Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Cross-Sectional Study of Barriers to Personal Health Record Use among Patients Attending a Safety-Net Clinic

Background Personal health records (PHR) may improve patients' health by providing access to and context for health information. Among patients receiving care at a safety-net HIV/AIDS clinic, we examined the hypothesis that a mental health (MH) or substance use (SU) condition represents a barrier to engagement with web-based health information, as measured by consent to participate in a trial that provided access to personal (PHR) or general (non-PHR) health information portals and by completion of baseline study surveys posted there. Methods Participants were individually trained to access and navigate individualized online accounts and to complete study surveys. In response to need, during accrual months 4 to 12 we enhanced participant training to encourage survey completion with the help of staff. Using logistic regression models, we estimated odds ratios for study participation and for survey completion by combined MH/SU status, adjusted for levels of computer competency, on-study training, and demographics. Results Among 2,871 clinic patients, 70% had MH/SU conditions, with depression (38%) and methamphetamine use (17%) most commonly documented. Middle-aged patients and those with a MH/SU condition were over-represented among study participants (N = 338). Survey completion was statistically independent of MH/SU status (OR, 1.85 [95% CI, 0.93–3.66]) but tended to be higher among those with MH/SU conditions. Completion rates were low among beginner computer users, regardless of training level (<50%), but adequate among advanced users (>70%). Conclusions Among patients attending a safety-net clinic, MH/SU conditions were not barriers to engagement with web-based health information. Instead, level of computer competency was useful for identifying individuals requiring substantial computer training in order to fully participate in the study. Intensive on-study training was insufficient to enable beginner computer users to complete study surveys.
FOCAL BACTERIAL MENINGITIS FOLLOWING ASCENDING BITE WOUND INFECTION LEADING TO PARAPARESIS IN A CAPTIVE CALIFORNIA SEA LION (ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS)

Abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on a 15-yr-old captive female California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) with a 2-wk history of progressive paraparesis and a 9-mo history of exudative skin lesion on the left thoracic wall. Magnetic resonance images showed a well-defined muscle infiltrating lesion ventrolateral to the seventh cervical to the third thoracic vertebra on the left side, which extended through the left intervertebral foramina C7 to T3 into the vertebral canal, causing spinal cord compression and displacement as well as inflammation of the spinal cord and nerves. This lesion surprisingly caused no forelimb deficits. Differential diagnoses included abscess formation or neoplasia. Pathologic examination revealed chronic focal purulent meningitis associated with widespread paraspinal fistulous inflammation originating from a chronic dermal ulcer. Mainly Escherichia coli var. haemolytica and Clostridium perfringens were identified as the underlying agents.
Sphingosine kinase-1 Enhances Resistance to Apoptosis through Activation of PI 3 K / Akt / NF-κ B Pathway in Human Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

1 State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Department of Experimental Research, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, China 2 Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China 3 Department of Biochemistry, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China 4 Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
Columnar Specificity of Microvascular Oxygenation and Volume Responses: Implications for Functional Brain Mapping

Cortical neurons with similar properties are grouped in columnar structures and supplied by matching vascular networks. The hemodynamic response to neuronal activation, however, is not well described on a fine spatial scale. We investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of microvascular responses to neuronal activation in rat barrel cortex using optical intrinsic signal imaging and spectroscopy. Imaging was performed at 570 nm to provide functional maps of cerebral blood volume (CBV) changes and at 610 nm to estimate oxygenation changes. To emphasize parenchymal rather than large vessel contributions to the functional hemodynamic responses, we developed an ANOVA-based statistical analysis technique. Perfusion-based maps were compared with underlying neuroanatomy with cytochrome oxidase staining. Statistically determined CBV responses localized accurately to individually stimulated barrel columns and could resolve neighboring columns with a resolution better than 400 μm. Both CBV and early oxygenation responses extended beyond anatomical boundaries of single columns, but this vascular point spread did not preclude spatial specificity. These results indicate that microvascular flow control structures providing targeted flow increases to metabolically active neuronal columns also produce finely localized changes in CBV. This spatial specificity, along with the high contrast/noise ratio, makes the CBV response an attractive mapping signal. We also found that functional oxygenation changes can achieve submillimeter specificity not only during the transient deoxygenation (“initial dip”) but also during the early part of the hyperoxygenation. We, therefore, suggest that to optimize hemodynamic spatial specificity, appropriate response timing (using ≤2-3 sec changes) is more important than etiology (oxygenation or volume).
Inexact point pattern matching algorithm based on Relative Shape Context and probabilistic relaxation labelling

