Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching, learning, and assessing professionalism: lessons learnt and future directions

Community anticipates medical students to act thoroughly according to the attributes of professionalism, rather than merely acting professionally. This, in turn, entitles professionalism to be one of the top priorities for the medical students, physicians and medical educators. Professionalism has received an augmented thoughtfulness in recent years because it is a serious eminence among the physicians [1]. Over the past 25 years, professionalism has ascended as a vital and continued theme, the operationalization and measurement of which have turned out to be a foremost worry for those involved in medical education [2]. Most
Immunity against Chronic Myeloid Leukemia KIR3DL1 Allotype-Dependent Modulation of NK Cell

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)–treated chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with increased NK cell number have a better prognosis, and thus, NK cells may suppress CML. However, the efficacy of TKIs varies for reasons yet to be fully elucidated. As NK cell activity is modulated by interactions between their killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs) and HLAs of target cells, the combination of their polymorphisms may have functional significance. We previously showed that allelic polymorphisms of KIR3DL1 and HLAs were associated with the prognosis of TKI-treated CML patients. In this study, we focus on differential NK cell activity modulation through KIR3DL1 allotypes. KIR3DL1 expression levels varied according to their alleles. The combination of KIR3DL1 expression level and HLA-Bw4 motifs defined NK cell activity in response to the CML-derived K562 cell line, and Ab-mediated KIR3DL1 blocking reversed this activity. The TKI dasatinib enhanced NK cell activation and cytotoxicity in a KIR3DL1 allotype-dependent manner but did not significantly decrease effector regulatory T cells, suggesting that it directly activated NK cells. Dasatinib also enhanced NK cell cytotoxicity against K562 bearing the BCR-ABL1 T315I TKI resistance–conferring mutation, depending on KIR3DL1/HLA-Bw4 allotypes. Transduction of KIR3DL1*01502 into the NK cell line NK-92 resulted in KIR3DL1 expression and suppression of NK-92 activity by HLA-B ligation, which was reversed by anti-KIR3DL1 Ab. Finally, KIR3DL1 expression levels also defined activation patterns in CML patient–derived NK cells. Our findings raise the possibility of a novel strategy to enhance antitumor NK cell immunity against CML in a KIR3DL1 allotype-dependent manner. ImmunoHorizons, 2021, 5: 687–702.
Association of silicone breast implants and acute renal allograft rejection

Silicone may, like any other adjuvant, induce an inflammatory reaction and diseases. There is no data about its use in renal transplant recipients. Increased immunogenicity of silicon may manifest by activation of both the innate and the adaptive immune system cells what promotes a chronic pro-inflammatory response. Dendritic cells, macrophages, fibroblasts and T-cells have all been found at the capsule/silicone implant contact zone. Additionally, silicon may induce mononuclear cells to secrete proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. Herein, we present two patients who developed acute rejection after breast augmentation and reconstruction with silicone-gel implants. By influencing the immunological and inflammatory response, silicone-gel may be involved in promotion of acute allograft rejection in renal transplant recipients. Further studies are needed to prove our hypothesis.
Sweet Potato Flour Decreases Firmness of Gluten-free Rice Bread

Rice flour of the rice cultivar “Mizuhochikara” is suitable for making gluten-free bread without additives such as hydrocolloids or enzymes, but the bread becomes firm more rapidly than wheat bread. The firming rate of rice bread can be reduced by partially replacing the rice flour with sweet potato flour. Herein, when the replacement ratio or β-amylase activity in sweet potato flour was higher, the firming rate was lower. Rice bread made by 5% replacement of rice flour with sweet potato flour with the highest β-amylase activity had a firming rate that was more than three times slower than that of rice bread without replacement. The replacement of more than 5% of rice flour by sweet potato flour produced inferior shaped bread. Therefore, replacing up to 5% of rice flour with sweet potato flour with high β-amylase activity is a better way to reduce the firming rate of gluten-free bread.
How Does Engagement Moderate The Effect of Job Characteristics, Extrinsic Compensation and Authentic Leadership: A Research Proposal

Employee performance has direct impact on organization performance. Therefore, the role of human resources to elevate the organization performance is essential. Many factors affect employee performance. This study proposes five hypotheses for empirical research aiming to examine the role of engagement in mediation the effect of job characteristics, extrinsic compensation, and authentic leadership on employee performance. The results of empirical studies, designed based on these hypotheses, help the organization to underline which factors that influence employee performance and how engagement can moderate those factors to stimulate the employee performance.
Trajectory of viral load in a prospective population-based cohort with incident SARS-CoV-2 G614 infection

