Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral findings and a proposal for a dental health care program for patients with Duchenne type muscular dystrophy.

SUMMARY A total of 43 patients with muscular dystrophy of the Duchenne type were separated into the three groups by calendar and dental age. Oral examinations, questionnaires, and observations of dental behavior were recorded to propose a dental health management program for the particular problems associated with these patients. Three general conclusions were drawn from this study.
The cognitive neuroscience of motivation and learning

Recent advances in the cognitive neuroscience of motivation and learning have demonstrated a critical role for midbrain dopamine and its targets in reward prediction. Converging evidence suggests that midbrain dopamine neurons signal a reward prediction error, allowing an organism to predict, and to act to increase, the probability of reward in the future. This view has been highly successful in accounting for a wide range of reinforcement learning phenomena in animals and humans. However, while current theories of midbrain dopamine provide a good account of behavior known as habitual or stimulus-response learning, we review evidence suggesting that other neural and cognitive processes are involved in motivated, goal-directed behavior. We discuss how this distinction resembles the classic distinction in the cognitive neuroscience of memory between nondeclarative and declarative memory systems, and discuss common themes between mnemonic and motivational functions. Finally, we present data demonstrating links between mnemonic processes and reinforcement learning. The past decade has seen a growth of interest in the cognitive neuroscience of motivation and reward. This is largely rooted in a series of neurophysiology studies of the response properties of dopamine-containing midbrain neurons in primates receiving reward (Schultz, 1998). The responses of these neurons were subsequently interpreted in terms of reinforcement learning, a computational framework for trial and error learning from reward (Houk, Adams, & Barto, 1995; Montague, Dayan, & Sejnowski, 1996; Schultz, Dayan, & Montague, 1997). Together with
The Dermatology Life Quality Index: assessing the efficacy of biological therapies for psoriasis

Background Clinical trials show improvement in physical and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) measures in patients with psoriasis treated with biologics compared with placebo. However, these reports only give limited interpretation of the meaning of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores and provide limited comparison data.
Broadening the Scope of Poverty and Sexuality: Should Non-Conforming Sexuality be a Dimension of Development?

The existence and deepening of (global) poverty and inequality is at the core of development. However, the close connection between non-conforming sexuality and poverty is habitually overlooked. The study seeks to underpin that non-conforming sexuality should be a dimension of the social development paradigm. Thus, the study explores the connections between the public construct of homosexuality, experienced sexuality-based deprivations and understandings of freedom in the case of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals in Kampala, Uganda. For this purpose, ten weeks exploratory fieldwork was conducted in Kampala from late January to early April 2015. The data collection included triangulation of eight weeks of participant observation and eleven qualitative semi-structured interviews with self-identified LGBT individuals. The findings were thematically analysed, and theorized with the capability approach. The study finds that the socio-structural poverties such as social ostracism from family, culture and religion are constitutive of LGBT individuals’ lived experiences in Kampala. Furthermore, the study shows that LGBT individuals in Kampala are deprived of any free sexual agency to choose how to be, what to be and with whom to be publicly and privately. The study thus concludes, if the social development paradigm is to adhere to its own definition of development as freedom, it needs to stop overlooking the connection between non-conforming sexuality and poverty.
Reinforcement sensitivity theory, research, applications and future

In this chapter we review the approach-avoidance process theory of personality proposed by Jeffrey Alan Gray (1970, 1973), now widely known as reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST). We begin by placing RST in the broader context of theory and research concerning approach and avoidance motivation. We then provide a snapshot of the animal research upon which the brain-behavior systems of RST were based. Next we discuss the vexed issue of how these systems might manifest themselves in personality space, and we review the latest empirical tests of RST as an explanation of personality variation. Finally, we consider applications of RST beyond personality: specifically, we review current opinion on the relevance of RST to psychopathology and clinical dysfunction and the potential for RST to underlie achievement motivation in learning and performance contexts. We conclude by looking to the future and highlighting a major challenge that we believe RST now faces.
Influence of Teacher Quality Variables on Nigerian Primamry School Pupils' Achievement in English Language

This study investigated the relationship that existed between teacher quality variables and primary school pupils’ achievement in English Language. The study was a correlational type. The sample of the study consisted of three thousand three hundred and seven (3307) pupils and four hundred and twenty five (425) teachers that were selected through multi-stage sampling technique among primary five pupils and their teachers in South Western Nigeria. The instrument used for the data collection include: Teacher Assessment Style Questionnaire (TSQ) and English Language Achievement Test (ELAT). Two research questions were raised in the course of the study. Multiple Regression Statistical Method was used for data analysis. Results indicated that significant relationship existed among the variables of interest. It was therefore recommended that more studies on various disciplines were needed in Nigeria so that efforts at improving the standard of education could be enhanced.
XY Needs in Education.

