Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative reference values for tear film break up time in normal and dry eye populations.

Over the past decade our understanding of dry eye has greatly increased, but the number affected by the condition has also risen. It is estimated 1 of 5 Americans suffers from dry eye1 and about 7-10 million currently require artificial tear preparations to treat its symptoms. 2 The rise in dry eye may be due to several factors, including adverse environments, increased visual tasking (e.g., personal computers and television) and the more frequent use of systemic antihistamines. The increased prevalence has led to the need for an even better understanding of the disease and its therapeutic approaches. Consequently, tremendous improvements have occurred in the accuracy and preciseness of the diagnostic tools used to evaluate the condition.
Brand Tone of Voice: a linguistic analysis of brand positions 1

This paper examines material from two companies , HSBC and Orange, to reveal how far the ‘ Tone of Voice’ of these brands expresses their different brand positions . Four linguistic techniques are applied: (i) analysis of chains of reference; (ii) analysis of transitivity and participant roles within clauses; (iii) analysis of presupposition and assumption; and (iv) the analysis of features of tenor such as ‘ conversationalisation’ and informal grammar. It is suggested that these approaches are useful in describing the links between language and brand position. Four research hypotheses are proposed: (i) brand strength, i.e. the strength of the reader’ s impression of the brand varies depending on the number and nature of referring expressions that relate to the brand; (ii) participant roles, i.e. the reader is influenced by the types of processes ascribed to the brand and its related concepts; (iii) assumption, i.e. presuppositions about reader lifestyles, beliefs and values affects engagement with a brand ; and (iv) conversationalisation, i.e. greater frequencies of ‘ conversational’ linguistic features influence readers ’ affinity with the brand and a willingness to associate the brand with ‘ human’ qualities such as ‘ approachable’ . The paper investigates linguistic markers that relate to these hypotheses in detail, but also proposes two further, as yet untested, hypotheses: (v) explicit evaluation, i.e. the impression of a brand is influenced by the linguistic markers of ‘ point of view’ such as those identified within Appraisal Theory , and (vi) unusualness, i.e. there may be a correlation between low-frequency vocabulary items and collocations and readers’ tendencies to associate with the brand qualities such as ‘ quirky’ or ‘ fun’ . The paper also presents a discussion of the use of linguistic techniques for commercial aims, which is a departure from the critical tradition in applied linguistics.
Agriculture, agronomy, and political economy: some missing links

The founding years of political economy coincided with the birth and the golden age of modern agronomy. In the century that separated Jethro Tull from Justus Liebig and Jean-Baptiste Boussingault—after whom agronomy became applied chemistry—political economy underwent fundamental changes, for this was also the period that separated Richard Cantillon from John Stuart Mill—in short, almost the entire period of the development of the classical school of political economy. This parallelism has not received the attention it deserves. Recent appraisals have included science as a factor in the making of political economy (Mirowski 1989) or have sought to link the two fields (Schabas 1992), but few studies consider the applied sciences and their techniques or, to use Mill’s more precise definition applied to agronomy, their arts. Perhaps one reason is that agronomy is difficult to place: it is not exactly science, nor is it economics; it is, as one commentator has described it, “between reasoned practice and effective science” (Sigaut 1998, 197). And although some historians of science have analyzed agronomy in relation to certain sciences such as botany or medicine, no general vision
Burden and contributing factors associated with tricuspid regurgitation: a hospital-based study

