Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spacing effects in vocabulary learning: Young EFL learners in focus

Abstract This study used a novel method to explore different schedules of spacing in young EFL learners. In doing so, we taught young EFL learners English–Farsi word pairs using different spacing schedules (massed vs. spaced). In the massed condition, learners studied five-word pairs in session one and five-other word pairs one week later. In the spaced condition, the learners studied 10-word pairs in session one and restudied them one week later. To amplify the benefits of spacing, we incorporated tests (with corrective feedback) into different schedules of spacing. In other words, EFL learners were instructed to test each other on their knowledge of the vocabulary and to give each other feedback. One week and five weeks later learners’ recall was assessed. The results showed that spaced practice produced better long-term retention than massed practice. To summarize, this study used spacing and retrieval practice techniques (with corrective feedback) to offer a pedagogically powerful approach for learning vocabulary.
Safer heterosex: perspectives from young men in Ireland.

BACKGROUND Existing research indicates that large numbers of people do not consistently use condoms when embarking on sexual relationships and instead use unreliable social cues to determine whether a potential partner is likely to have a sexually transmissible infection. This article reports on an aspect of the first major piece of qualitative research that explored young people's perspectives on sexuality in Ireland, and focuses on how young men made sense of risk when it came to sexual behaviour. METHODS Seventeen focus group interviews (collectively comprising 124 young men) were conducted with male secondary school pupils in Ireland, whose ages ranged from 14 to 19 years. RESULTS The data are structured around three themes that capture how study participants made sense of sexual safety. These themes are: (i) rumour, local hearsay and 'knowing' a potential partner; (ii) the social construction of the 'slut' category; and (iii) women as 'bearers of disease'. Young women in the young men's social group tended to acquire a specific sexual identity, not necessarily through any definitive evidence of their sexual history, but rather through their normative behaviours--dress, presentation, appearance and so forth. It was on this basis that the sexual status of a young woman was judged. CONCLUSIONS Based on participants' accounts, we conclude that notions of safer sex are not merely established in individual discussions between a couple embarking on a sexual relationship, but rather are produced discursively in the wider social setting beyond the sexual encounter.
Neurogenesis in the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease: effects of environmental enrichment

Previous work has demonstrated that the transgenic R6/1 mouse model of Huntington's disease has decreased proliferation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. This study therefore examined the survival and differentiation of NPCs in presymptomatic and symptomatic R6/1 mice and the effects of environmental enrichment on these variables. Here it is demonstrated that the survival of bromodeoxyuridine‐positive (BrdU+) NPCs in the dentate gyrus is decreased in the transgenic mice. In addition, the number of doublecortin‐positive (DCX+) cells is greatly reduced in these mice, as is the total number of new mature neurons, while the proportion of BrdU+ cells differentiating into mature neurons was not significantly different between genotypes. Furthermore, the DCX+ cells in the R6/1 mice had smaller and irregular‐shaped somas, shorter neurites, and migrated a shorter distance into the granular cell layer compared with wild‐type mice. Older symptomatic mice housed in an enriched environment had an increased number of BrdU+ and DCX+ cells as well as longer neurites and increased migration of DCX+ cells. There was no significant difference between genotypes or environments in the number of BrdU+ cells in the subventricular zone. These results suggest that decreased neurogenesis might be responsible, in part, for the hippocampal deficits observed in these mice and that environmental enrichment produces morphological changes in newborn granule neurons in both wild‐type and R6/1 mice, which could underlie some of the beneficial effects of enrichment.
Distribution and localization patterns of estrogen receptor‐β and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 receptors in neurons and glial cells of the female rat substantia nigra: Localization of ERβ and IGF‐1R in substantia nigra

