Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Film Excerpts Shown to Specifically Elicit Various Affects Lead to Overlapping Activation Foci in a Large Set of Symmetrical Brain Regions in Males

While the limbic system theory continues to be part of common scientific parlance, its validity has been questioned on multiple grounds. Nonetheless, the issue of whether or not there exists a set of brain areas preferentially dedicated to emotional processing remains central within affective neuroscience. Recently, a widespread neural reference space for emotion which includes limbic as well as other regions was characterized in a large meta-analysis. As methodologically heterogeneous studies go into such meta-analyses, showing in an individual study in which all parameters are kept constant, the involvement of overlapping areas for various emotion conditions in keeping with the neural reference space for emotion, would serve as valuable confirmatory evidence. Here, using fMRI, 20 young adult men were scanned while viewing validated neutral and effective emotion-eliciting short film excerpts shown to quickly and specifically elicit disgust, amusement, or sexual arousal. Each emotion-specific run included, in random order, multiple neutral and emotion condition blocks. A stringent conjunction analysis revealed a large overlap across emotion conditions that fit remarkably well with the neural reference space for emotion. This overlap included symmetrical bilateral activation of the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate, the temporo-occipital junction, the basal ganglia, the brainstem, the amygdala, the hippocampus, the thalamus, the subthalamic nucleus, the posterior hypothalamus, the cerebellum, as well as the frontal operculum extending towards the anterior insula. This study clearly confirms for the visual modality, that processing emotional stimuli leads to widespread increases in activation that cluster within relatively confined areas, regardless of valence.
Drug resistance after failure of initial antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited countries.

The report in this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases by Sungkanuparph et al. from Thailand provides important confirmation of a long-standing concern regarding failure of initial antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited countries. The combination of stavudine (or sometimes zidovudine) lamivudine and nevirapine is a widely available inexpensive generic regimen that is typically coformulated and widely used for first-line treatment in most developing countries that provide such therapy. At one time this was also an acceptable regimen in the developed world. However stavudine is no longer recommended by treatment guidelines from either the Department of Health and Human Services or the International AIDS Society-USA and nevirapine is categorized as an alternative agent in both sets of guidelines. These changes have come about primarily for reasons of toxicity: stavudine is associated with peripheral neuropathy and mitochondrial toxicity including lipoatrophy and potentially fatal lacticacidosis/hepatic steatosis. Nevirapine use can cause severe skin reactions and/or hepatic toxicity including potentially fatal hepatic necrosis especially in women with CD4+ cell counts 1250 cells/ mm3. Despite these toxicities this regimen continues to be widely used because of its convenience its low cost and its inclusion in guidelines from the World Health Organization and from many individual countries. (excerpt)
An exploratory study into the efficacy of learning objects

Learning objects have quickly become a widely accepted approach to instructional technology, particularly in on-line and computer-based learning environments. While there is a substantial body of literature concerning learning objects, very little of it verifies their efficacy. This research investigated the effectiveness of learning objects by comparing learning outcomes using a learning object with outcomes using a traditional textbook-based method of instruction. Participants were 327 undergraduate college students at a traditional public four-year coed institution, a private four-year women’s college, a private four-year engineering institution, and a public two-year community college. Through a series of independent samples t-tests and Analyses of Variance, results revealed mean scores for the learning object group that were nearly three times higher than the mean scores for the textbook-taught group. Gaming experience, age, gender, and learner preference were evaluated for their potential influence on the results; no statistically significant differences were found, implying that the learning object itself was central to the outcomes achieved. The future of learning objects is bright, and more empirical research is called for in the area of learning object effectiveness.
ADAR mediates differential expression of polycistronic microRNAs

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNAs (ADARs) convert adenosine residues to inosines in primary microRNA (pri-miRNA) transcripts to alter the structural conformation of these precursors and the subsequent functions of the encoded microRNAs (miRNAs). Here we show that RNA editing by Drosophila ADAR modulates the expression of three co-transcribed miRNAs encoded by the evolutionarily conserved let-7-Complex (let-7-C) locus. For example, a single A-to-I change at the −6 residue of pri-miR-100, the first miRNA in this let-7-C polycistronic transcript, leads to enhanced miRNA processing by Drosha and consequently enhanced functional miR-100 both in vitro as well as in vivo. In contrast, other editing events, including one at the +43 residue of the pri-miR-125, destabilize the primary transcript and reduce the levels of all three encoded miRNAs. Consequently, loss of adar in vivo leads to reduced miR-100 but increased miR-125. In wild-type animals, the destabilizing editing events in pri-let-7-C increase during the larval-to-adult transition and are critical for the normal downregulation of all three miRNAs seen late in metamorphosis. These findings unravel a new regulatory role for ADAR and raise the possibility that ADAR mediates the differential expression characteristic of many polycistronic miRNA clusters.
The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension among US adults according to the new joint national committee guidelines: new challenges of the old problem.

