Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indigenous Student Perspectives on Support and Impediments at University

Aboriginal Australians are entering university in greater numbers than in past decades, yet many struggle to complete their degrees. This paper reports on the qualitative component of a research project aimed at enhancing understandings about this issue by investigating student perspectives about those structures that facilitate or impede their retention. Interview and survey data were gathered from 57 participants at one university and analysed for emerging themes. The findings demonstrate a diverse Indigenous student population in terms of age; comprised personal, professional and university networks; institutional services and resources; and the students’ personal qualities and study practices. Factors perceived to obstruct retention included: a lack of support from some teaching staff, schools and faculties; financial insecurity; and often interrelated issues surrounding university workload, jobs, health, as well as family and community responsibilities. These findings are discussed in the light of relevant literature and recommendations.
Cost Disease and Its Relationship with Supports: An Empirical Study of Chinese Nation-Owned Performing Arts

This paper aims at examining the financial crisis of Chinese nation-owned performing arts organizations that has lasted for a long time. Firstly, modifying Baumol’s Theory (1966), I obtain a "cost disease" model suitable to China’s status quo, and theoretically analyze its relationship with the supports, government grants and private donations, and the correlation between the two sorts of supports. Then I do an empirical study, using the data from 1997 to 2005, in order to substantiate the existence of the cost disease in China and analyze the influence of the supports, their structure, and the effects between the two. Finally, I get an interpretation to the financial crisis and make comments on the current public policy.
Robust transmit zero-forcing filters

We present linear and nonlinear robust transmit zero-forcing filters for the downlink of multiuser multiple-input single-output (MU-MISO) time-division-duplex (TDD) systems which are robust with respect to errors in the channel state information (CSI) arising from channel estimation and time lags in mobile communications. Based on a set of estimated CSI of previous uplink slots, we apply a conditional mean to the cost function underlying the respective filter for the current downlink slot resulting in channel prediction for the CSI and robust filter structures. Thus, the respective transmit filters are less sensitive to imperfect channel knowledge and show dramatic performance improvements compared to their nonrobust counterparts. Our approach can be interpreted as a joint optimization of channel prediction and preequalization. Additionally, we point out the relation of the presented approach to another robust technique named stochastic programming and show the analogy to a regularization approach
Interactive Behaviors and Attachment Patterns in the Strange Situation Procedure: A Validation of the Ainsworth Model

The Strange Situation Procedure (SSP; Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, Wall, 1978) is the most widely used procedure to assess attachment in early childhood (Bowlby, 1969). In the original text by Ainsworth et al. (1978), the video coding is carried out by means of a two-step procedure: in the first part, coders apply a series of observational scales with graduated scores on a Likert scale, whereas during the second part, a descriptive category of attachment is assigned, which somehow “summarizes” the general quality of the child’s behaviour, already assessed by means of scales. Obviously, the system validation study highlights a discriminant correspondence between the scores which are assigned through the scales and the descriptive category which is assigned in the end. The aim of the present study was to test this specific aspect of the Strange Situation coding procedure: in order to do so, and similarly to what had been done in the original work in 1978, we compared the categorical attachment classification system with the ordinal one provided by the scales, which describe the child’s behaviors in the various procedure episodes. 76 12-month-old infants were observed in the Strange Situation Procedure in order to compare the classification of attachment by the global descriptive patterns with the Ainsworth’s microanalytic coding system (Interactive Behavior Scales). Results: Discriminant function analysis (MDFA) and classification weights confirm the discriminant functions of the interactive behavior to differentiate between patterns of attachment and attesting good validity of the methodology and the coding system.
An Analysis of Labor and Capital Productivity in the Malaysian Timber Sector

The remarkable transformation of the Malaysian timber sector from a net-importer to a multi-billion-dollar export-oriented sector has become a success model for many other resource-rich countries throughout the world. In view of the increasing socioeconomic importance of the timber sector in this country, the productivity performance of the six major timber sub-sectors was investigated in this study. Productivity is defined as the ratio of output to input and was analyzed from the year 2010 through 2014. The productivity performance was evaluated based on certain input factors, namely labor and capital. Generally, the productivity of the timber sector can be regarded as stagnating. Furthermore, the value-added was affected due to high reliance on labor for production. Among the factors that account for this lack of productivity growth are the increased competition in the international market, small domestic market, improper industrial development policies, poor adoption of technology, and the high dependency on human capital.
Morphological and Cellular Characterization of the Fetal Canine (Canis lupus familiaris) Subventricular Zone, Rostral Migratory Stream, and Olfactory Bulb

