Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Network-structured discussions for collaborative concept mapping and peer learning

Online discussion is an essential tool for the collaborative construction of knowledge in learning communities. LMSs (Learning Management Systems) include such collaborative tools to enable knowledge sharing. Common topology and design constructs of online collaboration are often expressed as forum threads; however, forums or bulletin boards are not primarily designed for social constructivist learning, in which knowledge develops collaboratively in a methodical process that links new items to existing ones. In this paper, we present a preliminary concept and hypothesize that social constructivist learning can be implemented through a semantic network topology of a discussion platform. To that end, we developed Ligilo, a peer-learning, online platform, in which each content item is conveyed as a node in a semantic network constructed of posts. Analysis of this platform consists of three parts. First, we review the theoretical background of networked-structured discussions in learning. Then, we describe the architecture of Ligilo, focusing on two aspects: (1) the learning experience as a process of contributing new information items by relating to existing items and (2) a deep, behavioral analytics framework as a teacher's guide. Both these aspects are based on semantic network topology. We conclude the paper by describing some early cases of peer learning involving networked-structured discussions.
Antenatal brain injury in third trimester neonates with severe congenital anomalies: an autopsy study

Abstract Objective: With advances in therapy, more neonates with severe congenital anomalies are surviving, albeit some with neurologic disorders, possibly related to antenatal low brain blood flow. This autopsy series reports antenatal brain injury in neonates expiring due to severe anomalies, and provides correlation with umbilical cord blood gas and acid–base analysis. Methods: We identified autopsies of third trimester neonates expiring shortly following delivery due to severe anomalies or malformations. Brain injury classified as “older” included periventricular leukomalacia, gliosis and karyorrhectic neurons, and “recent” included red neurons and reactive glial changes. Results: We identified 22 cases (nine term, 13 preterm). 16 (73%) had brain injury, including 11 with older injury. Cord arterial blood was analyzed in 17, and six had pH <7 or base deficit >12 mmol/L. Four out of 5 (80%) neonates with neuronal necrosis compared to two out of 12 (17%) without had a pH <7 or base deficit >12 mmol/L (p = 0.03). Five out of nine (56%) neonates with white matter injury compared to one out of 8 (13%) without had pH <7 or base deficit >12 mmol/L (p = NS). Conclusions: Antenatal brain injury is frequent in neonates with severe congenital anomalies. Severely abnormal cord blood analysis results correlate significantly with neuronal necrosis and show a trend toward white matter injury; however, the absence of these abnormal results does not preclude the presence of brain injury.
GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES IN COMPLETED SUICIDES IN 2003 BY GENDER IN TURKEY

Objective: To determine the gender differences between in terms of the method and reason of suicide. Methodology: The suicidal proportions in seven regions of Turkey by sexes were compared according to three different age groups. The data were evaluated by Loglinear analysis. Results: Suicide rates were higher in women in the region East Anatolia (P<0.01). It was found that suicide by hanging was the most commonly used method in all the regions (P<0.001). Committing suicide by hanging (P<0.01) and using firearms (P<0.001) were higher in men, whereas, committing suicide by taking chemical was higher in women (P<0.001). Conclusion: Gender differences in suicidal behavior in this study clearly merit further research to generate information that can guide clinical practice and prevention strategies.
Portal sinusoids' neutrophil plugging after experimental ischemia reperfusion liver injury

The aim of the present study was the demonstration of a relationship between reduced liver microcirculation - after different periods of ischemia-reperfusion - and the number of neutrophils plugged to the microvasculature at reperfusion. Ninety male Wistar rats were included in the study. These were subdivided into control group, 30min ischemia and 60min ischemia groups as well as 30min ischemia - 60min reperfusion and 60min ischemia - 60min reperfusion groups. Samples of liver tissue were obtained for the assessment of the number of neutrophils entrapped within portal sinusoids, after histochemical staining and morphometry. Hepatic microcirculation was estimated by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Additionally, ALT serum levels were evaluated, as an established marker of liver ischemiareperfusion injury. A course of 60min ischemia - 60min reperfusion resulted to a statistically significant increase of neutrophils plugged within liver sinusoids in relation to the 30min ischemia 60min reperfusion [p=0.001]. Similarly, hepatic tissue microcirculation exhibited a flux recovery of 70% in 30min ischemia - 60min reperfusion group and only 57% in the 60min ischemia - 60min reperfusion group [p=0,001]. Serum ALT activities were found significantly increased during reperfusion, in both groups. It is thus concluded that capillary perfusion failure occurring during liver reperfusion depends on ischemia time and is associated with a significant increase of neutrophilsi accumulation into liver sinusoids.
A Prospective, Double-blind, Randomised Controlled Trial of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor Ramipril In Asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis (RIAS trial): Trial Protocol

