Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MAPASS report 2 photocoagulation : Manchester Pascal Study , ms single-spot panretinal 100 ms multi-spot and Pain responses of Pascal 20

Aims To evaluate pain responses following Pascal 20 ms multi-spot and 100 ms single-spot panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). Methods Single-centre randomised clinical trial. 40 eyes of 24 patients with treatment-naive proliferative diabetic retinopathy randomised to 20 and 100 ms PRP under topical 0.4% oxybuprocaine. A masked grader used a pain questionnaire within 1 h (numerical pain score (NPS)) and 1 month after treatment (numerical headache score (NHS)). Primary outcome measure was NPS immediately post-PRP. Secondary outcome measures were mean NHS scores and levels of photophobia reported within 4 weeks of primary PRP. Results Mean laser fluence was significantly lower using 20 ms PRP (4.8 J/cm) compared to 100 ms PRP (11.8 J/cm; p<0.001). Mean NPS scores for treatment were 2.4 (2.3) (mild) for 20 ms PRP group compared to 4.9 (3.3) (moderate) in 100 ms PRP groupda significant difference (95% CI 4.3 to 0.68; p1⁄40.006). Mean NHS score within 1 month was 1.5 (2.7) in 20 ms PRP group compared to 3.2 (3.5) in the 100 ms PRP group (p<0.05). The median duration of photophobia after 20 ms PRP was 3 h, and significantly less compared to 100 ms PRP after which 72 h of photophobia was
Electroencephalographic Response to Sodium Nitrite May Predict Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Severe Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Objectives:Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage often leads to death and poor clinical outcome. Injury occurring during the first 72 hours is termed “early brain injury,” with disruption of the nitric oxide pathway playing an important pathophysiologic role in its development. Quantitative electroencephalographic variables, such as &agr;/&dgr; frequency ratio, are surrogate markers of cerebral ischemia. This study assessed the quantitative electroencephalographic response to a cerebral nitric oxide donor (intravenous sodium nitrite) to explore whether this correlates with the eventual development of delayed cerebral ischemia. Design:Unblinded pilot study testing response to drug intervention. Setting:Neuroscience ICU, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom. Patients:Fourteen World Federation of Neurosurgeons grades 3, 4, and 5 patients (mean age, 52.8 yr [range, 41–69 yr]; 11 women). Interventions:IV sodium nitrite (10 &mgr;g/kg/min) for 1 hour. Measurements and Main Results:Continuous electroencephalographic recording for 2 hours. The alpha/delta frequency ratio was measured before and during IV sodium nitrite infusion. Seven of 14 patients developed delayed cerebral ischemia. There was a +30% to +118% (range) increase in the alpha/delta frequency ratio in patients who did not develop delayed cerebral ischemia (p < 0.0001) but an overall decrease in the alpha/delta frequency ratio in those patients who did develop delayed cerebral ischemia (range, +11% to –31%) (p = 0.006, multivariate analysis accounting for major confounds). Conclusions:Administration of sodium nitrite after severe subarachnoid hemorrhage differentially influences quantitative electroencephalographic variables depending on the patient’s susceptibility to development of delayed cerebral ischemia. With further validation in a larger sample size, this response may be developed as a tool for risk stratification after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Controlled Laboratory Comparison Study of Motion With Football Equipment in a Destabilized Cervical Spine

Background Numerous studies have shown that there are better alternatives to log rolling patients with unstable spinal injuries, although this method is still commonly used for placing patients onto a spine board. No previous studies have examined transfer maneuvers involving an injured football player with equipment in place onto a spine board. Purpose To test 3 different transfer maneuvers of an injured football player onto a spine board to determine which method most effectively minimizes spinal motion in an injured cervical spine model. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Five whole, lightly embalmed cadavers were fitted with shoulder pads and helmets and tested both before and after global instability was surgically created at C5-C6. An electromagnetic motion analysis device was used to assess the amount of angular and linear motion with sensors placed above and below the injured segment during transfer. Spine-boarding techniques evaluated were the log roll, the lift and slide, and the 8-person lift. Results The 8-person lift technique resulted in the least amount of angular and linear motion for all planes tested as compared with the lift-and-slide and log-roll techniques. This reached statistical significance for lateral bending (P = .031) and medial-lateral translation (P = .030) when compared with the log-roll maneuver. The lift-and-slide technique was significantly more effective at reducing motion than the log roll for axial rotation (P = .029) and lateral bending (P = .006). Conclusion The log roll resulted in the most motion at an unstable cervical injury as compared with the other 2 spine-boarding techniques examined. The 8-person lift and lift-and-slide techniques may both be more effective than the log roll at reducing unwanted cervical spine motion when spine boarding an injured football player. Reduction of such motion is critical in the prevention of iatrogenic injury.
The Characteristic of the Trunk Rotation in the Throwing Athletes