The existence of neurogenesis in the adult brain is a widely recognized phenomenon, occurring in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in several vertebrate species. Neural precursors originated in the SVZ migrate to the main olfactory bulb (MOB), originating the rostral migratory stream (RMS) in the process. To better understand the formation of the adult neurogenic niches in dogs, we investigated the cellular composition and morphological organization of these areas in 57 days‐old dog fetuses. Using multiple immunohistochemical markers, we demonstrated that the SVZ in the canine fetus is remarkably similar to the adult SVZ, with glial GFAP‐immunoreactive (‐ir) cells, DCX‐ir neuroblasts and SOX2‐ir neuronal progenitors tangentially organized along the dorsal lateral ventricle. The fetal RMS has all the features of its adult counterpart and closely resembles the RMS of other mammalian species. The late‐development canine MOB has most of the neurochemical features of the adult MOB, including an early‐developed TH‐ir population and maturing CALR‐ir interneurons, but CALB‐ir neurons in the granule cell layer will only appear in the post‐partum period. Taken together, our results suggest that the canine fetal development of adult neurogenic niches closely resembles those of primates, and dogs may be suitable models of human adult neurogenesis. Anat Rec, 301:1570–1584, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Early experience and favorable clinical outcomes of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds for coronary artery disease in Korea

Background/Aims Compared with metallic drug-eluting stents (DES), bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) may further improve long-term outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary artery disease. We report our early experience with BVS in Korea. Methods We evaluated 105 consecutive patients with BVS implanted at Asan Medical Center, Korea between October 21, 2015 and June 3, 2016. Angiographic results, and in-hospital and 6-month clinical outcomes were assessed. Results A total of 134 BVS were implanted to treat 115 lesions. The mean age was 62 ± 10.5 years; 85 patients (81%) were males, 26 patients (25%) were presented with acute coronary syndrome. Among 115 lesions treated with BVS, 76 (66.1%) were B2/C type, 27 (23.5%) were bifurcation lesions, and four (3.5%) were chronic total occlusion. Pre-dilation and post-dilation using high-pressure non-compliant balloon was performed in 104 lesions (90.4%) and 113 lesions (98.2%), respectively. During the procedure, intravascular imaging was used for all patients (100%; intravascular ultrasound 89 and optical coherence tomography 40 patients). Device success rate was 100%. In-segment and in-scaffold acute again were 1.1 ± 0.6 and 1.3 ± 0.5 mm, respectively. Periprocedural myocardial infraction occurred in four patients (3.8%). No deaths, stent thrombosis, or urgent revascularizations occurred either during hospitalization or the follow-up period. Conclusions In this single-center experience, implantation of BVS with intravascular imaging support was feasible and early clinical outcomes were excellent. Evaluation of long-term efficacy and safety of BVS and its feasibility in clinical use for a broader range of lesions is warranted.
Codes of Good Governance

Good governance is a broad concept used by many international organizations to spell out how states or countries should be governed. Definitions vary, but there is a clear core of common public values, such as transparency, accountability, effectiveness, and the rule of law. It is quite likely, however, that national views of good governance reflect different political cultures and institutional heritages. Fourteen national codes of conduct are analyzed. The findings suggest that public values converge and that they match model codes from the United Nations and the European Council as well as conceptions of good governance from other international organizations. While values converge, they are balanced and communicated differently, and seem to some extent to be translated into the national cultures. The set of global public values derived from this analysis include public interest, regime dignity, transparency, neutrality, impartiality, effectiveness, accountability, and legality. The normative context of public administration, as expressed in codes, seems to ignore the New Public Management and Reinventing Government reform movements.
Decreased Notch pathway signaling in the endometrium of women with endometriosis impairs decidualization.

CONTEXT Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease affecting one in 10 women of reproductive age and is a major cause of pelvic pain and impaired fertility. Endometrial stromal cells of women with endometriosis exhibit a reduced response to in vitro decidualization. NOTCH1 is critical for decidualization of both mouse and human uterine stromal cells. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine whether decidualization failure in women with endometriosis is a consequence of impaired Notch signaling. SETTING AND DESIGN We investigated expression levels of Notch signaling components in the endometrium of women and baboons with or without endometriosis. We identified NOTCH1-regulated genes during decidualization of human uterine fibroblast (HuF) cells by microarray and quantified their expression levels in in vitro-decidualized endometrial stromal cells isolated from women with or without endometriosis. RESULTS Notch signaling receptors NOTCH1 and NOTCH4, ligands JAGGED2 and DLL4, as well as direct target genes HES5 and HEY1 were decreased in the eutopic endometrium of women and baboons with endometriosis. Notch signaling was decreased in stromal cells isolated from women with endometriosis, which was associated with impaired in vitro decidualization. Genes that were down-regulated by NOTCH1 silencing in decidualized HuF cells were also decreased in decidualized endometrial stromal cells of women with endometriosis. FOXO1 acts as a downstream target of Notch signaling and endometriosis is associated with decreased expression of NOTCH1-regulated, FOXO1-responsive genes during decidualization. CONCLUSIONS Decreased Notch signaling is associated with endometriosis and contributes to impaired decidualization through the down-regulation of FOXO1.
Treatment utilization by patients with personality disorders.

