Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels and 6-year change in peripheral nerve function and neurological signs.

BACKGROUND Low vitamin B12 and high homocysteine (Hcy) levels are common in older adults and may be associated with worse neurological function. The aim of this study is to determine whether changes in B12 or Hcy levels are associated with longitudinal changes in peripheral nerve function and clinical neurological signs and symptoms. METHODS Participants aged 60 years and older at baseline (n = 678; 72.2 ± 6.2 years; 43.5% male) were from the InCHIANTI Study. Low B12 (<260 pmol/L) and high Hcy (≥13 μmol/L) were measured at baseline and 3-year follow-up. Neurological function was assessed by peroneal nerve conduction amplitude (compound motor action potential) and velocity, neurological examination, and peripheral neuropathy symptoms at baseline, 3-year, and 6-year follow-up. RESULTS At baseline, 43.8% had low B12 levels and 58.6% had high Hcy levels. Over 6 years, 12.4% declined to poor compound motor action potential (<1 mV) and 42.1% declined to poor nerve conduction velocity (<40 m/s). In mixed models analyses, sustained high Hcy was associated with worse compound motor action potential compared with sustained normal Hcy (p = .04), adjusting for demographics, diabetes, and folate level. Participants whose Hcy level became high at follow-up were more likely to become unable to detect monofilament at 6-year follow-up compared with those with sustained normal Hcy (odds ratio: 5.4; 95% CI: 1.5-19.0), adjusting for demographics, diabetes, body mass index, and peripheral arterial disease. There was no association with vitamin B12 level or with symptoms. CONCLUSIONS High Hcy may be associated with worse sensory and motor peripheral nerve function. Because poor nerve function has been associated with lower strength and physical performance, these results have important implications for disability in older adults.
Legal Professionals and Transnational Law-Making: A Case of Distributed Agency

In institutional theory, it is a challenge to explain how rule-setting occurs in transnational contexts with high rule ambiguity and distributed agency. In this article, we address this problem by arguing that emergent and deliberate institutional strategies, though often treated as exclusive opposites, need to be considered in concert. This is demonstrated by analysing transnational law-making in the context of commercial and corporate law. Transnational law-making is thereby conceived as a process driven by the practical problem-solving and sense-making efforts of legal practitioners in large international law firms and international legal associations. Focal actors can exploit the results of this process to deliberately influence the development of law. A concept of two nested cycles of incidental and strategic law-making is employed to explain how dominant influences of common law become interwoven with influences from multiple other legal traditions that eventually trickle up. This article highlights the role of professionals as practice-based experts engaging in practical and political actions, the effects of which shape transnational rule-setting.
Effects of whole-body cryotherapy on a total antioxidative status and activities of antioxidative enzymes in blood of depressive multiple sclerosis patients

Abstract Objectives. Oxidative stress (OS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS patients depression is often observed. Cryotherapy might have an effect on OS. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of whole body cryotherapy (WBCT) on changes in total antioxidative status (TAS) of plasma and activities of antioxidative enzymes in erythrocytes from depressive and non depressive MS patients. Methods. Twenty-two MS patients with secondary progressive disease course (12 depressive and 10 non depressive) were treated with 10 exposures in a cryochamber. Before and after WBCT the plasma TAS and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the erythrocytes were measured. Results. The level of TAS in depressive MS group was significantly lower than in non depressive MS (P < 0.0003). WBCT increased the level of TAS in depressive (P < 0.002) more than in non depressive MS patients (P < 0.01). WBCT treatment of MS patients resulted in the significant increase of TAS level in plasma but had no effects on activities of SOD and CAT. Conclusions. Our results indicate that WBCT suppresses OS in MS patients, especially in depressive patients.
Discordant Patterns of Genetic Variation at Two Chloroquine Resistance Loci in Worldwide Populations of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

ABSTRACT Mutations in the chloroquine resistance (CQR) transporter gene of Plasmodium falciparum (Pfcrt; chromosome 7) play a key role in CQR, while mutations in the multidrug resistance gene (Pfmdr1; chromosome 5) play a significant role in the parasite's resistance to a variety of antimalarials and also modulate CQR. To compare patterns of genetic variation at Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 loci, we investigated 460 blood samples from P. falciparum-infected patients from four Asian, three African, and three South American countries, analyzing microsatellite (MS) loci flanking Pfcrt (five loci [∼40 kb]) and Pfmdr1 (either two loci [∼5 kb] or four loci [∼10 kb]). CQR Pfmdr1 allele-associated MS haplotypes showed considerably higher genetic diversity and higher levels of subdivision than CQR Pfcrt allele-associated MS haplotypes in both Asian and African parasite populations. However, both Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 MS haplotypes showed similar levels of low diversity in South American parasite populations. Median-joining network analyses showed that the Pfcrt MS haplotypes correlated well with geography and CQR Pfcrt alleles, whereas there was no distinct Pfmdr1 MS haplotype that correlated with geography and/or CQR Pfmdr1 alleles. Furthermore, multiple independent origins of CQR Pfmdr1 alleles in Asia and Africa were inferred. These results suggest that variation at Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 loci in both Asian and African parasite populations is generated and/or maintained via substantially different mechanisms. Since Pfmdr1 mutations may be associated with resistance to artemisinin combination therapies that are replacing CQ, particularly in Africa, it is important to determine if, and how, the genetic characteristics of this locus change over time.
The Open Method of Co-ordination and the European Welfare State

