Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Fluid Accumulation with Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Children with Severe Sepsis

Objective To evaluate whether early and acquired daily fluid overload (FO), as well as fluctuations in fluid accumulation, were associated with adverse outcomes in critically ill children with severe sepsis. Methods This study enrolled 202 children in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with severe sepsis. Early fluid overload was defined as ≥5% fluid accumulation occurring in the first 24 hours of PICU admission. The maximum daily fluid accumulation ≥5% occurring during the next 6 days in patients with at least 48 hours of PICU stay was defined as PICU-acquired daily fluid overload. The fluctuation in fluid accumulation was calculated as the difference between the maximum and the minimum daily fluid accumulation obtained during the first 7 days after admission. Results Of the 202 patients, 61 (30.2%) died during PICU stay. Among all patients, 41 (20.3%) experienced early fluid overload, including 9 with a FO ≥10%. Among patients with at least 48 hours of PICU stay (n = 154), 36 (23.4%) developed PICU-acquired daily fluid overload, including 2 with a FO ≥10%. Both early fluid overload (AOR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.08–1.33; P = 0.001; n = 202) and PICU-acquired daily fluid overload (AOR = 5.47 per log increase; 95% CI 1.15–25.96; P = 0.032; n = 154) were independent risk factors associated with mortality after adjusting for age, illness severity, etc. However, fluctuations in fluid accumulation were not associated with mortality after adjustment. Length of PICU stay increased with greater fluctuations in fluid accumulation in all patients with at least 48 hours of PICU stay (FO <5%, 5%-10% vs. ≥10%: 4 [3–8], 7 [4–11] vs. 10 [6–16] days; P <0.001; n = 154) and in survivors (4 [3–8], 7 [5–11] vs. 10 [5–15] days; P <0.001; n = 121). Early fluid overload achieved an area under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.74 (95% CI 0.65–0.82; P <0.001; n = 202) for predicting mortality in patients with severe sepsis, with a sensitivity of 67.2% and a specificity of 80.1% at the optimal cut-off value of 2.65%. Conclusions Both early and acquired daily fluid overload were independently associated with PICU mortality in children with severe sepsis.
EVALUATION OF CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW VOLUME USING COLOR DUPLEX SONOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Aim: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), one of the commonest endocrinopathies in the human, is known to be associated with risk factors for cerebrovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a change in cerebral blood flow volume in PCOS. Methods: We reported 30 women with PCOS and 20 healthy women as control group. We detected internal carotid (ICA), vertebral artery (VA) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) volumes using color duplex sonography. Results: There were no significant differences between patients with PCOS and control group in CBF volumes or the bilateral sum of flow volumes in the ICA and VA. There was also no statistically significant correlation between sum of bilateral VA, ICA and CBFV with age in both groups. However bilateral mean velocity of VA was significantly lower in patients with PCOS compared to control group. Conclusion: It seems that although endocrine and metabolic abnormalities occur in patients with PCOS there are no abnormality of CBF volume in young patients. However, a further study with a wider age range is required.
Strategies in Automatic Microhandling

Automation is the key step for successful application of micromanipulation and microhandling technologies. Due to the challenging environment microhandling has to deal with, the success of automation in microhandling is rather limited today. This paper firstly discusses the important measures that are necessary to achieve automatic microhandling, and then reviews the challenges and status of microhandling strategies. Based on the research activities and results of the author, the paper then discusses the approaches often used in the robotics and automation field, their merits and limitations, and new concepts of replacing key processes of automatic microhandling using physical process to make automatic microhandling a more accessible technology.
Rice NON-YELLOW COLORING1 Is Involved in Light-Harvesting Complex II and Grana Degradation during Leaf Senescence[W]

Chlorophyll degradation is an aspect of leaf senescence, which is an active process to salvage nutrients from old tissues. non-yellow coloring1 (nyc1) is a rice (Oryza sativa) stay-green mutant in which chlorophyll degradation during senescence is impaired. Pigment analysis revealed that degradation of not only chlorophylls but also light-harvesting complex II (LHCII)–bound carotenoids was repressed in nyc1, in which most LHCII isoforms were selectively retained during senescence. Ultrastructural analysis of nyc1 chloroplasts revealed that large and thick grana were present even in the late stage of senescence, suggesting that degradation of LHCII is required for the proper degeneration of thylakoid membranes. Map-based cloning of NYC1 revealed that it encodes a chloroplast-localized short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) with three transmembrane domains. The predicted structure of the NYC1 protein and the phenotype of the nyc1 mutant suggest the possibility that NYC1 is a chlorophyll b reductase. Although we were unable to detect the chlorophyll b reductase activity of NYC1, NOL (for NYC1-like), a protein closely related to NYC1 in rice, showed chlorophyll b reductase activity in vitro. We suggest that NYC1 and NOL encode chlorophyll b reductases with divergent functions. Our data collectively suggest that the identified SDR protein NYC1 plays essential roles in the regulation of LHCII and thylakoid membrane degradation during senescence.
An Investigation of Cognitive Processes Associated with Notetaking and Notes-Review

