Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanical impairment of the aortic media caused by vasa vasorum dysfunction: a potential key element in the pathogenesis of aortic dissection in hypertensive patients.

We read with great interest the recent paper of Osada et al. [1] regarding the role of the vasa vasorum (VV) in the triggering process of aortic dissection. The authors evaluated the history and histopathology of 21 patients with thoracic aortic dissection and discussed some intriguing findings that we would like to comment upon. Although ‘hypertension and advanced age seem to be major predisposing factors for aortic dissection’ [1], a pertinent plausible pathogenetic mechanism is still lacking. Some years ago, we proposed such a mechanism after we investigated the structural and mechanical alterations of the porcine aortic wall, resulting from impairment of VV flow [2]. That study demonstrated that impaired aortic wall blood supply leads to (a) structural abnormalities of the outer media and (b) increased aortic stiffness. As diffusion from the lumen is inadequate to supply the whole thickness of the aortic wall with oxygen and nutrients, our pathogenetic model suggests that a decreased VV flow reportedly occurring in arterial hypertension [3]would nutritionally disadvantage the outer media with unfavourable implications on its mechanical characteristics. Thus, the aortic media will act, from a mechanical perspective, as a two-phase material, i.e. a sufficiently nourished inner part with normal elasticity and an ischaemic outer part with increased stiffness. We found the borderline between these parts to be quite sharp in pigs, with a microscopical outset of dissection often observed at this point. Accordingly, we speculated that interlaminar shear stresses develop at that borderline in hypertensive patients [4], eventually leading to detachment of the layers and aortic dissection [2]. Our team thanks Osada et al. for referencing our work. We were content to see several of their findings supporting our pathogenetic concept. First, the striking histopathological similarities between their clinical and our experimental specimens sustain the idea of ischaemic outer media in chronic hypertension. They report ‘atrophy of the smooth muscle cells’ along with ‘clear abnormalities in the elastic laminae, including fragmentation, and
Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the human frontal eye field facilitates visual awareness

What are the brain mechanisms allowing a stimulus to enter our awareness? Some theories suggest that this process engages resources overlapping with those required for action control, but experimental support for these ideas is still required. Here, we investigated whether the human frontal eye field (FEF), an area known to control eye movements, is involved in visual awareness. Volunteers participated in a backward masking task in which they were able to detect a target in a small proportion of trials. We observed that a single pulse of transcranial magnetic stimulation applied over the FEF shortly before the target's onset facilitated visual sensitivity; subjects were able to detect an otherwise subliminal object. These results show that modulating the neuronal activity of the FEF can enhance visual detection, thereby yielding new insights into the neural basis of visual awareness.
Management Forecast Quality and Capital Investment Decisions

ABSTRACT: Corporate investment decisions require managers to forecast expected future cash flows from potential investments. Although these forecasts are a critical component of successful investing, they are not directly observable by external stakeholders. In this study, we investigate whether the quality of managers' externally reported earnings forecasts can be used to infer the quality of their corporate investment decisions. Relying on the intuition that managers draw on similar skills when generating external earnings forecasts and internal payoff forecasts for their investment decisions, we predict that managers with higher quality external earnings forecasts make better investment decisions. Consistent with our prediction, we find that forecasting quality is positively associated with the quality of both acquisition and capital expenditure decisions. Our evidence suggests that externally observed forecasting quality can be used to infer the quality of capital budgeting decisions within firms. JEL.
Constructing the Self through the Photo selection - Visual Impression Management on Social Networking Websites

This article takes as a point of departure Erving Goffman`s (1959) ideas and the self-discrepancy theory of Higgins (1987) in order to introduce the habits of self-presentation of young people in the online environments. The aim of my article is to examine the reasons for joining SNS and the aspects young people would hope to emphasize on their profile images in social networking sites (SNS). I also focus on the qualities that are considered to be crucial by the 11 to 18-year-olds in order to become popular among their peers in the online community. The analysis is based on the findings of a questionnaire survey carried out in comprehensive schools in Estonia among 11 to 18-year-old pupils (N= 713). The results show that motives with a distinctly social focus dominate among the reasons for creating a profile in SNS. However, visible gender differences occur in the reasons for selecting particular profile images. The findings reveal that girls creating their visual self value both the aesthetic, emotional, self-reflecting as well as aesthetic-symbolical aspects of photographing more than their male counterparts. Furthermore, visual impression management in SNS varies according to the expectations of the reference group at hand, as the profile images of the young are constructed and re-constructed based on the values associated with “the ideal self” or “the ought self”.
Structural Analysis of the Leptospiral Sphingomyelinases: in silico and Experimental Evaluation of Sph2 as an Mg++-Dependent Sphingomyelinase

