Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The New York City Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination: five-year data demonstrates its validity, usefulness as a unique rating tool, objectivity, and sensitivity to change.

OBJECTIVE Traditional means of testing rheumatology fellows do not adequately assess some skills that are required to practice medicine well, such as humanistic qualities, communication skills, or professionalism. Institution of the New York City Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (ROSCE) and our sequential 5 years of experience have provided us with a unique opportunity to assess its usefulness and objectivity as a rheumatology assessment tool. METHODS Prior to taking the examination, all of the fellows were rated by their program directors. Fellows from the participating institutions then underwent a multistation patient-interactive examination observed and rated by patient actors and faculty raters. Assessments were recorded by all of the participants using separate but overlapping sets of instruments testing the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies of patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and overall medical knowledge. RESULTS Although the program directors tended to rate their fellows more highly than the ROSCE raters, typically there was agreement between the program directors and the ROSCE faculty in distinguishing between the highest- and lowest- performing fellows. The ROSCE faculty and patient actor assessments of individual trainees were notable for a high degree of concordance, both quantitatively and qualitatively. CONCLUSION The ROSCE provides a unique opportunity to obtain a patient-centered assessment of fellows' ACGME-mandated competencies that traditional knowledge-based examinations, such as the rheumatology in-service examination, cannot measure. The ability of the ROSCE to provide a well-rounded and objective assessment suggests that it should be considered an important component of the rheumatology training director's toolbox.
Effects of Red Light Illumination on Productivity, Fertility, Hatchability and Energy Effi ciency of Thai Indigenous Hens

This study was conducted to determine the effects of red light exposure on the productivity, fertility and hatching characteristics in Thai native hens (Gallus domesticus). A total of 120 birds aged 18 wk were housed in an open-sided shed and exposed to one of the following lighting treatments: 1) natural daylight supplemented with fl uorescent light (Control), 2) natural daylight supplemented with red light (NR) and 3) red light as the sole light source (R). The red light was produced by lightemitting diodes. All treatments were provided with a daily light:dark photoperiod of 16:8 hr over a 28-week egg-laying period, and there were four replicate pens of 10 hens for each treatment. Photostimulation of the light sources was initiated at age 18 wk and any subsequent effects on the live performance and reproductive traits were observed during the experimental period. Feed and water were available at all times. Body weights, feed consumption and mortality rates were similar among the treatment groups. The age at fi rst egg of the NR birds (130.7 d) was comparable to that of the R birds (129.2 d) which was signifi cantly less than that of the control hens (134.7 d). During the fi rst week of the laying period, R hens produced more eggs than did hens in the control treatment (P < 0.05), whereas the NR birds exhibited an intermediate value between those groups. At 2 wk after photostimulation, the serum estradiol concentration was signifi cantly higher for hens in the R treatment compared to those of the control and NR treatments. The hematocrit values of the birds in the R treatment tended to be lower than those of the other two treatments in some periods of the study. During the lighting period from weeks 6 to 8, a signifi cantly improved feed conversion ratio was observed in the R and NR treatments compared to that of the control treatment. No signifi cant differences in egg weight, egg and eggshell quality or any parameters of hatching occurred between the R and control groups. The weights of the ovary, pituitary gland, spleen and the abdominal fat were similar for all light treatments. It was concluded that photostimulation by red light resulted in an acceleration of sexual development in Thai native hens compared to hens exposed to full-spectrum lighting; however, live performance, egg production, egg and eggshell quality, and fertility were not affected whatever the light treatment. The light-emitting diode lighting regimens could be benefi cial for energy conservation and the reduction of rearing costs in laying hens.
On the effect of binding on ubiquitin dynamics.