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 viral trajectory has not been well-characterized in documented incident infections. These data will inform SARS-CoV-2 natural history, transmission dynamics, prevention practices, and therapeutic development. Objective: To prospectively characterize early SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in persons with incident infection. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Secondary data analysis from a multicenter study in the U.S. Participants: The samples derived from a randomized controlled trial of 829 community-based asymptomatic participants recently exposed (<96 hours) to persons with SARS-CoV-2. Participants collected daily mid-turbinate swabs for SARS-CoV-2 detection by polymerase-chain-reaction and symptom diaries for 14-days. Persons with negative swab for SARS-CoV-2 at baseline who developed infection during the study were included in the analysis. Exposure: Laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main outcomes and measures: The observed SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding characteristics were summarized and shedding trajectories were examined using a piece-wise linear mixed-effects modeling. Whole viral genome sequencing was performed on samples with cycle threshold (Ct)<34. Results: Ninety-seven persons (57% women, median age 37-years) developed incident infections during 14-days of follow-up. Two-hundred fifteen sequenced samples were assigned to 15 lineages that belonged to the G614 variant. Forty-two (43%), 18(19%), and 31(32%) participants had viral shedding for 1 day, 2-6 days, and >7 days, with median peak viral load Ct of 38.5, 36.7, and 18.3, respectively. Six (6%) participants had 1-6 days of observed viral shedding with censored duration. The peak average viral load was observed on day 3 of viral shedding. The average Ct value was lower, indicating higher viral load, in persons reporting COVID-19 symptoms than asymptomatic. Using the statistical model, the median time from shedding onset to peak viral load was 1.4 days followed by a median of 9.7 days before clearance. Conclusions and Relevance: Incident SARS-CoV-2 G614 infection resulted in a rapid viral load peak followed by slower decay and positive correlation between peak viral load and shedding duration; duration of shedding was heterogeneous. This longitudinal evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 G614 variant with frequent molecular testing may serve as a reference for comparing emergent viral lineages to inform clinical trial designs and public health strategies to contain the spread of the virus.
Evaluating and Redefining Smartphone Permissions with Contextualized Justifications for Mobile Augmented Reality Apps

Augmented reality (AR), and speciﬁcally mobile augmented reality (MAR) gained much public attention after the success of Pokémon Go in 2016, and since then has found application in online games, social media, entertainment, real estate, interior design, and other services. MAR apps are highly dependent on real time context-speciﬁc information provided by the different sensors and data processing capabilities of smartphones (e.g., LiDAR, gyroscope or object recognition). This dependency raises crucial privacy issues for end users. We evaluate whether the existing access permission systems, initially developed for non-AR apps, as well as proposed new permissions, relevant for MAR apps, provide sufﬁcient and clear information to the users. We address this research goal in two online survey-based experiments with a total of 581 participants. Based on our results, we argue that it is necessary to increase transparency about MAR apps’ data practices by requesting users’ permissions to access certain novel and privacy invasive resources and functionalities commonly used in MAR apps, such as speech and face recognition. We also ﬁnd that adding justiﬁcations, contextualized to the data collection practices of the app, improves transparency and can mitigate privacy concerns, at least in the context of data utilized to the users’ beneﬁt. Better understanding of the app’s practices and lower concerns, in turn, increase the intentions to grant permissions. We provide recommendations for better transparency in MAR apps.
Effects of forest expansion and land abandonment on ecosystem services of alpine environments: Case study in ledro valley (Italy) for the period 1859-2011

During the last century, the European Alps have faced intense socio-economic changes, which have led to respective land-use changes with immediate impact on ecosystem services (ESs). The aim of the study is to present the land-use changes and their effects on the economical contribution of ESs in the alpine environment of Ledro Valley, in Northern Italy. Data were collected through historical cartography and photographic material from 1859, 1973 and 2011. The analysis of landscape evolution highlighted the forest expansion, and partially the urban expansion, at the expense of grasslands and croplands due to a transition from a rural to a touristic and handcrafting economy. The land-use changes led to an overall reduction of the economical contribution of ESs, while further analysis on individual services identified advantages and disadvantages caused by the re-naturalization process of forest expansion. The results suggested that the profit maximization of ESs under the pressure of such land-use changes can be achieved by a) a respective profit maximization from services related to recreation activities (tourism) which have an immediate economical impact on local economies and b) the maintenance and sustainable management of the typical rural landscape and grasslands in order to preserve some of their economical benefits.
Changes in eleven pesticide residues in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) during drying processing

