LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal study on the predictors of parental stress in mothers and fathers of toddlers.

AIM
Longitudinal study on the predictors of parental stress in mothers and fathers of toddlers.


BACKGROUND
To study whether anxiety, depression, or marital problems increase the parenting stress in parents of toddlers.


METHODS
At early pregnancy, 2 - 3 months, and 2 - 3 years after delivery, 214 low-risk couples filled in questionnaires on their marital relationship, social support, child's temperament, and self-evaluated competence in routine care-taking. In hierarchical regression analyses, they were used as predictors of parental stress.


RESULTS
Those mothers who in early pregnancy had adequate social support, adaptive social strategies, and high self-esteem, and who had given birth vaginally, enjoyed breastfeeding, and whose spouse supported breastfeeding reported less stress 2 - 3 years later. Pregnancy-related anxiety, depression, general anxiety, neuroticism, and vulnerability in early pregnancy, as well as child's temperament and low self-estimated competence in routine care-taking measured at both 2 - 3 months and 2 - 3 years after childbirth predicted parental stress. Depression and living alone in early pregnancy, and the child-related variables (temperament and care-taking, measured both at 2 - 3 months and 2 - 3 years after childbirth) predicted high parenting stress in fathers of toddlers.


CONCLUSIONS
Parental stress in toddlers' parents was predicted both by the temperament of the child, and by the parents' depression, self-esteem, and anxiety, as well as by lack of support and low self-evaluated competence in routine care-taking.
Survival Signaling and Selective Neuroprotection Through Glutamatergic Transmission

In the brain, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors mediate glutamatergic neurotransmission and, when intensely activated, can induce excitotoxic cell death. In addition to their ionotropic properties, however, AMPA receptors have been functionally coupled to a variety of signal transduction events involving Src-family kinases, G-proteins, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). In the present study, we tested whether AMPA receptors are linked to appropriate signaling events in order to prevent neuronal injury and/or enhance recovery. AMPA stimulation in hippocampal slice cultures caused the selective activation of MAPK through the upstream activator MAPK kinase (MEK). Inhibition of either component of the AMPA receptor--MAPK pathway potentiated cellular damage due to serum deprivation, suggesting that this pathway facilitates compensatory signals in response to injury. Correspondingly, positive modulation of AMPA receptors with the Ampakine 1-(quinoxalin-6-ylcarbonyl)piperidine (CX516) enhanced MAPK activation and reduced the extent of synaptic and neuronal degeneration resulting from excitotoxic episodes. CX516 was neuroprotective when infused into slices either before or after the insult. The Ampakine derivative also elicited neuroprotection in an in vivo model of excitotoxicity as evidenced by reduction in lesion size and preservation of two different types of neurons. Interestingly, the AMPA receptor--MAPK pathway selectively protects against excitotoxicity since enhancing the pathway did not protect against the nonexcitotoxic, slow pathology initiated by lysosomal dysfunction. The results indicate that glutamatergic communication is important for cellular maintenance and that AMPA receptors activate survival signals to counterpoise their own excitotoxic potential.
Outer retinal structure in patients with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy.

PURPOSE
To correlate visual function with high-resolution images of retinal structure using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) in 4 patients with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR).


DESIGN
Observational case series.


METHODS
Four women, aged 18 to 51, with acute focal loss of visual field or visual acuity, photopsia, and minimal funduscopic changes were studied with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), Goldmann kinetic and automated perimetry and fundus-guided microperimetry, full-field and multifocal electroretinography (ffERG and mfERG), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and AOSLO imaging. Cone spacing was measured in 4 eyes and compared with 27 age-similar normal eyes. Additional functional testing in 1 patient suggested that cones were absent but rods remained. Serum from all patients was analyzed for anti-retinal antibody activity.


RESULTS
In all patients vision loss was initially progressive, then stable. Symptoms were unilateral in 2 and bilateral but asymmetric in 2 patients. In each patient, loss of retinal function correlated with structural changes in the outer retina. AOSLO showed focal cone loss in most patients, although in 1 patient with central vision loss such change was absent. In another patient, structural and functional analyses suggested that cones had degenerated but rods remained. Anti-retinal antibody activity against a ∼45 kd antigen was detected in 1 of the patients; the other 3 patients showed no evidence of abnormal anti-retinal antibodies.


