Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of Interdisciplinary Lessons Integrating Science and Engineering in Heterogeneous Teams: Education Students' Attitudes

The course “Interdisciplinary Aspects in Science and Engineering Education” is a unique course designed to expose students of science and engineering education to the characteristics of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The theoretical part of the course deals with the nature of science and engineering and the interaction between the two, various hierarchies describing the level of integration between disciplines, and possible strategies for developing interdisciplinary lessons. In the practical section, the participants develop, in heterogeneous teams of students from different academic backgrounds, an interdisciplinary lesson integrating science and engineering, and teach it to their peers. Using qualitative tools, the research described in this paper characterized the attitudes of 112 students towards developing an interdisciplinary lesson as part of a team. The findings indicate that the students identified both the difficulties involved in developing an interdisciplinary lesson as part of a team and the advantages inherent to teamwork. It was further found that the weight of the attitude component that recognized the contribution of teamwork to the development of interdisciplinary lessons was considerably higher than the weight of the component indicating the difficulties that involved teamwork.
Examination of How and Why Over-the-Bed Tables Are Used: Use Cases and Needs from Healthcare Providers

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of an exploratory study in which 14 clinical and staff subject matter experts (SMEs) at a regional rehabilitation hospital were interviewed in order to understand how and why over-the-bed tables are used. BACKGROUND: It is important to understand how and why a device or environment is used when designing it, and not just what features and functions are preferred. This knowledge is valuable both for contextualizing user feature and function preferences and for characterizing and prioritizing design challenges and opportunities. METHODS: Fourteen hospital clinical and support staff subject-matter experts participated in semi-structured interviews with scenario enactments in a medium-fidelity, full-scale mock-up of a typical patient room. During these interviews, they interacted with two personas played by actors and were asked to enact an example of a normal visit, from entering the room through treatment/service and then exiting. Data were analyzed via methodological triangulation including frequency analysis, content analysis, and affinity diagramming. RESULTS: The results include a use-case analysis with illustrative sketches, a list of needs statements, and final observations. CONCLUSIONS: Successfully using the over-the-bed table is dependent upon proper positioning, especially in bed during meals. There are fewer problems associated with over-the-bed table use while seated in a chair than when in the bed. The over-the-bed table is a key component in acute care, inpatient therapies. Clinicians are generally open to “smart” furniture in the patient room but question its cost-effectiveness, robustness, and flexibility.
Podosomal proteins as causes of human syndromes: A role in craniofacial development?

Podosomes and invadopodia are actin‐rich protrusions of the plasma membrane important for matrix degradation and cell migration. Most of the information in this field has been obtained in cancer cells, where the presence of invadopodia has been related to increased invasiveness and metastatic potential. The importance of the related podosome structure in other pathological or physiological processes that require cell invasion is relatively unexplored. Recent evidence indicates that essential components of podosomes are responsible for several human syndromes, some of which are characterized by serious developmental defects involving the craniofacial area, skeleton and heart, and very poor prognosis. Here we will review them and discuss the possible role of podosomes as a player in correct embryo development. genesis 49:209–221, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of Display Resolution on Visual Performance

The role of display resolution in visual information processing was investigated in 2 experiments. Experiment 1 examined the effects of 2 CRT conditions (resolutions of 60 and 120 dots per inch [dpi]) and a paper control condition (255 dpi) on proofreading speed and accuracy. The results showed that reading performance was significantly better in the paper condition than in the 2 CRT conditions. Experiment 2 examined the effects of 3 different CRT resolutions (62, 69, and 89 dpi) on eye movement parameters (fixation duration and number of fixations) in a visual search task. Further, search reaction times (RTs) and observers′ ratings of visual fatigue were analyzed. RTs and fixation durations were significantly increased in the low-resolution condition (62 dpi) as compared with the high-resolution condition (89 dpi). The significant interaction between display resolution and time both for search RTs and fixation durations was taken as evidence for stronger fatigue in the low-resolution conditions. Additionally, the extent of visual fatigue correlates both with search RTs and eye movement parameters. This finding gives rise to the assumption that observers′ responsiveness to effects of display resolution in terms of visual fatigue differs markedly. Actual or potential applications of this research include recommendations for the use of high-resolution displays (90 dpi and greater) to optimize visual performance, to make prolonged on-screen viewing more comfortable, and to avoid visual fatigue.
TRB 3 Gene Silencing Alleviates Diabetic Cardiomyopathy in a Type 2 Diabetic Rat Model

