Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Idiopathic distal small fiber neuropathy

We describe the clinical details of 20 elderly patients with idiopathic small fiber neuropathy. This neuropathy is ubiquitous in practice but has not been well characterized. The clinical syndrome is relatively stereotyped and appears to be a frequent cause of burning feet in the elderly. The main features were burning, painful paresthesias and dysesthesias in the feet, lancinating pains, moderate to severe distal small fiber sensory loss, absent ankle reflexes, and minimal or no distal foot weakness. All but 2 had mild loss of vibration sense but none had significant proprioceptive loss or sensory ataxia. EMG was normal in 9 while the others had a mild sensorimotor axonal neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsy was normal in 3 and showed axonal loss in 6. Progression was slow, and although pain was a troublesome symptom, no patient became disabled. Symptoms were refractory to most symptomatic therapies but several patients improved with gammaglobulin infusions.
Design issues of iDICT: a gaze-assisted translation aid

Eye-aware applications have existed for long, but mostly for very special and restricted target populations. We have designed and are currently implementing an eye-aware application, called iDict, which is a general-purpose translation aid aimed at mass markets. iDict monitors the user's gaze path while s/he is reading text written in a foreign language. When the reader encounters difficulties, iDict steps in and provides assistance with the translation. To accomplish this, the system makes use of information obtained from reading research, a language model, and the user profile. This paper describes the idea of the iDict application, the design problems and the key solutions for resolving these problems.
Using Teacher-Implemented Instruction to Increase Language Intelligibility of Children with Autism

Abstract: This study examined the feasibility of an intervention using naturalistic language teaching procedures for communication problems of individuals with autism conducted by the child's general education teacher in collaboration with the child's language clinician. The results of a multiple baseline study across children indicate successful implementation of naturalistic language teaching procedures in the school settings by all general education teachers and improved intelligibility of the language skills of all the children with autism in generalized spontaneous language use. These results are discussed in terms of previous research demonstrating the effectiveness and benefits of naturalistic teaching procedures and in terms of the implications for educational practices involving children with autism.
Effects of a Maternal Low Protein Isocaloric Diet on Milk Leptin and Progeny Serum Leptin Concentration and Appetitive Behavior in the First 21 Days of Neonatal Life in the Rat

Suboptimal developmental environments program offspring to lifelong metabolic problems. We evaluated effects of maternal isocaloric low protein diet during pregnancy and/or lactation on milk quantity and leptin concentration at postnatal day 7, 14, and 21. Control mothers ate 20% casein (C) and restricted mothers (R) 10% casein to provide four groups: CC, RR, CR, and RC (first letter pregnancy and second lactation diet) to enable evaluation of effects influenced by maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation. Milk leptin was not a determinant of pup serum leptin. Pup serum leptin did not inhibit milk appetite at any postnatal age. Pup serum leptin did not correlate with pup adipose tissue. Finally, the normal postnatal leptin rise in pup serum was delayed by prenatal undernutrition. These data suggest that fetal nutrition modifies timing of neonatal leptin surge and may contribute to the development of altered appetite and metabolic disorders in later life.
The nuclear matrix protein p255 is a highly phosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II largest subunit which associates with spliceosomes.

The monoclonal antibody CC-3 recognizes a phosphodependent epitope on a 255 kDa nuclear matrix protein (p255) recently shown to associate with splicing complexes as part of the [U4/U6.U5] tri-snRNP particle [Chabot et al. (1995) Nucleic Acids Res. 23, 3206-3213]. In mouse and Drosophila cultured cells the electrophoretic mobility of p255, faster in the latter species, was identical to that of the hyperphosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II largest subunit (IIo). The CC-3 immunoreactivity of p255 was abolished by 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, which is known to cause the dephosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of subunit IIo by inhibiting the TFIIH-associated kinase. The identity of p255 was confirmed by showing that CC-3-immunoprecipitated p255 was recognized by POL3/3 and 8WG16, two antibodies specific to RNA polymerase II largest subunit. Lastly, the recovery of RNA polymerase II largest subunit from HeLa splicing mixtures was compromised by EDTA, which prevents the interaction of p255 with splicing complexes and inhibits splicing. Our results indicate that p255 represents a highly phosphorylated form of RNA polymerase II largest subunit physically associated with spliceosomes and possibly involved in coupling transcription to RNA processing.
Random directed trees and forest - drainage networks with dependence ∗

