Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multidisciplinary study of allergy : mouse models, immune modulation and lifestyle

Allergic diseases affect a substantial part of the global population. Although extensive studies have elucidated the allergic mechanism, no conclusive answer has yet been found that will prevent the onset of an allergic disease. Literature suggests that no single factor like a gene mutation, environmental factor or lifestyle component can be hold accountable for the allergic cascade. Therefore, the main goal of this research project was to use a multidiscipli¬nary approach to allergies, by combining information on the genetic components, lifestyles and in vivo and in vitro assessment of the immune cells involved in allergy. The accomplishment of this multidisciplinary goal required knowledge on the genetic factors involved in the immunopathology of allergic diseases, but also immunological and cell biological knowledge. In addition, we investigated the influence of environmental factors on the allergic response which also required knowledge on sociology and economics to assess involved lifestyle factors. Within the multidisciplinary research areas, allergic responses are studied at multiple levels. For example, the genetic differences can be studied by means of mice with different genetic backgrounds (BALB/c, STS/A, C57BL/6) or in knock-out (CD4 or CD8 knock-out) or transgenic (IL-5 transgenic) mice. These differences in the genetic background on their turn have an effect on the expression of the allergic disease characteristics. Examples of the assessed allergic characteristics comprise antigen-presentation by specialized antigen-presenting cells, the presence of T helper 2 cells, the involvement of Th2 produced cytokines like IL-4 and IL-5, and the isotype switching of B cells towards allergen-specific IgE. Alterations of the allergic characteristics were studied by the use of in vitro cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that display all above mentioned characteristics when they are properly isolated, cryopreserved and cultured. These alterations were elicited by the use of heat-treatment of allergens or the exposure to fungal derived proteins or polysaccharides. Taken together, these different levels within the allergic individual can on their turn be influenced by environmental and nutritional factors. To study this, lifestyle factors have been assessed by the use of a personalized internet-based questionnaire and these data were thereafter linked to allergen-specific immunoglobulin levels. To further stress the importance of multilevel research within a multidisciplinary study, a more detailed description of the separate chapters within this thesis are combined with their major results, and finalized with future perspectives.
Letter: pyogenic liver abscess is a red flag sign of hepatocellular carcinoma – authors’ reply

SIRS, I read the paper by Kao et al. about the association between pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) and subsequent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk with interest. By analysing the Taiwan national health insurance database, the authors have found that patients with PLA had a higher risk of HCC (standard incidence ratio 7.87, 95% CI: 5.94–10.21). Moreover, the most important issue is whether PLA is a risk factor for HCC, or an early manifestation of undiagnosed HCC. The authors also found that standard incidence ratio of HCC was relatively higher within 1 year after the diagnosis of PLA (standard incidence ratio 257.28, 95% CI: 186.17–346.56). In view of the clinical course, PLA may be only an early manifestation of underlying HCC rather than a risk factor, which has been shown in previous studies. 3 In my opinion, PLA might be considered as a red flag sign of HCC, not a causal factor. Therefore, patients with PLA should receive an intensive surveillance for underlying HCC, especially in those with cirrhosis, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection or age 65 years.
The Role of Leadership in Creating a Strategic Climate for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation and Sustainment in Systems and Organizations

There is a growing impetus to effectively implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) in health and allied health settings in order to improve the public health impact of such practices. To support implementation and sustainment of EBPs, it is important to consider that health care is delivered within the outer context of public health systems and the inner context of health care organizations and work groups (3). This article identifies two relevant types of leadership for implementation and recommends steps that leaders can take in developing a strategic climate for EBP implementation and sustainment within the outer and inner contexts of health and allied health care systems and organizations.
A Survey on Dietary Habit and Nutritional Knowledge for Elementary School Children's Nutritional Education

