Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A systems relations model for Tier 2 early intervention child mental health services with schools: An exploratory study

Over the last 15 years, policy initiatives have aimed at the provision of more comprehensive Child and Adolescent Mental Health care. These presented a series of new challenges in organising and delivering Tier 2 child mental health services, particularly in schools. This exploratory study aimed to examine and clarify the service model underpinning a Tier 2 child mental health service offering school-based mental health work. Using semi-structured interviews, clinician descriptions of operational experiences were gathered. These were analysed using grounded theory methods. Analysis was validated by respondents at two stages. A pathway for casework emerged that included a systemic consultative function, as part of an overall three-function service model, which required: (1) activity as a member of the multi-agency system; (2) activity to improve the system working around a particular child; and (3) activity to universally develop a Tier 1 workforce confident in supporting children at risk of or experiencing mental health problems. The study challenged the perception of such a service serving solely a Tier 2 function, the requisite workforce to deliver the service model, and could give service providers a rationale for negotiating service models that include an explicit focus on improving the children’s environments.
A study on video surveillance system for object detection and tracking

Visual surveillance System is basically used for analysis and explanation of object behaviors. It consists of static and moving object detection, video tracking to understand the events that occur in scene. The most important objective of this survey paper is to determine the various methods in static and moving object detection as well as tracking of moving objects. Any video scene contains objects that can be determined by object detection technique. There are various classes of detected object such as tree, clouds, person and other moving objects. Detection for moving object is a very challenging for any video surveillance system. Object Tracking is used to find the area where objects are available and shape of objects in each frame in higher level application. In this paper, we used different methods such as background subtraction, statistical method, and temporal frame differencing for the detection of moving objects. We also described different tracking methods like Point tracking, Silhouette Tracking and Kernel tracking in our survey paper.
Rotigotine Objectively Improves Sleep in Parkinson's Disease: An Open-Label Pilot Study with Actigraphic Recording

Sleep disturbances represent important predictors of poor quality of life (QoL) in Parkinson's disease (PD). This open-label pilot study aimed to objectively assess, by means of actigraphic recording, effect of rotigotine on sleep in PD patients with self-reported sleep complaints. 15 PD patients underwent one-week actigraphic recording before (T0) and during (T1) rotigotine treatment, which was titrated to the dose subjectively improving motor symptoms (4–8 mg/24 h). Sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness, cognitive performance, QoL, and depression were also evaluated with questionnaires. Actigraphic recordings showed a significant reduction in nocturnal motor activity and mean duration of wake episodes after sleep onset during rotigotine treatment compared to baseline. In 10 patients presenting objective evidence of poor sleep quality at T0 (sleep efficiency ≤ 85%), rotigotine also significantly improved other sleep parameters and further reduced nocturnal motor activity and mean duration of wake episodes. A significant decrease in number and duration of daytime sleep episodes was also observed at T1. Finally we confirmed that rotigotine significantly improves perceived sleep quality and QoL. Our study showed for the first time that rotigotine is associated with an objective improvement of nocturnal and diurnal sleep disturbances in PD patients with self-reported sleep complaints. This study is registered with AIFA-observational study registry number 12021.
LMMO: A Large Margin Approach for Refining Regulatory Motifs

Although discriminative motif discovery (DMD) methods are promising for eliciting motifs from high-throughput experimental data, they usually have to sacrifice accuracy and may fail to fully leverage the potential of large datasets. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the motifs identified by DMDs can be significantly improved by maximizing the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) metric, which has been widely used in the literature to rank the performance of elicited motifs. However, existing approaches for motif refinement choose to directly maximize the non-convex and discontinuous AUC itself, which is known to be difficult and may lead to suboptimal solutions. In this paper, we propose Large Margin Motif Optimizer (LMMO), a large-margin-type algorithm for refining regulatory motifs. By relaxing the AUC cost function with the surrogate convex hinge loss, we show that the resultant learning problem can be cast as an instance of difference-of-convex (DC) programs, and solve it iteratively using constrained concave-convex procedure (CCCP). To further save computational time, we combine LMMO with existing techniques for improving the scalability of large-margin-type algorithms, such as cutting plane method. Experimental evaluations on synthetic and real data illustrate the performance of the proposed approach. The code of LMMO is freely available at: https://github.com/ekffar/LMMO.
Role of Smad3 in the hormonal modulation of in vivo wound healing responses