Consider the $d$-dimensional lattice $\mathbb Z^d$ where each vertex is `open' or `closed' with probability $p$ or $1-p$ respectively. An open vertex $v$ is connected by an edge to the closest open vertex $ w$ in the $45^\circ$ (downward) light cone generated at $v$. In case of non-uniqueness of such a vertex $w$, we choose any one of the closest vertices with equal probability and independently of the other random mechanisms. It is shown that this random graph is a tree almost surely for $d=2$ and $3$ and it is an infinite collection of distinct trees for $d \geq 4$. In addition, for any dimension, we show that there is no bi-infinite path in the tree.
Chinese green tea consumption reduces oxidative stress, inflammation and tissues damage in smoke exposed rats

Objective(s): One cause of cigarette smoking is oxidative stress that may alter the cellular antioxidant defense system, induce apoptosis in lung tissue, inflammation and damage in liver, lung, and kidney. It has been shown that Chinese green tea (CGT) (Lung Chen Tea) has higher antioxidant property than black tea. In this paper, we will explore the preventive effect of CGT on cigarette smoke-induced oxidative damage, apoptosis and tissues inflammation in albino rat model. Materials and Methods: Albino rats were randomly divided into four groups, i.e. sham air (SA), cigarette smoke (CS), CGT 2% plus SA or plus CS. The exposure to smoking was carried out as a single daily dose (1 cigarette/rat) for a period of 90 days using an electronically controlled smoking machine. Sham control albino rats were exposed to air instead of cigarette smoke. Tissues were collected 24 hr after last CS exposure for histology and all enzyme assays. Apoptosis was evidenced by the fragmentation of DNA using TUNEL assay. Results: Long-term administration of cigarette smoke altered the cellular antioxidant defense system, induced apoptosis in lung tissue, inflammation and damage in liver, lung, and kidney. All these pathophysiological and biochemical events were significantly improved when the cigarette smoke-exposed albino rats were given CGT infusion as a drink instead of water. Conclusion: Exposure of albino rat model to cigarette smoke caused oxidative stress, altered the cellular antioxidant defense system, induced apoptosis in lung tissue, inflammation and tissues damage, which could be prevented by supplementation of CGT.
[Oral levofloxacin versus intravenous ceftriaxone and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia that requires hospitalization].

BACKGROUND Levofloxacin, an antibiotic from the quinolone family, which is used with success in the ambulatory treatment of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, has been recently introduced to the pharmaceutical market. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness and tolerance of oral (v.o.) levofloxacin (LVF) versus intravenous (i.v.) amoxicillin/clavulanate (AMX/CL) and ceftriaxone (CTX) in the treatment of the community-acquired pneumonia that require hospitalization (CAPH). PATIENTS AND METHOD In this prospective and randomized study 84 patients were included, 28 per group, from both sex with CAPH. The patients were assigned randomly to receive one of the next treatments: AMX/CL, 1.02 g i.v. every 8 h, CTX, 1 g i.v. every 12 h or LVF, 500 mg v.o. every 24 h. At the beginning clinical, biochemical and radiological characteristics were recorded from each case and at the 72 h the effect of treatment was evaluated using the evolution of the thermal curve and radiological images. The quantitative variables were analyzed with ANOVA, the qualitatives parameters with *2 test and Yates correction. The level of signification was * = 0.05. RESULTS Age, sex, clinical presentation, biochemical measurements and radiological images in the 3 groups were similar and no adverse effects were recorded in any of them. Number of patients with favorable outcome in the groups AMX/CL, CTX and LVF was 25 (89%), 25 (89%) and 26 (93%); p = 0,870. CONCLUSIONS Levofloxacin can be a simple, effective and safe therapeutic option for patients with CAPH.
Política de discapacidad e inclusión de la Universidad del Valle: un proceso participativo

