Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments: The Challenge of Evaluating Clinical Innovations

Abstract Clear and transparent standards are required to establish whether a therapeutic method is “evidence based. ” Even when research demonstrates a method to be efficacious, it may not become available to patients who could benefit from it, a phenomenon known as the “translational gap. ” Only 30% of therapies cross the gap, and the lag between empirical validation and clinical implementation averages 17 years. To address these problems, Division 12 of the American Psychological Association published a set of standards for “empirically supported treatments” in the mid-1990s that allows the assessment of clinical modalities. This article reviews these criteria, identifies their strengths, and discusses their impact on the translational gap, using the development of a clinical innovation called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as a case study. Twelve specific recommendations for updates of the Division 12 criteria are made based on lessons garnered from the adoption of EFT within the clinical community. These recommendations would shorten the cycle from the research setting to clinical practice, increase transparency, incorporate recent scientific advances, and enhance the capacity for succinct comparisons among treatments.
The Anti‐Inflammatory and Anti‐Angiogenic Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Corneal Wound Healing Following Chemical Injury

To investigate the anti‐inflammatory and anti‐angiogenic effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in the chemically burned corneas, we mechanically removed the corneal epithelium of rats after 100% alcohol instillation. The rats were then randomized into four groups: fresh media, conditioned media derived from the MSC culture (MSC‐CM), MSC applied topically to the damaged corneas for 2 hours immediately after the injury or MSC‐CM applied either once or 3 times per day for 3 consecutive days. Corneal surface was evaluated every week. After 3 weeks, the corneas were stained with the hematoxylin‐eosin, and the expression of interleukin (IL)‐2, interferon (IFN)‐γ, IL‐6, IL‐10, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, thrombospondin‐1 (TSP‐1), matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analyzed. CD4+ cells were assessed in the corneas. We found that both MSC and three‐time applied MSC‐CM (1) reduced corneal inflammation and neovascularization, (2) decreased IL‐2 and IFN‐γ, although increased IL‐10 and TGF‐β1 as well as IL‐6, (3) reduced the infiltration of CD4+ cells, and (4) upregulated the expression of TSP‐1, although downregulated that of MMP‐2. Interestingly, whereas three‐time application of MSC‐CM was partially effective, transplantation of MSC achieved a better outcome in suppressing corneal inflammation. The results of this study suggest that the anti‐inflammatory and anti‐angiogenic action of MSC in the chemically burned corneas might be mediated in part through paracrine pathways involving soluble factors such as IL‐10, TGF‐β1, IL‐6 and TSP‐1.
Prognostic nomogram for previously untreated patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after esophagectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to establish an effective prognostic nomogram for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radical esophagectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy in those previously untreated patients. METHODS The clinicopathological data from 328 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy or not at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between 2006 and 2010 were retrospectively studied. Nomograms which predicted survival of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were established based on the Cox proportional hazards regression model. To determine its predictive accuracy and discriminatory capacity, the concordance index and calibration curve were calculated after bootstrapping in the internal validation. An external validation of 76 patients in 2011 was prospectively studied at the same institution. To verify the performance of the nomogram, the comparison between the nomogram and Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system was conducted. RESULTS The 5-year overall survival was 43.1% in the primary cohort. Based on multivariate analyses, five independent prognostic variables including gender, tumor length, T stage, N stage and chemotherapy cycles were selected to build the nomograms to predict disease-free survival and overall survival. The concordance index of the nomogram to predict overall survival was 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.79), which was superior to the predictive power of Tumor-Node-Metastasis staging system (0.64) in the primary cohort. Meanwhile, the calibration curve showed good accuracy between predictive and actual overall survival. In the validation cohort, the concordance index (0.77) and calibration plot displayed favorable performances. The other nomogram to predict disease-free survival also performed well. CONCLUSIONS The prognostic nomogram provided individualized risk estimate of survival in patients after esophagectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.
Relationship Between Azathioprine Dosage, 6-Thioguanine Nucleotide Levels, and Therapeutic Response in Pediatric Patients with IBD Treated with Azathioprine

