Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distantiae Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi: A New Epidemiological Feature of Acute Chagas Disease in Brazil

Background The new epidemiological scenario of orally transmitted Chagas disease that has emerged in Brazil, and mainly in the Amazon region, needs to be addressed with a new and systematic focus. Belém, the capital of Pará state, reports the highest number of acute Chagas disease (ACD) cases associated with the consumption of açaí juice. Methodology/Principal Findings The wild and domestic enzootic transmission cycles of Trypanosoma cruzi were evaluated in the two locations (Jurunas and Val-de Cães) that report the majority of the autochthonous cases of ACD in Belém city. Moreover, we evaluated the enzootic cycle on the three islands that provide most of the açaí fruit that is consumed in these localities. We employed parasitological and serological tests throughout to evaluate infectivity competence and exposure to T. cruzi. In Val-de-Cães, no wild mammal presented positive parasitological tests, and 56% seroprevalence was observed, with low serological titers. Three of 14 triatomines were found to be infected (TcI). This unexpected epidemiological picture does not explain the high number of autochthonous ACD cases. In Jurunas, the cases of ACD could not be autochthonous because of the absence of any enzootic cycle of T. cruzi. In contrast, in the 3 island areas from which the açaí fruit originates, 66.7% of wild mammals and two dogs displayed positive hemocultures, and 15.6% of triatomines were found to be infected by T. cruzi. Genotyping by mini-exon gene and PCR-RFLP (1f8/Akw21I) targeting revealed that the mammals and triatomines from the islands harbored TcI and Trypanosoma rangeli in single and mixed infections. Conclusion/Significance These findings show that cases of Chagas disease in the urban area of Belém may be derived from infected triatomines coming together with the açaí fruits from distant islands. We term this new epidemiological feature of Chagas disease as “Distantiae transmission”.
Melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem effects on sleep Page 1 of 29 Randomized clinical trial of the effects of prolonged-release melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem on slow-wave activity during sleep in healthy people

trial of the effects of prolonged-release melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem on slow-wave activity during sleep in healthy people. J Psychopharmacol. Abstract Current pharmacological treatments for insomnia include benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics targeting GABA A receptors, as well as agonists of the melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2. Melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem are thought to exert their effect through different mechanisms of action, but whether this leads to differential effects on EEG power spectra during sleep in middle-aged people is currently not known. To establish whether the effects of prolonged-release melatonin (2mg) on the nocturnal sleep EEG are different to those of temazepam (20mg) and zolpidem (10mg). Sixteen healthy men and women aged 55-64 years participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-way cross-over trial. Nocturnal sleep was assessed with polysomnography and spectral analysis of the EEG. The effects of single oral doses of prolonged-release melatonin, temazepam and zolpidem on EEG slow-wave activity (SWA, 0.75-4.5Hz) and other frequencies during nocturnal non-REM (NREM) sleep were compared. In an entire night analysis prolonged-release melatonin did not affect SWA, whereas temazepam and zolpidem significantly reduced SWA compared with placebo. Temazepam significantly reduced SWA compared with prolonged-release melatonin. Prolonged-release melatonin only reduced SWA during the first third of the night compared with placebo. These data show that the effects of prolonged-release melatonin on the nocturnal sleep EEG are minor and are different from those of temazepam and zolpidem; this is likely due to the different mechanisms of action of the medications.
DNA Methylation Levels of Melanoma Risk Genes Are Associated with Clinical Characteristics of Melanoma Patients

In melanoma development, oncogenic process is mediated by genetic and epigenetic mutations, and few studies have so far explored the role of DNA methylation either as predisposition factor or biomarker. We tested patient samples for germline CDKN2A methylation status and found no evidence of inactivation by promoter hypermethylation. We have also investigated the association of clinical characteristics of samples with the DNA methylation pattern of twelve genes relevant for melanomagenesis. Five genes (BAP1, MGMT, MITF, PALB2, and POT1) presented statistical association between blood DNA methylation levels and either CDKN2A-mutation status, number of lesions, or Breslow thickness. In tumors, five genes (KIT, MGMT, MITF, TERT, and TNF) exhibited methylation levels significantly different between tumor groups including acral compared to nonacral melanomas and matched primary lesions and metastases. Our data pinpoint that the methylation level of eight melanoma-associated genes could potentially represent markers for this disease both in peripheral blood and in tumor samples.
High-resolution physical and functional mapping of the template adjacent DNA binding site in catalytically active telomerase

