Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic spatial weight matrix and localised STARIMA for network modelling

Various statistical model specifications for describing spatiotemporal processes have been proposed over the years, including the space–time autoregressive integrated moving average (STARIMA) and its various extensions. These model specifications assume that the correlation in data can be adequately described by parameters that are globally fixed spatially and/or temporally. They are inadequate for cases in which the correlations among data are dynamic and heterogeneous, such as network data. The aim of this article is to describe autocorrelation in network data with a dynamic spatial weight matrix and a localized STARIMA model that captures the autocorrelation locally (heterogeneity) and dynamically (nonstationarity). The specification is tested with traffic data collected for central London. The result shows that the performance of estimation and prediction is improved compared with standard STARIMA models that are widely used for space–time modeling. En los ultimos anos, se han propuesto diversas especificaciones de modelado estadistico para describir procesos espacio-temporales. Esto incluye el modelo espacio-temporal autorregresivo integrado de media movil (STARIMA) y sus varios derivados. Estas especificaciones de modelo asumen que la correlacion de los datos puede ser adecuadamente descrita por parametros que se fijan a nivel global en el espacio y/o tiempo. Dichos parametros son inadecuados para los casos en los que las correlaciones entre los datos son dinamicas y heterogeneas, como en el contexto de los datos de la red. El objetivo de este articulo es describir la autocorrelacion en los datos de red con una matriz de ponderacion espacial dinamica y un modelo STARIMA localizado (LSTARIMA) que captura la autocorrelacion local (heterogeneidad) de forma dinamica (no estacionariedad). La especificacion del modelo es evaluada con datos de trafico recolectados en el centro de Londres. Los resultados demuestran que los rendimientos de estimacion y prediccion mejoran con el metodo propuesto en comparacion con los modelos STARIMA estandar que son ampliamente utilizados para el modelado de espacio-temporal.
Preferences for sequences of outcomes.

Existing models of intertemporal choice normally assume that people are impatient, preferring valuable outcomes sooner rather than later, and that preferences satisfy the formal condition of independence, or separability, which states that the value of a sequence of outcomes equals the sum of the values of its component parts. The authors present empirical results that show both of these assumptions to be false when choices are framed as being between explicitly denned sequences of outcomes. Without a proper sequential context, people may discount isolated outcomes in the conventional manner, but when the sequence context is highlighted, they claim to prefer utility levels that improve over time. The observed violations of additive separability follow, at least in part, from a desire to spread good outcomes evenly over time. Decisions of importance have delayed consequences. The choice of education, work, spending and saving, exercise, diet, as well as the timing of life events, such as schooling, marriage, and childbearing, all produce costs and benefits that endure over time. Therefore, it is not surprising that the problem of choosing between temporally distributed outcomes has attracted attention in a variety of disciplinary settings, including behavioral psychology, social psychology, decision theory, and economics. In spite of this disciplinary diversity, empirical research on intertemporal choice has traditionally had a narrow focus. Until a few years ago, virtually all studies of intertemporal choice were concerned with how people evaluate simple prospects consisting of a single outcome obtained at a point in time. The goal was to estimate equations that express the basic relationship between the atemporal value of an outcome and its value when delayed. Although the estimated functional forms would differ from investigation to investigation , there was general agreement on one point: that delayed outcomes are valued less. In economics, this is referred to as "positive time discounting. " Although plausible at first glance, the uniform imposition of positive discounting on all of one's choices has some disturbing and counterintuitive implications. It implies, for instance, that when faced with a decision about how to schedule a set of outcomes, a person should invariably start with the best outcome, followed by the second best outcome, and so on until the worst outcome is reached at the end. Because nothing restricts the generality of this principle, one should find people preferring a declining rather than an increasing standard of living, deteriorating rather than improving health (again, holding lifetime health constant), and so on. In the last few years, several studies have independently fo
Written Interaction: A Key Component in Online Learning

Contemporary educators who view learning as interactive, discursive, and situated have argued that well-designed online conferencing environments may be particularly suited to provide the socio-cognitive support for learning seen as fundamental to constructivist pedagogies. In order to assess the relationships between online course design, participants' interactions, and learning, a first step is to examine closely and describe the nature of online class participants' interactions within synchronous and asynchronous conferences. In this article, I address the role of interactive writing as an integral element in the conceptual development that takes place in such online courses. I argue that the interactive textual environment of asynchronous online conferences is particularly facilitative of both social and cognitive construction of meaning because the nature of online interactive writing itself bootstraps the construction of meaning.
PROTEASE ACTIVITY IN THE PLASMA OF AMERICAN OYSTERS, CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA, EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH THE PROTOZOAN PARASITE PERKINSUS MARINUS