This project examined the unique needs of boys in education. Biologically and physically, male students’ developmental needs differ from their female counterparts. As a result, their educational needs are typically underserved and misunderstood in the standard co-educational classroom. This misunderstanding has led to a gap in educational achievement with girls outperforming boys throughout their school careers, from kindergarten through college. The purpose of this study is to establish the validity of boys’ differential needs. Five elementary school teachers, awarded their teaching credential within the past six years and within their first six years of teaching, were recruited to participate in an interview examining their knowledge of the specific needs of boys in education and their experiences regarding such. Questions were semi-structured in nature. Consistent with the literature review, results indicated abundant experience with sex-related differences in behavior but generally without the knowledge of why and without informed strategies to address them. Major findings included consistent conveyance of boys’ behavior as immature, encompassing references to self-control, distractibility, talkativeness, and impulsivity. Additionally, teachers unanimously reported feeling unprepared by their teaching programs for the different challenges they face in the classroom surrounding the topic of boy related needs. Based on these findings, a review of teacher credential programs is recommended in order to incorporate training that better equips future educators to deal with relevant issues of classroom management as well as developmentally appropriate milestones in students’ lives, biologically, cognitively and physically. XY Needs in Education 5 Chapter
NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION Recruits PHOSPHATE2 to Target the Phosphate Transporter PT2 for Degradation during the Regulation of Arabidopsis Phosphate Homeostasis[W]

Elucidating the mechanism of a plant’s responses to phosphate deficiency will help to breed plants that can utilize environmental phosphate more efficiently. Here, we show that the level of the phosphate transporter PT2 is regulated by NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION and PHOSPHATE2 in a phosphate-responsive manner. The NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTION (NLA) gene was initially shown to function in nitrogen limitation responses; however, recent work shows that the nla mutant hyperaccumulates Pi, phenocopying the Pi signaling mutant pho2. PHO2 encodes a putative E2 conjugase, UBC24. Here, we show that NLA is an E3 ligase that specifically requires UBC24 for polyubiquitination in Arabidopsis thaliana. Among five members of the Pht1 Pi-transporter family tested, NLA associates only with PT2 (Pht1;4). The NLA-UBC24 pair mediates polyubiquitination of PT2 but not PT1. Posttranslational decay of PT2 at high Pi is blocked in pho2 and inhibited by MG132, indicating the requirement of UBC24 and 26S proteasomes. Consistent with NLA/UBC24 function, induced NLA expression causes a UBC24-dependent decrease in PT2 levels. Confocal microscopy of fusion proteins revealed an NLA/PT2 interaction at the plasma membrane. Collectively, these results show that under Pi-replete conditions, NLA and UBC24 target the PT2 transporter for destruction. During the Pi deprivation response, NLA and PHO2 transcripts are cleaved by miR399 and miR827, respectively, and our results suggest that this downregulation relieves the posttranslational repression of PT2, allowing it to accumulate and participate in Pi uptake. Our work provides additional molecular details describing Pi signaling/homeostasis regulation by identifying NLA and UBC24 as partners and PT2 as one of their downstream targets.
Changes in Odor Sweetness Resulting from Implicit Learning of a Simultaneous Odor-Sweetness Association: An Example of Learned Synesthesia ☆ ☆☆

Abstract In two experiments the smelled sweetness of odors was increased by using them as flavorants of sucrose solution. Experiment 1 used blind experimenters to compare a target odor mixed with sucrose with a control odor mixed with water during masked training trials. The increased sweetness of the target odor was unaffected by whether or not subjects revealed some explicit knowledge of the contingencies in a post-conditioning recognition test. Experiment 2 found that such a conditioned increase in odor sweetness occurred whether training solutions were sipped from a cup or sucked through a straw. Using a frequency test designed to provide a sensitive assay of contingency awareness, there was still no indication that this affected conditioning. It was concluded that such modification of the taste-properties of odors results from implicit simultaneous associative learning and provides an example of learned synesthesia.
Infused Therapy and Survival in Older Patients Diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer who Received Trastuzumab

We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare data (2000–2006) to describe treatment and survival in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who received trastuzumab. There were 610 patients with a mean age of 74 years. Overall, 32% received trastuzumab alone and 47% received trastuzumab plus a taxane. In multivariate analysis, trastuzumab plus chemotherapy was associated with a lower adjusted cancer mortality rate (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.54; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.39–0.74; p < .001) than trastuzumab alone among patients who received trastuzumab as part of first-line therapy. Adding chemotherapy to first-line trastuzumab for metastatic breast cancer is associated with improved cancer survival.
Effects of zeolite a or clinoptilolite in diets of growing swine.

