Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taiwan, still as a baseline case supporting for the differing mandate hypothesis

This research note re-examines the recent debate on mandate divide hypothesis in Taiwan (Batto, 2012; Rich, 2014). Specifically, I focus on bill sponsorship, which is relatively free from party influence and therefore more suitable for testing whether being elected either in a district or through a party list yields different parliamentary behaviors. For an empirical test, I use an original bill introduction data made by the individual legislators served in the six legislative terms from 1992 through 2012. The result supports for the mandate hypothesis: the nominal tier legislators introduce more bills than the list tier members.
Summer school Social Theory, Trust, Social Networks, and Social Capital

CONTENT – General description of the course The course familiarizes the participant with: (a) Basic features of problem-driven and systematic (deductive) theory construction, model building, and explanation in social science, including macroand micro-features of explanatory models as well as macro-micro-macro transitions. This short first part of the course provides an introduction to the general approach to social science theory formation and research that underlies the topics discussed in the subsequent parts. (b) Social embeddedness and trust. The first application in which part (a) is brought into action focuses on network explanation for social dilemma problems such as cooperation problems and trust problems. Theoretical models as well as empirical tests of these models will be discussed. (c) Social capital. The second application in which part (a) is brought into action focuses on social capital. Again first some theoretical principles will be introduced. Thereafter different empirical applications will be discussed including questions on how to find a job, how do people become friends, and what is the role of institutions in the functioning of social capital (d) Principles of network data collection and analysis. To conclude the course participants get some hands-on instruction in how to do the type of data analyses discusses in parts (b) and (c) of the course. This will provide some specific insight in the features and problems that occur when one collects social network data. In addition, specific requirements to analyze social network data are discussed.
Prospective audit of exudative age-related macular degeneration: 12-month outcomes in treatment-naive eyes.

PURPOSE We report the 12-month outcomes of 1140 treatment-naïve eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) who were treated for 12 months with intravitreal anti-VEGF drugs in routine clinical practice. METHODS Index visit characteristics, such as lesion type and size, visual acuity (VA, in Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution [logMAR] letters), as well as treatments, outcomes (VA, lesion activity status) and ocular adverse events were recorded in a prospectively designed electronic database. Index visit characteristics associated with the 12-month VA outcome were identified using mixed effects linear regression. RESULTS Mean change in VA in the cohort after 12 months was +4.7 logMAR letters (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4-6.1) with a mean of 7.0 injections. No significant difference was found in change in VA, or number of injections by type or size of the lesion. Median time to inactivation of lesions was 194 days. VA at the index visit was the strongest predictor for the 12-month outcomes. Infectious endophthalmitis occurred in 2 cases, and retinal detachment occurred in 1 case from a total of 9162 injections. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that VEGF inhibitors can achieve reasonably good outcomes for wet AMD when used in routine clinical practice.
In hybridoma cultures, deprivation of any single amino acid leads to apoptotic death, which is suppressed by the expression of the bcl-2 gene.

The transfection of murine hybridomas with the apoptosis suppressor gene bcl-2 has been reported to result in the extension of batch culture duration, leading to significant improvements in culture productivity. In the present study, the effect of deprivation, individually, of each amino acid found in culture medium was examined to characterize the chemical environment of the culture in terms of its propensity to induce apoptosis. When cells were deprived of each amino acid, individually for 48 h, the majority of cell deaths in each case occurred by apoptosis, with essential amino acids being clearly most effective. For nearly all the amino acids, the viability of the bcl-2 cell line cultures was greater than 70% after 48 h, representing a substantial improvement in viability over control cell line cultures. Time course studies revealed that the induction of death could be divided into two phases. Initially, following the deprivation of a single essential amino acid, there was a period of time during which all the control cell line cultures retained high viability. The duration of this phase varied from 15 h in the case of lysine deprivation, through to 40 h in the case methionine deprivation. In the second phase of deprivation, the cultures exhibited an abrupt and rapid collapse in viability. The time taken for the viability to fall to 50% was similar for each amino acid. In every case, the duration of both phases of the bcl-2 cultures was considerably extended. Specific utilization rates were increased during the control cultures relative to the bcl-2 cultures for both the growth phase (ranging between 2% and 57% higher than the bcl-2 cultures) and the death phase (ranging between 172% to 1900% higher than the bcl-2 culture).
Loss of Complement Factor H in Plasma Increases Endothelial Cell Migration

