Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can Subclinical Infestation by Paralyzing Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae) Induce Immunity to Tick Paralysis in Sheep?

Abstract Cattle and sheep can develop immunity to paralysis caused by Dermacentor andersoni Stiles; however, this has been reported only in animals that were initially challenged with a high dose of ticks and exhibited clear symptoms of paralysis. Paralysis in sheep occurs in a dose-dependent fashion, with no paralysis occurring in sheep exposed to <0.2 ticks per kilogram sheep weight, and 100% paralysis in sheep exposed to >0.8 ticks per kilogram. This experiment was conducted to determine if sheep exposed to a low dose of ticks would also develop immunity to paralysis. Sheep were exposed to either a low (0.2 ticks per kilogram) or high dose of ticks (0.8 ticks per kilogram), then re-exposed to a second challenge of a paralyzing dose of ticks. All naïve sheep (eight of the eight) were paralyzed, while paralysis occurred in only four of the eight sheep previously exposed to a low dose, and one of the eight sheep previously exposed to a high dose. Results indicate that immunity can develop when sheep are exposed to a subclinical dose of paralyzing ticks, but in a smaller percentage of animals than those exposed to a high dose of ticks. Vaccine development perhaps remains the best option for nonacaricidal control of tick paralysis.
Integrative Review of Implementation Strategies for Translation of Research-Based Evidence by Nurses

Objectives: The purpose of this review was to synthesize and critique experimental and/or quasi-experimental research that has evaluated implementation strategies for translation of research-based evidence into nursing practice. Background: Successfully implementing evidence-based research can improve patient outcomes. Identifying successful implementation strategies is imperative to move research-based evidence into practice. Rationale: As implementation science gains popularity, it is imperative to understand the strategies that most effectively translate research-based evidence into practice. Description: The review used the CINAHL and MEDLINE (Ovid) databases. Articles were included if they were experimental and/or quasi-experimental research designs, were written in English, and measured nursing compliance to translation of research-based evidence. An independent review was performed to select and critique the included articles. Outcome: A wide array of interventions were completed, including visual cues, audit and feedback, educational meetings and materials, reminders, outreach, and leadership involvement. Because of the complex multimodal nature of the interventions and the variety of research topics, comparison across interventions was difficult. Conclusion: Many difficulties exist in determining what implementation strategies are most effective for translation of research-based evidence into practice by nurses. Implications: With these limited findings, further research is warranted to determine which implementation strategies most successfully translate research-based evidence into practice.
5‐Fluorouracil efficiently enhanced apoptosis induced by adenovirus‐mediated transfer of caspase‐8 in DLD‐1 colon cancer cells

In order to develop a safe and effective gene therapy for cancer, more powerful therapeutic genes must be selected and a gene transduction methodology needs to be devised that minimizes the total dose of vector required. We investigated the combination effect of 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU), a first‐choice drug for the treatment of colorectal cancer and adenovirus‐mediated transfer of caspase‐8 in DLD‐1 colon cancer cells.
Motion parallax processing in pigeon (Columba livia) pretectal neurons

In the visual system of invertebrates and vertebrates there are specialised groups of motion‐sensitive neurons, with large receptive fields, which are optimally tuned to respond to optic flow produced by the animals' movement through the 3‐D world. From their response characteristics, shared frame of reference with the vestibular or inertial system, and anatomical connections, these neurons have been implicated in the stabilisation of retinal images, the control of posture and balance, and the animal's motion trajectories through the world. Using standard electrophysiological techniques and computer‐generated stimuli, we show that some of these flow‐field neurons in the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali in pigeons appear to be processing motion parallax. Two large overlapping planes of random dots moving independently were used to simulate motion parallax, in which one with larger dots was moved fast and the other with smaller dots was moved slowly in the opposite direction. Their neural responses to these two superimposed planes were facilitated above those produced by a single plane of moving dots and those produced by two layers moving in the same direction. Furthermore, some of these neurons preferred backward motion in the visual field and others preferred forward motion, suggesting that they may separately code visual objects ‘nearer’ and ‘farther’ than the stabilised (‘on’) plane during forward translational motion. A simple system is proposed whereby the relative activity in ‘near’, ‘far’ and ‘on’ populations could code depth through motion parallax in a metameric manner similar to that employed to code color vision and stereopsis.
Can findings from randomized controlled trials of social skills training in autism spectrum disorder be generalized? The neglected dimension of external validity