Although several studies have focused on the neuroprotective effects of estrogen (E2) on stroke, there have been tantalizing reports on the potential neuroprotective role of E2 in degenerative neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's (PD). In animal models of PD, E2 protects the nigrostriatal dopaminergic (DA) system against neurotoxins. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanism(s) involved by which E2 elicits its neuroprotective effects on the nigrostriatal DA system. A preferred mechanism for neuroprotection is the interaction of E2 with specific neuroprotective growth factors and receptors. One such neuroprotective factor/receptor system is insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1). E2 neuroprotective effects in the substantia nigra (SN) DA system have been shown to be dependent on IGF‐1. To determine whether E2 also interacts with the IGF‐1 receptor (IGF‐1R) and to determine the cellular localization of estrogen receptor (ER) and IGF‐1R, we compared the distribution of ER and IGF‐1R in the SN. Stereological measurements revealed that 40% of the subpopulation of tyrosine hydroxylase‐immunoreactive (TH‐ir) SN pars compacta (SNpc) DA neurons are immunoreactive for estrogen receptor‐β (ERβ). No immunolabeling for ERα was observed. In situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry studies confirmed the expression of IGF‐1R mRNA and revealed that almost all TH‐ir SNpc DA neurons were immunoreactive for IGF‐1R, respectively. Moreover, one‐third of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP‐ir) cells in the SN were ERβ‐ir, and 67% of GFAP‐ir cells expressed IGF‐1R‐ir. Therefore, the localization of ERβ and IGF‐1R on SNpc DA neurons and astrocytes suggests a modulatory role of E2 on IGF‐1R, and this modulation may affect neuroprotection. J. Comp. Neurol. 503:198–208, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diversified Mini-Batch Sampling using Repulsive Point Processes

Non-uniform mini-batch sampling may be beneficial in stochastic variational inference (SVI) and more generally in stochastic gradient descent (SGD). In particular, sampling data points with repulsive interactions, i.e., suppressing the probability of similar data points in the same mini-batch, was shown to reduce the stochastic gradient noise, leading to faster convergence. When the data set is furthermore imbalanced, this procedure may have the additional benefit of sampling more uniformly in data space. In this work, we explore the benefits of using point processes with repulsive interactions for mini-batch selection. We thereby generalize our earlier work on using determinantal point processes for this task [14]. We generalize the proof of variance reduction and show that all we need is a point process with repulsive correlations. Furthermore, we investigate the popular Poisson disk sampling approach which is widely used in computer graphics, but not well known in machine learning. We finally show empirically that Poisson disk sampling achieves similar performance as determinantal point processes at a much more favorable scaling with the size of the dataset and the mini-batch size.
Food patterns and cardiovascular disease risk factors: the Swedish INTERGENE research program.

BACKGROUND Analyzing the impact of the intake of many foods simultaneously provides additional knowledge about analyses of nutrients and might make it easier to implement recommendations for the public. OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine food patterns in a Swedish population and determine how they are related to metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. DESIGN The study is based on data from the INTERGENE population study of women and men aged 25-74 y in western Sweden. Dietary patterns were identified with cluster analysis of 93 food frequencies reported by 3452 participants. Associations with features of the metabolic syndrome, including blood lipids, blood pressure, and anthropometric measures, were analyzed. RESULTS Five distinct food patterns were identified, of which one was interpreted as a "healthy" reference pattern. This healthy cluster was distinguished by more frequent consumption of high-fiber and low-fat foods and lower consumption of products rich in fat and sugar. The 4 other clusters differed significantly from the reference cluster with respect to prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and the metabolic syndrome. For example, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio were significantly higher in a cluster characterized by high consumption of energy-dense drinks and white bread and low consumption of fruit and vegetables (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS It is possible to distinguish food patterns that are related to obesity and obesity-related cardiovascular disease risk factors in contrast with a more healthy pattern conforming with current dietary guidelines. Thus, the results indicate no reason for questioning the current recommendations.
Urinary incontinence and depression.

PURPOSE Serotonergic neuronal systems have been implicated in anxiety and depression. Because descending serotonin pathways from the brain stem inhibit bladder contractions, we postulated that depression associated with altered serotonin function may predispose to urge incontinence. We demonstrate an association between depression and idiopathic urge incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 115 consecutive incontinent patients presenting to an incontinence clinic were compared to 80 continent controls. Patients were queried for a history of depression and completed a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Cases were classified by history and video urodynamics as genuine stress (36), urge (44) or mixed (35) incontinence. RESULTS A BDI of greater than 12 and/or a history of depression was noted in 30% of incontinent patients and 17% of controls (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 5.0, p = 0.044). An abnormal BDI or history of depression was revealed in 60% of patients with idiopathic urge incontinence (p<0.001). Patients with stress or urge incontinence due to neuropathology or obstruction had no greater odds of having depression than continent controls. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest a strong association between depression and idiopathic urinary incontinence. This link may be due to altered serotonin function and may help explain the efficacy of serotonergic based antidepressants in the treatment of urge incontinence.
Headache, stomachache, backache, and morning fatigue among adolescent girls in the United States: associations with behavioral, sociodemographic, and environmental factors.