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The type 2 diabetic rat model was induced by high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin. We evaluated the characteristics of type 2 DCM by serial echocardiography and metabolite tests, Western blot analysis for TRB3 expression, and histopathologic analyses of cardiomyocyte density, lipids accumulation, cardiac inflammation, and fibrosis area. We then used gene silencing to investigate the role of TRB3 in the pathophysiologic features of DCM.
Aerobic exercise and lipids and lipoproteins in patients with cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE Use the meta-analytic approach to examine the effects of aerobic exercise on lipids and lipoproteins in adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS Studies were retrieved via electronic databases, review of reference lists from retrieved articles, including reviews, and hand searching. Inclusion criteria were: (1) randomized controlled trials, (2) aerobic exercise >or=4 weeks as an intervention, (3) studies published in English language only between January 1, 1955 and January 1, 2005, (4) studies published in journals or as dissertations or master's theses, (5) human subjects >or=18 years, (6) all subjects diagnosed with some type of CVD, and (7) pre and post data available for total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and/or triglycerides (TG). Random-effects models were used for data analysis. RESULTS Of the more than 3,000 studies reviewed, a total of 10 representing 1,260 subjects (580 exercise, 680 control) were included in our analysis. There was a statistically significant increase of 9% in HDL-C (mean +/- SEM, 3.7 +/- 1.3 mg/dL; 95% CI, 1.2 to 6.1 mg/dL) and a statistically significant decrease of 11% in TG (-19.3 +/- 5.4 mg/dL; 95% CI, -30.1 to -8.5 mg/dL), but no statistically significant decreases in TC or LDL-C (TC, -8.8 +/- 6.8 mg/dL; 95% CI, -22.3 to 4.7 mg/dL; LDL-C, -7.7 +/- 6.0 mg/dL; 95% CI, -19.5 to 4.2 mg/dL). CONCLUSIONS The present findings suggest that chronic aerobic exercise increases HDL-C and decreases TG in adults, especially men, with CVD.
Lethal Locations: An Application of Opportunity Theory to Motel Suicide, a Research Note

Location of suicide is a neglected area in suicidology, but is important because location is related to the presence of motivated rescuers who can prevent suicides. The present study analyzes the predictors of suicide in a location that is apt to be free of motivated rescuers: the motel room. Data from the files of a medical examiner in a Midwestern city included 1457 suicides, of which 27 took place in motel rooms. Predictor variables include demographic characteristics and psychosocial stressors associated with the suicides. An exploratory multivariate logistic regression model found four independent predictors of motel suicide. Conditions elevating the odds of motel room suicide were divorce (odds ratio = 6.0), out of county residence (OR = 14.4), hanging as a suicide method (OR = 3.0), and substance abuse (OR = 2.6). The model explained 24% of the variance in location of suicide. Opportunity theory is utilized to explain why location influences the probability of a suicide.
Completely Independent Multi-Ultrawideband and Multi-Dual-Band Frequency Reconfigurable Annular Sector Slot Antenna (FR-ASSA)

