Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The method of loci as a mnemonic device to facilitate learning in endocrinology leads to improvement in student performance as measured by assessments.

Cognitive psychology has demonstrated that the way knowledge is structured in memory determines the ability to retain, recall, and use it to solve problems. The method of loci (MOL) is a mnemonic device that relies on spatial relationships between “loci” (e.g., locations on a familiar route or rooms in a familiar building) to arrange and recollect memorial content. In the present study, we hypothesized that the use of MOL leads to better understanding of the topic among students, which can be observed through better student performance on assessments. Students were divided into two groups: group 1 was taught insulin and diabetes mellitus through didactic lectures and a self-directed learning session, whereas group 2 was taught insulin and diabetes mellitus through didactic lectures and MOL. Memory palaces for insulin and diabetes mellitus were generated by students under supervision of the teacher and taught by students as well. A questionnaire survey and open-ended questions were given to the participants. Group 2, which underwent didactic lectures followed by a MOL interactive session, showed significantly improved performance on the assessments compared with group 1, which had been taught through didactic lectures and a self-directed learning session. Descriptive analysis showed that all students found MOL to be a helpful technique.
PENGARUH KEAHLIAN AUDITOR, TEKANAN KETAATAN DAN INDEPENDENSI PADA AUDIT JUDGMENT

Audit judgment is an objective assessment of an auditor of the information from the audit evidence obtained and influenced by aspects indivindu auditors so as to produce thought or decision on information obtained previously. Auditor expertise, pressure obedience, and independence are aspects indivindu assessed could affect audit judgment. The purpose of this study,was to determine the effect auditor expertise, pressure obedience and independence of the audit judgment. The samples used as many as 57 respondents to the sampling method of determining the sample is saturated. Methods of data collection is done by questionnaire. The data analysis technique used is the technique of multiple linear regression analysis. The results obtained are the expertise and independence of the auditor positive effect on audit judgment. Pressure obedience negative effect on audit judgment.
A ‘ state of the art ’ Evaluation of PM – Systems exploring their missing Functionalities

Project management (PM) is crucial to successfully accomplished projects within their predefined goals. To support this process, project management tools are required to foster project members to minimize overruns in time and budget. The presented work is part of a three years project to add semantic technologies to project management for increasing its efficiency. To study the functionalities of current PM systems and for developing a semantically enriched software system, an evaluation of four open source PM tools was carried out. For this work, we started with an online research to obtain a list of the most common/available open source PM systems. Afterwards, we chose the four most common mentioned systems. In addition, qualitative face-to-face interviews with eleven companies, mainly operating in the IT domain, were conducted to reveal missing functionalities as well as usable information about lacks of current project management solutions. The questionnaire contained 27 questions concerning different category groups, such as “general information”, “tools & functionalities” and “(reusing) stored information”. This paper outlines strengths, weaknesses and problems related to current PM (tools). Results have shown that inconsistent data storage and incomplete up-to-date information of ongoing projects are critical issues, which are not completely covered by existing systems.
Vertical integration of an electro-absorption modulator onto a VCSEL for high-speed communications

In this PhD thesis, we describe experimental and theoretical studies on Electro-Absorption Modulator (EAM) for its vertical integration onto a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) to reach high-speed modulation for optical communications. The external modulation of the emitted light by the VCSEL, biased in continuous-wave, avoids the physical limitation due to the carrier dynamics encountered in directly-modulated lasers and thus enables very high frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, this fully monolithic integrated approach decreases the footprint and thus the energy consumption. In the first part of the manuscript, we describe the design of the EAM-VCSEL device. First, we explain the electro-absorption effect and its modelling; its combination with the transfer matrix method, and the implementation of the combined model for optimization of the quantum well parameters: thickness, barrier Al-content and applied electric field. Then, based on the state-of-the-art of the vertical modulators, we design an Asymmetric Fabry-Perot modulator structure to improve the electro-absorption in the top cavity. This EAM structure is integrated onto a standard VCSEL device while considering the decoupling between the two cavities. I present afterwards the fabrication of these complex devices. The epitaxial growth of EAM and EAM-VCSEL structures is presented as an implementation of pre-growth calibration routine to achieve the expected characteristics and the post-growth characterization of the wafers. Then, we present an innovative technological solution used to facilitate the global process. We used a double resist stack for a self-aligned process for the modulator, useful for the mesa etch, the sidewalls passivation and the metallization, all realized with only one single photolithography step. This process is used for the static characterization of the EAM. We demonstrate the feasibility of these devices by carrying out static reflectivity measurements as a function of the temperature and the applied EAM voltage. This allows to validate the previous absorption model. We also present the static characterization of the EAM-VCSEL with LIV curves and spectrum measurements. [. ]
p38 MAPK activation, JNK inhibition, neoplastic growth inhibition, and increased gap junction communication in human lung carcinoma and Ras‐transformed cells by 4‐Phenyl‐3‐butenoic acid

