Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Escalation to natalizumab or switching among immunomodulators in relapsing multiple sclerosis

Objective: To evaluate whether an escalation approach was more effective in suppressing clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity than switching among immunomodulators in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients. Methods: In this post-marketing, prospective, observational study in two Italian multiple sclerosis (MS) centres, a total of 285 RRMS patients who failed a first-line treatment with interferon beta (IFNβ) or glatiramer acetate (GA) were considered. Patients were subdivided according to the strategy adopted after the failure (defined as the occurrence of ≥2 relapses or 1 relapse with residual disability): the switching (SWI) group, i.e. those switched among different IFNβ formulations, or from IFNβ to GA and vice versa; and the escalating (ESC) group, i.e. those escalated to natalizumab. Proportions of patients free from different types of disease activity (relapses, sustained disability progression, new active lesions on MRI, or a combination of them) were calculated at 12 and 24 months. Since patients were not randomized to treatment group, propensity score (PS)-adjusted Cox regression models were built to control for several potential confounders. Results: At 12 months there were no differences between the two groups in proportions of patients free from relapse, disability progression, MRI activity, and combined activity. After 24 months we observed greater proportions of patients in the ESC than SWI group free from relapse (p < 0.0001), disability progression (p = 0.0045), MRI activity (p = 0.0003), and combined activity (p < 0.0001). PS-adjusted models confirmed these findings, with hazard ratios ranging from 0.38 to 0.56 favours the ESC group. Conclusion: We suggest that an escalation to natalizumab is more effective than switching among immunomodulators in RRMS patients who failed a first-line treatment.
What Does Nurse Turnover Rate Mean and What Is the Rate?

Registered nurse turnover is an important indicator of the nurse job market. Despite its wide use as a measure for health-care system analysis, there is a lack of consistency in the definition of turnover. Some definitions include any nurse leaving an organization; others may include involuntary and voluntary leaving. These inconsistent definitions also result in various turnover rates. The RN Work Project is a 10-year panel study of new nurses. Data were collected from the new nurses, rather than from a specific organization. About 17.5% of new nurses leave their first job within 1 year of starting their jobs. Consistent and accurate measurement of turnover is an important step in addressing organizational work environments and policies about the nursing workforce.
SELF‐FERTILIZATION WITHOUT GENOMIC OR POPULATION STRUCTURING IN A PARASITIC TAPEWORM

The mode of reproduction and breeding system of a species are major determinants of its genetic structure, and hence of its evolutionary trajectory. Self-fertilization, the fusion of male and female gametes from a single genetic entity, is an important component of the breeding system of many hermaphroditic flowering plants. Although conclusions differ with the assumptions of different population genetic models, the essential theoretical consequences of selfing are an increase in homozygosity, a reduction in genomic recombination, and the conversion of within-family to between-family genetic variation (Allard et al. 1968; Maruyama and Tachida 1992). These theoretical expectations have been largely confirmed by empirical studies in plants. Compared to outbreeders, predominantly selfing species usually show significant heterozygote deficiencies and linkage disequilibrium, and more genetic variation between than within populations (Loveless and Hamrick 1984; Heywood 1991).
Similarities and Differences between Dreaming and Waking Cognition: An Exploratory Study

Thirty-eight "practiced" dreamers (Study 1) and 50 "novice" dreamers (Study 2) completed questionnaires assessing the cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional qualities of recent waking and dreaming experiences. The present findings suggest that dreaming cognition is more similar to waking cognition than previously assumed and that the differences between dreaming and waking cognition are more quantitative than qualitative. Results from the two studies were generally consistent, indicating that high-order cognition during dreaming is not restricted to individuals practiced in dream recall or self-observation. None of the measured features was absent or infrequent in reports of either dreaming or waking experiences. Recollections of dreaming and waking experiences were similar for some cognitive features (e.g., attentional processes, internal commentary, and public self-consciousness) and different for other features (e.g., choice, event-related self-reflection, and affect).
Mitochondria alterations and dramatic tendency to undergo apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes during acute HIV syndrome