Background:Azathioprine (AZA) is commonly used to treat IBD either alone or in combination with mesalazine. However, there are relatively few studies concerning the relationship between AZA dose, thiopurine metabolite levels, and therapeutic response in pediatric patients treated with both AZA and mesalazine. Methods:We retrospectively investigated the relationship between AZA dose, thiopurine metabolite levels, and therapeutic response in 137 pediatric patients with IBD treated with AZA using multilevel analysis. Additional factors affecting metabolite levels and therapeutic response were also analyzed. Results:A positive correlation was observed between AZA dosage and 6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) level (P < 0.0001). Variant TPMT genotype (P < 0.001) and concomitant use of mesalazine (P < 0.001) were predictors of higher 6-TGN levels. Leukopenia (P = 0.025) and lymphopenia (P = 0.045) were associated with higher levels of 6-TGN. Poor AZA compliance affected median 6-TGN levels (P < 0.001). The frequency of patients with median 6-TGN levels >235 pmol per 8 × 108 red blood cells was the highest in the sustained therapeutic response group (P = 0.015). Age, sex, IBD type, and duration of AZA therapy did not influence 6-TGN levels or therapeutic effect. Conclusions:AZA dosage is positively correlated with 6-TGN level. Higher 6-TGN levels are related to leukopenia, lymphopenia, and concurrent use of mesalazine. These results provide the rationale for monitoring metabolites to optimize drug dosing and minimize drug-related toxicity. In addition, maintenance of 6-TGN levels within a beneficial therapeutic range by direct monitoring should be helpful in attaining therapeutic efficacy, although this possibility should be verified in prospective studies.
Building bridges and creating understanding the experiences of non-Indigenous learning advisors employed to assist Indigenous tertiary students under the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme /

This dissertation, first and foremost signifies the learningjoumey of the writerlresearcher as a student social worker undertaking Honours in the final stages of the degree at CQUniversity; and as a non-Indigenous learning advisor employed by Nulloo Yumbah Learning Spirituality and Research Centre to assist Indigenous tertiary students in their undergraduate study. A feminist post-structural methodology using comparative reflexive practice is employed to explore the experiences and challenges of non-Indigenous Learning Advisors in their work giving assistance to Indigenous Students. Using a reflective narrative writing style, the collective experiences of the research partners are allowed to emerge in order to make the most of an opportunity for the small collective voice to be heard. As such, the emergence of patterns in stories of shared experience permits a powerful contribution to the growing pool of research in the area of teaching and learning from Indigenous perspectives. The stories of shared experience of research partners are set against the background of Australia's oppressive colonial history; and include the examination of social policy both at the govemmentallevel and CQUniversity's own agreement with Nulloo Yumbah. This statement of agreement aims to provide appropriate and cultural support to Indigenous tertiary students in line with the stipulations outlined in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy 1989, which are to increase the outcomes for Indigenous tertiary students to reflect the same standard of achievement as other Australians. The objective of the research project is made possible by the use of reflexive practice, where the writer/researcher challenges the efficacy of university support systems by taking the stance of an insider, deeply embedded in the dominant colonial educational discourse present in Australia. Additionally, this approach enables not only an understanding of the experiences of the actors, being non-Indigenous learning advisors and Indigenous tertiary students, within educational support systems, but also depicts how these experiences might compare with broader social expectations and intent for the functions of the existing education system.
Integrating distance metric learning and cluster-level constraints in semi-supervised clustering