Smad3 is involved in mediating intracellular signaling by members of the transforming growth factor‐β superfamily and plays a critical role in the cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration, and elaboration of matrix pivotal to cutaneous wound healing. Cross‐talk between Smad3 and hormone signaling in vitro has been suggested as an important control mechanism regulating cell activities; however, its relevance in vivo is unknown. Here we report that Smad3 plays a role in androgen‐mediated inhibition of wound healing but not in the responses to estrogen modulation in vivo. Both wild‐type and Smad3 null female mice exhibited delayed healing following ovariectomy, which could be reversed by estrogen replacement. By contrast, castration accelerated healing in wild‐type male mice and was reversible by exogenous androgen treatment. Intriguingly, modulation of androgen levels resulted in no discernible perturbation in the healing response in the Smad3 null mice. Mutant monocytes could be lipopolysaccharide stimulated to produce specific pro‐inflammatory agents (macrophage monocyte inhibitory factor) in a fashion similar to wild‐type cells, but exhibited a muted response to androgen‐mediated stimulation while maintaining a normal response to estrogen‐induced macrophage inhibitory factor inhibition. These data suggest that Smad3 plays a role in mediating androgen signaling during the normal wound healing response and implicate Smad3 in the modulation of inflammatory cell activity by androgens. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:468–473)
Extensions and applications of the diffusion model for two-choice response times

Many experiments in psychology yield both reaction time and accuracy data. However, no off-the-shelf methods yet exist for the statistical analysis of such data. One particularly successful model has been the diffusion process, but using it is difficult in practice because of numerical, statistical, and software problems. We present a general method for performing diffusion model analyses on experimental data. By implementing design matrices, a wide range of across-condition restrictions can be imposed on model parameters, in a flexible way. It becomes possible to fit models with parameters regressed onto predictors. Moreover, data-analytical tools are discussed that can be used to handle various types of outliers and contaminants. We briefly present an easy-to-use software tool that helps perform diffusion model analyses.
Ethnozoological survey of traditional medicinal uses of tortoises in Lentsweletau and Botlhapatlou villages in Kweneng district of Botswana

A study was carried out to document the traditional medicinal uses of tortoises at Ramankhung, Lekgalung and Dikateng fields near Lentsweletau village and at Mmaphoroka and Moleleme fields near Botlhapatlou village in Kweneng district of Botswana. A formal questionnaire was administered to 47 respondents (nearly 10 respondents per study site). The respondents were 46.81% farmers, 36.17% cattle herders, 14.89% farm labourers and 2.13% unemployed. The study showed that different parts of tortoises are used in traditional medicine to treat various human ailments in Lentsweletau and Botlhapatlou villages in Kweneng district of Botswana.
Differentiation between vibrio cholerae and Vibrio cholerae biotype El Tor by the polymyxin B disc test: comparative results with TCBS, Monsur's, Mueller-Hinton and nutrient agar media.

The polymyxin B disc test to differentiate classical from El Tor cholera strains has gained wide accept-ance because of its simplicity, economy, and reli-ability when performed as described by Han & Khie.a This test is based on the observation that classical strains of cholera have inhibitory zones around a 50-IU polymyxin B disc on nutrient agar, while El Tor strains have none. Abe b confirmed the utility of this test but concluded that colistin discs on nutrient agar were superior to 50-IU polymyxin B discs. Errors in differentiation may Tor cholera by classical strains because inhibitory zones were observed around polymyxin B discs on TCBSC and Monsur's dmedia, two widely used media that are recommended for the isolation of cholera strains. The this paper is to compare the reli-ability and clarity of test when TCBS, Monsur's and Mueller-Hinton and
Quantum optics with bosons and fermions

