Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Putting Heart Disease Guidelines Into Practice: Kaiser Permanente Leads the Way

The recently revised American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) secondary prevention guidelines for management of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, which incorporates findings from the latest clinical trials and consensus statements, has the potential for saving tens of thousands of lives annually. In general, however, these guidelines are poorly implemented. This article reviews four programs that have improved implementation of the guidelines by changing the health care delivery system. The programs include the UCLA Medical Center’s Cardiac Hospitalization Atherosclerosis Management Program (CHAMP), the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines (GWTG) program, the American College of Cardiology’s Guidelines Applied to Practice (GAP), and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Cardiovascular Disease Management Programs. These programs share features including in-hospital multidisciplinary teams led by at least one “champion”; clinician prompts, including preprinted orders and checklists; and feedback to clinicians and hospitals as part of quality improvement.
Conservation Agriculture: Global Perspectives and Developments 1

Summary The global research and development community in general as well as most of the farmers worldwide are at a crossroad, and must decide on the question: which way forward with agriculture in the 21 st century? The empirical evidence provided by the farming communities as presented in this paper tells us that farmer-led transformation of agricultural production systems based on Conservation Agriculture (CA) is already occurring and gathering momentum globally as a new paradigm for the 21 st century. CA, comprising minimum mechanical soil disturbance and direct seeding, organic mulch cover from residues and cover crops, and crop species diversification through rotations and associations, is now practiced globally on about 117 M ha in all continents and all agricultural ecologies. During the last decade, cropland under CA has been increasing at the rate of some 6 million hectares per annum, mainly in North and South America and in Australia, and more recently in Asia where large increases in the adoption of CA are expected. There is worldwide scientific evidence from research and empirical evidence from farmer practice to show that large productivity, economic, social and environmental benefits for the farmers and for the society can be harnessed through the adoption of CA practices. Indeed, a range of environmental services from agriculture landscapes is possible based on good quality CA systems. For example, if agricultural land use is to serve as a significant carbon sink and to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this can be done cost-effectively through the large-scale adoption of CA based protocols. Such protocols can form a base upon which further reductions in production costs, and in energy and fertilizer use can be built through the use of energy-efficient equipment technology and the adoption of precision farming techniques. CA represents a fundamental change in production system thinking and is counterintuitive, novel and knowledge intensive. The roots of the origins of CA lie in the farming communities, and its spread has been largely farmer-driven. Experience and empirical evidence across many countries has shown that the rapid adoption and spread of CA requires a change in commitment and behaviour of all concerned stakeholders. For the farmers, a mechanism to experiment, learn and adapt is a prerequisite. For the policy-makers and
Detection of Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus in infected cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata L.) from northern Egypt

Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) was isolated from naturally infected Cowpea plants ( Vigna unguiculata L.) showing different symptoms of mosaic; mottle, dwarfing, and vein clearing, grown at certain locations of Alexandria governorate, Egypt, during the growing seasons from 2011- 2012. CMV isolate was transmitted by Aphid nerii , A. gossypii , and Myzus persicae in non-persistent manner. The virus was partially purified using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000, and differential centrifugation. The ratio of A 260/280 was 1.622 and A 280/260 was 0.617. Whereas, the ratio of A max/ min was 1.915. Concentration of the virus in the preparation was estimated using an extinction coefficient of E 2600.1% = 5. Yield of purified virus was about 6.88 mg/ 100g fresh weight of leaves of Nicotiana glauca . Antiserum titer was determined by Indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive ELISA values were obtained up to dilutions of 1: 25600. The virus was detected by indirect ELISA in infected sap at 8, 16 and 24 days after inoculation; and by Tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA) on nitrocellulose membrane after the same period. The unused face of the processed nitrocellulose membrane already printed with plant tissues was tested. Results revealed that both faces of nitrocellulose membrane and Canson paper could be used as solid carriers in TBIA, for detection of CMV in infected leaves. According to Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); the size of amplification of the obtained product was approximately 870 bp for CMV isolate; and was assigned accession number of LN606587. The Phylogenetic tree was generated using partial sequence of CMV isolate, with those of other CMV isolates obtained from GenBank. The aims of the current work were; to produce specific polyclonal antiserum against the purified CMV isolated from cowpea plants, and to register this isolate in GenBank.
Sources and Temporal Variations of Coarse Particulate Matter (PM) in Central Tehran, Iran

