Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a pavement stencil in promoting safe behavior among elementary school children boarding school buses.

OBJECTIVE The majority of school bus-related fatalities among children attending elementary school in the United States occur as children board or alight from buses. Injuries occur during boarding when children enter the street and are struck by buses or other vehicles. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a stencil in the shape of a school bus applied to the pavement at a bus stop in improving safe behaviors at bus stops. Specifically, we assessed the frequency of children running toward the bus as it approached or entered the street. METHODS Elementary school bus stops with similar roadways, traffic profiles, and numbers of children boarding participated in the study. Stops were randomly assigned to an intervention group, in which children were instructed to remain within a safe area during boarding that was demarcated by a pavement stencil, or an education-only group, in which the safe area was demarcated by some existing environmental feature. Both groups received education about safe boarding procedures. Observers rated behavior at each stop daily for 5 consecutive weeks. Data were analyzed as bivariate odds of any unsafe behavior in the education-only group. RESULTS One hundred forty-five observations from seven bus stops with stencils and 174 daily observations from six education-only stops were completed. Observations of children in the education-only group were twice as likely to show unsafe behavior while waiting (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.6) and during boarding (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.9). ORs were significantly higher in the education-only group for boys, girls, and children in grades 4 through 6. When no adult was present, there was a greater likelihood of unsafe behavior among all children in the education-only group while waiting (OR, 16.1; 95% CI, 3.9-72.4) and during boarding (OR, 15.0; 95% CI, 3.2-81.4). The presence of an adult at the stop did not have an independent effect on behavior. Children at education-only stops located on roadways with high traffic volume were more likely to engage in unsafe behavior while waiting (OR, 8.0; 95% CI, 3.8-17.3) and during boarding (OR, 4.9; 95% CI, 2.2-11.0). No differences were observed during boarding between stencil and education-only groups when 10 or more children were at the stops. CONCLUSION The pavement stencil, when accompanied by education about safe boarding, may represent a cost-effective approach to reducing unsafe behavior at bus stops by children of elementary school age.
HOST‐PLANT‐INDUCED ASSORTATIVE MATING IN ENCHENOPA TREEHOPPERS

The hypothesis tested here is whether extrinsic host‐plant‐induced life‐history timing and mating biology promote assortative mating along host‐plant lines. In the arboreal, univoltine Enchenopa treehopper system, host plants mediate the timing and synchronization of egg hatch. The result is a uniform age structure with a restricted mating window during which females mate once. Enchenopa on host plants that differ in phenology have asynchronous life histories and mating windows, suggesting that temporal differences may promote assortative mating. To test this hypothesis, egg hatch of Enchenopa from the same host‐plant species was manipulated to produce continuous adult age‐classes. Under experimental conditions with no spatial barriers, mating occurred between individuals similar in age. The mechanism promoting this assortative mating is differential mortality in males and females, such that few males are still alive when females in successive age‐classes mate. Such host‐plant‐induced assortative mating is viewed as an effective mechanism to protect the integrity of gene pools from migrants, permitting selection for host‐plant‐adapted genotypes and speciation.
Middle-range theory of chronic sorrow.

PURPOSE To introduce a middle-range nursing theory of chronic sorrow that presents this sorrow as a normal response to ongoing disparity due to loss. Chronic sorrow is the periodic recurrence of permanent, pervasive sadness or other grief related feelings associated with a significant loss. The theory provides a framework for understanding and working with people following a single or ongoing loss. ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK The model of chronic sorrow includes antecedents, trigger events, and internal and external management methods. SCOPE Theory is useful for analyzing individual responses of people experiencing ongoing disparity due to chronic illness, caregiving responsibilities, loss of the "perfect" child, or bereavement. SOURCES The theory was developed using concept analysis, critical review of research, and validation in 10 qualitative studies of various loss situations. CONCLUSIONS Chronic sorrow has been shown to explain the experience of people across the lifespan who encounter ongoing disparity because of significant loss. Nurses need to view chronic sorrow as a normal response to loss and, when it is triggered, provide support by fostering positive coping strategies and assuming roles that increase comfort.
Applying the Problem-Based Learning Approach to Teach Elementary Circuit Analysis

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a motivating, problem-centered teaching method. The methodology and its application to education in elementary circuit analysis is discussed in detail. Because of administrative constraints, the implemented course does not strictly adhere to the PBL methodology in the sense that the course curriculum is strictly defined. Also, the PBL students take the same exam as the students in the traditional form of the course. The learning experience in the two course forms is compared via a questionnaire response and exam results. This comparison of the two groups seems to indicate that the PBL method is a better way of imparting education in circuit analysis, or even technology in general. The PBL students appear to grasp better the details and the overall picture of the issues taught. In addition to the subject matter, the PBL course students learn social skills through interaction in small groups, how to identify and define a problem, and how to look for and filter out relevant information. Presentation skills are also practiced
Chloride channel ClC‐3 promotion of osteogenic differentiation through Runx2