OBJECTIVE Utilization of mental health treatment was compared in patients with personality disorders and patients with major depressive disorder without personality disorder. METHOD Semistructured interviews were used to assess diagnosis and treatment history of 664 patients in four representative personality disorder groups-schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive-and in a comparison group of patients with major depressive disorder. RESULTS Patients with personality disorders had more extensive histories of psychiatric outpatient, inpatient, and psychopharmacologic treatment than patients with major depressive disorder. Compared to the depression group, patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly more likely to have received every type of psychosocial treatment except self-help groups, and patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder reported greater utilization of individual psychotherapy. Patients with borderline personality disorder were also more likely to have used antianxiety, antidepressant, and mood stabilizer medications, and those with borderline or schizotypal personality disorder had a greater likelihood of having received antipsychotic medications. Patients with borderline personality disorder had received greater amounts of treatment, except for family/couples therapy and self-help, than the depressed patients and patients with other personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS These results underscore the importance of considering personality disorders in diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients. Borderline and schizotypal personality disorder are associated with extensive use of mental health resources, and other, less severe personality disorders may not be addressed sufficiently in treatment planning. More work is needed to determine whether patients with personality disorders are receiving adequate and appropriate mental health treatments.
Genetic Basis for Daptomycin Resistance in Enterococci

ABSTRACT The emergence of multidrug-resistant enterococci as a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection is an important public health concern. Little is known about the genetic mechanisms by which enterococci adapt to strong selective pressures, including the use of antibiotics. The lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin is approved to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections, including those caused by enterococci. Since its introduction, resistance to daptomycin by strains of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium has been reported but is still rare. We evolved daptomycin-resistant strains of the multidrug-resistant E. faecalis strain V583. Based on the availability of a fully closed genome sequence for V583, we used whole-genome resequencing to identify the mutations that became fixed over short time scales (∼2 weeks) upon serial passage in the presence of daptomycin. By comparison of the genome sequences of the three adapted strains to that of parental V583, we identified seven candidate daptomycin resistance genes and three different mutational paths to daptomycin resistance in E. faecalis. Mutations in one of the seven candidate genes (EF0631), encoding a putative cardiolipin synthase, were found in each of the adapted E. faecalis V583 strains as well as in daptomycin-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium clinical isolates. Alleles of EF0631 from daptomycin-resistant strains are dominant in trans and confer daptomycin resistance upon a susceptible host. These results demonstrate a mechanism of enterococcal daptomycin resistance that is genetically distinct from that occurring in staphylococci and indicate that enterococci possessing alternate EF0631 alleles are selected for during daptomycin therapy. However, our analysis of E. faecalis clinical isolates indicates that resistance pathways independent from mutant forms of EF0631 also exist.
Transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells inhibits apoptosis in injured rat spinal cord

Many studies have showed potential therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to spinal cord injury (SCI) in animal model. However, the exact mechanism is still uncertain. The authors hypothesized that spinal neurons might be lost by apoptosis and investigated a potential anti-apoptotic mechanism of BMSCs transplantation for rat SCI. A total of 48 adult male SD rats were divided into 3 groups randomly: control, model and treatment group, n=16 in every group. Rats in model and treatment group were performed a partial low thoracic SCI by modified Allen’s method at T10. Rats in control group received only laminectomy. At day 7 After SCI, the dura at L4-L5 intervertebral space was exposed; 100 μl of Hank’s buffered saline solution contained 1 million rat BMSCs or the same amount of Hank’s buffered saline solution was injected into the subarachnoid space. Evaluated hind limb motor function by Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale pre-injection and at day 7, 14, 21, 28 post-injection. Injured rat spinal cords were harvested at day 14, 28 post-injection, fixed and then embedded in paraffin for terminal deoxynucleotidal transferase-mediated DUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and for immunohistochemical staining of Bax and Bcl-2. At day 3, 7 days after surgery, BBB scale score of rats in model and treatment group was lower than control group (P<0.01). After transplantation of BMSCs, BBB scale score of rats in treatment group increased progressively, higher than those in model group (P<0.01), but still lower than control group (P<0.01) at day 14, 28 post-injection. TUNEL staining showed that the apoptotic cell ratio in model group was higher than those in control and treatment group (P<0.05) at day 14 post-injection. Immunostaining demonstrated that model group showed higher Bax positive expression than the other two groups (P<0.05) at day 14 post-injection, but there was no significant difference in Bcl-2; at day 28 post-injection, the trends were similar, but without significant difference. The results showed that BMSCs transplantation could improve the hind limb motor function of SCI rats, reduce spinal neuronal apoptosis and the expression of Bax protein, which implied a potential anti-apoptotic mechanism of transplanted BMSCs for rat SCI.
Site amplification in the epicentral area of the 31/10/2002 earthquake (Molise, Italy): comparison between damage data, microtremors, weak- and strong-motions