An Investigation of Cognitive Processes Associated with Notetaking and Notes-Review Yoko Kodaira Notetaking is a cognitively complex academic task that requires the execution of multiple cognitive processes within a limited capacity working memory (Peverly et al., 2007; Peverly & Sumowski, 2012; Piolat, Olive, & Kellogg, 2005). Several studies have investigated cognitive processes related to notetaking, but only one has looked at variables related to notes-review (Hadwin, Kirby, & Woodhouse, 1999). Also, most studies have focused on handwritten notes, and the few studies that have evaluated the effect of writing medium (handwriting or typing) on notes have been limited and equivocal (Bui, Myerson & Hale, 2013; Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). This study examined cognitive differences related to lecture notetaking, notes-review, and performance on a multiple-choice test that included memory and inference items. In addition, this study explored differences between handwriting and typing on notes and notes-review. Eighty undergraduate students were randomly assigned to handwrite or type notes, review them, and complete a multiple-choice test based on the lecture. They also completed a measure of letter speed consistent with their experimental condition, along with measures of language comprehension, sustained attention, background knowledge, and metacognition. MANOVAs found significant differences in letter speed between handwriting and typing groups, but no significant differences in overall notetaking or notes-review. The handwriting condition showed evidence of more transformation and organization of lecture information between notetaking and notes-review than with typing. Regression analyses found that letter speed and language comprehension predicted notetaking. Notes-review was positively and significantly related to notetaking, language comprehension, and writing medium. Typed notes were more strongly related to notes-review than handwritten notes. A significant letter speed x metacognition interaction for notetaking and a significant letter speed x sustained attention interaction for notesreview suggest that basic cognitive processes (letter speed) need to be sufficiently automatized in order for higher cognitive processes to be applied effectively. Test performance overall and performance on inference items were predicted by notes-review and writing medium. The latter indicated that handwriting was more strongly related to test performance than typing. Findings suggest that handwriting may enable deeper processing of information compared to typing. Future studies should continue to include interactions between cognitive variables to support the theory of hierarchical processing within a limited capacity working memory. Further research on the effects of writing medium on notes and notes-review will improve understanding of the effects of handwriting and typing on these processes.
Joint Fourier transform correlation with phase thresholding in the Fourier domain

Wright State UniversityComputer Science and EngineeringDepartmentDayton, Ohio 45435E-mail: aawwal@cs.wright. eduAbstract. A new implementation of the joint Fourier transform correla-tion (JFTC) utilizing the phase information in the Fourier plane is pro-posed. When a phase-based thresholding scheme is used on the jointFourier spectrum, the computation is signiﬁcantly accelerated. We obtainalmost double normalized correlation peaks with comparable discrimina-tion peak ratio as that of binarized JFTC.
Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making as Predictors of Antisocial Behavior

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND DECISION-MAKING AS PREDICTORS OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR by Melina Marie Sample Chair: Carole Woolford-Hunt ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH DissertationOF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University School of Education Title: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND DECISION-MAKING AS PREDICTORS OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR Name of researcher: Melina Marie Sample Name and degree of faculty chair: Carole Woolford-Hunt, Ph.D. Date completed: June 2017 Problem Antisocial behaviors in the general population are not well understood and little studied, however, their acceptance is becoming more normalized and accepted by society. This present study intended to focus on the contributing factors of emotional intelligence and decision-making to the presence of antisocial behaviors, and how these contributions vary by gender. Method This study used the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Short Form, and the General Decision Making Style Inventory to explore the relationships between the three variables. A structural equation model was developed to examine the theoretical covariance matrix proposed in comparison to the empirical covariance matrix developed from collected data. Four hundred and thirteen adults in the United States general population were used for this study. Results The original structural equation model suggested a poor fit with the collected data. The revised model included additional paths based on theory found in the literature. The revised model showed an excellent fit with the data. A strong correlation between emotional intelligence and decision-making was indicated. Emotional intelligence had a high, significant impact on both Primary and Secondary Psychopathy (SEC). Decisionmaking had a low, but significant impact on SEC. The adjusted model accounted for 69% of the variance of Primary Psychopathy (PRI) and 68% of variance for SEC. The revised model was also assessed to examine differences between males and females. The revised model achieved an acceptable fit for males, and a superior fit for females, indicating no gender differences for the proposed model. Conclusions This hypothesized theoretical model was supported by the findings from this study. The contribution of emotional intelligence and decision-making to antisocial behaviors was validated through statistical significance. Findings indicated some minor variations according to gender. These findings have implications for the field of counseling psychology, as well as society’s understanding and acceptance of antisocial behaviors in the general population. Andrews University School of Education EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND DECISION-MAKING AS PREDICTORS OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
The second ‘chime’ speech separation and recognition challenge: Datasets, tasks and baselines