BACKGROUND The recently released Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure provides a new classification of blood pressure levels. Little is known about the current situation of elevated blood pressure in the United States, according to the new guidelines. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis of national representative data collected from 4805 adults 18 years and older surveyed in the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We examined the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension according to the new JNC guidelines, people's awareness and management of hypertension, and the differences across sociodemographic and body weight groups. RESULTS Elevated blood pressure is a serious problem in the United States. Approximately 60% of American adults have prehypertension or hypertension, and some population groups, such as African Americans, older people, low-socioeconomic-status groups, and overweight groups, are disproportionately affected. The prevalence of hypertension has increased by approximately 10 percentage points during the past decade. The awareness and appropriate management of hypertension among hypertensive patients remain low: 31% were not aware of their disease, only two thirds (66%) were told by health professionals to adopt lifestyle modifications or take drugs to control hypertension, and only 31% controlled their hypertension. CONCLUSIONS With 60% of the population affected, the United States is facing a serious challenge in the prevention and management of prehypertension and hypertension. People's awareness and control of hypertension remain poor. This study highlights the seriousness of the problem and the importance of promoting lifestyle modifications.
Preregistration student nurses' self-reported preparedness for practice before and after the introduction of a capstone subject.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To assess changes in perceptions of confidence and preparedness for practice of preregistration nursing students before and after the introduction of a capstone subject, and factors associated with perceptions of preparedness. BACKGROUND Preregistration nursing student 'readiness' or 'preparedness' for practice has been highlighted in the literature in recent years, along with employer concerns that university graduate nurses are not work ready. Few studies have examined Australian preregistration nursing students' perceptions of preparedness for clinical practice following their final clinical placement or assessed whether preregistration student nurses' perceptions of preparedness change as the result of undertaking a capstone subject. DESIGN A capstone subject was introduced at a regional northern Australian university in 2013. Perceptions of preparedness were assessed in two different cohorts of final year nursing students; one of which undertook a capstone subject. METHODS Two separate cohorts of third year nursing students were surveyed regarding their perceptions of preparedness for practice at the conclusion of their final 240 hour clinical placement. The 2012 cohort did not experience a capstone subject, whereas the 2013 cohort were the first nursing students to experience the new capstone subject. RESULTS Both cohorts were uncomfortable performing invasive procedures and reported low levels of confidence in the area of professional identity. An overall trend of decreasing confidence as patient assignment size increased was observed for both cohorts, and higher confidence was associated with previous health care experience. Perceptions of preparedness for practice did not increase significantly following the introduction of a capstone subject. CONCLUSIONS Although Australian undergraduate nursing student report feeling prepared for practice there are areas of knowledge, skills and patient care in which confidence is low. The results of this study highlight the importance of experience in building confidence and competence. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This study highlights that while final year nursing students report feeling prepared for practice there are areas where additional support can be provided. It is recommended that nurse educators and health care facilities tailor their programs to provide support focused on the areas highlighted by this study.
General Characteristics of Internet Use Among Health Educators

Abstract The Internet plays an important role in health education today. This study attempts to fill a void in the literature regarding Internet use, including motivators and barriers for health educators. Using a modified version of the Total Design Method, a survey concerning Internet use was mailed to a stratified random sample of 1559 health educators in the United States. Seven-hundred thirty-eight surveys were usable for a 55% response rate. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables, and exploratory factor analyses were performed on three domains of questions from the survey. Adequate access, relative advantage and problems with Web sites are factors that influence Internet use among health educators. The majority of respondents had access to the Internet at home and work, and over two-thirds used e-mail daily. Implications for the health education profession are provided.
The influence of opposite examples and randomness on the generalization complexity of Boolean functions

We analyze Boolean functions using a recently proposed measure of their complexity. This complexity measure, motivated by the aim of relating the complexity of the functions with the generalization ability that can be obtained when the functions are implemented in feed-forward neural networks, is the sum of two components. The first of these is related to the ‘average sensitivity’ of the function and the second is, in a sense, a measure of the ‘randomness’ or lack of structure of the function. In this paper, we investigate the importance of using the second term in the complexity measure. We also explore the existence of very complex Boolean functions, considering, in particular, the symmetric Boolean functions.
A Needs Assessment Survey on Teacher Readiness of Science Pre-Service Teachers: Towards A Contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program (STEP)

