Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do psychological measures predict the ability of lower limb amputees to learn to use a prosthesis?

Objective: Can psychological tests predict whether, on admission to a rehabilitation ward post amputation, a lower limb amputee will learn to use a prosthesis during the ensuing inpatient rehabilitation programme? Design: A one-sample design in which psychological variables, and transfemoral/transtibial amputation site were tested as predictors of outcome. Setting: An inpatient rehabilitation unit in the UK offering prosthetic provision. Subjects: Forty-three consecutive patients with peripheral vascular disease (mean age 66.35 years, standard deviation 14.99) who had received an amputation on average 19 days previously on a surgical ward and were transferred to the unit for rehabilitation including assessment for prosthetic provision. Main outcome measure: Whether the patient learnt to use a prosthesis independently during the stay on the rehabilitation unit. Results: During their stay in the rehabilitation unit (mean length of stay = 42 days), 31 patients learnt to use a prosthesis and 12 did not. A forward stepwise logistic regression revealed that the Kendrick Object Learning Test score on admission correctly predicted outcome in 70% of cases. The predictive power rose to 81% correct when the amputation site (transfemoral or transtibial) was included amongst the predictors. Anxiety, depression and recovery locus of control scores were not significant predictors of functional prosthetic use in this study. Conclusion: A simple test of learning ability and the amputation site can help to predict the patient's ability to learn to use a prosthesis following amputation and is recommended as part of the assessment process.
The effects of two different explosive strength training programs on vertical jump performance in basketball.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two different training programs oriented to improve vertical jump performance and leg stiffness in basketball players. METHODS Fifty-eight male basketball players were involved, divided into three age groups (senior, U19 and U17). Subsequently, within any age group, the players were randomLy divided into two training groups, respectively performing a 16-week "hang-clean" training program (HCL), and a "half-squat" training program (HSQ), lasting for the same duration. HCL was based on the hang clean exercise and included also jump rope training; HSQ was based on the half squat exercise and included also speed ladder training. The squat jump (SJ), the countermovement jump without and with arm swing, and with one step approach (respectively, CMJ, CMJS, and TCMJS) and explosive strength indices obtained with a leg stiffness test were assessed pre- and post-training. RESULTS In senior and U19 athletes both training programs involved an improvement of Vertical Jump performance, with some differences between different age groups. Instead, for the U17 players, only the HSQ led to an enhancement of SJ and TCMJS. Significant enhancement of leg stiffness was observed only in U19 and U17 groups after training. CONCLUSIONS The present study showed that the programs based on the hang-clean and half squat allowed to improve explosive strength in basketball training. However, only HSQ was effective for the U17 group. Thus, the present findings demonstrate that specific training programs should be designed according to the age of the players.
Boost customer loyalty with online support: the case of mobile telecoms providers

The paper explores the effect of customer satisfaction with online supporting services on loyalty to providers of an offline core service. Supporting services are provided to customers before, during or after the purchase of a tangible or intangible core product, and have the purpose of enhancing or facilitating the use of this product. The Internet has the potential to dominate all other marketing channels when it comes to the interactive and personalized communication that is considered quintessential for supporting services. Our study shows that the quality of online supporting services powerfully affects satisfaction with the provider and customer loyalty through its effect on online value and enjoyment. Managerial implications are provided.
SDZ MRL 953, a novel immunostimulatory monosaccharidic lipid A analog with an improved therapeutic window in experimental sepsis

SDZ MRL 953, a new synthetic monosaccharidic lipid A, was investigated in vitro and in vivo for immunopharmacological activities. In experimental models of microbial infections, the compound was highly protective when it was administered prophylactically either once or three times to myelosuppressed or immunocompetent mice. The 50% effective doses of SDZ MRL 953 varied with the infectious agents and the route of its administration. In all cases, the 50% effective doses were about 10(3) times higher than those obtained with endotoxin from Salmonella abortus equi. SDZ MRL 953 was, however, less toxic than lipopolysaccharide by a factor of 10(4) to greater than 7 x 10(5) times in galactosamine-sensitized mice. The compound was also an effective inducer of tolerance to endotoxin. Hence, repeated dosing with the compound induced a transient resistance (greater than or equal to 1 week) to lethal challenges with endotoxin. In vitro, the compound was devoid of intrinsic antimicrobial activity, but it moderately induced the release of cytokines from monocytes and primed human neutrophils for the enhanced production of reactive oxygen metabolites in response to a soluble stimulus. The results presented here suggest that SDZ MRL 953 may be useful in a clinical setting for enhancing resistance to infections, particularly in patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy or irradiation, and for the prophylaxis of endotoxin shock.
Comparing Concepts in Differentiated Ontologies

