Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personal characteristics influencing patients' adherence to home exercise during chronic pain: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE To identify the beliefs and perceptions of patients with chronic neck and low back pain that influence adherence to home exercise during exacerbation and/or remission of pain. DESIGN Qualitative study using a focus group technique. SUBJECTS Thirty-four patients (23 women, age range 26-70 years) with chronic neck or low back pain who had participated in a home exercise programme. METHODS Seven focus groups were formed. Participants were sampled purposefully from all patients with chronic neck or low back pain who attended for physiotherapy at 4 primary healthcare centres. Patients were interviewed about how they perceived their adherence to a home exercise programme during chronic pain. Data were analysed using a phenomenographic method. RESULTS Several themes about patients' beliefs and perceptions were identified as factors related to adherence. These factors change when pain or disabilities appear, decrease or disappear for an extended period. Beliefs about illness and treatment are more likely when pain is present and when pain disappears for an extended period. However, patients consider perceptions about barriers, social support and physical environment when pain decreases. CONCLUSION These findings may represent an important potential for improving the adherence of patients with chronic pain to home exercise programmes.
Improvement of Collaborative Filtering Systems through Resource Description Framework

The huge mass of data generated continuously leads to information overload which limit the tools available to manage, store and secure this traffic on the web. The situation is paradoxical, a need for timely relevant information and the difficulty to btain this information because it is lost in the mass. The use of fully search engine based on the formulation of the request by users show some limitations. The trend is to improve the information filtering approaches to better answer the user's expectations. In this work, we modelled a collaborative filtering system by Friend Of A Friend (FOAF) formalism for the representation of the users and the Dublin Core (DC) vocabulary to represent the resources " items". In addition, and to ensure the interoperability and openness of this model, we adopted the Resource Description Framework (RDF) syntax to describe the various modules of the system. A hybrid function was introduced for the calculation of prediction. The empirical tests on various real data sets (Book-Crossing, FoafPub) showed satisfactory performances in relevance and precision.
Conciliatory States

Existing theory associates ethnolinguistic diversity with a host of negative outcomes. This article analyzes the puzzle of Ghana, the 12th most diverse state globally, yet among the most peaceful, democratic, and developed African states. It argues the position of post-independence political elites within ethno-demographic structures helps explain why some diverse African states pursued broad nation-building public goods, mitigating the political salience of diversity. Diversity encouraged provision of social goods with broad-based support in states with a modest plurality—not large enough to dominate, but without proximately sized ethnic groups—especially for leaders from a minority. Comparative historical analysis of Ghana is expanded with abbreviated case studies on Guinea, Togo, and Kenya.
‘IFRS – ten years later’: a standard-setter’s view

This essay is based on a response to Professor Ray Ball’s PD Leake Lecture delivered at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales in October 2015. The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board) or the IFRS® Foundation.
Analysis of Microbiome Data in the Presence of Excess Zeros

Motivation: An important feature of microbiome count data is the presence of a large number of zeros. A common strategy to handle these excess zeros is to add a small number called pseudo-count (e.g., 1). Other strategies include using various probability models to model the excess zero counts. Although adding a pseudo-count is simple and widely used, as demonstrated in this paper, it is not ideal. On the other hand, methods that model excess zeros using a probability model often make an implicit assumption that all zeros can be explained by a common probability models. As described in this article, this is not always recommended as there are potentially three types/sources of zeros in a microbiome data. The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple methodology to identify and accomodate three different types of zeros and to test hypotheses regarding the relative abundance of taxa in two or more experimental groups. Another major contribution of this paper is to perform constrained (directional or ordered) inference when there are more than two ordered experimental groups (e.g., subjects ordered by diet or age groups or environmental exposure groups). As far as we know this is the first paper that addresses such problems in the analysis of microbiome data. Results: Using extensive simulation studies, we demonstrate that the proposed methodology not only controls the false discovery rate at a desired level of significance while competing well in terms of power with DESeq2, a popular procedure derived from RNASeq literature. As expected, the method using pseudo-counts tends to be very conservative and the classical t-test that ignores the underlying simplex structure in the data has an inflated FDR.
Fuzziness and Bureaucracy

Among the sins laid at the doorstep of public bureaucracies is the mismatch of needs and benefits provided. The newspapers chronicle cases of destitute widows unable to get enough welfare money to sustain life because of technicalities as well as cases of legally obtained welfare Cadillacs. Bureaucrats and the bureaucratic establishment are held responsible for such mismatches with the implication that pettiness, ill-will, mean-spiritedness, poor management, and basic stupidity are at fault. We will introduce the notion of fuzzy sets, apply it to public sector service provision, and argue that a significant category of mismatch problems and other problems are not a function of the procedures, structures, or staff of public bureaucracies. Rather, we will argue, the fault often lies in the misinterpretation of categories employed in deciding who is to be provided service at what levels. Then we will use the notions of fuzzy and crisp sets to explicate variations in bureaucratic behavior among public organizations in order to show the likelihood of certain problems occurring. Finally, we will suggest some ways for bureaucrats to minimize the unfortunate consequences of dealing with fuzzy mandates in a world of crisp procedures and expectations.
Breaking communication barriers for RA patients of South Asian origin: the use of a bilingual educational audio CD and linguistically appropriate peer support and education.

