Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale and the relation with health: a systematic review

Study objective: The aim of this paper is to synthesise empirical findings on the salutogenic concept sense of coherence (SOC) and examine its capacity to explain health and its dimensions. Design: The study is descriptive and analytical with a systematic integration of the contemporary knowledge base on the salutogenic research published 1992–2003. The review includes 458 scientific publications and 13 doctoral theses. Setting: Worldwide, based on postgraduate scientific publications in eight authorised databases, doctoral theses, and available books. Main results: SOC is strongly related to perceived health, especially mental health. The stronger the SOC the better the perceived health in general, at least for those with an initial high SOC. This relation is manifested in study populations regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, and study design. SOC seems to have a main, moderating or mediating role in the explanation of health. Furthermore, the SOC seems to be able to predict health. SOC is an important contributor for the development and maintenance of people’s health but does not alone explain the overall health. Conclusion: SOC seems to be a health promoting resource, which strengthens resilience and develops a positive subjective state of health. Salutogenesis is a valuable approach for health promotion and would be worth to implement in practice much more than to date.
Findings on sensory deficits in autism: implications for understanding the disorder

Among the many lines of research related to autism, investigations of sensory dysfunction have recently gained attention. The objective of this article is to briefly review the main findings of sensory deficits in autism, raise possibilities of early identification research in the area, and discuss the significance of these sensory problems for the understanding of autism. A review of the scientific literature with regard to sensory problems in autism was performed. A review of autobiographical reports of high-functioning autistic individuals was also performed. This review showed that sensory problems have always been mentioned in the autism literature, but their relevance has been underestimated. Scientific research and autobiographical reports suggest a high prevalence of sensory problems in autism. Although not yet considered in the official diagnosis of autism, sensory problems appear to not only exert a considerable impact on the configuration of the disorder but also directly influence autistic persons in their daily lives. Such impairments may begin to be thought of as fundamental in autism. However, these characteristics deserve to be further investigated by researchers who are dedicated to the study of autism.
Analysis and Compensation of Transmitter and Receiver I/Q Imbalances in Space-Time Coded Multiantenna OFDM Systems

The combination of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques has been widely considered as the most promising approach for building future wireless transmission systems. The use of multiple antennas poses then big restrictions on the size and cost of individual radio transmitters and receivers, to keep the overall transceiver implementation feasible. This results in various imperfections in the analog radio front ends. One good example is the so-called I/Q imbalance problem related to the amplitude and phase matching of the transceiver I and Q chains. This paper studies the performance of space-time coded (STC) multiantenna OFDM systems under I/Q imbalance, covering both the transmitter and the receiver sides of the link. The challenging case of frequency-selective I/Q imbalances is assumed, being an essential ingredient in future wideband wireless systems. As a practical example, the Alamouti space-time coded OFDM system with two transmit and M receive antennas is examined in detail and a closed-form solution for the resulting signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) at the detector input due to I/Q imbalance is derived. This offers a valuable analytical tool for assessing the I/Q imbalance effects in any STC-OFDM system, without lengthy data or system simulations. In addition, the impact of I/Q imbalances on the channel estimation in the STC-OFDM context is also analyzed analytically. Furthermore, based on the derived signal models, a practical pilot-based I/Q imbalance compensation scheme is also proposed, being able to jointly mitigate the effects of frequency-selective I/Q imbalances as well as channel estimation errors. The performance of the compensator is analyzed using extensive computer simulations, and it is shown to virtually reach the perfectly matched reference system performance with low pilot overhead.
Microparticles adhere to collagen type I, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor and surface immobilised platelets at physiological shear rates