Human lung neoplasms frequently express mutations that down‐regulate expression of various tumor suppressor molecules, including mitogen‐activated protein kinases such as p38 MAPK. Conversely, activation of p38 MAPK in tumor cells results in cancer cell cycle inhibition or apoptosis initiated by chemotherapeutic agents such as retinoids or cisplatin, and is therefore an attractive approach for experimental anti‐tumor therapies. We now report that 4‐phenyl‐3‐butenoic acid (PBA), an experimental compound that reverses the transformed phenotype at non‐cytotoxic concentrations, activates p38 MAPK in tumorigenic cells at concentrations and treatment times that correlate with decreased cell growth and increased cell‐cell communication. H2009 human lung carcinoma cells and ras‐transformed rat liver epithelial cells treated with PBA showed increased activation of p38 MAPK and its downstream effectors which occurred after 4 h and lasted beyond 48 h. Untransformed plasmid control cells showed low activation of p38 MAPK compared to ras‐transformed and H2009 carcinoma cells, which correlates with the reduced effect of PBA on untransformed cell growth. The p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, negated PBA's activation of p38 MAPK downstream effectors. PBA also increased cell–cell communication and connexin 43 phosphorylation in ras‐transformed cells, which were prevented by SB203580. In addition, PBA decreased activation of JNK, which is upregulated in many cancers. Taken together, these results suggest that PBA exerts its growth regulatory effect in tumorigenic cells by concomitant up‐regulation of p38 MAPK activity, altered connexin 43 expression, and down‐regulation of JNK activity. PBA may therefore be an effective therapeutic agent in human cancers that exhibit down‐regulated p38 MAPK activity and/or activated JNK and altered cell–cell communication. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 269–281, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modeling regulatory mechanisms in IL‐6 signal transduction in hepatocytes

Cytokines like interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) play an important role in triggering the acute phase response of the body to injury or inflammation. Signaling by IL‐6 involves two pathways: Janus‐associated kinases (JAK) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT 3) are activated in the first pathway while the second pathway involves the activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK). While it is recognized that both pathways play a major role in IL‐6 signal transduction, a majority of studies have focused on signaling through either one of the pathways. However, simultaneous signaling through both JAK/STAT and MAPK pathways is still poorly understood. In this work, a mathematical model has been developed that integrates signaling through both the JAK/STAT and the MAPK pathway. The presented model is used to analyze the effect of three molecules that are involved in the regulation of IL‐6 signaling—SHP‐2 (domain containing tyrosine phosphatase 2), SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 3), and a STAT3 nuclear phosphatase (PP2)—on the dynamics of IL‐6 signal transduction in hepatocytes. The obtained results suggest that interactions between SHP‐2 and SOCS3 influence signaling through the JAK/STAT and the MAPK pathways. It is shown that SHP‐2 and SOCS3 do not just regulate the pathway that they are known to be associated with, (SHP‐2 with MAPK and SOCS3 with JAK/STAT), but also have a strong effect on the other pathway. Several simulations with SOCS3, SHP‐2, and PP2 knockout cells, that is, where the signaling pathway is unable to produce these proteins, have been performed to characterize the effect of these regulatory proteins on IL‐6 signal transduction in hepatocytes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Capital Inflows, Exports and Growth in the CESEE Region

Before the financial crisis unfolded, CESEE experienced an export boom as well as a surge in capital inflows. However, both exports and capital inflows came to a sudden halt in the wake of the financial crisis. The main question addressed in this paper is whether the long-term growth prospects of the CESEE countries are likely to have deteriorated as well. To answer this question we look at the interlinkages between capital flows, exports and industrial production. Our results show that exports and the stock of FDI in the CESEE region are positively related to industrial production and thus economic growth. By contrast, portfolio investment is only weakly related to the industrial growth performance of the CESEE countries. These findings imply that the CESEE countries should make determined efforts to remain attractive locations for inward FDI and to enhance their export prospects.
Highly Dynamic Spatiotemporal Organization of Low‐Frequency Activities During Behavioral States in the Mouse Cerebral Cortex

