Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Legionnaires Disease With Focal Neurologic Deficits and a Reversible Lesion in the Splenium of the Corpus Callosum: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract Patients with Legionnaires pneumonia frequently present with neurologic abnormalities but normal neuroimaging findings. We present a case of a healthy 52-year-old man presenting with severe Legionella pneumonia and a unique constellation of focal neurologic deficits including bowel and bladder incontinence, hemiparesis, and ataxia with progression to somnolence. A transient lesion was identified at the splenium of the corpus callosum on magnetic resonance imaging. His recovery was marked by prolonged limb and oral apraxia, but the patient improved with an early combination antibiotic treatment and the late use of corticosteroids. To our knowledge, this is the ninth case reported in the English literature of a patient presenting with Legionnaires disease with neurologic deficits and a reversible lesion at the splenium of the corpus callosum. We present a review of the literature including previous cases, with a focus on neurologic examination, neuroimaging findings, combination antibiotic therapy, and the use of corticosteroids.
Effect of inhaled budesonide on seasonal changes in sensitivity and maximal response to methacholine in pollen-sensitive asthmatic subjects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of inhaled budesonide on modifications of the provocative concentration of agonist causing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (PC20) and maximal response plateau to inhaled methacholine during the pollen season in pollen-sensitive subjects with mild asthma. The effects of inhaled budesonide (800 micrograms.day-1) on the threshold value (PC20) and maximal response plateau to inhaled methacholine were studied in 28 pollen-sensitive subjects with mild asthma during a pollen season in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel fashion. They were challenged with methacholine (up to 200 mg.ml-1) in February (preseasonal assessment) and during the middle of the pollen season (in May and again in June). Subjects treated with budesonide (n = 13) were protected from the decrease in PC20 seen in the placebo (n = 15) group (geometric mean PC20 placebo group: preseasonal = 8.51, May = 2.19 and June = 1.78 mg.ml-1; budesonide group: preseasonal = 3.71, May = 3.23 and June = 2.40 mg.ml-1; intergroup differences in doubling concentrations, p < 0.05). Among 10 subjects in the placebo group who reached plateau during the preseasonal assessment, seven lost the plateau in May and six in June. In the budesonide group, among seven subjects who reached plateau during the preseasonal assessment, three lost the plateau in May and four in June. Between-group differences were not significant. We conclude that in pollen-sensitive subjects with mild asthma, inhaled budesonide blocks the effects of natural allergen exposure on the methacholine threshold value. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lithospheric waveguide beneath the Midwestern United States; massive low‐velocity zone in the lower crust

Variations in seismic velocities are essential in developing a better understanding of continental plate tectonics. Fortunately, the USArray has provided an excellent set of regional phases from the recent M5.6 Oklahoma earthquake (6 November 2011, Table 1) that can be used for such studies. Its strike‐slip mechanism produced an extraordinary set of tangential recordings extending to the northern edge of the USArray. The crossover of the crustal slow S to the faster Sn phase is well observed. SmS has a critical distance of around 2° and its first multiple, SmS2, reaches critical angle near a distance of about 4°, and so on, until SmSn merges with the stronger crustal Love waves. These waveforms are modeled in the period band of 2–100 s by assuming a simple three‐layer crust and a two‐layer mantle, which allows a grid‐search approach. Our results favor a 15 km thick low‐velocity zone (LVZ) in the lower crust with an average shear velocity of less than 3.6 km/s. The short‐period Lg waves (S waves, at periods of 0.5–2 s) travel with velocities near 3.5 km/s and decay with distance faster than high‐frequency Sn (>5.0 Hz) which travels at a velocity of 4.6 km/s and persists to large distances. Although these short‐period waveforms are not modeled, their amplitude and travel times can be explained by adding a small velocity jump just below the Moho with essentially no attenuation. Pn is equally strong but is complicated by the interference produced by the depth phase sP, but well modeled. The P velocities appear normal with no definitive LVZ. While these observations of Sn and Pn are common beneath most cratons, the lower crustal LVZ appears to be anomalous and maybe indicative of hydrous processes, possibly caused by the descending Farallon slab.
Culture and Politics in the Work of Antonio Gramsci