The aim of this study is to survey the eating habits and nutritional knowledge of children in Pusan, with a view to uncovering problems and their underlying causes and cultivating desirable dietary habit and nutrition for children. Three hundred and fifty six elementary school students were asked questions about their eating habits and nutritional knowledge as well as general information about their personal characteristics. The results showed: 1. Only 53.5% of the subjects had breakfast every day. Seventy-six percent of the subjects had dinner every day. Only 40% of the children took meals and talked with family at both breakfast and dinner. Thus there was little opportunity for dietary guidance by parents. 2. About half of the subjects answered that their appetite decreased after eating snack foods between meals. A third of the subjects liked the baked goods as snacks. Because of their high sugar and fat content, they can damage children's health, resulting in child diabetes and tooth decay. For this reason, careful education is necessary to allow children to be able to select snack foods that are appropriate in kind and quantity. 3. About 85% of the subjects had an unbalanced diet. Therefore systematic nutrition education at school is necessary to instill in children the value of balanced diet. 4. Children preferred rice to other cereals as a staple food. They disliked kimchi, seasoned and blanched foods and salads as subsidiary foods. It is therefore necessary to teach children systematically the nutritional advantage of cereals and vegetables and to heighten their awareness of Korean food culture. 5. Children had a low level of nutritional knowledge. The knowledge of specific nutrients was lower than that of foods. In conclusion, systematical educational programs need to be developed at elementary school. These should include information about achieving a balanced diet, good eating habit, meal management and Korean dietary culture. Nutritional education at home must be emphasized.
Individual Colorimetric Observers for Personalized Color Imaging

Colors are typically described by three values such as RGB, XYZ, and HSV. This is rooted to the fact that humans possess three types of photoreceptors under photopic conditions, and human color vision can be characterized by a set of three color matching functions (CMFs). CMFs integrate spectra to produce three colorimetric values that are related to visual responses. In reality, large variations in CMFs exist among color-normal populations. Thus, a pair of two spectrally different stimuli might be a match for one person but a mismatch for another person, also known as observer metamerism. Observer metamerism is a serious issue in color-critical applications such as soft proofing in graphic arts and color grading in digital cinema, where colors are compared on different displays. Due to observer metamerism, calibrated displays might not appear correctly, and one person might disagree with color adjustments made by another person. The recent advent of wide color gamut display technologies (e.g., LEDs, OLEDs, lasers, and Quantum Dots) has made observer metamerism even more serious due to their spectrally narrow primaries. The variations among normal color vision and observer metamerism have been overlooked for many years. The current typical color imaging workflow uses a single standard observer assuming all the color-normal people possess the same CMFs. This dissertation provides a possible solution for observer metamerism in color-critical applications by personalized color imaging introducing individual colorimetric observers. In this dissertation, at first, color matching data were collected to derive and validate CMFs for individual colorimetric observers. The data from 151 color-normal observers were obtained at four different locations. Second, two types of individual colorimetric observer functions were derived and validated. One is an individual colorimetric observer model, an extension of the CIE 2006 physiological observer incorporating eight physiological parameters to model individuals in addition to age and field size inputs. The other is a set of categorical observer functions providing a more convenient approach towards the personalized color imaging. Third, two workflows were proposed to characterize human color vision: one using a nomaloscope and the other using proposed spectral pseudoisochromatic images. Finally, the personalized color imaging was evaluated in a color image matching study on an LCD monitor and a laser projector and in a perceived color difference study on a SHARP Quattron display. The personalized color imaging was implemented using a newly introduced ICC profile, iccMAX.
Discontinuidad cultural. Estudiantes inmigrantes y éxito académico