Open Method Co-ordination (OMC) has been treated in the literature as the Lazarus of European integration. Developed at the Lisbon Summit, it has led to the reincarnation of the European Union, both in terms of what it does and how it does it. No longer is the European Union to be centred around the Classic Community Method (CCM) of supranational management of regulation. Instead, it is to be a decentred participatory process, in which national governments are no longer controlled and commanded by the imperatives of EC law, but rather commit themselves to review each other's programmes in the light of a series of mutually agreed standards and of domestic and trans-national participatory processes. The European Council and its surrounding machinery is placed at the heart of the Union's policy process, and new types of Union-Member State relations are forged which are centred less around classical legal prescriptions, and more around diffuse national adaptation to a wide array of transnational norms, whose form and origin varies (for initial review, see Hodson and Maher 2001)
Risk: objective or subjective, facts or values

Perhaps the most fundamental divide in risk research is that between proponents of two contradictory concepts of risk. Some take risk as objectively given and determined by physical facts, whereas others see risk as a social construction that is independent of physical facts. These two views are scrutinized, and it is concluded that neither is tenable. Risk is both fact‐laden and value‐laden, and it contains both objective and subjective components. It is argued that both the objectivist and the subjectivist view of risk are failed attempts to rid a complex concept of much of its complexity. The real challenge is to identify the various types of factual and valuational components inherent in statements about risk and to understand how they are combined. The two oversimplifications both stand in the way of a more sophisticated analysis of risk.
Stress and arousal in sedative and stimulant

Self-reported feelings of stress and arousal were assessed in 18 sedative and 9 stimulant smokers, over a typical day of smoking. Prior to each cigarette, self- ratings of stress and arousal were recorded on a brief adjective check list. These self-ratings were then repeated following cigarette smoking. These diary data were split into four blocks to represent: first cigarette of the day, second quartile cigarette, third quartile cigarette, and last cigarette of the day. Analysis of variance revealed signifi- cant effects of smoking on both stress and arousal. Self- rated feelings of stress were significantly reduced follow- ing cigarette smoking (P<0.002); this was found with both subject groups and across all cigarette blocks. Cig- arette smoking also led to increased feelings of arousal (P<0.01), although these changes in arousal differed between subject groups (drug x type-of-smoker interac- tion: P< 0.03). Stimulant smokers showed higher levels of arousal after smoking, across all four cigarette blocks. Sedative smokers showed a slight increase in arousal only after their first cigarette. These findings were not as predicted by the arousal modulation theory of cigarette smoking, which suggests that changes in stress and arousal are interdependent. Instead they show that smoking affects stress and arousal in quite different ways. Stress and arousal should therefore be recognised as independent dimensions within smoking/nicotine re- search.
Predictors of culturally relevant attitudes and expectations of urban music teachers in the USA

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of student/teacher demographic differences, teacher quality indicators (TQIs), teacher preparation and school/community support on urban music teacher attitudes toward and the expectations of their students. The study aimed to verify the psychometric appropriateness of the researcher-created survey instrument and determine what combination of variables best predicted positive teacher attitudes and high teacher expectations. The Culturally Relevant Teaching Questionnaire was administered to K-12 public school music educators (N = 584) from 20 large cities in the USA. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that survey items adequately represented the intended constructs. Four separate simultaneous multiple regression analyses were completed to determine the relative effects of the focal variables on Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching, Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music, Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes and Expectations. Support was a strong predictor for Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music, Expectations and Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes. Preparation was a moderate predictor for all four dependent variables. Teacher/student socio-economic status match was a moderate predictor for Expectations, Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching and Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes. Teacher/student ethnicity match was a moderate predictor for Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes and TQIs have a small but meaningful negative effect on Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music and Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching. Because Support and Preparation were strong predictors and demographic matches were moderate predictors of urban music teacher attitudes and expectations, efforts to improve urban music education should focus on improving local support and increasing culturally relevant preparation of pre-service music educators.
Sex, Dialectics and the Misery of Happiness