ClC‐3 chloride channel has been speculated to contribute to the acidification of synaptic vesicles and endosomes. However, the biological function of ClC‐3 in osteogenesis remains to be determined. In this study, we first analyzed ClC‐3 expression in MC3T3‐E1 cells and primary mouse osteoblasts and then performed the osteoinductive procedure to determine the effects on gene expression. Subsequently, we transiently transfected ClC‐3 cDNA or ClC‐3‐siRNA into MC3T3‐E1 cells to determine the changed phenotype and gene expression. Lastly, we assessed the underlying mechanism responsible for ClC‐3‐induced osteodifferentiation. We found that ClC‐3 mRNA was expressed in primary mouse osteoblasts and MC3T3‐E1 cells and induced by using an osteoinductive procedure. We also found that overexpression of ClC‐3 contributed to osteodifferentiation, such as increase in the expression of osteogenic markers [alkaline phosphatase (Alp), osteocalcin (Oc), bone sialoprotein (Bsp), osterix (Osx), and runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2)], morphological changes, and mineralized nodules in MC3T3‐E1 cells. ClC‐3 gene silencing suppressed gene expression of these osteogenic markers. Moreover, overexpressed ClC‐3 protein co‐localized with TGF‐β1 in intracellular organelles, inhibited TGF‐β1 protein expression and induced endosomal acidification. Nevertheless, knockdown of Runx2 expression antagonized the effects of ClC‐3 in osteodifferentiation and expression of osteogenic markers. The data from the current study suggest that the function of ClC‐3 in osteodifferentiation may be through the Runx2 pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 49–58, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Towards a Particle Swarm Optimization approach for grasp planning problem

This paper addresses the grasp planning problem, which deals with finding the contact points between a five-fingered hand and an arbitrary object. As we consider this problem as an optimization problem, we provide in this paper an approach based on Particle Swarm Optimization for the generation and execution of grasps. Its main purpose is to compute a set of hand configurations posture in order to find an appropriate grip, satisfying a certain criteria. Assuming that the search for a solution is restricted to a precise grasp which allows only contact with the fingertips, we analyze each of the configurations of the hand with a fitness function based on a measure of quality of the grasp. Each grasp is tested and evaluated within our grasping simulator “HandGrasp”. We present experimental results using different objects.
Synaptic membrane rafts: traffic lights for local neurotrophin signaling?

Lipid rafts, cholesterol and lipid rich microdomains, are believed to play important roles as platforms for the partitioning of transmembrane and synaptic proteins involved in synaptic signaling, plasticity, and maintenance. There is increasing evidence of a physical interaction between post-synaptic densities and post-synaptic lipid rafts. Localization of proteins within lipid rafts is highly regulated, and therefore lipid rafts may function as traffic lights modulating and fine-tuning neuronal signaling. The tyrosine kinase neurotrophin receptors (Trk) and the low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) are enriched in neuronal lipid rafts together with the intermediates of downstream signaling pathways, suggesting a possible role of rafts in neurotrophin signaling. Moreover, neurotrophins and their receptors are involved in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Cholesterol is an important component of lipid rafts and its depletion leads to gradual loss of synapses, underscoring the importance of lipid rafts for proper neuronal function. Here, we review and discuss the idea that translocation of neurotrophin receptors in synaptic rafts may account for the selectivity of their transduced signals.
New insight into solvent effects on the formal HOO. + HOO. reaction.