La discontinuidad cultural se refiere a la carencia de cohesion entre dos o mas culturas. Este articulo analiza los resultados y conclusiones de la literatura cientifica referida a algunos de los temas que ilustran la incoherencia entre la cultura escolar y la domestica. El objetivo principal es examinar las enormes diferencias que existen entre las principales expectativas y los valores culturales de las familias de los ninos y ninas inmigrantes y lo que se espera de ellos en el entorno escolar y como estas diferencias influyen en los procesos cognitivos y en el rendimiento academico de estos estudiantes. Para ello, se ha realizado una exploracion de diversas bases de datos especializadas e investigaciones llevadas a cabo en EEUU, un pais con una larga tradicion en la acogida de escolares inmigrantes. Los resultados de la investigacion sugieren que los retos academicos de muchos alumnos inmigrantes estan vinculados a la percepcion de discontinuidad cultural entre el hogar y la escuela que perciben los estudiantes. Finalmente, los resultados tambien demuestran que la teoria de la discontinuidad cultural ayuda a comprender la falta de participacion de algunos padres inmigrantes en el proceso educativo de sus hijos. Palabras clave: Cultura escolar, cultura familiar, desigualdades educativas, lenguas, participacion familiar. Cultural discontinuity. Immigrant students and accademic success. Cultural discontinuity refers to the lack of cohesion between two or more cultures. This article reviews the scientific literature on some of the issues that illustrate the incongruence between home and school cultures. The main objective of this article is to examine the huge differences that exist between the main expectations and cultural values of immigrant children and their families and what is expected of them in the school environment and how this discontinuity between home and school socialization patterns influence the cognitive processes and academic achievement of these students. We have undertaken an exploration of various documentary sources: specialized databases and research studies carried out in USA, a country with a long tradition in integrating immigrant students. Education researchers have suggested that the academic challenges faced by many immigrant students are linked to perceived cultural discontinuity between students’ home- and school-based experiences. Finally, we also argue that the cultural discontinuity theory helps to understand the lack of partici
Autonomic symptoms in idiopathic parkinson’s disease

Abstract Aim. Autonomic symptoms (AS) are one of the major causes affecting quality of life in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and contribute to the disease burden. Our aim is to investigate the occurence of AS and to evaluate the relation between AS and the demographic and clinical features of PD patients. Method. In this study 66 idiopathic PD patients (47 men) were evaluated for the presence of AS during the last month with the SCOPA-AUT (Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson’s Disease; SCOPA) questionnaire, which consists of 23 items in six domains: gastrointestinal (7), urinary (6), cardiovascular (3), thermoregulatory (4), pupillomotor (1), and sexual (2). The maximum score is 69, with a score range per item from 0 (never experiencing the symptom) to 3 (often experiencing the symptom). Associations between AS and duration of disease, age onset of disease, treatment and Hoehn Y I-IV) idi. Total SKOPA-AUT skoru 15,9 idi. Total skor ile yas ve cinsiyet arasinda bir iliski olmayip (p>0,05), hastalik suresi ve evresi arasinda anlamli bir iliski bulundu (p<0,05). OS’larin en fazla gozlendigi alan gastrointestinal sistem olup hastalik suresi ve siddeti ile de iliskili oldugu saptandi. Sonuc. PH’nin erken evrelerinde ve hatta hastaligin baslangic donemlerinde dahi OS’lar gorulebilmekte ve hastalik siddeti ve suresi ile de artis gostermektedir. Parkinson hastalarinda OS’lara yonelik ileri tetkik ve tedavinin planlanmasi, hastalarin hayat kalitesini arttiracaktir. Anahtar sozcukler: Parkinson hastaligi, SCOPA-AUT, otonomik semptomlar
Effects of MGA in receiving diets on health, performance, and carcass characteristics

