Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative and Qualitative Alterations of Neuronal and Glial Intermediate Filaments in Rat Nervous System After Exposure to 2, 5‐Hexanedione

The precise mechanism for the neurotoxicity of 2, 5‐hexanedione is not known, but cross‐linking of neurofilament proteins has been suggested as one possibility. In this study the effects of long‐term exposure to 2, 5‐hexanedione were studied in the rat nervous system with special reference to regional changes in the quantities of neuronal and glial intermediate filaments. Using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays the concentrations of 68‐ and 200‐kDa neurofilament polypeptides were shown to be reduced in all brain regions studied. Similar results were obtained in the sciatic nerve. The concentration of glial fibrillary acidic protein was decreased in the cerebellar vermis and the dorsal cerebral cortex, whereas it was increased in the spinal cord, a result suggesting a regional variation in glial sensitivity. The intermediate filaments of the exposed animals were also immunoblotted using polyclonal antisera against the various neurofilament polypeptides and glial fibrillary acidic protein. In all tissues studied, several aggregates with molecular weights higher than those of the monomeric polypeptides were demonstrated. Contrary to clinical observations, these data indicate pronounced effects in both CNS and PNS and call for further studies on CNS effects in humans.
The Effect of Relative Age on Achievement in Middle School.

To determine the relationship between relative age and achievement in middle school, standardized math and reading scores for a sample of middle-class, suburban middle school students (N = 933) were examined. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference among relative age groups in only one area, sixth-grade reading, F(2, 146) = 3.1, p < . 05. There was no main effect for gender and no interaction between age and gender in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. When the birth month of students who had repeated one or more grades was examined, it was revealed that a large percentage of these students would have been the youngest in the class when beginning school. Results suggest that a relationship between relative age and achievement may exist in the lower grades but diminishes or disappears by seventh or eighth grade because of the retention of a larger proportion of the youngest children.
Acupuncture for Depression: Patterns of Diagnosis and Treatment within a Randomised Controlled Trial

Background. In a large randomised controlled trial of acupuncture, counselling, or usual care for depression, we document the acupuncture intervention and explore the relationship between traditional acupuncture diagnosis and outcome. Methods. Patients who were continuing to experience depression were recruited from primary care to the ACUDep trial (n = 755). Practitioners documented for each patient the traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, the points needled, and additional components of the treatment, such as lifestyle advice, as recommended by the STRICTA guidelines. Results. Over an 18-month period, 23 acupuncturists delivered 2741 treatments to 266 patients, an average of 10 sessions per patient. The primary and secondary zang fu syndromes were identified for 99% of patients. When combining primary and secondary diagnoses, there was a predominant Liver Qi Stagnation cluster (66% of patients) and a Spleen Deficiency cluster (34%). Practitioners sought de qi responses 96% of the time. Lifestyle advice was given to 66% of patients, most commonly dietary. When comparing patient outcomes, no significant differences were found between the two main syndrome clusters. Conclusion. In this large-scale trial, our documentation of diagnosis and treatment provides a useful snapshot of common patterns that patients present with when continuing to experience depression after consulting in primary care.
Do cardiovascular responses to laboratory stress relate to ambulatory blood pressure levels?: Yes, in some of the people, some of the time.

&NA; Because the correspondence between laboratory measures of blood pressure and heart rate responses to stress and ambulatory measures is less than optimal, this study tested two hypotheses: Are ambulatory measures of blood pressure elevated during periods of perceived stress, relative to no stress? Are ambulatory blood pressures elevated during perceived stress among those individuals who exhibit elevated blood pressure and heart rate responses to laboratory stress? These questions were addressed in a sample of employed, middle‐aged men and premenopausal and postmenopausal women, who vary in reproductive hormone status, and in risk for coronary heart disease. All participants performed a series of laboratory studies while their physiological parameters were monitored and then wore an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for a day and a half. This monitor recorded blood pressure every half hour during the waking hours and at the same time the participants assessed their mood states. After excluding participants who reported no variability in stress levels, those who were cardiovascular reactors to a laboratory speech task exhibited elevated ambulatory blood pressure levels during periods of perceived stress. Furthermore, in general, periods of perceived stress were associated on a within subject basis with elevated ambulatory blood pressure. These results suggest that the correspondence between laboratory and field measures of blood pressure would be improved by taking into account the environmental circumstances during the ambulatory assessments and the person characteristics of reactor‐nonreactor to laboratory stress.
Upper Extremity Artificial Limb Control as an Issue Related to Movement and Mobility in Daily Living

The 1992 NIH Research Planning Conference on Prosthetic and Orthotic Research for the 21st Century (Childress, 1992) recognized that the field of prosthetics lacks theoretical understanding and empirical studies on learning to control an upper-extremity prosthesis. We have addressed this problem using a novel approach in which persons without amputations are required to perform or learn basic motor tasks using a prosthetic simulator. The findings so far have three important implications for rehabilitation: (a) learning prosthetic control can be facilitated by general principles that have been shown to promote motor learning; (b) bilateral transfer can be used to enhance prosthetic limb control and minimize rejection; and (c) a voluntary closing terminal device has some advantages relative to a voluntary opening device
MHCII-independent CD4+ T cells protect injured CNS neurons via IL-4.