Background: The RIAS trial (Ramipril in Aortic Stenosis) is the first randomised, prospective, single centre, double blinded trial to examine the effects of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition in asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis (AS). Prognosis in AS depends on how the left ventricle responds to pressure overload; severe Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) carries an adverse prognosis. ACE inhibitors reduce LVH in other conditions and may have similar benefits in patients with AS. The aims of this study were three-fold: 1) To examine the regression of LV mass and changes in other LV physiological parameters using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) 2) To assess the safety and tolerability of ramipril in AS 3) To examine the potential improvement in exercise tolerance Methods: 100 patients with asymptomatic moderate or severe AS will be enrolled. Patients will be randomized to placebo or ramipril (10 mg) for 12 months. At 0, 6 and 12 months, the patients will undergo a clinical assessment, phlebotomy, CMR scanning, echocardiography and a medically supervised Naughton protocol Exercise Test (ETT). Clinic checks at 2, 4, 12 and 14 weeks will be carried to titrate medication and monitor for adverse events. Results: The primary endpoint of the trial is to measure change in LV mass. Secondary endpoints include changes in LV Ejection Fraction (LVEF), diastolic function parameters, perfusion, biochemical markers of LV function and exercise tolerance. Conclusion: The RIAS trial is the first randomised, prospective, double blind trial to examine the effects of ACE inhibition in AS. If the trial is positive, our study would form the basis for a larger clinical outcome trial. Trial registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number 24616095
Human support robot (HSR)

There has been an increasing interest in mobile manipulators that is capable of performing physical work in living spaces worldwide, corresponding to population aging with declining birth rates with the expectation of improving quality of life (QOL). Research and development is a must in intelligent sensing and software which enable advanced recognition, judgment, and motion to realize household work by robots. In order to accelerate this research, we have developed a compact and safe research platform, Human Support Robot (HSR), which can be operated in an actual home environment. We assume that overall R&D will accelerate by using a common robot platform among many researchers since that enables them to share their research results. In this paper, we introduce HSR design and its utilization.
Salvage Therapy with Mitomycin and Ifosfamide in Patients with Gemcitabine-Resistant Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: A Phase II Trial

Background: At the time of upfront treatment failure, over half of the patients with advanced pancreatic cancer are candidates for further treatment. Methods: Patients with metastatic gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer were treated with mitomycin 8 mg/m2 on day 1, ifosfamide 2,500 mg/m2 and mesna 3,000 mg/m2 on days 1–3 every 28 days until progressive disease. A positive responder was defined as a patient who was progression free at 6 months from trial enrolment. According to the Fleming design, a sample size of 34 patients was estimated assuming p0 = 0.05 and p1 = 0.20. Results: Between May 2006 and December 2007, 21 patients (median age 56 years; median Karnofsky performance score 80) were enrolled. One patient died before receiving any treatment. Eighteen patients interrupted chemotherapy due to progressive disease (n = 15), toxicity (n = 2) or refusal (n = 1). Grade >2 toxicity consisted of neutropenia in 80% of patients, thrombocytopenia and fatigue in 20% and anemia in 10%. Only 1 patient was progression free at 6 months (5%). One patient had a partial response (5%) and 2 patients had stable disease (10%). Median survival was 3.7 months. Conclusion: Based on the poor outcome observed and on the high level of grade 3–4 toxicity, the trial was prematurely stopped and the mitomycin and ifosfamide regimen was considered insufficiently active in gemcitabine-pretreated advanced pancreatic cancer.
The Use of Standardised and Non-Standardised Assessments in a Social Services Setting: Implications for Practice