A novel compact multi-ultrawideband (multi-UWB) and multi-dual-band frequency reconfigurable annular sector slot antenna (FR-ASSA) is presented for wireless applications. Three measured UWB states (3.48–5.5, 5.18–7.35, and 6.06–8.05 GHz) are achieved using six p-i-n diodes employed across a moderately wide slot inserted in a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$32 \times 35$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup> ground plane. Furthermore, 18 dual-band states with independent tuning ability of each band are provided. In dual-band states, the measured frequency tuning ranges are from 2.5 to 3.22 GHz (1.29:1) for the first resonance (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{1})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and from 4.36 to 6.58 GHz (1.51:1) for the second resonance (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{2})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The proposed FR-ASSA can support the standards such as WiMAX lower and middle bands (2.5–28 and 5.2–5.8 GHz), 4G LTE 2500 (2500–2690 MHz), WLAN IEEE 802.11a (5.15–5.825 GHz), and UWB groups #1 (3.4–5 GHz), #2 (5–6.6 GHz), and #3 (6.6–8 GHz) spectrums.
Identification of faulted section in TCSC transmission line based on DC component measurement

This paper presents an analysis of possibility of detection of a fault position with respect to the compensating bank in a series compensating transmission line. The algorithm designed for this purpose is based on determining the contents of dc components in the distance relay input currents. Fuzzy logic technique is applied for making the decision whether a fault is in front of the compensating bank or behind it. The delivered algorithm has been tested and evaluated with use of the fault data obtained from versatile ATP-EMTP simulations of faults in the test power network containing the 400 kV, 300 km transmission line, compensated with the aid of TCSC (Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor) bank installed at mid-line. The results of the evaluation are reported and discussed.
Long-term treatment with responsive brain stimulation in adults with refractory partial seizures

Objective: The long-term efficacy and safety of responsive direct neurostimulation was assessed in adults with medically refractory partial onset seizures. Methods: All participants were treated with a cranially implanted responsive neurostimulator that delivers stimulation to 1 or 2 seizure foci via chronically implanted electrodes when specific electrocorticographic patterns are detected (RNS System). Participants had completed a 2-year primarily open-label safety study (n = 65) or a 2-year randomized blinded controlled safety and efficacy study (n = 191); 230 participants transitioned into an ongoing 7-year study to assess safety and efficacy. Results: The average participant was 34 (±11.4) years old with epilepsy for 19.6 (±11.4) years. The median preimplant frequency of disabling partial or generalized tonic-clonic seizures was 10.2 seizures a month. The median percent seizure reduction in the randomized blinded controlled trial was 44% at 1 year and 53% at 2 years (p < 0.0001, generalized estimating equation) and ranged from 48% to 66% over postimplant years 3 through 6 in the long-term study. Improvements in quality of life were maintained (p < 0.05). The most common serious device-related adverse events over the mean 5.4 years of follow-up were implant site infection (9.0%) involving soft tissue and neurostimulator explantation (4.7%). Conclusions: The RNS System is the first direct brain responsive neurostimulator. Acute and sustained efficacy and safety were demonstrated in adults with medically refractory partial onset seizures arising from 1 or 2 foci over a mean follow-up of 5.4 years. This experience supports the RNS System as a treatment option for refractory partial seizures. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence that for adults with medically refractory partial onset seizures, responsive direct cortical stimulation reduces seizures and improves quality of life over a mean follow-up of 5.4 years.
Testing standard and genetic parameters in 220 patients with multiple myeloma with complete data sets: superiority of molecular genetics

Prognostic models for multiple myeloma have been fraught with tremendous heterogeneity in outcome among subgroups. In the context of Total Therapy 2, a tandem transplant trial for newly diagnosed myeloma, comprehensive information was available in 220 patients on standard prognostic factors (SPF), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐defined focal lesions, cytogenetic abnormalities (CA), fluorescence‐in‐situ‐hybridisation (FISH)‐derived amplification of chromosome 1q21 (amp1q21) and deletion of 13q14, as well as gene expression profiling (GEP). Five multivariate analysis‐based survival models were derived, utilising SPF only (model 1), with progressive addition of CA (model 2), MRI (model 3), FISH (model 4) and GEP (model 5). The R2 value, a measure of accounting for clinical outcome variability, increased progressively from 18% in model 1 to 38% in model 5. The hazard ratio for overall survival was highest for GEP (3·07, P < 0·001) followed by amp1q21 (1·71, P = 0·05). According to the presence of none (49%), one (35%) or both of these two risk features (16%), 3‐year survival decreased progressively from 92% to 78% to 43% (P < 0·0001). Thus, the dominance over other prognostic parameters of molecular genetics justifies the generation of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction methodology (‘MM genetic kit’) for the optimal risk stratification of patients participating in therapeutic trials.
Factors Related to Physical Activity in Hispanic Women

