of the subleading-color amplitudes, the relationships of N=4 SYM theory to N=8 supergravity, and to geometric interpretations of one-loop subleading-color and NkMHV amplitudes of N=4 SYM theory.
Phytochemical study, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Stemodia maritima

Stemodinol, a new natural compound, together with known compounds including jaceidin, stemodin, stemodinoside B, isocrenatoside, verbascoside, crenatoside, and isoverbascoside, were isolated from Stemodia maritima Linn. The antioxidant (DPPH method) and antimicrobial activities of stemodin, stemodinoside B, and crenatoside were investigated. Among the components tested, only crenatoside isolated from the roots showed a high antioxidant power. Stemodin and stemodinoside B exhibited antibacterial activities.
Do foreign visitors reward post-communist countries? A panel evidence for tourism-growth nexus

Using cross-country panel data for 23 post-communist countries, we provide novel empirical evidence that tourism exerts a positive and significant effect on economic growth after controlling for conventional determinants in the growth equation. The system GMM results suggest that per-capita tourism receipts increase by 10 percent, the per-capita growth rate increases by 1.36% points, ceteris paribus. The results remain robust under various estimation methods.
Scared Sick

The factors that determne the health and well-being of older populations are increasingly recognized as critical public health issues. The focus of this review article is to provide evidence for the role of fear of crime in determining the mental health of older populations. The fear of crime is a complex construct, as the vast majority of fear is not related to actual rates of victimization. Here, we synthesize the literature on fear of crime and how the physical and social environment can profoundly affect mental health outcomes. The review presents some plausible physiological mechanisms by which fear of crime may directly or indirectly affect the life span development of the brain to modulate mental health in an effort to aid further development of research in this area.
Board meeting frequency and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting : evidence from Malaysia

CITATION: Ju Ahmad, N. B. , Rashid, A. & Gow, J. 2017. Board meeting frequency and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting : evidence from Malaysia. Corporate Board: role, duties and composition, 13(1);87-99, doi:10.22495/cbv13i1c1art3.
A Web of Expectations: Evolving Relationships in Community Participatory Geoweb Projects.

New forms of participatory online geospatial technology have the potential to support citizen engagement in governance and community development. The mechanisms of this contribution have predominantly been cast in the literature as ‘citizens as sensors’, with individuals acting as a distributed network, feeding academics or government with data. To counter this dominant perspective, we describe our shared experiences with the development of three community-based Geospatial Web 2.0 (Geoweb) projects, where community organizations were engaged as partners, with the general aim to bring about social change in their communities through technology development and implementation. Developing Geoweb tools with community organizations was a process that saw significant evolution of project expectations and relationships. As Geoweb tool development encountered the realities of technological development and implementation in a community context, this served to reduce organizational enthusiasm and support for projects as a whole. We question the power dynamics at play between university researchers and organizations, including project financing, both during development and in the long term. How researchers managed, or perpetuated, many of the popular myths of the Geoweb, namely that it is inexpensive and easy to use (thought not to build, perhaps) impacted the success of each project and the sustainability of relationships between researcher and organization. Ultimately, this research shows the continuing gap between the promise of online geospatial technology, and the realities of its implementation at the community level.
Ways of coping and mental burnout of Bedouin mothers compared to Bedouin fathers of children with ASD

Objective: The present study compares the ways of coping, and mental burnout of Bedouin mothers with those of Bedouin fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and examines whether there are any relations between these variables. Method: A comparison was made between the 74 Bedouin mothers and 74 Bedouin fathers of children with ASD, on ways of coping, and mental burnout. Questionnaires were used: a demographic questionnaire; a Ways of Coping Questionnaire, developed by Folkman and Lazarus and Mental Burnout Questionnaire developed by Pines. Results: In the comparison between Bedouin mothers and Bedouin fathers of children with ASD on the measures of ways of coping differences between mothers and fathers were found only for escape-avoidance coping. On the measures of mental burnout, a significant difference was found thus, the mothers showed significantly higher mental burnout than the fathers. In examining the relations between the variables: significant relations were found between ways of coping strategies and mental burnout for both Bedouin mothers and fathers of children with ASD. Conclusions: The findings of the current study highlight the need for subsequent research, particularly on the escape-avoidance coping, as well as on culturally-tailored interventions, which are focused on social support for both parents.
Effect of over-wintering and incubation temperatures on adult emergence in Osmia cornuta Latr (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)

