Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous Cholecystostomy Versus Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Patients With Acute Cholecystitis and Failed Conservative Management: A Matched-Pair Analysis

Introduction: The role of percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) or laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in the management of patients with acute cholecystitis presenting beyond 72 hours from the onset of symptoms is unclear and undefined. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the outcomes of PC or LC in the management of these patients, who failed 24 hours of initial nonoperative management. Patients and Methods: A retrospective chart review between January 1999 and October 2010 revealed 261 patients with acute calculus cholecystitis beyond 72 hours from onset of symptoms who failed initial nonoperative management. Twenty-three of 261 (8.8%) underwent PC and were compared with a similar 1:1 matched cohort of LC, matched using sex, age, race, BMI, diabetes, and sepsis to minimize the influence of treatment selection bias. Results: There was no significant difference between PC versus LC regarding morbidity [4/23 (17%) vs. 2/23 (9%), P=0.665] and mortality [3/23 (13%) vs. 0/23 (0%), P=0.233]. The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the PC group (15.9±12.6 vs. 7.6±4.9 d, P=0.005). Conclusion: In this matched cohort analysis, PC failed to show a significant reduction in morbidity compared with LC and was associated with a significantly longer hospital stay.
Composing with Genetic Algorithms

Presented is an application of genetic algorithms to the problem of composing music, in which GAs are used to produce a set of data filters that identify acceptable material from the output of a stochastic music generator. The algorithmic composition system variations is described and musical examples of its out- put are given. Also discussed briefly is the system' s application to microtonal music.
Milieu therapy for neglected children: Treatment in a caring relationship

Abstract The central thesis of this paper is that treatment of neglected children can better take place in a caring relationship than in psychotherapy or analysis. In order to create the basis for this idea, Part 1 introduces a milieu therapy for neglected children, developed by the author. In Part 2 of the article, it is proposed that treatment in a caring relationship is in line with the child's dependence on a caring person. It is also argued that the traditional distinction between problems in the child's environment and internal psychological difficulties seems imprecise. Instead, it is proposed that a problem has both an external and an internal aspect. This supports the idea that it may be possible to solve problems that are traditionally considered internal through environmental strategies, for example milieu therapy. The article is hypothesis-generating and builds upon clinical experience inspired by works of, among others, Erikson, Bowlby, Winnicott, and Fonagy and collaborators. Part 1 of the article is the first presentation in English of the main points of the author's books on milieu therapy. The ideas in Part 2 are published here for the first time.
Signaling and Regulation Interplay Between pVHL and mTORC 1 Pathways in Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) is implicated in cell growth control and is extensively regulated. We previously reported that in response to hypoxia, mTORC1 is inhibited by the protein regulated in development and DNA damage response 1 (REDD1). REDD1 is upregulated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1, and forced REDD1 expression is sufficient to inhibit mTORC1. REDD1-induced mTORC1 inhibition is dependent on a protein complex formed by the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)1 and 2 (TSC2) proteins. In clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene is frequently inactivated leading to constitutive activation of HIF-2 and/or HIF-1, which may be expected to upregulate REDD1 and inhibit mTORC1. However, mTORC1 is frequently activated in ccRCC, and mTORC1 inhibitors are effective against this tumor type; a paradox herein examined. REDD1 was upregulated in VHL-deficient ccRCC by in silico microarray analyses, as well as by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Vhl disruption in a mouse model was sufficient to induce Redd1. Using ccRCC-derived cell lines, we show that REDD1 upregulation in tumors is VHL dependent and that both HIF-1 and HIF-2 are, in a cell-type-dependent manner, recruited to, and essential for, REDD1 induction. Interestingly, whereas mTORC1 is responsive to REDD1 in some tumors, strategies have evolved in others, such as mutations disrupting TSC1, to subvert mTORC1 inhibition by REDD1. Sequencing analyses of 77 ccRCCs for mutations in TSC1, TSC2, and REDD1, using PTEN as a reference, implicate the TSC1 gene, and possibly REDD1, as tumor suppressors in sporadic ccRCC. Understanding how ccRCCs become refractory to REDD1-induced mTORC1 inhibition should shed light into the development of ccRCC and may aid in patient selection for molecular-targeted therapies. Mol Cancer Res; 9(9); 1255–65. 2011 AACR.
Multi-prover interactive proofs: how to remove intractability assumptions

