Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are occasional smokers a heterogeneous group? An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND Occasional smokers represent an important segment of all smokers and have been described to be a heterogeneous group in terms of past experience and likelihood of maintaining nondaily smoking behavior. METHODS In the prospective Ontario Tobacco Survey, 408 occasional smokers were followed for a year. Characteristics of subgroups of occasional smokers, as suggested by previous literature, were studied for personal and smoking behavior group differences. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering was also used to empirically identify subgroups of occasional smokers using average linkage. Smoking status at 1-year follow-up was examined overall and by the identified subgroups to determine if any were useful predictors of persistent status as nondaily smoking and likelihood of smoking cessation. RESULTS Significant differences were seen among the subgroups of occasional smokers suggested in previous studies including the number of quit attempts, setting a firm quit date, and whether or not participants cared others knew they smoked in descriptive analyses. Exploratory cluster analysis suggested 4 clusters of occasional smokers based on differences in age, perceived addiction, and history of daily smoking. Subgroups based on participants' history of smoking, self-reported addiction level, and empirically identified cluster subgroups resulted in significant differences of smoking status at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that occasional smokers may be a heterogeneous group with different subgroups characterized by age, accumulated smoking experience and smoking pattern, as well as factors associated with the likelihood of quitting altogether, over time, and perceived addiction.
Assessing the Factors behind Choosing Universities for Higher Education: A Case of Bangladesh

Choosing the right university for higher education is a crucial issue in Bangladesh. There are some factors that play vital role in choosing the right university for higher study. Students like to evaluate those factors prior to choosing their universities. Such factors which are mostly evaluated by the students are reputation, tuition fees, location, permanent campus, teachers’ quality, online service, IT facility, advertisement, and environment. Current exploratory study has identified reputation and online service as the most vital factors that play the most significant role in choosing university for higher education. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data were collected from 60 students of public and private universities in Dhaka city. Multiple regression equation is used to identify dependent and independent variables, their relationship and impact on this research. Based on research questions, hypotheses were developed and tested accordingly.
Sirolimus as a calcineurin inhibitor– and renal‐sparing agent: All good things come to those who wait versus spare the nephron, spoil the patient

The advancement of liver transplantation (LT) from a novel procedure with poor outcomes to a nearly routine operation has been one of the great biomedical achievements and has required advances in medical management, patient selection, and surgical techniques. Although LT was first performed in 1963, none of the early recipients survived more than 3 weeks. Indeed, the results were viewed as so poor that a worldwide moratorium on further LT was enacted for more than 3 years. In the current era, overall 3-year patient survival following LT in the United States exceeds 80%, with a 10-year survival rate of approximately 50%. Among the many factors contributing to the success of LT, the development of effective immunosuppressive agents—primarily calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs)—has been one of the most important. Currently, more than 95% of LT recipients receive immunosuppression with a CNI-based protocol. The decline in the frequency of chronic rejection, with currently less than 4% of livers lost to rejection, has been associated with sequential overall improvements in 3-year patient survival. The most common causes of death beyond the first postoperative year among LT recipients are hepatic in nature (dominated by the recurrence of hepatitis C virus), malignancies, cardiovascular events, infections, and renal failure. Renalrelated deaths, which are strongly attributable to exposure to CNIs, increase more than deaths attributable to any other cause after the fifth postoperative year. Furthermore, renal failure is the strongest predictor of late post-LT mortality. The impact and importance of posttransplant renal insufficiency are increasing as the proportion of recipients with poor renal function at the time of transplantation increases in step with the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score needed by recipients to undergo LT. The widely recognized rise in the importance of kidney function has led to a transition in the focus of immunosuppression development from improving efficacy to improving tolerability (chiefly renal). Enter sirolimus (SRL). SRL (rapamycin), a macrolide antibiotic, was discovered by Brazilian researchers as a product of the bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The soil sample from which the Rapa Nui Streptomyces was cultured was harvested in January 1965 near Rano Kau, where a plaque was subsequently placed that commemorated the unlikely contribution of Rapa Nui to modern medicine. SRL was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 1999, some 34 years after the original isolation of SRL from S. hygroscopicus; this provides an inkling of the imagination, foresight, patience, and investment that can be required to translate an idea into a pharmaceutical product. Although SRL has been studied in many contexts and used in others (eg, drug-eluting endovascular stents), the sole FDA-approved indication for oral SRL is “the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients aged 13 years receiving renal transplants. ”
Compliance with Tap Water Iontophoresis in Patients with Palmoplantar Hyperhidrosis