Abstract Although low‐frequency (LF < 10 Hz) activities have been considered as a hallmark of nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, several studies have recently reported LF activities in the membrane potential of cortical neurons from different areas in awake mice. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal organization of LF activities across cortical areas during wakefulness and to what extent it differs during NREM sleep. We have thus investigated the dynamics of LF activities across cortical areas in awake and sleeping mice using chronic simultaneous local field potential recordings. We found that LF activities had higher amplitude in somatosensory and motor areas during quiet wakefulness and decreased in most areas during active wakefulness, resulting in a global state change that was overall correlated with motor activity. However, we also observed transient desynchronization of cortical states between areas, indicating a more local state regulation. During NREM sleep, LF activities had higher amplitude in all areas but slow‐wave activity was only poorly correlated across cortical areas. Despite a maximal amplitude during NREM sleep, the coherence of LF activities between areas that are not directly connected dropped from wakefulness to NREM sleep, potentially reflecting a breakdown of long‐range cortical integration associated with loss of consciousness.
What Do Asset Price Movements in Germany Tell Monetary Policy Makers?

Asset prices can play a twofold role in monetary policy. First, they may be seen as important elements in the chain along which monetary policy stimuli are transmitted to the real economy. From this perspective, asset price movements cause changes in aggregate demand or the price level through substitution, income and wealth effects. If these structural relationships were stable and could be estimated reliably, asset prices could be used as indicators of, or even target variables for, monetary policy. Second, they may be seen as predictors of the future course of the economy, independently of their active role in the transmission process. This view does not depend on the causal influence of asset prices on the macroeconomic variables to be predicted. Instead, it takes due account of the fact that the price of rationally valued assets should reflect the expected path of the asset’s income components and the equilibrium returns used for discounting the future stream of income. If these expectations were influenced by the anticipated development of certain macroeconomic fundamental factors, and if, furthermore, market expectations were not systematically biased, asset prices could be used by the central bank as predictors of real activity and inflation. The monetary policy implications of both roles depend crucially on the informational efficiency of asset markets. Market inefficiencies would cause asset prices to deviate from their fundamental values, distorting their informational content and their indicator quality. Furthermore, if asset prices play an important role in the transmission process, mispricing may adversely affect economic activity and price stability. The main body of this paper is devoted to assessing the predictive power or the informational content, respectively, of dividend yields and the term structure spread to draw some preliminary conclusions about the efficiency of the stock and government bond markets in Germany. The theoretical framework is provided by the rational valuation approach. Applied to the bond market and the stock market, this approach leads to the expectations hypothesis and the dividend discount model, respectively, both on the assumption of rational expectations. The informational content is judged by metrics from univariate regression techniques using short and long-horizon measures for future inflation, stock returns, dividend growth, and interest rate changes as dependent variables and the spread or the dividend yield as regressors. The paper closes with some implications of the results for monetary policy.
Management plan to reduce risks in perioperative care of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea averts the need for presurgical polysomnography.

INTRODUCTION Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with increased perioperative morbidity and mortality. Patients at risk of OSA as determined by pre-anaesthesia screening based on the American Society of Anesthesiologists checklist were divided into 2 groups for comparison: (i) those who proceeded to elective surgery under a risk management protocol without undergoing formal polysomnography preoperatively and; (ii) those who underwent polysomnography and any subsequent OSA treatment as required before elective surgery. We hypothesised that it is clinically safe and acceptable for patients identified on screening as OSA at-risk to proceed for elective surgery without delay for polysomnography, with no increase in postoperative complications if managed on a perioperative risk reduction protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of patients presenting to the preanaesthesia clinic over an 18-month period and identified to be OSA at-risk on screening checklist was conducted (n = 463). The incidence of postoperative complications for each category of OSA severity (mild-moderate and severe) in the 2 study groups was compared. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of cardiac (3.3% vs 2.3%), respiratory (14.3% vs 12.5%), and neurologic complications (0.6% vs 0%) between the screening-only and polysomnography-confirmed OSA groups respectively (P >0.05). There was good agreement of the OSA risk that is identified by screening checklist with OSA severity as determined on formal polysomnography (kappa coefficient = 0.953). CONCLUSION Previously undiagnosed OSA is common in the presurgical population. In our study, there was no significant increase in postoperative complications in patients managed on the OSA risk management protocol. With this protocol, it is clinically safe to proceed with elective surgery without delay for formal polysomnography confirmation.
Dynamic changes in chromatin structure through post‐translational modifications of histone H3 during replication origin activation