A body of experimental evidence suggests that T cells mediate neuroprotection following CNS injury; however, the antigen specificity of these T cells and how they mediate neuroprotection are unknown. Here, we have provided evidence that T cell–mediated neuroprotection after CNS injury can occur independently of major histocompatibility class II (MHCII) signaling to T cell receptors (TCRs). Using two murine models of CNS injury, we determined that damage-associated molecular mediators that originate from injured CNS tissue induce a population of neuroprotective, IL-4–producing T cells in an antigen-independent fashion. Compared with wild-type mice, IL-4–deficient animals had decreased functional recovery following CNS injury; however, transfer of CD4+ T cells from wild-type mice, but not from IL-4–deficient mice, enhanced neuronal survival. Using a culture-based system, we determined that T cell–derived IL-4 protects and induces recovery of injured neurons by activation of neuronal IL-4 receptors, which potentiated neurotrophin signaling via the AKT and MAPK pathways. Together, these findings demonstrate that damage-associated molecules from the injured CNS induce a neuroprotective T cell response that is independent of MHCII/TCR interactions and is MyD88 dependent. Moreover, our results indicate that IL-4 mediates neuroprotection and recovery of the injured [. ] Research Article
An analysis of social network-based Sybil defenses

Recently, there has been much excitement in the research community over using social networks to mitigate multiple identity, or Sybil, attacks. A number of schemes have been proposed, but they differ greatly in the algorithms they use and in the networks upon which they are evaluated. As a result, the research community lacks a clear understanding of how these schemes compare against each other, how well they would work on real-world social networks with different structural properties, or whether there exist other (potentially better) ways of Sybil defense. In this paper, we show that, despite their considerable differences, existing Sybil defense schemes work by detecting local communities (i.e., clusters of nodes more tightly knit than the rest of the graph) around a trusted node. Our finding has important implications for both existing and future designs of Sybil defense schemes. First, we show that there is an opportunity to leverage the substantial amount of prior work on general community detection algorithms in order to defend against Sybils. Second, our analysis reveals the fundamental limits of current social network-based Sybil defenses: We demonstrate that networks with well-defined community structure are inherently more vulnerable to Sybil attacks, and that, in such networks, Sybils can carefully target their links in order make their attacks more effective.
A Family of Polynomial Affine Scaling Algorithms for Positive SemiDefinite Linear Complementarity Problems

In this paper the new polynomial affine scaling algorithm of Jansen, Roos, and Terlaky for linear programming (LP) is extended to positive semidefinite (PSD) linear complementarity problems. The algorithm is immediately further generalized to allow higher order scaling. These algorithms are also new for the LP case. The analysis is based on Ling's proof for the LP case; hence, it allows an arbitrary interior feasible pair to start with. With the scaling of Jansen, Roos, and Terlaky, the complexity of the algorithm is $$ {\cal O}\left(\frac{n}{\rho^2(1-\rho^2)}\ln \frac{(x^{(0)})^Ts^{(0)}}{\e}\right), $$ where $\rho^2$ is a uniform bound for the ratio of the smallest and largest coordinate of the iterates in the primal-dual space. We also show that Monteiro, Adler, and Resende's polynomial complexity result for the classical primal-dual affine scaling algorithm can easily be derived from our analysis. In addition, our result is valid for arbitrary, not necessarily centered, initial points. Finally, some computational results are presented, which indicate the influence of the order of the scaling on the numerical performance.
Chondrocyte Matrix Metalloproteinase-8

This study confirms that normal human articular chondrocytes express neutrophil collagenase or matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), a gene product previously thought to be expressed exclusively by neutrophil leukocytes. Both MMP-8 protein and mRNA were present in articular cartilages collected from normal human donors. Cartilage extracts were assayed by immunoblotting and by analysis of enzymatic activity on gelatin-substrate gels. Latent MMP-8 extracted from cartilage has a molecular mass of 55 kDa; active MMP-8 was identified at 46 and 42 kDa. In the absence of a reducing agent, MMP-8 migrated in a high molecular mass complex above 200 kDa. Northern blotting results demonstrated the expression of MMP-8 in chondrocytes, which could be up-regulated by stimulation with interleukin-1β. In addition, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using nested primers and in situ hybridization revealed the presence of MMP-8 mRNA in chondrocytes. The presence of both MMP-8 protein and message in cartilage supports the concept that neutrophil collagenase could be the enzyme described as “aggrecanase. ”
Pheochromocytomas: detection with 11C hydroxyephedrine PET.