Atom optics, a field which takes much inspiration from traditional optics, has advanced to the point that some of the fundamental experiments of quantum optics, involving photon correlations, have found atomic analogs. We discuss some recent experiments on atom bunching and anti-bunching as well as some prospects for extending them to the field of many body physics.
γ-Amino Butyric Acid Type A Receptor Mutations at β2N265 Alter Etomidate Efficacy While Preserving Basal and Agonist-dependent Activity

Background:Etomidate acts at γ-Aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors containing β2 or β3, but not β1 subunits. Mutations at β residue 265 (Ser in β1; Asn in β2 or β3) profoundly affect etomidate sensitivity. Whether these mutations alter etomidate binding remains uncertain. Methods:Heterologously expressed α1β2γ2L GABAA receptors and receptors with β2(N265S) or β2(N265M) mutations were studied electrophysiologically in both Xenopus oocytes and HEK293 cells. Experiments quantified the impact of β2N265 mutations or substituting β1 for β2 on basal channel activation, GABA EC50, maximal GABA efficacy, etomidate-induced leftward shift in GABA responses, etomidate direct activation, and rapid macrocurrent kinetics. Results were analyzed in the context of an established allosteric coagonist mechanism. Results:Mutations produced only small changes in basal channel activity, GABA EC50, maximal GABA efficacy, and macrocurrent kinetics. Relative to wild-type, β2(N265S) reduced etomidate enhancement of apparent GABA affinity six-fold, and it reduced etomidate direct activation efficacy 14-fold. β2(N265M) totally eliminated both etomidate modulation of GABA responses and direct channel activation. Mechanism-based analysis showed that the function of both mutants remains consistent with the allosteric coagonist model and that β2(N265S) reduced etomidate allosteric efficacy five-fold, whereas etomidate-binding affinity dropped threefold. Experiments swapping β2 subunits for β1 indicated that etomidate efficacy is reduced 34-fold, whereas binding affinity drops less than two-fold. Conclusions:Mutations at β2N265 profoundly alter etomidate sensitivity with only small changes in basal and GABA-dependent channel activity. Mutations at the β2N265 residue or replacement of β2 with β1 influence etomidate efficacy much more than binding to inactive receptors.
Beneficial influence of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy on the rate of progression of chronic renal failure in predialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Partial correction of anaemia with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) has been shown to markedly improve the general condition and quality of life of predialysis patients, but the effects of rHuEpo therapy on blood pressure and the rate of progression of chronic renal failure (CRF) are still disputed. In particular, no study evaluated the time duration until the start of maintenance dialysis in treated patients, compared to untreated predialysis patients. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the rate of decline of creatinine clearance (Delta Ccr) and the duration of the predialysis period in 20 patients with advanced CRF treated with rHuEpo (Epo+ group), and in 43 patients with a similar degree of CRF but with less marked, asymptomatic anaemia, not requiring rHuEpo therapy (Epo- group). All patients were submitted to identical clinical and laboratory surveillance. All received similar oral supplementation with B(6), B(9), and B(12) vitamins and oral iron supplementation. Maintenance dose of subcutaneous epoetin was 54.3+/-16.5 U/kg/week (median dose 3300 U/week). RESULTS Initial and final haemoglobin (Hb) levels were 8.8+/-0.7 and 11.3+/-0.9 g/dl in the Epo+ group, vs 10.9+/-1.2 and 9.5+/-0.9 g/dl in the Epo- group. In the Epo+ group, Delta Ccr declined from 0.36+/-0.16 during the preceding 24 months to 0.26+/-0.15 ml/min/ 1.73 m(2)/month after the start of rHuEpo therapy (P<0.05). No significant variation was observed in the Epo- group. Time duration until the start of dialysis was 16.2+/-11.9 in the Epo+ group, compared to 10.6+/-6.1 months in the Epo- group (P<0.01). Slowing of progression was observed in 10 Epo+ patients, whereas no significant variation in Delta Ccr occurred in the other 10. There was no difference in previous Delta Ccr rate, nor in Hb or blood pressure levels while on rHuEpo therapy between the two subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Our study affords conclusive evidence that rHuEpo therapy did not result in accelerated progression of CRF in any treated predialysis patients, nor deleterious increase in blood pressure, but instead resulted in significant slowing of progression and substantial retardation of maintenance dialysis. Such encouraging results remain to be validated in a large prospective, randomized study.
A fast methodology for the synthesis of dispersive multi-port equivalent circuit model of multiple coupled bond wires

