Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking for the Treatment of Keratoconus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: To examine the efficacy of corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for the treatment of keratoconus (KCN). Methods: A systemic literature review and meta-analysis of ocular functional and structural parameters of patients with KCN undergoing cross-linking procedures were performed using PubMed and the web of science. A literature search was performed for relevant peer-reviewed publications on population-based studies. Data were analyzed with R software (Meta library), and heterogeneity was assessed with the Cochran Q and I2. A random-effects model was used for high heterogeneity; otherwise a fixed model was used. Sensitivity analysis of particular tested groups was used to explain high heterogeneity. The main outcome measures extracted from the articles were corrected distance visual acuity, uncorrected distance visual acuity, and maximum K. Results: An improvement in visual acuity of 1 to 2 Snellen lines was found 3 months or more after undergoing CXL. Changes were more pronounced in uncorrected visual acuity. Some topography parameters were found to be improved (0.6–1 diopters) 12 to 24 months after CXL. The refractive cylinder improved by 0.4 to 0.7 diopters. Endothelial cell density decreased by 225 cells per square millimeter in the first 3 months and thereafter returned to normal. Corneal thickness was reduced by 10 to 20 &mgr;m in the year following CXL but not after 24 months. No changes in intraocular pressure were noted. Conclusions: CXL is a safe and effective method for halting the deterioration of KCN, while slightly improving visual function.
Authoritarianism and religious identification: Response to threats on religious beliefs

The present study illustrates the impact of threat and authoritarianism on individuals and their respective belief systems within a Christian framework. Participants completed Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) Scale, the Religious Fundamentalism Scale, the Questions and Doubts about Religion Scale, and the Behavioral and Faith Scale. Participants also read a threat- or non-threat-inducing article concerning the crisis of the Catholic Church. Results showed that individuals with high RWA scores demonstrated a greater support for religious fundamentalist ideals, reported less doubts regarding their religious beliefs, and identified more strongly with their religion than did those with low RWA scores. Furthermore, participants who were exposed to threat, regardless of individual level of authoritarianism, scored higher on a measure of religious fundamentalist ideals and identified more strongly with their respective religions than those who were not exposed to a threat. Most importantly, individuals high in authoritarianism who were exposed to threat demonstrated greater support for religious fundamentalist ideals, reported fewer doubts, and more strongly identified with their religion than those individuals with high levels of authoritarianism who were in the non-threatening article condition.
Sildenafil monotherapy in portopulmonary hypertension can facilitate liver transplantation

Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH), or pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with cirrhosis, carries a high mortality and often precludes liver transplantation. Many POPH patients have preserved or increased cardiac output; therefore, decreasing pulmonary artery pressure rather than improving cardiac output is more important in reducing liver transplant risk, and this makes sildenafil an attractive therapeutic option. We assessed the clinical response of patients with POPH treated with sildenafil monotherapy. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 10 patients with POPH and sildenafil monotherapy. Eight of 10 patients had hepatitis C virus infection. Patients took 31 ± 14 mg (mean ± standard deviation) thrice daily and were followed for 21 ± 16 months. The World Health Organization functional class improved from 3.0 ± 0.0 to 2.3 ± 0.5 at 1 year (P < 0.05). Four of 8 patients increased the 6‐minute walk distance at 1 year by 30 m or more. Three patients became transplant‐eligible, 1 of whom underwent successful transplantation, and 3 patients have been stable without progression of liver disease or POPH. The remainder were not transplant candidates because of refractory POPH (n = 2) or other comorbidities (n = 2). We conclude that sildenafil may be an effective therapy for POPH that can stabilize or improve hemodynamics in patients with POPH and thereby facilitate liver transplantation. Liver Transpl 15:15–19, 2009. © 2008 AASLD.
Generational Accounting , Solidarity and Pension Losses To appear in

The creeping stock market collapse eroded the wealth of funded pension systems. This led to political tensions between generations due to the fuzzy definition of property rights on the pension funds wealth. We argue that this problem can best be resolved by the introduction of generational accounts. Using modern portfolio and consumption planning theory we show that the younger generations should have the higher equity exposure due to their human capital. Capital losses should be distributed smoothly over lifetime consumption. When stock markets are depressed equity should be bought, savings and consumption should be scaled down equiproportionally, and retirement should be postponed. Portfolio investment restrictions are quite costly.
New linear codes over Zps via the trace map

The trace map has been used very successfully to generate cocyclic complex and Butson Hadamard matrices and simplex codes over Z4 and Z2s. We extend this technique to obtain new linear codes over Zps. It is worth nothing here that these codes are cocyclic but not simplex codes. Further we find that the construction method also gives Butson Hadamard matrices of order psm.
Applying control theory in the real world: experience with building a controller for the .NET thread pool