Background: Patients tend to be noncompliant with tap water iontophoresis (TWI), which is an effective treatment option for palmoplantar hyperhidrosis. Objective: To investigate compliance with TWI in patients with palmoplantar hyperhidrosis and identify the factors limiting its utility. Methods: The medical data of 22 patients treated with TWI for palmoplantar hyperhidrosis were collected. A telephone inquiry questioning overall satisfaction with the treatment and the reasons for discontinuation was conducted. Results: Sixteen patients completed the initial treatment period, and all responded well to the therapy. Eight patients started on the maintenance treatment, five of whom gave up before completing five sessions. The reasons for discontinuation were a lack of time in 12 patients, switching to home therapy in 3 patients, and side effects in 1 patient. Conclusion: Patients with palmoplantar hyperhidrosis are noncompliant with TWI, mainly due to a lack of time. They should be well informed before therapy and be encouraged to have a home device for maintenance.
Previously undescribed nonsense mutation in SHH caused autosomal dominant holoprosencephaly with wide intrafamilial variability

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common developmental defect of the forebrain and midface in humans, with a frequency of 1/16,000 live births. Different genes are implicated in the pathogenesis of HPE; these include SHH, ZIC2, SIX3, TGIF, and human DKK1. We describe here a family with recurrence of autosomal dominant HPE in different members showing a wide clinical variability. The mother presents a single central maxillary incisor and mild hypotelorism as signs of the diseases, while three of her sons were affected by HPE. By direct sequencing and restriction analysis of exon 2 of the SHH gene, we have identified a previously undescribed nonsense mutation at codon 128 (W128X). The identification of this mutation allowed us to give a prenatal diagnosis in this family and confirms a wide intrafamilial variabilty in the phenotypic spectrum. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effect of Ultrasound on the Healing of Muscle-Pediculated Bone Graft in Spinal Fusion

Study Design. A rabbit model of posterolateral intertransverse process spine arthrodesis with and without the application of low-intensity ultrasound was used. Objective. To determine the effects of low-intensity ultrasound on the healing of muscle-pediculated bone graft. Summary of Background Data. Earlier animal and clinical studies demonstrated the efficacy of low-intensity ultrasound stimulation in the acceleration of osteogenesis and fracture healing. This is the first study in which the beneficial effects of ultrasound on the healing of muscle-pediculated bone graft in spinal fusion have been assessed. Methods. In this study, 20 New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned to two groups to undergo either spinal fusion using muscle–pedicle bone graft with ultrasound (ultrasound group) or muscle–pedicle bone graft without ultrasound (control group). Muscle-pediculated bone grafts were prepared from the posterosuperior iliac crest, erector spine muscle, and internal and external oblique muscle. This graft was placed bilaterally between the L5 and L6 transverse processes. Ultrasound was performed 20 minutes per day over the rabbits’ lumbar spine. The rabbits were killed 6 weeks after surgery. The lumbar spines were evaluated radiologically, macroscopically, and histologically. Results. By macroscopic and radiologic findings, fusion was detected in 11 control group rabbits (55%) of the control group, and in 17 ultrasound group rabbits (85%). The fusion success rate for the rabbits treated with low-intensity ultrasound were statistically higher (P <0,05) than that for the control group. Histologic specimens showed increased bone formation in the fusions exposed to ultrasound. Mature fusions were present in rabbits that received ultrasound. Conclusion. Low-intensity ultrasound in white rabbits increased the rate and quality of spinal fusion using muscle-pediculated bone grafts.
Gremlins in the Data: Identifying the Information Content of Research Subjects

Empirical demand functions, such as those from choice-based conjoint analyses, are critical to many aspects of marketing. Approaches have been developed to ensure that research subjects provide honest and thoughtful responses. However, to reduce costs, researchers increasingly collect data online, under conditions that compromise the value of the information provided. Objective measures related to how the study is completed, such as latency (how quickly answers are given), can only be tied to other objective measures (such as the consistency of the answers), but ultimately their relationship to the subject’s utility function is questionable. To address this problem, the authors introduce a mixture modeling framework that clusters subjects based on variances. The proposed model naturally groups subjects based on their internal consistency. The authors argue that a higher level of internal consistency (i.e., lower variance) reflects more engaged consumers who have sufficient experience with the product category and choice task. “Gremlins,” in contrast, behave such that the noise in their responses overwhelms any signal, leading to a lack of predictive power. This approach provides an automated way to determine which respondents are relevant. The authors discuss the conceptual and modeling framework and illustrate the method using both simulated and commercial data.
SEROTYPING FOR HOMOTRANSPLANTATION. X. SURVIVAL OF 196 GRAFTED KIDNEYS SUBSEQUENT TO TYPING