CONCLUSIONS
Focal abnormalities of retinal structure correlated with vision loss in patients with AZOOR. High-resolution imaging can localize and demonstrate the extent of outer retinal abnormality in AZOOR patients.
Gender Differences in Depression

From early adolescence through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. Many different explanations for this gender difference in depression have been offered, but none seems to fully explain it. Recent research has focused on gender differences in stress responses, and in exposure to certain stressors. I review this research and describe how gender differences in stress experiences and stress reactivity may interact to create women’s greater vulnerability to depression.
Productivity growth and the role of ICT in the United Kingdom: an industry view, 1970-2000

We use a new industry-level dataset to quantify the role of ICT in explaining productivity growth in the UK, 1970-2000. The dataset is for 34 industries covering the whole economy (31 in the market sector). Using growth accounting, we find that ICT capital played an increasingly important, and in the 1990s the dominant, role in accounting for labour productivity growth in the market sector. Econometric evidence also supports an important role for ICT. We also find econometric evidence that a boom in complementary investment in the 1990s could have led to a decline in the conventional measure of TFP growth.
Is the Adjuvant Albendazole Treatment Really Needed with PAIR in the Management of Liver Hydatid Cysts? A Prospective, Randomized Trial with Short-Term Follow-Up Results

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of adjuvant albendazole medication in percutaneous liver hydatid cyst treatment with puncture, aspiration, injection, and reaspiration (PAIR) method. Between November 2007 and May 2011, total of 39 patients with newly diagnosed liver hydatid cyst (total of 77 cysts) were prospectively randomized and enrolled in 3 groups. In the first group, cysts (n = 14) were treated with PAIR without albendazole. In the second (n = 16) and third groups (n = 47), cysts were treated with PAIR with albendazole 1 week before and 1 month after the procedure, with albendazole 1 week before and 3 months after the procedure respectively. Technical and clinical success rates were 100 and 96.1 % respectively. In 3 of 77 cysts (3.9 %), findings of recurrence were detected on US imaging. All recurrent cysts were in group 1 and recurrence rates in this group were statistically different from cysts of second and third groups (p = 0.005). Side effects of albendazole were detected in 7 of 29 patients (24.1 %), and no statistically significant difference was observed between the second (15.3 %) and third (38.4 %) groups (p = 0.378). Use of albendazole medication as an adjuvant to percutaneous treatment of liver hydatid cyst decreases the recurrence rate. Although there is no statistically significant difference between groups 2 and 3 in terms of efficacy and recurrence rate, patients in group 3 had a higher rate of side effect. Therefore, we conclude that albendazole treatment 1 week before and 1 month after PAIR treatment is sufficient to reduce/prevent recurrences.
Local and landscape drivers of arthropod abundance, richness, and trophic composition in urban habitats

Urban green spaces, such as forest fragments, vacant lots, and community gardens, are increasingly highlighted as biodiversity refuges and are of growing interest to conservation. At the same time, the burgeoning urban garden movement partially seeks to ameliorate problems of food security. Arthropods link these two issues (conservation and food security) given their abundance, diversity, and role as providers of ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. Many previous studies of urban arthropods focused on a single taxon (e.g. order or family), and examined either local habitat drivers or effects of landscape characteristics. In contrast, we examined both local and landscape drivers of community patterns, and examined differences in abundance, richness, and trophic structure of arthropod communities in urban forest fragments, vacant lots, and community gardens. We sampled ground-foraging arthropods, collected data on 24 local habitat features (e.g., vegetation, ground cover, concrete), and examined land-cover types within 2 km of 12 study sites in Toledo, Ohio. We found that abundance and richness of urban arthropods differed by habitat type and that richness of ants and spiders, in particular, varied among lots, gardens, and forests. Several local and landscape factors correlated with changes in abundance, richness, and trophic composition of arthropods, and different factors were important for specific arthropod groups. Overwhelmingly, local factors were the predominant (80 % of interactions) driver of arthropods in this urban environment. These results indicate that park managers and gardeners alike may be able to manage forests and gardens to promote biodiversity of desired organisms and potentially improve ecosystem services within the urban landscape.
Tests enhance the transfer of learning.

Numerous learning studies have shown that if the period of time devoted to studying information (e.g., casa-house) includes at least 1 test (casa-?), performance on a final test is improved-a finding known as the testing effect. In most of these studies, however, the final test is identical to the initial test. If the final test requires a novel demonstration of learning (i.e., transfer), prior studies suggest that a greater degree of transfer reduces the size of the testing effect. The authors tested this conjecture. In 2 experiments, 4th- or 5th-grade students learned to assign regions or cities to map locations and returned 1 day later for 2 kinds of final tests. One final test required exactly the same task seen during the learning session, and the other final test consisted of novel, more challenging questions. In both experiments, testing effects were found for both kinds of final tests, and the testing effect was no smaller, and actually slightly larger, for the final test requiring transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
Thyroxine in acute myocardial infarction (ThyrAMI) - levothyroxine in subclinical hypothyroidism post-acute myocardial infarction: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Cardiac disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom. Even minor changes in thyroid hormone concentration may impact adversely on the cardiovascular system. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) after admission for an acute cardiac problem has been associated with an increase in cardiac mortality and overall death. We have designed protocols for a prospective observational study to assess the association of thyroid function at the time of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with cardiovascular outcomes, and a double-blinded randomised placebo-controlled trial of levothyroxine to evaluate its effect on LV function and vascular health.