ABSTRACT Objectives: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common in patients referred for cardiac assessment. Nonetheless, current estimates of its prevalence and contributing factors are limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and demographics of TR in patients referred for echocardiography assessment at two University-affiliated hospitals. Methods: A total of 6711 consecutive Chinese patients were recruited as part of the Chinese Valvular Heart Disease Study (CVATS). Results: The most common valvular lesion was TR (54.7%), followed by mitral regurgitation (44.7%) and aortic regurgitation (26.5%). Clinically significant (moderate or severe) TR was identified in 8.4% with the proportion increased from 3.9% amongst those aged <51 to 15.9% in those aged ≥81. Multivariable adjustment demonstrated that significant TR was associated with age, congenital heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, left-sided valvular heart disease (VHD), impaired left ventricular ejection fraction <50%, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension. Conclusions: Among all types of VHD, TR was the most common and was identified in over half of the subjects and clinically significant in 8.4%. These unique data provide contemporary clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TR in a large cohort of patients referred for cardiac assessment and confirm the increased burden of TR in the aged population.
La educación primaria y secundaria en Colombia en el siglo XX

Este articulo analiza la evolucion de la educacion primaria y secundaria en Colombia durante el siglo XX desde una perspectiva de largo plazo. Se estudian las principales politicas educativas asi como los cambios institucionales y organizacionales que ocurrieron. Se analiza la financiacion de la educacion, el comportamiento de las principales variables educativas y se examina la evolucion de calidad de la educacion en el pais. Se encontro que la expansion de la educacion, tanto primaria como secundaria a lo largo de la primera mitad el siglo XX fue muy lenta. Las transformaciones educativas solo empezaron a ocurrir en la decada de los cincuenta, cuando se presento un rapido y sostenido crecimiento economico y un cambio signif icativo en la estructura economica y demografica del pais. Desde 1950 y hasta mediados de los setenta, los indicadores educativos crecieron a un ritmo nunca antes visto. Sin embargo, la expansion de los indicadores educativos se freno desde mediados de los setenta y hasta principios de los ochenta, cuando se dio una nueva expansion en los mismos que se mantuvo hasta finales de siglo. A pesar de estos grandes avances durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX, al finalizar los noventa el sector educativo Colombiano seguia presentando bajos niveles de cobertura, eficiencia y calidad asi como vaguedad en las competencias y obligaciones en terminos administrativos y financieros de los diferentes niveles gubernamentales.
SQL and Relational Theory - How to Write Accurate SQL Code, Second Edition

SQL is full of difficulties and traps for the unwary. You can avoid them if you understand relational theory, but only if you know how to put the theory into practice. In this insightful book, author C.J. Date explains relational theory in depth, and demonstrates through numerous examples and exercises how you can apply it directly to your use of SQL.This second edition includes new material on recursive queries, missing information without nulls, new update operators, and topics such as aggregate operators, grouping and ungrouping, and view updating. If you have a modest-to-advanced background in SQL, youll learn how to deal with a host of common SQL dilemmas.Why is proper column naming so important? Nulls in your database are causing you to get wrong answers. Why? What can you do about it? Is it possible to write an SQL query to find employees who have never been in the same department for more than six months at a time? SQL supports quantified comparisons, but theyre better avoided. Why? How do you avoid them? Constraints are crucially important, but most SQL products dont support them properly. What can you do to resolve this situation? Database theory and practice have evolved since the relational model was developed more than 40 years ago. SQL and Relational Theory draws on decades of research to present the most up-to-date treatment of SQL available. C.J. Date has a stature that is unique within the database industry. A prolific writer well known for the bestselling textbook An Introduction to Database Systems (Addison-Wesley), he has an exceptionally clear style when writing about complex principles and theory.
A wideband bandstop FSS with tripole loop

