Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
8TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON RESISTANCE ARTERIES New Developments in Resistance Artery Research: From Molecular Biology to Bedside RhoA and resistance artery remodeling

Loirand, Gervaise, Malvyne Rolli-Derkinderen, and Pierre Pacaud. RhoA and resistance artery remodeling. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 288: H1051–H1056, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00710. 2004. —Resistance arteries are able to adapt to physiological and pathophysiological stimuli to maintain adequate perfusion according to the metabolic demand of the tissue. Although vasomotor control allows rapid adaptation of lumen diameter, vascular remodeling constitutes an active process that occurs in response to long-term alterations of hemodynamic parameters. Unfortunately, this initially adaptive process contributes to the pathology of vascular diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated the participation of Rho protein signaling pathways in several cardiovascular pathologies including hypertension, coronary artery spasm, effort angina, atherosclerosis, and restenosis. Functional analyses have further revealed that RhoA-dependent pathways are involved in excessive contraction, migration, and proliferation associated with arterial diseases. The present review focuses on the role of Rho proteins, in particular RhoA, in vascular smooth muscle cells and the involvement of Rho-dependent signaling pathways in resistance artery remodeling, more particularly in relation to hypertension.
Strategies and self-efficacy beliefs in instrumental and vocal individual practice: a study of students in higher music education

This article reports the findings of a study investigating the learning and study strategies of advanced music students and the manner in which their self-efficacy beliefs relate to the strategies employed. Participants were first-year students in Norwegian higher music education aged 18 to 43 years. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing their use of strategies. It was found that students in general apply cognitive, metacognitive and resource management strategies during practice. Overall, they used strategies to manage their resources to a lesser extent than other strategies. The findings also indicate that music students high in self-efficacy were more likely to be cognitively and metacognitively involved in trying to learn the material compared with students low in self-efficacy. Further, while there were significant differences between female and male students with regard to self-efficacy, no significant differences in self-efficacy emerged with regards to main instrument groups or degree programme. However, the interaction effect between gender and degree programme on self-efficacy was significant.
Biosociality, biocitizenship and the new regime of hope and despair: interpreting “Portraits of Hope” and the “Mehmet Case”

The concepts of biocitizenship and biosociality, in many ways developed as a reaction to the former critique of genetification and fears of a return of eugenics, have gained a stronghold in much of the current debates on the social effects of modern-day genetics. In contrast to claims of a return to eugenics, the literature on biocitizenship highlights the new choice-enhancing possibilities involved in present-day biomedicine, underlining the break with past forms of biopower. In this analysis, hope becomes a life-inducing and vitalizing force, opening new avenues of civic participation and engagement. Most critics of this analysis have attacked the claims to novelty attributed to these concepts, arguing that more traditional forms of biopower remain as important as ever. In contrast, we argue that the biocitizenship literature underestimates the radical nature of this break with the past, ending up with a too narrow and one-sided interpretation of the ramifications of the new discourse of hope. On the basis of two different case stories, the “Portraits of Hope” campaign from California, USA and the “Mehmet Case” from Norway, we indicate an alternative “darker” reading of the new discourse of hope, arguing that its driving force is not so much future possibilities as present despair.
A Randomised Control Trial of the Impact of a Computer-Based Activity Programme upon the Fitness of Children with Autism

The poor levels of fitness in children with autism are prompting concern for the children's future health. This study looked to assess if a computer-based activity programme could improve fitness levels (as reflected in cardiopulmonary function) of these children, and achieve a reduction in their body mass index. In a randomised controlled trial, 50 children with autism (of which 33 were under the age of 11 years and 39 were boys) were allocated to an intervention group which encouraged them to use the Nintendo Wii and the software package “Mario and Sonics at the Olympics” in addition to their routine physical education classes. 50 children with autism (34 under the age of 11 years and 40 being boys) acted as controls. At the end of one year, analysis of the changes in scores using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on the Eurofit fitness tests showed that the intervention group had made statistically significant improvement on all tests other than flexibility. These improvements were also significantly better than controls. This type of intervention appears to be an effective addition to standard fitness training in order to help children with autism improve their fitness levels.
Human body capacitance: static or dynamic concept? [ESD]

A standing human body insulated from ground by footwear and/or floor covering is in principle an insulated conductor and has, as such, a capacitance, i.e. the ability to store a charge and possibly discharge the stored energy in a spark discharge. In the human body, the human body capacitance (HBC) is traditionally chosen as 100 pF. However, a simple geometric model seems to suggest considerably higher values. A series of experiments, where the capacitance of standing persons were determined for various combinations of footwear and floor coverings, gave values in the order of 100-150 pF when the capacitance was determined by an AC-bridge measurement, but 200-400 pF when the traditional static charge-sharing method was used. Further experiments indicate that the two methods give the same result when the electric flux is well located in a dielectric other than air, but that the static method leads to higher values when a substantial part of the flux extends itself through badly defined stray fields. Since the concept of human body capacitance is normally used in a static (electric) context, it is suggested that the HBC be determined by a static method. No theoretical explanation of the observed differences is presently at hand.
Detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae from Different Types of Nasopharyngeal Swabs in Children