METHODS/DESIGN
ThyrAMI 1: This will be a prospective longitudinal observational study of patients with AMI that will be followed for 24 months to study the association between thyroid status at the time of AMI (within 24 hours of diagnosis) with vascular outcomes. ThyrAMI 2: This will be a prospective double-blinded randomised placebo-controlled trial of levothyroxine of 12 months duration in patients with AMI and SCH.


SETTING
Patients will be recruited from five hospitals in the North East of England.


PARTICIPANTS
One hundred patients with thyroid function tests within the subclinical hypothyroid range upon admission with an AMI and no previous history of thyroid disease.


INTERVENTION
Levothyroxine will be administered at a starting dose of 25 mcg once daily, which will be increased at intervals if needed to maintain a TSH level between 0.4 to 2.5 mU/L, versus a placebo.


RANDOMISATION
Participants will be randomized with a computerised randomisation algorithm, stratified by type of MI (NSTEMI versus STEMI), in a 1:1 ratio to levothyroxine therapy or placebo (as container or bottle numbers), starting within 21 (+/- 7) days of AMI.


BLINDING
Assignment to either the LT4 or placebo arm will be double-blinded.


OUTCOMES
The outcome will be the effect of levothyroxine on ventricular function, endothelial function and blood coagulability and rheology.


DISCUSSION
There is evidence to suggest that treatment of SCH can improve cardiovascular parameters. Therefore, ThyrAMI 1 and ThyrAMI 2 will be the first trials investigating SCH in AMI to give a better insight into whether thyroid hormone levels are a key target for improving cardiovascular outcomes.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN number: ISRCTN52505169 . Date of registration: 09/01/2015.
The potential of Web sites as a relationship building tool for charitable fundraising NPOs

Facilitating interaction between an unlimited number of individuals, the Internet provides organizations with the unique possibility of engaging publics2 in dialogue, a key characteristic of excellent public relations (Grunig, 1992). Particularly nonprofit organizations (NPOs) can benefit from the Internet. Without having the resources to invest in a variety of advertising or public relations measures, such organizations can still reach a large public by means of a well-designed Web site. Especially NPOs which depend on donors for achieving their mission can benefit from the relationship building potential of the Internet (Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003; Naudé, Froneman, & Atwood, 2004). Furthermore, new Web features such as podcasts or blogs provide NPOs with the opportunity of attracting new and younger target groups3. Nevertheless, different studies (Kang & Norton, 2004; Naudé et al., 2004) have indicated that the dialogic potential of the Internet is still often underutilized by NPOs. However, hardly any relevant studies could be found for the European context. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the Web-based communication of charitable fundraising NPOs in Switzerland in order to determine to what extent they are using the potential of the Internet and of Web 2.0 to engage in dialogue with their most important stakeholders, which are potential donors and media publics.
Cosmetic use of polylactic acid for hand rejuvenation: report on 27 patients.

OBJECTIVE
Polylactic acid (PLA) is effectively used on the face. In the Author's opinion it can also be applied successfully to other body areas. The aim of the present retrospective study is to estimate the safety and results of this new technique in order to improve the hand skeletal status in old patients.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-seven patients were treated in the period from January 2004 to April 2005 (a total of 109 sessions). Their age averaged 65.9 years. In all cases the hand treatment was associated with a face or neck treatment. 150 mg polylactic acid was diluted with 0.5 mL of 3% Carbocain and water for injectable preparations (from 5 to 8 mL). Intermetacarpal spaces were injected with this solution in dosages ranging from 2 to 4 mL with a particular and rigorous technique. The protocol, consisting of 3-6 consecutive sessions, is discussed below.


RESULTS
The results have been evaluated by a Definitive Graduated Score (DGS) based on the patient's and doctor's satisfaction scores (from 1 to 10) and by the photograph score. They have ranged from 4 to 9 (average of 6.55). No important side effects have been detected. There has been one case of fine unnoticeable nodulations. In six cases the result has not been satisfactory. In seven cases the DGS was higher than 8.