Gramsci is an important figure in the contemporary effort to create a theory and a practice of social change without reproducing the monolithic and totalistic thinking which has divided and often undermined the work of the left. Not offering any blueprints, his work raises questions about the role of intellectuals in social change and possible directions for political/cultural struggle which may avoid past problems. In particular, the Quaderni offers strategies for challenging the idea of the media as a totally coercive ideological discourse and of the power of the state apparatuses as the major force for creating consensus.2 Gramsci's work stresses the commonplace, everyday aspects of social life-that exist even under fascism-and the ways that life is made to appear normal, not spectacular and epic.2 His concern with dissecting the complex nature of hegemony and counter-hegemony in relation to consensus and to the historical formation of ruling and subaltern groups is intimately tied to a view of fascism, not as aberration, but as an extension of already-existing and contradictory social processes. In this paper, I examine Gramsci's contribution to the formulation of the relationship between politics and cultural production. In particular, I explore the ways in which Gramsci's ideas are a response to fascist practices.
Asian Indians Have Enhanced Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Capacity to Produce ATP in Association With Severe Insulin Resistance

OBJECTIVE— Type 2 diabetes has become a global epidemic, and Asian Indians have a higher susceptibility to diabetes than Europeans. We investigated whether Indians had any metabolic differences compared with Northern European Americans that may render them more susceptible to diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— We studied 13 diabetic Indians, 13 nondiabetic Indians, and 13 nondiabetic Northern European Americans who were matched for age, BMI, and sex. The primary comparisons were insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) by measuring mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA), OXPHOS gene transcripts, citrate synthase activity, and maximal mitochondrial ATP production rate (MAPR). Other factors that may cause insulin resistance were also measured. RESULTS— The glucose infusion rates required to maintain identical glucose levels during the similar insulin infusion rates were substantially lower in diabetic Indians than in the nondiabetic participants (P < 0.001), and they were lower in nondiabetic Indians than in nondiabetic Northern European Americans (P < 0.002). mtDNA (P < 0.02), OXPHOS gene transcripts (P < 0.01), citrate synthase, and MAPR (P < 0.03) were higher in Indians irrespective of their diabetic status. Intramuscular triglyceride, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α concentrations were higher, whereas adiponectin concentrations were lower in diabetic Indians. CONCLUSIONS— Despite being more insulin resistant, diabetic Indians had similar muscle OXPHOS capacity as nondiabetic Indians, demonstrating that diabetes per se does not cause mitochondrial dysfunction. Indians irrespective of their diabetic status had higher OXPHOS capacity than Northern European Americans, although Indians were substantially more insulin resistant, indicating a dissociation between mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance.
Learning How to Be a Research-Minded Teacher

Increasing evidence, both in general education and music education, points to the significance of inquiry as a part of teacher preparation. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the ways in which an introductory research project would help preservice music educators understand good music teaching and to discover the extent to which such an experience might foster a continued interest in inquiry. Four upper-level instrumental music education students participated in this case study of their case study of an instrumental music teacher, conducted in the context of an instrumental methods course. The student researchers gathered and analyzed data, presented them to their peers, and submitted a written case study as their final project for the semester. The guiding question for this study was, “What does an inquiry-based case study project reveal about preservice music educators’ images and beliefs in relation to good music teaching? ”
Preschoolers' Understanding of Future Preferences and Its Relation to Theory of Mind and Executive Function Abilities

The aim of this dissertation was to explore whether preschoolers understand that preferences differ over time and between people. The first goal was to determine if 3-, 4-, and 5year-olds could appreciate that their future or “grown-up” preferences may differ from their current ones (self-future condition). This understanding was compared to children’s understanding of the preferences of a grown-up (adult-now condition), or the grown-up preferences of a same-aged peer (peer-future condition). Results from 3 experiments (N = 240) suggest that these types of reasoning develop substantially over the preschool years, and that children are generally proficient by 5 years of age. Results also indicate that thinking about one’s own future preferences is more difficult than thinking about the (future) preferences of others. The second goal of this dissertation was to explore the relations between reasoning about preferences and theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) abilities. Correlational analyses revealed that children’s reasoning about their future preferences and those of others was associated with EF skills, but not with ToM. These findings provide a timely contribution to the expanding research on children’s future-oriented cognition. Implications for theories about perspective-taking abilities, more broadly, and future research are also discussed.
Theory of Mind Deficits following Acute Alcohol Intoxication

Acute alcohol consumption is associated with socially inappropriate behaviour. Such behaviour could in part reflect the potential of alcohol to interfere with social cognition. In this experiment we tested the hypothesis that acute alcohol consumption by regular heavy social drinking young adults would compromise an aspect of social cognition, namely theory of mind (understanding intentions, emotions and beliefs). Participants who had consumed 6–8 units of alcohol showed specific impairments on two theory of mind tests: identification of faux pas and emotion recognition. This result suggests that alcohol consumption could lead to social problems secondary to difficulties in interpreting the behaviour of others due to theory of mind impairments.
The Rodney L . White Center for Financial Research Adverse Selection and Competitive Market Making : Empirical Evidence from a Pure Limit Order Market