A methodology is presented for the fast synthesis of a SPICE-compatible, dispersive, multi-port equivalent circuit model of a group of coupled bond wires. The expediency of the proposed method stems from its reliance upon resistance and inductance matrices for the coupled wires extracted at low and high frequencies only, which are then combined with a rational function interpolation process to obtain R(w), L(w) over the entire frequency bandwidth of interest.
Iterative convergence of resolvents of maximal monotone operators perturbed by the duality map in Banach space.

For a maximal monotone operator T in a Banach space an iterative solution of 0 ∈ Tx has been found through weak and strong convergence of resolvents of these operators. Identity mapping in the definition of resolvents has been replaced by the duality mapping. Solution after finite steps has also been established.
Interaction quality within communities of practice: contextual factors of utilising different communication media

The quality of communication is essential for most organisational processes, in particular for creating new knowledge. Among other instruments many organisations utilise 'Communities of Practice' (CoPs) to leverage knowledge more successfully. The quality of interaction among community members is recognised as the major success-driving factor. In an empirical investigation of 22 CoPs with all 191 community members of a multinational company, we explore how the utilisation of different communication media - face-to-face, synchronous (virtual) communication and asynchronous (virtual) communication - adds to the quality of interaction. Based on our empirical results, three general conclusions can be drawn. First, the results of our study support theories suggesting that media of smaller bandwidth can be utilised when transferring complex contents. Second, the interaction quality is negatively affected by the increasing number of CoP members. Third, the age of CoPs appears to be an important factor for the interaction quality of CoPs.
Removing root canal obturation materials: a comparison of rotary file systems and re-treatment agents.

BACKGROUND The authors conducted a study to compare the effectiveness and working time of two rotary instrumentation file systems with two solvents for the removal of gutta-percha (GP) (ProTaper Universal, Dentsply Tulsa Dental, Tulsa, Okla.) or resin-based composite (RBC) (RealSeal 1 Bonded Obturator, SybronEndo, Orange, Calif.) endodontic obturation materials. METHODS The authors instrumented 88 human extracted teeth and obturated the root canals of 80 of the teeth with either GP with AH Plus root canal sealer (Dentsply Maillefer, Tulsa, Okla.) or RBC with adhesive according to the manufacturers' instructions. They re-treated each tooth by using one of two rotary instrumentation file systems. They assessed each file system by using chloroform or orange solvent re-treatment agents. The authors measured the time needed to remove the obturation material from each tooth. They processed the teeth for scanning electron microscopy, and two blinded reviewers categorized the micrographs according to several criteria. RESULTS The authors observed more RBC remnants on the root canal surfaces compared with GP remnants after re-treatment. The re-treatment solvents and file systems were equally effective in removing the obturation materials. CONCLUSION The study results show that the quickest root canal retreatment can be accomplished by using EndoSequence rotary files (Brasseler, Savannah, Ga.) and orange solvent to remove RBC obturation material. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Re-treatment with EndoSequence rotary files was quicker than re-treatment with ProTaper Universal re-treatment files (Dentsply Tulsa Dental). However, in this study, the file systems were similarly effective in removing GP and RBC. Orange solvent was as effective as chloroform in removing obturation materials, but its use is less time-consuming.
Contribution of Methanotrophic and Nitrifying Bacteria to CH4 and NH4+ Oxidation in the Rhizosphere of Rice Plants as Determined by New Methods of Discrimination