CONCLUSION
The fibro-connectival restoration of hands is an important step in the global aesthetic treatment of old patients. This technique can give good results, particularly if associated with peelings and sclerotherapy. Side effects have been acceptable.
A realistic approach to teaching systems anlaysis at the small or medium-sized college

It is difficult for the small or medium sized college to offer and staff the broad spectrum of system analysis and design courses that some curriculum designers are currently recommending. This article proposes a single senior level capstone course in systems analysis and design to partially solve this problem. The course, carefully designed and orchestrated, will teach the essentials of systems analysis and structured design and still develop the interpersonal skills necessary to produce a well-trained systems analyst. INTRODUCTION There are a variety of approaches to teaching systems analysis in colleges and universities. These range from not offering a course to offering as many as seven courses. In fact, a reasonably strong case can be made for the extreme of offering a sequence of seven courses in the area of systems analysis. Dinerstein [4] presents such a case. Clearly, at least one course should be offered. A recent study by Archer [i] reveals that business and industry list systems analysis as the most important course in a list of typical computer science courses offered in the small college. Table ~ summarizes these findings.
Tooth extraction in patients taking intravenous bisphosphonates: a preventive protocol and case series.

PURPOSE
To test the efficacy of a protocol in preventing the development of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) after tooth extraction.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
In this prospective case series, consecutive subjects treated with intravenous bisphosphonates who needed tooth extraction underwent a protocol aimed at reducing the risk of BRONJ, based on local and systemic infection control by means of mechanical and chemical reduction of the local bacterial load plus antibiotic prophylaxis.


RESULTS
We performed 38 extractions in 23 patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates, mainly zoledronate, for a mean of 17.5 months (range, 3-36 months). Five patients already had signs of BRONJ caused by tooth extractions performed elsewhere. The mean follow-up was 229.5 days (range, 14-965 days), and no case of BRONJ was recorded.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the methodologic limitations of the study design, the proposed preventive protocol appears to reduce the risk of BRONJ after tooth extraction in a group of subjects treated with intravenous bisphosphonates.
Some Principles in Designing Cooperative Architectures of Autonomous Agents

This work introduces some principles for designing agents architectures, which provide design guidelines concerning agent and group structuring, communication, decision making, and computational aspects for agent cooperation. They generate requirements and constraints for cooperative agent~ develupment. The principles have been derived fr~n a long experience in designing and implementing architectural frameworks for agent cooperation, the Coope~A project (Sommaruga et al 1995). In particular, basic characteristics of autonomous agents have been formnli.q~d in a computational model This model consists of two elements: the agent itself and its environment (Figure 1). The model of an agent is expressed as a dynamic system in a flotation (T) with inputs (I) outputs (O), a conlrol function (Sel) for the selection of best action to do according to a set of cooperative behavionrs (B), and an input function (In), which changes the current situation according to the input. In the environment, we distinguish two general sets, common for a whole group of agents, and independent from the agent: R and C. R is the real world, which can receive outputs from the agents, e.g. the execution of an agent action, and can provide inputs to the agents, e.g. data/observations of the real world. C represents the communication channel between the agents. The conswJctive aggregation of agents within an environment generates a cooperative architectm’e. This computational model has been abstracted in order to define a formal roferenee model for our principles. Some of the principles are dictated by very general constraints on computational (intelligent) systems. Others are influenced by more specific DAI and cooperative requi.,-ements. Due to the limited space, it is not possible to present here the complete formalization, and the principles will he only mentioned. They include: the Communality Requirement (P.1), i.e. the need for overlapping skills mid needs among agents; Action Selection (P,2), which maps a situation and a bchaviour of an agent to a new situation with a possible output action; Communication Requirement (P.3), which states the usefulness of a communication protocol, a common dictionary, and a message passing mechanism; Group Dynamics (PA), which allows the composition the set of skills and needs of the whole group of agents to be varied; Self Initialisation (P.5), which permits integrate a new agent into a group and hence makes the group of agents open; Principle of Patience (P.6), expressing the agent ability to wait for some change; Goal Induction (P.7) of the possible agent actions, based on act-based semantics; Cooperative Heuristics (P.8), which express programmable micro-bchavionrs of an agent, and are explicitly defined in the form of rules; Compositionallty of Local micro-bchavionr (P.9), which determines the global agent behaviour; and Compositionality of Global Behaviour (P.10) of a group, which is determined by the composition of the behaviours of each agent in the group.
Monitoring gene expression of potato under salinity using cDNA microarrays

The molecular response to salt exposure was studied in the leaves of a Solanum tuberosum clone using cDNA microarray. Differentially expressed genes were classified according to their known or predicted function and their expression ratio as compared to the control. The major changes upon a 150 mM NaCl exposure in potato leaves occurred in the photosystem apparatus and Calvin cycle: many transcripts coding for proteins belonging to photosystems I and II and chlorophyll synthesis were repressed. On the other hand, we observed the induction of various kinds of transcription factors implicated in osmotic stress response via ABA-dependent or ABA-independent pathways but also in plant defense pathways. This revealed a crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress responses during salt exposure, which activated several adaptation mechanisms including heat shock proteins, late embryogenesis abundant, dehydrins and PR proteins. Gene expression changes related to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism were also observed, pointing at putative modifications at the metabolic level.