There has been considerable interest in using control theory to build web servers, database managers, and other systems. We claim that the potential value of using control theory cannot be realized in practice without a methodology that addresses controller design, testing, and tuning. Based on our experience with building a controller for the . NET thread pool, we develop a methodology that: (a) designs for extensibility to integrate diverse control techniques, (b) scales the test infrastructure to enable running a large number of test cases, (c) constructs test cases for which the ideal controller performance is known a priori so that the outcomes of test cases can be readily assessed, and (d) tunes controller parameters to achieve good results for multiple performance metrics. We conclude by discussing how our methodology can be extended, especially to designing controllers for distributed systems.
OF KAPOSI ’ S SARCOMA-ASSOCIATED HERPESVIRUS

Over the past twenty odd years, kaposi's sarcoma has launched frombeing a rare pathological curiosity to a significant public health concern. This massive increase in incidence, concurrent with the aids epidemic, has sparked a tremendous amount of interest in uncovering the etiopathogenesis of this disease. Due to its striking association with hiv infection, researchers have focused on identifying a possible infectious agent as the cause of this disease. Such an agent, termed kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (kshv) was identified in 1994. In the following years, virologists have employed all of their molecular tools to characterize this new agent and its role in the pathogenesis of human disease. Indeed, these efforts have been quite fruitful. It is now known that kshv is a gammaherpesvirus, which like its relatives establishes a latent form of infection that appears to be a prerequisite for expression of a disease phenotype. The relevant disease states and the basic virology are discussed.
Soluble cytokine receptors are present in normal human urine

Affinity chromatography of crude human urinary proteins on either human rIL-6, human rIFN-gamma, or anti-IFN-gamma-R mAb yielded the two respective soluble receptors in significant quantities. A single sequence of 30 amino acid residues was obtained by NH2-terminal microsequencing of the protein peak purified in tandem by affinity chromatography on an IL-6 column and reversed-phase HPLC. This sequence was identical to the predicted NH2-terminal sequence of IL-6-R as previously reported. Analysis of the eluted proteins from both IFN- gamma and anti-IFN-gamma-R columns by inhibition of solid phase RIA, ELISA, SDS-PAGE, and Western blotting proved the existence of soluble IFN-gamma-R in normal urine. Our finding, together with the already known presence of urinary TNF binding proteins and a soluble IL-2-R both in plasma and in urine, indicates that release of soluble cytokine receptors into body fluids is a general phenomenon that occurs under normal physiological conditions.
Creating multifunctional landscapes: how can the field of ecology inform the design of the landscape?

The opportunity exists to improve intensively managed landscapes (urban and agricultural areas dominated by human activities) through greater engagement of ecologists in the process of ecological landscape design. This approach encourages exploration of multifunctional solutions to meet the needs of growing populations in many areas around the world, while minimizing the negative impacts of human activities on the environment. This is achieved by incorporating theoretical and applied principles from the fields of landscape ecology, agroecology, and ecological design. Multifunctional landscapes can be designed to provide a range of environmental, social, and economic functions, while considering the interests of landowners and users. Here, we propose a process for designing multifunctional landscapes, guided by ecological principles in the following steps: (1) defining the project site and landscape context, (2) analyzing landscape structure and function, (3) master planning using an ecosystem approach, (4.
The dynamics of educational effectiveness: a contribution to policy, practice and theory in contemporary schools

There is much to recommend in this ambitious and important contribution to the development of thinking in the school effectiveness and school improvement (SESI) fields. The authors are leading authorities in these areas, who have already contributed to both the empirical and theoretical development of SESI research over many years. This book distils much existing work and extends it in several fruitful directions. The book should be essential reading for researchers and students involved in studying educational reform and the processes of educational change, as well as those engaged in research on the influence of schools and teaching on student learning. Promoting school improvement and improving educational quality and raising educational standards have become topics of growing policy and practitioner interest in most countries, particularly as international comparative assessment programmes such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) gain increasing attention and governments become concerned over their relative ‘‘league table’’ positions in such comparisons and the potential economic implications of poor educational performance (Dobert & Sroka, 2004). However, despite attempts to promote greater synergy, the paradigms of school effectiveness and school improvement remain fairly distinct, particularly in terms of theory and methodology. This book provides a welcome attempt to provide a more comprehensive framework for effective school improvement through developing the concept of a Dynamic Model of educational effectiveness research (EER) that can guide the study of educational change and improvement processes. Creemers’ and Kyriakides’ dynamic model makes a new contribution to the establishment of a more convincing and wide-ranging theoretical framework for the EER field. The authors argue that this will provide a better basis for policy-makers and practitioners to improve practice through the combination of a theory driven and evidence based approach. This includes explicit recognition of the multilevel nature of schools and education systems and advocates further exploration of the relationships between different factors that operate at a number of levels (student, teacher/ classroom, school, and context levels). The authors remain concerned with the fundamental focus of much SESI research, namely to establish and test theories that seek to explain why and how some schools and teachers are more effective in promoting better student outcomes than others. However, their new model seeks to place the study of change School Effectiveness and School Improvement Vol. 20, No. 1, March 2009, 123–129
FPGA Implementation of Modular Exponentiation Using Single Modular Multiplier