Microparticles (MPs), shed during the storage of platelets, support blood coagulation and could be helpful in restoring the haemostatic system in thrombocytopenic patients. The mechanisms by which MPs support haemostasis under flow conditions were investigated. Fluorescent‐labelled MPs were perfused at shear rates of 100 and 1000/s over surfaces coated with collagen, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor (VWF) or surface‐adherent platelets. Adhesion was monitored in real‐time by fluorescence microscopy. In addition, thrombin–antithrombin (TAT) complex formation was measured in flowing thrombocytopenic blood. MPs attained the capacity to firmly adhere to collagen, VWF, fibrinogen and surface‐adherent platelets at high and low shear rate. Antibodies against glycoprotein Ibα and αIIbβ3 were used to demonstrate the specificities of these interactions. The addition of MPs to thrombocytopenic blood did not affect platelet adhesion. TAT complex formation was increased in the presence of MPs in capillaries coated with fibrinogen, but not on collagen fibres. We confirmed that MPs adhere to a damaged vascular bed in vivo after infusion in denuded arteries in a mouse model. MPs have platelet‐like adhering properties and accelerate thrombin generation. These properties strongly support the notion that MPs can be beneficial in maintaining normal haemostasis when platelet function is impaired or reduced, as in thrombocytopenic patients.
Feedback on second language students' writing

Feedback is widely seen as crucial for encouraging and consolidating learning, and this significance has also been recognised by those working in the field of second language (L2) writing. Its importance is acknowledged in process-based classrooms, where it forms a key element of the students' growing control over composing skills, and by genre-oriented teachers employing scaffolded learning techniques. In fact, over the past twenty years, changes in writing pedagogy and research have transformed feedback practices, with teacher written comments often supplemented with peer feedback, writing workshops, conferences, and computer-delivered feedback. But while feedback is a central aspect of ESL/EFL writing programs across the world, the research literature has not been unequivocally positive about its role in writing development, and teachers often have a sense that they are not making use of its full potential. In this paper we examine recent research related to feedback on L2 students' writing, focusing on the role of feedback in writing instruction and discussing current issues relating to teacher written and oral feedback, collaborative peer feedback and computer-mediated feedback.
Organelle Motility in Plant Cells: Imaging Golgi and ER Dynamics with GFP

By the addition of plant or mammalian targeting sequences, green fluorescent protein (GFP) can be directed to the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, or both organelles in plant cells. This unit describes the application of rapid Agrobacterium and virus‐mediated transient expression systems in leaf tissue to permit visualization of ER and Golgi dynamics in vivo by epifluorescence or confocal microscopy.
The effect of APH treatment on surface bonding and osseointegration of Ti-6Al-7Nb implants: an in vitro and in vivo study.

This study investigated the effects of anodization-cyclic precalcification-heat (APH) treatment on the bonding ability of Ca-P coating to the parent metal and osseointegration of Ti-6Al-7Nb implants. Eighteen Ti-6Al-7Nb discs, 9 untreated and 9 APH-treated, were cultured with osteoblast cells in vitro, and the cellular differentiation ability was assayed at 1, 2, and 3 weeks. For in vivo testing, 28 Ti-6Al-7Nb implants (14 implants of each group) were inserted to rat tibias, and after each 4 and 6 weeks of implantation, bone bonding, and osseointegration were evaluated through removal torque and histological analysis. Osteoblast-culturing showed twice as much of the alkaline phosphatase activity on the treated surface at 3 weeks than on the untreated surface (p < 0.05). The treated implants exhibited higher removal torque values than the untreated ones (15.5 vs. 1.8 Ncm at 4 weeks and 19.7 vs. 2.6 Ncm at 6 weeks, p < 0.05). Moreover, the excellent bonding quality of coats was confirmed by the existence of cohesive fractures on the surface of removed APH implants (field emission scanning electron microscopy and histological observation). Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that the APH treatment significantly enhanced osseointegration of the Ti-6Al-7Nb implant, with the stable bonding between the coating and the implant surface.
Seabather's eruption.

