Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What makes a successful transition from primary to secondary school

This report presents the findings of a sub-study on transitions undertaken as part of the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education 3-14 (EPPSE 3-14 project) a major longitudinal study investigating the influence of pre-school, primary and secondary school on children’s cognitive and social/behavioural development in England. The transitions sub-study of more than 500 children and families sheds light on current transition practices and highlights what helps and hinders a successful transition. It takes into account the influence of child and family background characteristics such as socio-economic status (SES) and gender. It suggests how the transition experience could be improved to enhance the smooth continuity between primary and secondary school. By adopting a mixed methods approach, the study investigated the issues related to transition for four distinctive groups: Local Authorities, children, parents and schools. Officers in six Local Authorities were asked about the way transition was dealt with in their Authority. Children in their first term at secondary school completed a questionnaire on their thoughts and experiences of transition, and the study also sought their parents’ opinions in order to illustrate the whole family’s experience. Finally, there were twelve case studies selected from the respondents of the questionnaire because of their positive experiences of transition. These involved interviews with the children and their primary and secondary teachers. This provided further details of the systems in place that support the transition processes between school phases. The sample was drawn from children and families in the wider EPPSE project. 1190 children from the EPPSE sample made a transition at the end of the 2005-06 academic year. Responses were received from 550 children (a 46% response rate) and 569 parents (a 48% response rate) from across England drawn from 6 Local Authorities (Shire County, Inner London borough, Midlands/Metropolitan region, East Anglia area, and two authorities in the North East). Children were recruited to the case studies using stratified selection to get a balanced mix by region, gender, socio-economic status (SES) and ethnicity. A wide range of data, already available from the main EPPSE study was used to complement the analyses.
Brief Report—Human Embryonic Stem Cell‐Derived Mesenchymal Progenitors Possess Strong Immunosuppressive Effects Toward Natural Killer Cells as Well as T Lymphocytes

The derivation of mesenchymal progenitors from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has recently been reported. We studied the immune characteristics of these hESC‐derived mesenchymal progenitors (EMPs) and their interactions with T lymphocytes and natural killer cells (NKs), two populations of lymphocytes with important roles in transplantation immunology. EMPs express a number of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell (BMMSC) markers, as well as the hESC marker SSEA‐4. Immunologically, EMPs do not express HLA‐DR or costimulatory molecules. On the other hand, HLA‐G, a nonclassic MHC I protein involved in mediating maternal‐fetal tolerance, can be found on the surface of EMPs, and its expression is increased after interferon‐γ stimulation. EMPs can suppress CD4+ or CD8+ lymphocyte proliferation, similar to BMMSCs. However, EMPs are more resistant to NK‐mediated lysis than BMMSCs and can suppress the cytotoxic effects of activated NKs, as well as downregulating the NK‐activating receptors NKp30 and NKp46. With their broad immunosuppressive properties, EMPs may represent a new potential cell source for therapeutic use. STEM CELLS 2009;27:451–456
Assessment of the Changes in the Dimensions of the Soft Palate Following Orthognathic Surgery in Class III Patients

Statement of Problem: Adaptation of the soft palate and its morphological alterations do occur to some extent after different surgical strategies of class III patients including mandibular setback, maxillary advancement and bimaxillary surgery. The precise changes in soft palate morphology are not well understood yet. Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed cephalometric evaluation of the alterations taking place in position and morphology of the soft palate after treatment of class III skeletal deformity via different surgical procedures (i.e. mandibular setback, maxillary advancement, bimaxillary surgery). Materials and Method: 120 consecutive patients who were diagnosed as having skeletal class III deformity were evaluated. All patients included in this study were adults who had completed their growth and had cephalograms within a month prior to operation (T1) and 1 month to 9 months post-surgery (T2) taken in the natural head position. Patients were divided according to the type of surgery undertaken in three groups: group 1 combination of mandibular and maxillary (bimaxillary), group 2 (mandibular setback) and group 3 (maxillary advancement) surgery. Soft palate length, depth and thickness were evaluated at both T1 and T2 in each group. The results were compared by paired t and oneway ANOVA tests. Results: Soft palate length increased significantly in groups I and III ( p 0.05). Conclusion: Soft palate morphology was changed after class III surgeries. Palatal length was increased after maxillary advancement or bimaxillary surgery whereas its depth was increased after mandibular setback or bimaxillary surgery.
The pivotal role of heart rate in clinical practice: from atherosclerosis to acute coronary syndrome

