Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feldexperiment zur Wirksamkeit von konkretem vs. abstraktem Eco-Driving Feedback

Eco-Driving Feedback Informationssysteme haben das Potenzial, auf sehr rasche und effiziente Weise zur Reduktion von Spritverbrauch und CO2 im Strassentransportwesen beizutragen. Vor allem neuere vernetzte Fahrzeuge bieten durch die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Cockpits viel Freiraum zur Gestaltung und Untersuchung von Eco-Driving Feedback. Neben klassischen „Spritverbrauchs-Tachos“ findet man heutzutage auch eher abstrakte Formen der Informationsdarbietung, z.B. animierte Pflanzen, die in Abhangigkeit vom Spritverbrauch wachsen oder schrumpfen. Diese Moglichkeiten werfen wichtige Fragen auf: Welche Art der Informationsdarbietung andert das Fahrverhalten kurzfristig und langfristig effektiver? Welche Fahrverhaltensweisen (z.B. Bremsverhalten) werden in welchem Masse beeinflusst? Hangen eventuelle Effekte von bestimmten Moderatoren ab? Um diese Fragen zu untersuchen, wurde ein Eco-Driving Feedback System entwickelt, welches den Spritverbrauch des Fahrzeugs auf klassisch „konkrete“ Art einerseits und auf eher abstrakte Art andererseits anzeigt. Die Auswirkungen auf Fahrverhalten und Spritverbrauch sollen in einem Feldexperiment unter Alltagsbedingungen mit 72 Pannenservice-Fahrern untersucht werden.
A randomized trial of physical rehabilitation for very frail nursing home residents.

BACKGROUND Past studies suggest multidisciplinary interventions that include physical therapy (PT) can improve function of nursing home residents. This trial specifically evaluates effects of PT for frail long-stay nursing home residents. DESIGN Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING One academic nursing home and eight community nursing homes. PATIENTS A total of 194 elderly nursing home residents dependent in at least two activities of daily living residing in the nursing home for at least 3 months. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to individually tailored one-on-one PT sessions or friendly visits (FVs) three times a week for 4 months. Physical therapy included range-of-motion, strength, balance, transfer, and mobility exercises. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Performance-based physical function assessed by the Physical Disability Index; self-perceived health status assessed with the Sickness Impact Profile; observer-reported activities of daily living; and falls. RESULTS Eighty-nine percent and 92% of PT and FV sessions, respectively, were attended; 5% and 9% of subjects dropped out in the PT group and FV group, respectively. Compared with the FV group, the PT group experienced no significant improvements in overall Physical Disability Index, Sickness Impact Profile, or activities of daily living scores. A 15.5% improvement in the mobility subscale of the Physical Disability Index was seen (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.4% to 24.7%); no benefits in range-of-motion, strength, or balance subscales were found. Compared with the FV group, the PT group used assistive devices for bed mobility tasks less often (P = .06) and were less likely to use assistive devices and wheelchairs for locomotion (P < .005). There were 79 falls in the PT group vs 60 falls in the FV group (P = .11). Charge for the 4-month PT program was $1220 per subject (95% CI, $412 to $1832). CONCLUSION This standardized physical therapy program provided modest mobility benefits for very frail long-stay nursing home residents with physical disability due to multiple comorbid conditions.
Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus sp. Strain CDB3, an Arsenic-Resistant Soil Bacterium Isolated from Cattle Dip Sites

ABSTRACT Bacillus sp. strain CDB3, isolated from cattle dip sites in Australia, is highly resistant to arsenic. It contains 22 arsenic resistance (ars) genes, of which 17 are organized in 3 ars clusters. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of CDB3, which will assist us in understanding the overall ars mechanism.
AsthmaWise – a field of dreams? The results of an online education program targeting older adults with asthma

Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility and acceptability of an online asthma self-management program developed for older Australians with asthma. Methods: AsthmaWise, an internet education self-management program, was piloted for a 3-month period at the beginning of 2012. Participants were recruited using both online and offline strategies and were required to complete surveys, both pre- and post-intervention, in a repeated measures design. Results: Matched data were collected from 51 participants; the results showed AsthmaWise to be a feasible and acceptable method of delivering asthma education to the target population. Self-reported measures showed an increase in participants’ asthma knowledge, asthma control and quality of life. Results from the Perceived Health Web Site Usability Questionnaire (PHWSUQ) showed improvements between usability testing and implementation. Conclusion: The need for asthma self-management education will continue to increase as the population ages and a greater number of older adults are living with asthma. This small pilot study indicates that an online asthma self-management education program can result in improved outcome measures in a target group not normally considered technologically literate.
Interictal regional cerebral blood flow in patients with partial seizures

Interictal regional cerebral blood flow was determined in 11 adult patients with partial epilepsy and lateralized electroencephalographic abnormalities by means of the xenon 133 intracarotid injection method. A hemispheric area demonstrating significantly low regional cerebral blood flow values as compared with the hemispheric mean cerebral blood flow was observed in each of the patients. In 10 of the 11 patients the localized reduced regional cerebral blood flow levels deviated significantly from levels obtained from parallel regions and hemispheres of normal controls. In the majority of patients, the site of low regional cerebral blood flow closely correlated with the clinical type of partial seizures and/or the site of main electroencephalographic abnormality. On the basis of these data, we suggest that the epileptogenic focus responsible for the partial seizures may be localized within the hemispheric area demonstrating the abnormal regional cerebral blood flow reduction.
Current Therapies and New Pharmacologic Targets for Metastatic Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a tumor that originates from the melanocytes and manifests mainly on the skin. Melanomas are usually strongly pigmented, however amelanotic forms have been observed. Relative to the tumor mass, melanomas have an early tendency to metastasize; the prognosis is therefore poor. Malignant melanoma is responsible for about 90% of skin cancer related mortality [1]. Several risk factors for the development of melanoma have been identi‐ fied. Ethnic origin is particularly important with a disease that mostly affects people of European origin. Epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to the sun, especially in childhood, is a major environmental cause of melanoma, and that up to 65% of the cases of melanoma are frequently related to sunburn [2,3].
The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation within focal adhesions in chemotaxis toward FGF-2 by murine brain capillary endothelial cells.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) regulate a number of angiogenic cellular responses such as migration of endothelial cells. To examine the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in endothelial cell migration, chemotaxis toward FGF-2 was determined in murine brain capillary endothelial cells, denoted IBE cells. PD98059, a specific inhibitor for MAPK/Erk kinase, inhibited FGF-2-induced chemotaxis of IBE cells. It has been reported that c-Src tyrosine kinase phosphorylates focal adhesion kinase at tyrosine 925 within focal adhesions, which in turn creates the binding site for Grb2, leading to MAPK activation. The Src family tyrosine kinase inhibitor, PP1, as well as overexpression of kinase-inactive c-Src, attenuated chemotaxis toward FGF-2. To investigate the signaling events involved in FGF-2-induced chemotaxis, MAPK activation was monitored in IBE cells by indirect immunofluorescence staining. Activated MAPK was initially observed in the cytoplasm and gradually moved into nuclei. A fraction of MAPK was activated by FGF-2 within focal adhesions, where FGF receptor-1 and Src family kinases were also colocalized. MAPK activation within focal adhesions was remarkably decreased in kinase-inactive c-Src-expressing IBE cells. Our data suggest that activation of MAPK by FGF-2 within focal adhesions may depend on c-Src activity and is crucial for FGF-2-induced migration of IBE cells.
Screening, prenatal diagnosis, and prenatal decision for sex chromosome aneuploidy