La poblacion con discapacidad es uno de los grupos que se encuentran en riesgo social al exponerse a situaciones de exclusion en diversos ambitos de la vida ciudadana, entre estos el contexto universitario. La Universidad del Valle, en el proceso de reconocer la discapacidad, emprendio la construccion de la Politica de discapacidad e inclusion con la participacion de actores de la comunidad universitaria. La sistematizacion a traves del analisis de fuentes documentales muestra tres caracteristicas del proceso: caracter participativo y de corresponsabilidad, sentido formativo, y trabajo en red. Se espera aportar en la orientacion de experiencias similares por su valor en la adopcion de una identidad colectiva para el desarrollo institucional: “re-conocer” la discapacidad y a las personas con discapacidad.
Similarity analysis based on sparse representation for protein sequence comparison

This paper propose a least square-based sparse representation algorithm to analyze similarity comparison of protein sequences in the area of bioinformatics and molecular biology, which helps the prediction and classification of protein structure and function. The protein sequences are represented into the 1-dimensional feature vectors by their biochemical quantities. Then using the least square method to form the feature vector. Through the similarity calculation, the distance matrix can be obtained, by which, the phylogenic tree can be constructed.We apply this approach by analyzing the ND5 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5) protein cluster dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed model is more accurate than the Su's model,and it is closer with some known biological facts.
Local texture-feature description with triangle patterns

This paper presents a novel method to describe local texture features based on triangle patterns. Different from traditional algorithms, this method is not limited to the symmetrical and neighbored pixels, and can extract information between the pixels of different locations, with flexible expression. We apply it to face recognition, and the performance and validity of the proposed method is also demonstrated in experiments.
On Domain-Specific Declarative Knowledge Representation and Database Languages

For knowledge acquisition and engineering tasks many logic based representations formalisms are available nowadays. However, most of them do not support the elicitation and representation of domain specific knowledge. On one hand building special systems, which supports these elicitation and representation tasks is a costly and cumbersome process. The direct implementation of inference mechanisms reflecting the semantics available in a specific domain leads to an inflexible system: a small change in the input language results in changes of the whole system. On the other hand domain-specific languages obtain more and more interest as a means to support user in modeling tasks. In this paper we propose to built domain-specific declarative languages using techniques from deductive databases and logic programming. This enables the usage of existing efficient and elaborated systems. The ideas are illustrated by a reengineering and combination of two declarative representation languages: Frame-Logic and Linear Temporal Logic.
Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities

This article presents the results of a study conducted in two phases within a single industry context. The first phase involved comparative case studies to ground the applicability of the resource-based view of the firm within the domain of environmental responsiveness. The second phase involved testing the relationships observed during the case studies through a mail survey. It was found that strategies of proactive responsiveness to the uncertainties inherent at the interface between the business and ecological issues were associated with the emergence of unique organizational capabilities. These capabilities, in turn, were seen to have implications for firm competitiveness. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A novel method for the in vivo isolation of circulating tumor cells from peripheral blood of cancer patients using a functionalized and structured medical wire

The isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the blood of patients afflicted with solid malignant tumors becomes increasingly important as it may serve as a ‘liquid biopsy’ with the potential of monitoring the course of the cancer disease and its response to cancer therapy, with subsequent molecular characterization. For this purpose, we functionalized a structured medical Seldinger guidewire (FSMW), normally used to obtain safe access to blood vessels and other organ cavities, with a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed to the cell surface expressed epithelial cell surface adhesion molecule (EpCAM). This medical device was optimized in vitro and its biocompatibility was tested according to the regulations for medical devices and found to be safe with no noteworthy side effects. Suitability, specificity and sensitivity of the FSMW to catch and enrich CTCs in vivo from circulating peripheral blood were tested in 24 breast cancer or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and in 29 healthy volunteers. For this, the FSMW was inserted through a standard venous cannula into the cubital veins of healthy volunteers or cancer patients for the duration of 30 min. After removal, CTCs were identified by immunocytochemical staining of EpCAM and/or cytokeratins and staining of their nuclei and counted. The FSMW successfully enriched EpCAM-positive CTCs from 22 of the 24 patients, with a median of 5.5 (0–50) CTCs in breast cancer (n=12) and 16 (2–515) CTCs in NSCLC (n=12). CTCs could be isolated across all tumor stages, including early stage cancer, in which distant metastases were not yet diagnosed, while no CTCs could be detected in healthy volunteers. In this observatory study, no adverse effects were noted. Evidently, the FSMW has the potential to become an important device to enrich CTCs in vivo for monitoring the course of the cancer disease and the efficacy of anticancer treatment.
Transmission property of adhesive interconnect for high frequency applications

The radio frequency (RF) and high frequency performance of the flip chip interconnects with anisotropic conductive film (ACF) and non-conductive film (NCF) was investigated by measuring the scattering parameters (S-parameters) of the flip chip modules. The effects of two chip materials, Si and gallium arsenide (GaAs), and of the metal pattern gap between the signal line and ground plane in the coplanar waveguide (CPW) on the RF performance of the flip chip module were also investigated. The transmission properties of the GaAs were markedly improved on those of the Si chip, which was not suitable for the measurement of the S-parameters of the flip chip interconnect. Extracted impedance parameters showed that the RF performance of the flip chip interconnect with NCF was slightly better than that of the interconnect with ACF, mainly due to the self inductance of the conductive particle surface and the mutual inductance between the conductive particles in the ACF interconnect.
STAR Club: A Behavior Club for Students at Happy Elementary School

Professional Responsibility: This project has been reviewed by collegial professional peers and has been submitted for on-line publication before being evaluated by faculty members from Portland State University. I am the author and take full responsibility for the project’s contents and quality. This work serves as a baseline for my professional school counselor skills and demonstrates what I have done to develop and/or assess my actions directed toward serving students and schools. In other words, this is a snapshot or one indicator of my work at this stage of my career.
Anger Is a Positive Emotion

April 16). Advancing the defensive explanation for anxiety disorders: Lorazepam effects on human defense are systematically modulated by personality and threat-type. (2011). Flight behavior in humans is intensified by a candidate genetic risk factor for panic disorder: Evidence from a translational model of fear and anxiety. 0. , et al. (2008). Stimulation of the b3-adrenoceptor as a novel treatment strategy for anxiety and depressive disorders. al (2011). The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the In many ways anger is the prototypical negative emotion. A look into Webster's Thesaurus provides a list of related words, which includes animosity, antagonism, embitterment, enmity, hostility, malevolence, and virulence, all of which refer to strife and destruction. This is also the sense in which Seneca in De Ira (On Anger) refers to anger: "Certain wise men, therefore, have claimed that anger is temporary madness. For it is equally devoid of self-control, forgetful of decency, unmindful of ties, persistent and diligent in whatever it begins, closed to reason and counsel, excited by trifling causes, unfit to discern the right and true-the very counterpart of a ruin that is shattered in pieces where it overwhelms" (On Anger, n.d., Book 1). And it is with this view in mind that anger is often equated with blind aggression and destruction. In this sense, Berkowitz and Harmon-Jones (2004) define anger as "a syndrome of relatively specific feelings, cognitions, and physiological reactions linked associatively with an urge to injure some target" (p. 108). However, there is another side to anger as well. A side from which anger can be considered a positive emotion, at least from the perspective of the emoter. The first to remark on this was Aristotle: "since those who do not get angry at things at which it is right to be angry are considered foolish , and so are those who do not get angry in the right manner, at the right time, and with the right people. It is thought that they do not feel or resent an injury, and that if a man is never angry he will not stand up for himself; 56 SPECIFIC NEGATIVE EMOTIONS and it is considered servile to put up with an insult to oneself or suffer one's friends to be insulted" (Nicomachean Ethics, n.d., Iy'S). From this perspective anger is a visible sign of strength and a signal that needed action to thwart insult to …
Scalable video downlink multicasting in multi-cell cellular wireless networks