In this study, we used the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model to evaluate the sources of ambient coarse particulate matter (PM) and their temporal variations in two sampling sites, i.e., a school dormitory and a retirement home, located in central Tehran. 24-h ambient PM samples were collected using low-volume air samplers from May 2012 to June 2013. The collected filters were analyzed for their chemical components, including water-soluble ions, metals, and trace elements, which were used as the input to the PMF model. Our results indicated annual averages of 45.7 ± 3.8 µg/m3 and 36.2. ± 4.0 µg/m3 for coarse PM at the School dormitory and Tohid retirement home, respectively. Moreover, higher ambient coarse PM mass concentrations were observed in the warm season (53.3 ± 5.8 µg/m3 for school dormitory and 43.1 ± 6.1 µg/m3 for Tohid retirement home) as opposed to the cold season (41.4 ± 4.7 µg/m3 for school dormitory and 28.7 ± 4.6 µg/m3 for Tohid retirement home). Our PMF analysis also identified road dust, soil, and industry, and atmospherically processed coarse PM as the three sources of ambient coarse PM in central Tehran. Road dust, soil, and industry were the major sources of ambient coarse PM, contributing respectively to 74 ± 9% and 19 ± 2% of the total coarse PM mass concentration, while atmospherically aged aerosols had a rather minimal contribution of 7 ± 1% to total coarse PM mass concentration. The temporal trends of the resolved factors also revealed higher contributions of road dust to total ambient coarse PM during warm season as opposed to cold season, due to the increased resuspension rate from road surfaces as a result of higher wind speeds, and temperatures, combined with lower relative humidity. Similarly, higher resuspension rate of mechanically originated particulates resulted in higher warm-season time contributions of the soil factor. Results of this study clearly revealed the key role of road dust and non-tail pipe emissions on ambient coarse PM mass concentrations in crowded areas of central Tehran, and have important implications on the potential health impacts that can be caused by these difficult to mitigate sources of coarse PM.
Topological design of telecommunication networks

The paper addresses the classical network optimization problem consisting in realizing the assumed set of demands in a given network with a given list of potential nodes’ and links’ locations and with the objective function reflecting the cost of the actual links’ capacities as well as the fixed cost of installing nodes and links. We assume that the network nodes are composed of two disjoint sets: the set of access nodes and the set of transit nodes. The access (end) nodes only generate demands and do not transit the end-to-end flows realizing the demands while the transit nodes do not generate demands and do transit the end-to-end flows. The selection of the actually installed transit nodes and of the links interconnecting access and transit nodes is the major subject of optimization. Although similar problems have been considered in the past, also in the context of the road traffic, it is the authors’ conviction that there is still a lot of room for improvement as far as solution methods are concerned. In the paper we overview the existing problem formulations and solution methods. We also propose our own approaches, based both on original ideas and on improvements of the existing ones. The effectiveness of the solutions is illustrated by means of a numerical study.
Binding partner regulation of Myosin VI: Loss of tumour-suppressor Dab2 leads to enhanced activity of nuclear myosin

Myosin VI is involved in a variety of cellular processes ranging from endocytosis to transcription. This multi-functional potential is achieved through alternative isoform splicing and through the interaction with a diverse network of binding partners. However, the interplay between the two modes of regulation remains unexplored. To this end, we have compared two different binding partners, Dab2 and CALCOCO2/NDP52, and their interaction with two myosin VI splice isoforms. We found that both isoforms adopt an auto-inhibited state and are subsequently activated by binding partner association. However, differential regulation is achieved through a high and a low affinity binding motifs within myosin VI, with one isoform having the high affinity site blocked. This allows competition between partners and links isoform splicing with binding partner selectivity. Dab2 competition hinders the activity of nuclear myosin VI by preventing DNA binding and transcription. Moreover, re-introduction of Dab2 in the Dab2-deficient MCF-7 cells leads to a decrease in myosin VI-dependent estrogen receptor gene expression. We propose that the frequent loss of Dab2 during the onset of cancer enables a higher level of nuclear myosin VI activity, thereby driving the activity of the estrogen receptor to promote tumourgenesis.
PROSPECTIVE MEMORY AND PRE-CRASTINATION IN A DUAL COGNITIVE TASK