This paper presents the FPGA implementation of Modular Exponentiation (ME), based on Software/Hardware (SW/HW) approach. Indeed, in Rivest, Shamir and Adleman (RSA) cryptosystem, ME which is computed by series of Modular Multiplications (MM’s), is the main function to encrypt and decrypt data. In order to achieve the best trade-off between area, speed and flexibility, we propose in this work an embedded system, where ME algorithm is managed in SW, using the processor MicroBlaze of Xilinx. The MM is implemented as a HW core around the processor. Because, the MM is usually considered as a critical arithmetic operation, the Montgomery modular multiplication, requiring simple shifts and additions is used to realize the HW architecture of our MM core. The results show that the application to RSA 1024-bits, the execution time of the ME is about 109.5 ms. While, in terms of hardware resources, the device requires 1645 slices. Keywords— Modular Exponentiation, Montgomery Modular Multiplication, Microblaze, RSA.
Meaning/ful Work and Organizational Communication

As organizational communication scholars, we routinely orient ourselves to organizations as places of work while often ignoring the diverse forms of communicative work and communication about our working lives that underpin such locales. In this essay, we consider how the study of meaningful work problematizes the boundaries of organizational communication. Specifically, we reflect on how definitions of meaningful work are very much caught up in our contemporary milieu. Organizational communication scholars, then, must be willing and able to work within and across traditional boundaries, perhaps redefining them in the process. We illustrate these claims in three parts. In the first part, we consider the rise of communication work and how it calls into question common notions of meaningful work. In our second section, we argue that what counts as meaningful work often stems from the raced, classed, and gendered assumptions guiding our practice. Finally, in part three, and with these elements of our milieu in mind, we describe ways in which scholars can begin to investigate meaningful work by examining tensions between description and prescription and microlevels and macrolevels of discourse and experience to uncover the strategies and tactics available to individuals as they craft meaningful working lives.
MULTI-CONSTRAINT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND VISUALISATION FOR COLLABORATIVE PLANNING AND CONTROL IN CONSTRUCTION

In complex and concurrent construction projects, reliable planning becomes a centre for effective collaboration across upstream supply chains and downstream operations at the work face. Thousands of literatures in construction planning have been published over the past 50 years; introducing, testing, and implementing mountain of techniques and tools. However, they are very fragmented and have not yet provided a universal system that remedies a typical problem of separation of execution from planning. To solve this puzzle, this paper introduced a new methodology called ‘multi-constraint planning’, which possesses five superior characteristics including (1) collaborative and multi-level planning; (2) multi-constraint consideration; (3) effective uncertainty handling; (4) appropriate visual representation; and (5) practicable optimisation. An integrated decision support system that incorporates web-based and mobile information management system, 4D-visualisation system, and evolutionary optimisation system is successfully developed as an enabler for implementation of the proposed methodology. The two modules of information management and visualisation are detailed and demonstrated in the paper. It is envisaged that successful implementation of this system will enable generation of reliable plans and constraint-free execution assignments, in turn, reduce production risks and improve on-site productivity.
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy: An Outcome Study.

In a within-subjects design in which couples acted as their own controls, assessment was completed at four times: at the time of intial contact, after an eight-week waiting period, after eight sessions of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy, and at an eight-week follow-up. Couples reported no significant changes on measures of dyadic adjustment, intimacy, target complaint reduction and goal attainment after the waiting period, but significant changes were found after treatment.
Improving utilization and customer satisfaction of parking space with M2M communications

