Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Students' Participation in the Mixed-Age College Classroom.

Les AA. etudient les facteurs qui influencent le niveau de participation orale des etudiants dans le cadre des cours dispenses dans l'enseignement superieur. Ils interessent plus particulierement au sexe et a l'âge des etudiants. Ils presentent un certain nombre de donnees collectees en 1993, au sein d'une universite americaine, concernant differents types de cours, differentes disciplines. Ils etudient les motifs de non-participation des etudiants
Effect of cost sharing on adherence to evidence-based medications in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Objectives Cost-sharing scheme for pharmaceuticals in Spain changed in July 2012. Our aim was to assess the impact of this change on adherence to essential medication in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the region of Valencia. Methods Population-based retrospective cohort of 10 563 patients discharged alive after an ACS in 2009–2011. We examined a control group (low-income working population) that did not change their coinsurance status, and two intervention groups: pensioners who moved from full coverage to 10% coinsurance and middle-income to high-income working population, for whom coinsurance rose from 40% to 50% or 60%. Weekly adherence rates measured from the date of the first prescription. Days with available medication were estimated by linking prescribed and filled medications during the follow-up period. Results Cost-sharing change made no significant differences in adherence between intervention and control groups for essential medications with low price and low patient maximum coinsurance, such as antiplatelet and beta-blockers. For costlier ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) and statins, it had an immediate effect in the proportion of adherence in the pensioner group as compared with the control group (6.8% and 8.3% decrease of adherence, respectively, p<0.01 for both). Adherence to statins decreased for the middle-income to high-income group as compared with the control group (7.8% increase of non-adherence, p<0.01). These effects seemed temporary. Conclusions Coinsurance changes may lead to decreased adherence to proven, effective therapies, especially for higher priced agents with higher patient cost share. Consideration should be given to fully exempt high-risk patients from drug cost sharing.
Seeing Dogs: Human Preferences for Dog Physical Attributes

ABSTRACT This study systematically investigated peoples' preferences for dog physical attributes in images of real-life dogs. Participants (n = 124) completed an aesthetic-preference test wherein they viewed 80 image pairs of mixed-breed adult dogs and were asked which image they “liked best. ” In each image pair, the two dog images appeared to be nearly identical, but unbeknownst to participants, the images differed slightly in that one physical characteristic had been manipulated. By altering a single physical characteristic in each image pair, participant preference for each of 14 different physical attributes could be investigated over the course of the study. The feature manipulations examined theories relating to Kindchenschema (an infantile appearance, per Konrad lorenz), ostensive human similarity, the process of domestication, as well as differences in attribute size and symmetry. The results showed that participants preferred some features associated with the infant schema—large eyes and wider-set eyes. They also preferred certain human-like attributes: colored irises and a distinct upturn of the commissure, seeming to capture a smile. By contrast, participants did not reveal a preference for physical characteristics relating to feature size, symmetry or the process of domestication. The findings suggest that identifiable physical attributes of domestic dogs have aesthetic value and, additionally, that human preferences for aesthetic differences can be systematically investigated. Given that people attend to and care about the way dogs look, the effects of particular physical attributes on peoples' preferences merit investigation.
Theorising Indigenous health: a political economy of health and substance misuse

Abstract For more than two decades we have been engaged in a program of research which examines the health of Indigenous people. More recently this work has focused on ways in which substance misuse affects communities, and their responses to it. Our work is framed by understandings derived from political economy, which directs attention to the web of political and economic relations surrounding individuals and social groups. We have stressed that this framework should not be interpreted in a crudely deterministic fashion, which neglects the nuances of the social determinants of health, or individual and community agency. Much of our recent work documents such agency in community-based actions throughout Australia. In this paper we examine Indigenous drinking and its consequences, outline a political economy approach to drinking, and discuss how this has informed our work. We conclude with a discussion of some criticisms of this approach and our responses.
A second attack on constituency: a reply to Dahl