ABSTRACT Methanotrophic and nitrifying bacteria are both able to oxidize CH4 as well as NH4+. To date it is not possible to estimate the relative contribution of methanotrophs to nitrification and that of nitrifiers to CH4 oxidation and thus to assess their roles in N and C cycling in soils and sediments. This study presents new options for discrimination between the activities of methanotrophs and nitrifiers, based on the competitive inhibitor CH3F and on recovery after inhibition with C2H2. By using rice plant soil as a model system, it was possible to selectively inactivate methanotrophs in soil slurries at a CH4/CH3F/NH4+ molar ratio of 0.1:1:18. This ratio of CH3F to NH4+ did not affect ammonia oxidation, but methane oxidation was inhibited completely. By using the same model system, it could be shown that after 24 h of exposure to C2H2 (1,000 parts per million volume), methanotrophs recovered within 24 h while nitrifiers stayed inactive for at least 3 days. This gave an “assay window” of 48 h when only methanotrophs were active. Applying both assays to model microcosms planted with rice plants demonstrated a major contribution of methanotrophs to nitrification in the rhizosphere, while the contribution of nitrifiers to CH4 oxidation was insignificant.
Effect of statins combined with estradiol on the proliferation of human receptor-positive and receptor-negative breast cancer cells

ObjectiveCombination of a statin plus estrogen may reveal benefits on the cardiovascular system in postmenopausal women by additively ameliorating both the lipid profile and vascular function. Long-term therapy with estrogens, however, is associated with an increase of breast cancer risk. In contrast, evidence is accumulating that statins may inhibit carcinogenesis because of their central action on important cellular functions. It is of special clinical interest whether a statin/estrogen combination may reduce the most undesired side effect of estrogen therapy, that is, an increase in breast cancer risk. Therefore, in the present in vitro study, for the first time we have compared the effect of five statins on the proliferation of human breast cancer cells alone and in the presence of stimulatory estradiol (E2). DesignAs cell models, the receptor-positive cell line MCF-7 and the receptor-negative cell line MDA-MB 231 were used. The statins atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin were tested in the concentration range of 1.6 &mgr;m to 50 &mgr;m alone and in the range of 0.01 nm to 10 &mgr;m in combination with E2. Cell proliferation was measured after 4 days by the adenosinetriphosphate-chemosensitivity test. ResultsAll statins except pravastatin were able to significantly inhibit dose dependently the cell proliferation of both cell lines. The inhibitory values were between 10% and 90%, whereby the potency was greater in the case of receptor-negative cancer cells. A significant difference in the efficacy of the statins was observed for MCF-7 cells, in which atorvastatin was less effective than the other statins. In contrast, in the presence of E2, the statins showed similar antiproliferative actions in MCF-7 cells when tested in the concentration range of 0.01 nm to 10 &mgr;m. A reduction of cell proliferation of less than 10% was observed at the lower concentrations and between 15% and 25% at the highest concentration of 10 &mgr;m. ConclusionsThe present data indicate that statins can inhibit the proliferation of receptor-positive and -negative human breast cancer cells but failed to completely abrogate the E2-induced proliferation of receptor-positive breast cancer cells. Clinical trials, however, are necessary to prove this anticarcinogenic action of statins.
Routine parathyroid autotransplantation during total thyroidectomy: a procedure with predictable outcome.

OBJECTIVE To compare parathyroid gland autotransplantation with parathyroid gland preservation in situ with respect to the preservation of parathyroid gland function in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. METHODS The quasi-experimental study was performed from July 1998 to June 2009 at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 388 patients underwent total thyroidectomy for a variety of thyroid gland disorders. They were divided into two groups; 97 patients in Group A had parathyroid glands preserved in situ, while 291 patients in Group B had at least one parathyroid gland autotransplanted in ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle. Both groups were followed for six months for the assessment of parathyroid function. Fisher's exact test was used for comparison between the two groups. RESULTS The mean age of Group A was 42.46 +/- 15.30 years, while in Group B it was 39.16 +/- 18.91 years. Overall male-to-female ratio was 1:3.5. In Group A, 3 (3.09%) patients developed permanent hypocalcaemia while in Group B only 1 (0.34%) patient developed permanent hypocalcaemia. CONCLUSION Autotransplantation of at least one parathyroid gland after total thyroidectomy is a procedure with predictable outcome associated with minimal risk of permanent hypoparathyroidism.