Distant-microphone automatic speech recognition (ASR) remains a challenging goal in everyday environments involving multiple background sources and reverberation. This paper is intended to be a reference on the 2nd `CHiME' Challenge, an initiative designed to analyze and evaluate the performance of ASR systems in a real-world domestic environment. Two separate tracks have been proposed: a small-vocabulary task with small speaker movements and a medium-vocabulary task without speaker movements. We discuss the rationale for the challenge and provide a detailed description of the datasets, tasks and baseline performance results for each track.
Ovine Carotid Artery-Derived Cells as an Optimized Supportive Cell Layer in 2-D Capillary Network Assays

Background Endothelial cell co-culture assays are differentiation assays which simulate the formation of capillary-like tubules with the aid of a supportive cell layer. Different cell types have been employed as a supportive cell layer, including human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and human mammary fibroblasts. However, these sources of human tissue-derived cells are limited, and more readily accessible human or animal tissue-derived cell sources would simplify the endothelial cell co-culture assay. In the present study, we investigated the potential use of alternative, accessible supportive cells for endothelial cell co-culture assay, including human umbilical cord and ovine carotid artery. Methods and Results : Human umbilical artery SMCs (HUASMCs) and ovine carotid artery-derived cells were seeded into 96-well plates, followed by addition of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Nine days after co-culture, cells were fixed, immunostained and analysed using an in vitro angiogenesis quantification tool. Capillary-like structures were detected on ovine carotid artery-derived supportive cell layers. The initial cell number, as well as pro- and anti-angiogenic factors (VEGF, PDGF-BB and Bevacizumab), had a positive or negative influence on the number of capillary-like structures. Furthermore, HUVECs from different donors showed distinct levels of VEGF receptor-2, which correlated with the amount of capillary-like structures. In the case of HUASMC supportive cell layers, HUVECs detached almost completely from the surface. Conclusions Cells of different origin have a varying applicability regarding the endothelial cell co-culture assay: under the conditions described here, ovine carotid artery-derived cells seem to be more suitable than HUASMCs for an endothelial co-culture assay. Furthermore, the ovine carotid artery-derived cells are easier to obtain and are in more abundant supply than the currently used dermal or breast tissue cells. The use of ovine carotid artery-derived cells simplifies the endothelial co-culture assay with respect to testing large amounts of pro- and anti-angiogenic factors.
Welcome Harming Depositors and Helping Borrowers : The Disparate Impact of Bank Consolidation by Kwangwoo Park College of Business

There is growing evidence showing that large and small banks differ in how they service retail customers. Large, multi-market banks (LMBs) have more standardized operations and set interest rates that are uniform across local markets, while small banks have greater autonomy to set rates according to local market conditions. LMBs also differ from smaller banks by having relatively greater access to wholesale funding. This paper presents a model of spatial competition where small, single-market banks compete with LMBs. It shows that market-extension mergers by LMBs can promote competition in relatively concentrated retail loan markets, and this effect is magnified the greater is LMBs’ funding advantage and the greater is the multi-market contact among LMBs. In contrast, when LMBs have significant funding advantages, market extension mergers reduce competition in retail deposit markets. Our model’s predictions are broadly supported by previous empirical studies and also by our own statistical analysis of retail deposit and loan interest rates quoted by individual banks. Harming Depositors and Helping Borrowers: The Disparate Impact of Bank Consolidation
Professional and non-professional raters’ responsiveness to fluency and accuracy in L2 speech: An experimental approach