A total of 196 kidney transplant donors and recipients have been tested with a large panel of antisera and classified as to whether they are matched or mismatched for major leukocyte groups. The survival of the matched patients in comparison to the mismatched patients was then analyzed. During the 21/2 year interval of study, 50 patients have died or have had their rejected kidneys removed. Of these rejected grafts 15 occurred in matched patients and 35 in mismatched patients (P < 0.025). The difference was greater when only retrospectively studied patients who had survived more than 3 months at the time of study were considered. Among 97 patients, 11 deaths have occurred; 10 occurred in mismatched patients whereas only 1 occurred in a matched patient (P < 0.025). The rate of survival in matched recipients was higher than in mismatched patients as shown by the plotting of survival curves (by actuarial methods). Survival after the time of testing was plotted and shown to decline continuously in mismatched patients in comparison to matched patients. An improved technique for the performance of the microdroplet lymphocyte cytotoxicity test is also presented. It is concluded that although survival in this series is associated with matching in marginal limits, many hazards which influence survival especially in the early 3 month period may be making it difficult to demonstrate the association. Further experience, however, will be necessary to rule against transplantation on the basis of the test.
An ABC‐type, high‐affinity urea permease identified in cyanobacteria

Urea is an important nitrogen source for many microorganisms, but urea active transporters have not been characterized at a molecular level in any bacterium. Cells of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 exhibited the capacity to take up [14C]‐urea from low‐concentration (<1 μM) urea solutions. The Ks of Anabaena cells for urea was about 0.11 μM, and the observed uptake activity involved the transport and metabolism of urea. In contrast to urease, which was constitutively ex‐pressed, expression of the high‐affinity urea uptake activity was subjected to nitrogen control. In an Anabaena ureG (urease–) mutant, a concentrative, active transport of urea could be demonstrated. We found that a mutant of open reading frame (ORF) sll0374 from the Synechocystis genomic sequence lacked urea transport activity. This ORF encoded a conserved component of an ABC‐type transporter, but it is not clustered together with any other possible transporter‐encoding gene. An Anabaena homologue of sll0374, urtE, was isolated and found to be part of a cluster of genes, urtABCDE, putatively encoding all the elements of an ABC‐type permease. Although the longest transcript that we could detect only covered urtABC, the impairment of urea transport by inactivation of urtA, urtB or urtE suggested that the whole gene cluster is expressed producing the urea permease. Expression was induced under nitrogen‐limiting conditions, and a complex promoter regulated by the cyanobacterial global nitrogen control transcription factor NtcA was found upstream from urtA. Our work adds urea to the known substrates of the versatile class of ABC‐type transporters and suggests the involvement of a transporter of this superfamily in urea scavenging by some bacteria in natural environments.
Discovering Cooperative Structure Among Online Items for Attention Dynamics

Social Media allows people to post widely and share the posted online-items. Such items gain their popularity by the amount of attention received. Thus, studies on modeling the arrival process of attention to an individual item have recently attracted a great deal of interest. In this paper, we propose, by combining a Dirichlet process with a Hawkes process in a novel way, a probabilistic model, called cooperative Hawkes process (CHP) model, to discover the cooperative structure among all the items involved. The proposed model takes into account all the arrival processes of shares for those items. We develop an efficient method of inferring the CHP model from the observed sequences of share events, and present an effective framework for predicting the future popularity of each of these items. Using synthetic data and real data from a cooking-recipe sharing site, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the CHP model, and uncover the cooperative structure among cooking-recipes in view of attention dynamics.
[Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics of bacterial meningitis in adult patients].

AIM OF THE STUDY To determine the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory characteristics of adult bacterial meningitis in the Czech Republic, including complications and causes of death. MATERIAL AND METHODS A longitudinal observational study of adult patients treated for community-acquired or hospital-acquired bacterial meningitis at a specialized unit. Demographic data, clinical signs, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test results, bacterial aetiology, complications and clinical outcome were recorded. RESULTS In 1997-2006, 296 adult patients (128 women, 168 men) with acute bacterial meningitis (age range: 16-85 years; median age: 51 years) were hospitalized. Community- and hospital-acquired meningitis was diagnosed in 278 and 18 cases, respectively. The triad of fever, mental status change and meningism was present in 64 % of patients. Mental status was changed in 74 % of patients, 30 % of patients were comatose. The CSF cytological and biochemical findings were both positive for purulent inflammation in 76 % of patients. The most frequent pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae (28 %) and Neisseria meningitidis (25 %). The aetiology was unknown in 24 % of patients. Neurological or systemic complications were revealed in 205 patients (69 %). Fifty-nine patients died (case fatality ratio: 20 %) and 54 patients (18 %) survived with sequelae. Intracranial and systemic complications caused death in 28 patients (47 %) and 31 patients (53 %), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The study showed that in the majority of patients, both clinical and laboratory signs were sufficiently clear to suggest bacterial meningitis and the need for immediate diagnostics and treatment. It is necessary to increase the identification rate of bacterial meningitis, mainly by means of rigorous implementation of CSF and blood culture in the initial diagnostic procedures as well as increased availability of molecular genetic techniques.
The Effectiveness of Cognitive Principles in Authentic Education Settings : Research to Practice