Objective:To study alterations of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ) and the propensity to undergo apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from subjects with acute HIV syndrome; and to evaluate possible modulations of these phenomena by antioxidants that can be used in therapy, such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), nicotinamide (NAM), or L-acetyl-carnitine (LAC). Methods:Mitochondrial function and the tendency of PBL to undergo spontaneous apoptosis were studied on freshly collected PBL from patients with symptomatic, acute HIV-1 primary infection, which were cultured for different durations in the presence or absence of NAC, NAM or LAC. By a cytofluorimetric method allowing analysis of Δψ in intact cells, we studied the function of these organelles under the different conditions. PBL apoptosis was evaluated by the classic cytofluorimetric method of propidium iodide staining, capable of revealing the typical DNA hypodiploid peak. Results:Significant Δψ alterations and tendency to undergo apoptosis were present in PBL from the subjects we studied. Indeed, when cultured even for a few hours in the absence of any stimulus, a consistent number of cells died. However, the presence of even different levels of NAC, NAM or LAC was able to rescue most of them from apoptosis. Both a fall in Δψ and apoptosis were evident in PBL collected in the earliest phases of the syndrome (before seroconversion), and changed significantly after a few days. A significant correlation was found between spontaneous apoptosis and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α or p24 plasma levels, as well as between apoptosis and the percentages of circulating CD4+ or CD8+ T cells. Conclusions:PBL from patients with acute HIV syndrome are characterized by both significant mitochondrial alterations and a dramatic tendency to undergo apoptosis. The use of NAC, NAM or LAC seems to rescue cells through a protective effect on mitochondria, a well-known target for the action of TNF-α and for reactive oxygen species, the production of which is strongly induced by this cytokine. Thus, our data could provide the rationale for the use of such agents in addition to antiviral drugs in primary infection.
Hip joint position modulates volitional knee extensor muscle activity after stroke

Evidence from animal and human models has demonstrated the importance of hip proprioceptors and vestibular inputs in modulating lower‐extremity muscle activity through reflex pathways. Comprehension of the role of these sensory inputs following stroke may be important in understanding pathological muscle activity during functional activities. We therefore examined the influence of both hip and head/trunk position on volitional quadriceps activity in chronic stroke and control subjects. With the knee held at 60°, maximal voluntary isometric quadriceps contractions were elicited with trunk orientation (head position) and hip angle systematically positioned at 0°, 45°, and 90°. Integrated electromyographic activity from the quadriceps was compared between groups and conditions. Vasti activity in the stroke group was greater in a seated upright posture (hip flexed) than supine (hip neutral). Controlling for vestibular input, the stroke group demonstrated greater quadriceps activity (VL and RF) with a neutral hip compared to flexion. Such findings may have implications for understanding inappropriate muscle activity during walking after stroke, as hip extension occurs immediately prior to toe off, when inappropriate quadriceps activity is commonly observed. Muscle Nerve, 2006
Enablers of supply chain integration: Interpersonal and interorganizational relationship perspectives

– Previous research on supply chain integration (SCI) enablers has primarily focussed on interorganizational relationships, the purpose of this paper is to broaden the discussion to include interpersonal relationships (IPRs). , – Based on a comprehensive literature review, a series of propositions are postulated and synthesized into a conceptual model of how IPRs maintain and enable SCI, which is decomposed into strategic alliance, information sharing, and process coordination. , – The authors find that IPRs including personal affection, communication, and credibility, have a positive influence on SCI, and these links are mediated by interorganizational relationships including trust, commitment, and power. , – The framework developed in this study provides new insights into the role of interpersonal networks in interorganizational relationships, which lead to SCI.
Sympathy for the environment predicts green consumerism but not more important environmental behaviours related to domestic energy use

SUMMARY Household consumption is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Some behaviours (for example energy use and vehicle use) may have far larger impacts than others (for example green consumerism of household products). Here, the driving forces of green consumerism and two domestic energy uses (electricity consumption and vehicle fuel use) are compared. This study found that environmental attitudes predicted green consumerism, but not electricity consumption or vehicle fuel use. Furthermore, green consumerism was correlated with income and individual level demographic factors, while energy consumption was primarily predicted by household size and structural constraints. Because household energy consumption has greater environmental impacts than green consumerism, policies that aim to improve pro-environmental attitudes may not be effective in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Policies should rather aim to change structural constraints influencing transportation and household energy decisions and improve the conspicuousness of household energy consumption.
Differences in survival associated with processed and with nonprocessed red meat consumption.

BACKGROUND High red meat consumption is associated with an increased mortality risk. This association is partly explained by the negative effect of processed meat consumption, which is widely established. The role of nonprocessed meat is unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine the combined association of processed and nonprocessed meat consumption with survival in a Swedish large prospective cohort. DESIGN In a population-based cohort of 74,645 Swedish men (40,089) and women (34,556), red meat consumption was assessed through a self-administered questionnaire. We estimated differences in survival [15th percentile differences (PDs), differences in the time by which the first 15% of the cohort died] according to levels of total red meat and combined levels of processed and nonprocessed red meat consumption. RESULTS During 15 y of follow-up (January 1998 to December 2012), we documented 16,683 deaths (6948 women; 9735 men). Compared with no consumption, consumption of red meat >100 g/d was progressively associated with shorter survival--up to 2 y for participants consuming an average of 300 g/d (15th PD: -21 mo; 95% CI: -31, -10). Compared with no consumption, high consumption of processed red meat (100 g/d) was associated with shorter survival (15th PD: -9 mo; 95% CI: -16, -2). High and moderate intakes of nonprocessed red meat were associated with shorter survival only when accompanied by a high intake of processed red meat. CONCLUSIONS We found that high total red meat consumption was associated with progressively shorter survival, largely because of the consumption of processed red meat. Consumption of nonprocessed red meat alone was not associated with shorter survival.
Phonological short-term memory contributions to sentence processing in young children