On etudie actuellement en Espagne l'utilisation d'Osmia cornuta comme pollinisateur alternatif des vergers. La synchronisation de l'emergence des adultes avec la floraison de la culture cible est essentielle pour utiliser au mieux le potentiel pollinisateur de cette abeille solitaire, principalement lorsque les floraisons sont courtes. Dans cette etude, des cocons mâles et femelles d'O. cornuta ont ete places dans des recipients en verre et exposes a differents regimes de temperatures d'hivernage et a diverses modalites d'incubation. Les abeilles qui ont partiellement ou totalement hiverne dans un entrepot d'une region de vergers d'amandiers ont emerge sur une periode beaucoup plus longue (fig 1) que celles qui avaient hiverne dans des refrigerateurs (figs 2 a 5)
Adolescents’ Use of the Internet for Sex Education: A Thematic and Critical Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT. A thematic and critical literature review was conducted to determine what is known about adolescents’ experiences with online sex education. Four major themes could be discerned from the literature, revealing that: (a) adolescents report engaging with sex information online; (b) adolescents are interested in a number of topics, including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy; (c) the quality of adolescent-targeted sex information online can be lacking, but adolescents can evaluate these sources; and (d) Internet-based interventions can increase adolescents’ sexual health knowledge. Inconsistencies in the literature are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.
The wave climate on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa

The east coast of South Africa has been the subject of numerous coastal developments over recent years. The design of such developments requires a thorough analysis of the local wave climate. Richards Bay and Durban’s Waverider data are two relatively long east coast data sets (18 years). These data sets have not been formally reviewed since Rossouw (1984) analysed existing wave data for South African and Namibian coastal waters. This paper aims to provide a formal analysis of the KwaZulu-Natal wave data. Seasonal exceedance probability plots, wave roses and typical wave parameter statistics are presented. Return periods for extreme waves are estimated from the generalised extreme value distribution, and the associated limitations are discussed. The average peak period on the east coast of South Africa is 10.0 seconds, the average significant wave height is 1.65 m and the average wave direction is 130 degrees. Autumn has the most frequent and the largest wave events while summer is the only season unlikely to produce either large or frequent events. The recurrence interval of the largest recorded significant wave height (8.5 m) was estimated to be between 32 and 61 year.
Introduction: The Global Economy, FDI, and the Regime for Investment

The world economy has maintained or enhanced its integration in the past decade even in the face of the global financial crisis. A large part of this globalization has been driven by capital flows. This symposium focuses on one element of these capital flows, foreign direct investment (FDI), and on the regime in place to safeguard and promote such investments around the globe. The articles by Allee and Peinhardt and Simmons focus on the nature and evolution of the bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that have been developed to protect such investments and that have proliferated since the 1990s. The final article, by Buthe and Milner, turns its attention to the ways in which international trade agreements affect FDI. The comparison between the investment and trade agreements is instructive, since they seem to have different effects. FDI has become one of the most important economic flows in the global economy. It is a critical source of capital for developing countries and remains a significant source of investment in the developed world. FDI has grown in part because countries changed their policies toward it dramatically after the 1980s; governments in developing countries made unilateral policy changes that opened up markets across the globe and increased competition among countries for FDI.
Constraints on the Distance Moduli, Helium and Metal Abundances, and Ages of Globular Clusters from their RR Lyrae and Non-variable Horizontal-branch Stars. III. M55 and NGC 6362

M55 (NGC 6809) and NGC 6362 are among the few globular clusters for which masses and radii have been derived to high precision for member binary stars. They also contain RR Lyrae variables, which, together with their non-variable horizontal-branch (HB) populations, provide tight constraints on the cluster reddenings and distance moduli through fits of stellar models to their pulsational and evolutionary properties. Reliable (m − M)V estimates yield MV and Mbol values of comparable accuracy for binary stars, because the V-band bolometric corrections applicable to them have no more than a weak dependence on effective temperature ( ) and [Fe/H]. Chemical abundances derived from the binary mass–MV relations are independent of determinations based on their spectra. The temperatures of the binaries, which are calculated directly from their luminosities and the measured radii, completely rule out the low scale that has been determined for metal-deficient stars in some recent spectroscopic and interferometric studies. If [α/Fe] = 0.4 and [O/Fe] = 0.5 ± 0.1, we find that M55 has , [Fe/H] = −1.85 ± 0.1, and an age of 12.9 ± 0.8 Gyr, whereas NGC 6362 has , [Fe/H] = −0.90 ± 0.1, and an age of 12.4 ± 0.8 Gyr. The HB of NGC 6362 shows clear evidence for multiple stellar populations. Constraints from the RR Lyrae standard candle and from local subdwarfs (with Gaia DR2 parallaxes) are briefly discussed.