Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Education-related Policies Regarding the Participation Potential of Homeschool Students in Agricultural Education and FFA

The number of parents in the U.S. choosing to homeschool their children is steadily growing. With a strong demand for college graduates in food, agriculture and natural resources careers, there is an opportunity for homeschooled high school students to explore agricultural careers and develop entrepreneurship and leadership skills through Agricultural Education and FFA programs. The homeschool population has largely been an untapped market of potential participants for Agricultural Education and FFA programs. This is important because increasing access for all students, including non-traditional students, is an organizational goal for National FFA. Yet, few researchers have investigated current and potential intersections of school-based Agricultural Education, FFA participation, and homeschoolers. This study analyzed the potential of homeschool student participation in secondary agriculture programs, specifically school-based Agricultural Education and FFA, for all 50 states. Each state’s potential with regards to homeschool student participation was determined by a qualitative policy analysis utilizing evaluation coding. States were delineated into categories based upon their part-time public school enrollment policies, homeschooling regulations, and FFA membership requirements as defined in state FFA constitutions. Current program participation pathways were defined as well as strategies for increasing homeschool student awareness of and access to Agricultural Education programs and FFA membership.
MicroRNA-370 controls the expression of MicroRNA-122 and Cpt1α and affects lipid metabolism[S]

We previously observed that treatment of mice with a dominant negative form of cJun (dn-cJun) increased the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and modulated the expression of nine microRNAs (miR). To investigate the potential effect of these miRs on the expression of the genes of lipid metabolism, we performed studies in cultured HepG2 cells. Transfection of HepG2 cells with sense or antisense miR-370 or miR-122 upregulated and downregulated, respectively, the transcription factor sterol-regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) and the enzymes diacylglycerol acyltransferase-2 (DGAT2), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and acyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) that regulate fatty acid and triglyceride biosynthesis. The other seven miRs identified by the miR array screening did not affect the expression of lipogenic genes. miR-370 upregulated the expression of miR-122. Furthermore, the effect of miR-370 on the expression of the lipogenic genes was abolished by antisense miR-122. miR-370 targets the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of Cpt1α, and it downregulated the expression of the carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1α (Cpt1α) gene as well as the rate of β oxidation. Our data suggest that miR-370 acting via miR-122 may have a causative role in the accumulation of hepatic triglycerides by modulating initially the expression of SREBP-1c, DGAT2, and Cpt1α and, subsequently, the expression of other genes that affect lipid metabolism.
Terror Attacks, Foreign Exchange Markets, and Class Dynamics

This paper examines the effect of major terror attacks of the twenty-first century on the forex market. The “event study” methodology is used to assess whether, following a terror attack, the currency of the country attacked experienced a negative effect. It also examines whether this effect is permanent or transitory and whether there are differences between recent and earlier attacks. Results suggest that earlier events cause substantial negative “event-day” returns for the specific currency, which seem to persist for some days. This is particularly evident in pairs involving the currency of the country attacked and “safe heaven” currencies (e.g. Yen, Swiss Franc). The paper also documents that terror attacks that occurred recently appear to have very little influence on the currency pairs examined, thus suggesting that, over time, market participants have learnt to better assess such events. Given our findings, and particularly the one suggesting that the effects of terror attacks on the foreign exchange market, and hence the economy, are transitory, it would appear that class dynamics are not likely to be affected by them; forex markets appear to be particularly efficient in dealing with such events, absorbing short-term shocks and continuing to function effectively, thus maintaining economic stability.
External Correlates of the MMPI-2 Content Component Scales in Mental Health Inpatients

External correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) Content Component Scales were identified using an inpatient sample of 544 adults. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Symptom Checklist 90–Revised (SCL-90-R) produced correlates of the Content Component Scales, demonstrating external validity with clinicianrated and self-report scales. Relationships between MMPI-2 Content Component Scales and patient hospital chart variables were also examined. Results demonstrated cross-criterion validity in that most MMPI-2 Content Component Scales correlated with appropriate BPRS dimensions, SCL-90-R items, and other patient variables. Discriminant validity of the Content Component Scales was also demonstrated. In addition, the finding that similar patterns of correlates are produced when the component scales are correlated with a self-report measure, as well as clinician ratings and medical chart variables, provides converging lines of evidence supporting the construct validity of the Content Component Scales.
Modelling with joint choice of ports and countries of origin and destination: application to Colombian ports