BACKGROUND Data on the prevalence and co-occurrence of multiple somatic symptoms among US adolescent females as they are influenced by sociodemographic, behavioral, and environmental factors is limited. OBJECTIVES To describe the health status of adolescent US females measured by the prevalence, frequency, and co-occurrence of headache, stomachache, backache, and morning fatigue and to investigate associations between selected risk and protective factors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS School-based, cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of adolescents in the 6th through 10th grades in the US. Data collected between 1997 and 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of headache, stomachache, backache, and morning fatigue. RESULTS Among US adolescent girls, 29.1% experience headaches, 20.7% report stomachaches, 23.6% experience back pain, and 30.6% report morning fatigue at the rate of more than once a week. Co-occurrence of somatic complaints is common. Among girls who experienced headaches more than once a week, 3.2 million (53.3%) also reported stomach pain more than once a week and 4.1 million (74.3%) reported morning fatigue more than once a week. Heavy alcohol use, high caffeine intake, and smoking cigarettes every day were strongly associated with all symptoms, while parent and teacher support served as protective factors. CONCLUSIONS Somatic complaints of headache, stomachache, backache, and morning fatigue are common among US adolescent girls and co-occur often. Effective clinical treatment of this population requires comprehensive assessment of all female adolescents presenting with seemingly isolated somatic complaints.
α:Non-α and Gγ:Aγ globin chain ratios in thalassemia intermedia patients treated with hydroxyurea.

OBJECTIVES To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) synthesis. METHODS A total of 23 thalassemia intermedia patients (13 male and 10 female) aged between 5 and 26 years were treated for five months with 15 mg/(kg·day) of hydroxyurea. Hemoglobins electrophoresis and globin chain electrophoresis was performed on each sample at different time points before and during the treatment. RESULTS Fetal hemoglobin increased significantly in most patients and average episodes of transfusion decreased. Both Gγ and Aγ-globin chains increased significantly and α-globin:Nonα-globin chain as well as Gγ-globin:Aγ globin chains ratios decreased. CONCLUSIONS Improvement in α:non-α ratio and consequent decrease of free α-globin chain might be the cause of beneficial effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Two patients who felt better didn't show significant increase in their fetal hemoglobin level, and this is in contradiction with the hypothesis claiming that the HbF level increase is the cause of such therapeutic effect. In spite of the unclear mechanism of action of this drug, hydroxyurea therapy had noticeable impacts on thalassemia intermedia and also sickle cell disease and even patients suffering from thalassemia major.
Ramadan fasting and digestive disorders: SEPAHAN systematic review No. 7

th month in the Hijri lunar calendar, healthy adult Muslims are obliged to fast from sunrise to sunset. The fast of Ramadan has significant health effects and is the most commonly researched religious fasting. In this study, we will investigate available findings on the effects of Ramadan fasting on gastrointestinal (GI) signs, symptoms, and diseases. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, and Scientific Information Database (SID) for related articles in English or Farsi. Editorial articles and case reports were excluded. RESULTS: Of 2312 articles found, 23 articles fulfilled our inclusion criteria and were included. Ramadan fasting seems to increase peptic ulcer complications (peptic ulcer perforation and bleeding) and have a deteriorating effect on patients with chronic peptic ulcer diseases on drug therapy, but not on duodenal ulcer patients under treatment. Healthy individuals might experience minor GI symptoms but no serious complications have been reported. Studies regarding the incidence of acute appendicitis and peptic ulcer diseases are not in agreement, but acute mesenteric ischemia, hyperemesis gravidarum and primary small bowel volvulus seem to be increased during Ramadan. No increase in idiopathic intussusception is observed during Ramadan and fasting does not appear to impose serious risks on patients with an inflammatory bowel. CONCLUSIONS: Fasting is generally safe for healthy individuals, but might be hazardous to patients with various GI diseases and may increase the risk of complications in this group.
Review: evaluating information systems in nursing.

AIMS To review existing nursing research on inpatient hospitals' information technology (IT) systems in order to explore new approaches for evaluation research on nursing informatics to guide further design and implementation of effective IT systems. BACKGROUND There has been an increase in the use of IT and information systems in nursing in recent years. However, there has been little evaluation of these systems and little guidance on how they might be evaluated. METHODS A literature review was conducted between 1995 and 2005 inclusive using CINAHL and Medline and the search terms 'nursing information systems', 'clinical information systems', 'hospital information systems', 'documentation', 'nursing records', 'charting'. RESULTS Research in nursing information systems was analysed and some deficiencies and contradictory results were identified which impede a comprehensive understanding of effective implementation. There is a need for IT systems to be understood from a wider perspective that includes aspects related to the context where they are implemented. CONCLUSIONS Social and organizational aspects need to be considered in evaluation studies and realistic evaluation can provide a framework for the evaluation of information systems in nursing. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The rapid introduction of IT systems for clinical practice urges evaluation of already implemented systems examining how and in what circumstances they work to guide effective further development and implementation of IT systems to enhance clinical practice. Evaluation involves more factors than just involving technologies such as changing attitudes, cultures and healthcare practices. Realistic evaluation could provide configurations of context-mechanism-outcomes that explain the underlying relationships to understand why and how a programme or intervention works.
Attentional functions in children and adolescents with ADHD, depressive disorders, and the comorbid condition.