The purpose of this study was to show that the physical change in the growing period has a great influence on the trunk rotation in throwing athletes using the trunk rotation test (TR test). We studied 89 baseball players consulting our clinics for a medical check-up with a mean age of 14.7 years old (range, 7-23 years old). Our cases were classified into the following four groups: the primary school group consisting of 22 cases (primary group; mean, 10.1 years old), the junior high school group consisting of 27 cases (junior-high group; mean, 13.6 years old), the high school group consisting of 24 cases (high group; mean, 16.8 years old), and the adult group consisting 16 cases (mean, 19.8 years old). We examined the trunk rotation with TR test presented by Fujii in the 31st JSS meeting. We considered the test positive when the rotation angle of the throwing side was clearly lower than that of the non-throwing side. We compared the positive ratio of the TR test among 4 groups statistically with chi-square tests. In the primary group, there was no positive case in the 22 players. In the junior-high group 3 cases of 27 were positive (11.1%), in the high group 8 cases of 24 were positive (33.3%), and in the adult group 7 cases of 16 were positive (43.8%). Especially, in the primary and junior-high groups before and during the growing period only 3 of 49 cases were positive (6.1%), while in high and adult groups after the growing period 15 of the 40 cases were positive (37.5%) (P<0.05). This study showed that in the throwing athletes the trunk rotation to the throwing side tended to be restricted with advancing ages, and the growing period had a great effect on the restriction of the trunk rotation.
VLBA OBSERVATIONS OF SUB-PARSEC STRUCTURE IN Mrk 231: INTERACTION BETWEEN A RELATIVISTIC JET AND A BAL WIND

We report on the first high-frequency very long baseline interferometry observations of the nearby broad absorption line quasar, Mrk 231. Three epochs of observations were achieved at 15 GHz and 22 GHz, two of these included 43 GHz observations as well. The nuclear radio source is resolved as a compact double. The core component experienced a strong flare in which the flux density at 22 GHz increased by >150% (45 mJy) in three months. Theoretical models of the flare imply that the emission is likely enhanced by very strong Doppler boosting of a highly relativistic ejecta with a kinetic energy flux, Q ∼ 3 × 1043 erg s−1. Combining our data with two previous epochs of 15 GHz data shows marginal evidence for the slow advance of the secondary component (located ≈0.97 pc from the core) over a 9.4 year span. We estimate that the long-term time averaged kinetic energy flux of the secondary at . Low-frequency very long baseline array observations indicate that the secondary is seen through a shroud of free–free absorbing gas with an emission measure of ≈108 cm−6. The steep spectrum secondary component appears to be a compact radio lobe that is associated with a working surface between the ram pressure confined jet and a dense medium that is likely to be the source of the free–free absorption. The properties of the dense gas are consistent with the temperatures, displacement from the nucleus, and the column density of total hydrogen commonly associated with the BAL wind.
Teacher Judgments of Student Reading and Math Skills: Associations With Child- and Classroom-Related Factors

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to examine whether students’ linguistic skills and task-avoidant behavior (i.e., the child-related factors) and the mean level of academic skills (reading comprehension and math) of classmates (i.e., the class-related factor) are associated with teacher judgments of children’s reading comprehension and math skills. The participants were third-grade Estonian-speaking students (n = 656; age 9−11 years) and their classroom teachers (n = 51). The results of the structural equation modeling path analyses indicated that teachers tend to judge students showing higher academic and linguistic skills and lower avoidance behavior as higher on the reading comprehension and math skills. In contrast, the classmates’ higher academic skill level was related to lower judgments of individual children’s reading comprehension and math skills by teachers.
Effects of Different Correlation Metrics and Preprocessing Factors on Small-World Brain Functional Networks: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

Graph theoretical analysis of brain networks based on resting-state functional MRI (R-fMRI) has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. These analyses often involve the selection of correlation metrics and specific preprocessing steps. However, the influence of these factors on the topological properties of functional brain networks has not been systematically examined. Here, we investigated the influences of correlation metric choice (Pearson's correlation versus partial correlation), global signal presence (regressed or not) and frequency band selection [slow-5 (0.01–0.027 Hz) versus slow-4 (0.027–0.073 Hz)] on the topological properties of both binary and weighted brain networks derived from them, and we employed test-retest (TRT) analyses for further guidance on how to choose the “best” network modeling strategy from the reliability perspective. Our results show significant differences in global network metrics associated with both correlation metrics and global signals. Analysis of nodal degree revealed differing hub distributions for brain networks derived from Pearson's correlation versus partial correlation. TRT analysis revealed that the reliability of both global and local topological properties are modulated by correlation metrics and the global signal, with the highest reliability observed for Pearson's-correlation-based brain networks without global signal removal (WOGR-PEAR). The nodal reliability exhibited a spatially heterogeneous distribution wherein regions in association and limbic/paralimbic cortices showed moderate TRT reliability in Pearson's-correlation-based brain networks. Moreover, we found that there were significant frequency-related differences in topological properties of WOGR-PEAR networks, and brain networks derived in the 0.027–0.073 Hz band exhibited greater reliability than those in the 0.01–0.027 Hz band. Taken together, our results provide direct evidence regarding the influences of correlation metrics and specific preprocessing choices on both the global and nodal topological properties of functional brain networks. This study also has important implications for how to choose reliable analytical schemes in brain network studies.
Methods for measuring energy dissipation rate in anisotropic turbulence