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the performance of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in screening sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA), and explore prenatal decision-making in NIPT positive cases. Methods: The study retrospectively analyses singleton pregnancies who underwent NIPT screening. Clinical data, diagnostic results, and pregnancy outcomes were also collected. Results: There were 140 positive screens for SCA, including 62 cases of 45,X, 29 cases with 47,XXX, 28 cases of 47,XXY, 20 cases of 47,XYY, and one case of lower X chromosome. Karyotypic information was available in 103 cases. The positive predictive value was 26.09% for 45,X, 85.00% for 47,XXX, 85.00% for 47,XXY, and 68.75% for 47,XYY. The termination rates of 45,X, 47,XXX, 47,XXY, 47,XYY were 83.33%, 26.67%, 82.35%, and 54.54%, respectively (not including mosaic cases). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that the NIPT performed better in predicting sex chromosome trisomies than monosomy X even though false-positive cases do exist in NIPT. For prenatal decisions, pregnancies with diagnoses of fetal 45,X and 47,XXY were terminated more often than those with 47,XXX, 47,XYY. To better guide positive screening pregnancies, pre- and post-test counseling are essential in telling patients the benefits and limitations of the test, comforting their anxiety and giving them the choice for further diagnosis and pregnancy decision.
No Effect of Musical Training on Frequency Selectivity Estimated Using Three Methods

It is widely believed that the frequency selectivity of the auditory system is largely determined by processes occurring in the cochlea. If so, musical training would not be expected to influence frequency selectivity. Consistent with this, auditory filter shapes for low center frequencies do not differ for musicians and nonmusicians. However, it has been reported that psychophysical tuning curves (PTCs) at 4000 Hz were sharper for musicians than for nonmusicians. This study explored the origin of the discrepancy across studies. Frequency selectivity was estimated for musicians and nonmusicians using three methods: fast PTCs with a masker that swept in frequency, “traditional” PTCs obtained using several fixed masker center frequencies, and the notched-noise method. The signal frequency was 4000 Hz. The data were fitted assuming that each side of the auditory filter had the shape of a rounded-exponential function. The sharpness of the auditory filters, estimated as the Q10 values, did not differ significantly between musicians and nonmusicians for any of the methods, but detection efficiency tended to be higher for the musicians. This is consistent with the idea that musicianship influences auditory proficiency but does not influence the peripheral processes that determine the frequency selectivity of the auditory system.
Culture War?: The Myth of a Polarized America

1. Culture War? 2. A 50:50 Nation? The Red and the Blue States. Is the Country Polarized? Red v. Blue States: A Summary. The Obvious Hypothesis. 3. A 50:50 Nation? Beyond the Red and the Blue. Is the Country Polarized? Demographic and Political Groups. Partisan Polarization. Is the Country Polarized? Individuals. Summary: Not a Polarized Country. 4. A Closer Look at Abortion. Public Attitudes Toward Abortion: "I'm Pro-Choice, But. " Abortion and the Gender Gap. Epilogue. 5. A Closer Look at Homosexuality. Americans Attitudes toward Homosexuals and Homosexuality. The Aftermath of Lawrence. 6. Have Electoral Cleavages Shifted? The Rise of Religious Cleavages? The Decay of Economic Cleavages? Appendix to Chapter 6. 7. Reconciling Micro and Macro Evidence. Centrist Voters and Polarized Elites. Voter Response to Elite Polarization. Appendix to Chapter 7: A Deep Identification Problem in Electoral Studies. 8. How Did It Come to This and Where Do We Go From Here? The Ascendance of the Purists. The Expansion of Government. The Rise of Participatory Democracy. The Hijacking of American Democracy. Three Important Caveats. Can Anything Be Done? A Final Thought.
The Liquidity Trap and Japan

Monetary policy may be effective in stabilising income via the real balance effect and the exchange rate channel. Even though interest rates of government bonds are subject to a zero lower bound, fiscal and monetary policy may be employed to change Tobin's q in a multi-asset model and thereby stimulate investment. Foreign exchange intervention, whether sterilised or non-sterilised, may have a positive impact on economic activity. Instead of emphasising inflation targeting, non-monetary policies should be adopted to stimulate aggregate demand to extricate Japan from the liquidity trap. Deflation is the consequence not the cause of the current recession.
Investigational drugs targeting somatostatin receptors for treatment of acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors

Introduction: Octreotide long-acting release (LAR) and lanreotide Autogel (ATG) are the two somatostatin analogs currently approved for treatment of acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The strength of these drugs has been their specificity for somatostatin receptor subtype 2. However, this peculiarity may become a weakness in some patients with tumors harboring somatostatin receptors different from the subtype 2. Another clinically relevant aspect related to the use of octreotide LAR and lanreotide ATG is the burden of injectable drug regimen that may adversely impact the quality of life of patients with acromegaly and NETs. Areas covered: The authors review the recently published evidence on novel drugs targeting somatostatin receptors developed for treating acromegaly and NETs. Within this article, the authors discuss: i) the pharmacology of somatostatin and traditional somatostatin analogs; ii) the efficacy and safety of multireceptor-targeted somatostatin analogs in acromegaly and NETs; iii) the efficacy of chimeric molecules in acromegaly and NETs; iv) the preliminary data on the use of new injectable, oral and transdermal formulations of octreotide in acromegaly. Expert opinion: The development of new somatostatin analogs and new formulations has opened a new scenario for treatment of acromegaly and NETs. That being said, even though there have been big steps taken in the development of new therapies for acromegaly, there are still a number of unresolved issues, while more trials are necessary for the use of somatostatin anaologs in the treatment of NETs.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE ENDOGENOUS METABOLISM OF BACTERIA.

INTRODUCTION. 126 SUBSTRATES FOR ENDOGENOUS METABOLISM . 127 Role of PHB . 127 Biosynthesis of PHB . 130 Catabolism of PHB. 131 Glycogenlike Reserves . 132 Amino Acid Pools. 135 RNA Metabolism. 136 Protein. 138 Other Potential Substrates. 138 ENERGY OF MAINTENANCE. 138 STARVATION AND SURVIVAL. 142 Death. 143 Relationship Between Survival and Endogenous Substrates . 144 SUMMARY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK. 145 LITERATURE CITED. 146
Contracts : Optimal Indexation in General Equilibrium E 2007 / 8 CARDIFF BUSINESS SCHOOL WORKING

Calvo contracts, which are the basis of the current generation of New Keynesian models, widely include indexation to general ination. We argue that the indexing formula should be expected ination rather than lagged ination. This is likely to optimise the welfare of the representative agent in a general equilibrium model of the New Keynesian type. The economy behaves under rational indexation is similar to a New Classical model, with shocks producing an immediate uctuation in both prices and output followed by a fairly rapid return to steady state. The monetary policy that targets price level brings a greater economic stability.
Rocuronium Is Not Associated with More Vocal Cord Injuries than Succinylcholine After Rapid-Sequence Induction: A Randomized, Prospective, Controlled Trial

Postoperative hoarseness (PH), sore throat (ST), and vocal cord injuries (VCI) are common complications after general anesthesia. Excellent endotracheal intubating conditions are associated with less laryngeal morbidity than good or poor intubating conditions. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that a rapid-sequence induction (RSI) with succinylcholine would lead to less PH and VCI than with rocuronium. In this prospective trial, 160 patients were randomized in 2 groups to receive thiopental 5.0 mg/kg, fentanyl 3.0 &mgr;g/kg, succinylcholine 1.0 mg/kg, or rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg during RSI. PH and ST were assessed at 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery, VCI were examined by stroboscopy in those patients who had PH >3 days. Excellent and clinically acceptable intubating conditions were significantly increased in the succinylcholine group compared with the rocuronium group: 57% versus 21% and 89% versus 59%, respectively (P < 0.001). The incidence and severity of PH, and VCI between the succinylcholine and the rocuronium groups did not differ significantly: PH: 50% versus 51% (P = 0.99) and VCI: 3% versus 1% (P = 0.98), respectively. Similar findings were found for ST, 39% versus 28% (P = 0.22), and postoperative myalgia, 39% versus 29% (P = 0.25), respectively. Intubating conditions were significantly better in the succinylcholine group compared with the rocuronium group. The incidence and severity of ST and myalgia were not increased in the patients receiving succinylcholine. However, the rate of PH and VCI was similar to the rocuronium group.
Landscape of microRNA in the aqueous humour of proliferative diabetic retinopathy as assessed by next‐generation sequencing