Hispanic women are more likely to be sedentary than the general population. Increasing physical activity in this at-risk group is an important challenge in the prevention and management of coronary heart disease. This article reviews research conducted with Hispanic women in whom physical activity was the primary focus of study or the primary outcome of interest. Computer and manual searches were performed to identify articles published from 1990 to 2005. Factors that influence physical activity in Hispanic women include self-efficacy, having a concern for own and family health, social support and norms for physical activity, serving as a role model to others, and perceived neighborhood resources. Despite significant efforts to understand and promote physical activity among Hispanic women, much work remains to be done in this area. Future research should include attention to cultural, social, and contextual resources in understanding and promoting physical activity.
Modest Hypothermia Provides Partial Neuroprotection for Ischemic Neonatal Brain

ABSTRACT: Hypothermia is a frequent occurrence in newborns, and thermoregulatory management is a fundamental part of medical stabilization. Although modest reduction in brain temperature (2–3°C) before ischemia provides neuroprotection in adults, the effect of modest hypothermia on immature brain has not been examined. Nine-day-old swine were exposed to 15 min of incomplete global brain ischemia, with intraischemic rectal temperatures of either 38.3 ± 0.4°C (n = 10, normothermic) or 35.4 ± 0.5°C (n = 10, hypothermic). The relationship between rectal and brain temperature was delineated in preliminary experiments on four swine. Animals with intraischemic rectal temperatures maintained at either 39.5°C or 35.5°C were associated with a similar magnitude of difference in brain temperature. Therefore, rectal temperature was used to monitor brain temperature for 20 animals studied subsequently. Ischemia was induced by combining neck compression with hemorrhagic hypotension and resulted in similar group values for mean arterial pressure and changes in pH and blood gases at the completion of ischemia. A clinical overall performance score and brain tissue structure were evaluated after 72 h (or earlier if animals died prematurely). Hypothermic animals had less severe stages of impairment compared with the normothermic group (p = 0.023). Hypothermie piglets had less histologic damage in the neocortex at 0.5 cm beneath the brain surface (p = 0.048), the caudate nucleus (p = 0.038), and the pons/midbrain (p = 0.04) and the same direction of effect in neocortex at 1 cm beneath the surface (p = 0.07) and the cerebellum (p = 0.07) as compared with normothermic animals. The results demonstrate that a 2–3°C reduction in brain temperature during 15 min of incomplete ischemia provides partial neuroprotection in neonatal swine.
DETECTION OF DEPLETED URANIUM IN URINE OF VETERANS FROM THE 1991 GULF WAR

Abstract— American soldiers involved in “friendly fire” accidents during the 1991 Gulf War were injured with depleted-uranium-containing fragments or possibly exposed to depleted uranium via other routes such as inhalation, ingestion, and/or wound contamination. To evaluate the presence of depleted uranium in these soldiers eight years later, the uranium concentration and depleted uranium content of urine samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in (a) depleted uranium exposed soldiers with embedded shrapnel, (b) depleted uranium exposed soldiers with no shrapnel, and (c) a reference group of deployed soldiers not involved in the friendly fire incidents. Uranium isotopic ratios measured in many urine samples injected directly into the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and analyzed at a mass resolution m/&Dgr;m of 300 appeared enriched in 235U with respect to natural abundance (0.72%) due to the presence of an interference of a polyatomic molecule of mass 234.81 amu that was resolved at a mass resolution m/&Dgr;m of 4,000. The 235U abundance measured on uranium separated from these urines by anion exchange chromatography was clearly natural or depleted. Urine uranium concentrations of soldiers with shrapnel were higher than those of the two other groups, and 16 out of 17 soldiers with shrapnel had detectable depleted uranium in their urine. In depleted uranium exposed soldiers with no shrapnel, depleted uranium was detected in urine samples of 10 out of 28 soldiers. The median uranium concentration of urines with depleted uranium from soldiers without shrapnel was significantly higher than in urines with no depleted uranium, though substantial overlap in urine uranium concentrations existed between the two groups. Accordingly, assessment of depleted uranium exposure using urine must rely on uranium isotopic analyses, since urine uranium concentration is not an unequivocal indicator of depleted uranium presence in soldiers with no embedded shrapnel.
Acidic pH and Detergents Enhance in Vitro Conversion of Human Brain PrPC to a PrPSc-like Form*