Heart rate is a predictor of major cardiovascular events in both the general population and patients with various cardiovascular diseases. The association between resting heart rate and mortality has been observed in patients with hypertension and with metabolic syndrome and in the elderly. The prognostic value of heart rate has also been shown in patients with stable coronary heart disease. We assessed the relationship between resting heart rate at baseline and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, while adjusting for risk factors. A total of 24 913 patients with suspected or proven coronary artery disease from the Coronary Artery Surgery Study registry were studied for a median follow-up of close to 15 years. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular re-hospitalizations were increased with increasing heart rate (P , 0.0001). When compared with the reference group, patients with resting heart rate � 83 bpm at baseline had a significantly higher risk for total mortality [hazard ratio 1.32; confidence interval (CI) 1.19–1.47; P , 0.0001] and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 1.31; CI 1.15–1.48; P , 0.0001) after adjustment for multiple clinical variables. When comparing patients with heart rates between 77–82 and � 83 bpm with patients with a heart rate � 62 bpm, the hazard ratios for time to first cardiovascular re-hospitalization were 1.11 and 1.14 (P , 0.001 for both). Resting heart rate has also been shown to be associated with the severity and rate of progression of coronary atherosclerosis and to be an independent predictor of plaque rupture in coronary arteries. Resting heart rate is a simple measurement with prognostic implications.
Memantine in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Memantine is a moderate-affinity glutamate antagonist that primarily takes action at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor site. It has US FDA and European Medicines Agency approval for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease. Memantine replaces Mg2+ at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, blocking pathological glutamate activity but allowing normal glutamate action at this site. Consequently, calcium homeostasis is better maintained, reducing slow after hyperpolarization and preventing neuronal excitotoxicity and cell death. Clinical trials have shown that memantine is generally safe and well tolerated, and have provided evidence for its efficacy as assessed by cognitive, behavioral, functional and global measures. It has also been shown to be well tolerated and effective in the treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease when patients received previous and ongoing treatment with donepezil. The tolerability and efficacy of memantine is under continued investigation in milder Alzheimer’s.
Objectively measured sleep patterns in obese youth

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe sleep patterns in obese children and adolescents seeking treatment at a pediatric weight management program. Methods: Participants were 163 patients between the ages of 7 and 17 y (71 males, 92 females; mean 11.8 ± 2.6 y; mean BMI percentile 97.8 ± 2.2), who were seeking treatment at a multi-disciplinary pediatric weight management program between June 2008 and January 2011. Participants wore the SenseWear Armband continuously for seven days as part of baseline assessments. In order to be included in the analysis, participants were required to wear the armband for at least 14 hours on at least 4 days of the week. Descriptive statistics were determined for the total sample and both sexes. Participants were classified based on sleep time according to three cut-points: 9 hours/day, 10 hours/day, and 6 hours/day. Intra-individual variation was determined from the coefficient of variation (CV). Analyses were performed in October 2011. Results: Average daily sleep was 6.8 ± 1.1 hours with no differences between sexes. Only 3.1% of the sample slept ≥ 9 hours/day, while 1.2% slept ≥ 10 hours/day. Conversely, 18.4% slept < 6 hours/day. The mean CV for sleep time was 16.9% and did not differ between sexes. Conclusions: These results suggest that few treatment-seeking obese youth meet sleep recommendations. Objective assessment of sleep characteristics is superior to self-report in that it allows for quantification of periods of wakefulness throughout the night that cannot be captured via self-report. Future studies should include evaluation of sleep efficiency and sleep latency to further characterize sleep habits and quality among obese youth.
Approximation Analysis of Open Acyclic Exponential Queueing Networks with Blocking

An arbitrary configuration of an open queueing network with exponential service times and finite buffers is analyzed. We offer an iterative procedure for approximating the marginal occupancy probabilities for each queue of the system. The method decomposes the queueing network into individual queues and analyzes each in isolation using information from only its nearest neighbors. Based upon the SIMP approximation previously used for tandem queues, it replaces each server's service time with a clearance time, which includes blocking, and each server's arrival rate by an equivalent acceptance rate. The procedure is easy to implement and requires modest memory and computer time. Extensive numerical experiments, performed for various topologies, yield accurate results compared with those obtained by exact or simulation methods.
Commentary: publishing cancer clinical trial results: a scientific and ethical imperative.

