Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reading comprehension and working memory in learning-disabled readers: Is the phonological loop more important than the executive system?

This investigation explores the contribution of two working memory systems (the articulatory loop and the central executive) to the performance differences between learning-disabled (LD) and skilled readers. Performances of LD, chronological age (CA) matched, and reading level-matched children were compared on measures of phonological processing accuracy and speed (articulatory system), long-term memory (LTM) accuracy and speed, and executive processing. The results indicated that (a) LD readers were inferior on measures of articulatory, LTM, and executive processing; (b) LD readers were superior to RL readers on measures of executive processing, but were comparable to RL readers on measures of the articulatory and LTM system; (c) executive processing differences remained significant between LD and CA-matched children when measures of reading comprehension, articulatory processes, and LTM processes were partialed from the analysis; and (d) executive processing contributed significant variance to reading comprehension when measures of the articulatory and LTM systems were entered into a hierarchical regression model. In summary, LD readers experience constraints in the articulatory and LTM system, but constraints mediate only some of the influence of executive processing on reading comprehension. Further, LD readers suffer executive processing problems nonspecific to their reading comprehension problems.
Second-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer in clinical practice: final results and treatment pathways from the SELECTTION observational study

Abstract Objectives: SELECTTION was a multinational, prospective observational study to assess the choice of and the time from initiation of second-line treatment to treatment discontinuation for any reason in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Treatment cohorts were constructed based on prescribed second-line treatments that were at the discretion of the treating physicians, for 1013 patients enrolled in 11 countries. Propensity score analysis was conducted to assess whether the cohorts were comparable. Time from initiation of second-line treatment to treatment discontinuation was the primary endpoint. Reasons for treatment discontinuation, overall survival, progression-free survival and choice of second-line treatment were secondary endpoints. Results: The treatment cohorts were pemetrexed (46.2%), docetaxel (22.9%), erlotinib (20.4%) and other treatments (10.5%). Analyses of baseline data and propensity scores showed that the erlotinib cohort comprised substantially different patients compared with the pemetrexed and docetaxel cohorts: patients in the erlotinib cohort were more likely to be women, never-smokers, have adenocarcinoma and worse performance status. Therefore, comparisons of outcomes between cohorts were not appropriate. Although disease progression was the most common reason for treatment discontinuation in all cohorts, erlotinib patients tended to continue treatment after disease progression, whereas in the docetaxel and pemetrexed cohorts, discontinuation occurred soon after disease progression. Conclusions: In real-world clinical practice the profiles of patients assigned to erlotinib were distinctly different from those assigned to pemetrexed or docetaxel. The most common reason for treatment discontinuation was progressive disease, reflecting adherence to clinical recommendations. It is difficult to extrapolate these findings to the present, as both clinical practice and the approved indications for NSCLC treatments have evolved substantially.
Thymoglobulin Dose Optimization for Induction Therapy in High Risk Kidney Transplant Recipients

Backgound. Thymoglobulin (rATG) has become the agent of choice for induction therapy in high immunological risk kidney transplant recipients. However, its optimal dosing in this subgroup has not been studied. Methods. To evaluate the effect of total rATG dosing on graft outcomes in such patients, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 96 adult patients who received repeat transplants (85%) or had panel reactive antibody more than 40% (19%) and were maintained on tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroid. Group 1 (n=33) received less than or equal to 7.5 and group 2 (n=63) received more than 7.5 mg/kg rATG. Graft and patient survival, incidence of acute rejection (AR), and 12-month serum creatinine (SCr) were examined. Results. The groups were comparable regarding demographics, donor source, retransplantation, panel reactive antibody, and human leukocyte antigen mismatch. Group 2 had more African Americans (44.4% vs. 21.2%, P=0.03). During the 25.4±18.0 months follow-up graft survival was 82.5% and 79.4%, respectively (P=0.54). Three in group 1 and four in group 2 died (P=0.65). The incidence of biopsy proven AR during the first 12-months did not differ between the groups (9.5% vs. 8.8%, respectively, P=0.9). SCr at 12 months was 1.6±0.7 in group 1 and 1.8±1.0 in group 2 (P=0.3). There was no independent association between rATG dose and graft survival (hazard ratio: 0.85, P=0.79, 95% CI: 0.26–2.7 for group 2 vs. 1) or 1-year SCr (regression coefficient=0.02 for ln(SCr), P=0.3; 95%CI: −0.01 to 0.6). Conclusion. Our results suggest that in high risk kidney transplant recipients total rATG doses less than or equal to 7.5 mg/kg are safe and effective in achieving a low rate of AR and graft outcomes comparable to higher doses.
[Evaluation of proinflammatory cytokines in chronic lower limb ischaemia diabetic macroangiopathy and arteriosclerosis obliterans].