Energy dissipation rate is an important parameter for nearly every experiment on turbulent flow. Mathematically precise relationships between energy dissipation rate and other measurable statistics for the case of anisotropic turbulence are useful to experimentalists. Such relationships are obtained for which the measurable statistics are the 3rd-order and 2nd-order velocity structure functions as well as the acceleration-velocity structure function. The relationships are derived using the Navier-Stokes equation without approximation. Approximate versions are obtained on the basis of local stationarity and local homogeneity. The latter are valid for arbitrary Reynolds numbers for the case of stationary, homogeneous turbulence. Precise use of the mathematics requires care noted in the Discussion section.
Assessing the Relationships among Religiousness, Loneliness, and Health

The purpose of this study is to see whether involvement in religion is associated with loneliness and health. A theoretical model is developed to explain how the potentially beneficial effects of religiousness arise. The following core hypotheses are embedded in this conceptual scheme: (a) people who attend worship services more often are more likely to receive informal spiritual support from fellow church members (spiritual support is assistance which is provided in order to bolster the religious beliefs and behaviors of the recipient); (b) spiritual support from coreligionists encourages people to adopt the virtue of humility; (c) people who are more humble are more likely to receive emotional support from significant others; (d) individuals who receive more emotional support will feel less lonely; and (e) people who feel less lonely tend to enjoy better health. Data from a recent nationwide survey provide support for each of these hypotheses.
Reading Comprehension Level and Development in Native and Language Minority Adolescent Low Achievers: Roles of Linguistic and Metacognitive Knowledge and Fluency

ABSTRACT In a longitudinal design, we measured 50 low-achieving adolescents’ reading comprehension development from Grades 7 to 9. There were 24 native Dutch and 26 language minority students. In addition, we assessed the roles of (a) linguistic knowledge, (b) metacognitive knowledge, and (c) reading fluency in predicting both the level and growth of reading comprehension. Students improved in reading comprehension, the language minority students more so than the native Dutch students. We can explain the level of reading comprehension by linguistic and metacognitive knowledge, whereas most fluency-related predictors appeared to be of minor importance. We can hardly explain the growth in reading comprehension by the predictors. Nevertheless, we found a significant interaction indicating that growth in vocabulary explained growth in reading comprehension for the language minority students. This finding seems to suggest that language minority students profit from gains in vocabulary, more so than native students.
Perspectives in the Behavioral Sciences

Those of us who study human behavior are in a maddening position. On the one hand people think we know more than we do, and on the other, people think we know nothing. It is probably safer that we support the latter group, because it is safer to be smarter than you look rather than looking smarter than you are. At this time in our social development when we are conscious of great inequalities and disturbed about ourselves, experts in the behavioral sciences are in a dangerous position, because their advice may well be sought and possibly even followed. Most of us are not well equipped to give practical advice on a broad scale. Physicians may do pretty well with a single patient in a single situation, but overall advice, except in the form of public health measures, is notably less successful. Not many of us in the behavioral sciences are really in the front lines, but we are great Monday morning quarterbacks. Those of us who are in the front lines may well display courage but not always good judgment. The point I am trying to make is simply that those who try to study and deal with the human condition would do well to have great humility about their capacity to do so and be willing to accept information about man, whatever the source; from history, novels, plays, poems, monks, the military, biology, psychoanalysis, psycho! -
The Lived Experiences of Sex Workers in South Africa: An Existential Phenomenological Exploration

We explored the lived experiences of sex workers in South Africa by employing a phenomenological methodology. Five women between the ages of 34 and 48 years who were/are involved in this industry were interviewed between January and March 2008. Through the use of thematic analysis four common themes in their experiences were identified and are elucidated in this article. These themes are: (a) pervasive experiences of abuse and neglect during childhood, (b) entry into sex work, (c) life as a sex worker and (d) trauma and resilience. The lived experiences of the participants were integrated with the literature in order to create a contextualised picture and a deeper understanding of the experience of a sex worker, as well as to assist informing the debate on sex work in South Africa.
Overcoming Focusing Failures in Competitive Environments