Perkinsus marinus is responsible for disease and mortality of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. To investigate the interactions between P. marinus and oyster hemocytes, protease activity was measured in plasma of oysters collected 4 hr, 24 hr, 4 days, and 2 mo after experimental infection with P. marinus. A significant increase in protease activity was observed in oyster plasma 4 hr after injection with P. marinus, followed by a sharp decrease within 24 hr. Gelatin-impregnated gel electrophoresis showed the presence of 2 major bands (60 and 112 kDa) and 3 less prevalent bands (35, 92, and 200 kDa) with metalloproteinaselike activity in the plasma of noninfected oysters. Additional bands in the 40- to 60-kDa range, corresponding to P. marinus serine proteases, were observed in oyster plasma at early time points after infection. A transient, but significant, decrease in the activity of oyster metalloproteinases was observed at early time points after infection. Coincubation of oyster plasma with P. marinus extracellular products resulted in a decrease in oyster metalloproteinases and several P. marinus proteases. This study provides insights into the role of proteases in the pathogenesis of Dermo disease.
Motives and Decision Making of Potential Living Liver Donors: Comparisons Between Gender, Relationships and Ambivalence

The motives and decision making of potential living liver donors are critical areas for transplant clinicians evaluating these candidates to understand, yet these topics remain relatively unstudied. Thus, we surveyed 77 prospective living liver donors at the point of donation evaluation using structured instruments to gather more information on their approach to and concerns about donation. We collected information on donation decision making, motives for donation and anticipated social and physical concerns about postdonation outcomes. We examined three additional characteristics of donors: gender, the relationship of the donor to the intended recipient and the presence of ambivalence about donation. Women had more concerns about their family/social responsibilities. Those donating to nonimmediate family were more likely to have been asked to donate but less likely to feel they had to donate. However, ambivalent donors were the most distinct having difficulties and concerns across most areas from their motivations for donating, to deciding to be tested and to donate, to concerns about the postdonation outcomes. We discuss the clinical relevance of these findings to donor evaluation and preparation.
Failure of thermoregulation in the cold during hypoglycaemia induced by exercise and ethanol

1. After young men had exercised for approximately 2 hr at 70% maximum O2 uptake, and taken 28 ml. ethanol by mouth, their mean blood glucose fell to 2·17 m M. It fell further to 1·77 m M during a 30 min exposure to air at 14·5° C. Plasma lactate, glycerol, β‐hydroxybutyrate and free fatty acid concentrations increased.
Effect of Pleurotus ostreatus on hyperglycemia, DNA damage and chromosomes aberrations

One of the main health problems with high and markedly increased complications is diabetes. Despite several projects with preventative strategies and armories of medication, the arrangement of diabetes remains grossly unsatisfactory. Thus, it is vital to identify unfamiliar drugs or novel nutraceuticals for treating and preventing diabetes without side effects. The present study deals with scientific information on mushrooms with regards to its potential use as anti-diabetic active food. In addition to the anti-hyperglycemic action of mushrooms, the present study presents its effect on DNA damage, chromosome aberrations and sperm alternations in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. These animals have been treated, for 30 days, with amaryl (as control treatment) (0.03 mg/kg·b·wt/dl), low-dose mushroom (100 mg/kg·b·wt/dl) and high-dose mushroom (200 mg/ kg·b·wt/dl). The glucose level GL of streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals has been markedly improved by mushroom treatment; for example GL has decreases from 167.6 mg/dl down to 116.0 mg/dl for treatment with high-dose mushroom and 128.9 mg/dl for treatment with low-dose mushroom, comparing with amaryl treatment that decreases GL down to 92.6 mg/dl. But, the experimental results show that treatment with mushroom is better than treatment with amaryl in case of genetic changes (DNA fragmentation, disappear of some base pairs and chromosome aberrations. So, it is proposed that more close scientific attention be paid to precede more research of functional mushrooms for preventive and curative treatments for diabetes.
Dominance of hypertensive heart disease in a tertiary hospital in southern Nigeria: an echocardiographic study.