Protein-protein interactions play an important role in all biological processes. But the principles underlying these interactions are not yet fully understood. Ubiquitin is a small signalling protein that non-covalently interacts with and is recognised by a multitude of other proteins. I have conducted molecular dynamics simulations of ubiquitin in complex with 12 different binding partners and compared ensembles of bound and unbound ubiquitin to determine the influence of complex formation on the dynamic properties of this protein. Along the main mode of fluctuation of ubiquitin, binding in most cases reduces the conformational space available to ubiquitin to a characteristic subspace of that covered by unbound ubiquitin. This behaviour can be well explained using the model of conformational selection. For lower amplitude collective modes, a spectrum of zero to almost complete coverage of bound by unbound ensembles was observed. The significant differences between bound and unbound structures are exclusively situated at the binding interface. Overall, the findings correspond neither to a complete conformational selection nor induced fit scenario. Instead, I introduce a model of conformational restriction, extension and shift, which describes the full range of observed effects. The observation of characteristic restrictions of the main mode dynamics in complexes, lead me to develop the hypothesis that ubiquitin binding can be modulated by changing main mode behaviour, for example by mutation of residues in the hydrophobic core. Using a screening protocol based on non-equilibrium free energy simulations, eleven mutations of ubiquitin were identified that shift the equilibrium population of unbound ubiquitin along the main mode. I calculated the effect of these mutations on the free energy of binding to different binding partners that require ubiquitin to be a characteristic state, observing a significant shift in binding affinity.
Ranibizumab: treatment in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A is a major regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability implicated in the development of diseases involving pathological angiogenesis and increased vascular permeability, such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). LUCENTIS™ (ranibizumab), a humanised antigen-binding fragment (Fab) that neutralises all VEGF-A isoforms and their biologically active degradation products, was recently approved by the FDA. Ranibizumab is the first FDA-approved treatment for neovascular AMD that maintains or improves vision in ≥ 90% patients and provides a ≥ 15-letter improvement in visual acuity for a quarter to a third of patients with all choroidal neovascularisation subtypes. Ranibizumab was associated with a ≤ 1.7% rate of key serious ocular adverse events, such as endophthalmitis and uveitis, in two pivotal Phase III trials.
An appraisal account of individual differences in emotional experience

People can differ tremendously in the emotions they experience, both in general as well as in response to specific events, and such differences have large impact on their lives. Based on recent research on individual differences in appraisal and emotion, we propose a framework to understand the basis for individual differences in emotional experience. In this framework, individual differences in how people appraise their circumstances and in how these appraisals are related to emotional experience are seen as crucial in determining how people differ in both contextualized emotional experience and more stable emotional dispositions. We discuss parallels with other explanatory frameworks, implications for the nature of emotion traits, and directions for future research. A large part of what makes us individuals is our emotions. We all have unique ways of emotionally responding to the events that constitute our lives, be it the TV that breaks down or the birth of a child. Indeed, people vary in many of the defining features of emotions (Barrett, 2009; Davidson, 1998; Kuppens, Stouten, & Mesquita, 2009), and these differences constitute a large part of what makes people’s personalities different (Clark & Watson, 2008; Meyer & Shack, 1989). Individual differences in emotion also predict what makes people happy or unhappy, the decisions they make in their lives, their well-being, and so on. It is therefore important to have a good understanding of what makes people emotionally different. In this study, we propose a framework that aims to explain individual differences in emotional experience. Although emotions consist of other components as well (e.g., behavior, physiology), our focus is on the subjective experience of emotion. Individual differences in emotional experience have classically been studied on two different levels: the state level and the trait level. The state level is concerned with understanding how people emotionally respond to specific events, whereas the trait level is more concerned with how people can be characterized in terms of how they feel on average. Our framework aims to address individual differences at both these levels. As such, the main question we want to address is how we can understand individual differences in emotional experience, both in general as well as in response to specific events. We would like to point out that our analyses focus on proximal psychological sources of individual differences in emotional experience and do not directly speak to distal (e.g., genetic) causes or proximal biological factors, although we expect these levels of explanation to be heavily intertwined.
Enforced fucosylation of cord blood hematopoietic cells accelerates neutrophil and platelet engraftment after transplantation.

Delayed engraftment is a major limitation of cord blood transplantation (CBT), due in part to a defect in the cord blood (CB) cells' ability to home to the bone marrow. Because this defect appears related to low levels of fucosylation of cell surface molecules that are responsible for binding to P- and E-selectins constitutively expressed by the marrow microvasculature, and thus for marrow homing, we conducted a first-in-humans clinical trial to correct this deficiency. Patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies received myeloablative therapy followed by transplantation with 2 CB units, one of which was treated ex vivo for 30 minutes with the enzyme fucosyltransferase-VI and guanosine diphosphate fucose to enhance the interaction of CD34(+) stem and early progenitor cells with microvessels. The results of enforced fucosylation for 22 patients enrolled in the trial were then compared with those for 31 historical controls who had undergone double unmanipulated CBT. The median time to neutrophil engraftment was 17 days (range, 12-34 days) compared with 26 days (range, 11-48 days) for controls (P = .0023). Platelet engraftment was also improved: median was 35 days (range, 18-100 days) compared with 45 days (range, 27-120 days) for controls (P = .0520). These findings support ex vivo fucosylation of multipotent CD34(+) CB cells as a clinically feasible means to improve engraftment efficiency in the double CBT setting. The trial is registered to www.clinicaltrials. gov as #NCT01471067.
COPD patient satisfaction with ipratropium bromide/albuterol delivered via Respimat: a randomized, controlled study