ABSTRACT Processing can concentrate residues or convert residues to more toxic metabolites in food. The residual behavior of 11 pesticides in jujube fruits during four drying processes (freeze-, oven-, sun-, and microwave-drying) was assessed. Jujube samples with residues of dichlorvos, malathion, chlorpyrifos, triadimefon, hexaconazole, myclobutanil, kresoxim-methyl, tebuconazole, epoxiconazole, bifenthrin, and cyhalothrin were obtained from field trials. The degradation rates of pesticides during four drying processes were between 11.4 and 95.1%. Pearson analysis showed that the degradation of pesticide residues in jujube during sun-, oven-, microwave-drying processing was related to vapor pressure and solubility in water of the pesticides. Furthermore, the effects of four drying processes on the processing factors (PFs) were investigated. After freeze-drying, PFs of pesticides were >1, except for chlorpyrifos, suggesting that the dietary exposure risk of pesticides from jujube might be increased if freeze-dried samples were used. After microwave-drying, the PFs of all pesticides were <1, indicating microwave-drying process can significantly reduce 11 pesticide residues in dried jujube.
Learning Feasibility to Imitate Demonstrators with Different Dynamics

The goal of learning from demonstrations is to learn a policy for an agent (imitator) by mimicking the behavior in the demonstrations. Prior works on learning from demonstrations assume that the demonstrations are collected by a demonstrator that has the same dynamics as the imitator. However, in many real-world applications, this assumption is limiting -- to improve the problem of lack of data in robotics, we would like to be able to leverage demonstrations collected from agents with different dynamics. This can be challenging as the demonstrations might not even be feasible for the imitator. Our insight is that we can learn a feasibility metric that captures the likelihood of a demonstration being feasible by the imitator. We develop a feasibility MDP (f-MDP) and derive the feasibility score by learning an optimal policy in the f-MDP. Our proposed feasibility measure encourages the imitator to learn from more informative demonstrations, and disregard the far from feasible demonstrations. Our experiments on four simulated environments and on a real robot show that the policy learned with our approach achieves a higher expected return than prior works. We show the videos of the real robot arm experiments on our website (https://sites.google.com/view/learning-feasibility).
DDDT_A_287280 259..275

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Purpose: Caffeic acid is a metabolite of hydroxycinnamate and phenylpropanoid, which are commonly synthesized by all plant species. It is present in various food sources that are known for their antioxidant properties. As an antioxidant, caffeic acid ameliorates reactive oxygen species, which have been reported to cause bone loss. Some studies have highlighted the effects of caffeic acid against bone resorption. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify relevant studies on the effects of caffeic acid on bone. A comprehensive search was conducted from July to November 2020 using PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases. Cellular, animal and human studies reporting the effects of caffeic acid, as a single compound, on bone cells or bone were considered. Results: The literature search found 226 articles on this topic, but only 24 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The results showed that caffeic acid supplementation reduced osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, possibly through its antioxidant potential and increased expression of osteoblast markers. However, some studies showed that caffeic acid did not affect bone resorption in ovariectomized rats and might impair bone mechanical properties in normal rats. Conclusion: Caffeic acid potentially regulates the bone remodelling process by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, as well as osteoblast apoptosis. Thus, it has medicinal values against bone diseases.
Evaluation of the Effect of Risk Management Practices on the Performance of Microfinance Institutions

The financial sector in Ghana has experienced intensive reforms resulting in the closure of many financial institutions that did not meet the required principles. In order to guarantee the sustainability of the microfinance sub-sector, management of risk practices must be effectively carried out. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of some major risk management practices (RMP) on the financial performance of some selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The financial performance measures used were Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). The RMPs in question included risk identification, risk appraisal, risk control, risk monitoring and often practiced risk management. A five likert scale questionnaire with closedended questions were administered to ten selected MFIs. The results showed mean ROA and ROE of the selected MFIs to be 3% and 35% respectively. The results also showed a moderate to great extent usage of risk identification, risk appraisal, risk control, risk monitoring and often practiced risk management occasionally. Benchmark ranking of frequent usage of these RMPs was in the order risk identification>risk monitoring> risk appraisal>risk control. It was recommended that Managers and Directors should ensure continuous usage of these risk management practices for more profitability.
1 Whales : Trophic modelling of the Ross Sea

For the purposes of modelling, we divide whales in the Ross Sea into 5 compartments: (1) orca (killer whales); (2) sperm whales; (3) “other tooth ed whales” including southern bottlenose whale and Arnoux's beaked whale”; (4) minke whales; (5) “ other baleen” whales including blue, sei, fin, and humpback whales. We first detail the overall me thods used to determine model energetic parameter values before giving specific information f r the separate whale trophic compartments. A summary of whale parameters for the Ross Sea is g iven in Table 1.
Atypical Bullous Pemphigoid After Linagliptin Intake