Systematic reviews have traditionally focused on internal validity, while external validity often has been overlooked. In this study, we systematically reviewed determinants of external validity in the accumulated randomized controlled trials of social skills group interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. We extracted data clustered into six overarching themes: source population, included population, context, treatment provider, treatment intervention, and outcome. A total of 15 eligible randomized controlled trials were identified. The eligible population was typically limited to high-functioning school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, and the included population was predominantly male and Caucasian. Scant information about the recruitment of participants was provided, and details about treatment providers and settings were sparse. It was not evident from the trials to what extent acquired social skills were enacted in everyday life and maintained over time. We conclude that the generalizability of the accumulated evidence is unclear and that the determinants of external validity are often inadequately reported. At this point, more effectiveness-oriented randomized controlled trials of equally high internal and external validity are needed. More attention to the determinants of external validity is warranted when this new generation of randomized controlled trials are planned and reported. We provide a tentative checklist for this purpose.
Cellular and Molecular Biology of Candida albicans Estrogen Response

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is the most common etiological agent of vaginal candidiasis. Elevated host estrogen levels and the incidence of vaginal candidiasis are positively associated. Elevated estrogen levels may affect host and/or fungal cells. This study investigates the effect of 17-β-estradiol, 17-α-estradiol, ethynyl estradiol, and estriol on several C. albicans strains at concentrations ranging from 10−5 to 10−10 M. The addition of 17-β-estradiol or ethynyl estradiol to C. albicans cells caused an increase in the number of cells forming germ tubes and an increase in germ tube length in a dose- and strain-dependent manner. The addition of 17-α-estradiol or estriol did not have a significant effect on germ tube formation by the cultured cells. Exposure to exogenous estrogens did not significantly change the biomass of any C. albicans culture tested. The transcriptional profile of estrogen-treated C. albicans cells showed increased expression of CDR1 and CDR2 across several strain-estrogen concentration-time point combinations, suggesting that these genes are the most responsive to estrogen exposure. Analysis of strain DSY654, which lacks the CDR1 and CDR2 coding sequences, showed a significantly decreased number of germ tube-forming cells in the presence of 17-β-estradiol. PDR16 was the most highly up-regulated gene in strain DSY654 under these growth conditions. The cell biology and gene expression data from this study led to a model that proposes how components of the phospholipid and sterol metabolic pathways may interact to affect C. albicans germ tube formation and length.
Instructional set and physiological response to CO2 inhalation.

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have suggested that manipulations in patient instructions before inhalation of carbon dioxide (CO2) may blunt its anxiogenic effects. The authors examined the effects of a range of instructional types on panic rates and physiological responses to CO2 inhalation. METHOD Thirty-seven patients with panic disorder and 16 normal subjects were exposed to CO2 inhalation under one of three instructional conditions: 1) reassurance (reiterated safety assurances), 2) control dial (patients were instructed on using an operative dial to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the breathing canopy), and 3) basic instructions (standard information). Perceived breathlessness was measured with the Borg Scale of Respiratory Exertion. RESULTS Manipulation of instructional sets did not affect panic rates among patients. The reassurance condition, however, produced a significant reduction in perceived breathlessness. CONCLUSIONS CO2-induced panic is a robust biological effect that occurs independent of cognitive set changes, such as illusion of control or reassurance of safety. Conclusions drawn from this study are bolstered by the fact that it is methodologically rigorous: it had a large number of subjects, used random assignment to one of three instructions, included a full array of both subjective and biological measures, and included independent ratings.
Dietary PUFA for Preterm and Term Infants: Review of Clinical Studies

Human milk contains n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA (long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids), which are absent from many infant formulas. During neonatal life, there is a rapid accretion of AA (arachidonic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in infant brain, DHA in retina and of AA in the whole body. The DHA status of breast-fed infants is higher than that of formula-fed infants when formulas do not contain LCPUFA. Studies report that visual acuity of breast-fed infants is better than that of formula-fed infants, but other studies do not find a difference. Cognitive development of breast-fed infants is generally better, but many sociocultural confounding factors may also contribute to these differences. The effect of dietary LCPUFA on FA status, immune function, visual, cognitive, and motor functions has been evaluated in preterm and term infants. Plasma and RBC FA status of infants fed formulas supplemented with both n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA was closer to the status of breast-fed infants than to that of infants fed formulas containing no LCPUFA. Adding n-3 LCPUFA to preterm-infant formulas led to initial beneficial effects on visual acuity. Few data are available on cognitive function, but it seems that in preterm infants, feeding n-3 LCPUFA improved visual attention and cognitive development compared with infants receiving no LCPUFA. Term infants need an exogenous supply of AA and DHA to achieve similar accretion of fatty acid in plasma and RBC (red blood cell) in comparison to breast-fed infants. Fewer than half of all studies have found beneficial effects of LCPUFA on visual, mental, or psychomotor functions. Improved developmental scores at 18 mo of age have been reported for infants fed both AA and DHA. Growth, body weight, and anthropometrics of preterm and term infants fed formulas providing both n-3 and n-6 LCPUFA fatty acids is similar in most studies to that of infants fed formulas containing no LCPUFA. A larger double-blind multicenter randomized study has recently demonstrated improved growth and developmental scores in a long-term feeding study of preterm infants. Collectively, the body of literature suggests that LCPUFA is important to the growth and development of infants. Thus, for preterm infants we recommend LCPUFA intakes in the range provided by feeding of human milk typical of mothers in Western countries. This range can be achieved by a combination of AA and DHA, providing an AA to DHA ratio of approximately 1.5 and a DHA content of as much as 0.4%. Preterm infants may benefit from slightly higher levels of these fatty acids than term infants. In long-term studies, feeding more than 0.2% DHA and 0.3% AA improved the status of these fatty acids for many weeks after DHA; AA was no longer present in the formula, enabling a DHA and AA status more similar to that of infants fed human milk. The addition of LCPUFA in infant formulas for term infants, with appropriate regard for quantitative and qualitative qualities, is safe and will enable the formula-fed infant to achieve the same blood LCPUFA status as that of the breast-fed infant.
Acquiring Procedural Knowledge Historical Text