Background Ipratropium bromide/albuterol Respimat inhaler (CVT-R) was developed as an environmentally friendly alternative to ipratropium bromide/albuterol metered-dose inhaler (CVT-MDI), which uses a chlorofluorocarbon propellant. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction, device usage, and long-term safety of CVT-R compared to CVT-MDI, and to the simultaneous administration of ipratropium bromide hydrofluoroalkane (HFA; I) and albuterol HFA (A) metered-dose inhalers as dual monotherapies (I + A). Design This is a 48-week, open-label, randomized, active-controlled, parallel-group study (n = 470) comparing CVT-R to CVT-MDI and to I + A. Participants Patients were at least 40 years of age, diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and current or exsmokers. Interventions Patients were randomized to receive: (1) CVT-R, one inhalation four times daily (QID); or (2) CVT-MDI, two inhalations QID; or (3) I + A two inhalations of each inhaler QID. Main measures Patient Satisfaction and Preference Questionnaire (PASAPQ) performance score (primary endpoint) and adverse events. Key results PASAPQ performance score was significantly higher (CVT-R versus CVT-MDI, 9.6; and CVT-R versus I + A, 6.2; both P < 0.001) when using CVT-R compared to CVT-MDI or I + A at all visits starting from week 3, while CVT-MDI and I + A treatment groups were similar. Time to first COPD exacerbation was slightly longer in the CVT-R group compared to the other treatment groups, although it did not reach statistical significance (CVT-R versus CVT-MDI, P = 0.57; CVT-R versus I + A, P = 0.22). Rates of withdrawal and patient refusal to continue treatment were lower in CVT-R compared with CVT-MDI and I + A groups (CVT-R versus CVT-MDI, P = 0.09; CVT-R versus I + A, P = 0.005). The percentage of patients reporting adverse events and serious adverse events was similar across all three treatment groups. Conclusion CVT-R is an effective, environmentally friendly inhaler that provides patients with a high level of user satisfaction and may positively impact clinical outcomes while having no adverse impacts on patients using the device.
Human self‐protein CD8+ T‐cell epitopes are both positively and negatively selected

The cellular immune system recognizes self‐epitopes in the context of MHC‐I molecules. The immunological general view presumes that these self‐epitopes are just a background, both positively and negatively selecting T cells. We here estimate the number of epitopes in each human protein for many frequent HLA alleles, and a score representing over or under presentation of epitopes on these proteins. We further show that there is a clear selection for the presentation of specific self‐protein types. Proteins presenting many epitopes include, for example, autoimmune regulator (AIRE) upregulated tissue‐specific antigens, immune system receptors and proteins with a high expression level. On the other hand, proteins that may be considered less “useful” for the immune system, such as low expression level proteins, are under‐presented. We combine our epitope estimate with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) measures to show that this selection can be directly observed through the fraction of non‐synonymous SNP (replacement fraction), which is significantly higher inside epitopes than outside.
‘A planet of confusion and debate’: children's and young people's response to the news coverage of Pluto's loss of planetary status

Despite calls that the school science curriculum should develop among students an ability to understand and respond critically to science‐related media reports, very little research has been directed toward an important matter relevant to that aim, namely, how children and young people, untutored, react to science in the news. This study sought, in the context of media coverage of the debate surrounding the planetary status of Pluto, to explore this issue. A questionnaire, completed by 350 students aged between eight and 18, showed just over half of the children and young people were able to write relevantly about the subject though it was the gist not the detail of the story they recounted. There was evidence, nonetheless, that this media‐acquired information functioned as active rather than passive knowledge. Students demonstrated relatively few misconceptions and those presented were predominately pre‐existing rather than media‐derived. As with the wider public, many of the children and young people held strong opinions on Pluto's loss of planethood. Such responses diminished with age, however, with older students expressing a degree of indifference. The paper concludes with a discussion of some implications of the research findings for science instruction.
Modeling Cognitive Interactions During Group Brainstorming