In this paper, a microwave spatial band stop radome operating in x-band based on frequency selective surfaces (FSS) is presented. To meet the demand of wideband and large incident wave angle, a tripole loop FSS is designed as a multilayer sandwiched structure. The two FSS layers are developed to increase bandwidth of the stop band for the TE and TM mode wave. The simulation results show that the FSS has a wideband which up to 50% and 20% for TE and TM mode, respectively. A practical the FSS structure has also been fabricated and tested. Measurements indicate that the FSS has a band stop characteristics at large incident angle which range from 0° to 60° for TE and TM at X-band in the microwave anechoic chamber.
Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the N-terminal part of the propeptide of BNP immunoassays in chronic and acute heart failure: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND We used evidence-based laboratory medicine principles to compare the diagnostic accuracy of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the N-terminal part of the propeptide of BNP (NT-proBNP) assays for the diagnosis of heart failure. METHODS In May 2006, we performed a computerized literature search of the online National Library of Medicine to select studies specifically designed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of BNP and NT-proBNP assays. The comparison took into account the area under the curve and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) derived from ROC analysis of original studies. RESULTS Both BNP and NT-proBNP assays were found to be clinically useful for the diagnosis of heart failure. Metaanalysis of these data was difficult because of the heterogeneity of data regarding patient population, diagnostic criteria, end-points, and immunoassay methods for both BNP and NT-proBNP. Separate metaanalyses were performed for acute and chronic heart failure. In chronic heart failure, the diagnostic DOR for BNP (8.44, 95% CI 4.66-15.30) was not significantly different from that of NT-proBNP (23.36, 95% CI 9.38-58.19). In patients with acute heart failure, the mean DOR for BNP (16.46, 95% CI 10.65-25.43) was not significantly different from that of NT-proBNP (18.61, 95% CI 12.99-26.65). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that both BNP and NT-proBNP assays have a high degree of diagnostic accuracy and clinical relevance for both acute and chronic heart failure.
ADULT RELIGIOUSNESS AND HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD DEPRESSION: ELEVEN-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY

This study investigates the association between childhood depression and the protective qualities of adult religiousness. Subjects were 146 (65 female and 81 male) adults with a history of childhood depression and 123 (61 female and 62 male) adults without a history of childhood depression interviewed as part of a long-term follow-up study (mean years of follow-up, 11.2; SD = 1.4). Depression in childhood and adulthood was assessed by blind and independent clinical interviews by using the Schedule for Affective Disorders for School Aged Children and the Schedule for Affective Disorders Life-time Version, respectively. Religiousness was assessed by report on the personal importance of religion, frequency of attendance of religious services, religious denomination, and child-adult concordance of report. Findings showed adult personal importance of religion to be associated with a decreased risk for depression in women without a history of childhood depression but an increased risk for depression in women with a history of childhood depression. Adult Catholicism as compared with Protestantism was associated with a decreased risk for depression in male childhood depressives, but this association was not found in men without childhood depression. The findings potentially suggest a reciprocal-influence process between childhood pathology and the development of religiousness.
Dietary Intake of B Vitamins and Methionine and Colorectal Cancer Risk

B vitamins are involved in 1-carbon metabolism, which is necessary for DNA replication, DNA repair, and regulation of gene expression. Recent studies suggest inverse associations between folate and vitamin B6 intakes and colorectal cancer risk but associations with other B vitamins and methionine have not been widely studied. After following 14,645 men and 22,467 women for 15 yr on average, we ascertained 910 incident colorectal cancers. Dietary intakes were estimated using a 121-item food frequency questionnaire. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox regression. We found some evidence of a U-shaped relationship between colon cancer risk and vitamin B6 and an inverse U-shaped relationship between rectal cancer risk and B12 (test for the quadratic trend, P = 0.005 and P = 0.0005 respectively). For colon cancer, we observed a reduced risk associated with low methionine/high folate, HR = 0.63 (0.49, 0.80) and an increased risk associated with high methionine/high folate, HR = 1.36 (1.06, 1.74) (P interaction < 0.0001). Our study suggests a U-shaped association between colon cancer risk and vitamin B6 intake and an inverse U-shaped association between rectal cancer risk and vitamin B12. Adequate folate intake might protect against colon cancer risk in those with low methionine intake.
ANONUS: Anonymous Bonus Point System with Fraud Detection