Background: Leptospiral sphingomyelinases are candidate virulence factors present only in pathogenic Leptospira spp. Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai encodes Sph1, Sph2, Sph3, Sph4 and SphH. Except for Sph4, they all possess the exo-endo-phosphatase domain that groups them under the DNase I superfamily. Methods, Results and Conclusions: Modeling of exo-endo-phosphatase domains reveals high-level structural similarity of Sph2 with the crystal structure of SmcL and BC SMase sphingomyelinases from Listeria ivanovii and Bacillus cereus, respectively. A β-hairpin loop, essential for host cell membrane interaction, is absent in leptospiral sphingomyelinases. Instead, several aromatic amino acids were oriented outward from the surface of these molecules and formed clusters of hydrophobic regions that possibly enables the anchoring of these molecules into the host cell membrane, as demonstrated in Sph2 and Sph3. Sph2 is unique and possesses the Mg++-binding Glu53 residue in the metal-binding site and two His residues (His151 and His286) in the catalytic site. We demonstrate experimentally the Mg++-dependent hemolysis of erythrocytes by rSph2 and its ability to cleave sphingomyelin to ceramide. Anti-Sph2 antibodies neutralized the hemolytic activity of Sph2. In conclusion, we provide evidence showing that Sph2 is a Mg++-dependent hemolysin with both sphingomyelinase and hemolytic activities.
Frozen‐section diagnosis in surgical pathology. A prospective analysis of 526 frozen sections

Five hundred eighty‐six consecutive frozen‐section consultations performed during a 1‐year period were studied prospectively in order to assess the accuracy of the method and develop a quality control mechanism. The overall accuracy was 97.1%. The accuracy of the method with breast lesions was 97.9%. Specimens from the gastrointestinal tract and thyroid were incorrectly interpreted in 5% of the cases. The accuracy for lymph node specimens was 96.2%, with more than 50% consulted out of curiosity. The authors conclude that frozen section of lymph node is not recommended. Most of the errors were sampling errors made by the pathologist. The authors therefore conclude that in clinically suspected malignancy, more than one sample must be examined in order to decrease the false‐negative diagnosis in frozen section.
Maternal body mass index, neonatal lung function and respiratory symptoms in childhood

Recent studies have shown that maternal obesity is associated with increased risk of wheezing in the offspring. We assessed whether impaired neonatal lung function could explain this association. We measured neonatal lung function in 2606 children of our prospective birth cohort. Information about daily symptoms of wheezing was obtained using questionnaires. Consultations and prescriptions for wheezing illnesses were derived from general practitioner patient files. Higher maternal body mass index (BMI) was associated with increased risk of wheezing in the first year of life and more consultations and prescriptions for wheezing illnesses until the age of 5 years. Lung function could partially explain the association with wheezing in the first year of life. Adding respiratory resistance to the model decreased the incidence rate ratio from 1.023 (95% CI 1.008–1.039) to 1.015 (95% CI 0.998–1.032). Anthropometrics of the 5-year-olds largely explained the association with consultations. Intermediates or confounders could not explain the association with prescriptions. There is an association between higher maternal BMI and increased risk of wheezing illnesses. In the first year of life, it is largely explained by an impaired lung function in early life, especially in children of nonatopic mothers. At the age of 5 years, infant lung function is of minor influence in this association. Higher maternal BMI is associated with higher risk of wheezing illnesses partly due to impaired neonatal lung function http://ow.ly/OrlHB
Thinking in patterns : representations in the neural basis of theory of mind