In order to counter Dahl's objections I introduce more theoretical background on 'panlexicalism', the model of language which I presupposed in the earlier article. With this background I am able to dispose of some of his objections, at least to my satisfaction: those concerned with idioms, with nouns that refer, and (perhaps) with multiple modifiers. However I accept his arguments about coordinate structures, so my claim must now be rephrased: the only phenomenon for which units larger than words need be recognized by postulating 'higher nodes' is coordination. I add an appendix containing a revised definition of dependency, which requires modifiers to fill optional slots in the structure of their heads.
Antioxidant nutrient intake and the long-term incidence of age-related cataract: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress has been implicated in cataractogenesis. Long-term intake of antioxidants may offer protection against cataract. OBJECTIVE We investigated relations between antioxidant nutrient intakes measured at baseline and the 10-y incidence of age-related cataract. DESIGN During 1992-1994, 3654 persons aged >or=49 y attended baseline examinations of the Blue Mountains Eye Study (82.4% response). Of these persons, 2464 (67.4%) participants were followed >or=1 time after the baseline examinations (at either 5 or 10 y). At each examination, lens photography was performed and questionnaires were administered, including a 145-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Antioxidants, including beta-carotene, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E, were assessed. Cataract was assessed at each examination from lens photographs with the use of the Wisconsin Cataract Grading System. Nuclear cataract was defined for opacity greater than standard 3. Cortical cataract was defined as cortical opacity >or= 5% of the total lens area, and posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataract was defined as the presence of any such opacity. RESULTS Participants with the highest quintile of total intake (diet + supplements) of vitamin C had a reduced risk of incident nuclear cataract [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.55; 95% CI: 0.36, 0.86]. An above-median intake of combined antioxidants (vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc) was associated with a reduced risk of incident nuclear cataract (OR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.76). Antioxidant intake was not associated with incident cortical or PSC cataract. CONCLUSION Higher intakes of vitamin C or the combined intake of antioxidants had long-term protective associations against development of nuclear cataract in this older population.
Creativity: What Is It? Can You Assess It? Can It Be Taught?.

This article takes the subject of visual arts in Sweden as the point of departure in a discussion of how, with the help of portfolios, assessments may extend to include both the unpredictable and the ambiguous. The notion that assessments of learning outcomes must be either limited to superficial knowledge or completely arbitrary is shown to be a misconception. The author has made a study of the progression of young people's creativity in the visual arts from preschool to upper secondary school. The assessment was based on both product criteria and process criteria (investigative work, inventiveness, ability to use models, capacity for self-assessment). The materials assessed were portfolios of work containing sketches, drafts and finished works, log books, sources of inspiration and videotaped interviews with the students. Is there any progression in students' visual design, in their ability to work independently and assess their work? What is the degree of correlation in the assessments of different judges of student portfolios? These are some of the questions that this article attempts to answer, which concludes with a discussion of how schools can build a culture of learning that fosters the creative powers of young people.
Adiabatic Charging Without Inductors

20 The maximum dissipation gain over the conventional case is given by: (53) Example: (54) Notes: 1. We have assumed that the same is used for each step; that the number of steps is large enough for the initial assumption of identical curve forms for each step not to introduce a huge error; and, most importantly, that the resistance of a switch is linear. The optimality must therefore not be taken very seriously. Nevertheless, the value 2.2 indicates a reasonable. Simulations are needed to evaluate the non-ideal effects. 2. The dissipation calculations in Section 3.2 above were in fact optimistic, in that they didn't take the rest voltage into account.
An algorithm for self-organized aggregation of swarm robotics using timer

Aggregation is a basic collective behavior in biology, and is a prerequisite for many applications of swarm robotics. This paper proposes a new distributed algorithm for aggregation of swarm robotics under the constraints of no central control, no information about positions, and only local interaction among robots. Our control strategy contains two states, Search and Wait, for individual robot, as in the model of probabilistic finite state automata (PFSA). The main difference from PFSA is the way of how individual robot decides to leave from an aggregate. In our approach, each robot in an aggregate has a timer as its lifetime in the aggregate instead of having a leaving probability in PFSA. Further, to make all robots aggregate together, the key idea of our algorithm is that robots in small aggregate have shorter lifetime than those in large aggregate. The lifetime of individual robot in an aggregate is approximated as the lifetime of the aggregate, by making all the timers of the robots in the same aggregate have the same time settings, where the time is proportional to aggregate size and is updated only with the increase of aggregate size. By choosing linear function as the time setting of the timer, experiments based on simulator have been done. The results show that our algorithm is successful and scalable for large scale of robots, and indicate that the performance of the aggregation of all robots is improved by decreasing the lifetime of uncompleted aggregate in high robot density or increasing it in low robot density.
THE RETAIL REVOLUTION, THE CARLESS SHOPPER AND DISADVANTAGE