Concepts in differentiated ontologies inherit definitional structure from concepts in shared ontologies. Shared, inherited structure provides a common ground that supports measures of “description compatibility. ” These algorithms are the primary contribution of this paper. The description-compatibility measures compare concepts to predict semantic compatibility, the probability that an instance of a recommendation will satisfy a request. The description-compatibility measures cross a spectrum regarding their knowledge of the semantics of roles in concept definitions. Some of the measures identify and analyze correspondences among elements of the definitions, and are thus a form of analogical reasoning. We use simulations to evaluate the description-compatibility measures in detail. Description compatibility can be used to rank alternative query translations, and to guide search for capabilities across communities that subscribe to differentiated ontologies.
Selective Inactivation of PTEN in Smooth Muscle Cells Synergizes With Hypoxia to Induce Severe Pulmonary Hypertension

Background Pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by increased vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) and adventitial fibroblast proliferation, small vessel occlusion, and inflammatory cell accumulation. The underlying molecular mechanisms driving progression remain poorly defined. We have focused on loss of the phosphatase PTEN in SMCs as a major driver of pathological vascular remodeling. Our goal was to define the role of PTEN in human PH and in hypoxia‐induced PH using a mouse model with inducible deletion of PTEN in SMCs. Methods and Results Staining of human biopsies demonstrated enhanced inactive PTEN selectively in the media from hypertensive patients compared to controls. Mice with induced deletion of PTEN in SMCs were exposed to normoxia or hypoxia for up to 4 weeks. Under normoxia, SMC PTEN depletion was sufficient to induce features of PH similar to those observed in wild‐type mice exposed to chronic hypoxia. Under hypoxia, PTEN depletion promoted an irreversible progression of PH characterized by increased pressure, extensive pulmonary vascular remodeling, formation of complex vascular lesions, and increased macrophage accumulation associated with synergistic increases in proinflammatory cytokines and proliferation of both SMCs and nonSMCs. Conclusions Chronic inactivation of PTEN selectively in SMC represents a critical mediator of PH progression, leading to cell autonomous events and increased production of factors correlated to proliferation and recruitment of adventitial and inflammatory cells, resulting in irreversible progression of the disease.
The effect of specific surface area of macro fibers on energy absorption capacity of concrete

Abstract Energy absorption capacity is the salient property of concrete. Reinforcement of concrete with macro fibers is one of the techniques that has led to enhancement of this important feature of concrete. However, the effect of specific surface area of melt-spun polypropylene macro fibers has hardly been studied so far. In this work, the effect of this parameter on mechanical behavior of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) was investigated. Diameter of macro fibers was varied by changing the melt feeding rate and fiber draw ratio. Changes in fibers diameter affect fibers specific surface area, which in turn influences the adhesion of fibers to the matrix in FRCs. In order to evaluate the FRCs behavior, bending tests were conducted and the area under load-displacement curves was studied. It was found that increase in specific surface area of fibers results in considerable increase in energy absorption capacity of the FRCs. Concrete reinforced with the larger diameter fibers exhibited 6× energy absorption capacity than the reference sample. This was found to be in line with the 14× energy absorption capacity of sample which was reinforced by smaller diameter fibers. This was attributed to the increase in total contact area between the finer fibers and the matrix as a direct consequence of the increase in number of fibers for a given fiber volume fraction.
A rare variant in CYP27A1 and its association with atopic dermatitis with high serum total IgE

This study investigated rare variants associated with atopic dermatitis. We performed exome analyses on 37 patients who were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis by board‐certified dermatologists and had total serum IgE levels greater than 1000 IU/ml. The exome analysis identified seven variants with <1% allele frequency in Asian (ASN) population of 1000 Genomes Project phase 1 data and >5% allele frequency in the atopic dermatitis exome samples. We then conducted a replication study using 469 atopic dermatitis patients with total serum IgE ≥1000 IU/ml and 935 Japanese controls to assess the presence of these 7 candidate variants. The replication study confirmed that CYP27A1 rs199691576 (A/G) was associated with atopic dermatitis with high serum IgE levels (P = 0.012, odds ratio = 2.1). CYP27A1 is involved in the metabolism of vitamin D3, which plays important roles in modulating immune function. Previous studies have reported polymorphisms in vitamin D pathway genes that are associated with allergy‐related phenotypes. Our data confirm the importance of genes regulating the vitamin D pathway in the development of atopic dermatitis.
Unexpected arousal modulates the influence of sensory noise on confidence