The increasing demand for occupational therapists to justify their practice and their clinical judgements stimulated consideration of the importance of the psychometric properties of the tools used by professionals in making clinical judgements. In social services settings a variety of procedures are used to establish a client's entitlement to services, some of which are more rigorous than others. In this study, a non-standardised assessment tool to measure severity of disability was compared with a standardised tool to assesswhether there were differences in outcomes and what, if any, were the consequences for service entitlement. The conclusion was that the use of non-standardised tools may unfairly disadvantage some client groups when being assessedfor services.
Phylogenetic influences on leaf trait integration in Pelargonium (Geraniaceae): convergence, divergence, and historical adaptation to a rapidly changing climate.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Trait integration may improve prediction of species and lineage responses to future climate change more than individual traits alone, particularly when analyses incorporate effects of phylogenetic relationships. The South African genus Pelargonium contains divergent major clades that have radiated along the same seasonal aridity gradient, presenting the opportunity to ask whether patterns of evolution in mean leaf trait values are achieved through the same set of coordinated changes among traits in each clade. METHODS Seven leaf traits were measured on field-collected leaves from one-third of the species (98) of the genus. Trait relationships were examined using phylogenetic regression within major clades. Disparity analysis determined whether the course of trait evolution paralleled historical climate change events. KEY RESULTS Divergence in mean trait values between sister clades A1 and A2 was consistent with expectations for leaves differing in longevity, despite strong similarity between clades in trait interactions. No traits in either clade exhibited significant relationships with multivariate climate axes, with one exception. Species in clades C and A2 included in this study occupied similar environments. These clades had similar values of individual trait means, except for δ(13)C, but they exhibited distinctive patterns of trait integration. CONCLUSIONS Differing present-day patterns of trait integration are consistent with interpretations of adaptive responses to the prevailing climate at the time of each clade's origin. These differing patterns of integration are likely to exert strong effects on clade-level responses to future climate change in the winter rainfall region of South Africa.
Distributed Intelligent Assistance Robotic System with Sensor Networks Based on Robot Technology Middleware

This paper proposes a distributed intelligent assistant robotic system in order to improve the quality of the elderly people's life in the population aging society. The system is composed of embedded distributed sensor networks and multirobot intelligent platform. In the proposed system, we use SP2ATM (simultaneous path planning and topological mapping) with RBPF (Rao-Blackwellized particle filter) for path planning and localization of mobile robots. In order to perform service tasks, an accurate and reliable 3D environment map is reconstructed by using an effective 3D reconstruction technique from multiview stereo. Besides, the system provides user human tracking services based on multifeature mean shift under the double-layer locating mechanism. To improve the feasibility and reliability of the system, this proposed system is developed based on distributed control technology RTM (robot technology middleware). This paper presents the architecture of the proposed system and the experimental results verify effectiveness of the approaches.
Effective prey attraction in the rare Drosophyllum lusitanicum, a flypaper-trap carnivorous plant.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Carnivorous plants have unusually modified leaves to trap insects as an adaptation to low-nutrient environments. Disparate mechanisms have been suggested as luring traits to attract prey insects into their deadly leaves, ranging from very elaborate to none at all. Drosophyllum lusitanicum is a rare carnivorous plant with a common flypaper-trap mechanism. Here we tested whether Drosophyllum plants lure prey insects into their leaves or they act just as passive traps. METHODS We compared prey capture between live, potted plants and Drosophyllum-shaped artificial mimics coated with odorless glue. Since this species is insect-pollinated, we also explored the possible existence of a pollinator-prey conflict by quantifying the similarity between the pollination and prey guilds in a natural population. All experiments were done in southern Spain. KEY RESULTS The sticky leaves of Drosophyllum captured significantly more prey than mimics, particularly small dipterans. Prey attraction, likely exerted by scent or visual cues, seems to be unrelated to pollinator attraction by flowers, as inferred from the low similarity between pollinator and prey insect faunas found in this species. CONCLUSIONS Our results illustrate the effectiveness of this carnivorous species at attracting insects to their flypaper-trap leaves.
Biochemical outcome after radical prostatectomy, external beam radiation therapy, or interstitial radiation therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

CONTEXT Interstitial radiation (implant) therapy is used to treat clinically localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate, but how it compares with other treatments is not known. OBJECTIVE To estimate control of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation (RT), or implant with or without neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study of outcome data compared using Cox regression multivariable analyses. SETTING AND PATIENTS A total of 1872 men treated between January 1989 and October 1997 with an RP (n = 888) or implant with or without neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (n = 218) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or RT (n = 766) at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, Boston, Mass, were enrolled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Actuarial freedom from PSA failure (defined as PSA outcome). RESULTS The relative risk (RR) of PSA failure in low-risk patients (stage T1c, T2a and PSA level < or =10 ng/mL and Gleason score < or =6) treated using RT, implant plus androgen deprivation therapy, or implant therapy was 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5-2.7), 0.5 (95% CI, 0.1-1.9), and 1.1 (95% CI, 0.3-3.6), respectively, compared with those patients treated with RP. The RRs of PSA failure in the intermediate-risk patients (stage T2b or Gleason score of 7 or PSA level >10 and < or =20 ng/mL) and high-risk patients (stage T2c or PSA level >20 ng/mL or Gleason score > or =8) treated with implant compared with RP were 3.1 (95% CI, 1.5-6.1) and 3.0 (95% CI, 1.8-5.0), respectively. The addition of androgen deprivation to implant therapy did not improve PSA outcome in high-risk patients but resulted in a PSA outcome that was not statistically different compared with the results obtained using RP or RT in intermediate-risk patients. These results were unchanged when patients were stratified using the traditional rankings of biopsy Gleason scores of 2 through 4 vs 5 through 6 vs 7 vs 8 through 10. CONCLUSIONS Low-risk patients had estimates of 5-year PSA outcome after treatment with RP, RT, or implant with or without neoadjuvant androgen deprivation that were not statistically different, whereas intermediate- and high-risk patients treated with RP or RT did better then those treated by implant. Prospective randomized trials are needed to verify these findings.
Live tuberculosis vaccines based on phoP mutants: a step towards clinical trials