UNLABELLED Proinflammatory cytokines play the crucial role in the arising and progression of atherosclerotic changes. Between them are: tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). The significant role in the atherosclerotic changes play adhesive molecules produced by endothelium as the answer to the cytokines stimulation. THE AIM OF THE STUDY was the evaluation of the serum concentration of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and selectin E in the patients with chronic lower limb ischaemia with and without diabetes type 2. All patients had antropometric measurements (BMI) as well as the standard biochemic evaluations and the angiologic diagnosis were performed. MATERIAL AND METHODS The 17 patients with chronic peripheral arterial disease (the mean age 55.9+/-7.8 years) and 23 with chronic arterial ischaemia and diabetes (the mean age 61.8+/-7.6 years) were included into the final evaluation. The control group consist of 14 healthy volunteers; mean age 43.9+/-11.5 years. RESULTS The concentration of TNF-alpha in both groups was statistically significant higher in comparison to control group. High concentration of IL-6 was in patients with arteriosclerosis, and selectin E in the group with diabetes and chronic arterial ischaemia in course of macroangiopathy. CONCLUSIONS At the satisfactory metabolic glicemic compensation and without obesity the statistically significant differences at level of analyzed cytokines in the both groups were not shown. The high level of selectin E in the diabetes group shows for the more activation of endothelium cells.
Map-aware RSS localization models and algorithms based on experimental data

The knowledge of the propagation environment can greatly improve the performance of indoor wireless localization systems, since it can be exploited to cancel out, at least to some extent, the effects of physical obstructions (e.g., walls) degrading the radio signals employed for localization. In indoor localization systems, the propagation environment can be described by maps (e.g., floor plans), which represent a valuable source of knowledge. In this paper a new map-aware statistical model for the measurements acquired in wireless localization systems based on received signal strength is proposed. Experimental results are processed to extract the parameters of the proposed model, which is then exploited to devise map-aware localization algorithms; these are capable of mitigating the non-line-of-sight bias introduced in the measurements by the obstructions modelled by the map. Our numerical results evidence that map-aware modelling can substantially improve localization accuracy in indoor scenarios with respect to map-unaware modelling.
Patient Compliance and Therapeutic Coverage: Amlodipine versus Nifedipine (Slow-Release) in the Treatment of Angina Pectoris

Patient compliance with therapy is often poor and overestimated by the treating physician; it is particularly important in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and angina pectoris. Compliance was studied in an open parallel study in out-patients with stable angina pectoris, given either amlodipine (5 mg, once daily) or slow-release nifedipine (20 mg, twice daily) for 12 weeks. Compliance was assessed using pill counting and using an electronic device, the medication event monitoring system, to record the time and date of each opening and closure of the pill container. There was no difference between the two groups in pill count or taking ‘in compliance’ (the percentage of prescribed doses taken as indicated by the monitoring system). Compliance was significantly better (P < 0.001) with amlodipine, however, for ‘correct dosing’ (the percentage of days on which the correct dose was taken) and for ‘timing compliance’ (the percentage of doses taken at the prescribed time interval after the last dose). ‘Therapeutic coverage’ (the estimated proportion of treatment time for which the drug was active) was also significantly better for amlodipine (P < 0.001). There was no difference in reported side-effects between the two therapies.
Multilevel Thoracic Paravertebral Block Using Ropivacaine With/Without Dexmedetomidine in Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery.

OBJECTIVES Thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) is reported to have advantages in postoperative pain management in unilateral thoracic surgeries. Previous studies have demonstrated that dexmedetomidine could be used as an adjuvant to local anesthetics, with the aim of prolonging the duration of neural blockade. However, little is known about whether such a combination could improve the quality of postoperative analgesia compared with local anesthetic only when TPVB is used for patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). DESIGN A prospective, randomized, controlled study. SETTING Single-center university hospital. PARTICIPANTS The study included 60 patients undergoing VATS under general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS The patients were allocated randomly into the following 2 groups: 0.375% ropivacaine, 20 mL only (group R, n = 30), and 0.375% ropivacaine, 20 mL plus 1 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine (group RD, n = 30). At the end of surgery, TPVB guided using ultrasound was performed at 4 points-T4-5, T5-6, T6-7, and T7-8-of the surgical side; 5 mL of solution were injected at each point. Postoperatively, the intravenous nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug flurbiprofen was used as part of multimodal analgesia. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Pain scores at rest and during coughing were evaluated by a blinded observer in the postanesthesia care unit postoperatively at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours, and the dermatomal levels of sensory blockade, postoperative requirements for rescue analgesia, adverse events, and patient satisfaction also were recorded. There was a significant reduction in postoperative pain scores at rest starting from the postoperative 8th hour until the 48th hour and during coughing starting at the postoperative 4th hour until the 48th hour in the group RD compared with those in group R (p = 0.043). The dermatomal levels of sensory blockade were comparable in the 2 groups. Patient satisfaction after surgery was significantly higher in the group RD than in group R (p < 0.001). Total consumption of the intravenous rescue analgesic morphine and adverse events were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS Compared with ropivacaine only, the addition of dexmedetomidine, 1 μg/kg, to local anesthetic for multilevel TPVB in patients undergoing VATS prolonged the duration of postoperative analgesia and improved patient satisfaction without serious side effects when combined with postoperative intravenous nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration.
Problems in the Management of Intracranial Meningiomas