The currently known point pattern matching algorithms generally performs poorly when the two point patterns to be matched are not isomorphic. To improve the matching performance of the point pattern matching methods for non-isomorphic point patterns, a novel and robust inexact point pattern matching algorithm that combines with the invariant feature and probabilistic relaxation labelling is proposed. A new point-set based invariant feature, Relative Shape Context (RSC), is proposed firstly. Using the test statistic of relative shape context descriptor's matching scores as the foundation of compatibility coefficients, the new support function are constructed based on the compatibility coefficients. Finally, the correct matching results are achieved by using the probabilistic relaxation labelling and imposing the bijective constraints required by the overall correspondence mapping. Experiments on both synthetic point-sets and real image data show that the proposed algorithm is effective and robust.
The Critical Period Hypothesis in Second Language Acquisition: A Statistical Critique and a Reanalysis

In second language acquisition research, the critical period hypothesis (cph) holds that the function between learners' age and their susceptibility to second language input is non-linear. This paper revisits the indistinctness found in the literature with regard to this hypothesis's scope and predictions. Even when its scope is clearly delineated and its predictions are spelt out, however, empirical studies–with few exceptions–use analytical (statistical) tools that are irrelevant with respect to the predictions made. This paper discusses statistical fallacies common in cph research and illustrates an alternative analytical method (piecewise regression) by means of a reanalysis of two datasets from a 2010 paper purporting to have found cross-linguistic evidence in favour of the cph. This reanalysis reveals that the specific age patterns predicted by the cph are not cross-linguistically robust. Applying the principle of parsimony, it is concluded that age patterns in second language acquisition are not governed by a critical period. To conclude, this paper highlights the role of confirmation bias in the scientific enterprise and appeals to second language acquisition researchers to reanalyse their old datasets using the methods discussed in this paper. The data and R commands that were used for the reanalysis are provided as supplementary materials.
A Novel Genetic-Fuzzy Power Controller with Feedback for Interference Mitigation in Wireless Body Area Networks

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) are an emerging technology for short-range wireless communication inside, on or around the human body, mainly for medical applications. A WBAN's scarcest resource is power. Due to the mobility of WBANs as well as the limited number of available channels, signals of neighboring WBANs can cause interference that may severely degrade the reliability and performance of the system and lead to more power consumption. In this paper, we propose a fast converging fuzzy power controller (FPC) with feedback whose inputs are the current interference power level, Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise (SINR) and the current transmission power level to provide interference mitigation in WBANs. We utilize a genetic algorithm to design and optimize the FPC to simultaneously maximize capacity, minimize power consumption and minimize convergence time. We compare the performance of the proposed approach with two game-theory power control approaches. Our simulation results show that compared to these other approaches, the proposed FPC provides a substantial saving in power consumption as well as quick convergence that is independent of the number of nodes in the system, while sacrificing only a small amount of capacity.
Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of childhood and adolescence: results of a treatment stratified for biologic subtypes and stage--a report of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Group.

PURPOSE To prove the efficacy of a treatment stratified according to histology for children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including acute B-cell leukemia (B-ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS From October 1986 to March 1990, 302 assessable patients, 0.6 to 17.8 years of age, with newly diagnosed NHL were enrolled onto study ALL/NHL-BFM 86. Fifty percent of patients had Burkitt-type lymphomas, including B-ALL; 24% had lymphoblastic lymphoma; 18% had diffuse large-cell lymphoma; and 8% had an NHL not further classified. Therapy group B included Burkitt's-type lymphomas, B-ALL, and most large-cell lymphomas including Ki-1 anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. Patients with stage I and II disease resected received three, while all others received six, 5-day therapy courses (dexamethasone, methotrexate [MTX] 0.5 g/m2 [5 g/m2 for stage IV and B-ALL], and intrathecal [IT] therapy in each course, plus ifosfamide, cytarabine, and etoposide alternating with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin). Therapy for group non-B patients (lymphoblastic lymphoma and pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma [PTCL]) consisted of a Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) acute lymphoblastic leukemia protocol, including cranial irradiation for advanced stage. Local therapy was restricted to patients with incomplete tumor regression. RESULTS The probabilities of event-free survival (pEFS) at 7 years were 80% +/- 2% for the whole group, 81% +/- 3% for group B (n = 225), and 78% +/- 5% for group non-B (n = 77) with a follow-up duration of 3.6 to 7 years (median 5 years). Treatment results were comparable between NHL subtypes, except for PTCL, in which three of four patients suffered from relapse. Local disease manifestations were the most frequent site of failure. CONCLUSION This therapy strategy provided patients of all NHL subtypes with an equally high chance to survive event-free, except patients with PTCL. With reduced systemic failure, local tumor control may become more important.
Social Climbing: A Contextual Approach to Understanding the Effects of Social Hierarchy on Individual Cognition and Behavior