This paper proposes four models to manually acquire procedural and declarative knowledge based on procedural and declarative knowledge acquisition language (PDKAL). The method of transforming PDKAL to object language (OL) is also introduced for inference in the acquired knowledge base. Preliminary experiments show that the four models are this method is relatively easy to use and can improve the productivity of human knowledge engineers dramatically. Moreover, the acquired knowledge is more accurate compared with those obtained using the "frame-slot" method.
Somatic embryo initiation and germination in diploid cotton (Gossypium arboreum L.)

SummaryThe diploid cotton species can constitute a valuable gene pool for the more agronomically desirable cultivated tetraploid cultivars and offer better opportunities to study gene structure and function through gene knockouts. In order to exploit these advantages, a regeneration system is required to achieve these transformation-based goals. Carbohydrate source and concentration were evaluated to improve somatic embryo (SE) production and desiccation treatments to improve the conversion efficiency of SEs to plants in a diploid Gossypium arboreum accession, A2-9 (PI-529712). Improved SE numbers and their subsequent conversion into plantlets was achieved with a Murashige and Skoog (MS)/sucrose-based medium M2 [0.04M sucrose, 0.3 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA)] On this medium, 219 embryos per g initiated, and close to 11% of these embryos germinated into plantlets. Neither a 5-d desiccation treatment of embryogenic callus previously cultured in liquid medium nor filter paper insertion improved the numbers of SEs induced or their conversion to plantlets. A 3-d desiccation period resulted in improved plant regeneration. When immature G. arboreum SEs induced on M1 (0.2M glucose, 2.6 μM NAA, and 0.2 μM kinetin) medium underwent a 3-d desiccation treatment, 49% of these immature SEs were converted to plantlets after a 4-wk period on M2 medium. These improved results will help to pave the way for future genetic transformation and associated gene structure and function studies utilizing G. arboreum. These results, in particular the 3-d desiccation treatment, can also be incorporated into regeneration protocols to improve the regeneration efficiency of other Gossypium species.
Visual Analysis of Multiple Route Choices Based on General GPS Trajectories

There are often multiple routes between regions. Drivers choose different routes with different considerations. Such considerations, have always been a point of interest in the transportation area. Studies of route choice behaviour are usually based on small range experiments with a group of volunteers. However, the experiment data is quite limited in its spatial and temporal scale as well as the practical reliability. In this work, we explore the possibility of studying route choice behaviour based on general trajectory dataset, which is more realistic in a wider scale. We develop a visual analytic system to help users handle the large-scale trajectory data, compare different route choices, and explore the underlying reasons. Specifically, the system consists of: 1. the interactive trajectory filtering which supports graphical trajectory query; 2. the spatial visualization which gives an overview of all feasible routes extracted from filtered trajectories; 3. the factor visual analytics which provides the exploration and hypothesis construction of different factors’ impact on route choice behaviour, and the verification with an integrated route choice model. Applying to real taxi GPS dataset, we report the system’s performance and demonstrate its effectiveness with three cases.
Patient reported outcome measures in male incontinence surgery.

INTRODUCTION Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) were used to evaluate outcomes of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) and the AdVance™ (American Medical Systems, Minnetonka, MN, US) male sling system (AVMS) for the symptomatic management of male stress urinary incontinence. METHODS All male patients with stress urinary incontinence referred to our specialist clinic over a two-year period completed the ICIQ-UI SF (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire on Urinary Incontinence Short Form) and the ICIQ-MLUTS LF (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire on Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Long Form) at consultation as well as at subsequent follow-up appointments. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test for non-parametric paired data was used for pre and postoperative comparisons. The chi-squared test was used for categorical variables. RESULTS Thirty-seven patients (forty surgical cases) completed a preoperative and at least one follow-up questionnaire. There was a statistically significant improvement in PROMs postoperatively, regardless of mode of surgery (p<0.01). Analysis of the ICIQ-MLUTS LF showed that patients with higher preoperative scores (>25) had greater improvement with an AUS than with the AVMS (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS This prospective study shows that completion and collection of PROMs as part of routine clinical practice is achievable and useful in the assessment of male stress incontinence surgery. PROMs are important instruments to assess effectiveness of healthcare intervention and they are useful adjuncts in surgical studies.
Patients in a Persistent Vegetative State Attitudes and Reactions of Family Members

Patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) constituted approximately 3% of the population in four Milwaukee nursing homes. In order to understand family members' attitudes and reactions toward such patients, 33 (92%) of 36 family members of patients in PVS contacted were studied. The age of the patients ranged from 19 to 95 with a mean age of 73.4 ± 17.2 years, and family members' ages ranged from 41 to 89 with a mean age of 61.8 ± 3.3 years. The etiology of the PVS varied from dementia to cerebral trauma. The mean duration of the PVS was 54 ± 8.4 months (range 12 to 204). Family members reported that they visited patients 260 times during the first year following the onset of the PVS and were still visiting at a rate of 209 visits yearly at the time of the interview. There was no significant correlation between the frequency of the family members visits and the duration of the PVS, the patient's or family member's age, or the family member's relationship to the patient. Ninety percent of patients were considered by family members to have some awareness of pain, light or darkness, environment, taste, verbal conversation, or the family member's presence. Most family members thought they understood the patient's medical condition, and the majority did not expect the patient to improve. Nevertheless, the majority of family members wanted the patient to undergo therapeutic interventions, including transfer to the acute hospital and surgery. Concerning tube feeding, 29 of 33 family members retrospectively agreed with the initial decision to insert the tube, and only six disagreed prospectively with continuing the tube feeding as long as oral feeding was not possible.
Some effort for some: Further evidence that scalar implicatures are effortful

Under the assumption of the principle of cooperation (Grice, 1989), a statement such as “some eels are fish” is thought to be false since it contains less information than is considered sufficient. However, the statement is logically sound since the meaning of “some” is compatible with “all”. Currently, the primary interpretation of such underinformative statements remains subject to debate. According to Levinson (2000), the pragmatic “some but not all” interpretation is the default interpretation, while others (e.g., Sperber & Wilson, 1995) argue that this pragmatic interpretation only comes to the fore when relevant within the context and is thus considered secondary to the logical “some and perhaps all” interpretation. In this study, three factors that may influence the answer pattern are studied: task load, working memory capacity, and repetition of the statements. In Experiment 1, we used a secondary task paradigm to manipulate the cognitive load under which a number of underinformative statements had to be judged. We observed that for participants with a rather limited working memory span it is harder to reach a pragmatic interpretation under cognitive load. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the repetition of the statements. We observed that with a higher number of filler statements, participants produced fewer consistent answer patterns. This study provides further evidence against the automaticity of the pragmatic interpretation: It shows that the pragmatic interpretation requires more cognitive effort than the logical interpretation and that increasing the number of filler statements inhibits the development of a response strategy.
PICHAFF&#178; &#8212; A Hierarchical Parallel SAT Solver

We present a hierarchical distributed SAT procedure for microchip PIC microcontrollers. The algorithm is an adaption of the state-of-the-art solver CHAFF optimised for the limited resources of the microchip processors. The underlying hardware environment is a special multiprocessor system based on PC ISA slot cards, each of them holding up to 9 PIC microcontrollers. We propose a novel work stealing scheme, which is able to manage multiple of these multiprocessor cards in parallel. Besides discussing technical aspects we also point out the efficiency of our approach by a set of experiments
Incidents Relating to Arterial Cannulation as Identified in 7525 Reports Submitted to the Australian Incident Monitoring Study (AIMS—ICU)

Arterial cannulation is frequently used in the critical care environment. Literature focuses on insertion techniques and complications. This report utilized data from the Australian Incident Monitoring Study (AIMS-ICU) national database to identify common problems and contributing factors associated with the use and maintenance of arterial lines. A review of narratives, keywords and contributing factors yielded 251 reports outlining 376 incidents. Of these, 15% describing line insertion problems, 66% line use and maintenance problems and 19% patient injuries. Inadequate line securing, accidental line dislodgement, incorrect set-up, distal ischaemia and infection featured prominently. As a result of the incident, 49% of patients involved suffered no ill effect, 28% minor physiological complications and 15% suffered major adverse effects. Multiple contributing factors were selected for each report, with lack of knowledge, rule-based errors, high unit activity, and lack of support staff or supervision selected most frequently. This study highlights the need to employ meticulous insertion technique, line set-up, securing, frequent line assessment and the early removal of lines no longer essential to patient care. Support and education of staff as well as the development of protocols are important for the safe use of arterial lines.