Meningiomas account for approximately 15–20% of all brain tumors, and are the most common benign intracranial tumor. These neoplasms develop from cap cells in the arachnoidea; thus, they can be found anywhere that dura mater exists. Meningiomas are usually diagnosed in middle age, and are significantly more frequent in females than in males. Atypical and anaplastic malignant forms also exist. Some types of meningiomas are difficult to manage and require special considerations. The first-line therapy for meningioma is surgery aimed at total excision; however, limitations of surgery must be fully evaluated in order to achieve better results. Conventional radiotherapy and gamma-knife radiosurgery can be used as adjuvant therapeutic modalities under certain conditions. The issues that we consider important in the management of intracranial meningiomas can be discussed under the headings of diagnosis, surgery, multiplicity, pathology, and recurrence.
The Semantic Distance Task: Quantifying Semantic Distance With Semantic Network Path Length

Semantic distance is a determining factor in cognitive processes, such as semantic priming, operating upon semantic memory. The main computational approach to compute semantic distance is through latent semantic analysis (LSA). However, objections have been raised against this approach, mainly in its failure at predicting semantic priming. We propose a novel approach to computing semantic distance, based on network science methodology. Path length in a semantic network represents the amount of steps needed to traverse from 1 word in the network to the other. We examine whether path length can be used as a measure of semantic distance, by investigating how path length affect performance in a semantic relatedness judgment task and recall from memory. Our results show a differential effect on performance: Up to 4 steps separating between word-pairs, participants exhibit an increase in reaction time (RT) and decrease in the percentage of word-pairs judged as related. From 4 steps onward, participants exhibit a significant decrease in RT and the word-pairs are dominantly judged as unrelated. Furthermore, we show that as path length between word-pairs increases, success in free- and cued-recall decreases. Finally, we demonstrate how our measure outperforms computational methods measuring semantic distance (LSA and positive pointwise mutual information) in predicting participants RT and subjective judgments of semantic strength. Thus, we provide a computational alternative to computing semantic distance. Furthermore, this approach addresses key issues in cognitive theory, namely the breadth of the spreading activation process and the effect of semantic distance on memory retrieval.
Pengaruh Kurs Rupiah Terhadap Indeks Harga Saham (Studi Pada Indeks Saham Syariah Indonesia Periode 2011-2013)

Sensitivity of stock market is appeared when the domestic currency exchange rate fluctuations happened. Uncontrolled currency fluctuations will affect the performance of capital market entities which have an impact on stock price movement. This thesis is to determine the effect of exchange rate on ISSI stock price index in the 2011-2013 periods. This thesis uses a quantitative approach to analyze secondary data which represented by exchange rate and ISSI stock price index. Those values are monthly data over the period 2011-2013. This thesis also uses a significance level of 5%. The regression result in this thesis indicates that the exchange rate variable has a significant effect partially on ISSI stock price index in the 2011-2013 periods.
A prospective study of high-grade cervical neoplasia risk among human papillomavirus-infected women.