Social life depends on understanding other people's behavior: why they do the things they do, and what they are likely to do next. These actions are just observable consequences of an unobservable, internal causal structure: the person's intentions, beliefs, and goals. A cornerstone of the human capacity for social cognition is the ability to reason about these invisible causes; having a "theory of mind". A remarkable body of evidence has demonstrated that social cognition reliably and selectively recruits a specific group of brain regions. Yet, we have little insight into how these neural substrates function at a computational level. This thesis lays the groundwork to address that question, both empirically and theoretically, first by demonstrating that functional neuroimaging can find behaviorally relevant features of mental state representation within the cortical regions that support social cognition, and second by proposing a theoretical framework to interpret activity in these brain regions. In Chapter 1, I review the literature of the last 15 years, and argue that a key next step in understanding the neural basis of social cognition is characterizing the neural representations and computations supported by "social" brain regions. In Chapter 2, I demonstrate in four experiments that functional neuroimaging can be used to find neural representations of distinct features of mental states. Specifically, I show that multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) can detect features of mental state representations (e.g., intent), and that these neural patterns are behaviorally relevant, including in autism spectrum disorders. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate that these brain regions contain explicit, abstract representations of another feature of others' mental states: perceptual source. I find that these representations persist in the face of drastic changes in developmental history (congenital blindness), providing evidence that these representations emerge even in the absence of relevant first-person experience. In Chapter 4, I demonstrate that these cortical regions contain representations of epistemic and emotional features of others' beliefs, and that these features are represented along continuous, abstract dimensions. Finally, in Chapter 5, I extend a model from vision and neuroeconomics - predictive coding - and explore its application to the neural basis of social cognition. Together, this work provides a key next step to understanding the neural basis of theory of mind, by demonstrating that it is possible to find abstract, behaviorally relevant features of mental state inferences inside cortical regions that support social cognition, and taking a first step in characterizing their content and format.
Risperidone long-acting injection and Huntington's disease: case series with significant psychiatric and behavioural symptoms

There is currently no known disease-altering treatment for Huntington's disease (HD). Successful symptomatic treatment often involves antipsychotic medication, including risperidone, yet the evidence base is limited to case reports. Although noncompliance to oral antipsychotic drugs can be a practical problem, especially when significant psychiatric manifestations of HD are present, the effect of depot antipsychotic medication in HD remains largely unknown. A period of nondrug compliance to oral risperidone in five patients with HD, and significant psychiatric and behavioural symptoms, after appearing to show symptomatic improvement, suggested a possible role for risperidone long-acting injection. The patients gave informed consent before receiving a fortnightly injection at a dose of 25 mg. At the end of 2–15 months (mean 1 year) they appeared to show an unexpected sustained symptomatic improvement (chorea, functioning and insight). In conclusion, this case series suggests risperidone long-acting injection may be a viable symptomatic treatment strategy in similar HD patients. If replicated, these findings have the potential to offer an effective strategy to manage some of the most difficult patients with HD to achieve symptomatic relief.
Relationship between Functional Movement Screening and Skill-Related Fitness in College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and skill-related fitness in young, active college students. A total of 56 male (n=48) and female (n=8) participants (age = 20.63 ± 2.06 years) were recruited from a college in the northeast region of the United States. Participants performed both the FMS and skill-related tests in a field house. The FMS tests included deep squat, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, leg raise, trunk stability, and rotary stability (score ranging from 0 to 3 per test; maximum total score of 21) and the skill-related fitness tests consisted of agility T-test, stork stand balance, 50-yard dash, vertical jump, jump mat reaction time test, and Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) coordination test. Pearson Product Moment Correlation analyses revealed no significant correlation between the total FMS score and total skill-related fitness test scores. Spearman Rank Order Rho found some significant correlations between individual FMS test and skill-related fitness test scores (stork balance test and inline-lunge score: r =.362, p = .006; stork balance test and trunk stability push-up = .362, p = .006; DDR score and shoulder mobility: r = .318, p = .017; DDR score and rotary stability: r = .264, p = .049; vertical jump test and deep squat score: r = .264; p = .049). Therefore, the limited significant correlations between individual item of the FMS and the skill-related fitness test are not sufficient enough to present a clear pattern of relationship between the FMS and skill-based fitness among active college students. More research studies are needed to investigate the influence of age, gender, and skill level on the relationship between the FMS and skill-related fitness performances.
Activation of the Type I Interferon Pathway Is Enhanced in Response to Human Neuronal Differentiation

Despite the crucial role of innate immunity in preventing or controlling pathogen-induced damage in most, if not all, cell types, very little is known about the activity of this essential defense system in central nervous system neurons, especially in humans. In this report we use both an established neuronal cell line model and an embryonic stem cell-based system to examine human neuronal innate immunity and responses to neurotropic alphavirus infection in cultured cells. We demonstrate that neuronal differentiation is associated with increased expression of crucial type I interferon signaling pathway components, including interferon regulatory factor-9 and an interferon receptor heterodimer subunit, which results in enhanced interferon stimulation and subsequent heightened antiviral activity and cytoprotective responses against neurotropic alphaviruses such as western equine encephalitis virus. These results identify important differentiation-dependent changes in innate immune system function that control cell-autonomous neuronal responses. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the utility of human embryonic stem cell-derived cultures as a platform to study the interactions between innate immunity, virus infection, and pathogenesis in central nervous system neurons.
Diverse Work Groups and Employee Performance