ABSTRACT Literature has focused on studying port choice independently or as an element of a supply chain without considering the joint selection with the country of origin/destination of the imports/exports. However, the characteristics and location of a port may make it more attractive to mobilise more freight from/to some particular countries rather than others, making the port choice decision dependent on the country of origin/destination of the cargo. This article proposes advanced econometric models to evaluate simultaneously port choice and the country of origin/destination choice for Colombian imports and exports. Findings suggest that for imports and exports domestic freight rate is the most important variable for the joint choice process. Also, for exports, maritime transit time is more relevant than for imports, while for the frequency of shipping lines the opposite is true. The existence of a trade agreement and the gross domestic product per capita also have a significant influence on the election of a country for exports/imports.
The effect of hospital occupancy on emergency department length of stay and patient disposition.

UNLABELLED Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a common problem. Despite a widespread belief that low hospital bed availability contributes to ED overcrowding, there are few data demonstrating this effect. OBJECTIVES To identify the effect of hospital occupancy on ED length of stay for admitted patients and patient disposition. METHODS This was an observational study design using administrative data at a 500-bed acute care teaching hospital. All patients presenting to the ED between April 1993 and June 1999 were included in the study. The predictor variable was daily hospital occupancy. Outcome measures included daily ED length of stay for admitted patients, daily consultation rate, and daily admission rate. The models controlled for the average daily age of ED patients and the average daily "arrival density" index, which adjusts for patient volume and clustering of patient arrivals. RESULTS The average hospital occupancy was 89.7%. On average 155 patients visited the ED daily; 21% were referred to hospital physicians and 19% were admitted. The median ED length of stay for admitted patients was 5 hours 54 minutes (interquartile range 5 hr 12 min to 6 hr 42 min). Daily ED length of stay for admitted patients increased 18 minutes (95% CI = 12 to 24) when there was an absolute increase in occupancy of 10%. The ED length of stay appeared to increase extensively when hospital occupancy exceeded a threshold of 90%. Consultation and admission rates were not influenced by hospital occupancy. CONCLUSIONS Increased hospital occupancy is strongly associated with ED length of stay for admitted patients. Increasing hospital bed availability might reduce ED overcrowding.
An econometric analysis of cognitive impairment and healthcare utilization in the ageing population

ABSTRACT The ageing population is a major concern for policy makers, with the ever-increasing strains placed on health budgets. One overlooked area of research is the impact that cognitive impairment (an early marker of potential dementia onset) has on the healthcare utilization of an ageing population. Based on the theoretical micro-economic foundations of healthcare demand, we study the relationship between cognitive functioning and impairment, measured by word recall and changes thereof, and healthcare utilization among over 50s in nine European countries. The contribution of this article is to produce estimates for cognitive functioning and impairment, as opposed to full dementia, in the context of healthcare utilization. We apply regression models to healthcare utilization data from Waves 1, 2 and 4 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and find that recalling one additional word is associated with a reduction in visits to a medical doctor of 0.32, per year (p<0.01). Even after controlling for self-assessed health, this association is strong at just over 0.1 visits – this is the additional impact, over and above the average number of visits for similar individuals without cognitive impairment.
Access and use of government data by research and advocacy organisations in India: a survey of (potential) open data ecosystem

The paper presents findings from a recently competed study of the practices of accessing and using government data by selected (non-governmental and non-commercial) research and advocacy organisations in India. The study takes place in the context of the Government of India adopting an open government data policy and launching an open data portal in 2012. Although, most of the organisations interacted with in this study are yet to begin substantial usage of the open data portal, they have a longer history of working with national-scale government data. The study explores the data practices of these organisations so as to evaluate the possibilities and challenges for them to act as 'open data intermediaries' -- that is organisations that mediate access and use of open data by other organisations. The findings of the study provide a cross-sectoral view of the current situation of accessing and using government data in India, and briefly reflect on the future strategies towards a robust open data ecosystem in India.
Coculture with intraocular lens material-activated macrophages induces an inflammatory phenotype in lens epithelial cells