Tumor growth depends on angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. Complement factor H (CFH) is a plasma glycoprotein that functions as a regulator of the complement system. The aim of this study is to delineate the role of CFH in angiogenesis. A conditional null allele of the Cfh gene was generated in C57BL/6J mice by flanking the exon 3 with loxP sites. The Cfhflox/flox mice were crossed with Rosa26-Cre mice to obtain the mice homozygotes of Cfh deletion (Cfh-/-). The Cfh-/- mice were examined by in vivo angiogenesis assays. Mouse endothelial cells were treated with media containing 5% of mouse plasma from the wildtype or Cfh-/- mice and assayed for proliferation, viability and migration. The Cfh-/- mice did not display any obvious abnormalities. They demonstrated a pro-angiogenic phenotype in matrigel plug assay, but not in aorta ring assay. In vitro, loss of Cfh in plasma does not affect proliferation or viability, but significantly increases migration of mouse endothelial cells. Our findings suggest that plasma CFH inhibits angiogenesis by reduction of endothelial cell migration. Thus the mutation of CFH might lead to excessive tumor angiogenesis.
New low back pain in nurses: work activities, work stress and sedentary lifestyle.

BACKGROUND Low back pain is common among nurses. Previous studies have shown that the risk of low back pain increases rapidly with greater amounts of physical work and psychological stress, but is inversely related to leisure activities. However, these previous studies were predominantly retrospective in design and not many took account of three factors simultaneously. AIMS This 12-month prospective study examined the relationships between work activities, work stress, sedentary lifestyle and new low back pain. METHODS A total of 144 nurses from six Hong Kong district hospitals completed a face-to-face baseline interview, which was followed-up by a telephone interview. The main study measures were demographic characteristics, work activities, work stress, physical leisure activities and the nature of new low back pain during the 12-month follow-up period. Level of work stress, quality of relationships at work, level of enjoyment experienced at work, and work satisfaction were self-reported. RESULTS Fifty-six (38.9%) nurses reported experiencing new low back pain. Sedentary leisure time activity was not associated with new low back pain. Being comparatively new on a ward (adjusted relative risk 2.90), working in bending postures (adjusted relative risk 2.76) and poor work relationships with colleagues (adjusted relative risk 2.52) were independent predictors of new low back pain. CONCLUSION The findings of this study suggest that low back pain is a common problem in the population of nurses in Hong Kong. Being comparatively new on a ward, bending frequently during work and having poor work relationships with colleagues are independent predictors of new low back pain. Training for high-risk work activities and ergonomic assessment of awkward work postures are essential. Moreover, relaxation and team-building workshops for nurses, especially those who are less experienced in the type of work on their current ward, are recommended.
Pedagogical Frameworks of E-Reader Technologies in Education

E-readers are changing the nature of learning in our classrooms and the nature of classroom instruction. E-readers create a learning environment that prepares students to live in a world where technology is ever-changing and learning is constantly evolving. In this chapter, the authors introduce a pedagogical framework for teaching using e-readers. The complexity of developing and implementing a pedagogical framework using the ever-changing technology of e-readers requires a teacher who is metacognitive. This model emphasizes the metacognitive teacher, putting dispositions at the center of the framework. The metacognitive teacher is informed by her content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge, and knowledge of students.
Research on agricultural planting structure adjustment and economical irrigation quota for water scarcity area

From the aspects of both the adjustment of agricultural planting structure and the establishment of economical irrigation quota,the enhancement of the efficiency and benefit of the utilization of agricultural irrigation water is studied herein.Based on the relevant status of Tangshan,a model for the adjustment of agriculture is established by taking the maximization of the regional economic benefit as the target with the consideration of the comprehensive social and ecological benefits under the restriction of agricultural irrigation water supply,planting area and market demand.From which,the main results are 1.the agricultural structure is adjusted to tend to the crop with higher economic benefit from the irrigation water;2.the agricultural irrigation water requirement is only 64% of that of the original after the adjustment;3.the proportion of the effective precipitation within the total water consumption is obviously increased after the adjustment;4.the comprehensive irrigation quota is 285.7 mm before the adjustment and is 195.6 mm after that.
A novel role for adiponectin in the regulation of inflammation.