The 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitrile)(AIBN)-induced autoxidation of gamma-terpinene (TH) at 50 degrees C produces p-cymene and hydrogen peroxide in a radical-chain reaction having HOO* as one of the chain-carrying radicals. The kinetics of this reaction in cyclohexane and tert-butyl alcohol show that chain termination involves the formal HOO. + HOO. self-reaction over a wide range of gamma-terpinene, AIBN, and O2 concentrations. However, in acetonitrile this termination process is accompanied by termination via the cross-reaction of the terpinenyl radical, T. , with the HOO. radical under conditions of relatively high [TH] (140-1000 mM) and low [O2] (2.0-5.5 mM). This is because the formal HOO. + HOO. reaction is comparatively slow in acetonitrile (2k approximately 8 x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1)), whereas, this reaction is almost diffusion-controlled in tert-butyl alcohol and cyclohexane, 2k approximately 6.5 x 10(8) and 1.3 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. Three mechanisms for the bimolecular self-reaction of HOO. radicals are considered: 1) a head-to-tail hydrogen-atom transfer from one radical to the other, 2) a head-to-head reaction to form an intermediate tetroxide, and 3) an electron-transfer between HOO. and its conjugate base, the superoxide radical anion, O2-. The rate constant for reaction by mechanism (1) is shown to be dependent on the hydrogen bond (HB) accepting ability of the solvent; that by mechanism (2) is shown to be too slow for this process to be of any importance; and that by mechanism (3) is dependent on the pH of the solvent and its ability to support ionization. Mechanism (3) was found to be the main termination process in tert-butyl alcohol and acetonitrile. In the gas phase, the rate constant for the HOO. + HOO. reaction (mechanism (1)) is about 1.8 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) but in water at pH< or =2 where the ionization of HOO. is completely suppressed, this rate constant is only 8.6 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1). The very large retarding effect of water on this reaction has not previously been explained. We find that it can be quantitatively accounted for by using Abraham's HB acceptor parameter, beta(2)(H), for water of 0.38 and an estimated HB donor parameter, alpha(2)(H), for HOO. of about 0.87. These Abraham parameters allow us to predict a rate constant for the HOO. + HOO. reaction in water at 25 degrees C of 1.2 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) in excellent agreement with experiment.
Changes in shape and cross‐sectional geometry in the tibia of mice selectively bred for increases in relative bone length

Limb bone size and shape in terrestrial mammals scales predictably with body mass. Weight‐bearing limb bones in these species have geometries that enable them to withstand deformations due to loading, both within and between species. Departures from the expected scaling of bone size and shape to body mass occur in mammals that have become specialized for different types of locomotion. For example, mammals adapted for frequent running and jumping behaviors have hind limb bones that are long in relation to body mass, but with narrower cross‐sections than predicted for their length. The Longshanks mouse was recently established, a selectively bred line of mice with ~12–13% longer tibiae relative to body mass. This increased limb length resembles superficially the derived limb proportions of rodents adapted for hopping and jumping. Here, 3D geometric morphometrics and analyses of bone cross‐sectional geometry were combined to determine whether selection for increased relative tibia length in Longshanks mice has altered the scaling relationship of size and shape, and/or bone robusticity, relative to the tibiae of random‐bred control mice from the same genetic background. The results suggest that the Longshanks tibia is not a geometrically scaled version of the control tibiae. Instead, the Longshanks tibia has become narrower in cross‐section in relation to its increased length, leading to a decrease in overall bending strength when compared with control tibiae. These changes in bone shape and robusticity resemble the derived morphology of mammals adapted for running and jumping, with important implications for the material properties and strength of bone in these mammals.
Dietary Mutagen Exposure and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

To investigate the association between dietary exposure to food mutagens and risk of pancreatic cancer, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center during June 2002 to May 2006. A total of 626 cases and 530 noncancer controls were frequency matched for race, sex and age (±5 years). Dietary exposure information was collected via personal interview using a meat preparation questionnaire. A significantly greater portion of the cases than controls showed a preference to well-done pork, bacon, grilled chicken, and pan-fried chicken, but not to hamburger and steak. Cases had a higher daily intake of food mutagens and mutagenicity activity (revertants per gram of daily meat intake) than controls did. The daily intakes of 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5−f]quinoxaline (DiMeIQx) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), as well as the mutagenic activity, were significant predictors for pancreatic cancer (P = 0.008, 0.031, and 0.029, respectively) with adjustment of other confounders. A significant trend of elevated cancer risk with increasing DiMeIQx intake was observed in quintile analysis (Ptrend = 0.024). A higher intake of dietary mutagens (those in the two top quintiles) was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of pancreatic cancer among those without a family history of cancer but not among those with a family history of cancer. A possible synergistic effect of dietary mutagen exposure and smoking was observed among individuals with the highest level of exposure (top 10%) to PhIP and BaP, Pinteraction = 0.09 and 0.099, respectively. These data support the hypothesis that dietary mutagen exposure alone and in interaction with other factors contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(4):655–61)
The renin–angiotensin system and the gastrointestinal mucosa