This paper offers a reading of Todd Solondz Happiness (1998) in relation to Lacan’s notion of sexual difference. It argues that both the film and theorist present a ‘logic’ of sexuality and sexual difference which seems to owe much to Hegel’s master-slave dialectic but that in the end owes more to Kojeve’s (mis)reading than to Hegel himself. It outlines the usefulness of an expanded notion of the dialectic to understand sexual difference through the inclusion of the Hegelian figures of the stoic, the sceptic and the unhappy consciousness. It also suggest that the priority of identity and non-identity to dialectic logic has been obscured by this focus on the master-slave relationship and that an analysis of the role of the autoerotic develops modes of sexual similarity and difference that cuts across heteronormative gender lines. The anxiety both Lacan and the film seem to suffer with regard to autoerotic is then used to critique their sexual conservatism and their prescriptive rather than descriptive representation of sexual relationships.
Dachsous1b cadherin regulates actin and microtubule cytoskeleton during early zebrafish embryogenesis

Dachsous (Dchs), an atypical cadherin, is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of planar cell polarity, tissue size and cell adhesion. In humans, DCHS1 mutations cause pleiotropic Van Maldergem syndrome. Here, we report that mutations in zebrafish dchs1b and dchs2 disrupt several aspects of embryogenesis, including gastrulation. Unexpectedly, maternal zygotic (MZ) dchs1b mutants show defects in the earliest developmental stage, egg activation, including abnormal cortical granule exocytosis (CGE), cytoplasmic segregation, cleavages and maternal mRNA translocation, in transcriptionally quiescent embryos. Later, MZdchs1b mutants exhibit altered dorsal organizer and mesendodermal gene expression, due to impaired dorsal determinant transport and Nodal signaling. Mechanistically, MZdchs1b phenotypes can be explained in part by defective actin or microtubule networks, which appear bundled in mutants. Accordingly, disruption of actin cytoskeleton in wild-type embryos phenocopied MZdchs1b mutant defects in cytoplasmic segregation and CGE, whereas interfering with microtubules in wild-type embryos impaired dorsal organizer and mesodermal gene expression without perceptible earlier phenotypes. Moreover, the bundled microtubule phenotype was partially rescued by expressing either full-length Dchs1b or its intracellular domain, suggesting that Dchs1b affects microtubules and some developmental processes independent of its known ligand Fat. Our results indicate novel roles for vertebrate Dchs in actin and microtubule cytoskeleton regulation in the unanticipated context of the single-celled embryo. Highlighted article: In the early zebrafish embryo, dcsh1b and dcsh2 organize actin and microtubule networks, sometimes independently of their known ligand Fat, to control several aspects of embryogenesis.
The Effect of Gang Affiliation on Violent Misconduct Among Inmates During the Early Years of Confinement

The pattern of inmate involvement in violent misconduct is established in the early years of imprisonment, yet few studies have looked at the predictors of violent misconduct during the first months or years of imprisonment, and none have studied the effects of gang affiliation during this time period. This study of 2, 158 male inmates who were confined for at least 3 years in a southwestern state prison system finds that gang affiliation has an effect on violent misconduct among inmates beyond the individual risk factors generally attributed to youth and prior criminal history. These findings suggest the need for additional research to clarify the linkage between gang affiliation and inmate violence, with implications for current efforts to supervise gang-affiliated inmates.
Thematic review series: The Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis. An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part V: The discovery of the statins and the end of the controversy 1 Published, JLR Papers in Press, April 3, 2006.

The first four reviews in this series (Steinberg, D. 2004. J. Lipid Res. 45: 1583–1593; Steinberg, D. 2005. J. Lipid Res. 46: 179–190; Steinberg, D. 2005. J. Lipid Res. 46: 2037–2051; Steinberg, D. 2006. J. Lipid Res. 47: 1–14) traced the gradual accumulation of evidence, evidence of several different kinds, supporting the lipid hypothesis. They tracked the history from Anitschkow's 1913 classic work on the cholesterol-fed rabbit model to the breakthrough 1984 Coronary Primary Prevention Trial, the first large, randomized, double-blind primary intervention trial showing that decreasing blood cholesterol (using cholestyramine) significantly reduces coronary heart disease events. At that point, for the first time, decreasing blood cholesterol levels became an official national public health goal. Still, only a small fraction of patients at high risk were getting appropriate cholesterol-lowering treatment, and a number of important clinical questions remained unanswered. This final review in the series traces the early studies that led to the discovery of the statins and briefly reviews the now familiar large-scale clinical trials demonstrating their safety and their remarkable effectiveness in reducing coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality.
Formatively Evaluating the Reading Progress of First-Grade English Learners in Multiple-Language Classrooms