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide, requiring surgical implantation of an intraocular lens. Despite evidence of leukocyte ingress into the postoperative lens, few studies have investigated the leukocyte response to intraocular lens materials. A novel coculture model was developed to examine macrophage activation by hydrophilic acrylic (poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)) and hydrophobic acrylic (polymethylmethacrylate) commercial intraocular lens. The human monocytic cell line THP-1 was differentiated into macrophages and cocultured with human lens epithelial cell line (HLE-B3) with or without an intraocular lens for one, two, four, or six days. Using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, expression of the macrophage activation marker CD54 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1) and production of reactive oxygen species via the fluorogenic probe 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate were examined in macrophages. α-Smooth muscle actin, a transdifferentiation marker, was characterized in lens epithelial cells. The poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) intraocular lens prevented adhesion but induced significant macrophage activation (p < 0.03) versus control (no intraocular lens), while the polymethylmethacrylate intraocular lens enabled adhesion and multinucleated fusion, but induced no significant activation. Coculture with either intraocular lens increased reactive oxygen species production in macrophages after one day (p < 0.03) and increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin in HLE B-3 after six days, although only poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) induced a significant difference versus control (p < 0.01). Our results imply that—contrary to prior uveal biocompatibility understanding—macrophage adherence is not necessary for a strong inflammatory response to an intraocular lens, with hydrophilic surfaces inducing higher activation than hydrophobic surfaces. These findings provide a new method of inquiry into uveal biocompatibility, specifically through the quantification of cell-surface markers of leukocyte activation.
A power adaptive variable gain instrumentation amplifier for electrical impedance tomography

In this paper, we present an instrumentation amplifier for electrical impedance tomography. The instrumentation amplifier is designed to process a wide dynamic range input, based on a fast automatic gain control technique that minimizes measurement latency. In addition, the instrumentation amplifier employs a reconfigurable power scheme that allows it to adjust its total power consumption depending on the frequency of the input signal as well as on the phase of the measurement cycle. Results from a 3.3 V, 180 nm CMOS process simulation show that the proposed instrumentation amplifier can process signals up to 6 MHz, with an amplitude of 2 Vpp. The instrumentation amplifier maintains an SNR > 50 dB down to input amplitudes of 1.07 mV, and it has an average power consumption of 698 //W (<; 500 kHz operation) and 5.97 mW (> 500 kHz operation).
Interactive Illumination Invariance

Illumination effects cause problems for many computer vision algorithms. We present a user-friendly interactive system for robust illumination-invariant image generation. Compared with the previous automated illumination-invariant image derivation approaches, our system enables users to specify a particular kind of illumination variation for removal. The derivation of illumination-invariant image is guided by the user input. The input is a stroke that defines an area covering a set of pixels whose intensities are influenced predominately by the illumination variation. This additional flexibility enhances the robustness for processing non-linearly rendered images and the images of the scenes where their illumination variations are difficult to estimate automatically. Finally, we present some evaluation results of our method.
Self-reported attitudes, skills and use of evidence-based practice among Canadian doctors of chiropractic: a national survey.

OBJECTIVES To identify Canadian chiropractors' attitudes, skills and use of evidence based practice (EBP), as well as their level of awareness of previously published chiropractic clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). METHODS 7,200 members of the Canadian Chiropractic Association were invited by e-mail to complete an online version of the Evidence Based practice Attitude & utilisation SurvEy (EBASE); a valid and reliable measure of participant attitudes, skills and use of EBP. RESULTS Questionnaires were completed by 554 respondents. Most respondents (>75%) held positive attitudes toward EBP. Over half indicated a high level of self-reported skills in EBP, and over 90% expressed an interest in improving these skills. A majority of respondents (65%) reported over half of their practice was based on evidence from clinical research, and only half (52%) agreed that chiropractic CPGs significantly impacted on their practice. CONCLUSIONS While most Canadian chiropractors held positive attitudes towards EBP, believed EBP was useful, and were interested in improving their skills in EBP, many did not use research evidence or CPGs to guide clinical decision making. Our findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the low response rate.
Building a Knowledge to Action Program in Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract The knowledge to action (KTA) process proposed by Graham et al (2006) is a framework to facilitate the development and application of research evidence into clinical practice. The KTA process consists of the knowledge creation cycle and the action cycle. The Evidence Based Review of Stroke Rehabilitation is a foundational part of the knowledge creation cycle and has helped guide the development of best practice recommendations in stroke. The Rehabilitation Knowledge to Action Project is an audit-feedback process for the clinical implementation of best practice guidelines, which follows the action cycle. The objective of this review was to: (1) contextualize the Evidence Based Review of Stroke Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Knowledge to Action Project within the KTA model and (2) show how this process led to improved evidence-based practice in stroke rehabilitation. Through this process, a single centre was able to change clinical practice and promote a culture that supports the use of evidence-based practices in stroke rehabilitation. RÉSUMÉ Construire un programme de passage du savoir à l’action dans la réadaptation de l’accident vasculaire cérébral. Le processus de passage du savoir à l’action (PSA) proposé par Graham et al (2006) constitue un cadre dont le but est de faciliter l’élaboration et l’application de données de recherche en pratique clinique. Le processus (PSA) comprend le cycle de création du savoir et le cycle de l’action. Le Evidence-Based Review of Stroke Rehabilitation (EBRSR) est une partie fondamentale du cycle de la création du savoir et a aidé à guider l’élaboration des recommandations de pratiques exemplaires pour l’accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC). Le Rehabilitation Knowledge to Action Project (REKAP) est un processus de vérification et de rétroaction portant sur la mise en application des lignes directrices sur les pratiques exemplaires et suit le cycle d’action. L’objectif de cette revue était de contextualiser l’EBRSR et le REKAP dans le cadre du modèle PSA et de montrer comment ce processus a mené à une amélioration de la pratique basée sur des données probantes dans la réadaptation de l’AVC. Grâce à ce processus, un centre a pu modifier la pratique clinique et promouvoir une culture qui soutient l’utilisation de pratiques basées sur des données probantes dans la réadaptation de l’AVC.
Codes of Good Governance