BACKGROUND In case-control studies, smoking, parity, and oral contraceptive use have been associated with an increased risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) and cervical cancer among women who are infected with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV). However, these potential risk factors have not been adequately studied in prospective studies. METHODS We studied 1812 women who were enrolled in a 10-year prospective study of cervical neoplasia at Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Oregon, and who at enrollment had tested positive for oncogenic HPV DNA and had responded to a questionnaire that included questions on smoking, oral contraceptive use, and parity. Absolute risks and crude relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CIN3 or cervical cancer were computed for three time intervals (0-8, 9-68, and 69-122 months after enrollment) using the Kaplan-Meier method. Conditional logistic regression models were used to control for factors that may have influenced our risk estimates, specifically the cytologic interpretation of baseline Pap smear, number of Pap smears during follow-up, age at enrollment, age at prediagnosis visit, and age at diagnosis. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Oral contraceptive use and parity were not associated with risk of CIN3 or cervical cancer. Former smokers, women who smoked less than one pack of cigarettes per day, and women who smoked one or more packs per day had crude RRs for CIN3 or cervical cancer for the entire follow-up period of 2.1 (95% CI = 1.1 to 3.9), 2.2 (95% CI = 1.2 to 4.2), and 2.9 (95% CI = 1.5 to 5.6), respectively, compared with never smokers. In the multivariable model, former smokers, women who smoked less than one pack/day, and women who smoked one or more packs/day had RRs of 3.3 (95% CI = 1.6 to 6.7), 2.9 (95% CI = 1.4 to 6.1), and 4.3 (95% CI = 2.0 to 9.3), respectively, for CIN3 or cervical cancer compared with never smokers. CONCLUSIONS Smoking is associated with an increased risk of invasive cervical cancer in women who are infected with oncogenic HPV. Subsequent studies should examine the role of smoking in the multistage pathogenesis of cervical cancer.
Entrepreneurial-related Programmes and Students’ Intentions to Venture into New Business Creation: Finding Synergy of Constructs in a University of Technology

Entrepreneurial education has received a fair amount of attention locally and internationally. Interestingly, disparities continue to exist in the quality of entrepreneurship education programmes on offer, particularly in curriculum design, delivery methods and forms of assessment within higher education institutions in South Africa. We examined the relationship between the entrepreneurial content of the curriculum (ENTCC), attitude towards entrepreneurship, general self-efficacy and students’ intentions towards entrepreneurship. The study is located within a quantitative research paradigm and the sample of 263 was drawn from final year students from the Faculty of Management at a South African university of technology (UoT) who were studying various business-related programmes in 2014. Data were analysed using correlation and regression analysis. The results indicate that the ENTCC, students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship and students’ self-efficacy exhibit significant predictive relationships with students’ intentions to venture into new business creation. Our study makes two major contributions: (i) it fills the gap in entrepreneurship education in order to revisit our curriculum to make the module/s more ‘hands on’ and (ii) it provides an avenue to further explore the feasibility for a fully fledged entrepreneurship programme with mandatory, elective and incubation start-up practical training in conjunction with the Science Park, Technology, Transfer and Innovation Centre within the university.
Decoupled payments and agricultural output: a dynamic optimization model for a credit-constrained farming household

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . vi VITA . viii LIST OF TABLES . xi LIST OF FIGURES . xii CHAPTERS: 1.INTRODUCTION: DECOUPLED PAYMENTS AND OUTPUT . 1 2.BACKGROUND: AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT AND TRADE . 7 2.1 WTO Rules: Amber, Blue and Green Box Policies . 11 2.2 The role of decoupled payments in U.S. Agricultural Policy . 13 2.3 Importance of the U.S. in the world market for corn . 16 3.PREVIOUS RESEARCH EFFORTS . 19 4.CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: WELFARE IMPACT OF SUBSIDIES . 35 4.1 Welfare implications of proportional subsidies . 35 4.1. 1 Implications for the granting country . 36 4.1. 2 Implications for the developing trade partners . 43 4.2 Welfare implications of lump-sum (i.e., decoupled) subsidies . 48 4.2.1 Implications for the granting country . 48 4.2.2 Implications for developing trade partners . 49 4.3 Credit rationing . 50 5.DYNAMIC OPTIMIZATION MODEL. 58 5.1 The model . 59 5.2 Characterization of the optimal path . 65 5.3 Characterization of the steady state . 66 6.METHODOLOGY . 70 6.1 The Dataset . 71 6.1. 1 Nature and characteristics of ARMS . 72 6.1. 2 Filtering and processing the data . 74 x 6.2 Solving the dynamic model numerically . 75 6.3 Parameterization of the model . 77 6.4 Hypotheses and decision criteria . 81 7.RESULTS . 83 7.1 Econometric estimation of the production technology . 83 7.2 Solution to the dynamic optimization model . 89 7.3 Simulation Results . 104 7.3. 1 Impact of DP on the farming household’s production decisions through a liquidity effect . 105 7.3. 2 Impact of DP with induced price of land changes . 114 7.3. 3 Impact of DP when the farmer’s creditworthiness changes . 119 7.3. 4 Summary of simulation results . 120 8.CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS . 124 REFERENCES . 132 APPENDIX A: SAS CODE USED TO ESTIMATE THE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY . 137 APPENDIX B: MATLAB CODE FOR SOLVING THE DYNAMIC MODEL AND PRODUCING THE EXPECTED PATHS OVER A 40-YEAR TIME HORIZON. 138