Human perception is invariably accompanied by a graded feeling of confidence that guides metacognitive awareness and decision-making. It is often assumed that this arises solely from the feed-forward encoding of the strength or precision of sensory inputs. In contrast, interoceptive inference models suggest that confidence reflects a weighted integration of sensory precision and expectations about internal states, such as arousal. Here we test this hypothesis using a novel psychophysical paradigm, in which unseen disgust-cues induced unexpected, unconscious arousal just before participants discriminated motion signals of variable precision. Across measures of perceptual bias, uncertainty, and physiological arousal we found that arousing disgust cues modulated the encoding of sensory noise. Furthermore, the degree to which trial-by-trial pupil fluctuations encoded this nonlinear interaction correlated with trial level confidence. Our results suggest that unexpected arousal regulates perceptual precision, such that subjective confidence reflects the integration of both external sensory and internal, embodied states. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.18103. 001
A Proteomics Dissection of Arabidopsis thaliana Vacuoles Isolated from Cell Culture*S

To better understand the mechanisms governing cellular traffic, storage of various metabolites, and their ultimate degradation, Arabidopsis thaliana vacuole proteomes were established. To this aim, a procedure was developed to prepare highly purified vacuoles from protoplasts isolated from Arabidopsis cell cultures using Ficoll density gradients. Based on the specific activity of the vacuolar marker α-mannosidase, the enrichment factor of the vacuoles was estimated at ∼42-fold with an average yield of 2.1%. Absence of significant contamination by other cellular compartments was validated by Western blot using antibodies raised against specific markers of chloroplasts, mitochondria, plasma membrane, and endoplasmic reticulum. Based on these results, vacuole preparations showed the necessary degree of purity for proteomics study. Therefore, a proteomics approach was developed to identify the protein components present in both the membrane and soluble fractions of the Arabidopsis cell vacuoles. This approach includes the following: (i) a mild oxidation step leading to the transformation of cysteine residues into cysteic acid and methionine to methionine sulfoxide, (ii) an in-solution proteolytic digestion of very hydrophobic proteins, and (iii) a prefractionation of proteins by short migration by SDS-PAGE followed by analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. This procedure allowed the identification of more than 650 proteins, two-thirds of which copurify with the membrane hydrophobic fraction and one-third of which copurifies with the soluble fraction. Among the 416 proteins identified from the membrane fraction, 195 were considered integral membrane proteins based on the presence of one or more predicted transmembrane domains, and 110 transporters and related proteins were identified (91 putative transporters and 19 proteins related to the V-ATPase pump). With regard to function, about 20% of the proteins identified were known previously to be associated with vacuolar activities. The proteins identified are involved in ion and metabolite transport (26%), stress response (9%), signal transduction (7%), and metabolism (6%) or have been described to be involved in typical vacuolar activities, such as protein and sugar hydrolysis. The subcellular localization of several putative vacuolar proteins was confirmed by transient expression of green fluorescent protein fusion constructs.
The transcription factor Pitx3 is a risk modifier for Parkinson’s disease in a Chinese Han population

Background and purpose: The transcription factor Pitx3 plays a crucial role in the development and survival of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons, especially the mDA neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The degeneration of these neurons is the pathological hallmark in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Several polymorphisms of the Pitx3 gene have been linked with sporadic and early‐onset forms of PD, but different studies have given conflicting or inconsistent findings. Amongst the polymorphisms studied, the single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3758549, located in the promoter region of Pitx3 gene, is one of the most well‐studied but also one of the most controversial. In order to explore the nature of this association in greater detail and in a new ethnic group, we carried out a case–control study of the SNP rs3758549.
Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1) Replication in Feathers of Domestic Waterfowl

We examined feathers of domestic ducks and geese inoculated with 2 different avian influenza virus (H5N1) genotypes. Together with virus isolation from the skin, the detection of viral antigens and ultrastructural observation of the virions in the feather epidermis raise the possibility of feathers as sources of infection.
Interlaminar fracture toughness of hybrid carbon fiber‐carbon nanotubes‐reinforced polymer composites

In this study, a relatively low temperature synthesis technique; graphitic structure by design (GSD), was employed to grow multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) over carbon fiber fabrics. The MWCNTs forests were grown into two different morphologies, uniform and patterned. Hybrid carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) were fabricated based on the hybrid reinforcement. Double cantilever beam (DCB) tests were performed to investigate the effect of the surface grown nano-reinforcements on the Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (GIc) of the hybrid CFRPs. Results revealed that the surface grown MWCNTs enhanced the GIc of the CFRPs by 22% and 32%, via uniform and checkerboard-patterned growth morphologies, respectively. Fractography was also employed to reveal the MWCNTs’ role in interlaminar crack stoppage and deflection resulting in improving GIc of the hybrid CFRPs.
Cluster adjusted regression for displaced subject data (CARDS): Marginal inference under potentially informative temporal cluster size profiles