BACKGROUND Echocardiography is a noninvasive technique for the investigation of cardiac disease with reliable levels of accuracy. Echocardiographic services commenced in the cardiac unit of the University of Port-Harcourt teaching hospital in southern Nigeria in April 2000. This study aims to report our experience with the procedure over a 12 month period as well as the spectrum of clinical cases diagnosed at our center. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study carried out at the cardiology unit of the department of internal medicine of the University of Port-Harcourt teaching hospital in southern Nigeria between May 2009 and April 2010. This was performed with the ALOKA- 400R machine using two dimensional, M-mode, color flow and tissue Doppler protocols. RESULTS Two hundred and thirty-four consecutive patients, 119 males and 115 females, were examined during the study period. Their ages ranged from 10 to 96 years with a mean of 49.69 +/- 16.5 years. One hundred and twenty-four patients (53%) had hypertensive heart disease, 20 (9%) had rheumatic heart disease while 13 (6%) had dilated cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, pericardial effusion, intracardiac tumors, cor pulmonale, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, infective endocarditis, prosthetic heart valve, aortic arch aneurysm were present in less than 5% of the participants. The echocardiography was inconclusive in 3 (1%) while 49 (21%) had a normal study. CONCLUSION Hypertensive heart disease was the largest echocardiographic diagnosis at our center and is one of the most important noncommunicable diseases responsible for increased morbidity and mortality among our patients in Nigeria. More work needs to be done to increase awareness about, and treatement for, hypertension in order to prevent its complications.
Dose‐escalating conformal thoracic radiation therapy with induction and concurrent carboplatin/paclitaxel in unresectable stage IIIA/B nonsmall cell lung carcinoma

A modified Phase I/II trial was conducted evaluating the incorporation of three‐dimensional conformal radiation therapy into a strategy of sequential and concurrent carboplatin/paclitaxel in Stage III unresectable nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The dose of thoracic conformal radiation therapy (TCRT) from 60 to 74 gray (Gy) was increased. Endpoints included response rate, toxicity, and survival.
Who are we sampling? Apparent survival differs between methods in a secretive species

Survival is a fundamental parameter in population dynamics with increasing importance in the management and conservation strategies of wildlife populations. Survival probability in vertebrates is usually estimated by live-encounter data obtained by means of physical mark-capture-recapture protocols. Non-invasive acoustic marking relying on individual-specific features of signals has been alternatively applied as a marking technique, especially in secretive species. Nevertheless, to date no research has compared survival rate estimates obtained by acoustic and physical marking. We estimated half-yearly and annual survival and recapture rates of a secretive and threatened passerine, the Dupont's lark Chersophilus duponti, using two separate live-encounter data sets of males collected simultaneously by physical and acoustic marking in the same study area. The separate analysis of both methods led to different model structures, since transient individuals had to be accounted for in the acoustic marking but not in the physical marking data set. Furthermore, while reencounter probabilities did not differ between methods, survival estimates employing physical marking were lower than those obtained acoustically, especially between the postbreeding and the breeding period when the apparent survival of colour-banded birds was twice as low as for acoustic marking. The combination of marking methods suggested the existence of different subsets of individuals differentially sampled within the population: whereas colour-banded males seemed to represent the territorial fraction of the population, both resident and floater individuals were probably detected by acoustic marking. Using traditional mark-recapture methods exclusively could have misled our estimates of survival rates, potentially affecting prospective predictions of population dynamics. Acoustic marking has been poorly applied in mark-recapture studies, but might be a powerful complement to obtain accurate estimates of fundamental demographic parameters such as survival and dispersal.
Diffusion loading and drug delivery characteristics of alginate gel microparticles produced by a novel impinging aerosols method

Microencapsulation of a hydrophilic active (gentamicin sulphate (GS)) and a hydrophobic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (ibuprofen) in alginate gel microparticles was accomplished by molecular diffusion of the drug species into microparticles produced by impinging aerosols of alginate solution and CaCl2 cross-linking solution. A mean particle size in the range of 30–50 µm was measured using laser light scattering and high drug loadings of around 35 and 29% weight/dry microparticle weight were obtained for GS and ibuprofen respectively. GS release was similar in simulated intestinal fluid (phosphate buffer saline (PBS), pH 7.4, 37°C) and simulated gastric fluid (SGF) (HCl, pH 1.2, 37°C) but was accelerated in PBS following incubation of microparticles in HCl. Ibuprofen release was restricted in SGF but occurred freely on transfer of microparticles into PBS with almost 100% efficiency. GS released in PBS over 7 h, following incubation of microparticles in HCl for 2 h was found to retain at least 80% activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis while Ibuprofen retained around 50% activity against Candida albicans. The impinging aerosols technique shows potential for producing alginate gel microparticles of utility for protection and controlled delivery of a range of therapeutic molecules.
Postmastectomy Lymphedema: Long-term Results Following Microsurgical Lymph Node Transplantation