In the presence of a low concentration of denaturants or detergents, acidic pH triggers a conformational transition of α-helices into β-sheets in recombinant prion protein (PrP), likely mimicking some aspects of the transformation of host-encoded normal cellular PrP (PrPC) into its pathogenic isoform (PrPSc). Here we observed the effects of acidic pH and guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) on the physicochemical and structural properties of PrPC derived from normal human brain and determined the ability of the acid/GdnHCl-treated PrP to form a proteinase K (PK)-resistant species in the absence and presence of PrPSc template. After treatment with 1.5 mGdnHCl at pH 3.5, PrPC from normal brain homogenates was converted into a detergent-insoluble form similar to PrPSc. Unlike PrPSc, however, the treated brain PrPC was protease-sensitive and retained epitope accessibility to monoclonal antibodies 3F4 and 6H4. Brain PrPC treated with acidic pH/GdnHCl acquired partial PK resistance upon further treatment with low concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Formation of this PrPSc-like isoform was greatly enhanced by incubation with trace quantities of PrPSc from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease brain. Acid/GdnHCl-treated brain PrP may constitute a “recruitable intermediate” in PrPSc formation. Further structural rearrangement seems essential for this species to acquire PK resistance, which can be promoted by the presence of a PrPSc template.
Therapeutic Antiviral Action of 5-Trifluoromethyl-2'-deoxyuridine in Herpes Simplex Keratitis

5-Trifluoromethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (F3TDR) has potent therapeutic antiviral activity in herpes simplex infection of the rabbit cornea with strains of herpes virus both sensitive and resistant to 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine, and in corneal infection with vaccinia. 5-Trifluoromethyl uracil is not therapeutically active in herpetic keratitis.
Nematopsis gigas n. sp. (Apicomplexa), a Parasite of Nerita ascencionis (Gastropoda, Neritidae) from Brazil

Abstract A new species of Nematopsis (Apicomplexa, Porosporidae) is described from the mantle tissues of the seawater gastropod, Nerita ascencionis (Neritidae), collected in the Atlantic North off the coast of “Fernando de Noronha” Island (3° 47′ 57″ S, 32° 25′ 12″ W) situated about 350 km from the northeast coast of Brazil. Numerous oocysts, each contained in a parasitophorous vacuole, were found in the cytoplasm of phagocytes in the mantle tissue of the host. The phagocytes were surrounded by a thin wall composed of lucent material. The phagocyte cytoplasm contained a nucleus surrounded by numerous vesicles and some dense masses. The oocysts were 21.9 ± 0.5 μm long, and 11.5 ± 0.6 μm wide. The oocyst wall was 0.18–0.25 μm thick, and the apical zone contained a micropyle, 1.0–1.2 μm in diameter, covered by a canopy-like operculum about 0.25 μm thick. Externally, the oocyst wall was surrounded by numerous anastomosing microfibrils attached to the wall and extending towards the periphery of the parasitophorous vacuole. Some microfibrils formed a dense complex network that surrounded the oocyst in the middle of the parasitophorous vacuole, which opened only at the apical zone near the external region of the opercular system. On the basis of the data obtained by light and transmission electron microscopy and host specificity, the gregarine Nematopsis gigas is distinguished from the nearest species as a new species. The taxonomic affinities and morphological comparisons with other similar species of the same genus are discussed.