A trial was conducted using 723 crossbred heifers (468 lb initially) to evaluate the effects of including melengestrol acetate (MGA) in receiving diets on growth performance, morbidity, mortality, and carcass characteristics. Treatments were: 1) MGA included in the receiving diet at a rate of 0.5 mg per heifer daily or 2) no MGA in the receiving diet. Diets were fed once daily and contained 42% steamflaked corn, 45% alfalfa hay, 6% steep liquor, and 2% tallow; monensin and tylosin were included. Receiving diets were fed for 35 days. After 35 days MGA was fed to all heifers, and cattle were stepped up to common finishing diets. Cattle exhibiting clinical signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) were treated with Excenel (1 ml/100 lb body weight) for 3 days. Animals requiring followup treatment received the same therapy. Cattle pulled a third time received oxytetracycline (4.5 ml/100 lb body weight) and Predef (5 ml/heifer). Initial respiratory pulls (73.9% for MGA and 77.3% for no MGA), re-treatments, and death loss were not different (P>0.40) during the first 35 days. The number of heifers requiring a third antibiotic treatment tended (P=0.09) to be higher for heifers not receiving MGA. Average daily gain (deads out) for the first 35 days tended to be higher for heifers fed MGA (P=0.06), but dry matter intake and feed efficiency were not different between treatments (P>0.17). Gain throughout the 220-day feeding period was 2.6% higher for cattle fed MGA during the receiving phase (P=0.05). Overall, feed intake and feed efficiency were not different (P>0.50) between treatments, but heifers fed MGA during the initial receiving period tended to have heavier carcass weights (P=0.13). No differences were detected in quality grade, yield grade, or marbling (P>0.23). Feeding MGA during the initial 35 days after arrival may improve gain and carcass weights.
Review: Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

A number of diagnostic tests have been developed for the detection of H. pylori. Diagnostic techniques can be divided into invasive and noninvasive methods. The invasive methods require upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and involve culture of gastric biopsy specimens, examination of stained biopsies and detection of urease activity in the biopsies themselves. In addition, we have developed endoscopic diagnosis of H. pylori infection in gastric mucosa using phenol red dye‐spraying. The noninvasive methods include urea breath test and serological techniques. Although there has been considerable improvement in the techniques, a combination of at least two different techniques should be used in order to optimize the diagnostic yield. We recommend the use of one rapid test in the combination. The rapid urease test, cytology and the phenol red dye‐spraying endoscopy give results available before the patient leaves the endoscopy suite.
Ready, Steady, Study: Implications of Online Learning for Early Childhood Teacher Education

Online learning is a relatively new mode of study for educating early childhood teachers in New Zealand. This review discusses online learning and the need for preparation to learn in an online environment. Following a comparison of traditional and online modes of study, the paper reviews online learning in general and relates it to the early childhood context. The importance of a dedicated orientation for early childhood student teachers in an online learning environment is fully justified.
Matrix sector functions and their applications to systems theory

Abstract : The paper presents a new matrix function, the matrix sector function of a square complex matrix A, and its applications to systems theory. Firstly, based on an irrational function of a complex variable, a scalar sector function is defined. Next, a fast algorithm is developed with the help of a circulant matrix for computing the scalar sector function of lambda. Then, the scaler sector function of lambda is extended to a matrix sector function, and to associated partitioned matrix sector functions of A. Finally, the applications of these matrix sector functions to the separation of matrix eigenvalues, the determination of A-invariant space, the block diagonalisation of a matrix, and the generalised block partial fraction expansion of a rational matrix are given. It is shown that the well-known matrix sign function of A is a special class of the newly developed matrix sector function of A. It is also shown that the Newton-Raphson type algorithm cannot, in general, be applied to determine the matrix sector function of A. Originator supplied keywords include: Mathematical technique; Approximation theory; Eigenfunctions; Linear systems.
Examination of relationship satisfaction in post-deployment Latino soldiers returning from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan

This report examines the state of research regarding the psychological impact of war on American soldiers deployed in military operations in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). Particular focus is given to examination of marital and relationship satisfaction within the Hispanic soldier and veteran population. A wide range of research examines the traumatic aftereffects of wartime service with predominant themes of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse appearing across the literature. Examination of the Hispanic population is disputed with researchers producing conflicting findings: some researchers have indicated an increased risk of psychological disturbances in Hispanic wartime veterans while other have found no such difference between the Hispanic and majority groups. Attempts to explain these discrepant results have ranged from differences in acculturation, to potentially increased traumatic exposure, or to underlying feelings of
Formulaic Language and Second Language Speech Fluency: Background, Evidence and Classroom Applications