The spatial restructuring of retailing in British cities in recent years has been characterized as a retail revolution. Off-centre superstores, retail warehouses, and planned regional shopping centres have been added to the pattern of traditional shopping facilities, which in turn have often experienced decline. The dichotomy between the old and new shopping facilities is increasingly reflected in a marked inequality in the opportunities of consumers, in which those with poor mobility are seen as disadvantaged consumers. Investigation of household shopping behaviour in the Swansea area following the recent development of many new car-orientated facilities, reveals that mobility, and specifically car-ownership, is the principal determinant of major variations in shopping behaviour for groceries and DIY products, and also for more specialized goods on sale at off-centre locations. The attractions of the newer off-centre opportunities dominate the shopping behaviour of the car-owning households. By contrast, the carless shopper appears constrained in behaviour and largely bypassed by the retail revolution. Examination of alternative factors influencing shopping behaviour, such as location of residence, age and socio-economic status serves to confirm the importance of car-ownership. The relationship between carlessness and disadvantage is also considered. Lack of a car is associated with elements of social disadvantage, and it is clear that the shopping trips of the carless shopper focus disproportionately on the traditional and more localized shopping facilities. The extent to which this constitutes consumer disadvantage, however, still awaits a direct and comprehensive investigation. (A)
Serotonergic Mediation of Aggression in High and Low Aggressive Chicken Strains

Serotonin (5-HT) regulates aggressive behavior via binding to its receptors, such as 5-HT1A and 1B, in humans and rodents. Here we investigate the heri-table components of 5-HT regulation of aggressiveness in chickens, utilizing 3 distinct genetic strains. In this study, we used 2 divergently selected strains (high and low group productivity and survivability, respectively; HGPS and LGPS) and a third strain, Dekalb XL (DXL), an aggressive out-group. Hens were paired within the same strain. At 24 wk of age, the subordinate of each pair received a daily i.p. injection of NAN-190 (0.5 mg/kg, a 5-HT1A antagonist), GR-127935 (0.5 mg/kg, a 5-HT1B antagonist), or saline (control) for 5 consecutive days. Frequency of aggressive behaviors was increased in the hens of DXL and LGPS treated with 5-HT1A antagonist
MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma, Benign Thyroid Nodules and Healthy Controls

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent a class of short endogenous non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in many biological processes, including proliferation, differentiation, stress response and apoptosis. In this study we analyzed a set of seven miRNA molecules in sera of patients with papillary thyroid cancer, multinodular goiter and healthy controls to identify miRNA molecules that may have utility as markers for PTC. MiR-21 serum levels in the preoperative PTC and MG groups were significantly higher than the control group. Likewise, postoperative levels of miR-151-5p, miR-221 and miR-222 were significantly lower in patients with PTC. When serum miRNA levels were evaluated according to stage, postoperative levels of miR-151-5p and miR-222 were significantly lower in patients with advanced stages of the disease. The miRNA levels were also found associated with the size of the primary tumor. Our data imply that specific miRNA molecules which are differentially expressed in thyroid tumors may play role in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma.
The Concept of Cotransmission: Focus on ATP as a Cotransmitter and its Significance in Health and Disease

The concept of cotransmission, including sympathetic nerve release of noradrenaline and ATP, was formalised in 1976, which challenged the accepted view known as ‘Dale's Principle’ that one nerve released only one transmitter. ATP was also shown to be a cotransmitter with acetylcholine in parasympathetic nerves supplying the urinary bladder and as a cotransmitter with nitric oxide in non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves supplying the intestine. It is now recognised that ATP is a cotransmitter in most, if not all, nerves in the peripheral and central nervous systems. The physiological significance of cotransmission will be considered. In pathophysiology, the role of ATP as a cotransmitter appears to increase as shown, for example, in the parasympathetic nerves supplying the diseased human bladder and in sympathetic nerves in spontaneously hypertensive rats. ATP is likely to be involved in sympathetic pain, causalgia and reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Purinergic signalling also appears to be enhanced in inflammatory and stress conditions.
Sympatric speciation by sexual conflict

It is well established that sexual conflict can drive an endless coevolutionary chase between the sexes potentially leading to genetic divergence of isolated populations and allopatric speciation. We present a simple mathematical model that shows that sexual conflict over mating rate can result in two other general regimes. First, rather than “running away” from males, females can diversify genetically into separate groups, effectively “trapping” the males in the middle at a state characterized by reduced mating success. Female diversification brings coevolutionary chase to the end. Second, under certain conditions, males respond to female diversification by diversifying themselves. This response results in the formation of reproductively isolated clusters of genotypes that emerge sympatrically.
Prison Therapeutic Community Treatment for Female Offenders: Profiles and Preliminary Findings for Mental Health and Other Variables (Crime, Substance Use and HIV Risk)

ABSTRACT This random assignment study compared women in a prison Therapeutic Community (TC) program with those in a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Over two thirds of study subjects received a lifetime diagnosis of severe mental disorder, nearly one-half received a diagnosis of PTSD, and virtually all reported exposure to trauma. Preliminary analysis (n = 314) found significantly better six-month post-prison outcomes for the TC group on measures of mental health, criminal behavior and HIV-risk behavior. These findings suggest the short-term effectiveness of prison TC treatment for female offenders with substance use disorders, and underscore the importance of adapting treatment to address mental health.
Data veracity estimation with ensembling truth discovery methods