Bonus point systems are widely used for rewarding customer loyalty in both traditional and electronic commerce scenarios. Merchants aim to additionally increase revenue by targeted advertising using customer data. At the same time, customers wish to protect their privacy of what they purchase. Common systems neither provide sufficient protection of privacy, nor protect the customers' identities. Anonymity makes it significantly harder to properly resolve claims of fraudulent transactions, because identities are not recorded for any purpose after a transaction has been committed. We propose an anonymous bonus system based on digital payment systems using blind cryptographic signatures. We implement a protocol extension that allows proof of bonus point possession in case of reported misbehavior, and we identify the implications on security, privacy, and performance of our proposals. Our results show that we can resolve these cases of fraud within the system without losing functionality in the bonus point protocol.
ST14A Cells Have Properties of a Medium-Size Spiny Neuron

The ST14A cell line was previously derived from embryonic day 14 rat striatal primordia by retroviral transduction of the temperature-sensitive SV40 large T antigen. We showed that cell division and expression of nestin persists at 33 degrees C, the permissive temperature, whereas cell division ceases, nestin expression decreases, and MAP2 expression increases at the nonpermissive temperature of 39 degrees C. In this study, we further characterized the cells and found that they express other general and subtype-specific neuronal characteristics. ST14A cells express enolase and beta III-tubulin. Furthermore, they express the striatal marker DARPP-32, which is up-regulated upon differentiation of the cells by growth in serum-free medium. Stimulation with dopamine, the D2-dopamine receptor agonist quinpirole, or the D1-dopamine receptor agonist SKF82958 results in phosphorylation of CREB. Treatment of the cells with a mixture of reagents which stimulate the MAPK and adenylyl cyclase pathways radically changes the morphology of the ST14A cells. The cells develop numerous neurite-like appearing processes which stain with beta III-tubulin. Moreover, under these conditions, intracellular injection of rectangular depolarizing current stimuli elicits overshooting action potentials with a relatively fast depolarization rate when starting from a strongly hyperpolarized membrane potential. Taken together, these data imply that the ST14A cell line displays some of the characteristics of a medium-size spiny neuron subtype and provides a new tool to elucidate the pathways and molecules involved in medium-size spiny neuron differentiation and disease.
Fully distributed wireless MAC transmission of real-time data

As ad hoc wireless networks become more common, the need for real time services on these networks is emerging. However little work has focused on supporting real time requirements in such a demanding environment where the medium of transmission is noisy and protocols must be fully decentralized. Addressing this, we present a MAC protocol, preemptive in nature, that supports the transmission of hard, soft and non real time data. To guarantee stability even in overloaded conditions and still offer support for deadlines, we use splitting protocols. A protocol model is presented and analyzed, showing its performance under a wide range of offered loads with various fractions of real time types. We show that the protocol is easily implemented without making unreasonable hardware demands and so could be used as the basis for building real time services in an ad hoc wireless network.
Density Interactions Among Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Staphylococcus aureus in the Nasopharynx of Young Peruvian Children

Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Staphylococcus aureus are commonly carried in the nasopharynx of young children, and have been speculated to interact with each other. Although earlier studies used cultures alone to assess these interactions, the addition of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) provides further insight into these interactions. We compared results of culture and qPCR for the detection of these 3 bacteria in 446 nasopharynx samples collected from 360 healthy young children in a prospective cohort study in the Peruvian Andes. Patterns of concurrent bacterial colonization were studied using repeated measures logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess correlations among bacterial densities. At a bacterial density <105 colony forming units/mL measured by qPCR, culture detected significantly less carriers (P < 0.0001) for all 3 pathogens, than at a bacterial density >105 colony forming units/mL. In addition, there was a positive association between S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae colonization measured by both culture (odds ratio [OR] 3.11–3.17, P < 0.001) and qPCR (OR 1.95–1.97, P < 0.01). The densities of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae, measured by qPCR, were positively correlated (correlation coefficient 0.32, P < 0.001). A negative association was found between the presence of S. pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus in carriage with both culture (OR 0.45, P = 0.024) and qPCR (OR 0.61, P < 0.05). The impact of density on detection by culture and the observed density-related interactions support use of qPCR in additional studies to examine vaccine effects on diverse bacterial species.
Modified sidereal filtering: Implications for high‐rate GPS positioning