BACKGROUND People from the Indian subcontinent represent one of the largest ethnic groups in the UK. Patient education resources are required to address language barriers, poor literacy and (potentially discordant) cultural beliefs. We have investigated a novel strategy to meet this need. METHODS Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of South Asian origin who prefer to communicate in a South Asian language were invited to a face-to-face interaction with a trained patient volunteer to provide linguistically appropriate peer support and education, and given a bilingual educational audio CD. Qualitative methods were used to assess this approach; three focus groups were held and 15 patients participated in total. RESULTS Four important themes were identified: (1) The need for information about RA; all patients agreed that this was vital to learn how to live with their chronic disease. (2) Currently available approaches to education; particular concerns related to a lack of time in clinic, language barriers, difficulties in communicating via interpreters and that most written information was available only in English. (3) Support provided by a trained patient volunteer; patients appreciated that they were listened to, and were motivated by the volunteers' positive attitude. (4) The usefulness of the audio CD; patients appreciated that information was presented in a language they could understand, via a convenient medium and which offered a helpful perspective on their illness. CONCLUSIONS This approach is a successful way of delivering information and encouraged patients from a difficult-to-reach community to become more involved in their disease management.
Animal Cytogenetics and Comparative Mapping

ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-mail karger@karger.ch www.karger. com © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel 0301–0171/02/0984–0262$19.50/0 Accessible online at: www.karger. com/cgr Abstract. Peripheral blood cell cultures were treated for late incorporation of both BrdU and Hoechst-33258 to obtain Rbanding pattern preparations. Twenty-eight bovine cosmids from 19 bovine syntenic groups (U), three of which contain type I loci and 25 which contain microsatellite loci and have previously been assigned to cattle chromosomes, were comparatively FISH-mapped to sheep and river buffalo chromosomes according to the standard karyotypes (13 loci for the first time in the latter species). The results enrich the physical maps of both species with information relative to the following loci and to the corresponding syntenic groups: IDVGA35 and IDVGA53 (U6), IDVGA61 and IDVGA84 (U13), JAB10 (U5), IDVGA41 and IDVGA57 (U27), IDVGA87 (U11), IDVGA32 and IDVGA10 (U19), IDVGA49, IDVGA66 and IDVGA68 (U1), ZNF164 (U23), IDVGA74 and IDVGA70 (U9), IDVGA47, IDVGA46 and IDVGA58 (U21), MAP1B (U14), IDVGA79 (U4), CATHL (U12), IDVGA71 (U8), IDVGA59 (U26), IDVGA29 (U29), IDVGA7 (U7), IDVGA82 (X), IDVGA50 (Y). All mapped loci were localized on homoeologous chromosomes and chromosome regions of the two species, confirming the high degree of chromosome homoeologies between the subfamilies Bovinae and Caprinae.
The Absence of the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Catalytic Subunit in Mice Results in Anaphase Bridges and in Increased Telomeric Fusions with Normal Telomere Length and G-Strand Overhang

ABSTRACT The major pathway in mammalian cells for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) is via nonhomologous end joining. Five components function in this pathway, of which three (Ku70, Ku80, and the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit [DNA-PKcs]) constitute a complex termed DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). Mammalian Ku proteins bind to DSB and recruit DNA-PKcs to the break. Interestingly, besides their role in DSB repair, Ku proteins bind to chromosome ends, or telomeres, protecting them from end-to-end fusions. Here we show that DNA-PKcs−/− cells display an increased frequency of spontaneous telomeric fusions and anaphase bridges. However, DNA-PKcs deficiency does not result in significant changes in telomere length or in deregulation of the G-strand overhang at the telomeres. Although less severe, this phenotype is reminiscent of the one recently described for Ku86-defective cells. Here we show that, besides DNA repair, a role for DNA-PKcs is to protect telomeres, which in turn are essential for chromosomal stability.
Decreased Perfusion in Myocardial Region of Normal Donor Artery Secondary to Collateral Development