Power and status hierarchies are ubiquitous in human society. Although a significant amount of evidence suggests that people seek power and status, there is a general emphasis in the extant literature on hierarchy acceptance and reinforcement. This dissertation examines the actions people take to challenge and modify the hierarchies of which they are a part, particularly in response to structural characteristics of those hierarchies. Chapter 1 introduces the central concepts investigated in the dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the effects of status hierarchy dispersion and legitimacy on group members' behaviors. Two studies indicate that hierarchy dispersion increases individuals' motivation to attain high status, particularly in hierarchies perceived to be illegitimate, leading to status challenges, which are detrimental for group performance. Chapter 3 investigates the interaction of power and legitimacy on the tendency to conform to social norms. Whereas legitimate power decreases conformity to norms, illegitimate power increases conformity, compared to being powerless. Chapter 4 examines how people value power and status distinctly. There is a general tendency for people to place greater importance on status, defined as the respect they receive from others, compared to power, the control they have over valuable resources. This is moderated by gender, with men tending to value power more than women, and women valuing status more than men. Furthermore, whereas legitimacy does not change the value of having power, legitimate status is significantly more valuable than illegitimate status. Chapter 5 captures common themes across the projects, identifies implications for researchers and organizations, and highlights additional questions that should be addressed in future research.
Synthesis of Controllers for Stylized Planar Bipedal Walking

We present a method for computing controllers for stable planar-biped walking gaits that follow a particular style. The desired style is specified with a kinematic target trajectory that may or may not be physically realizable. A nearest-neighbor controller representation is used and its free parameters are optimized using a local parameter search technique. The optimization function is constructed by integrating a mass-distance metric over fixed time intervals, which serves to measure the deviation of a simulated motion from a desired target motion. We demonstrate simulated bipedal walks having user-specified styles, walks for bipeds of varying dimensions, walks over terrain of known slopes, and walks that are robust with respect to unobserved terrain variations and modeling errors.
Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio can significantly predict mortality outcomes in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer undergoing transurethral resection of bladder tumor

The prognostic role of systemic inflammatory response (SIR) markers is unclear in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Here, we aimed to investigate the prognostic role of various SIR markers in the oncological outcomes in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients at a single institution in Korea. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived-NLR (dNLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were examined as SIR markers. We retrospectively collected data of 1,698 NMIBC patients who underwent transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) between 1990 and 2013. After excluding 147 patients, the study population finally consisted of 1,551 individuals. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Multivariate Cox regression model was adopted to identify the predictors of oncological outcomes. Notably, elevated NLR (≥2.0), dNLR (≥1.5) and PLR (≥124) were associated with poor OS outcomes. Patients with increased NLR, but not dNLR and PLR, only had poor CSS estimates compared to those with lower NLR. However, no significant differences were found in RFS and PFS according to the SIR status. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, elevated NLR was identified as a key predictor of OS [hazard ratio (HR)=1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.19-1.95], in addition to age (HR=1.07, 95% CI=1.05-1.08), hemoglobin (HR=0.83, 95% CI=0.78-0.88), and high grade tumor (HR=1.88, 95% CI=1.45-1.08). With respect to CSS, increased NLR was also identified as an independent predictor (HR=1.12, 95% CI=1.01-1.25). In summary, our results indicate that NLR can be a very reliable SIR marker for predicting the oncological outcomes, particularly mortality outcomes.
Interpersonal Relationships and Subjective Well-being among Older Adults in Sheltered Housing

The aim of this article is to examine how experiences with interpersonal relationships contribute to older adults’ well-being in the residential context of sheltered housing. We draw on data collected from sixteen in-depth interviews with older adults living in sheltered housing in a small town in northern Netherlands. Our participants experienced the interaction with their children as of primary importance among their interpersonal relationships, while interactions with other residents were rather superficial. Their children offered emotional support as well as instrumental support and were found to play essential roles in our participants’ wellbeing. Moreover, participants expressed that the social and physical activities organized by the residential care-facility offered them the opportunity to remain physically and mentally active. The help received from housekeepers and caregivers was found to be another important element of interpersonal relationships and so was the reciprocal nature of support exchanged with other sheltered housing residents. We conclude that the benefits of interpersonal relationships in sheltered housing should be considered when designing policy for the well-being of older adults ageing in place.
The Aesthetic Turn in Green Marketing: Environmental Consumer Ethics of Natural Personal Care Products