This research aims to evaluate the level of need of the pre-service teachers in different areas to design a contextualized student teacher enhancement program. The respondents of this research are the one hundred thirteen (113) science pre-service students taking up field study courses at the Institute of Teaching and Learning of Philippine Normal University. A qualitative research design was utilized in this study. A journal analysis procedure was also done to determine student perception in the different areas asked in the survey questionnaire. The survey results showed that pre-service teachers have a moderate level of need in seven out of ten items in the survey (M≥ 2.0). The level of need of the pre-service teacher do not significantly vary when categorized per major (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05) except on the teaching strategy (X 2 (2) =12.453, p = 0.02) area. When grouped per gender the mean ranks do not significantly differ on the different areas being surveyed (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05). Respondents also revealed that they need to improve themselves to possess good teacher personalities. Thus, it is recommended that a contextualized student teaching enhancement program be implemented to help the pre-service teachers with their needs.
Associations of ALDH2 and ADH1B genotypes with alcohol-related phenotypes in Asian young adults.

BACKGROUND Associations of ALDH2 and ADH1B genotypes with alcohol use have been evaluated largely using case-control studies, which typically focus on adult samples and dichotomous diagnostic outcomes. Relatively fewer studies have evaluated ALDH2 and ADH1B in relation to continuous drinking outcomes or at different developmental stages. This study examined additive and interactive effects of ALDH2 and ADH1B genotypes on drinking behavior in a mixed-gender sample of Asian young adults, focusing on continuous phenotypes (e.g., heavy episodic and hazardous drinking, alcohol sensitivity, drinking consequences) whose expression is expected to precede the onset of alcohol use disorders. METHODS The sample included 182 Chinese- and Korean-American young adults ages 18 years and older (mean age = 20 years). Effects of ALDH2, ADH1B and ethnicity were estimated using generalized linear modeling. RESULTS The ALDH2*2 allele predicted lower reported rates of alcohol use and drinking consequences as well as greater reported sensitivity to alcohol. There were significant ethnic group differences in drinking outcomes, such that Korean ethnicity predicted higher drinking rates and lower alcohol sensitivity. ADH1B status was not significantly related to drinking outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Ethnicity and ALDH2 status, but not ADH1B status, consistently explained significant variance in alcohol consumption in this relatively young sample. Results extend previous work by showing an association of ALDH2 genotype with drinking consequences. Findings are discussed in the context of possible developmental and population differences in the influence of ALDH2 and ADH1B variations on alcohol-related phenotypes.
Incidence of renal toxicity in HIV-infected, antiretroviral-naïve patients starting tenofovir/emtricitabine associated with efavirenz, atazanavir/ritonavir, or lopinavir/ritonavir

Abstract Objectives: We performed a retrospective cohort study of HIV-infected antiretroviral-naïve patients starting a first antiretroviral therapy with tenofovir/emtricitabine plus efavirenz (EFV), atazanavir/ritonavir (ATV/r), or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r). Methods: The incidence of renal impairment or proximal tubular dysfunction was evaluated during a 12-month follow-up. Renal impairment was diagnosed by a reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula, and tubular dysfunction was diagnosed when ≥ 2 among proteinuria, glucosuria, hypouricaemia, hypophosphataemia, and hypokalaemia, were identified. Results: A total of 235 patients were enrolled: 82 taking EFV, 78 ATV/r, and 75 LPV/r. The mean decline in eGFR after the 12-month follow-up was significantly greater in subjects treated with ATV/r (−10.4 ml/min/1.73 m2) than in those receiving EFV (− 5.1; p = 0.002) or LPV/r (−4.8; p = 0.003). Similarly, a significantly higher incidence of proximal tubulopathy was observed among ATV/r-treated patients (14.1%) compared with patients receiving EFV (4.9%) or LPV/r (5.3%). Conclusions: In our retrospective study, naïve patients receiving tenofovir/emtricitabine and ATV/r for 12 months showed a significantly higher decline in eGFR and a significantly higher incidence of proximal tubulopathy than those receiving tenofovir/emtricitabine plus EFV or LPV/r, even though clinically evident renal toxicity associated with tenofovir-based treatment is a very uncommon event.
Relação entre diferentes indicadores antropométricos e a percepção da imagem corporal em idosas ativas