PURPOSE To evaluate the accuracy of carbon 11 (11C) hydroxyephedrine (HED) positron emission tomography (PET) in the detection of pheochromocytomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nineteen patients (12 women, seven men; mean age, 53 years) suspected of having pheochromocytoma were evaluated. Patients had enlarged adrenal glands at computed tomography and either increased urinary catecholamine levels (n = 18) or normal biochemistry (n = 1). Dynamic PET examination in the adrenal region was performed after injection of 800 MBq 11C HED. PET data were analyzed visually and semiquantitatively. Time-activity curves were generated for different organs. PET results were validated with histologic evaluation (n = 16) or clinical follow-up (n = 3). The diagnostic value of HED PET was evaluated by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy. RESULTS In 12 patients, 13 pheochromocytomas were verified at surgery and histologic evaluation. All but one of the pheochromocytomas were detected with HED PET, which demonstrated elevated uptake. The rest of the patients (n = 7) did not have pheochromocytomas. In these patients, HED PET did not show any abnormal uptake in the suspicious tumors (confirmed at surgery in four patients and at clinical follow-up in three). Mean standardized uptake value of the tumors was 21.4 (range, 11.1-40.9). The time-activity curves for pheochromocytomas showed early uptake after injection, and the activity increased with the time of examination. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of HED PET in the detection of pheochromocytomas were 92% (12 of 13), 100% (seven of seven), 100% (12 of 12), 87.5% (seven of eight), and 95% (19 of 20), respectively. CONCLUSION HED PET is useful in the detection of pheochromocytomas, providing a high level of accuracy.
Saying One Thing, Meaning Another: The Role Of Parables In Police Training

Research suggests that police recruits come to policing with high ideals and positive ethical standards. Yet as early as the police academy, subtle shifts in recruit attitudes and values occur. By the end of the rookie year, this ethical value shift is almost complete, and it has negative ethical implications. This ethical value shift places many officers in conflict with a number of legal standards and core societal values. Although research has identified these outcomes, there is only limited understanding of the processes that fuel these ethical value shifts. This article presents exploratory research in police socialization processes and identifies process mechanisms that trigger a number of these value shifts. Structural elements in policing training that sustain these mechanisms are analyzed.
Technical and Physical Performance over an English Championship League Season

The English Championship League (ECL) has a demanding ten-month schedule possibly exposing players to residual fatigue if they play the majority of matches. When present, residual fatigue may be evidenced by reduced physical and technical match performances as the season advances. The aim of this study was to investigate if differences in physical and technical performance occurred across a season for 11 ECL footballers who played the majority of matches that season. From the home matches analysed, only total distance covered was different (p = 0.0258), where it peaked at mid-season compared to two months later (p = 0.0104). Team possession remained stable throughout the season. Relative total distance covered by the team when in possession was 72 m/min less (p < 0.0001) than out of possession. In summary, maintaining possession during matches may reduce physical demands imposed on players and help preserve performance throughout the season.
TRANSACTIONS ON PATTERN ANALYSIS AND MACHINE INTELLIGENCE

An algorithm for matching images of real world scenes is presented. The matching is a specification of the geometrical disparity between the images and may be used to partially reconstruct the threedimensional structure of the scene. Sets of candidate matching points are selected independently in each image. These points are the locations of small, distinct features which are likely to be detectable in both images. An initial network of possible matches between the two sets of candidates is constructed. Each possible match specifies a possible disparity of a candidate point in a selected reference image. An initial estimate of the probability of each possible disparity is made, based on the similarity of subimages surrounding the points. These estimates are iteratively improved by a relaxation labeling technique making use of the local continuity property of disparity that is a consequence of the continuity of real world surfaces. The algorithm is effective for binocular parallax, motion parallax, and object motion. It quickly converges to good estimates of disparity, which reflect the spatial organization of the scene.
Processo de investigação e análise bibliométrica: avaliação da qualidade dos serviços bancários

The objective of this research is to demonstrate how a researcher can, in a structured way, select relevant articles and identify which characteristics they possess that contribute scientifically to a topic of interest - as shown here in international literature on Quality Assessment Banking. The work is characterized as exploratory, descriptive, theoretical-illustrative, with the theoretical instrument of intervention being the Knowledge Development Process - Constructivist (Proknow-C). Development of the process found: (a) a portfolio of 28 articles aligned with the vision adopted by the researchers that informed the drafting of the theoretical framework of this research; (b) that the journal International Journal of Bank Marketing presents the highest impact factor for the scientific community regarding the JCR and SJR bases; (c) banking, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and service quality as the most recurring keywords; and (d) the authors A. H. Aldlaigan and F. A. Buttle and the article Customer satisfaction and retail banking: an assessment of some of the key Antecedents of customer satisfaction in retail banking written by A. Jamal and K. Naser as prominent in the area.
The production of authoritative knowledge in American prenatal care.