Semi-supervised clustering has been widely explored in the last years. In this paper, we present HCAC-ML (Hierarchical Confidence-based Active Clustering with Metric Learning), an innovative approach for this task which employs distance metric learning through cluster-level constraints. HCAC-ML is based on the HCAC algorithm, an state-of-the-art algorithm for hierarchical semi-supervised clustering that uses an active learning approach for inserting cluster-level constraints. These constraints are presented to a variation of ITML (Information-theoretic Metric Learning) algorithm to learn a Mahalanobis-like distance function. We compared HCAC-ML with other semi-supervised clustering algorithms in 26 different datasets. Results indicate that HCAC-ML outperforms other algorithms in most of the scenarios, but specially when the number of constraints is small. This makes HCAC-ML useful in practical applications.
The effects of derivative hedging on firm' financial activity—An Evidence from Chinese listed companies

In the paper, using survey data from disclosures in annual reports of the Chinese listed companies of metallurgical industry from 2007 to 2010, due to the fact of that there is the highest percentage of Chinese companies linking the decision of derivatives hedging in this industries, we find strong evidence that derivatives hedging affects the financial activity of companies including the debt leverage, dividend policy: Our result shows a positive relationship between debt leverage of companies and scale of derivatives hedging. The study also presents that companies used derivatives hedging distribute more dividends and there exist a positive relationship between the scale of the use of derivatives hedging and distribution of dividends.
Individual long-term albuminuria exposure during angiotensin receptor blocker therapy is the optimal predictor for renal outcome.

BACKGROUND Albuminuria reduction due to angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) predicts subsequent renoprotection. Relating the initial albuminuria reduction to subsequent renoprotection assumes that the initial ARB-induced albuminuria reduction remains stable during follow-up. The aim of this study was to assess individual albuminuria fluctuations after the initial ARB response and to determine whether taking individual albuminuria fluctuations into account improves renal outcome prediction. METHODS Patients with diabetes and nephropathy treated with losartan or irbesartan in the RENAAL and IDNT trials were included. Patients with >30% reduction in albuminuria 3 months after ARB initiation were stratified by the subsequent change in albuminuria until Month 12 in enhanced responders (>50% albuminuria reduction), sustained responders (between 20 and 50% reduction), and response escapers (<20% reduction). Predictive performance of the individual albuminuria exposure until Month 3 was compared with the exposure over the first 12 months using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. RESULTS Following ARB initiation, 388 (36.3%) patients showed an >30% reduction in albuminuria. Among these patients, the albuminuria level further decreased in 174 (44.8%), remained stable in 123 (31.7%), and increased in 91 (23.5%) patients. Similar albuminuria fluctuations were observed in patients with <30% albuminuria reduction. Renal risk prediction improved when using the albuminuria exposure during the first 12 months versus the initial Month 3 change [ROC difference: 0.78 (95% CI 0.75-0.82) versus 0.68 (0.64-0.72); P < 0.0001]. CONCLUSIONS Following the initial response to ARBs, a large within-patient albuminuria variability is observed. Hence, incorporating multiple albuminuria measurements over time in risk algorithms may be more appropriate to monitor treatment effects and quantify renal risk.
The Impact of Intracellular Generation of Nitric Oxide on the Radiation Response of Human Tumor Cells