Accumulating evidence indicates that chronic inflammation linked to obesity is closely associated with the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.1 The inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to be an independent predictor of future risk for cardiovascular events and a risk factor of developing diabetes.2,3 High levels of CRP are also associated with obesity and coronary heart disease,4,5 suggesting that CRP is a useful biomarker for obesity-linked chronic inflammatory states. Furthermore, although CRP is primarily made by liver, new studies have shown that CRP is also produced by diseased tissues (eg, atherosclerotic lesions) and by various cell types including macrophages, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells.6–8 Increasing evidence indicates that CRP is not just a biomarker of inflammation but that it has a direct proinflammatory action through its ability to promote the induction of cytokines.6 Thus, agents that lower CRP levels have clinical utility for treatment of inflammatory diseases. See accompanying article on page 1368 A number of bioactive molecules secreted from fat tissue, referred to as adipokines, could participate in the development of obesity-related complications through regulation of inflammatory responses.9,10 Most adipokines are proinflammatory. In contrast, adiponectin, also referred to as adipocyte complement-related protein 30 (ACRP30), is an antiinflammatory adipokine that is abundantly present in blood stream. Whereas adiponectin is expressed almost exclusively in adipose tissue,11,12 plasma adiponectin levels are paradoxically decreased in obese individuals.13 This regulation of adiponectin results, at least …
Tacrolimus‐Induced Diabetes in Rats Courses with Suppressed Insulin Gene Expression in Pancreatic Islets

An animal model of post‐transplant diabetes was induced in rats by treating them daily with 0.1 mg/kg body weight of tacrolimus (FK506) in two i.p. injections. Rats developed hyperglycaemia and glucose intolerance after 9 days of treatment. Pancreatic islets, isolated from treated rats on different days, showed a decreased capacity to secrete insulin in response to 20 mM glucose at days 7 and 14. This suppression of insulin secretion was preceded by a reduction of the islet insulin content on day 5 that was progressively decreasing until the end of the treatment (day 14). Islet content of insulin mRNAs, transcribed from rat insulin genes 1 and 2, was strongly suppressed, similar to the insulin content, at days 7 and 14. Islet mass was not strikingly modified by tacrolimus treatment: the DNA content was slightly decreased at the end (day 14) and the rate of islet cell apoptosis slightly increased. Tacrolimus‐induced diabetes in the rat seems to be mainly provoked by a decreased insulin gene transcription with little or no alteration of islet mass. This explains that the observed suppression of all the islet and animal parameters studied was completely reversed 2 weeks after interrupting tacrolimus treatment.
Camoquin in the treatment of human malaria.

Summary 1. 247 patients with malaria were treated with Camoquin. There were 156 patients in the vivax infection group, 86 patients in the falciparum infection group, and 5 patients in the malariae infection group. 2. There were 19 readmissions to the hospital in the vivax group, of these 19 patients four patients had two or more readmissions. There were no readmissions in the falciparum or malariae group. 3. Clinical symptoms were controlled within 24 to 48 hours. 4. There were no toxic reactions to the drug.
How Dangerous Is Looking Away From the Road? Algorithms Predict Crash Risk From Glance Patterns in Naturalistic Driving

Objective: In this study, the authors used algorithms to estimate driver distraction and predict crash and near-crash risk on the basis of driver glance behavior using the data set of the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study. Background: Driver distraction has been a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes, but the relationship between distractions and crash risk lacks detailed quantification. Method: The authors compared 24 algorithms that varied according to how they incorporated three potential contributors to distraction—glance duration, glance history, and glance location—on how well the algorithms predicted crash risk. Results: Distraction estimated from driver eye-glance patterns was positively associated with crash risk. The algorithms incorporating ongoing off-road glance duration predicted crash risk better than did the algorithms incorporating glance history. Augmenting glance duration with other elements of glance behavior—1.5th power of duration and duration weighted by glance location—produced similar prediction performance as glance duration alone. Conclusions: The distraction level estimated by the algorithms that include current glance duration provides the most sensitive indicator of crash risk. Application: The results inform the design of algorithms to monitor driver state that support real-time distraction mitigation systems.
Optimizing small wideband antenna performance for both RIMP and random-LOS

Rich Isotropic Multipath (RIMP) environment like reverberation chamber (RC) has proven to be useful for characterizing mobile LTE devices. The user statistics have larger effect in environments with stronger Line-Of-Sight (LOS), because the angle of arrival (AoA) and the polarization of the LOS contribution become randomized due to the user. Thus, we introduce the term Random-LOS. The present paper elaborates on characterization of an example antenna in both RIMP and random-LOS. We show how to characterize the micro BTS by the probability of detection (PoD) of one and more bitstreams in both RIMP and random-LOS, by considering the user randomly located and oriented within the angular coverage sector. We limit the treatment to a wall-mounted BTS antenna, and assume a desired hemi-spherical coverage.
Role of Exopolysaccharides in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Formation and Architecture