Telomerase is a cellular reverse transcriptase, which utilizes an integral RNA template to extend single-stranded telomeric DNA. We used site-specific photocrosslinking to map interactions between DNA primers and the catalytic protein subunit (tTERT) of Tetrahymena thermophila telomerase in functional enzyme complexes. Our assays reveal contact of the single-stranded DNA adjacent to the primer-template hybrid and tTERT residue W187 at the periphery of the N-terminal domain. This contact was detected in complexes with three different registers of template in the active site, suggesting that it is maintained throughout synthesis of a complete telomeric repeat. Substitution of nearby residue Q168, but not W187, alters the Km for primer elongation, implying that it plays a role in the DNA recognition. These findings are the first to directly demonstrate the physical location of TERT-DNA contacts in catalytically active telomerase and to identify amino acid determinants of DNA binding affinity. Our data also suggest a movement of the TERT active site relative to the template-adjacent single-stranded DNA binding site within a cycle of repeat synthesis.
Advances in Medical Education and Practice Dovepress Station-based Deconstructed Training Model for Teaching Procedural Skills to Medical Students: a Quasi-experimental Study Ghamar H Zaker Shahrak Introduction

Background: Every procedural skill consists of some microskills. One of the effective techniques for teaching a main procedural skill is to deconstruct the skill into a series of microskills and train students on each microskill separately. When we learn microskills, we will learn the main skill also. This model can be beneficial for tuition on procedural skills. Objective: In this study, we propose a stationed-based deconstructed training model for tuition of each microskill, and then we assessed the medical students' self-perceived abilities. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 268 medical students (536 matched pre-and post-questionnaires) at the surgical clerkship stage during five consecutive years in three teaching and learning groups. In this study, we taught each skill in 10 steps (proposed model) to the students. We then evaluated the students' self-perceived abilities using a pre-and post-self-assessment technique. SPSS v13 software with one-way analysis of variance and paired t-tests were used for data collection and analysis. Results: Assessment of medical students' perceived abilities before and after training showed a significant improvement (P , 0.001) in both cognitive and practical domains. There were also significant differences between the three teaching and learning groups (P , 0.001). There were no significant differences for the different years of training regarding the observed improvement. Conclusion: This study suggests that deconstructing the practical skills into microskills and tuition of those microskills via the separated structured educational stations is effective according to the students' self-ratings.
Generating Test Cases for Infinite System Specifications

Test case generation is a means to validate the implementation of a system a posteriori with respect to some given requirements imposed on the system. Current methods for the generation of test cases often rely on the system speciication being given as a nite automaton, which does not fully cover the situation in systems with asynchronous communication , In this paper we present an algorithm for the computation of test cases for innnite system speciications. 1 Motivation Real communication systems are often deened by means of innnite speciications. Reasons for the innniteness are special assumptions and the characteristics of the used speciication languages. For example, the Speciication and Description Language (SDL) of the ITU-T 1] assumes innnite message buuers for communication purposes and provides abstract data types (ADTs) for the speciication of data. The ADT feature allows to specify innnite data ranges. In most cases conformance between a system speciication and a corresponding implementation is checked by means of testing. In the area of communication protocols this type of testing is called Protocol Conformance Testing 5]. Conformance testing is based on a set of requirements, the so-called test purposes, each of which has to be checked during the procedure of testing. Test purposes are identiied, speciied and later on implemented (in form of test cases) by hand. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical foundation for proving requirements in a system speciication and algorithms for checking these requirements in a corresponding system speciication. The latter one can be considered to be work on automatic test generation. For building up a theoretical foundation and algorithms we need suitable formal models for expressing requirements and system speciications. We restrict ourselves to the treatment of requirements which can be transformed into nite automata 4], i.e., for each requirement we assume there exists an automaton which accepts or generates all traces which exhibit the required property. As formal model for a system speciication we use innnite automata which is the most general model. Innnite automata and Turing machines accept the same class of languages. By means of a simulator for a given speciication it is possible to partially generate the corresponding innnite automaton and to examine its behaviour. The remainder of this paper is organised in the following manner: Section 2 rst gives an account on the theoretical models and equivalences used in our work, while Section 3 describes the generation …
Developmental Metamorphoses: An Investigation into the Phenomenon of Epiphany