The microRNAs (miRNA) have been found to play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. We try to explore the miRNA and piwi‐interacting RNA (piRNA) profile in the aqueous humour of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) using next‐generation sequencing (NGS).
Insomnia as a Moderator of Response to Time in Bed Restriction for Augmenting Antidepressant Treatment: A Preliminary Investigation

ABSTRACT Background: There are complex, bidirectional associations between major depressive disorder and insomnia. In the present study, we evaluated insomnia as a moderator of response to antidepressant therapy in the context of a sleep manipulation (time in bed restriction) for major depressive disorder. Methods: Fifty-eight adults with major depressive disorder received 8 weeks of fluoxetine 20–40 mgs and were randomized to 8 hr time in bed (8h TIB) or 6 hr time in bed (6h TIB) for the first 2 weeks (participants in the 6h TIB condition were further randomized to a delayed bedtime (Late Bedtime) or advanced rise time (Early Rise Time) group). Insomnia was assessed at baseline using the Insomnia Severity Index. Depression symptom severity was determined by the clinician-rated 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17), completed weekly. Results: A group by time interaction was observed whereby HAMD-17 scores were higher for participants assigned to the 6h TIB group (without insomnia, weeks 3 through 7; with insomnia from week 3 through 6, ps < .05) relative to participants without insomnia assigned to the 8h TIB group. There were no differences in HAMD-17 scores for participants with insomnia in the 6h TIB group relative to the 8h TIB group. Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest that response to fluoxetine may be hindered by TIB restriction in individuals without insomnia. Individuals with insomnia respond similarly to fluoxetine regardless of whether their TIB is restricted. Limitations include exclusive use of self-report measures to categorize insomnia, and small sample sizes in several of the subgroups.
Elastic Responding Machine for Dialog Generation with Dynamically Mechanism Selecting

Neural models aiming at generating meaningful and diverse response is attracting increasing attention over recent years. For a given post, the conventional encoder-decoder models tend to learn high-frequency but trivial responses, or are difficult to determine which speaking styles are suitable to generate responses. To address this issue, we propose the elastic responding machine (ERM), which is based on a proposed encoder-diverter-filter-decoder framework. ERM models the multiple responding mechanisms to not only generate acceptable responses for a given post but also improve the diversity of responses. Here, the mechanisms could be regraded as some latent variables, and for a given post different responses may be generated by different mechanisms. The experiments demonstrate the quality and diversity of the generated responses, intuitively show how the learned model controls response mechanism when responding, and reveal some underlying relationship between mechanism and language style.
Clostridioides difficile infection treatment guidelines adherence and comparison of treatment outcomes of the first, non-severe disease episode between oral metronidazole and vancomycin group: a single tertiary center retrospective study

Background: Management guidelines were established in order to improve disease outcomes of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI); however, recent studies suggest inferiority of oral metronidazole in the treatment of CDI, which brought into question its usefulness even for a first, non-severe CDI. We aimed to explore adherence of the initial CDI therapy to the current ESCMID treatment guidelines and to compare treatment outcomes of the first non-severe CDI episode between oral metronidazole and vancomycin group. Methods: This retrospective observational study included in-patients of all ages with laboratory confirmed CDI, treated at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia, from 2013 to 2017. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: Among 1073 hospitalizations due to CDI the mean age was 71.4±17.4 years and females predominated (58.2%). Adherence to the treatment guidelines was found in 655/1073 (61.0%) of patients, being lowest among fulminant CDIs (20.5%). Groups treated initially with oral metronidazole (N=282) and oral vancomycin (N=78) for the first, non-severe CDI episode were comparable by clinical and epidemiological features (p>0.05). However, the initial treatment with oral metronidazole had to be changed to another therapy in 64/282 (22.7%) patients, mostly (33/64) due to clinical inefficiency and in 22/64 due to side effects, in comparison to only 2/78 (2.6%) who switched therapy in the vancomycin group. Conclusions: The low adherence to the treatment guidelines warrants additional education of the clinicians. The high rate of clinical inefficiency and unwanted side effects of oral metronidazole therapy make its usefulness doubtful, even for a first, non-severe CDI.