BACKGROUND Seabather's eruption is an annoying pruritic dermatitis that appears on the areas covered by the bathing suit as an erythematous macular or papular dermatitis, with or without urticaria. It occurs sporadically in Florida, the Caribbean, and as far north as Bermuda. The cause is not known. METHODS We collected information in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, about cases of all types of water-related dermatitis reported by beach personnel, health providers, and affected swimmers from 1970 through 1991. Concurrently, we surveyed all Nassau County swimming waters, especially during the summer season (June through September), for the presence of organisms capable of causing dermatitis. In 1980 a sudden epidemic of a severe, unfamiliar dermatitis in ocean bathers prompted increased surveillance of cases and waters. Planula larvae of the phylum Cnidaria were collected from the ocean and beaches and inside bathing suits. They were examined, photographed, tested on healthy subjects, and observed in the laboratory for metamorphosis. RESULTS Three outbreaks of seabather's eruption have occurred on Long Island since 1975. The first, in August 1975, affected a small number of swimmers on the eastern end of Long Island. In 1980 there were thousands of cases along the entire south shore of the island, and in 1990 there were hundreds in the same area. In nonepidemic years, five or fewer cases have been reported yearly. Surveillance for larvae revealed them to be present during the swimming season in epidemic years, but in nonepidemic years they did not appear until autumn, after the swimming season. Applying larvae to the skin of healthy subjects produced a dermatitis indistinguishable from seabather's eruption. All larvae metamorphosed in the laboratory to the adult sea anemone Edwardsiella lineata. CONCLUSIONS Seabather's eruption, previously reported only as sporadic cases in southern climates, has occurred sporadically and in outbreaks 1000 miles north of most previously described cases. These Long Island episodes were probably caused by the planula larvae of E. lineata.
Does computer use in patient-physician encounters influence patient satisfaction?

OBJECTIVE To assess whether computer use by physicians during the patient-physician encounter influences patient satisfaction in a family medicine teaching centre. DESIGN Cross-sectional mailed survey. SETTING Queen's University Family Medicine Centre in Kingston, Ont. PARTICIPANTS A random sample of 300 patients from the family medicine centre, all of whom were older than 18 years of age and had visited their family physicians in the past year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patient preference for or against computer use by the physician and effect of computer use on various aspects of patient-physician interaction. RESULTS The response rate was 58.3%. Most respondents (51.4%) had no preference about computer use in the office, and most (88.0%) were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their visits. When assessing the influence of patient and visit characteristics on computer preference, only the "doctor's attitude toward computer use" had a positive correlation with patient preference (P=.0012). Respondents were most likely to indicate "positive" or "very positive" effects of computer use on all aspects of the patient-physician interaction, except "level of distraction of the doctor" and "time spent chatting about nonmedical matters," which were most commonly reported as being unaffected by computer use. Specifically, 57.1% of respondents thought that computer use had either a "positive" or "very positive" effect on their overall satisfaction with their visits, with another 30.3% believing there was no effect. CONCLUSION Most patients expressed no preference for whether or not computers were used in their physicians' offices, although computers did seem to have a positive effect on overall satisfaction with visits. Doctors' attitudes toward computer use influenced their patients' preferences.
LEAF MARGIN ANALYSIS: A NEW EQUATION FROM HUMID TO MESIC FORESTS IN CHINA

Abstract Leaf margin analysis (LMA) is a widely used method that applies present-day linear correlation between the proportion of woody dicotyledonous species with untoothed leaves (P) and mean annual temperature (MAT) to estimate paleotemperatures from fossil leaf floras. Previous works demonstrate that LMA shows regional constraints and to date, no equation has been modeled directly from Chinese forests. Fifty humid to mesic Chinese forests were chosen to understand the relationship between percentage of untoothed leaf species and MAT in China. Consistent with previous studies, the Chinese data indicate that P shows a strong linear correlation with MAT, but the actual relationship is a little different from those recognized from other regions. Among the several currently used LMA equations, the one resulting from North and Central American and Japanese data, rather than the widely used East Asian LMA equation, yields the closest values to the actual MATs of the Chinese samples (mean absolute error = 1.9 °C). A new equation derived from the Chinese forests is therefore developed, where MAT = 1.038 + 27.6 × P. This study not only demonstrates the similarity of the relationship between P and MAT in the Northern Hemisphere, but also improves the reliability of LMA for paleoclimate reconstructions of Chinese paleofloras.
Deterrence of feeding in Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) after treatment of antennae with a nitric oxide donor