Using Jordan's concept of authoritative knowledge, this article describes some of the ways that the prenatal care practices of a group of U.S. women help to consolidate biomedical hegemony. We analyze the considerations that the women took into account when deciding whether or not to accept specific prenatal care recommendations as authoritative, focusing on when and how they used their own "embodied" knowledge and experience as a standard against which to assess the validity of clinical recommendations. The data provide insight into medicalization processes and the role patients themselves play in furthering biomedical hegemony.
Building and maintaining rapport in investigative interviews

Research shows that rapport has a number of positive effects on interviewing. Defined here as a smooth, positive interpersonal interaction, rapport can increase the amount of information provided by witnesses and sources, increase trust, and produce more cooperation, and faster agreement in negotiations. Despite the importance of rapport, law enforcement and intelligence interviewers often fail to build rapport adequately. This study identifies seven tactics for rapport building supported by empirical research, such as nonverbal mimicry and self-disclosure. Other considerations for practitioners include potential trade-offs of rapport-building tactics, source resistance, and the use of interpreters. These topics also represent rich areas for future research.
Involvement of Rho Kinase in Endothelial Barrier Maintenance

Objective—Rho kinase mediates vascular leakage caused by many vasoactive agents including thrombin. Enhanced Rho kinase activity induces endothelial barrier dysfunction by a contractile mechanism via inactivation of Myosin Phosphatase (MP). Here, we investigated the contribution of basal Rho kinase activity to the regulation of endothelial barrier integrity. Methods and Results—Using a phospho-specific antibody against the myosin phosphatase targeting subunit (Thr696−MYPT1) as a marker for Rho kinase activity, basal endothelial Rho kinase activity was observed at cell-cell contact sites, in vitro and in situ. Thrombin enhanced MYPT phosphorylation at F-actin stress fibers. Inhibition of basal Rho kinase activity for 24 hours or depletion of Rho kinase (ROCK-I and -II) by siRNA disrupted endothelial barrier integrity, opposite to the previously observed protection from the thrombin-enhanced endothelial permeability. This barrier dysfunction could not be explained by changes in RhoA, Rac1, eNOS, or apoptosis. Remarkably, basal Rho kinase activity was essential for proper expression of the adhesion molecule VE-cadherin. Conclusions—Rho kinase has opposing activities in regulation of endothelial barrier function: (1) an intrinsic barrier-protective activity at the cell margins, and (2) an induced barrier-disruptive activity at contractile F-actin stress fibers. These findings may have implications for long-term antivascular leak therapy.
The importance of spontaneous play in the fundamental learning of handicapped children

SUMMARY The main types, functions and developmental stages in the spontaneous play of normal infants and young children are outlined. Correspondences and differences in the play of handicapped children are discussed, with special reference to the importance of suitable playthings in the early development of general understanding, psychomotor functioning, manipulative ability, codes of communication and social adjustment. The need for improved ‘free-field’ observational research using audiovisual recording techniques is stressed.
An International Research Venture in Retrospect: The IEA Surveys

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) venture, which started more than twenty-five years ago, is an interesting piece of recent educational research history, representing not only incipient attempts to establish a science of empirical comparative education based on close cooperation between institutions in many countries but also how tied to the prevailing Zeitgeist and its paradigms a research endeavor can be. Hindsight gives us somewhat different perspectives on the theoretical frame-work and the methodology employed. More important is to put on record some experiences gained in launching the large-scale survey research that IEA embarked on around 1960. The administrative, economic, and methodological difficulties and failures deserve to be put on record for the benefit of future endeavors of this kind. In addition, a host of special studies based on further analysis of data available in the IEA data bank have been published in a monograph series under IEA auspices. Such a venture conducted in an adventurous and pioneering spirit is, of course, begging for criticism.
Race and the representation of discourse: Fictitious scenarios and the O.J. Simpson case

This research was concerned with how race of actors in a text, race of participant, and race of experimenter are related to discourse processing. In Phase 1, participants read two texts and were asked inferential questions about the text contents. In Phase 2, extended discourse was studied, with participants indicating and defending judgments of O.J. Simpson's guilt or innocence, and rating the significance of Simpson case‐related statements. In Phase 1, Blacks demonstrated a same‐race bias favoring a Black suspect, as opposed to a White suspect, whereas Whites showed an other‐race bias, also favoring a Black suspect. However, in Phase 2, both Black and White participants demonstrated a same‐race bias regarding O.J. Simpson. The results demonstrated the fruitful use of extended discourse and how belief‐based dispositions contribute to a rich mental representation of and inferential use of discourse. In addition, the findings demonstrated that White responding was consistent with a model of “aversive” raci.