Quite complex cryptographic machinery has been developed based on the assumption that one-way functions exist, yet we know of only a few possible such candidates. It is important at this time to find alternative foundations to the design of secure cryptography. We introduce a new model of generalized interactive proofs as a step in this direction. We prove that all NP languages have perfect zero-knowledge proof-systems in this model, without making any intractability assumptions. The generalized interactive-proof model consists of two computationally unbounded and untrusted provers, rather than one, who jointly agree on a strategy to convince the verifier of the truth of an assertion and then engage in a polynomial number of message exchanges with the verifier in their attempt to do so. To believe the validity of the assertion, the verifier must make sure that the two provers can not communicate with each other during the course of the proof process. Thus, the complexity assumptions made in previous work, have been traded for a physical separation between the two provers. We call this new model the multi-prover interactive-proof model, and examine its properties and applicability to cryptography.
Aplicação da versão brasileira da escala de avaliação clínica da demência (Clinical Dementia Rating - CDR) em amostras de pacientes com demência

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was the analysis of agreement between the CDR scale with diagnostic criteria and mini mental state examination (MMSE), as well as correlation with Blessed scale, in a sample of Southern Brazilian patients. METHOD: The CDR scale was cross-sectionaly evaluated in 269 dementia patients Alzheimers disease (AD) vascular dementia, and questionable. The NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD and the NINDS-AIREN for probable vascular dementia were the gold standard. The MMSE, the Blessed scale, the Hachinski ischemic score, and a battery of cognitive tests were also applied. RESULTS: The agreement to gold standard was good (kappa=0.73), while to MMSE categorized was moderate (kappa=0.53). A significant correlation with the Blessed scale (r=0.96; p=0.001) was observed. Education and age were similar among CDR categories. CONCLUSION: The global score agreement of the CDR scale with the gold standard was good, and with the MMSE was moderate. We also observed face validity for dementia severity. No impact of education was observed upon CDR global scores.
The Influence of Genotype and Environment on Small RNA Profiles in Grapevine Berry

Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction between the genetic composition and the environment is crucial for modern viticulture. We approached this issue by focusing on the small RNA transcriptome in grapevine berries of the two varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, growing in adjacent vineyards in three different environments. Four different developmental stages were studied and a total of 48 libraries of small RNAs were produced and sequenced. Using a proximity-based pipeline, we determined the general landscape of small RNAs accumulation in grapevine berries. We also investigated the presence of known and novel miRNAs and analyzed their accumulation profile. The results showed that the distribution of small RNA-producing loci is variable between the two cultivars, and that the level of variation depends on the vineyard. Differently, the profile of miRNA accumulation mainly depends on the developmental stage. The vineyard in Riccione maximizes the differences between the varieties, promoting the production of more than 1000 specific small RNA loci and modulating their expression depending on the cultivar and the maturation stage. In total, 89 known vvi-miRNAs and 33 novel vvi-miRNA candidates were identified in our samples, many of them showing the accumulation profile modulated by at least one of the factors studied. The in silico prediction of miRNA targets suggests their involvement in berry development and in secondary metabolites accumulation such as anthocyanins and polyphenols.
Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Self-Report Family Inventory: Findings Based on a Longitudinal Study

Objective: The psychometric properties of the Chinese Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI) over time were examined. Method: The Chinese SFI was administered to 756 Chinese parents and their adolescent children (N = 378) on two occasions separated by 1 year. Results: The Chinese SFI was internally consistent in different samples at different times. Factor analyses revealed that two factors were abstracted from the scale (Family Health and Family Pathology), and they could be replicated in different samples at different times. Conclusions: The temporal stability of the psychometric properties of the Chinese SFI is supported by the present findings. This study demonstrates the importance of utilizing longitudinal data based on different samples to examine the psychometric properties of measures of psychosocial and family functioning in the social work context.
A Tractable Rule Language in the Modal and Description Logics that Combine CPDL with Regular Grammar Logic

Combining CPDL (Propositional Dynamic Logic with Converse) and regular grammar logic results in an expressive modal logic denoted by CPDLreg. This logic covers TEAMLOG, a logical formalism used to express properties of agents' cooperation in terms of beliefs, goals and intentions. It can also be used as a description logic for expressing terminological knowledge, in which both regular role inclusion axioms and CPDL-like role constructors are allowed. In this paper, we develop an expressive and tractable rule language called Horn-CPDLreg. As a special property, this rule language allows the concept constructor "universal restriction" to appear on the left hand side of general concept inclusion axioms. We use a special semantics for Horn-CPDLreg that is based on pseudo-interpretations. It is called the constructive semantics and coincides with the traditional semantics when the concept constructor "universal restriction" is disallowed on the left hand side of concept inclusion axioms or when the language is used as an epistemic formalism and the accessibility relations are serial. We provide an algorithm with PTIME data complexity for checking whether a knowledge base in Horn-CPDLreg has a pseudo-model. This shows that the instance checking problem in Horn-CPDLreg with respect to the constructive semantics has PTIME data complexity.
Increased Cancer-Related Mortality for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Who Use Sulfonylureas or Insulin