Thirty-one patients suffering from single vessel exertional angina with collaterals (Group A) were evaluated by stress 201T1 myocardial emission CT (T1-SPECT) with 16 controls of severely stenotic single vessel exertional angina without collaterals (Group B). Group A included 21 patients (68%) who showed an extensive perfusion defect in double artery myocardial regions, including the normal donor artery myocardial region (DMR). However, there were no such cases in Group B, giving a significant difference between these 2 groups (p < 0.001). Four patients in Group A, having a perfusion defect both in DMR and in the collateral dependent myocardial region (CMR) underwent a successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with disappearance of collaterals. T1-SPECT findings after PTCA showed no perfusion defect either in CMR or in DMR. This has been explained on the basis that the coronary collaterals stole blood and produced perfusion defect in DMR.
Query Expansion with Matrix Correlation Techniques - A Systematic Approach

An improved process for making a mixed oxyaluminum acylate composition wherein the mole ratio of aromatic to aliphatic radicals ranges from about to 2:3 to 19:1 and improved aluminum complex greases made using a mixed oxyaluminum acylate wherein the mole ratio of aromatic to aliphatic radicals is from about 2:3 to 3:1.
The effect of feedback on pathway transient response.

The effect of variation of the rate of input of material on the transient behaviour of metabolic pathways is examined. This reveals the existence of three transient times which make up the overall pathway transient. Two of these have been described previously and represent the times required for the accumulation of the free intermediate pool and the pool of enzyme-bound intermediate. They are state functions and as such are independent of the way in which the steady state was reached. The third is attributable to the variation in the rate of input of material to the pathway. It is dependent on three further factors. These are (a) the time required for the initial enzyme to reach its own steady state, (b) substrate depletion and (c) feedback. The description of the transient is: (Formula: see text) where V0 represents the rate of input and Vss represents the steady-state flux. The transient time associated with the transition between steady-states is shown to be a simple function of the transients for the establishment of each steady state from rest and may be expressed as: tau = tau b-Va/Vb . tau a where Va and Vb refer to the fluxes in the two steady states and tau a and tau b represent the transient times for the establishment of each of the steady-states from rest. The total pathway transient may now be completely defined as: (formula: see text) where summation over all intermediates, I, is implied. The significance of this to the analysis of pathway behaviour is discussed with more general examples of pathway transient analysis.
The Fecundity of Authentic But Incomplete Designs and the Future of the Behavioral Theory of the Firm

First, many of its core “little ideas” not only were novel but also ring true to close observers of organizations. It was (still is) a major shift to propose that firms’ aspirations are not driven only by core goals or outside events but get adjusted based on past performance. This implies that firms can learn new goals. It contrasts with typical assumptions that firms have stable goals or values. It was also somewhat radical to suggest that standard operating procedures (and routines) drive a large proportion of action. This contrasts with the (still) pervasive assumption that most activity arises through mindful future-oriented choices. Finally, the notion that firms operate through quasi-resolution of conflict and sequential attention to objectives made sense. But it contrasts with the vision of a unitary actor operating with one set of values. All these “little ideas” offered mini theories that differ from the dominant vision of firm behavior as a unitary actor that maximizes a firm-level utility function. These “little ideas” were linked together but not too tightly so. Many of the “little ideas” carried the potential to inspire—and did inspire—distinct threads of work. Organizational learning as a form of adaptation, models of variation-selection-retention of standard operating procedures or routines, and political models of organizational action all developed as distinct lines of work. Much but not all of the further development was done by March himself, where we can see deepening of threads of BTF in some later work. This includes garbage can theory (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972), technology of foolishness (March & Olsen, 1976), contrasts of exploration/exploitation (March, 1991), and the logic of appropriateness (March, 2006). At the same time, March personally did not attempt to directly control how things unfolded. The BTF offered a big tent. As Jerker Denrell pointed out, though, March did and does influence its impact through his own work and willingness to talk and socialize with others, encouraging a spirit of inquiry. But he constrains other work more by pushing for quality rather than for any one model. Fertile incompleteness
Stress-activated protein kinases bind directly to the delta domain of c-Jun in resting cells: implications for repression of c-Jun function.

The transactivating function of the c-Jun proto-oncogene component of the AP-1 transcription factor is acutely regulated by a wide variety of cellular signals via modulation of phosphorylation of two serines (63 and 73). The viral oncoprotein, v-Jun, while containing homologous serines, is not phosphorylated in cells. A novel family of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), also termed Jun N-terminal domain kinases (JNKs), are responsible for mediating S63/73 phosphorylation in response to a variety of cellular stimuli including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, heat stress and u.v. light. The p54 alpha 1, alpha 2, p54 beta and p46 beta SAPKs are shown to bind directly to c-Jun but not to v-Jun, with an absolute requirement for c-Jun amino acids 31-47, a region deleted in v-Jun. Inactive SAPKs tightly bind c-Jun in resting cells and may be a manifestation of the 'delta' inhibitor, a previously described repressor of c-Jun function.
Lazy Stochastic Principal Component Analysis