The shortage of parking spaces creates a challenging problem for both drivers and parking space operators. In this research, we implement a parking simulation system to study operators' problems. The operator can use our method to evaluate different parking policies and find out the best policy. Furthermore, the operator can estimate the impact of smart parking system (SPS) on parking space management. An SPS not only tracks the number and locations of available parking spaces in a parking lot but also utilizes Machine-to-Machine communications (M2M) to provide drivers useful information. Based on the results, we are able to identify the best policy among all alternatives which achieves the highest satisfaction rate under the constraint of maintaining certain occupancy rate. Furthermore, our results show that the SPS can improve the satisfaction rate regardless scenarios under different assumptions.
IT'S ONLY WORDS: ON MEANING AND MENS REA

Abstract In English law, mens rea terms can be defined differently depending on the context. This article attacks this approach, arguing that it pays insufficient attention to the criminal law's twin needs to communicate effective guidance to citizens who wish to avoid punishment, and to control the discretion accorded to the criminal law's institutions. It would be preferable to have clear definitions of mens rea terms applied uniformly across the criminal law. If there are gaps, these ought to be filled by additional mens rea terms. The practical issues raised by this argument are considered briefly.
Tuning the phase of circadian entrainment

The circadian clock coordinates daily physiological, metabolic and behavioural rhythms. These endogenous oscillations are synchronized with external cues (‘zeitgebers’), such as daily light and temperature cycles. When the circadian clock is entrained by a zeitgeber, the phase difference ψ between the phase of a clock-controlled rhythm and the phase of the zeitgeber is of fundamental importance for the fitness of the organism. The phase of entrainment ψ depends on the mismatch between the intrinsic period τ and the zeitgeber period T and on the ratio of the zeitgeber strength to oscillator amplitude. Motivated by the intriguing complexity of empirical data and by our own experiments on temperature entrainment of mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) slices, we present a theory on how clock and zeitgeber properties determine the phase of entrainment. The wide applicability of the theory is demonstrated using mathematical models of different complexity as well as by experimental data. Predictions of the theory are confirmed by published data on Neurospora crassa strains for different period mismatches τ − T and varying photoperiods. We apply a novel regression technique to analyse entrainment of SCN slices by temperature cycles. We find that mathematical models can explain not only the stable asymptotic phase of entrainment, but also transient phase dynamics. Our theory provides the potential to explore seasonal variations of circadian rhythms, jet lag and shift work in forthcoming studies.
The Mexican American Caregiving Experience

Although family caregiving among non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) has been studied extensively, relatively little is known about the caregiving experience in Mexican American (MA) families. This article compares 196 MA caregivers to 165 NHW caregivers and describes differences in the caregiving structure and caregiving experience. For caregiving structure, more MA caregivers were adult children even though the elder had a living spouse, MA caregivers provided less help, fewer MAs lived with elders, and MA elders had better functional abilities, in spite of having similar health problems to their NHW counterparts. For caregiving experience, MA caregivers had and used less social support, felt less social restriction and less change in elder-caregiver-family relationships, had poorer health, and evaluated their role performance better than NHW caregivers.
From Tarantulas to Toilet Brushes

The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the impact of special interest areas on children and youth with Asperger syndrome (AS) and their families. The research team conducted interviews about special interests with 2 girls and 21 boys with AS, ages 7 to 21, who were eligible for services under autism and enrolled in an extended school year program. The team also received written surveys from 18 parents. Strong positive relationships were found between special interests and improvements in students' social, communication, emotional, sensory, and fine motor skills. Based on these findings, the researcher created a strength-based model of AS and special interests that emphasizes the critical need for teachers to understand and value the special interests of these students and the impact on their families.
The role of neuroleptics in managing morphine-induced terminal delirium: implications for the clinical nurse specialist.

Delirium is a common and devastating occurrence at the end of life. It is estimated that 42% to 88% of patients who die with advanced cancer experience delirium. Unfortunately, delirium is often underrecognized and ineffectively managed in terminally ill individuals. Confusion regarding the defining diagnostic criteria, because of the diverse signs and symptoms, has been an impediment to alleviating this syndrome. Adding to this confusion, delirium has many synonyms to which it has been referred such as terminal agitation, intensive care unit psychosis, acute confusional state, terminal restlessness, and delirium at the end of life. Despite improvements in palliative care, delirium is perhaps one of the most difficult symptoms to alleviate. Palliative measures might include volume repletion, correction of electrolyte imbalances, nutritional supplements, or measures to reduce anxiety and disorientation such as relaxation and breathing techniques or the presence of family members. Typically, the impact of these interventions is minimal. Results from research studies suggest that haloperidol might be a viable option in some cases. Clinical nurse specialists may find themselves in a position to assist in the management of terminal delirium. The clinical nurse specialist can provide leadership for the interdisciplinary team as well as communicate treatment options. Skillfully orchestrated delirium management can minimize suffering and optimize quality of life.