OBJECTIVE Numerous studies have identified an increased risk of cancer in type 2 diabetes. We explored the association between antidiabetic therapies and cancer-related mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, postulating that agents that increase insulin levels might promote cancer. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a population-based cohort study using administrative databases from Saskatchewan Health. Cancer-related mortality was compared among inception cohorts of metformin users and sulfonylurea monotherapy users. Multivariate Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of cancer-related mortality, after adjusting for age, sex, insulin use, and chronic disease score. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS We identified 10,309 new users of metformin or sulfonylureas with an average follow-up of 5.4 +/- 1.9 years (means +/- SD). The mean age for the cohort was 63.4 +/- 13.3 years, and 55% were men. Cancer mortality over follow-up was 4.9% (162 of 3,340) for sulfonylurea monotherapy users, 3.5% (245 of 6,969) for metformin users, and 5.8% (84 of 1,443) for subjects who used insulin. After multivariate adjustment, the sulfonylurea cohort had greater cancer-related mortality compared with the metformin cohort (adjusted HR 1.3 [95% CI 1.1-1.6]; P = 0.012). Insulin use was associated with an adjusted HR of cancer-related mortality of 1.9 (95% CI 1.5-2.4; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Patients with type 2 diabetes exposed to sulfonylureas and exogenous insulin had a significantly increased risk of cancer-related mortality compared with patients exposed to metformin. It is uncertain whether this increased risk is related to a deleterious effect of sulfonylurea and insulin or a protective effect of metformin or due to some unmeasured effect related to both choice of therapy and cancer risk.
Revalidation of a Gender-Informed Security Reclassification Scale for Women Inmates

Amid calls for gender-informed classification measures for women offenders, the Correctional Service of Canada developed and field tested the Security Reclassification Scale for Women (SRSW). In 2005, the SRSW was implemented nationally to anchor security level review decisions for federally sentenced women offenders. To reassess the scale's psychometric properties, this study used the population of 448 consecutive security reviews conducted since the scale's implementation. Results demonstrated that the SRSW continues to be a reliable measure with satisfactory convergent and predictive validity. Moreover, SRSW security classification recommendations equaled or outperformed correctional caseworker recommendations on all indices of validity.
Mnemonic Mediator Retrieval at Testing by Preschool and Kindergarten Children.

PRESSLEY, MICHAEL, and MAC FADYEN, JANET. Mnemonic Mediator Retrieval at Testing by Preschool and Kindergarten Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54, 474-479. In the experiments reported here, preschool and kindergarten children were presented 18 paired associates to learn. Mnemonic + retrieval subjects were provided interactive pictures of the paired items and were instructed at testing to retrieve the mediators. Mnemonic subjects were provided the interactive pictures but were not given test-time mediator retrieval instructions. Control subjects were presented separate pictures. At the preschool level, mnemonic + retrieval subjects remembered more paired associations than subjects in either of the other 2 conditions, whose mean recall did not differ significantly. The recall of kindergarten mnemonic + retrieval and mnemonic subjects did not differ significantly, and subjects in both conditions remembered more than control subjects. The results are relevant to instructional issues surrounding the use of provided elaborative mediators with 3-5-year-olds. They also corroborate results from other studies documenting that preschool children often evidence retrieval deficiencies.
Ethnography in social work practice and policy

Ethnography affords social workers a powerful and unique vehicle for obtaining an in-depth, contextualized understanding of clients’ perspectives and experiences necessary for effective social work practice and advocacy. It also carries relatively unique risks. Unlike other forms of social inquiry such as surveys, interviews and analysis of administrative databases, a hallmark of ethnographic research is sustained engagement in participants’ lives. Unlike ethnographic inquiry in other disciplines, for example, in developmental psychology or anthropology, social work research has a strong social justice component. Hence, participants in social work ethnographies often are from vulnerable, marginalized or stigmatized groups and may have little exposure to research. We use several studies conducted in the US and globally as illustrative cases of both the opportunities and challenges of ethnography in social work. The first case highlights the understanding gained through ethnographic inquiry necessary for designing culturally-sensitive interventions, as well as the risks these in-depth, engaged methods may pose to traumatized and marginalized participants. The second case illustrates the valuable interplay of insider and outsider perspectives in ethnography for international social work, as well as the challenges of communicating with participants, many of whom have significant unmet needs about complex and unfamiliar role boundaries. The third case illustrates the importance to social work practice of cross-cultural conversations, as well as the ethical challenges of entering into the lives of stigmatized individuals. Strategies for maximizing the opportunities and minimizing the risks of ethnography in social work research are discussed.
A 5 GHz BiCMOS I/Q VCO with 360° variable phase outputs using the vector sum method