Estimation of data veracity is recognized as one of the grand challenges of big data. Typically, the goal of truth discovery is to determine the veracity of multi-source, conflicting data and return, as outputs, a veracity label and a confidence score for each data value, along with the trustworthiness score of each source claiming it. Although a plethora of methods has been proposed, it is unlikely a technique dominates all others across all data sets. Furthermore, the performance evaluation of the methods entirely depends on the availability of labeled ground truth data (i.e., data whose veracity has been manually checked). In the context of Big Data, acquiring the complete ground truth data is out-of-reach. In this paper, we propose an ensembling method that mitigates the two problems of method selection and ground truth data sparsity. Our approach combines the results of a set of truth discovery methods and preliminary experiments suggest that it improves the quality performance over the single methods when samples of ground truth data are used.
A phase IV, double-blind, multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot study to assess the feasibility of switching individuals receiving efavirenz with continuing central nervous system adverse events to etravirine

Background:Two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and efavirenz (EFV) is a recommended initial regimen for HIV-1. Most EFV-related central nervous system (CNS) toxicity resolves early though symptoms may persist; we studied switching to etravirine (ETR) in these individuals. Methods:A randomized, double-blind trial in patients with viral suppression but ongoing CNS adverse events after more than 12 weeks EFV. Patients received 2NRTI/EFV/ETR-placebo (delayed switch) or 2NRTI/ETR/EFV-placebo (immediate switch) for 12 weeks followed by 12-week open-label phase (2NRTI/ETR). Primary end-point was percentage with G2-4 CNS adverse events at 12 weeks. Results:Thirty-eight men; 20/18 were randomized to immediate switch/delayed switch; median CD4 was 444/498 cells/μl, respectively. Baseline CNS adverse events were similar. Nineteen immediate switch patients completed follow-up (one lost to follow-up) and 13 on delayed switch (two lost to follow-up, two withdrawn consent, one adverse event). Immediate switch G2-4 CNS adverse event: 90% at baseline, 60% at week 12 (P = 0.041). Delayed switch G2-4 CNS adverse event: 88.9% at baseline, 81.3% at week 12 (P = ns). Combined (both arms) percentage decline in G2-4 CNS adverse event after 12 weeks of ETR was significant for overall adverse events, insomnia, abnormal dreams and nervousness (P = 0.009, 0.016, 0.001, and 0.046, respectively). All participants on study maintained HIV-RNA below 50 and median week 24 CD4 was 593 and 607 cells/μl on immediate switch and delayed switch. Two participants experienced new G3-4 adverse events [delayed switch: G3 flatulence on EFV); immediate switch: G4 viral URTI on ETR (SAE)]. Conclusion:Switching EFV to ETR led to a significant reduction in overall G2-4 CNS adverse events, including insomnia, abnormal dreams and nervousness as individual adverse event. Lack of improvement for some events suggests other causative factors.
Effect of Laser Energy and Tip Insertion Depth on the Pressure Generated Outside the Apical Foramen During Er:YAG Laser-Activated Root Canal Irrigation.

OBJECTIVE The risk of extrusion of irritative irrigants into the extraradicular tissue should be minimized during root canal irrigation. This study aimed to examine the pressure generated outside the apex during Er:YAG laser-activated irrigation (LAI) in comparison with passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) and conventional syringe irrigation (SI). BACKGROUND DATA LAI is reported to be efficient for root canal debridement, whereas the apical pressure generated during LAI has not been investigated in detail. METHODS Plastic root canal models (apical diameter = 0.40 mm, taper = 6%, and length = 20 mm) were irrigated with water using either LAI with an Er:YAG laser (Erwin AdvEr; 30, 50, or 70 mJ, 10 pps), PUI, or SI. The tip insertion depth was set at 2, 5, or 10 mm from the apex. The pressure generated outside the apical foramen was measured with a pressure sensor connected to the apex of the model. RESULTS When the tip was positioned at 2 mm and the power setting was changed, the mean maximum pressure values were LAI (30 mJ) = PUI < LAI (70 mJ) < SI (p < 0.05). When LAI was performed at 70 mJ and the tip was positioned at 5 or 10 mm, the pressure values were PUI < LAI = SI (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS LAI generated similar or lower pressure outside the apical foramen compared with SI, irrespective of the laser energy and tip insertion depth examined. However, LAI generated higher pressure compared with PUI.