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen and has been established as a model organism to study bacterial biofilm formation. At least three exopolysaccharides (alginate, Psl, and Pel) contribute to the formation of biofilms in this organism. Here mutants deficient in the production of one or more of these polysaccharides were generated to investigate how these polymers interactively contribute to biofilm formation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy of biofilms formed in flow chambers showed that mutants deficient in alginate biosynthesis developed biofilms with a decreased proportion of viable cells than alginate-producing strains, indicating a role of alginate in viability of cells in biofilms. Alginate-deficient mutants showed enhanced extracellular DNA (eDNA)-containing surface structures impacting the biofilm architecture. PAO1 ΔpslA Δalg8 overproduced Pel, and eDNA showing meshwork-like structures presumably based on an interaction between both polymers were observed. The formation of characteristic mushroom-like structures required both Psl and alginate, whereas Pel appeared to play a role in biofilm cell density and/or the compactness of the biofilm. Mutants producing only alginate, i.e., mutants deficient in both Psl and Pel production, lost their ability to form biofilms. A lack of Psl enhanced the production of Pel, and the absence of Pel enhanced the production of alginate. The function of Psl in attachment was independent of alginate and Pel. A 30% decrease in Psl promoter activity in the alginate-overproducing MucA-negative mutant PDO300 suggested inverse regulation of both biosynthesis operons. Overall, this study demonstrated that the various exopolysaccharides and eDNA interactively contribute to the biofilm architecture of P. aeruginosa.
The influence of smoking cessation on the prevalence of overweight in the United States.

BACKGROUND The proportion of U.S. adults 35 to 74 years of age who were overweight increased by 9.6 percent for men and 8.0 percent for women between 1978 and 1990. Since the prevalence of smoking declined over the same period, smoking cessation has been suggested as a factor contributing to the increasing prevalence of overweight. METHODS To estimate the influence of smoking cessation on the increase in the prevalence of overweight, we analyzed data on current and past weight and smoking status for a national sample of 5247 adults 35 years of age or older who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 1988 through 1991. The results were adjusted for age, sociodemographic characteristics, level of physical activity, alcohol consumption, and (for women) parity. RESULTS The weight gain over a 10-year period that was associated with the cessation of smoking (i.e., the gain among smokers who quit that was in excess of the gain among continuing smokers) was 4.4 kg for men and 5.0 kg for women. Smokers who had quit within the past 10 years were significantly more likely than respondents who had never smoked to become overweight (odds ratios, 2.4 for men and 2.0 for women). For men, about a quarter (2.3 of 9.6 percentage points) and for women, about a sixth (1.3 of 8.0 percentage points) of the increase in the prevalence of overweight could be attributed to smoking cessation within the past 10 years. CONCLUSIONS Although its health benefits are undeniable, smoking cessation may nevertheless be associated with a small increase in the prevalence of overweight.
Emerging drug treatments for cystic fibrosis

Although the gene for cystic fibrosis was discovered in 1989, a definitive cure remains elusive for this deadly orphan disease. Advances in nutritional rehabilitation, antibiotics, mucolytics and delivery of care have improved survival to a median age of 37.5 years; however, the psychosocial, personal and financial burdens of this lifelong chronic illness remain considerable. The current portfolio of investigational therapeutics is explored here and placed in a context of therapeutic target and predicted clinical benefit. Partnership between large and small pharma, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and academia should be fostered to accelerate therapeutic development.
Design of efficient algorithm for secured key exchange over Cloud Computing

Cloud computing framework is accepted by most of the enterprises. It provides on-demand service, broad network access, elasticity etc. But the usability of these characteristic get obstructed by many security challenges. As the cloud service user uploads their confidential data over the cloud platform, it must be transmitted in a secure way. For this, it should be transmitted through a protected communication channel. A practical solution to this is a Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm. It is used to exchange the cryptographical keys securely over the public channel. In this paper, the extended version of the Diffie-Hellman algorithm is suggested which can prevent the system against Mim attack and plain-text attack. This algorithm is oriented towards removing the extended version of Diffie-Hellman algorithm. It uses one model based on arbitrary numbers and logarithms. This is considered to provide security improvement to the communication channel and also countermeasure the attack. Also, a cloud based model is presented for engineering educational domain. Above algorithm is used in this architecture to provide more security to the user data. This architecture attains various security parameters such as confidentiality, data integrity and individualization.