This paper attacks one of the chief limitations of the field of behavioral decision research—the past inability to use this literature to improve decision making. Building on the work of Thompson, Gentner, Loewenstein and colleagues (Loewenstein, Thompson, & Gentner, 1999; Thompson, Gentner, & Loewenstein, 2000; Gentner & Markman, 1997), the current paper finds that it is possible to reduce bias in one of the most robust problems in the decision literature, the Acquiring a Company Problem (Samuelson & Bazerman, 1985). Past research has shown that individuals make suboptimal offers as a result of the failure to think about the decisions of others and to incorporate a clear understanding of the rules of the game. In the current study, we find that by allowing study participants to see and understand differences in seemingly unrelated decision problems—versions of the Monty Hall Game (Nalebuff, 1987; Friedman, 1998) and Multiparty Ultimatum Game (Messick, Moore, & Bazerman, 1997; Tor & Bazerman, 2003)—study participants can learn to focus more accurately on the decisions of other parties and the rules of the game, the keys to solving the Acquiring a Company Problem. This research offers a new piece of evidence that comparative and analogical processes may be a successful direction for improving decision making. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Injection of a Soluble Fragment of Neural Agrin (NT-1654) Considerably Improves the Muscle Pathology Caused by the Disassembly of the Neuromuscular Junction

Treatment of neuromuscular diseases is still an unsolved problem. Evidence over the last years strongly indicates the involvement of malformation and dysfunction of neuromuscular junctions in the development of such medical conditions. Stabilization of NMJs thus seems to be a promising approach to attenuate the disease progression of muscle wasting diseases. An important pathway for the formation and maintenance of NMJs is the agrin/Lrp4/MuSK pathway. Here we demonstrate that the agrin biologic NT-1654 is capable of activating the agrin/Lrp4/MuSK system in vivo, leading to an almost full reversal of the sarcopenia-like phenotype in neurotrypsin-overexpressing (SARCO) mice. We also show that injection of NT-1654 accelerates muscle re-innervation after nerve crush. This report demonstrates that a systemically administered agrin fragment has the potential to counteract the symptoms of neuromuscular disorders.
Changes in body composition and bone of female collegiate soccer players through the competitive season and off-season

Objectives: To assess body composition and bone changes pre- to post-season (pre-post) and post- to off-season (post-off) in female soccer athletes (SC). Methods: Outcomes were assessed using DXA and pQCT in 23 SC and 17 controls at three times throughout season. Results: SC, non-starters in particular, lost lean mass pre-post (-0.9±0.2 kg, p<0.01; not different from controls, p=0.2) and gained fat mass post-off (1.4±0.3 kg, p<0.01; differed from controls, p=0.01). Baseline femoral neck and hip aBMD were higher in SC than controls (both, p<0.04), but increased in controls more than SC in pre-post and decreased post-off. SC cortical bone mineral content (BMC), cortical area and periosteal circumference increased pre-post (all, p<0.01; differed from controls, p<0.05) and trabecular vBMD decreased post-off (-3.0±1.3 mg/cm3; p=0.02; not different from controls, p=0.4). Both SC and controls increased cortical BMC, cortical area, and thickness post-off (all, p<0.01). Conclusion: Soccer players lost lean mass over the competitive season that was not recovered during off-season. Bone size increased pre- to post-season. Female soccer athletes experience body composition and bone geometry changes that differ depending on the time of season and on athlete’s playing status. Evaluations of athletes at key times across the training season are necessary to understand changes that occur.
Verbal evaluative conditioning with undetected US presentations

In evaluative conditioning research it has been shown that a neutral stimulus (CS) acquires the valence of a positive or negative stimulus (US) with which it is presented contingently. An experiment is reported in which it is examined whether evaluative shifts can also be observed in the complete absence of contingency-awareness. Neutral words were either followed by a briefly presented positive or negative word. Results showed that neutral words which were presented contingently with a positive word, were afterwards liked more than words which were paired with negative words. This result was obtained despite the fact that Ss were not aware of the presentation of the briefly presented USs.
Mutations in the B1 domain of protein G that delay the onset of amyloid fibril formation in vitro

We previously reported that under certain experimental conditions, many variants of the B1 domain of IgG‐binding protein G from Streptococcus form fibrils reproducibly. The variant I6T53 was the focus of the present study because the lag phase in the kinetics of fibril formation by this variant is significantly longer than that of other variants. This lag phase is distinguished by changes in both intrinsic fluorescence intensity and in light scattering of the protein. NMR diffusion measurements suggest that the soluble protein during the lag phase is monomeric. The kinetic profiles of fibril formation are found to depend on experimental conditions. The first kinetic phase diminishes almost completely when the reaction is seeded with preformed amyloid fibrils.