Background and Objectives:Lymphedema complicating breast cancer treatment remains a challenging problem. The purpose of this study was to analyze the long-term results following microsurgical lymph node (LN) transplantation. Methods:Twenty-four female patients with lymphedema for more than 5 years underwent LN transplantation. They were treated by physiotherapy and resistant to it. LNs were harvested in the femoral region, transferred to the axillary region, and transplanted by microsurgical procedures. Long-term results were evaluated according to skin elasticity, decrease, or disappearance of lymphedema assessed by measurements, isotopic lymphangiography, and ability to stop physiotherapy. Results:The postoperative period was uneventful; skin infectious diseases disappeared in all patients. Upper limb perimeter returned to normal in 10 cases, decreased in 12 cases, and remained unchanged in 2 cases. Five of 16 (31%) isotopic lymphoscintigraphies demonstrated activity of the transplanted nodes. Physiotherapy was discontinued in 15 patients (62.5%). Ten patients were considered as cured, important improvement was noted in 12 patients, and only 2 patients were not improved. Conclusion:LN transplantation is a safe procedure permitting good long-term results, disappearance, or a noteworthy improvement, in postmastectomy lymphedema, especially in the early stages of the disease.
Social support and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Greece.

OBJECTIVES Previous research suggests that social support has beneficial effects for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Yet, recent studies suggest that sociocultural differences have implications for whether or not the individuals use social support to cope with stressful events. Given the stressful nature of a chronic disabling disease, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of structural and functional facets of social support with quality of life (QoL) in Greek RA patients. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, 127 Greek RA patients completed the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life questionnaire (RAQoL), the Patient Activity Scale-II (PAS-II), the Quality of Social Support Scale (QSSS), the Social Network Index (measuring social network size and number of social roles) and a visual analogue scale measuring reciprocity. RESULTS Patients' age, social network size and reciprocity had no significant correlation with QoL. Family income, education level and male gender were positively correlated with QoL. Number of social roles was positively correlated with QoL, but not significantly when disease activity and demographic factors were controlled. Quality of social support was positively correlated with QoL, and the correlation remained statistically significant after controlling for disease activity, demographic variables and number of social roles. CONCLUSIONS In Greek RA patients, quality of social support predicts quality of life above and beyond disease activity, demographic factors and social integration. Structural aspects of social support were not significant predictors of QoL, in line with previous research on cultural differences in how people utilise their social networks.
Determining the relationship between metabolic syndrome score and angiographic severity of coronary artery disease

Background: Cardiovascular disease is leading cause of mortality and morbidity in developed and developing countries. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). The effect of MS on angiographic severity of CAD is not well defined. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of MS on angiographic severity of CAD by using Gensini score.
A comparison of packing materials used in nasal surgery

Abstract A prospective study was performed to compare Telfa,® paraffin gauze, Merocel® and BIPP used postoperatively following septal or turbinate surgery. Packs were assessed in terms of patient comfort, control of bleeding and ease of removal. There was little to choose between the packs while they were in situ and there was no significant difference in ease of removal. On removal the Telfa® and paraffin gauze were associated with less discomfort and less bleeding than BIPP or Merocel® (p<0.05).
Serum Osteocalcin and Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Levels in Children with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Patients with the virilizing forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) need a life-long glucocorticoid replacement therapy and also an additional mineralocorticoid replacement in cases with the salt-wasting form of the disease. Glucocorticoids are reported to decrease the serum osteocalcin levels and to inhibit the effects of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). To collect data on the age related patterns of osteocalcin and IGF-I production in patients with CAH, measurements of these compounds have been carried out in a considerably large sample of treated CAH patients and control subjects in childhood and adolescence. Data of 62 patients between 0.3–19 years of age were compared to the data of 188 control children. Osteocalcin and IGF-I were determined by radioimmunoassay. A lower than normal level of serum osteocalcin was found in both male and female patients at chronological ages above 11.6 and 9.6 years, respectively. Furthermore, no pubertal osteocalcin peak could be seen when data were evaluated according to the bone age. Serum IGF-I levels were higher in male CAH patients at the chronological age of 0.3–15.5 years and in female patients at the chronological age of 4.6–9.5 years. In pubertal years serum IGF-I concentrations were lower in CAH patients when data were evaluated according to the bone age. We conclude that serum osteocalcin is decreased during and after puberty in CAH patients on replacement doses of glucocorticoids. Normal to elevated serum levels of IGF-I in treated CAH cases suggest that the shorter final height of these patients may not be due to the decreased activity in the growth hormoneIGF-I axis, but rather to the advanced bone maturation and the premature epiphyseal fusion.