Growth, nutrient balance, plasma ammonia levels and urinary p-cresol excretion were evaluated in growing pigs fed diets containing various levels of zeolite A or clinoptilolite. In one growth trial, crossbred pigs averaging 25 kg initial body weight were assigned to diets containing no zeolite, . 3% zeolite A or . 5% clinoptilolite for a 6-wk growing phase trial. Average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADF) and feed/gain (F/G) were unaffected by supplementation of either zeolite in the diet, but metabolizable energy (ME) utilization was improved by feeding diets containing either zeolite. A second growth trial utilized the same crossbred pigs, which averaged 65 kg initial body weight, and were assigned to diets containing no zeolite, 1% zeolite A or 5% clinoptilolite for an 8-wk finishing phase trial. Average daily gain, ADF, and ME utilization were unaffected by feeding either zeolite diet, while F/G was increased in pigs fed the diet containing 5% clinoptilolite. In two nutrient balance trials, 16 crossbred pigs averaging 7.5 kg in initial body weight were fed diets containing 0, 1, 2 or 3% zeolite A in one trial and 16 crossbred pigs averaging 7.0 kg initial body weight were fed diets containing 0, 2.5, 5.0 or 7.5% clinoptilolite in a second trial. In both trials, digestible energy, ME, N-corrected ME and ME corrected for N balance and zeolite levels were linearly reduced as increasing amounts of either zeolite were fed. Daily fecal N increased and apparent digestibility of N was linearly reduced by feeding increasing amounts of zeolite A or clinoptilolite. Biological value of protein was improved linearly as higher levels of zeolite A were fed, indicating that there may be some ammonia binding to zeolite A in the gastrointestinal tract. Net protein utilization was reduced by feeding increasing levels of clinoptilolite in the diet. Calcium, P, Mg, Na, K and Fe retentions were linearly reduced by feeding increasing amounts of zeolite A in the diet, while increasing levels of clinoptilolite caused only P retention to be linearly reduced. Both free and conjugated forms of urinary p-cresol were linearly reduced by feeding increasing levels of clinoptilolite. Plasma ammonia levels were reduced at subsequent bleedings after a meal and by increasing levels of clinoptilolite.
Resource optimization in QoS multicast routing of real-time multimedia

We consider a network design problem, where applications require various levels of Quality-of-Service (QoS) while connections have limited performance. Suppose that a source needs to send a message to a heterogeneous set of receivers. The objective is to design a low-cost multicast tree from the source that would provide the QoS levels (e.g., bandwidth) requested by the receivers. We assume that the QoS level required on a link is the maximum among the QoS levels of the receivers that are connected to the source through the link. In accordance, we define the cost of a link to be a function of the QoS level that it provides. This definition of cost makes this optimization problem more general than the classical Steiner tree problem. We consider several variants of this problem all of which are proved to be NP-Hard. For the variant where QoS levels of a link can vary arbitrarily and the cost function is linear in its QoS level, we give a heuristic that achieves a multicast tree with cost at most a constant times the cost of an optimal multicast tree. The constant depends on the best constant approximation ratio of the classical Steiner tree problem. For the more general variant, where each link has a given QoS level and cost we present a heuristic that generates a multicast tree with cost O(min{logr,k}) times the cost of an optimal tree, where r denotes the number of receivers, and k denotes the number of different levels of QoS required. We generalize this result to hold for the case of many multicast groups.
The Effects of Representativeness and Concreteness on the "Guessability" of Blissymbols.

Twenty student volunteers, naive to Blissymbols, were asked to “guess” the meaning of 64 Blissymbols, each presented without their word gloss. The symbols and their verbal labels were each varied orthogonally on two dimensions of representativeness of the symbol (high/low) and concreteness of the word they were designed to represent (high/low). The representativeness values were obtained from the norms reported by Yovetich and Paivio (1980), while the concreteness values were obtained from the norms reported by the Paivio, Yuille, and Madigan (1968). The subjects' responses were subsequently scored as either “exact/synonymous” or “other. ” Results of the analysis of subjects' mean responses for the two dimensions of Blissymbols, using paired f-tests, revealed that the guessability of a symbol's gloss was significantly affected by the dimension of representativeness. The results have implications for understanding the psychological attributes of the graphic representations which are used in clinical and/or .
Treatment of aspergillosis: clinical practice guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Thomas J. Walsh, Elias J. Anaissie, David W. Denning, Raoul Herbrecht, Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis, Kieren A. Marr, Vicki A. Morrison, Brahm H Segal, William J. Steinbach, David A. Stevens, Jo-Anne van Burik, John R. Wingard, and Thomas F. Patterson Pediatric Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio; Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland; Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York; Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina; Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, and Stanford University, Palo Alto, California; University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida; University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; and University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
Human Kallikrein-2, Prostate Specific Antigen and Free- Prostate Specific Antigen in Combination to Discriminate Prostate Cancer from Benign Diseases in Syrian Patients.

