Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring national identification programs among web-enabled professionals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management a sense of importance in providing a balance between providing customer service and still safeguarding personal identity through a national identity program.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the applied literature on national identity programs and a personal interview of 252 professional and semi‐professional people was conducted, representative of the service industries located in the metropolitan section of Pittsburgh, PA.Findings – Via multiple linear regression, χ2, and factor analysis, virtually all the basic personal information and customer relationship management (CRM)‐related tenets of benefits with identity program, global security concerns, technology enabled, personal identity concerns, standardization concerns, wealth and education factors, cost of capita, online experiences, and confront with personal information, were found be statistically significant and positively related to the degree of invasion of pr.
The Effect of Gender and Online Collaborative Learning Strategy to Student Learning Motivation

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the effectiveness of online collaborative learning especially using the wiki to improve student learning motivation. This paper also seek the possibility gender will affected to the learning motivation in this environment. The article explores for the possibility to design the collaborative learning on the Jig Saw technique framework using wiki. The paper reports the findings from a quantitative research which had two independent variable i.e. gender and learning strategy. The control group was classroom based collaborative learning and the experimental group was online collaborative learning. The dependent variable was student motivation learning which measured by questionnaire. The proposed hypotheses were tested using two way ANOVA that to find the main effect of gender and learning strategy, and the interaction of both variables. The findings of this research is that gender did not give significant effect to student learning motivation. But, learning strategy gave the significant effect to student learning strategy which the online collaborative learning had better effect to the motivation than classroom based collaborative learning. Both independent variable had slight interaction but statistically not significant. The results presented here will assist researchers, teachers or lecturers, and higher-education administrators to take the beneficial of the wiki to improve student learning motivation that would increase the learning performance as well.
The sexual politics of moral citizenship and containing "dangerous" foreign men in Cold War Canada, 1950s-1960s.

Canadian historians have not fully explored how post-1945 mass immigration heightened contemporary panics about crippled personalities, failing families, and declining moral standards and how these panics also served to bolser state surveillance of those considered a source of contamination. Among the groups considered potentially dangerous, in the discourse of the time, were European refugee and immigrant men. Popular writers, journalists covering ethnic murders, professional researchers, government officials, ethnic Canadians, and caseworkers dealt with the sexual, moral, and mental health of New Canadian men in ways that were often contradictory. An examination of some of these sources sheds light on an under-studied dimension to the exaggerations and alarmist predictions that fuelled the moral panic of the early Cold War years.
Effect of Cognitive Reserve Markers on Alzheimer Pathologic Progression

Education, occupation, premorbid intelligence, and brain size are surrogate markers for cognitive reserve. Whether these markers have biological influence on Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology is not known. We thus aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive reserve proxies on longitudinal change of AD biomarkers. A total of 819 participants with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and mild AD were enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and followed up with repeated measures of cerebrospinal fluid, positron emission tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess whether biomarker rates of change were modified by reserve proxies. Cerebrospinal fluid A&bgr;42 decline was slower in normal cognition participants with higher cognitive reserve indexed by education, occupation, and American National Adult Reading Test (ANART). The decline of [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography uptake was slower in AD participants with better performance on the ANART. Education, occupation, and ANART did not modify the rates of magnetic resonance imaging hippocampal atrophy in any group. These findings remained unchanged after accounting for APOE 4, longitudinal missing data, and baseline cognitive performance. Higher levels of reserve markers may slow the rate of amyloid deposition before cognitive impairment and preserve glucose metabolism at the dementia stage over the course of AD pathologic progression.
Long‐term consequences of short‐term precipitation shocks: evidence from Brazilian migrant households

We find that large short-term precipitation shocks damage the long-term income of households that have permanently migrated from rural to urban areas. This outcome is consistent with the behavior of credit-constrained rural households who are willing to accept lower long-term income in urban areas following the depletion of their productive assets during an adverse shock. Our empirical evidence suggests that there may be a link between large precipitation shocks in rural areas and urban poverty. Further exploration is warranted on the mechanisms by which natural disasters cause these long-term losses. Copyright (c) 2009 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
Basic Research on Dopamine in Parkinson’s Disease and the Discovery of the Nigrostriatal Dopamine Pathway: The View of an Eyewitness

The article recapitulates some of the historical facts that led up to the recognition of dopamine (DA) as a biologically active substance in the brain and its crucial role in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Three events to which the writer has been an eyewitness are specially highlighted and placed in their proper historical perspective: (1) the discovery of the striatal DA deficit in the PD brain; (2) the development of the DA replacement treatment with L-dopa, and (3) the ‘birth’ of the nigrostriatal DA pathway. The opposition to the new observations and their unexpected and far-reaching consequences will be illustrated by briefly discussing the strongly negative opinions expressed by some famous brain scientists of the day about the relationship between the substantia nigra, PD, and the DA-containing nigrostriatal fiber connection.
A synthesis of perceptions about physical activity among older African American and American Indian women.