Learning through epiphanies, especially those not born out of dire crises, can be exciting, hugely satisfying, and life-validating ways to augment the significance of a lesson. In a moment of clarity, they have the ability to transform knowledge into wisdom, to provide a sense of interconnectedness within the grander scheme, and to contribute instant resolutions to persistent dilemmas seemingly irresolvable by less extraordinary means. This study involves a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation of epiphanies as they occur in lived experience. Its primary goal was to address the question, ―What does it mean to have an epiphany? ‖ Using data collected from 16 first-person, retroactive accounts of the experience, an analysis strategy using six spectra of contrasting dimensions was used to highlight the importance of the interplay between various characteristics of epiphanies. A significant finding of the study is that there is no such thing as an archetypical epiphany. Nevertheless, we can still recognize the phenomenon as a coherent entity mainly because there is agreement about many of its characteristics in the moment that it happens. Having an epiphany involves inductively rearranging patterns of deductively organized information with personally, and sometimes universally significant results. These may include dramatic shifts of perspectives, impulses that lead us to action on important matters, and occasionally whole-scale transformations of identity. Enhancing formal education settings to facilitate the experience can renew one‘s passion for learning by making lessons more personally meaningful. In order to reap the benefits of the experience, we must hold space for the creative and introspective pursuits that allow them to happen. However, a challenge for facilitators of epiphanies involves learning how to direct the result of an epiphany to an intended outcome, such as a curricular goal.
A study on twisted string actuation systems: Mathematical model and its experimental evaluation

This paper presents an improved mathematical model of a single twisted string transmission system. The proposed mathematical model has been validated experimentally and provided a better match with the practical data in comparison to the conventional model. Translational transmission systems based on twisted strings coupled with electrical motors can compose light-weight, compact, and mechanically simple actuators which can be used in various robotic applications. Hands-on instructions on design of twisted string transmission systems presented in this paper are intended to help engineers in development of such actuation systems.
The Investigation of Emotional Intelligence of Men and Women Futsal Athletes

This study was carried out in order to determine the emotional intelligence level of the boys and girls who participated in the final competitions of Turkey inter-high school Teenage boys and Teenage girls Futsal Championship in 2014. A total of 150 athletes, including 76 males and 74 females in the age between 15-19 constituted the search group. Schutte Scale of Emotional Intelligence test was used in this study. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, ANOVA and t-test on SPSS 15.0 statistics software was used in data analysis. As a result of the study, it was determined that there is a no difference in the sub-dimensions of the futsal players’, in terms of gender factor depending on their situations of becoming national or nonnational team athlete and number of becoming national team athlete.
OcculterCut: A Comprehensive Survey of AT-Rich Regions in Fungal Genomes

We present a novel method to measure the local GC-content bias in genomes and a survey of published fungal species. The method, enacted as “OcculterCut” (https://sourceforge.net/projects/occultercut, last accessed April 30, 2016), identified species containing distinct AT-rich regions. In most fungal taxa, AT-rich regions are a signature of repeat-induced point mutation (RIP), which targets repetitive DNA and decreases GC-content though the conversion of cytosine to thymine bases. RIP has in turn been identified as a driver of fungal genome evolution, as RIP mutations can also occur in single-copy genes neighboring repeat-rich regions. Over time RIP perpetuates “two speeds” of gene evolution in the GC-equilibrated and AT-rich regions of fungal genomes. In this study, genomes showing evidence of this process are found to be common, particularly among the Pezizomycotina. Further analysis highlighted differences in amino acid composition and putative functions of genes from these regions, supporting the hypothesis that these regions play an important role in fungal evolution. OcculterCut can also be used to identify genes undergoing RIP-assisted diversifying selection, such as small, secreted effector proteins that mediate host-microbe disease interactions.
Gender Differences in Self-Directed Learning Practices Among Community Members

How individuals engage in self-directed learning plays an important part in the fabric of community organization and development. This study was designed to explore the self-directed learning practices of members of community organizations, and to identify possible differences between how men and women go about selecting learning strategies. Findings from over 150 surveyed community organization members identified that women select different self-directed learning tools than men, and that these differences might reveal important sociological gender trends about self-directedness and the desire to learn.
Using SVM to Organize the Image Database

In a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system, rational and effective organization of the image database plays an important role in improving the performance of the system. In this paper, we propose a new method to classify the images database of CBIR system. Using SVM we attempt to construct a mapping between the low-level features and the semantically level in order to determine which category an image belongs to. The selection of training set is different from human determined and we consider use affinity propagation (AP) clustering method to generate them. Different numbers of clustering can complete classification which satisfied different retrieval need of user, such as exact match or rough match. In the experiment, we choose flower, forest and sky as experimental images. The accuracy of exact classification and rough classification is satisfactory.
Computational Linguistics and Language Physiology: Insights from Arabic NLP and Cooperative Editing