A 5 GHz in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with multiple independently tunable phase outputs is presented. The VCO is realized using an LC oscillator with a ring structure and has a tuning range of between 4.6 and 5.3 GHz. The variable phase shift is achieved by varying the amplitudes of the two quadrature signals independently and then combining these signals together. Using multiple Gilbert cells as variable gain amplifiers (VGAs), multiple tunable phase outputs are achieved using only a single coupled I/Q VCO. The entire circuit is designed using a 3.3 V SiGe BiCMOS process. This VCO can be used as a phase shifter in adaptive phase array antenna systems, whereby the beam is formed by controlling the phase of individual antenna elements.
Getting a Feel for Price Affect: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Investigation of Consumers' Emotional Responses to Price Information

Behavioral pricing research is cognitively biased. Therefore, the research agenda for this paper is to examine consumers' emotional responses to price information, or price affect. A conceptual framework of price affect based on appraisal theory is proposed. Moreover, a psychometric measure of price affect capturing positive and negative emotions is derived. A field experiment involving N = 1533 consumers reveals that a price increase leads to changes in price affect. Also, negative price affect is related to passive consumer behavior, whereas positive price affect is associated with proactive consumer behavior. Yet, a price increase reduces the importance of price affect in predicting consumer behavior. In addition, both price cognitions and price affect mediate the effect of a price increase on consumer behavior. Consistent with appraisal theory, a price increase exerts its causal influence on price affect through changes in price cognitions. Similarly, price affect mediates the effect of price cognitions on consumer behavior. Finally, price affect improves the prediction of consumer behavior beyond price cognitions. Results suggest that price affect is a stand alone, previously overlooked predictor of consumer behavior. Implications are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Scanning visual images generated from verbal descriptions

Abstract Mental scanning studies have consistently shown that the longer the distance between two points of an imaged configuration, the longer the scanning time for this distance. In typical mental scanning experiments, the images explored during the scanning task reproduce configurations which have been perceptually processed by subjects in a previous learning phase. In the present study, this condition was replicated and extended to a new condition where subjects scanned over images they had elaborated from the verbal description of a spatial configuration. This condition produced a pattern of results highly similar to those obtained in classic experiments, i.e. a linear relationship between distances and scanning times. With additional learning of the verbal description, the correlation coefficient increased, and scanning times decreased, both reaching values comparable to those obtained in the condition involving perceptually based images. These findings support the assumption that the mechanisms gov.
Attributions of Responsibility for Rape: Differences Across Familiarity of Situation, Gender and Acceptance of Rape Myths

In 2004 in Australia, controversy over the alleged involvement of elite footballers in incidents of sexual assault highlighted a tendency to denigrate the victims and excuse the perpetrators. To investigate whether rape myths were prevalent enough to explain this public response, 102 university students were surveyed for their beliefs and determinations of blame in rape situations. Although there was a gender difference in the rates of rape myth acceptance, with males more likely to accept these beliefs, these were not evident in decisions about victim blame or perpetrator blame. However, males and high rape myth acceptors were significantly more likely to minimize the seriousness of the rape situation. These effects increased with familiarity depicted in the situation.
Estimating the Intangible Victim Costs of Violent Crime

Current estimates of the intangible costs of violent crime, such as the pain, grief and suffering experienced by victims, are not very robust. This paper sets out the different methods that can be used to provide more defensible cost estimates, and that use data that are currently available. One of these methods involves estimating the number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) that victims of crime lose. The estimates suggest that rape results in the biggest losses, followed (in descending order) by: other wounding, common assault, serious wounding, murder, robbery and sexual assault.
Towards subjectifying text clustering

Although it is common practice to produce only a single clustering of a dataset, in many cases text documents can be clustered along different dimensions. Unfortunately, not only do traditional text clustering algorithms fail to produce multiple clusterings of a dataset, the only clustering they produce may not be the one that the user desires. In this paper, we propose a simple active clustering algorithm that is capable of producing multiple clusterings of the same data according to user interest. In comparison to previous work on feedback-oriented clustering, the amount of user feedback required by our algorithm is minimal. In fact, the feedback turns out to be as simple as a cursory look at a list of words. Experimental results are very promising: our system is able to generate clusterings along the user-specified dimensions with reasonable accuracies on several challenging text classification tasks, thus providing suggestive evidence that our approach is viable.
Beyond “East and West” Nishida's Universalism and Postcolonial Critique

During the 1930s and 1940s, many Japanese intellectuals resisted Western cultural imperialism. This theoretical movement was unfortunately complicit with wartime nationalism. Kitaro Nishida, the founder of modern Japanese philosophy and the leading figure of the Kyoto School, has been the focus of a controversy as to whether his philosophy was inherently nationalist or not. Nishida's defenders claim that his philosophical “universalism” was incompatible with the particularistic nationalism of Japan's imperialist state. From the standpoint of postcolonial critique, it is argued that this defense is insufficient. Philosophical universalism is not in itself anti-imperialist, but can in fact contribute to imperialist ideology.