OBJECTIVES In this review of qualitative data from the Cross-Cultural Activity Participation Study (CAPS), we synthesize the major findings of studies designed to identify minority women's perceptions of physical activity. METHODS We interviewed 30 African American and 26 American Indian women with constant comparison techniques. We analyzed the data with a coding system developed from the data. RESULTS The women led active, busy lives. Most perceived physical activity as being good for them, identified constraints to time and space for physical activity, and wanted social support for physical activity. Sociocultural issues also were related to physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Both personal and cultural values influenced the women's physical activity behaviors.
Stressing the obvious? An allostatic look at critical illness

Stress plays a crucial role in coping with extrinsic insults through modulating the autonomic nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems. The allostatic model of maintaining “stability through change” allows the body to respond to a challenge by adjusting to a new steady-state and terminating it once the danger has passed. However, unrelenting stress can lead to decompensation with development of pathologic illness. With sufficient activation the response may become more damaging than the stressor itself. Two types of “allostatic overload” are described: type 1 is an essentially protective response triggered by changes in environment, food supply, or physiologic status where energy demand exceeds supply. The response aims to reduce this imbalance by modifying behavior and intrinsic body systems to direct the animal into a survival mode. Type 2 overload occurs when there is sufficient or excess energy consumption; however, this situation does not trigger an escape or survival response. A clear analogy may be made to critical care where excess stress affects metabolic, hormonal, and immunoinflammatory responses and contributes to the development of organ failure. Ongoing stress also compromises recovery so it is incumbent upon caregivers to reduce stress, be it induced by tissue hypoxia, catecholamine infusion, sleep deprivation, pain, anxiety, and/or excess noise.
Effects of sevoflurane on regional myocardial blood flow distribution: quantification with myocardial contrast echocardiography.

BACKGROUND Using myocardial contrast echocardiography, the authors tried to determine whether sevoflurane causes myocardial blood maldistribution in humans and dogs. METHODS In animal experiments, 15 mongrel dogs were organized into dipyridamole (n = 6) and sevoflurane (n = 9) groups. Sonicated albumin was infused into the left main coronary artery. The peak gray level corrected for background was analyzed at the following intervals: (1) at baseline, (2) after stenosis of the left circumflex coronary artery (blood flow reduced by 40%), (3) after administration of dipyridamole (1 mg/kg given intravenously) or sevoflurane (1 minimum alveolar concentration) during stenosis, and (4) after phenylephrine during stenosis and administration of dipyridamole or sevoflurane. In human studies, nine patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were studied. During partial extracorporeal circulation, the peak gray level was analyzed before and 20 min after sevoflurane (1 minimum alveolar concentration). RESULTS In animal experiments, dipyridamole decreased significantly the inner:outer ratio of the peak gray level in the ischemic area and the ischemic:normal ratio of the peak gray level. After arterial pressure was restored with phenylephrine, neither the inner:outer ratio nor the ischemic:normal ratio improved. In contrast, after sevoflurane administration, the inner:outer ratio and the ischemic:normal ratio remained unchanged, but these increased with phenylephrine. In human studies, sevoflurane did not change the inner:outer ratio in the area supplied by the most stenotic coronary artery. CONCLUSION These results suggest that dipyridamole, a potent coronary vasodilator, produces maldistribution of coronary blood flow in our dog models, whereas sevoflurane does not do this in animal or human studies.
Biochemical and immunological characterization of the duck hepatitis B virus envelope proteins

To examine the envelope proteins of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV), which are encoded by the pre-S/S open reading frame of the viral genome, an antiserum was raised in rabbits against a fusion protein comprising most of the pre-S coding segment. By using this antiserum, viral particles could be precipitated from serum, and two pre-S proteins with molecular sizes of approximately 35 and 37 kilodaltons were detected in the sera and livers of DHBV-infected ducks after Western blotting and after biosynthetic labeling of a primary duck liver cell culture. In serum, the pre-S proteins were shown to exist predominantly in DHBV-DNA-free particles associated with a 17-kilodalton protein which, by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, was shown to represent the viral S protein which is encoded by the 3' proximal segment of the DHBV pre-S/S open reading frame. To compare the immunogenic potential of the S and pre-S proteins, serum particles and gel-purified S protein were used to immunize rabbits. In neither case was a significant immune response against the DHBV S protein observed. However, a good antibody titer against DHBV pre-S was obtained even after immunization with small amounts of the pre-S antigen.
Lessons learned from BATTLE-2 in the war on cancer: the use of Bayesian method in clinical trial design.