In this paper, I estimate and test a model of liquidity provision in a pure limit order market based on Glosten (1994). The estimation strategy is directly based on restrictions on quotes and depths in the limit order book implied by the theoretical model. I nd strong evidence of insu cient depth in the limit order books relative to the model predictions. For most stocks, an extended version of the model with a state dependent market order distribution predicts depths and price revisions that are closer to the empirically observed ones. This paper is based on my dissertation at Carnegie Mellon University. I am indebted to my committee members{Burton Holli eld, Robert Miller, and Duane Seppi. The paper has improved thanks to detailed comments and suggestions by an anonymous referee and Larry Glosten. I thank Ulf Axelson, Bruno Biais, Thierry Foucault, Rick Green, Jonas Niemeyer, Christine Parlour, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Chester Spatt, Per Stromberg, and seminar participants at the 1999 AFA meetings, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, LBS, MIT, NYU, UBC, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wharton for many helpful comments. I thank the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Stockholms Fondb ors Jubileumsfond, and Dextel Findata AB for providing the data set, and the A.P. Sloan and the W.L. Mellon Foundations for generous nancial support.
The Contribution of Immune Infiltrates to Ototoxicity and Cochlear Hair Cell Loss

Cells of the immune system have been shown to infiltrate the cochlea after acoustic trauma or ototoxic drug treatment; however, the contribution of the immune system to hair cell loss in the inner ear is incompletely understood. Most studies have concentrated on the immediate innate response to hair cell damage using CD45 as a broad marker for all immune cells. More recent studies have used RNA sequencing, GeneChip arrays and quantitative PCR to analyze gene expression in the entire cochlea after auditory trauma, leading to a better understanding of the chemokines and cytokines that attract immune cells to the cochlea. Immune suppression by blocking cytokines or immune receptors has been proven to suppress hair cell damage. However, it is now understood that not all immune cells are detrimental to the cochlea. CX3CR1+ resident macrophages protect hair cells from damage mediated by infiltrating immune cells. Systemically, the immune response is associated with both protection and pathology, and it has been implicated in the regeneration of certain tissues after injury. This review focuses on the studies of immune cells in various models of hearing loss and highlights the steps that can be taken to elucidate the connection between the immune response and hearing loss. The interplay between the immune system and tissues that were previously thought to be immune privileged, such as the cochlea, is an emerging research field, to which additional studies of the immune component of the cochlear response to injury will make an important contribution.
Fourier Series for Accurate, Stable, Reduced-Order Models in Large-Scale Linear Applications

A new method, Fourier model reduction, for obtaining stable, accurate, low-order models of very large linear systems is presented. The technique draws on traditional control and dynamical system concepts and utilizes them in a way which is computationally very efficient. Discrete-time Fourier coefficients of the large system are calculated and used to construct a reduced-order model that preserves stability properties of the original system. Many coefficients can be calculated, which results in a very accurate representation of the system dynamics, but only a single factorization of the large system is required. The resulting system can be further reduced using explicit formulae for balanced truncation. The method is applied to two computational fluid dynamic systems, which model unsteady motion of a two-dimensional subsonic airfoil and unsteady flow in a supersonic diffuser. In both cases, the new method is found to work extremely well. Results are compared to models developed using the proper orthogonal decomposition and Arnoldi method. In comparison with these widely used techniques, the new method is computationally more efficient, preserves the stability of the original system, uses both input and output information, and, for smooth transfer functions, is valid over a wide range of frequencies.
Inefficient Nef-Mediated Downmodulation of CD3 and MHC-I Correlates with Loss of CD4+ T Cells in Natural SIV Infection

Recent data suggest that Nef-mediated downmodulation of TCR-CD3 may protect SIVsmm-infected sooty mangabeys (SMs) against the loss of CD4+ T cells. However, the mechanisms underlying this protective effect remain unclear. To further assess the role of Nef in nonpathogenic SIV infection, we cloned nef alleles from 11 SIVsmm-infected SMs with high (>500) and 15 animals with low (<500) CD4+ T-cells/µl in bulk into proviral HIV-1 IRES/eGFP constructs and analyzed their effects on the phenotype, activation, and apoptosis of primary T cells. We found that not only efficient Nef-mediated downmodulation of TCR-CD3 but also of MHC-I correlated with preserved CD4+ T cell counts, as well as with high numbers of Ki67+CD4+ and CD8+CD28+ T cells and reduced CD95 expression by CD4+ T cells. Moreover, effective MHC-I downregulation correlated with low proportions of effector and high percentages of naïve and memory CD8+ T cells. We found that T cells infected with viruses expressing Nef alleles from the CD4low SM group expressed significantly higher levels of the CD69, interleukin (IL)-2 and programmed death (PD)-1 receptors than those expressing Nefs from the CD4high group. SIVsmm Nef alleles that were less active in downmodulating TCR-CD3 were also less potent in suppressing the activation of virally infected T cells and subsequent cell death. However, only nef alleles from a single animal with very low CD4+ T cell counts rendered T cells hyper-responsive to activation, similar to those of HIV-1. Our data suggest that Nef may protect the natural hosts of SIV against the loss of CD4+ T cells by at least two mechanisms: (i) downmodulation of TCR-CD3 to prevent activation-induced cell death and to suppress the induction of PD-1 that may impair T cell function and survival, and (ii) downmodulation of MHC-I to reduce CTL lysis of virally infected CD4+ T cells and/or bystander CD8+ T cell activation.
The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Transtheoretical Model in Exercise Contexts: Korean Studies