Stochastic principal component analysis (SPCA) has become a popular dimensionality reduction strategy for large, high-dimensional datasets. We derive a simplified algorithm, called Lazy SPCA, which has reduced computational complexity and is better suited for large-scale distributed computation. We prove that SPCA and Lazy SPCA find the same approximations to the principal subspace, and that the pairwise distances between samples in the lower-dimensional space is invariant to whether SPCA is executed lazily or not. Empirical studies find downstream predictive performance to be identical for both methods, and superior to random projections, across a range of predictive models (linear regression, logistic lasso, and random forests). In our largest experiment with 4.6 million samples, Lazy SPCA reduced 43.7 hours of computation to 9.9 hours. Overall, Lazy SPCA relies exclusively on matrix multiplications, besides an operation on a small square matrix whose size depends only on the target dimensionality.
The NS3 proteinase domain of hepatitis C virus is a zinc-containing enzyme

NS3 proteinase of hepatitis C virus (HCV), contained within the N-terminal domain of the NS3 protein, is a chymotrypsin-like serine proteinase responsible for processing of the nonstructural region of the HCV polyprotein. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of the NS3 proteinase to divalent metal ions, which is unusual behavior for this proteinase class. By using a cell-free coupled transcription-translation system, we found that HCV polyprotein processing can be activated by Zn2+ (and, to a lesser degree, by Cd2+, Pb2+, and Co2+) and inhibited by Cu2+ and Hg2+ ions. Elemental analysis of the purified NS3 proteinase domain revealed the presence of zinc in an equimolar ratio. The zinc content was unchanged in a mutated NS3 proteinase in which active-site residues His-57 and Ser-139 were replaced with Ala, suggesting that the zinc atom is not directly involved in catalysis but rather may have a structural role. Based on data from site-directed mutagenesis combined with zinc content determination, we propose that Cys-97, Cys-99, Cys-145, and His-149 coordinate the structural zinc in the HCV NS3 proteinase. A similar metal binding motif is found in 2A proteinases of enteroviruses and rhinoviruses, suggesting that these 2A proteinases and HCV NS3 proteinase are structurally related.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis MT2816 encodes a key stress-response regulator.

BACKGROUND Sigma (sigma) factors are transcription initiation factors that modulate the response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to changes in extracellular milieu, allowing it to survive stress. METHODS We analyzed the expression of MT2816/Rv2745c under various stress conditions that mimic the intracellular environment faced by M. tuberculosis. RESULTS MT2816/Rv2745c expression was induced in M. tuberculosis following redox stress, heat shock and acid shock and intracellular replication. Its expression was also induced by SDS and thioridazine, agents that impact M. tuberculosis cell-envelope. However, exposure to isoniazid or ethambutol, front-line antituberculosis drugs which also target the cell envelope, did not induce the expression of MT2816/Rv2745c. Studies using Delta-sigma(H) and Delta-sigma(E) mutants showed that sigma(H) was required for the induction of MT2816/Rv2745c. Conditional expression of the MT2816/Rv2745c in M. tuberculosis showed that apart from regulating proteolysis, this gene may control the expression of trehalose biosynthesis and impact the maintenance of cellular redox potential and energy generation. CONCLUSIONS The protein encoded by MT2816/Rv2745c is important for the pathogen's response to stress conditions that mimic in vivo growth and it is subject to complex regulation. The MT2816/Rv2745c encoded protein likely functions by protecting intracellular redox potential and by inducing the expression of trehalose, a constituent of M. tuberculosis cell walls that is important for defense against cell-surface and oxidative stress.
An Adaptive Wearable Parallel Robot for the Treatment of Ankle Injuries

This paper presents the development of a novel adaptive wearable ankle robot for the treatments of ankle sprain through physical rehabilitation. The ankle robot has a bioinspired design, devised after a careful study of the improvement opportunities in the existing ankle robots. Robot design is adaptable to subjects of varying physiological abilities and age groups. Ankle robot employs lightweight but powerful pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA) which mimics skeletal muscles in actuation. To address nonlinear characteristics of PMA, a fuzzy-based disturbance observer (FBDO) has been developed. Another instance of an adaptive fuzzy logic controller based on Mamdani inference has been developed and appended with the FBDO to compensate for the transient nature of the PMA. With the proposed control scheme, it is possible to simultaneously control four parallel actuators of the ankle robot and achieve three rotational degrees of freedom. To evaluate the robot design, the disturbance observer, and the adaptive fuzzy logic controller, experiments were performed. The ankle robot was used by a neurologically intact subject. The robot-human interaction was kept as active-passive while the robot was operated on predefined trajectories commonly adopted by the therapists. Trajectory tracking results are reported in the presence of an unpredicted human user intervention, use of compliant and nonlinear actuators, and parallel kinematic structure of the ankle robot.