For calendar year 2007, approximately 50,000 patients were accrued to therapeutic clinical trials performed at cancer centers supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Although large, this accrual statistic represents only a fraction of the total yearly accrual of cancer patients to treatment trials in the U.S., because a large number of such studies are performed outside major academic medical centers [1]. In light of this major clinical trials effort, the report by Ramsey and Scoggins in this issue of The Oncologist [2] provides disturbing data regarding the remarkably modest number of oncologic clinical trials published in the peerreviewed literature. In the roughly 3–8 years following the availability—and subsequent requirement—for registration of all clinical trials in the National Library of Medicine’s database, ClinicalTrials.gov, only one in five clinical trials could be accessed as a full publication in PubMed. As outlined by the authors, these data provide continuing support for the presumption of a strong bias toward the publication of “positive” results in the cancer clinical trials literature [3]. More importantly, however, and despite the limitations of the retrospective nature of the methodology employed (limited time frame following trial registration analyzed for publication, use of only PubMed citations as evidence of publication, focus solely on studies registered in ClinicalTrials.gov), 6% of all industry-sponsored studies had been published over this time frame, and 75% of those had reached a “positive” conclusion. On the other hand, 59% of the clinical trials performed by NCI-supported clinical trials networks had been published over the same period of time, and half of those trials reported a “positive” result. The latter figure, furthermore, is consistent with an ongoing evaluation of the publication rate of 1,500 phase II and III clinical trials performed in 2000– 2005 by NCI’s Cooperative Clinical Trials Groups. The apparent lack of access to the final efficacy and toxicity data for cancer clinical trials from all sponsors, but especially for industry-sponsored studies, poses multiple scientific and ethical questions. In the period 1959–1987, when the Division of Cancer Treatment at the NCI was the predominant sponsor of clinical new drug trials worldwide, the NCI supported peer-reviewed publications (Cancer Chemotherapy Reports and its successor, Cancer Treatment Reports) that were specifically devoted to the dissemination of cancer clinical trials results, both positive and negative, that frequently reported the outcomes of studies NCI was, itself, sponsoring. With the remarkable growth of
Global Convergence of a Generalized Iterative Procedure for the Minisum Location Problem with lp Distances

This paper considers a general form of the single facility minisum location problem also referred to as the Fermat-Weber problem, where distances are measured by an lp norm. An iterative solution algorithm is given which generalizes the well-known Weiszfeld procedure for Euclidean distances. Global convergence of the algorithm is proven for any value of the parameter p in the closed interval [1, 2], provided an iterate does not coincide with a singular point of the iteration functions. However, for p > 2, the descent property of the algorithm and as a result, global convergence, are no longer guaranteed. These results generalize the work of Kuhn for Euclidean p = 2 distances.
Insights on Modeling from a Dozen Experts

Twelve selected expert modelers described themselves as modelers, the models they make, the problems they model, and the way they model. They also expressed opinions about the qualities of effective models, modelers, modeling processes, and desirable modeling clients. Finally, they provided stories about their modeling experiences. Their responses provide benchmarks for developing a modeling science and validate the importance of the craft aspects of OR/MS practice. The paper suggests changes in instructors' approaches to OR/MS content and describes a new course that responds to the experts' insights.
Co-Production Processes with Random Yields in the Semiconductor Industry

A wide variety of manufacturing operations can be characterized as co-production with substitutable demand. That is, there are many situations in which the availability of two or more items are related, and because of randomness in either supply or demand, it can be advantageous to substitute one of these items for another. Our research was motivated by the semiconductor industry, where chips are produced in large batches. Because of the presence of randomness in the process, individual chips in a given batch can perform differently. Because some customers have stricter specifications than others, chips within the same batch can be classified and sold as different products according to their measurable performance. We model the production and inventory problem as a stochastic dynamic program in which the objective is to minimize the costs of meeting contractual obligations. After developing heuristic methods of solving the problem in practice, we validate them against a lower bound on the cost of an optimal solution to the dynamic program.
Learning from Collective Intelligence

Feature representation for visual content is the key to the progress of many fundamental applications such as annotation and cross-modal retrieval. Although recent advances in deep feature learning offer a promising route towards these tasks, they are limited in application domains where high-quality and large-scale training data are expensive to obtain. In this article, we propose a novel deep feature learning paradigm based on social collective intelligence, which can be acquired from the inexhaustible social multimedia content on the Web, in particular, largely social images and tags. Differing from existing feature learning approaches that rely on high-quality image-label supervision, our weak supervision is acquired by mining the visual-semantic embeddings from noisy, sparse, and diverse social image collections. The resultant image-word embedding space can be used to (1) fine-tune deep visual models for low-level feature extractions and (2) seek sparse representations as high-level cross-modal features for both image and text. We offer an easy-to-use implementation for the proposed paradigm, which is fast and compatible with any state-of-the-art deep architectures. Extensive experiments on several benchmarks demonstrate that the cross-modal features learned by our paradigm significantly outperforms others in various applications such as content-based retrieval, classification, and image captioning.
SA-EAST