CONTEXTO: As prevalencias de insatisfacao com a imagem corporal vem crescendo e as relacoes entre a autoimagem e diferentes indicadores antropometricos ainda nao sao bem conhecidas em muitos grupos. OBJETIVO: Identificar a relacao entre a percepcao da imagem corporal e diferentes indicadores antropometricos em idosas ativas. METODOS:Participaram do estudo 62 idosas, inseridas em programa de hidroginastica ha pelo menos cinco anos. A analise da percepcao da imagem corporal foi realizada utilizando-se o protocolo de Stunkard et al. (1983). Foram realizadas medidas de massa corporal, estatura, circunferencias (cintura, quadril e braco) e da dobra cutânea tricipital. Para a analise dos dados, foi utilizada analise de correlacao de Spearman, regressao linear multipla e regressao de Poisson. RESULTADOS: As silhuetas 5 e 6 e as silhuetas 4 e 3 foram as mais indicadas como reais e ideais, respectivamente. A maior parte das idosas (72,6%) estava insatisfeita com sua imagem corporal em funcao do excesso de peso. Os modelos de regressao com maior poder de predicao da silhueta real levaram em consideracao a circunferencia de cintura (74% de explicacao) e a circunferencia da cintura e dobra cutânea tricipital (77% de explicacao). A prevalencia de insatisfacao com a imagem corporal foi 1,42 vez maior nas idosas classificadas em situacao de risco, considerando-se a area de gordura do braco. CONCLUSOES:As medidas de cintura e de braco foram as mais relevantes para a imagem corporal do grupo. A grande prevalencia de insatisfacao com a imagem corporal remete a necessidade de intervencoes nutricionais e psicologicas no grupo de idosas.
Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease: overlap of pathogenic mechanisms

This article compares β-amyloid precursor protein (β-APP) disorders exemplified by Alzheimer's disease (AD), with prion protein (PrP) disorders, exemplified by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and scrapie in animals. Although there are obvious differences in the etiology and pathogenesis of both sets of disorders, a remarkable number of similarities exist. Both sets of disorders are characterized clinically by age-related sporadic and familial diseases. In both, an abnormal form of a neuronal membrane protein appears to play a key role in the pathogenesis: β-A4 peptide in AD and PrPCJD in CJD. Both β-A4 and PrPCJD are amyloidogenic. Neuritic plaques characteristic of AD were once thought to be exclusively associated with β-A4 amyloid; however, some pedigrees with familial prion disease produced neuritic plaques with PrP amyloid cores. Finally, β-APP accumulation in skeletal muscle has been implicated in the age-related muscle disorder, inclusion body myositis. A similar myopathy has recently been discovered in transgenic mice expressing high levels of normal PrP. These similarities suggest that what is learned about one set of disorders may be applicable to the other.
Safety Issues of Long-Term Glucose Load in Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis—A 7-Year Cohort Study

Background Effects of long-term glucose load on peritoneal dialysis (PD) patient safety and outcomes have seldom been reported. This study demonstrates the influence of long-term glucose load on patient and technique survival. Methods We surveyed 173 incident PD patients. Long-term glucose load was evaluated by calculating the average dialysate glucose concentration since initiation of PD. Risk factors were assessed by fitting Cox's models with repeatedly measured time-dependent covariates. Results We noted that older age, higher glucose concentration, and lower residual renal function (RRF) were significantly associated with a worse patient survival. We found that female gender, absence of diabetes, lower glucose concentration, use of icodextrin, higher serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and higher RRF were significantly associated with a better technique survival. Conclusions Long-term glucose load predicted mortality and technique failure in chronic PD patients. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing glucose load in PD patients.
Determination of sphingosine kinase activity in biological samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Sphingosine kinase (SphK) is a key enzyme in modulating the levels of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) as well as an important enzyme in numerous biological responses. Using C17-sphingosine as a substrate, we established a rapid, sensitive and highly efficient method for determination of SphK activity by analyzing the product C17-sphingosine 1-phosphate (C17-S1P) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The standard curve for C17-S1P was linear over a wide range (10-1000 ng/mL) with correlation coefficient (r(2)) greater than 0.999. The lower limit of quantification for C17-S1P was 10 ng/mL. The K(m) values for C17-sphingosine and ATP were determined to be 28.17 and 188.5 microM, respectively. More importantly, the SphK activity dramatically increased in cultured HEK 293 cells expressing wild-type SphK1 as well as cells treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a sphingosine kinase activator. In contrast, the SphK activity decreased in cultured HEK 293 cells treated with dimethylsphngosine, a sphingosine kinase inhibitor. In conclusion, this method was sensitive and rapid in the determination of SphK acitivity, providing striking utilities in exploring the sphingosine kinase signaling pathway and screening active compounds targeting SphK activity.