The blood-sucking bug Rhodnius prolixus is the main vector of Chagas Disease in Colombia, Venezuela and several countries in Central America. Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous gaseous molecule present in most types of cell and participates in the olfactory pathway of insects. In this work, nitroso-acetyl-cysteine (SNAC), a nitric oxide donor, was topically applied to the antennae of fifth instar nymphs of R. prolixus. After SNAC treatment, these insects showed a dose-dependent reluctance to feed when provided with a living pigeon as the food source (ED50 = 5.2 µg/insect). However, there was no reluctance to feed when db-cGMP was applied to the antennae of nymphs. In another experiment, insects that had their antennae treated with SNAC were less attracted than the control group to a CO2 source. A possible role of NO in the olfactory pathway of R. prolixus is discussed.
Printed Square Quadrifilar Helix Antenna (QHA) for GPS Receiver

A new printed square quadrifilar helix antenna (QHA) for circular polarization (CP) is proposed and experimentally investigated for the application as a GPS receiving antenna in frequency range of about 1.575 GHz. To increase the input impedance of QHA, we use the folded inverted-F antenna as a helix. Experiment results show that the proposed antenna has a 3-dB beamwidth of more than 120deg and a front-to-back ratio of more than 15 dB. Also, the proposed antenna shows the peak gain of -2.5 dBic and the axial ratio under 0.5 dB in wanted frequency band.
PHARMACOGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF ABIES WEBBIANA LEAF: A SIDDHA HERBAL INGREDIENT

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the therapeutic potential of Abies webbiana (Wall ex D. Don) Lindl, plants leaves belongs to Pinaceae family are grown in Northern India, Afghanistan, China (Tibet), Nepal, and Pakistan. It is a large tree grows up to 50 m height. Leaves of this plant are useful in Siddha and Ayurveda Systems of Medicine. It acts as an expectorant, carminative, stomachic, and tonic. It is the main ingredient in the Siddha formulations such as Thalisathi choornam and Thalisadi vadagam, which are used for respiratory problems such as cold, cough, wheezing, tuberculosis, indigestion, loss of appetite, and vatha diseases. Methods: In this study, we have investigated the phytochemical profile, pharmacognostic characters, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) compounds of methanolic extract of A. webbiana leaves. Results: Phytochemical screening showed the presence of steroids, terpenes, sugars, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and quinones. The leaf material revealed loss on drying (6.90%), total ash (5.23%), acid-insoluble ash (0.57%), water-soluble extractive (23.79%), alcohol-soluble extractive (18.37%), and pH was 5.25. 29 compounds were detected in GC-MS analysis and benzenepropanol, 4-hydroxy-a-methyl, 2-furancarboxaldehyde, and 5-(hydroxymethyl) are the predominant components. Conclusions: This study provides the pharmacognostic standards of A. webbiana leaf for their authentication and utilization in herbal medicine. Keywords: Abies webbiana, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemicals, Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, Herbal medicine.
Maximum Likelihood Unit Root Testing in the Presence of GARCH: A New Test with Increased Power

The literature on testing the unit root hypothesis in the presence of GARCH errors is extended. A new test based upon the combination of local-to-unity detrending and joint maximum likelihood estimation of the autoregressive parameter and GARCH process is presented. The finite sample distribution of the test is derived under alternative decisions regarding the deterministic terms employed. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the newly proposed ML t-test is shown to exhibit increased power of relative to rival tests. Finally, the empirical relevance of the simulation results is illustrated via an application to real GDP for the UK.
Use of a bacteriocin produced by Pediococcus acidilactici to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes associated with fresh meat