Ignorance of the mechanisms responsible for the availability of information presents an unusual problem for analysts. It is often the case that the availability of information is dependent on the outcome. In the analysis of cluster data we say that a condition for informative cluster size (ICS) exists when the inference drawn from analysis of hypothetical balanced data varies from that of inference drawn on observed data. Much work has been done in order to address the analysis of clustered data with informative cluster size; examples include Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW), Cluster Weighted Generalized Estimating Equations (CWGEE), and Doubly Weighted Generalized Estimating Equations (DWGEE). When cluster size changes with time, i.e., the data set possess temporally varying cluster sizes (TVCS), these methods may produce biased inference for the underlying marginal distribution of interest. We propose a new marginalization that may be appropriate for addressing clustered longitudinal data with TVCS. The principal motivation for our present work is to analyze the periodontal data collected by Beck et al. (1997, Journal of Periodontal Research 6, 497–505). Longitudinal periodontal data often exhibits both ICS and TVCS as the number of teeth possessed by participants at the onset of study is not constant and teeth as well as individuals may be displaced throughout the study.
WLAN throughput improvement via distributed queuing MAC

This paper analyzes the performance of a MAC scheme for wireless local area networks (WLANs) that makes use of distributed queues to improve radio channel utilization. Analytical values for the maximum throughput performance are derived as a function of the system parameters. The obtained results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the legacy 802.11 MAC protocol in terms of maximum stable throughput. This benefit is obtained from eliminating back-off periods and collisions in data packet transmissions while minimizing the needed control overhead. The proposal also makes performance to be independent of the number of nodes transmitting in the system and provides stability for high load conditions.
Modelling Asymmetric Exchange Rate Dependence

We test for asymmetry in a model of the dependence between the Deutsche mark and the yen, in the sense that a different degree of correlation is exhibited during joint appreciations against the U.S. dollar versus during joint depreciations. We consider an extension of the theory of copulas to allow for conditioning variables, and employ it to construct flexible models of the conditional dependence structure of these exchange rates. We find evidence that the mark-dollar and yen-dollar exchange rates are more correlated when they are depreciating against the dollar than when they are appreciating. Copyright 2006 by the Economics Department Of The University Of Pennsylvania And Osaka University Institute Of Social And Economic Research Association.
Immunoselection of tumor cell variants by mice suppressed with ultraviolet radiation

It has previously been shown that mice exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV) fail to reject highly immunogenic UV-induced tumors, which are regularly rejected by normal mice. The present study shows, however, that this immunosuppresion is incomplete, as UV-treated mice can still mount certain tumor-specific immune responses and reject smaller inocula of tumor cells that regularly grow progressively in athymic nude mice. Furthermore, all tumor cell lines that were reisolated from the tumor mass resulting from one tumor passage through UV-treated recipients heritably lost a tumor-specific determinant present on the parental tumor cells used for transplantation, and a large percentage of these reisolated variant tumors had changed to progressively growing tumors, in that they were no longer rejected by normal mice. In contrast, none of the tumors reisolated from passage through athymic nude mice or anti-idiotypically suppressed mice showed this change in antigenicity and progressive growth behavior. Thus, it appears that the phenotypic change in tumors reisolated from UV-treated mice was caused by immunoselection, and that the tumor-specific immunity in these mice apparently restrained the outgrowth of the parental tumor cells despite the partial immunosuppression. Because of the regularity at which tumor variants arose in the UV-treated mice after tumor transplantation, it appears that the partial immunosuppression caused by UV-treatment may have favored the outgrowth of antigenic variants from the parental tumor cell population, possibly by allowing more time for the generation of tumor variants. A similar immunoselection process might be part of tumor progression during tumor development and preferentially occur in cancer-bearing individuals showing concomitant tumor immunity.
Choosing extreme parents for diversity improvement in evolutionary multiobjective optimization algorithms

It has been demonstrated in the literature that a similarity-based mating scheme can increase the diversity of solutions in evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) algorithms. In the similarity-based mating scheme, an extreme solution is chosen from the current population as one parent. A similar solution to the selected parent is chosen from the current population as the other parent (i.e., as a mate of the first parent). In this paper, we first demonstrate that the similarity-based mating scheme works well when it is incorporated into NSGA-II. Next we point out a problematic side effect of choosing extreme solutions as parents using SPEA. That is, the similarity-based mating scheme does not always widen the population along the Pareto front but also lengthen it toward the Pareto front. This is because poor solutions far from the Pareto front have relatively high selection probabilities to be chosen as parents. Then we propose a simple trick to prevent such a poor solution from being selected as the first parent. Finally we demonstrate that the modified similarity-based mating scheme works well in SPEA as well as NSGA-II through computational experiments on multiobjective 0/1 knapsack problems.