Despite laboratory evidence that group brainstormers produce fewer ideas than individual brainstormers, brainstorming groups remain popular in business and industry. Here the authors present a model of the cognitive factors involved in group idea generation. Simulations suggest that group interaction should be beneficial when one group member primes another into thinking of ideas they would not have considered alone, at least not in the context of the task at hand. Many concepts relevant to group cognition can be defined within the model framework (stochastic transition matrices) including fluency, flexibility, category accessibility, convergent/divergent thinking, attention to partners, and the relationship between the knowledge structures of the brainstorming participants. Attention plays a crucial role in the model, linking together individuals in a brainstorming group. Simulations also suggest that convergent group behavior may be the result ofcognitivefactors in addition to the socialfactors outlined by a number of researchers.
Persistent Disability Associated with Ankle Sprains: A Prospective Examination of an Athletic Population

The purpose of this study was to examine a young athletic population to update the data regarding epidemiology and disability associated with ankle injuries. At the United States Military Academy, all cadets presenting with ankle injuries during a 2-month period were included in this prospective observational study. The initial evaluation included an extensive questionnaire, physical examination, and radiographs. Ankle sprain treatment included a supervised rehabilitation program. Subjects were reevaluated at 6 weeks and 6 months with subjective assessment, physical examination, and functional testing. The mean age for all subjects was 20 years (range, 17–24 years). There were 104 ankle injuries accounting for 23% of all injuries seen. There were 96 sprains, 7 fractures, and 1 contusion. Of the 96 sprains, 4 were predominately medial injuries, 76 were lateral, and 16 were syndesmosis sprains. Ninety-five percent had returned to sports activities by 6 weeks; however, 55% of these subjects reported loss of function or presence of intermittent pain, and 23% had a decrement of >20% in the lateral hop test when compared with the uninjured side. At 6 months, all subjects had returned to full activity; however, 40% reported residual symptoms and 2.5% had a decrement of >20% on the lateral hop test. Neither previous injury nor ligament laxity was predictive of chronic symptomatology. Furthermore, chronic dysfunction could not be predicted by the grade of sprain (grade I vs. II). The factor most predictive of residual symptoms was a syndesmosis sprain, regardless of grade. Syndesmosis sprains were most prevalent in collision sports. This study demonstrates that even though our knowledge and understanding of ankle sprains and rehabilitation of these injuries have progressed in the last 20 years, chronic ankle dysfunction continues to be a prevalent problem. The early return to sports occurs after almost every ankle sprain; however, dysfunction persists in 40% of patients for as long as 6 months after injury. Syndesmosis sprains are more common than previously thought, and this confirms that syndesmosis sprains are associated with prolonged disability.
Maestro Neeme Jarvi on Leadership

Neeme Jarvi is one of the most prolific living conductors in the world with more than 350 recordings. During his 15 years as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), he gained international reputation as an orchestra builder. When Jarvi took over the DSO, the demoralized and debt-ridden orchestra was floundering. Under Jarvi's inspiring and creative team-oriented leadership, the DSO was touring, recording, and out of debt within 2 years. Jarvi immigrated with his family to the United States in 1980 from then communist-controlled Estonia. He accepted a contract with Columbia Artists and has now given more than 1,200 concerts in 125 cities, conducting 72 orchestras. A graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory, he has held or currently holds posts with major orchestras in Estonia, Japan, Sweden, Scotland, and now New Jersey. His debuts were with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted nearly all of the major orchestras of the United States and Europe.
Investigating urban sprawl metrics and dynamics using RS and GIS case study: Gilan province, IRAN

Urban sprawl, meaning low density and inefficient development around cities, occurs as a result of population explosion and high immigration rate. Urban sprawl results in changes in land use and the loss of agricultural lands and open spaces around cities. In Iran, which has a high rate of urbanization, urban sprawl is considered as one of the main factors transforming land use. In particular, it is critically important to examine this phenomenon in Gilan province since it is one of the country's main agricultural zones and it also enjoys a high level of biodiversity. In this article an attempt is made to investigate urban sprawl metrics and dynamics in Rasht, Bandar-e-Anzali, and Some-e-Sara in landscape scale using RS data and GIS and also the demographic data collected over the last two decades. The results of the study show that the development of the built-up area was more than the rate of population growth in the area while the proportion of population to the built-up area (alpha density) decreased. The results also suggest that the expanse and pattern of urban sprawl can be determined by utilizing the RS and GIS and the collected temporal and spatial data. Calculating the landscape metrics such as Shannon's entropy, patchiness, and map density, the government's policy of controlling urban sprawl was verified to be effective.