BACKGROUND Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorders (DDs) often co-occur in children and adolescents, but evidence on the respective influence of these disorders on attention parameters is inconsistent. This study examines the influence of DDs on ADHD in a model-oriented approach that includes selectivity and intensity attention parameters. METHODS Ten- to fifteen-year-olds with ADHD (n=63), DDs (n=61), ADHD+DDs (n=64), and healthy controls (n=64) completed a battery of tests including five neuropsychological tasks (i.e., alertness, sustained attention, divided attention, go/no-go, and attentional set-shifting). RESULTS All clinical groups showed attentional problems, especially in more complex attentional tasks and in the intensity aspects of attention. We observed the most severe attentional impairments in children with ADHD that was independent from a comorbid DD. CONCLUSION The clinical groups were significantly different from the healthy control group, especially in more complex attentional tasks and in the intensity aspects of attention. Some differences between ADHD, DDs and ADHD+DDs groups were detected on neuropsychological attentional performance, but the effects were not strong enough to differentiate the clinical groups from each other.
Racial/ethnic differences in self-reported racism and its association with cancer-related health behaviors.

OBJECTIVES We used population-based survey data to estimate the prevalence of self-reported racism across racial/ethnic groups and to evaluate the association between self-reported racism and cancer-related health behaviors. METHODS We used cross-sectional data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey. Questions measured self-reported racism in general and in health care. The cancer risk behaviors we assessed were smoking, binge drinking, not walking, being overweight or obese, and not being up to date with screenings for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers. Analyses included descriptive analyses and logistic regression. RESULTS Prevalences of self-reported racism varied between and within aggregate racial/ethnic groups. In adjusted analyses, general racism was associated with smoking, binge drinking, and being overweight or obese; health care racism was associated with not being up to date with screening for prostate cancer. Associations varied across racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS Associations between general racism and lifestyle behaviors suggest that racism is a potential stressor that may shape cancer-related health behaviors, and its impact may vary by race/ethnicity.
Clinical implications and future perspectives in testing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements.

Over the last decade different oncogenic drivers have been discovered in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Among them, anaplastic lymphoma kinase ( ALK ) gene rearrangement, due to inversion or translocation of chromosome 2p, has become a new druggable target for anticancer therapy.
Active Harmonic Filters

Unlike traditional passive harmonic filters, modern active harmonic filters have the following multiple functions: harmonic filtering, damping,isolation and termination, reactive-power control for power factor correction and voltage regulation, load balancing, voltage-flicker reduction, and/or their combinations. Significant cost reductions in both power semiconductor devices and signal processing devices have inspired manufactures to put active filters on the market. This paper deals with general pure active filters for power conditioning, and specific hybrid active filters for harmonic filtering of three-phase diode rectifiers.
Phosphorylation and membrane association of the Rubella virus capsid protein is important for its anti‐apoptotic function

Rubella virus (RV), a member of Togaviridae, is an important human pathogen that can cause severe defects in the developing fetus. Compared to other togaviruses, RV replicates very slowly suggesting that it must employ effective mechanisms to delay the innate immune response. A recent study by our laboratory revealed that the capsid protein of RV is a potent inhibitor of apoptosis. A primary mechanism by which RV capsid interferes with programmed cell death appears to be through interaction with the pro‐apoptotic Bcl‐2 family member Bax. In the present study, we report that the capsid protein also blocks IRF3‐dependent apoptosis induced by the double‐strand RNA mimic polyinosinic‐polycytidylic acid. In addition, analyses of cis‐acting elements revealed that phosphorylation and membrane association are important for its anti‐apoptotic function. Finally, the observation that hypo‐phosphorylated capsid binds Bax just as well as wild‐type capsid protein suggests that interaction with this pro‐apoptotic host protein in and of itself is not sufficient to block programmed cell death. This provides additional evidence that this viral protein inhibits apoptosis through multiple mechanisms.