Background Lab-based research in cognitive and learning sciences provide many recommendations for improving learning and instruction (e.g., Pashler et al., 2007). Tightly controlled experiments demonstrate that learning can be enhanced with strategies such as: 1) facilitating mapping between visual representations, 2) prompting for explanation of worked examples, 3) using quizzing to promote learning, and 4) spacing practice opportunities over time (e.g., Cooper & Sweller (1987); Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, et al. 2006; Clark & Mayer, 2003; Larkin & Simon, 1987; Mayer 2001; Kalyuga, Chandler, and Sweller (2001); Paas & Van Merrienboer, 1994; Rohrer & Taylor, 2006). However, few studies investigate the principles in combination, or in authentic learning environments. We describe a large-scale effort to bridge research and practice by applying four cognitive principles to redesign the 7th grade Connected Mathematics Project 2 curriculum and testing the efficacy of these revised materials. Figure 1 shows a side-by-side of a page from the original and the revised curricula.
Location of Hotel Groups’ Headquarters

The paper assesses the factors that influence the location of hotel groups’ headquarters. The concentration of headquarters in a particular country is modelled by three different variables: share of Hotels 325 ranked hotel groups headquartered in the country, share of hotels in Hotels 325 ranked groups headquartered in the country and share of rooms in Hotels 325 ranked hotel groups headquartered in the country. Three groups of factors are assessed: hotel industry-specific factors (size of the hotel industry, average capacity and share of affiliated hotels in the local hotel industry), tourism-specific factors (size and importance of tourism industry, destination’s competitiveness) and the general business environment (GDP, GDP per capita, population size, levels of globalisation, human development, and corruption). The sample includes 116 countries. Findings reveal that highest concentration of hotel groups’ headquarters is in countries with large hotel industries, high share of affiliated properties, high tourism competitiveness index and in the USA. Tourism policy implication, limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
Secretory vesicle formation in glandular trichomes of Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae).

Formation of secretory vesicles in the noncellular secretory cavity of glandular trichomes of Cannabis sativa L. was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Two patterns of vesicle formation occurred during gland morphogenesis. 1) During initial phases of cavity formation small hyaline areas arose in the wall near the plasma membrane of the disc cell. Hyaline areas of elongated shape and different sizes were distributed throughout the wall and adjacent to the secretory cavity. Hyaline areas increased in size, some possibly fusing with others. These hyaline areas, possessing a membrane, moved into the cavity where they formed vesicles. As membraned vesicles they developed a more or less round shape and their contents became electron-dense. 2) During development of the secretory cavity and when abundant secretions were present in the disc cells, these secretions passed through the wall to accumulate as membraned vesicles of different sizes in the cavity. As secretions emerged from the wall, a membrane of wall origin delimited the secretory material from cavity contents. Vesicles released from the wall migrated in the secretory cavity and contacted the sheath where their contents permeated into the subcuticular wall as large or diffused quantities of secretions. In the subcuticular wall these secretions migrated to the wall-cuticle interface where they contributed to structural thickening of the cuticle. This study demonstrates that the secretory process in glands of Cannabis involves not only secretion of materials from the disc cell, but that the disc cell somehow packages these secretions into membraned vesicles outside the cell wall prior to deposition into the secretory cavity for subsequent structural development of the sheath. Lipophilic glandular trichomes form secretory vesicles that accumulate in a distended noncellular secretory cavity (Hammond and Mahlberg, 1977, 1978). Secretory vesicles have been described only for glands of Cannabis, although they have been detected in glands of other plants (Oliveira and Pais, 1990). The secretory cavity in Cannabis arises by the splitting of the outer wall of disc cells to form a noncellular compartment into which disc cells deposit precursors for sheath development and other poorly understood functions. The disc cell wall facing the cavity releases wall matrix which contributes to the thickening of the subcuticular wall dur