This paper reviewed Korean studies in an attempt to verify the generalizability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the transtheoretical model (TTM) in exercise settings. Overall, the studies were in general agreement with the previous findings reported by Western countries. Furthermore, this paper proposed a causal model of exercise behavior incorporating the TPB and TTM constructs, and preliminarily validated using Korean older adults. Their exercise intentions and behaviors were continuously changed under the influence of cognitive and behavioral strategies and social cognitive variables (attitude, group conformity and self-efficacy). Finally, research directions were discussed to extend the cross-cultural generalizability of the theoretical frameworks of exercise behavior.
Beyond Headcount : The Alkire-Foster Approach to Multidimensional Child Poverty Measurement

Is there scope for improving child poverty measurements? The Bristol multidimensional approach (Gordon et al. 2003) has contributed substantially to child poverty measurement, in expanding the income based approach. This model was the first measurement of the headcount of child poverty and is also aligned with the rights based approach and broad international consensus on what dimensions are essential for human development. While the measure improves upon income poverty, it does not account for the breadth, depth, or severity of dimensions of child poverty. The traditional income – FGT – measures in income poverty do account for these (see: Foster, Greer and Thorbecke, 1984). Also, the headcount cannot be broken down by dimension to uncover the components of child poverty in different regions or age groups or by gender.
Performing for the young networked citizen? Celebrity politics, social networking and the political engagement of young people

The use of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, by politicians and entertainers to engage young citizens can be seen as a further example of the emergence of celebrity politics. While regarded by some commentators as further evidence of the trivialization of political life, this article adopts the alternative approach of those scholars who foreground the potential for popular culture and media entertainment to be more socially inclusive, democratizing and influential in public policy making. To-date analysis of celebrity politics has tended to be focused upon the media performances of politicians and political celebrities, based upon a single country and lacking empirical evidence. This article explores what young citizens drawn from three late-modern democratic societies (Australia, United Kingdom and the US) think about the use of social media by politicians and political celebrities and whether it influenced their own outlook on politics? Our conclusions are that young citizens are generally cautiously positive about both politicians and celebrities using social media but felt that they should learn to use it appropriately if they are to rebuild trust and credibility.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the knowledge, attitudes and social representations of cholera in the extreme northern region of Cameroon: the case of Maroua I, Maroua Ii And Mokolo

Introduction An effective fight against cholera requires an in-depth consideration of the knowledge, attitudes and social representations of cholera within a population. Cholera outbreaks persist in the Extreme North of Cameroon because of the inadequate integration of representations of cholera, water and hygiene in the fight against this disease. Through a constructivist intercultural approach not conflicting with the western ethnocentric model, socio-cultural/religious and historical ideologies can be reconciled to provide optimal and sustainable healthcare solutions to the repeated and long lasting cholera epidemics using participative research, intercultural mediation and dialogue in Cameroon. Methods Through a cross-sectional, ethnographic and participative study, data was generated using semi-directed in-depth interviews of key informants, collection of videos, pictures and the completion of 2 pre-tested questionnaire types in 3 communities (Maroua I, Maroua II and Mokolo). Quantitative data was entered using Ms Excel and Epi Info 7, and analysed using Epi Info 7. Qualitative data was analysed inductively using the concept of social representations. Results Results show evidence of the inadequate integration of cultural and socio-cultural factors favouring cholera spread and a respondent population majority unable to identify this (92.82%). Equally identifying environmental and cultural factors, the results bring out the impact of the on-going cholera combating strategy. Conclusion Representations of cholera, cultural and socio-cultural values are not adequately considered in the fight against cholera. We recommend policy-makers and health actors to improve on the integration of these through advocacy, in designing, communicating and implementing effective prevention strategies via participative research, intercultural mediation and dialogue.