This study provides descriptive data on first-grade reading proficiency of English learners in multiple-language settings. Using curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) to measure oral reading fluency (ORF) and a nonsense word— reading fluency (NWF) measure, weekly scores during the final 6 weeks of the first-grade school year indicated gains of approximately one word per minute each week on ORF and two words per minute each week on NWF. The results are very similar to the progress of non—English learners from previously documented studies of first-grade performance using CBM-R. Participating students experienced significant gains in both ORF and NWF in 6 weeks. By the end of the first grade, English learners in this study read a mean of 46 words per minute on the CBM-R. The correlation between the scores for ORF and NWF at the end of first grade was strong (r = .86). Weak correlations of fluency measures with student language proficiency and teacher ratings were found. Educational implications and future research are discussed.
Efficacy of atypical v. typical antipsychotics in the treatment of early psychosis: meta-analysis

Background There is an ongoing debate about the use of atypical antipsychotics as a first-line treatment for first-episode psychosis. Aims To examine the evidence base for this recommendation. Method Meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials in the early phase of psychosis, looking at long-term discontinuation rates, short-term symptom changes, weight gain and extrapyramidal side-effects. Trials were identified using a combination of electronic (Cochrane Central, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO) and manual searches. Results Fifteen randomised controlled trials with a total of 2522 participants were included. No significant differences between atypical and typical drugs were found for discontinuation rates (odds ratio (OR) = 0.7, 95% CI 0.4 to 1.2) or effect on symptoms (standardised mean difference (SMD) = –0.1, 95% CI –0.2 to 0.02). Participants on atypical antipsychotics gained 2.1 kg (95% CI 0.1 to 4.1) more weight than those on typicals, whereas those on typicals experienced more extrapyramidal side-effects (SMD = –0.4, 95% CI –0.5 to –0.2). Conclusions There was no evidence for differences in efficacy between atypical and typical antipsychotics, but there was a clear difference in the side-effect profile.
Looking into the eyes of a conductor performing Lerdahl's “Time after Time”

The eye movements of a conductor were tracked during a performance of Lerdahl's “Time after time”. The analysis of the data revealed that, for most of the time, the conductor was looking at the score, rather than the performers. Most of the score-reading was in anticipation of the music to be played. Micro- and macro-anticipations could be defined, the former being between 2 to 5 seconds in advance, the later being more than 5 seconds in advance. The largest visual anticipations were as long as 10 seconds. The longer anticipations were found to correspond to the occurrence of those thematic cells the conductor considered to be of expressive importance for the piece. This suggests that the conductor's eye movements were governed on a small scale by the coordination of instrumental performance and on the large scale by his musical conception of the piece.
Downregulation of MicroRNA‐320d predicts poor overall survival and promotes the growth and invasive abilities in glioma

Previous studies have demonstrated that miRNAs play an important role in tumor development and progression. The role of miR‐320d has been studied in several cancers except for glioma. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression levels, biological function, and mechanism of miR‐320d in glioma. The expression levels of miR‐320d were detected in glioma tissues and cell lines (U87 and U251) by RT‐qPCR. Cell proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and transwell assays were performed in glioma cell lines transfected with miR‐320d mimics or controls to evaluate the effects of miR‐320d in vitro. The expression levels of invasive‐related proteins were determined by Western blot analysis. Results showed that the expression of miR‐320d was significantly decreased in glioma tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR‐320d could significantly suppress cell growth, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis as well as cell cycle at G0/G1 arrest in U87 and U251 cell lines. Additionally, expression levels of MMP‐2, MMP‐9, N‐cadherin, and integrin‐β1 reduced, while E‐cadherin increased in miR‐320d mimic group. Overall, this study is the first to demonstrate that miR‐320d may serve as an independent prognostic factor, indicating that miR‐320d is a biomarker for prognosis and therapy in glioma.
State-Sponsored Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators: Who Participates and Associated Implications for Future Offerings

Professional development (PD) for early childhood educators has received increased attention as a means of bolstering young children’s learning and development. Theory and research indicate that educators’ characteristics play roles in both their own learning and that of children; however, little research has explored who participates in PD. This study provides an in-depth description of the backgrounds and qualifications, positions and settings, knowledge, and beliefs of educators participating in PD offerings. These educator characteristics have been identified as important factors in adult learning theory with implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of adult learning. Descriptive analysis revealed considerable variability in many of these characteristics. Findings yield practical implications for the design of future large-scale PD efforts in terms of format, content, and marketing.
Nutrition and Obesity in the Chronic Mentally ILL

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the need for nutrition intervention in a group of people living in mental health residential houses in the Northern Sydney Area. Method: A nutrition assessment was conducted by the researcher using a face-to-face interview with mental health residents and a survey on medical background completed by case managers. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly greater than that reported for the general population. Respondents also had a significantly higher prevalence of abdominal obesity than the general population. No respondent met the minimum core food group requirements as outlined in the 12345+Food and Nutrition Plan. Conclusions: The needs assessment has shown that nutrition promotion is required in this group. The task ahead is to motivate the group to change their food and nutrition behaviours, where many barriers to a healthy lifestyle exist.