It is general practice to use rater judgments in speaking proficiency testing. However, it has been shown that raters’ knowledge and experience may influence their ratings, both in terms of leniency and varied focus on different aspects of speech. The purpose of this study is to identify raters’ relative responsiveness to fluency and linguistic accuracy in an occupational context, and to investigate whether professional and non-professional raters with a broad exposure to L2 speech demonstrate similar responsiveness to these two aspects. To this end, an experimental approach was applied. Fluency and accuracy were separated and systematically manipulated. As it is known that foreign accentedness of speech influences raters’ judgments, this factor was accounted for. Seventeen responses to a Dutch L2 exam in a vocational context were converted into four different versions manipulated for morpho-syntactical accuracy and/or fluency, and read by a Dutch L2 actor, resulting in 68 stimuli. Fifty-five professional raters and 41 non-trained, potential stakeholders holistically rated all stimuli. All raters had extensive prior exposure to spoken L2 Dutch. Linear mixed modeling showed that improvement of either fluency or accuracy led to significantly higher ratings by both linguistically trained and non-trained raters. This finding confirms that both groups perceive these aspects to be important features of speaking proficiency. Raters seemed to be more responsive to improvement of accuracy than of fluency. The linguistically non-trained raters seemed to appreciate the fluency improvement more than linguistically trained raters. The linguistically trained raters rewarded morpho-syntactical improvement relatively higher than the non-trained raters. This latter effect was explained by the finding that the linguistically trained raters seemed to be more preoccupied with accuracy, according to their responses to a questionnaire. This result suggests that raters with linguistic expertise were more attentive to accuracy whereas non-trained raters were relatively more attentive to fluency.
Computational approach of protein analysis using affinity chromatography: application to proteomics

Computerization is necessary to build the database of chromatography coupled mass spectrometric analytical data. On the basis of this proteomic data we can identify the proteins as biomarkers which are expressing dissimilarity between healthy and disease condition. Affinity chromatography is one of the fastest liquid chromato-graphic methods for the separation and purification of biomolecules due to its high molecular specificity. Proteomics and the tools used to identify and understand the biochemistry of proteins and pathways are in a new stage of development and evaluation. This article briefly reviews the computation of chromatography coupled mass spectrometric data and highlighting the role of affinity chromatography. Key words: Affinity chromatography, proteomics, computational aspects.
Narratives of Learning from Co-editing, Writing and Presenting Stories of Experience in Self-Study

Abstract In this self-study, we look at the contribution made towards our professional learning through an aspect of teacher education work that is not commonly featured in the research literature: exploring the implications of our work as co-editors of an international collection about teacher educators’ journeys of professional becoming. Through this self-study, we argue that this type of work is valuable to individuals and institutions in relation to its impact on the professional learning and career development of teacher educators. Adopting a narrative approach, we examined our experiences of co-editing the book and the associated activities such as conference presentations, to understand how this influenced our professional learning and identity as teacher educators. Findings include having a stronger sense of the evolution of our professional selves over time and greater insight and awareness of our strengths and uncertainties. A clearer perspective on our own career development and professional becoming was evident, and many parallels could be drawn between our experiences of professional becoming and those of the chapter authors in the edited book. We conclude that while activities such as book editing do not usually count in institutional metrics as outputs, they are nonetheless a significant opportunity for professional learning and make a contribution to knowledge and to teacher education practice, and should be recognised as such by institutions and colleagues.
Extracting Context-Rich Entailment Rules from Wikipedia Revision History

Recent work on Textual Entailment has shown a crucial role of knowledge to support entailment inferences. However, it has also been demonstrated that currently available entailment rules are still far from being optimal. We propose a methodology for the automatic acquisition of large scale context-rich entailment rules from Wikipedia revisions, taking advantage of the syntactic structure of entailment pairs to define the more appropriate linguistic constraints for the rule to be successfully applicable. We report on rule acquisition experiments on Wikipedia, showing that it enables the creation of an innovative (i.e. acquired rules are not present in other available resources) and good quality rule repository.
Targeting Sialic Acid Dependent and Independent Pathways of Invasion in Plasmodium falciparum

The pathology of malaria is a consequence of the parasitaemia which develops through the cyclical asexual replication of parasites in a patient's red blood cells. Multiple parasite ligand-erythrocyte receptor interactions must occur for successful Plasmodium invasion of the human red cell. Two major malaria ligand families have been implicated in these variable ligand-receptor interactions used by Plasmodium falciparum to invade human red cells: the micronemal proteins from the Erythrocyte Binding Ligands (EBL) family and the rhoptry proteins from the Reticulocyte binding Homolog (PfRH) family. Ligands from the EBL family largely govern the sialic acid (SA) dependent pathways of invasion and the RH family ligands (except for RH1) mediate SA independent invasion. In an attempt to dissect out the invasion inhibitory effects of antibodies against ligands from both pathways, we have used EBA-175 and RH5 as model members of each pathway. Mice were immunized with either region II of EBA-175 produced in Pichia pastoris or full-length RH5 produced by the wheat germ cell-free system, or a combination of the two antigens to look for synergistic inhibitory effects of the induced antibodies. Sera obtained from these immunizations were tested for native antigen recognition and for efficacy in invasion inhibition assays. Results obtained show promise for the potential use of such hybrid vaccines to induce antibodies that can block multiple parasite ligand-red cell receptor interactions and thus inhibit parasite invasion.