BACKGROUND The high incidence of prostate cancer as the most common malignancy in males in many countries raises the question of developing reliable detection tests. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test is the most widely used for screening for prostate cancer; however, its low specificity elevates the number of unnecessarily biopsies. Serum human kallikrein-2 (hK2) is considered as a promising marker, and especially its ratio to fPSA, for predicting the presence of malignancy to select the best choice referring to biopsy or surveillance. In this study, we investigated the role of hK2 and its combinations with other markers to discriminate prostate cancer from benign diseases in Syrian patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective oriented cross-sectional cohort study, serum samples were collected from patients referred to many Hospitals in Damascus, Syria, between May 2011 and March 2012, and diagnosed with biopsy proven benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) or prostate cancer (PCa). Serum was analyzed for hK2, PSA and fPSA, and the ratios of fPSA/PSA and hK2/fPSA were calculated. RESULTS We found that mean hK2/fPSA ratios were significantly higher (P=0.01) in prostate cancer patients than in the BPH or control groups. Also the ratio hk2/fPSA gave the largest area under the curve (AUC:0.96) which was significantly larger than for fPSA/PSA (AUC:0.41) indicative of higher specificity. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that the ratio of hK2/fPSA might be superior to the use of fPSA/PSA alone. The hK2 could be shown to enhance the early detection of prostate cancer; especially the ratio hK2/fPSA improves specificity and hence may reduce the number of negative biopsies.
Accumulation of BDCA1+ Dendritic Cells in Interstitial Fibrotic Lung Diseases and Th2-High Asthma

Dendritic cells (DCs) significantly contribute to the pathology of several mouse lung disease models. However, little is known of the contribution of DCs to human lung diseases. In this study, we examined infiltration with BDCA1+ DCs of human lungs in patients with interstitial lung diseases or asthma. Using flow cytometry, we found that these DCs increased by 5∼6 fold in the lungs of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which are both characterized by extensive fibrosis in parenchyma. The same DC subset also significantly increased in the lung parenchyma of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, although the degree of increase was relatively modest. By employing immunofluorescence microscopy using FcεRI and MHCII as the specific markers for BDCA1+ DCs, we found that the numbers of BDCA1+ DCs also significantly increased in the airway epithelium of Th2 inflammation-associated asthma. These findings suggest a potential contribution of BDCA1+ DCs in human lung diseases associated with interstitial fibrosis or Th2 airway inflammation.
Impairment of intracerebral arteriole dilation responses after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Laboratory investigation.

OBJECT Cerebrovascular dysfunction after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) may contribute to ischemia, but little is known about the contribution of intracerebral arterioles. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that SAH inhibits the vascular reactivity of intracerebral arterioles and documented the time course of this dysfunction. METHODS Subarachnoid hemorrhage was induced using an endovascular filament model in halothane-anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. Penetrating intracerebral arterioles were harvested 2, 4, 7, or 14 days postinsult, cannulated using a micropipette system that allowed luminal perfusion and control of luminal pressure, and evaluated for reactivity to vasodilator agents. RESULTS Spontaneous tone developed in all pressurized (60 mm Hg) intracerebral arterioles harvested in this study (from 66 rats), with similar results in the sham and SAH groups. Subarachnoid hemorrhage did not affect dilation responses to acidic pH (6.8) but led to a persistent impairment of endothelium-dependent dilation responses to adenosine triphosphate (p < 0.01), as well as a transient attenuation (p < 0.05) of vascular smooth muscle-dependent dilation responses to adenosine, sodium nitroprusside, and 8-Br-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Impairment of NO-mediated dilation was more sustained than adenosine- and 8-Br-cGMP-induced responses (up to 7 days postinsult compared with 2 days). All smooth muscle-dependent responses returned to sham levels by 14 days after SAH. CONCLUSIONS Subarachnoid hemorrhage led to a persistent impairment of endothelium-dependent dilation and a transient attenuation of vascular smooth muscle-dependent dilation responses to adenosine. Impairment of NO-mediated dilation occurred when the response to cGMP was intact, suggesting a change in cGMP levels rather than an alteration in intracellular mechanisms downstream from cGMP.