In the past decade, the therapeutic landscape for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved considerably with the advent of targeted therapy. It has become the standard of care to match patients with relevant targeted therapeutics according to their molecular abnormalities (1). Treatment of patients with EGFR -mutant NSCLC with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) serves as the paradigm of precision medicine in lung cancer. In the U.S., three first- or second-generation EGFR-TKIs (erlotinib, gefitinib, afatinib) are available for use in the first-line treatment of EGFR -mutant NSCLC (2). Osimertinib, a third-generation EGFR-TKI, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients whose disease has progressed after an earlier generation EGFR-TKI and whose tumors have a secondary mutation (T790M) (2). The list of genetic aberrations for which effective targeted therapeutics are available includes ALK and ROS1 translocations (3,4), and continues to expand due to an improved understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of NSCLC. However, due to the ever-growing number of targeted therapeutics and their putative targets, the simultaneous development of a molecularly targeted agent and a predictive biomarker is not often achievable using data from traditional non-randomized early-phase clinical trials (5), which raises the need for innovative approaches to clinical trial design.
PD‐1 and PD‐L1 upregulation promotes CD8+ T‐cell apoptosis and postoperative recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Programmed death 1 (PD‐1) and its ligand (PD‐L1) play pivotal roles in regulating host immune responses. However, the inhibitory effects of this pathway on the function of cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes, the main effector cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, are not well defined. In this study, we characterized circulating and intratumor PD‐1/PD‐L1 expression and analyzed their association with disease progression in a cohort of hepatitis B virus‐infected patients, including 56 with HCC, 20 with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 20 healthy controls (HC). The frequency of circulating PD‐1+CD8+ T cells increased with disease progression from LC to HCC patients versus HC. Furthermore, tumor‐infiltrating effector CD8+ T cells showed a drastic increase in PD‐1 expression. These increases in circulating and intratumor PD‐1+CD8+ T cells could predict poorer disease progression and postoperative recurrence. Immunohistochemical staining showed that PD‐L1 expressing hepatoma cells and apoptotic infiltrating CD8+ T cells were both enriched in tumor sections. In vitro, CD8+ T cells induced PD‐L1 expression on hepatoma cells in an IFN‐γ–dependent manner, which in turn promoted CD8+ T cells apoptosis, and blocking PD‐L1 reversed this effect. Therefore, this study extends our knowledge of the role of the PD‐1/PD‐L1 pathway in tumor evasion and provides evidence for a new therapeutic target in HCC patients.
Allelic Imbalance Analysis in Liquid Biopsy to Monitor Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer Patients During Treatment

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a highly aggressive tumor, and the current monitoring procedures are partially inadequate to evaluate treatment efficacy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether allelic imbalance analysis in liquid biopsy could be used as an additional tool to monitor tumor burden in EC patients. For this purpose, circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from 52 patients with a locally advanced EC, which underwent neoadjuvant treatment and resection, was analyzed. Data from four representative longitudinally followed patients are also reported. Furthermore, 17 DNAs from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor samples were analyzed and compared to time-matched cfDNAs. To look for allelic imbalance, which is the main genetic alteration in both EC histotypes, we used a panel of five microsatellites (MSs) and three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near genes described as frequently altered. The Fisher exact and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze categorical and continuous data, respectively. The correlation coefficient between cfDNA and FFPE-DNA was calculated with the Pearson's correlation test. We found that the selected tumor-related alterations are present in cfDNA of both adenocarcinoma (EADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with similar frequencies. The only exception were the MSs, one downstream and one upstream, of SMAD4 of which the loss was only observed in EADC (26 vs. 0%, P = 0.018). More interestingly, longitudinal studies disclosed that in patients with disease progression, tumor-related alterations were present in cfDNA before overt clinical or instrumental signs of relapse. In conclusion, our data indicate that the evaluation of tumor-related gene allelic imbalance in cfDNA might be a useful tool to complement the current monitoring procedures for EC patients and to guide their management.
Nursing Students' Perceptions of Satisfaction and Self-Confidence with Clinical Simulation Experience