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is fundamental for the intake of fluid and electrolytes and accommodates a large proportion of bodily hemodynamics and host defence systems. Despite that the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is a prominent regulatory system for fluid and electrolyte homeostasis its impact on GI physiology is only little explored. Recent data indicate that RAS is well expressed and active in the GI tract although exact physiological roles are to be settled. There are several reports showing influences by RAS and its key mediator angiotensin II (AngII) on intestinal epithelial fluid and electrolyte transport and data are accumulating, suggesting involvement in GI mucosal inflammation and carcinogenesis. Of particular interest is the increasing amount of experimental support for the involvement of AngII formation and actions via the AngII subtype 1 (AT1) receptor in the pathogenesis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The picture of RAS in the GI tract is, however, far from complete. Because RAS is an important application area for reno‐cardiovascular diseases, a number of pharmacological agents as well as research technologies already exist and can in the future be used for GI research. A marked expansion of knowledge concerning the role of RAS in GI physiology and pathophysiology is to be expected.
Opportunities and Challenges of Vehicle-to-Home, Vehicle-to-Vehicle, and Vehicle-to-Grid Technologies

Electric vehicles (EVs) are regarded as one of the most effective tools to reduce the oil demands and gas emissions. And they are welcome in the near future for general road transportation. When EVs are connected to the power grid for charging and/or discharging, they become gridable EVs (GEVs). These GEVs will bring a great impact to our society and thus human life. This paper investigates and discusses the opportunities and challenges of GEVs connecting with the grid, namely, the vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies. The key is to provide the methodologies, approaches, and foresights for the emerging technologies of V2H, V2V, and V2G.
Detecting function purity in JavaScript

We present an approach to detect function purity in JavaScript. A function is pure if none of its applications cause observable side-effects. The approach is based on a pushdown flow analysis that besides traditional control and value flow also keeps track of write effects. To increase the precision of our purity analysis, we combine it with an intraprocedural analysis to determine freshness of variables and object references. We formalize the core aspects of our analysis, and discuss our implementation used to analyze several common JavaScript benchmarks. Experiments show that our technique is capable of detecting function purity, even in the presence of higher-order functions, dynamic property expressions, and prototypal inheritance.
Physiological Studies on the Recovery of Salt Tolerance by Staphylococcus aureus After Sublethal Heating

Cultures of S. aureus in 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer heated at 52 C for 15 min lost their tolerance to 7.5% NaCl. After incubation in a complex growth medium or in a diluted dialyzed medium in which unheated cells were unable to grow, salt tolerance was regained. Heat injury caused 30% loss of lipid. During recovery, the concentration of C15 and C17 fatty acids returned to normal, and there appeared to be an oversynthesis of C16 and C18 unsaturated acids. Penicillin abolished the latter reaction without affecting recovery; chloramphenicol did not affect fatty acid oversynthesis but reduced recovery. The K/Na ratio was 12.6 in control cells and 3.4 in injured cells, where it remained during the recovery of salt tolerance. Aspartate uptake was about 10% of the control level after injury and about 35% at recovery. Control cells grew without a lag on subculture, but injured cells which had regained their salt tolerance needed about 2 more h of incubation. Cells recovering with penicillin needed 6 more h, and cells recovering with chloramphenicol did not grow without a prolonged lag. Cells of S. aureus, therefore, may recover their salt tolerance while various membrane functions are still damaged.
Burden of Human Papillomavirus among Haitian Immigrants in Miami, Florida: Community-Based Participatory Research in Action

Background. Haitian immigrant women residing in Little Haiti, a large ethnic enclave in Miami-Dade County, experience the highest cervical cancer incidence rates in South Florida. While this disparity primarily reflects lack of access to screening with cervical cytology, the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer worldwide, varies by population and may contribute to excess rate of disease. Our study examined the prevalence of oncogenic and nononcogenic HPV types and risk factors for HPV infection in Little Haiti. Methods. As part of an ongoing community-based participatory research initiative, community health workers recruited study participants between 2007 and 2008, instructed women on self-collecting cervicovaginal specimens, and collected sociodemographic and healthcare access data. Results. Of the 242 women who contributed adequate specimens, the overall prevalence of HPV was 20.7%, with oncogenic HPV infections (13.2% of women) outnumbering nononcogenic infections (7.4%). Age-specific prevalence of oncogenic HPV was highest in women 18–30 years (38.9%) although the prevalence of oncogenic HPV does not appear to be elevated relative to the general U.S. population. The high prevalence of oncogenic types in women over 60 years may indicate a substantial number of persistent infections at high risk of progression to precancer.
Long-term clinical and positron emission tomography outcome of fetal striatal transplantation in Huntington’s disease

Two patients with moderate Huntington’s disease (HD) received bilateral fetal striatal allografts. One patient demonstrated, for the first time, increased striatal D2 receptor binding, evident with 11C-raclopride positron emission tomography, and prolonged clinical improvement over 5 years, suggesting long term survival and efficacy of the graft. The other patient did not improve clinically or radiologically. Our results indicate that striatal transplantation in HD may be beneficial but further studies are needed to confirm this.