Abstract Singh, S. , Cowen, R. L. , Chinje, E. C. and Stratford, I. J. The Impact of Intracellular Generation of Nitric Oxide on the Radiation Response of Human Tumor Cells. Radiat. Res. 171, 572–580 (2009). Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent radiosensitizer of hypoxic mammalian cells. There have been many reports demonstrating radiosensitization in vitro and in vivo by the use of NO donors to generate NO by chemical means or by producing agents that mimic the free radical mechanism(s) of NO for potentiating radiosensitivity. However, much of this work has been done without taking account of the endogenous NO that is generated in tumor cells by NO synthase (NOS) in vitro or in tumor cells and host cells in solid tumors in vivo. To evaluate the contribution of intracellular generated NO to cellular radiosensitivity, we exposed human HT1080 and MDA231 tumor cells to a cytokine cocktail that results in an increase in cellular NOS expression to a level that is seen in many human solid tumors. We also carried out parallel studies to determine the radiosensitivity of HT1080 and MDA231 cells engineered to constitutively overexpress the iNOS gene. When cells are treated with cytokines under anoxic conditions (<0.01% O2), there is up to a 9–15-fold increase in NOS expression, but no detectable NO is generated (since O2 is required for the generation of NO via the NOS-mediated conversion of arginine to citrulline). As a consequence, when these cells are irradiated under hypoxic conditions, no radiosensitization is observed. However, as the oxygen tension was increased, the amount of NO generated also increased, and we show that this NO then contributes to an overall increase in the radiosensitivity of cells. For example, at 1% O2 in control HT1080 cells, with little measurable NOS activity, the dose of radiation required to reduce survival by 90% was 6 Gy compared to 10 Gy in anoxic conditions. After cytokine treatment, the level of NO generated at 1% O2 was significantly increased and the dose of radiation needed for 90% cell killing was reduced further to 4 Gy. The presence of the NOS inhibitor NG-methyl-l-arginine (NMLA) shortly before and during irradiation ablated this increase in radiosensitivity, confirming that the effect was due to the generation of NO. We conclude that cytokine-mediated up-regulation of the NOS expression in tumor cells can produce sufficient NO to significantly increase the cytotoxic effect of radiation and that this is particularly apparent at intermediate oxygen concentrations.
What Do Wages Add to the Health‐Employment Nexus? Evidence from Older European Workers

The role of wages in the health‐employment nexus can be important for designing employment policies aimed at older workers with health limitations. We, therefore, estimate the direct effect of health on employment and hours worked and its indirect effect that is mediated through wages using individual‐level panel data from SHARE. The endogeneity of self‐reported health is controlled for by instrumenting it with severe health conditions in a correlated random effects model. For men, we find that the direct effects of health deterioration, as measured by a reduction in health from the 75th to the 50th percentile of the health distribution, are about a 20% point lower employment probability and about 171 fewer hours worked per year. The indirect health effects through wages work in the opposite directions as health positively affects wages and wages negatively affect employment and hours worked. The total effects of this health deterioration amount to a 12% point lower employment probability and 95 fewer hours worked per year. In particular our finding of a large direct health effect on employment suggests an instrumental role for policy aimed at accommodating workers with health limitations to keep them employed at older ages.
Toward a Culture of Tribal Power: The Promise and Power of Culture in Development and Nation Building in the Hoopa Nation

Author(s): Huerta, Ricardo Guadalupe | Advisor(s): Hutson, Malo A | Abstract: The dissertation examines cultural projects and economic development enterprises to explore the power and potential power that culture has in informing, guiding and improving community and economic development efforts in the Hoopa Nation of Northern California. The unique political standing of Native American tribes as "domestic dependent nations," coupled with federal devolution policies of the 1970s and 1980s, opened opportunities for Native Nations to pursue tribally-directed economic development projects. After decades of failed federal policies, many Native Nations have achieved modest to remarkable success. Despite the compelling nature of these relatively astonishing success stories, these cases remain absent from key development literatures, including urban planning and international development. The absence offers an opportunity for a close examination of a number of key concerns including 1) what tribes are doing right; 2) the key components of this success; 3) whether, how and where these are replicable; and 4) how these practices might inform urban development and planning theory. These broader concerns frame this study, which examines the relationship between culture and community and economic development in a Native American context. Drawing from a series of interviews with tribal leaders, development practitioners, business leaders, and tribal enterprise managers, it explores the ways in which the conceptualizations, discourses, and practices of Hupa culture have the potential to inform and shape development projects and the ways in which these practices provide for greater efficacy. The research aims to show the concrete ways in which "culture" can be an effective input for development, a mobilizing discourse, and is often both a means and an end to development goals. Building on the work of Native Nation Building scholars, the study offers insights into methodologies for operationalizing cultural information in community and economic development.
PCSOs as the paraprofessionals of policing: findings and recommendations from a research project