Genome duplication relies on the timely activation of multiple replication origins throughout the genome during S phase. Each origin is marked by the assembly of a multiprotein pre‐replication complex (pre‐RC) and the recruitment of the replicative machinery, which can gain access to replication origins on the DNA through the barrier of specific chromatin structures. Inheritance of the genetic information is further accompanied by maintenance and inheritance of the epigenetic marks, which are accomplished by the activity of histone and DNA modifying enzymes traveling with the replisome. Here, we studied the changes in the chromatin structure at the loci of three replication origins, the early activated human lamin B2 (LB2) and monkey Ors8 (mOrs8) origins and the late‐activated human homologue of the latter (hOrs8), during their activation, by measuring the abundance of post‐translationally modified histone H3. The data show that dynamic changes in the levels of acetylated, methylated and phosphorylated histone H3 occur during the initiation of DNA replication at these three origin loci, which differ between early‐ and late‐firing origins as well as between human‐ and monkey‐derived cell lines. These results suggest that specific histone modifications are associated with origin firing, temporal activation and replication fork progression and underscore the importance of species specificity. J. Cell. Biochem. 108: 400–407, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Estimating Disease Prevalence Using Relatives of Case and Control Probands

Summary We introduce a method of estimating disease prevalence from case–control family study data. Case–control family studies are performed to investigate the familial aggregation of disease; families are sampled via either a case or a control proband, and the resulting data contain information on disease status and covariates for the probands and their relatives. Here, we introduce estimators for overall prevalence and for covariate‐stratum‐specific (e.g., sex‐specific) prevalence. These estimators combine the proportion of affected relatives of control probands with the proportion of affected relatives of case probands and are designed to yield approximately unbiased estimates of their population counterparts under certain commonly made assumptions. We also introduce corresponding confidence intervals designed to have good coverage properties even for small prevalences. Next, we describe simulation experiments where our estimators and intervals were applied to case–control family data sampled from fictional populations with various levels of familial aggregation. At all aggregation levels, the resulting estimates varied closely and symmetrically around their population counterparts, and the resulting intervals had good coverage properties, even for small sample sizes. Finally, we discuss the assumptions required for our estimators to be approximately unbiased, highlighting situations where an alternative estimator based only on relatives of control probands may perform better.
NSAIDs increase risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in primary care patients with dyspepsia.

BACKGROUND A 1-year prospective study of 545 patients with dyspepsia examined the natural history of dyspepsia in a primary care population. Predictors of gastrointestinal bleeding and other related utilization-of-service indicators were identified. METHODS Subjects were adult primary care patients seen at a southern California county medical center. Data were collected by means of a patient questionnaire as well as from medical charts and a computerized hospital billing system. Chi-square, t test, and stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Outcome events were follow-up visits for any gastrointestinal event and follow-up visits for gastrointestinal bleeding specifically. RESULTS Prior exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs doubled the odds for any follow-up gastrointestinal event (odds ratio = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.4 to 2.8). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increased the risk for gastrointestinal bleeding by a factor of 7 (odds ratio = 7.1; 95% CI = 1.3 to 50.0). CONCLUSIONS In a cohort of primary care patients with dyspepsia, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was the most important predictor of a follow-up gastrointestinal event, both for any gastrointestinal event and gastrointestinal bleeding specifically.
An Empirical Analysis of Exchange-Traded Funds

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provide investors with a single, tradable security for gaining exposure to an index that presumably proxies for an asset class. In the U.S. alone, ETF assets under management have grown to nearly $900 billion. Buetow and Henderson analyze ETF returns to evaluate how closely ETF prices replicate exposures to their benchmark indices. The authors’ analysis highlights practical considerations that influence index replication. On average, an ETF closely tracks its benchmark index. An ETF that tracks an index composed of less liquid securities exhibits a larger tracking error, and an ETF that tracks an index composed of less liquid, or non-U.S., securities exhibits a greater correlation (relative to the benchmark index) with a U.S. equity index, suggesting that the diversification benefits of these ETFs are less than is implied by the return properties of the benchmark index.