Our review of the literature on codes of good governance highlights the rapid spread of codes of good governance around the world and how academic research has lagged behind in analyzing this topic. Despite the criticism that the codes’ voluntary nature limits their ability to improve governance practices, codes of good governance appear to have generally improved the governance of countries that have adopted them, although there is need for additional reforms. Unfortunately, research on codes of good governance has been studied in silos with little cross-fertilization across the different disciplines. We propose a multi-level framework to discuss three main topics that have emerged within the codes literature: the motivations behind the diffusion of codes across countries and its implications for convergence of corporate governance practices; the content of the code and its “comply or explain” dimension; and the relationship between code compliance and firm performance. We conclude by proposing four areas of future research. Code development, adoption, and compliance are directly related to issues surrounding the governance of the firm, and in particular to all the interactions that a director has inside and outside the firm. Codes are regulations that emerge from policy-making negotiations between the different stakeholders, such as the state (via the stock market regulators) and the investors.
Psychological distance to a prospective memory cue influences the probability of fulfilling a delayed intention

Event-based prospective memory (PM) performance relies to some extent on the specificity of the formed intention. Usually, the more specific the intention, the better the PM performance (Einstein, McDaniel, Richardson, Guynn, & Cunfer, 1995). In particular, performance will suffer if a superordinate category (e.g., animal) is encoded as a retrieval cue for a delayed intention rather than the specific instance (e.g., hamster). The present study aims at demonstrating that the advantage of a specific intention compared to a categoric intention is not as general as was hitherto expected. It was hypothesised that the extent of the specificity advantage is context dependent, such that psychological distance (Liberman, Trope, & Stephan, 2007b) forms an important context variable. In the first experiment the performance benefit caused by a specific cue instruction was replicated with the present materials. In the second experiment perceived distance to the PM cue was additionally manipulated. Results of these experiments provided original evidence that the advantage of a specific instruction is significantly reduced if the PM cues are perceived as psychologically distant.
THINKING LEAN: Improving Vitreoretinal Clinic Efficiency by Decentralizing Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose: Patients in vitreoretinal clinic have long wait times that could be reduced by improving the efficiency of patient flow. The objective of this study was to determine whether decentralizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) into the technicians' room would reduce patient wait times and improve clinic efficiency. Methods: Randomized, single-center, clinical trial for 1 month without follow-up at Byers Eye Institute at Stanford. Subjects were return patients of three vitreoretinal specialists in March 2013. The intervention consisted of decentralizing OCT devices from the central photography suite into the technician screening rooms. Total clinic times and total wait times throughout subject appointments were recorded and compared with the control group (centralized photography suite). Secondary outcomes included frequency of injections, procedures, and primary diagnosis codes. Results: Decentralized OCT reduced patient wait times by 74% and reduced total clinic appointment time by 36%. Subjects in the intervention arm experienced significantly reduced total wait time (mean difference = 15.9 minutes, P < 0.0001) and total time in clinic (mean difference = 22.9 minutes, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Decentralized OCT represents the application of lean process concepts to improve vitreoretinal clinic efficiency. Decentralized OCT reduced both the total wait time and total time in clinic for return patients in a vitreoretinal clinic.