Nursing and other health professionals are increasingly using simulation as a strategy and a tool for teaching and learning at all levels that need clinical training. Nursing education for decades used simulation as an integral part of nursing education. Recent studies indicated that simulation improves nursing knowledge, clinical practice, critical thinking, communication skills, improve self-confidence and satisfaction as well as clinical decision making.The aim of this study is to explore the perception of 117 nursing students on their satisfaction and selfconfidence after clinical simulation experience using a survey method.This study was carried out at College of Nursing- Jeddah, King Saud bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences. Where the nursing program consist of up to 30% clinical simulation.Data analyzed using descriptive method. Results indicated an overall satisfaction with simulation clinical experience. (Mean is 3.76 to 4.0) and indicated that their self-confidence is built after clinical simulation experience. (Mean is 3.11 to 4.14). The highest satisfaction items mean indicating participants agree that the teaching methods and strategies used in the simulation were effective, clinical instructors/ faculties did not embarrass them in front of others, and give them clear idea of what is expected from them. Participant strongly agreed that they are confident to recognize signs and symptoms of disease, obtaining the required knowledge from simulation to perform necessary tasks in clinical practice, developing the required skills from simulation to perform necessary task in clinical practice, and they can accurately assess an individual with any abnormalities.Participants indicated that they have high level of self-confidence in their abilities to conduct, appropriate health assessments, perform effective intervention, participate as an effective team member and recognize patient deterioration events.
Characterization of SH2D1A Missense Mutations Identified in X-linked Lymphoproliferative Disease Patients*

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by extreme susceptibility to Epstein-Barr virus. The XLP disease gene product SH2D1A (SAP) interacts via its SH2 domain with a motif (TIYXXV) present in the cytoplasmic tail of the cell-surface receptors CD150/SLAM, CD84, CD229/Ly-9, and CD244/2B4. Characteristically, the SH2D1A three-pronged interaction with Tyr281 of CD150 can occur in absence of phosphorylation. Here we analyze the effect of SH2D1A protein missense mutations identified in 10 XLP families. Two sets of mutants were found: (i) mutants with a marked decreased protein half-life (e.g. Y7C, S28R, Q99P, P101L, V102G, and X129R) and (ii) mutants with structural changes that differently affect the interaction with the four receptors. In the second group, mutations that disrupt the interaction between the SH2D1A hydrophobic cleft and Val +3 of its binding motif (e.g. T68I) and mutations that interfere with the SH2D1A phosphotyrosine-binding pocket (e.g. C42W) abrogated SH2D1A binding to all four receptors. Surprisingly, a mutation in SH2D1A able to interfere with Thr −2 of the CD150 binding motif (mutant T53I) severely impaired non-phosphotyrosine interactions while preserving unaffected the binding of SH2D1A to phosphorylated CD150. Mutant T53I, however, did not bind to CD229 and CD224, suggesting that SH2D1A controls several critical signaling pathways in T and natural killer cells. Because no correlation is present between identified types of mutations and XLP patient clinical presentation, additional unidentified genetic or environmental factors must play a strong role in XLP disease manifestations.
The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolism in dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced pre-B lymphocyte apoptosis.

Previous studies indicated that two prototypic PAH, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), suppress the developing immune system by inducing apoptosis in bone marrow pre-B lymphocytes. In bone marrow cultures consisting of pre-B cells growing on bone marrow stromal cell monolayers, pre-B cell apoptosis was shown to be dependent on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor/transcription factor (AhR) expressed in stromal cells. However, it was not determined if AhR activation alone is sufficient or if DMBA metabolism is required for induction of a stromal cell-derived apoptosis signal. To address these issues we assessed: 1) the ability of poorly metabolized AhR ligands to induce pre-B cell apoptosis and 2) the capacity for and the mechanism through which an early DMBA metabolite induces pre-B cell apoptosis. Three poorly metabolized AhR ligands, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl, and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl failed to induce pre-B cell apoptosis in bone marrow cultures, indicating that AhR activation alone is not sufficient to induce apoptosis and suggesting a role for PAH metabolism in induction of an apoptosis signal. Consistent with this hypothesis, DMBA-3, 4-dihydrodiol, an early DMBA metabolite, induced significant pre-B cell apoptosis. The ability of DMBA-3,4-dihydrodiol to activate the AhR, inhibition of DMBA-3,4-dihydrodiol-induced apoptosis by alpha-naphthoflavone, and the significantly lower levels of DMBA-3, 4-dihydrodiol-induced apoposis in pre-B cell populations maintained on AhR(-) stromal cells strongly support a role for the AhR in DMBA-3,4-dihydrodiol-induced apoptosis. Of two DMBA-metabolizing enzymes evaluated, CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, the latter appeared to be the more likely to play a role in DMBA-induced apoptosis. These data confirm a role for the AhR in PAH-induced pre-B cell apoptosis, indicate a role for DMBA metabolism, and suggest a feedback loop in which at least one product of DMBA metabolism augments AhR signaling, leading to induction of an apoptosis stimulus.