On October 31st and November 1st 2002 the Basso Molise area (Southern Italy) was struck by two moderate magnitude earthquakes (M = 5.3 and 5.4). The epicentral area showed a high level of damage, attributable both to the high vulnerability of existing buildings and to site effects due to the geomorphological setting. In order to detect the main cause of the severe building loss, damage and vulnerability distributions were analyzed, together with microtremors and weak motion monitoring, in several municipalities located in the epicentral area (Bonefro, S. Croce di Magliano, S. Giuliano di Puglia and Colletorto). A limited number of strong motion recordings from the most severe aftershocks were also available for Bonefro and S. Giuliano. We initially evaluated the site response by H/V ratios performed on microtremors. The low reliability of the Nakamura method in detecting the absolute amplification level drove us to the adoption of other techniques. With the purpose of understanding the site amplification influence on the damage caused by the main shock, we installed a local network to record weak motions and perform standard spectral ratios with a reference site and single station H/V ratios. Finally, the damage and vulnerability distributions in the building stock were derived from the database of the post-event survey Also the normalized damage was calculated to better understand the separate contribution of vulnerability and site amplification to the actual macroseismic intensity observed in each municipality, and to identify some still open questions.
Central giant cell lesion of the jaws: An updated analysis of 2270 cases reported in the literature

PURPOSE To review all available data published on central giant cell lesion (CGCL) of the jaws into a comprehensive analysis of its clinical/radiological features, with emphasis on the predictive factors associated with its recurrence. METHODS An electronic search was undertaken in 5 databases (February/2018), looking for reporting cases of CGCLs. RESULTS A total of 365 publications were included, comprising 2270 lesions. CGCLs were more prevalent in women and the mandible. Cortical bone perforation occurred in 50% of the cases. Marginal/segmental resection was more often performed in larger lesions, and drug therapy was more frequent in small lesions. Recurrence was reported in 232 of 1316 cases (17.6%). The recurrence rate of the aggressive lesions (22.8%) after surgical treatment was higher than non-aggressive lesions (7.8%). Four of 5 CGCLs showed partial/total regression with pharmacological treatment. Aggressive lesions showed a worse response to corticosteroids than non-aggressive lesions. For the lesions submitted to surgery as the first treatment, curettage, enucleation, or marginal resection in relation to segmental resection, aggressive lesions, cortical bone perforation, and tooth root resorption were associated with increased recurrence rate. Recurrence related to a combination of surgical/pharmacological treatment could not be evaluated due to the variety of protocols. CONCLUSIONS Aggressive CGCLs recur more often than the non-aggressive ones. Despite sometimes showing poor response to corticosteroid injection or surgical curettage, a combination of both treatment strategies should be considered in aggressive cases to reduce morbidities associated with radical surgery. The best protocol to manage aggressive and non-aggressive lesions remains to be determined.
Serum / plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of lung , breast and prostate cancer : a meta-analysis

Vitamin D has been suggested to have important effects suppress cancer development. There were several newly published studies about the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and lung, breast, or prostate cancer risk, but no conclusive or update results were available. To identify the role of serum 25(OH)D levels and cancer risk, we make a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of serum 25(OH)D levels with the three malignancy. Forty-eight studies (24 studies focused on prostate cancer, 16 on breast cancer and 8 on lung cancer) were included. The summary relative ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess different cancer risk. Meta-analysis of different cancer total studies showed that RR for high serum/plasma 25(OH)D levels with lung cancer was 1.08 (95% CI 0.94-1.24, P=0.278). The RR for high serum/plasma 25(OH)D levels with breast cancer was 0.92 (95% CI 0.85-1.00, P<0.05). The RR for high serum/plasma 25(OH)D levels with prostate cancer was 1.11 (95% CI 1.03-1.20, P<0.01). In conclusion, our date suggests an inverse association between serum 25(OH)D and breast cancer, a positive collection with prostate cancer and a irrelevant result with lung cancer.