ions and hot spots During the course of the research project it became apparent that PCSOs were increasingly being used to ‘plug gaps’ which existed elsewhere in a neighbourhood area. If there was an operation underway in one beat to address a spate of burglaries, for example, PCSOs would be taken off their own beats and redeployed for a period of time – sometimes for a week or more – to boost staff numbers in the operation. PCSOs were often tasked with patrolling ‘hot spots’: areas identified by crime analysts as being likely future targets for crimes. PCSOs would be required to patrol very small areas of a beat, often not their own, for hours at a time. This was not only monotonous, but prevents them from attending to residents and appointments they may have had in their own areas5. They are not able to make that vital face-to-face contact with community members and broken appointments are frustrating for the people who were expecting the police to take their concerns seriously. The PCSOs who seemed happiest in their jobs were the ones who felt they had a good degree of control over the course of their day and the work they did in their beats. These PCSOs had control over their craft. Recommendation 6: All efforts should be made to avoid abstracting PCSOs from their beats. This is not only frustrating for them as workers, but is also frustrating for the community members they would have seen that day and damages their social capital-building efforts in their beat areas. Regularly abstracting PCSOs undermines the purpose of the role. 5 Ongoing research at the University of Cambridge also suggests that hot spots only need to be patrolled for 15 minutes at a time and to do so for longer is counter-productive (personal communications with P Neyroud and N Wain). ‘You’re coming away off
Sarcoglycan Isoforms in Skeletal Muscle*

The heterotetrameric sarcoglycan complex, composed of α-, β-, γ-, and δ-sarcoglycans, is an important component of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein assembly in striated muscle. Mutations in any of the four genes encoding sarcoglycans cause a deficiency in all sarcoglycans in the sarcolemma and produce one of four types of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. A fifth widely expressed sarcoglycan, ε-sarcoglycan, has been recently described. ε-Sarcoglycan is homologous to α-sarcoglycan, but whether it associates with the other sarcoglycans in muscle is not known. In this study, we use wild type and α-sarcoglycan-deficient mice to analyze the localization and association of sarcoglycans in skeletal muscle in vivo. The amounts of β-, γ-, and δ-sarcoglycans are reduced in α-sarcoglycan mutants, whereas the amount of ε-sarcoglycan is unchanged. We show here that ε-sarcoglycan is complexed with β-, γ-, and δ-sarcoglycans in both wild type and α-sarcoglycan mutant mice. We also use C2C12 myocytes to study the temporal expression and organization of sarcoglycan complexes during muscle cell differentiation in vitro. In C2C12 cells, α- and ε-sarcoglycans form separate complexes with β-, γ-, and δ-sarcoglycans. Both types of complexes are expressed at the cell surface and presumed to be functional. These results suggest that ε-sarcoglycan serves a function similar to that of α-sarcoglycan and that residual β-, γ-, and δ-sarcoglycan seen in mutant mice and α-sarcoglycan-deficient patients is due to its association with ε-sarcoglycan.
B7-Deficient Autoreactive T Cells Are Highly Susceptible to Suppression by CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells1

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress immunity to infections and tumors as well as autoimmunity and graft-vs-host disease. Since Tregs constitutively express CTLA-4 and activated T cells express B7-1 and B7-2, it has been suggested that the interaction between CTLA-4 on Tregs and B7-1/2 on the effector T cells may be required for immune suppression. In this study, we report that autopathogenic T cells from B7-deficient mice cause multiorgan inflammation when adoptively transferred into syngeneic RAG-1-deficient hosts. More importantly, this inflammation is suppressed by adoptive transfer of purified wild-type (WT) CD4+CD25+ T cells. WT Tregs also inhibited lymphoproliferation and acquisition of activation markers by the B7-deficient T cells. An in vitro suppressor assay revealed that WT and B7-deficient T cells are equally susceptible to WT Treg regulation. These results demonstrate that B7-deficient T cells are highly susceptible to immune suppression by WT Tregs and refute the hypothesis that B7-CTLA-4 interaction between effector T cells and Tregs plays an essential role in Treg function.