Computer processing of written Arabic raises a number of challenges to traditional parsing architectures on many levels of linguistic analysis. In this contribution, we review some of these core issues and the demands they make, to suggest different strategies to successfully tackle them. In the end, we assess these issues in connection with the behaviour of neuro-biologically inspired lexical architectures known as Temporal Self-Organising Maps. We show that, far from being language-specific problems, issues in Arabic processing can shed light on some fundamental characteristics of the human language processor, such as structure-based lexical recoding, concurrent, competitive activation of output candidates and dynamic selection of optimal solutions.
Testing and Modeling of Nonlinear Properties of Shock Absorbers for Vehicle Dynamics Studies

The objective of this work is to develop a new testing and analysis methodology to obtain the nonlinear characteristics of an automotive shock absorber. The front shock absorber on a Mazda CX-7 was tested on the single-post shaker test bench. The shock absorber piston velocity test range is between 0.01m/s and 1.3m/s, corresponding to typical velocities of a vehicle suspension generated by road irregularities. Three shock absorber models were built and validated using experimental shock absorber data. The power function model and polynomial model accurately capture the nonlinear characteristics of a shock absorber and can be quickly fit to experimental data for use in vehicle simulations. The influence of the shock absorber models on vehicle dynamics in vertical direction was analyzed.
The heterospecific habitat copying hypothesis: can competitors indicate habitat quality?

According to the "habitat copying" hypothesis, animals use the reproductive performance of conspecifics to assess habitat suitability and choose their future breeding site. This is because conspecifics share ecological needs and thus indicate habitat suitability. Here, we propose the "heterospecific habitat copying" hypothesis, which states that animals should use public information (i.e., information derived from the performance of others) from con- and heterospecifics sharing ecological needs. In a correlational approach we test some assumptions and predictions of this hypothesis with a data set from two sympatric bird populations, rollers (Coracias garrulus) and kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), using the same nest-boxes and exploiting similar food resources. Since kestrels are residents and breed earlier, we assumed that they are dominant over rollers for nest-box acquisition. The environment appears to be patchy for both species and temporally predictable for kestrels only. Two results suggest that the use of heterospecific public information in breeding habitat selection may be at work: (1) an increase in the reoccupancy probability by kestrels of previous roller nests with increasing nest success, and (2) an increase in roller breeding population with increasing local kestrel success. Most of the other observed patterns could be explained by alternative mechanisms such as natal philopatry, breeding fidelity, conspecific attraction, intraspecific habitat copying, and the effect of interspecific competition. Copyright 2005.
The Role of International Service-Learning in Facilitating Undergraduate Students’ Self-Exploration

This article examines the role of international service-learning (ISL) in facilitating undergraduates’ exploration of their conceptions of self (i.e., self-exploration). Conception of self refers to the use of values to define one’s role in a social/cultural group or organization and in society, and to determine current actions and future commitments. ISL is intentionally structured activities involving students in social services in overseas settings. Existing research underscores the importance of inducting students to other-oriented (showing care and empathy for others) values in facilitating their self-exploration through ISL. Interviews with 48 students in Hong Kong who participated in ISL revealed qualitative differences in students’ conceptions of self related to moral, cultural, and leadership values. The findings highlight the need to guide students to critically self-reflect on their values and actions, and build reciprocal relationships with others. Implications for international educators and service-learning practitioners to support students’ self-exploration in ISL are proposed.
System f-omega with equirecursive types for datatype-generic programming

Traversing an algebraic datatype by hand requires boilerplate code which duplicates the structure of the datatype. Datatype-generic programming (DGP) aims to eliminate such boilerplate code by decomposing algebraic datatypes into type constructor applications from which generic traversals can be synthesized. However, different traversals require different decompositions, which yield isomorphic but unequal types. This hinders the interoperability of different DGP techniques. In this paper, we propose Fωμ, an extension of the higher-order polymorphic lambda calculus Fω with records, variants, and equirecursive types. We prove the soundness of the type system, and show that type checking for first-order recursive types is decidable with a practical type checking algorithm. In our soundness proof we define type equality by interpreting types as infinitary λ-terms (in particular, Berarducci-trees). To decide type equality we β-normalize types, and then use an extension of equivalence checking for usual equirecursive types. Thanks to equirecursive types, new decompositions for a datatype can be added modularly and still interoperate with each other, allowing multiple DGP techniques to work together. We sketch how generic traversals can be synthesized, and apply these components to some examples. Since the set of datatype decomposition becomes extensible, System Fωμ enables using DGP techniques incrementally, instead of planning for them upfront or doing invasive refactoring.