We consider adaptive rate scheduling for downlink multicasting of video streams, using scalable video coding (SVC) over cellular wireless networks. The structure of the SVC video encoding process is used to offer mobiles video streams at variable quality of experience (QoE) levels. For this purpose, we classify cell users into groups, based on their experienced SINR (signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio) levels. Users that belong to a higher SINR group are offered higher QoE-based streams. To examine the incentives of a service provider in offering streams of different QoE levels to different user groups, we define a QoE price-ratio. The latter expresses the ratio of the revenues gained in streaming a video flow to a user at higher vs. lower quality levels. To mitigate inter-cell interference, we employ a Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) scheduling scheme, whose configuration is hereby optimized. We show the proposed optimally configured adaptive rate multicast scheduling schemes to offer enhanced performance behavior, in effectively adapting the video quality of the multicast streams to users' SINR values and in using the optimal FFR scheduling configuration to mitigate interference.
Grammar-based genetic programming

Tree-based genetic programming (GP) has several known shortcomings: difficult adaptability to specific programming languages and environments, the problem of closure and multiple types, and the problem of declarative representation of knowledge. Most of the methods that try to solve these problems are based on formal grammars. The precise effect of their distinctive features is often difficult to analyse and a good comparison of performance in specific problems is missing. This thesis reviews three grammar-based methods: context-free grammar genetic programming (CFG-GP), including its variant GPHH recently applied to exam timetabling, grammatical evolution (GE), and LOGENPRO, it discusses how they solve the problems encountered by GP, and compares them in a series of experiments in six applications using success rates and derivation tree characteristics. The thesis demonstrates that neither GE nor LOGENPRO provide a substantial advantage over CFG-GP in any of the experiments, and analyses the differences between the effects of operators used in CFG-GP and GE. It also presents results from a highly efficient implementation of CFG-GP and GE.
The resurrection of Neohattoria Kamim. (Jubulaceae, Marchantiophyta): a six decade systematic conflict resolved through a molecular perspective

Abstract The systematic placement of Frullania herzogii has been contentious since its description six decades ago. Over the years it has been interpreted as either a member of the genus Frullania or segregated into its own genus, Neohattoria, due to morphological similarities with both Frullania and Jubula. Here we provide molecular evidence that supports the recognition of the genus Neohattoria and its inclusion within the Jubulaceae, together with Jubula and Nipponolejeunea. Jubulaceae are placed sister to Lejeuneaceae rather than to the monogeneric Frullaniaceae.
An Empirical Investigation of an Object-Oriented Software System

The paper describes an empirical investigation into an industrial object oriented (OO) system comprised of 133000 lines of C++. The system was a subsystem of a telecommunications product and was developed using the Shlaer-Mellor method (S. Shlaer and S.J. Mellor, 1988; 1992). From this study, we found that there was little use of OO constructs such as inheritance, and therefore polymorphism. It was also found that there was a significant difference in the defect densities between those classes that participated in inheritance structures and those that did not, with the former being approximately three times more defect-prone. We were able to construct useful prediction systems for size and number of defects based upon simple counts such as the number of states and events per class. Although these prediction systems are only likely to have local significance, there is a more general principle that software developers can consider building their own local prediction systems. Moreover, we believe this is possible, even in the absence of the suites of metrics that have been advocated by researchers into OO technology. As a consequence, measurement technology may be accessible to a wider group of potential users.