A bacteriocin produced by Pediococcus acidilactici had an inhibitory and bactericidal effect on Listeria monocytogenes associated with fresh meat. MICs were significantly lower than minimum killing concentrations. When meat was inoculated with L. monocytogenes, the bacteriocin reduced the number of attached bacteria in 2 min by 0.5 to 2.2 log cycles depending upon bacteriocin concentration. Meat treated initially with the bacteriocin resulted in attachment of 1.0 to 2.5 log cycles fewer bacteria than that attained with the control. The bacteriocin, after 28 days of refrigerated storage on meat surfaces, was stable and exhibited an inhibitory effect on L. monocytogenes.
Gabapentin Attenuates Late but Not Early Postoperative Pain After Thyroidectomy with Superficial Cervical Plexus Block

BACKGROUND: Preoperative oral gabapentin has been shown to reduce postoperative pain. However, the effects of gabapentin as an adjunct to regional anesthesia is unclear and its effects on chronic pain remains unknown. In patients undergoing thyroidectomy, we investigated the effects on early and late (at 6 mo) postoperative pain of preoperative oral gabapentin as an adjunct to superficial cervical plexus block (SCPB). METHOD: Fifty consecutive consenting patients were randomized to receive either 1200 mg of gabapentin (Group G) or placebo (Group P) 2 h preoperatively. Preoperative anxiety was assessed on a numeric scale from 0 to 6. A SCPB was performed after a standardized induction of anesthesia. The primary outcome, analgesic drug consumption, was assessed during the procedure and postoperatively in the postanesthesia care unit and after discharge to the ward. Over the first 24 h, pain levels at rest and during swallowing were measured on a numeric scale from 0 to 10. If the pain level was more than 4/10 at rest, patients received 1 g/6 h of IV paracetamol and/or 50 mg/6 h of IV tramadol as a rescue analgesic treatment in the interval. The day before operation and 6 mo after thyroidectomy, included patients were asked to answer a neuropathic pain diagnostic questionnaire. RESULTS: Population characteristics, preoperative anxiety, intraoperative drug consumption, procedure duration, and postoperative care unit stay were comparable in both groups. Analgesic consumption during the first 24 postoperative hours was similar in both groups (G: 3 [0–5] doses/24 h; P: 3 [1–5] doses/24 h; P = NS), as well as pain at rest (G: 2,2 [0.2–3.7]; P: 2 [0–6.3]; P = NS), and during swallowing (G: 2.8 [0.4–8.9]; P: 3 [1.4–6.3]; P = NS]). Eight patients had a diagnostic questionnaire score more than 3, 6 mo after operation versus 2 in preoperative period (P = 0.04). Such delayed neuropathic pain complaints were reported in seven patients receiving SCPB alone and only in one patient receiving both SCPB and preoperative adjunctive oral gabapentin. (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Oral preoperative administration of gabapentin did not modify immediate pain management in thyroidectomy patients receiving SCPB, but prevented delayed neuropathic pain at 6 mo.
Parallel Application Performance on Two Generations of Intel Xeon HPC Platforms

Two next-generation node configurations hosting the Haswell microarchitecture were tested with a suite of microbenchmarks and application examples, and compared with a current Ivy Bridge production node on NREL" tm s Peregrine high-performance computing cluster. A primary conclusion from this study is that the additional cores are of little value to individual task performance--limitations to application parallelism, or resource contention among concurrently running but independent tasks, limits effective utilization of these added cores. Hyperthreading generally impacts throughput negatively, but can improve performance in the absence of detailed attention to runtime workflow configuration. The observations offer some guidance to procurement of future HPC systems at NREL. First, raw core count must be balanced with available resources, particularly memory bandwidth. Balance-of-system will determine value more than processor capability alone. Second, hyperthreading continues to be largely irrelevant to the workloads that are commonly seen, and were tested here, at NREL. Finally, perhaps the most impactful enhancement to productivity might occur through enabling multiple concurrent jobs per node. Given the right type and size of workload, more may be achieved by doing many slow things at once, than fast things in order.