Two experiments investigated the contribution of phonological short-term memory to the processing of spoken sentences by 4- and 5-year-old children. In Experiment 1, sentences contained either short or longer words, and varied in syntactic structure. Overall, repetition but not comprehension of the sentences was significantly influenced by word length. In Experiment 2, children selected on the basis of their high phonological short-term memory ability were founded to be superior at repeating sentences to children of lower phonological short-term memory ability, although the two groups did not differ in their comprehension accuracy for the same sentences. In both experiments, comprehension and repetition performance were differently influenced by particular sentence structures. It is proposed that sentence repetition in children is constrained by phonological memory capacity, and is therefore directly influenced by memory-related factors that include the length and number of words in sentences, and individual differences in memory skills.
Nietzsche's Critique of Truth

Citations from Nietzsche's works are by section numbers with abbreviations of the relevant title prefixed. A list of these abbreviations and the editions used is given below. In the case of Ecce HIomo and Baeumler's edition of the Collected Works this method was inappropriate. For citations from Ecce Homo page numbers from the below listed translation are used. In citations from the Baeumler edition, volume and page number are cited. A The Antichrist trans. R. J. Hollingdale in Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist, Penguin, Middlesex, 1968. BGE Beyond Good and Evil, trans. W. Kaufman, Vintage, New York, 1966. EH Ecce Ilomo, trans. W. Kaufman, in On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, Vintage, New York, 1969. D Daybreak, trans. R. J. Hollingdale, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982. GM On the Genealogy of Morals, trans. W. Kaufman and R. J. Hollingdale, in On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, Vintage, New York, 1969. GS The Gay Science, trans. W. Kaufman, Vintage, New York, 1974. HAH Iluman, All too Human, trans. M. Faber, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1984. SW Samtliche Werke in Zwolf Banden, ed. by Alfred Baeulmer, Alfred Kroner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1965. TI Twilight of the Idols, trans. R. J. Hollingdale, in Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist, Penguin, Middlesex, 1968. WTP The Will to Power, trans. W. Kaufman and R. J. Hollingdale, ed. W. Kaufman, Vintage, New York, 1968. Z Thus Spoke Zarathustra, trans. R. J. Hollingdale, Penguin, Middlesex, 1975. 2 This denial of the existence of truth can not be dismissed as mere hyperbole since it is repeated consistently. For instance, WTP notes 540,616,625 and 804, and EH 256.
Adoption of Electronic Commerce by Smes of Taiwan

According to survey results of ministry of economy affairs in 2001, the total number of enterprises in Taiwan was 1,091,245 and in terms of scale, there were 1,070,310 SMEs, accounting for 98.08% of all enterprises. But only small percentage has preceded e-commerce strategies. To find out why so slow adoption of electronic commerce by the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan are objectives of this study. A survey of SMEs, using convenient sampling was conducted within Rogers' (1995) framework of adoption of innovation plus one extra factor developed by the author. The multiple regressions constructed based on the survey data revealed that relative advantage, complexity, observability and government's policies stand out as the reasons that affect adoption of electronic commerce by SMEs. This study recommends that to encourage faster adoption with regard to relative advantage and observability, the vendors of electronic commerce ought to provide SMEs with free trial to make them understand the potential benefit of adoption electronic commerce; as for complexity, that is lack of proper human resources, the government should help SMEs to recruit enough IT manpower to proceed the electronic commerce appropriately. Most important, the government may consider offering financial incentives to the SMEs on the lines of those available in some of the countries in the Asia-Pacific.
The Reversal of Creation in Hosea