This volume presents a comprehensive look at the phenomenon of formulaic language (multi-word units believed to be mentally stored and retrieved as single units) and its role in fluent speech production. Focusing on second language speech, the book provides an overview of research into the role of formulaic language in fluency, details a study which provides evidence of that role, and outlines teaching plans and strategies to foster it. This important area has not been examined in such depth and scope before, and this work has many implications for future research and language pedagogy. It will appeal to researchers in discourse analysis and second language acquisition.
Molecular Analysis of Hydatidiform Moles: Utilizing p57 Immunohistochemistry and Molecular Genotyping to Refine Morphologic Diagnosis

Abstract: Distinction of hydatidiform moles from nonmolar specimens and subclassification of hydatidiform moles as complete hydatidiform mole (CHM), partial hydatidiform mole (PHM), or early CHM are important for both clinical practice and investigational studies. The risk of persistent gestational trophoblastic disease and hence, clinical management differs for CHMs, PHMs, and nonmolar specimens. However, diagnosis based solely on morphology suffers from poor interobserver reproducibility and remains problematic even for experienced gynecologic pathologists. The unique genetic features of CHMs (androgenetic diploidy), PHMs (diandric triploidy), and nonmolar specimens (biparental diploidy) allow for certain molecular techniques, including immunohistochemical analysis of p57 expression (a paternally imprinted maternally expressed gene) and molecular genotyping, to refine the diagnosis of hydatidiform moles. While p57 immunostaining alone can identify CHMs, which lack p57 expression due to the lack of maternal DNA, this analysis cannot distinguish PHMs from nonmolar specimens since both express p57 due to the presence of maternal DNA. Short tandem repeat genotyping, which can determine the parental source of polymorphic alleles, can distinguish among all of these entities by discerning androgenetic diploidy, diandric triploidy, and biparental diploidy to rigorously diagnose CHMs, PHMs, and nonmolar specimens, respectively. An algorithmic approach using these techniques to refine morphologic diagnosis has been developed for routine practice. This review discusses current issues in the diagnosis of hydatidiform moles, including the limitations of morphologic diagnosis, the need for refined diagnosis to assure accurate ascertainment of risk of persistent gestational trophoblastic disease associated with the different subtypes of hydatidiform moles, and the utility of ancillary immunohistochemical and molecular techniques for providing such refined diagnosis.
Preliminary psychometric evaluation of a measure of adherence to clinic-based sport injury rehabilitation☆☆☆★★★☆☆☆

Abstract Objectives: to examine the psychometric properties of the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Adherence Scale (SIRAS), an instrument designed to assess adherence during clinic-based sport injury rehabilitation sessions. Design: rehabilitation professionals completed the SIRAS for their patients on one occasion in Study 1, two occasions one week apart in Study 2, and multiple (range=6–48) occasions in Study 3. Setting: an orthopedic physical therapy clinic specializing in sports medicine. Participants: one hundred and forty-five general physical therapy patients in Study 1, 31 patients undergoing rehabilitation following knee surgery in Study 2, and 43 patients undergoing rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in Study 3. Main outcome measure: the SIRAS. Results: In Study 1, a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of . 82 was obtained for the SIRAS, scores on the SIRAS were weakly correlated (r=.21) with attendance at rehabilitation sessions, and the SIRAS items loaded on a single factor in a principal components analysis. In Study 2, a test–retest intraclass correlation coefficient of . 77 was obtained for the SIRAS and, in Study 3, a modified interrater intraclass correlation coefficient of . 57 was obtained for repeated administrations of the SIRAS across rehabilitation professionals. Conclusions: the results of this study provide preliminary evidence in support of the internal consistency, unidimensionality, discriminant validity, test–retest reliability, and interrater reliability of the SIRAS.