High‐rate (1‐Hz) Global Positioning System (GPS) data are beginning to be used for a variety of geophysical monitoring purposes, including seismology. Improving the precision of high‐rate GPS position estimates will increase the value of these 1‐Hz GPS monitoring systems. One technique that has been used to improve high‐rate GPS positioning takes advantage of the ground track repeat period of the satellites. This study investigates the GPS orbital repeat period and determines that it varies for each satellite and differs significantly from the generally assumed sidereal period. Orbit repeat periods are calculated and used to filter 1‐Hz GPS position estimates. Using the calculated orbit repeat period significantly reduces low frequency (0.001–0.04 Hz) errors in 1‐Hz GPS position estimates.
Abdominoperineal resection or anterior resection for rectal cancer: patient preferences before and after treatment

Objective Literature data do not provide any evidence as to whether oncological outcome and quality of life after anterior resection (AR) are superior to those observed after abdominoperineal resection (APR) for low‐lying rectal cancer. In view of this, patient preferences should play an important role in the process of decision making. The aim of this study was to investigate these preferences.
Worldwide History and Philosophy of Andragogy: 2012 Limited to English Language Documents

This paper on the History and Philosophy of Andragogy is mainly limited [with a few exceptions] to a chronological history and the accompanying philosophy of andragogy, in line with when the English language documents were published and personal descriptions of events were written down. Some of these documents, however, present aspects of the events and ideas which recount the years and contexts in which they appeared in published form. This will not be an exact history of the events and philosophy as they appear in chronological order. But, this will be presented in the general sequence of the years that the articles, books, commentaries, and any other publication forms were recorded or appeared in print and / or were published. Early Appearances of Andragogy 1833-1927 The term ‘andragogy’, as far as we know, was first authored by Alexander Kapp (1833), a German high school teacher. In the book entitled ‘Platon’s Erziehungslehre’ (Plato’s Educational Ideas) he describes the lifelong necessity to learn. He begins the book with a discussion on childhood. However, from page 241 to 300 he turns attention to adulthood – Andragogy or Education in the man’s age [a replica of this may be viewed at the following website] http://www.andragogy. net]. Kapp argues that education, self-reflection, and educating the character are the first values in human life. He then refers to vocational education of the healing profession, soldier, educator, orator, ruler, and men as the family father. Here we find patterns which repeatedly can be found in the ongoing history of andragogy: Included and combined are the education of inner, subjective personality (‘character’); outer, objective competencies (what later is discussed under ‘education vs. training’); and, that learning happens not only through teachers, but also through self-reflection and life experience, which makes it more than ‘teaching adults. ’ The term andragogy lay fallow for many decades, perhaps because adult education was being conducted without a specific name to designate what it was. Nonetheless, in the 1920s Germany became a place for building theory and another German resurrected the term (Reischmann, 2004). 1 John A. Henschke, Ed. D. , studied with Malcolm S. Knowles at Boston University (BU). He wrote his doctoral dissertation at BU on Malcolm’s contribution to the theory and practice of adult education up through 1972. John recently retired after 39 years with University of Missouri – Associate Professor of Adult Education in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; and, Continuing Education Specialist in the East Central Region of the University of Missouri Extension. He is now Associate Professor of Education and Chair of the Andragogy Doctoral Emphasis Specialty at Lindenwood University, School of Education, St. Charles, MO 63301; E-Mail: JHenschke@lindenwood.edu ; Phone: 636-949-4590 [Work]; Phone: 314-651-9897 [Cell]. Andragogy Websites: http://www.lindenwood.edu/education/andragogy.cfm and http://www.umsl. edu/~henschke