This study is a report of an investigation of group diversity—particularly informational diversity and social diversity—revealing its effects on individual performance through communication ties. Two studies, one using 127 groups of employees from six firms and another using 104 groups of part-time students from a training program, demonstrate that informational diversity affects individual task and creative performance through communication ties, whereas social diversity does not. Future research and practical implications are discussed.
Frightened, threatening, and dissociative parental behavior in low-risk samples: Description, discussion, and interpretations

In 1990 we advanced the hypothesis that frightened and frightening (FR) parental behavior would prove to be linked to both unresolved (U) adult attachment status as identified in the Adult Attachment Interview and to infant disorganized/disoriented (D) attachment as assessed in the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Here, we present a coding system for identifying and scoring the intensity of the three primary forms of FR behavior (frightened, threatening, and dissociative) as well as three subsidiary forms. We review why each primary form may induce fear of the parent (the infant's primary “haven of safety”), placing the infant in a disorganizing approach-flight paradox. We suggest that, being linked to the parent's own unintegrated traumatic experiences (often loss or maltreatment), FR behaviors themselves are often guided by parental fright, and parallel the three “classic” mammalian responses to fright: flight, attack, and freezing behavior. Recent studies of U to FR, as well as FR to D relations are presented, including findings regarding AMBIANCE/FR+. Links between dissociation, FR, U, and D are explored. Parallel processing and working memory are discussed as they relate to these phenomena.The work described in this paper was supported by a Guggenheim fellowship to the second author and by grants from the William B. Harris Foundation and the Amini Foundation for the Study of Affects. We are grateful to Alberto Amengual, Giovanni Liotti, and John Watson for directing us to varying portions of the literature discussed. Alvin Nye Main first pointed to the relevance of the quotation from Darwin.
Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases at Reference and High-Specialty Hospitals in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico

Background. In general, primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are underdiagnosed in most countries. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency and clinical spectrum of PID in the most important tertiary hospitals in our region. Methods. An observational, cross-sectional, with retrospective chart, review study was conducted. A total of 26 patients were included and grouped according to the updated classification of PIDs. Results. PIDs spectra were as follows: predominantly antibody deficiency diseases were the most common category (65.38%), followed by other well-defined immunodeficiency syndromes (11.55%), congenital defects of phagocyte number and/or function (7.69%), complement deficiencies (3.85%), combined T- and B-cell immunodeficiencies (3.85%), and defects in innate immunity (3.85%). The mean time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to the reference and diagnosis by a tertiary hospital was of 4.65 ± 6.95 years. Conclusions. Predominant antibody deficiency disease was the most common group of PIDs, agreeing with international reports. Awareness of underdiagnosis by physicians is crucial for a prompt diagnosis and treatment, which in turn should improve the quality of life among patients with PIDs.
Challenges faced by unaccompanied minor-refugees in South Africa

This qualitative study explored the experiences of unaccompanied minor-refugees from Zimbabwe to South Africa. Ten (10) participants, from a shelter in Limpopo Province, were selected using purposive sampling. Five childcare workers also participated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the minors and a focus group with the childcare workers to collect the data. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis. The findings revealed that services by statutory social workers were limited, compared to services by social workers employed in non-governmental organisations. The results highlighted the vulnerability to exploitation and a sense of hopelessness that refugee children experience in South Africa.
Involvement of Users in Software Requirement Engineering

User involvement is an important component in the development of effective software engineering system. This paper focuses on a study to draw the facts and to establish the involvement of users in influencing the software requirement practitioners and the system as a whole. It also analyses the effects of different characteristics of the users in the requirement process. Twenty-two software practitioners working in different software multinational companies across the world were involved in the survey. In addition to this eight software practitioners working in three companies were interviewed through Internet chatting. The analysis of the results of interviews and a survey showed that requirement differs when the users are from different educational backgrounds and geographical locations. It also showed that documenting user's requirement improves the system considerably, but as the number of user requirements increase substantially, the customer-user differences also increases proportionately.