Green consumerism is on the rise in America, but its environmental effects are contested. Does green marketing contribute to the greening of American consciousness, or does it encourage corporate greenwashing? This tenuous ethical position means that eco-marketers must carefully frame their environmental products in a way that appeals to consumers with environmental ethics and buyers who consider natural products as well as conventional items. Thus, eco-marketing constructs a complicated ethical identity for the green consumer. Environmentally aware individuals are already guided by their personal ethics. In trying to attract new consumers, environmentally minded businesses attach an aesthetic quality to environmental goods. In an era where environmentalism is increasingly hip, what are the implications for an environmental ethics infused with a sense of aesthetics? This article analyzes the promotional materials of three companies that advertise their environmental consciousness: Burt's Bee's Inc., Tom's of Maine, Inc., and The Body Shop Inc. Responding to an increasing online shopping market, these companies make their promotional and marketing materials available online, and these web-based materials replicate their printed catalogs and indoor advertisements. As part of selling products to consumers based on a set of ideological values, these companies employ two specific discursive strategies to sell their products: they create enhanced notions of beauty by emphasizing the performance of their natural products, and thus infuse green consumerism with a unique environmental aesthetic. They also convey ideas of health through community values, which in turn enhances notions of personal health to include ecological well-being. This article explicates the ethical implications of a personal natural care discourse for eco-marketing strategies, and the significance of a green consumer aesthetic for environmental consciousness in general.
IL‐17A produced by both γδ T and Th17 cells promotes renal fibrosis via RANTES‐mediated leukocyte infiltration after renal obstruction

IL‐17A‐producing T lymphocytes play a crucial role in inflammatory kidney diseases, but their role in renal fibrosis remains to be explored. Here, we demonstrated that up‐regulation of IL‐17A was associated with the development of obstructive kidney injury. The primary source of IL‐17A production in obstructed kidneys was infiltrating γδ T lymphocytes and CD4+ T cells. IL‐17A‐deficient mice were protected from myofibroblast activation and extracellular matrix deposition, leading to reduced kidney fibrosis in response to obstructive injury. Mechanistically, IL‐17A deficiency suppressed the expression of the chemokine RANTES in infiltrated CD3+ T cells and peritubular inflammation following renal obstruction. Administration of RANTES‐neutralizing antibody significantly reduced the accumulation of T cells and macrophages, and of collagen deposition in obstructed kidneys. Taken together, our results indicate that IL‐17A contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis by regulating RANTES‐mediated inflammatory cell infiltration. Copyright © 2014 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Spectral quadrangulation with orientation and alignment control

This paper presents a new quadrangulation algorithm, extending the spectral surface quadrangulation approach where the coarse quadrangular structure is derived from the Morse-Smale complex of an eigenfunction of the Laplacian operator on the input mesh. In contrast to the original scheme, we provide flexible explicit controls of the shape, size, orientation and feature alignment of the quadrangular faces. We achieve this by proper selection of the optimal eigenvalue (shape), by adaption of the area term in the Laplacian operator (size), and by adding special constraints to the Laplace eigenproblem (orientation and alignment). By solving a generalized eigen-problem we can generate a scalar field on the mesh whose Morse-Smale complex is of high quality and satisfies all the user requirements. The final quadrilateral mesh is generated from the Morse-Smale complex by computing a globally smooth parametrization. Here we additionally introduce edge constraints to preserve user specified feature lines accurately.
An enhanced coding and decoding method for raptor codes over fading channels

In this paper, an improved decoding algorithm is developed for Raptor codes in fading channels to enhance its error performance. As the classic decoding algorithm of the Raptor codes is designed for erasure channels and its error performance degrades severely over the fading channels, a modified coding and decoding algorithm is developed for Raptor codes with short codeword length in fading channels. A random interleaver is introduced between the inner LT code and the outer LDPC code, and then an iterative soft information upgrading and transferring-based decoding algorithm under Turbo principle is employed to combat the fading. Simulation results show the presented coding and decoding algorithm can enhance the bit error rate(BER) performance of Raptor codes in fading channels.