Prospective memory is remembering to complete a task in the future and tends to be cognitively taxing. Precrastination is the tendency to complete a task sooner to reduce cognitive load. The current study assessed prospective memory and precrastination with two blocks of a lexical decision task. Undergraduate participants were instructed to complete two blocks of the lexical decision task and were randomly assigned to beginning, middle, end, or choose conditions to complete the prospective memory task, which was generating a list of items from a given category. A control group completed the ongoing lexical decision task alone to compare the average response times without an additional task. The ongoing response times from the blocks of the lexical decision task were recorded and compared between conditions. Participants in the assigned conditions will be compared with the choose condition to compare the response times of those who precrastinated. First, we expect more participants in the choose condition to pre-crastinate by generating their list first than in the middle or end. Additionally, participants should demonstrate longer ongoing response times prior to generating the list than after completing the list.
Jumpgate: In-Network Processing as a Service for Data Analytics

In-network processing, where data is processed by specialpurpose devices as it passes over the network, is showing great promise at improving application performance, in particular for data analytics tasks. However, analytics and in-network processing are not yet integrated and widely deployed. This paper presents a vision for providing in-network processing as a service to data analytics frameworks, and outlines benefits, remaining challenges, and our current research directions towards realizing this vision.
Anomalous experiences and paranormal attributions: Psychometric challenges in studying their measurement and relationship.

© 2019 American Psychological Association. Research on the psychology of paranormal, religious, and delusional belief has been stifled by a lack of careful distinction between anomalous experiences and their corresponding attributions. The Survey of Anomalous Experience (SAE; Irwin, Dagnall, & Drinkwater, 2013) addresses this nuance by measuring proneness to anomalous experience (PAE) and proneness to paranormal attribution (PPA). Using data (351 men, 1,026 women) from 7 previously published studies, we examined the SAE's internal validity via Rasch scaling and differential item functioning analyses. PPA showed good Rasch model fit and no item bias, but it lacked adequate reliability. Several PAE items showed misfit to the Rasch model or gender bias, though deleting 5 items produced a scale with acceptable reliability. Finally, we failed to validate a 3-category rating scale version with the goal of improving the SAE's psychometric properties. All 3 formulations revealed a secondary factor related to the items' extremity rather than contents, suggesting that future research should consider the intensity of respondents' anomalous experiences and paranormal attributions.
Evidence Combination Based on Credal Belief Redistribution for Pattern Classification

Evidence theory, also called belief function theory, provides an efficient tool to represent and combine uncertain information for pattern classification. Evidence combination can be interpreted, in some applications, as classifier fusion. The sources of evidence corresponding to multiple classifiers usually exhibit different classification qualities, and they are often discounted using different weights before combination. In order to achieve the best possible fusion performance, a new credal belief redistribution (CBR) method is proposed to revise such evidence. The rationale of CBR consists of transferring belief from one class not just to other classes, but also to the associated disjunctions of classes (i.e., meta-classes). As classification accuracy for different objects in a given classifier can also vary, the evidence is revised according to prior knowledge mined from its training neighbors. If the selected neighbors are relatively close to the evidence, a large amount of belief will be discounted for redistribution. Otherwise, only a small fraction of belief will enter the redistribution procedure. An imprecision matrix estimated based on these neighbors is employed to specifically redistribute the discounted beliefs. This matrix expresses the likelihood of misclassification (i.e., the probability of a test pattern belonging to a class different from the one assigned to it by the classifier). In CBR, the discounted beliefs are divided into two parts. One part is transferred between singleton classes, whereas the other is cautiously committed to the associated meta-classes. By doing this, one can efficiently reduce the chance of misclassification by modeling partial imprecision. The multiple revised pieces of evidence are finally combined by the Dempster–Shafer rule to reduce uncertainty and further improve classification accuracy. The effectiveness of CBR is extensively validated on several real datasets from the UCI repository and critically compared with that of other related fusion methods.
The Effect of Methadone Maintenance Treatment Method on Mental Health and Quality of Life in People With Opioid Addiction: A Longitudinal Study in Iran

Objectives: Promoting recovery in mental health of patients with opioid addiction is an important aspect of the treatment plan, which can lead to continued improvement of health and promotion of quality of life (QoL) in these people. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) method on mental health and QoL in people with opioid addiction. Methods: In this longitudinal descriptive study, 186 subjects with opioid addiction had the required criteria and were then selected on the basis of clustering and simple random sampling methods. First (a month after using methadone therapy), demographic, QoL, and mental health data were collected using General Health Questionnaire and health-related quality of life questionnaires. Second (12 mo after using methadone therapy), mental health and QoL of participants were again evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 20, and Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. Results: The results showed that there is no improvement after using MMT method (P=0.783), but the QoL scores of the participants increased to some extent, 12 months after using this therapeutic method (P=0.04). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the MMT method does not significantly affect the health of the participants. Hence, screening programs for psychological disorders in patients should be arranged before the onset of a course of treatment; there should also be extensive and continuous therapeutic and counseling services for these patients and their families, to achieve therapeutic goals.
Professionelle Kompetenzen für das Unterrichten interdisziplinärer Schulfächer. – Desiderata in der Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung

Der Fächerkanon der Volksschule ist in vielen Bereichen interdisziplinär angelegt und divergiert somit von den universitären Disziplinen. Dabei handelt es sich nicht um ein neues Phänomen, das in der Schweiz erst mit der gegenwärtigen Einführung neuer, stark integrierter Schulfächer auftaucht, sondern es ist systemimmanent. Aufgrund des anhaltenden wissenschaftlichen Fortschritts können eineindeutige Relationen weder zwischen den universitären Disziplinen und den Schulfächern noch zwischen den wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisweisen und den Schulfächern bestehen. Diese Diskrepanzen akzentuieren sich in der Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung in integrierten Schulfächern. Als möglicher Lösungsansatz zu dieser Problemlage wird eine Neugewichtung der betroffenen Fachdidaktiken vorgeschlagen.
Interest Rate Hysteresis in Macroeconomic Investment Under Uncertainty

The interest rate is generally considered as an important driver of macroeconomic investment. As an innovation, this paper derives the exact shape of the “hysteretic” impact of changes in the interest rate on macroeconomic investment under the scenarios of both certainty and uncertainty. We capture the direct interest rate-hysteresis on the investments and the capital stock and, explicitly, of stochastic changes on the interest rate-investment hysteresis. Starting with hysteresis effects on a microeconomic level of a single firm, we apply an explicit aggregation procedure to derive the interest rate hysteresis effects on a macroeconomic level. Based on our simple model we are able to obtain some conclusions about the efficacy of a central bank’s interest rate policy, e.g. in times of low or even zero interest rates and high uncertainty, in terms of stimulating macroeconomic investment.
Pedagogical Intervention Practices: Improving Learning Engagement Based on Early Prediction

Most educational institutions adopted the hybrid teaching mode through learning management systems. The logging data/clickstream could describe learners’ online behavior. Many researchers have used them to predict students’ performance, which has led to a diverse set of findings, but how to use insights from captured data to enhance learning engagement is an open question. Furthermore, identifying students at risk of failure is only the first step in truly addressing this issue. It is important to create actionable predictive model in the real-world contexts to design interventions. In this paper, we first extracted features from students’ learning activities and study habits to predict students' performance in the Kung Fu style competency education. Then, we proposed a TrAdaBoost-based transfer learning model, which was pretrained using the data of the former course iteration and applied to the current course iteration. Our results showed that the generalization ability of the prediction model across the teaching iterations is high, and the model can achieve relatively high precision even when the new data are not sufficient to train a model alone. This work helped in timely intervention toward the at-risk students. In addition, two intervention experiments with split-test were conducted separately in Fall 2017 and Summer 2018. The statistical tests showed that both behavior-based reminding intervention and error-related recommending intervention that based on early prediction played a positive role in improving the blended learning engagement.
Transcriptome analysis of hot pepper plants identifies waterlogging resistance related genes

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops in China, but floods bring substantial decreases in production over the past several decades. In order to investigate the mechanisms of waterlogging resistance in mutant hot pepper, we measured the agronomic traits of mutant and wild-type, as well as the activities of root antioxidant enzymes and the contents of osmotic regulation substance. At the same time, we did transcriptome sequencing on the plant roots, and screened for differentially expressed genes between mutant and wild-type. The results showed that, under waterlogging stress, the mutants could grow normally, and the activities of their superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione reductase were significantly increased, as well as the contents of proline and soluble sugar. The accumulation of malondialdehyde and hydroxyl radical in mutants was significantly reduced. Among the 61 differentially expressed genes from transcriptome analysis, 24 genes were up-regulated and 37 genes were down-regulated in mutants. After functional analysis, we found 8 genes related to the metabolism of endogenous hormone and protective enzymes, among which, auxin-induced protein related gene cap.ARATH, ethylene response related gene Cap.RAP2, MYB family related gene Cap.MYB1R1, and the 4 genes related to peroxidase Cap.POD, were significantly up-regulated in mutants, while the Capana01g001329 gene was down-regulated. These results suggest that under waterlogging stress, the mutant could enhance its resistance to waterlogging by regulating the genes involved in metabolism of endogenous hormones and protective enzymes. This study provides the scientific basis for elucidating the gene regulation network of mutant pepper under waterlogging stress.