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is the only preventive treatment for tuberculosis in humans, but this live vaccine confers variable protection against pulmonary tuberculosis in adults. Advances in the understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis immunopathogenesis have renewed hopes of developing new prophylactic vaccines conferring better protection than BCG. The authors describe here state-of-the-art attenuated live vaccines based on inactivation of the phoP gene, a transcriptional regulator of key virulence networks in M. tuberculosis. Recent preclinical testing of live vaccines based on phoP inactivation has demonstrated proof of concept, with a high degree of attenuation and protection against disease observed in various animal models. These results demonstrate that phoP mutants are promising new live vaccines for tuberculosis prevention. The steps that now need to be followed, to take these live vaccines towards clinical trials, are also reviewed, together with the potential of these vaccines to replace BCG.
Signaling Pathways Regulating IL-1α-induced COX-2 Expression

Interleukin-1α(IL-1α) stimulates the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in odontogenic keratocyst fibroblasts. However, the signaling pathways remain obscure. In this study, we investigated IL-1αsignaling pathways that regulate cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in odontogenic keratocyst fibroblasts. IL-1αincreased the expression of COX-2 mRNA and protein, and PGE2 secretion in the fibroblasts. IL-1αincreased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). PD-98059, SB-203580, SP-600125, and PDTC—which are inhibitors of ERK1/2, p38, JNK, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), respectively—attenuated the IL-1α-induced COX-2 mRNA expression and activated protein kinase C PGE2 secretion. IL-1α(PKC), and PKC inhibitor staurosporine inhibited IL-1α-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38, and JNK, and decreased IL-1α-induced COX-2 mRNA expression. Thus, in odontogenic keratocyst fibroblasts, IL-1αmay stimulate COX-2 expression both through the PKC-dependent activation of ERK1/2, p38, and JNK signaling pathways, and through the NF-κB cascade.
Evaluation of the performance of C.S.I.O. pulse oximeter

The oxygen present in blood is almost entirely loosely combined with haemoglobin. Oxygen capacity and oxygen content have long been measured by the Van Slyke volumetric and manometric apparatus. A number of workers have used spectrophotometric readings of blood at different wavelengths to estimate oxygen saturation. Instruments using reflection oximetry which use the difference in reflection of light by oxyhaemoglobin and haemoglobin are also used. CSIO has developed a Pulse Oximeter in which oxygen saturation is calculated by measuring the difference between the absorption spectra of oxygenated haemoglobin and deoxygenated haemoglobin with noninvasive means. The instrument is calibrated with Ohmeda and Nellcor instrument. Blood oxygen saturation (SaO/sub 2/) of student trainees in the age group of 20-25 years and CSIO employees in the age group of 40-45 years were compared with the assay of the same person using the Nellcor Instrument. A good correlation was found between the results from the two instruments. The mean deviation and standard deviation between two instruments were found to be within acceptable limits. The results obtained at PGI Chandigarh during clinical trials on neonates are also discussed.
Advancing the Expert Patient?

The self-management of long-term conditions undertaken by people in their own homes has been attributed with increasing importance in health care policy. Interventions based on self-skills training have been introduced as a means of promoting and increasing levels of self-care practises in the population which have been informed by psychological models and concepts of change such as in the case of the national policy of the Expert Patients Programme (EPP) self-efficacy. Evidence to date suggests modest or equivocal effectiveness and there may be a number of reasons for this. One of the reasons is a failure to give due attention to the perspectives and work that patients themselves undertake in self-management interventions. Whilst the notion of an Expert Patient conveys a sense of what a new health policy centred on long-term condition management hopes to achieve, an important corollary is understanding the conditions necessary to accommodate and embed new techniques in the routine elements of illness ‘work’ undertaken by patients living with a long-term condition. This paper explores the health policy context of self-management, including the evidence and adequacy of the organizing concepts and outcomes associated with the EPP, and suggests that a greater focus on illness work and the social and domestic contexts is required in future innovation and research in the area of long-term condition management.