Patient: Female, 77-year-old Final Diagnosis: Atypical bullous pemphigoid Symptoms: Bullous skin lesions Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Dermatology Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Bullous pemphigoid is a common pruritic skin lesion reported in elderly patients. It is caused by an immuno-logic reaction between autoantibodies and hemidesmosome proteins of epithelial cells. The disease is characterized by a symmetrical blister distribution on the body. Diagnosis should be suspected in elderly patients presenting with a tense blister on normal-appearing skin or on an erythematous base. In the literature, several forms of typical bullous pemphigoid after treatment with linagliptin have been reported. However, this is the first reported case of atypical nonbullous pemphigoid after linagliptin intake. Case Report: A 77-year-old woman presented with multiple erythematous papules and nodules on the upper extremities and trunk. The patient was being treated with linagliptin for diabetes. Diagnosis was made with biopsy and histopathological studies, followed by direct immunofluorescence. The histopathological study showed a subepidermal blister with an underlying polymorphous infiltrate, mainly of an eosinophilic profile. Direct immunofluorescence showed linear IgG and C3 antibodies to hemidesmosomes at the lamina lucida of the basement membrane. Thus, the diagnosis of atypical nonbullous pemphigoid was made. Conclusions: This report emphasizes the great variety of bullous pemphigoid presentation and the need for a greater level of awareness of the adverse effects of linagliptin. Thus, atypical nonbullous pemphigoid should be considered among the potential differential diagnoses in patients with multiple erythematous papules and nodules on the upper extremities and trunk.
Bancassurance in the European Financial Sector: A Cross- Country Analysis

Bancassurance is one of the most important collaboration models within the European financial service sector. The regulations that led to a distinct separation between banking and insurance have been relaxed in many countries during the last decades, leading to a more integrated financial sector in the European Union. For banks, additional revenue provided by selling insurance policies is particularly important in the current low interest environment, while for insurance companies, banks are a major distribution channel in some European countries, accounting for around 50% of all life insurance sales in 2017. 1 However, while bancassurance is a major distribution channel in some European countries, it only plays a subordinated role in others. For example, in Germany, only 18.7% of life insurance premiums are sold via banks in 2017. Given the ongoing process of integration within the European financial services industry and the rising importance of bancassurance activities, knowledge on the factors which explain the heterogeneity between countries regarding the success of bancassurance models is an open question that is relevant for various stakeholders. Against this background, we add to the literature a country level analysis on the determinants of bancassurance sales in the European life insurance industry.
Fastness Properties of Dyed Silk Fabric with Eco-Friendly Natural Dyes Obtained from Achras Sapota and Cordia Sebestena-A Comparison

Bleached silk fabric was dyed with natural dyes obtained from the stem of Achras sapota and flower of Cordia sebestena. The colour fastness properties and colour strength of dyed silk fabric were determined and compared. From the comparative study of fastness properties and colour strength of the dyed silk samples, Achras sapota dyed samples in simultaneous mordanting method with 3% mordant combination gives better results as compared to the natural dye obtained from the flower of Cordia sebestena.
Classify Frustration Using a Consumer Grade EEG Device

Algorithms that may classify emotions such as frustration using a consumer grade EEG device provide possibilities in the field of neuromarketing. This paper will focus on how machine learning techniques may be used to classify frustration using participants’ brainwaves as input. Data has been collected using an Emotiv EPOC+ headset while 31 subjects played an adapted coin collector game. The data is analyzed using several feature extraction and machine learning techniques. Although more research is needed, reliable models have been found for both testing on an independent test set, and for testing on only a small amount of data from a subject. These models may be implemented for neuromarketing purposes.
Remediation of oil refinery wastewater implementing functionalized mesoporous materials MCM-41 in batch and continuous adsorption process

The current study investigated the performance of the adsorption process for the remediation of secondary treated wastewater from the Al-Daura Oil Refinery in Central Iraq, employing batch and continuous (fixed-bed column) adsorption systems. A functionalized mesoporous material with amine groups (NH2-MCM-41) was used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of various types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds. The highest removal efficiency of PAHs in batch and continuous adsorption systems were 85.7% and 74.24%, respectively. The batch adsorption system was operated based on our earlier work, using the NH2-MCM-41 dosage = 0.4 g/L, time = 50 min, rpm = 200, and pH = 7. For this case, the removal efficiency of the chemical oxygen demand was 45%. The fixed-bed column (i.e., bed height = 8 cm, flow rate = 1 mL/ min, and pH = 7) showed a removal efficiency of 40%–66% for the chemical oxygen demand as well as 74.24% PAHs degradation. The results indicated that functionalized MCM-41 can be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of different types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons compounds using either batch or continuous (fixed-bed column) adsorption systems in oil refineries.