Hos. iv 1-3 has never been a controversial passage. Apart from a few suggestions for some minor textual emendations 1), scholars have all been of a single mind regarding the meaning of the passage 2). In vs. 1 Yahweh is thought to be announcing his "covenant lawsuit" against Israel. This interpretation hinges on a certain translation of the word rib, and scholars' understanding of a "covenant lawsuit" form in passages like Mic. vi 1-8, Isa. i 2-20, and Jer. ii 4-13. In vs. 2 Yahweh accuses Israel of violating the covenant stipulations. In vs. 3 Yahweh pronounces "judgement" upon Israel, which is depicted in terms of "a loss of vitality by land and population. " (Mays, p. 65). Consistent as modern critical scholarship has been in its evaluation of Hos. iv 1-3, there remain several shortcomings and misunderstandings. First, scholars have grossly misinterpreted the meaning of the word rib in both the prophetic corpus, and the Old Testament as a whole. Second, the imagery present in vs. 3 is much more integrated and pointed than merely to suggest that "kiindigt er [Hosea] das Gericht Jahwes in Gestalt einer groBen Diirre an" (Wolff, p. 85). Other problems to be dealt with are the structure of the oracle, the object of the hesed of vs. 1, and some of the theological and literary critical implications of the passage.
Transgene expression from the Tribolium castaneum Polyubiquitin promoter

The highly conserved Ubiquitin proteins are expressed from genes with strong, constitutively active promoters in many species, making these promoters attractive candidates for use in driving transgene expression. Here we report the cloning and characterization of the Tribolium castaneum Polyubiquitin (TcPUb) gene. We placed the TcPUb promoter upstream of the coding region of the T. castaneum eye‐colour gene Tc vermilion (Tcv) and injected this construct into embryos from a Tcv‐deficient strain. Transient expression of Tcv during embryogenesis resulted in complete rescue of the larval mutant phenotype. We then incorporated the TcPUb‐Tcv chimera into a piggyBac donor. Resulting germline transformants were easily recognized by rescue of eye pigmentation, illustrating the potential of the TcPUb promoter for use in driving transgene expression.
Responding to Challenges in Educating for the Responsible Conduct of Research

The importance of responsible conduct of research (RCR) is widely recognized, but the necessary role for RCR education is limited by three significant challenges. First, the stated goals and purpose of RCR education are diverse, inconsistent, and sometimes not feasible. RCR is variably defined as knowing and following the rules, being a moral person, having good character, exhibiting good ethical judgment, and acting with integrity and responsibility. However, a case can be made that the long-term goals of RCR education can be reduced simply to decreasing research misconduct and increasing responsible conduct. A second challenge is that the methods for fostering RCR are unclear because the relationship between the goals and role of education has been unclear. To reconcile goals with feasible objectives, it is proposed that the focus of RCR education can be limited to three specific purposes: empowering trainees to respond to the ethical challenges raised in the conduct of research, increasing awareness of the purpose and value of ethical decision making as well as the roles and responsibilities of whistleblowers, and fostering a positive attitude about promoting an environment that values RCR. The third and final challenge is that a lack of dedicated financial support has decreased the likelihood that thoughtful, successful RCR programs can be developed. One means proposed to address the challenges of goals, methods, and strategies is a recently created national partnership, the RCR Education Committee (RCREC), a special interest group of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
Beyond the diluted community concept: a symbolic interactionist perspective on online social relations

The study of cybercommunity is inevitably linked to the development of the internet amid other cultural phenomena, and cybercommunity as a cultural practice has clearly reached a point of critical mass. The concept of online community has become increasingly diluted as it evolves into a pastiche of elements that ostensibly ‘signify’ community. This study grapples with the concept of community in cyberspace and suggests alternative ways of characterizing online social relations that avoid the vagaries of ‘community’. Based on interviews and a theoretical consideration of online community, it finds that the metaphor of ‘community’ in cyberspace is one of convenient togetherness without real responsibility. This study suggests a symbolic interactionist approach to the examination of online social relationships that is free of the controversy and structural-functional baggage of the term ‘community’. It suggests that community is an evolving process, and that commitment is the truly desired social ideal in social interaction, whether online or offline.
Development of High Performance Aircraft Bleed Air Temperature Control System With Reduced Ram Air Usage

Conventional aircraft engine bleed air temperature regulation system is inefficient due to unnecessary ram air usage in cooling the bleed air, which in turn causes unnecessary drag and fuel consumption. This paper proposes an aircraft bleed air temperature control system, aiming at minimizing the ram air usage to reduce drag and fuel consumption while maintaining fast temperature control response. To achieve both of the objectives, a new control system configuration is developed to control both ram air and bypass flows in such a way that the bypass bleed air flow is automatically controlled at a small level that is just sufficient to maintain fast regulation of the flow temperature at the load. Analytical equations describing the system dynamics and linearized model are derived and utilized in the overall bleed air temperature control design and analysis. PI control and optimal output feedback are investigated. Computer simulations and experiments have been conducted, and the proposed control system is shown to be effective in reducing ram air usage and maintaining fast temperature control response in the meantime.