The expected advanced network explorations and the growing demand for mobile data sharing and transferring have driven numerous novel applications in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs), such as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs). However, current ITS implementations are restricted by the conflicts between security and communication efficiency. Focusing on this issue, this article proposes a Security-Aware Efficient Data Sharing and Transferring (SA-EAST) model, which is designed for securing cloud-based ITS implementations. In applying this approach, we aim to obtain secure real-time multimedia data sharing and transferring. Our experimental evaluation has shown that our proposed model provides an effective performance in securing communications for ITS.
On the Strategic Role of Outside Options in Bilateral Bargaining

This paper studies a model of the situation in which two players are bargaining face-to-face over the partition of a unit size cake and, moreover, one of the players can choose to temporarily leave the negotiating table to search for an outside option. A main conclusion is that the equilibrium outcome does not depend on whether a bargainer is allowed within the game form to choose to return to the negotiating table to resume bargaining after having searched for some finite time. Moreover, it is shown that our strategic bargaining-search game approximately implements an appropriately defined Nash bargaining solution.
Through pedagogy to safety : A study to identify more productive pedagogies for teaching home chemical safety education interventions to primary school children

Globally, accidental chemical poisonings account for the deaths of more than 35,000 children below the age of 15 annually. Chemical poisonings also cause many more children to endure disease and disability. A new Globally Harmonised System for Classification and Labelling was being introduced through the United Nations at the time of the study. This replaces the many disparate systems in use around the world. The aim of this study was to identify more productive methods for teaching home chemical safety interventions to primary school children aged 7 to 11 years old in order to increase their knowledge uptake and increase the retention of this knowledge. The new GHS hazard labelling system was applied to this. The focal concept was the knowledge gained and knowledge retained with the variety of influences that affect the outcomes of learning. A Delphi survey was employed to elicit consensus of expert opinion of the design of the educational intervention. The design of the study was based on a non-equivalent groups, pre-test, post-test, follow-up test structure. The quantitative part of this study demonstrated a larger gain in knowledge by the test school than by the control school from pre-test to post-test, but it is not clear whether this was due to the intervention or to regression. However, retention of knowledge gained was far superior for the test school and was the result of the intervention. Children’s misconceptions regarding the new hazard symbols were also elicited in the study, clarifying the task set for adults in teaching home chemical safety and mitigating the effect of cognitive dissonance. Rather than any individual teaching method being superior to others, a blend of teaching styles and learning activities was the most effective. Children’s capacity and resources for preventing injury are increased by strengthening their knowledge using comprehensive approaches.
Effects of mannose-binding lectin polymorphisms on irinotecan-induced febrile neutropenia.

OBJECTIVE Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is important in the innate immune response. MBL2 gene polymorphisms affect MBL expression, and genotypes yielding low MBL levels have been associated with an elevated risk for infections in hematological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, these reported associations are inconsistent, and data on patients with solid tumors are lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of MBL2 genotypes on irinotecan-induced febrile neutropenia in patients with solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS Irinotecan-treated patients were genotyped for the MBL2 gene. Two promoter (-550 H/L and -221 X/Y) and three exon polymorphisms (52 A/D, 54 A/B, and 57 A/C) were determined, together with known risk factors for irinotecan-induced toxicity. Neutropenia and febrile neutropenia were recorded during the first course. RESULTS Of the 133 patients, 28% experienced severe neutropenia and 10% experienced febrile neutropenia. No associations were found between exon polymorphisms and febrile neutropenia. However, patients with the H/H promoter genotype, associated with high MBL levels, experienced significantly more febrile neutropenia than patients with the H/L and L/L genotypes (20% versus 13% versus 5%). Moreover, patients with the HYA haplotype encountered significantly more febrile neutropenia than patients without this high MBL-producing haplotype (16% versus 4%). In the subgroup with wild-type exon polymorphisms (A/A), patients with the high MBL promoter phenotype had the highest incidence of febrile neutropenia, regardless of known risk factors. CONCLUSION Patients with high MBL2 promoter genotypes and haplotypes seem more at risk for developing febrile neutropenia. If confirmed, these preliminary findings may contribute to more individualized approaches of irinotecan treatment.