Background A better understanding of the epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae is important to assess the impact of vaccination and the pathogenesis of pneumococcal disease. We compared the recovery of S. pneumoniae from nylon flocked, Dacron and rayon swabs. Methods The recovery of S. pneumoniae from mocked specimens using flocked, Dacron and rayon swabs were compared by culture. The yield from paired nasopharyngeal (NP) samples obtained from healthy children sampled with flocked and Dacron swabs was also determined using culture and lytA-targeted real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results Using mock specimen, the percentage recovery of S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619 (serotype 19F) strain from the flocked swabs was 100%, while it was 41% from Dacron swabs and 7% from rayon swabs. Similar results were observed for S. pneumoniae serotypes 1 and 5. S. pneumoniae was cultured from 18 of 42 (43%) paired NP samples from the healthy children (median age 8 [interquartile range (IQR) 5–16] months). The median number of colony-forming units (CFU) recovered from flocked swabs was two-fold higher (8.8×104 CFU/mL [IQR, 2.0×102 – 4.0×105 CFU/mL]) than Dacron swabs (3.7×104 CFU/mL [IQR, 4.0×102–3.2×105 CFU/mL], p = 0.17). Using lytA-targeted qPCR from paired NP samples, the median copy number of S. pneumoniae detected from flocked swabs was significantly higher than from Dacron swabs (3.0×105 genome copies/mL [IQR, 1.3×102−1.8×106] vs. 9.3×104 genome copies/mL [IQR, 7.0×101−1.1×106]; p = 0.005). Conclusion Flocked swabs released more S. pneumoniae compared to both Dacron and rayon swabs from mock specimens. Similarly, higher bacterial loads were detected by qPCR from flocked swabs compared with Dacron swabs from healthy children.
Brief training with rhythmic beat gestures benefits L2 pronunciation

This study investigates the impact of beat gesture observation on the acquisition of native-like speech patterns in English by examining the effect of a brief training with or without beat gestures on participants’ ratings of accentedness. In a within-subjects design, twenty Catalan-dominant undergraduate students learning English as a Foreign Language at an upperintermediate level were shown a training video in which a native speaker of English gave short responses to 12 prompts. For half of the responses, the instructor used co-speech rhythmic beat gestures, while in the other half, she did not gesture at all. Participants’ answers to the prompts were recorded before and after training and evaluated by five native speaker judges. The results demonstrated that while beat gesture training did not significantly improve the participants’ accentedness ratings on the entire set of items, their performance on initially difficult items improved significantly as a result of beat gesture training.
Induced Release of a Plant-Defense Volatile ‘Deceptively’ Attracts Insect Vectors to Plants Infected with a Bacterial Pathogen

Transmission of plant pathogens by insect vectors is a complex biological process involving interactions between the plant, insect, and pathogen. Pathogen-induced plant responses can include changes in volatile and nonvolatile secondary metabolites as well as major plant nutrients. Experiments were conducted to understand how a plant pathogenic bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), affects host preference behavior of its psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) vector. D. citri were attracted to volatiles from pathogen-infected plants more than to those from non-infected counterparts. Las-infected plants were more attractive to D. citri adults than non-infected plants initially; however after feeding, psyllids subsequently dispersed to non-infected rather than infected plants as their preferred settling point. Experiments with Las-infected and non-infected plants under complete darkness yielded similar results to those recorded under light. The behavior of psyllids in response to infected versus non-infected plants was not influenced by whether or not they were carriers of the pathogen. Quantification of volatile release from non-infected and infected plants supported the hypothesis that odorants mediate psyllid preference. Significantly more methyl salicylate, yet less methyl anthranilate and D-limonene, was released by infected than non-infected plants. Methyl salicylate was attractive to psyllids, while methyl anthranilate did not affect their behavior. Feeding on citrus by D. citri adults also induced release of methyl salicylate, suggesting that it may be a cue revealing location of conspecifics on host plants. Infected plants were characterized by lower levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, and iron, as well as, higher levels of potassium and boron than non-infected plants. Collectively, our results suggest that host selection behavior of D. citri may be modified by bacterial infection of plants, which alters release of specific headspace volatiles and plant nutritional contents. Furthermore, we show in a laboratory setting that this apparent pathogen-mediated manipulation of vector behavior may facilitate pathogen spread.
Does a Flatter General Gradient of Visual Attention Explain Peripheral Advantages and Central Deficits in Deaf Adults?

Individuals deaf from early age often outperform hearing individuals in the visual periphery on attention-dependent dorsal stream tasks (e.g., spatial localization or movement detection), but sometimes show central visual attention deficits, usually on ventral stream object identification tasks. It has been proposed that early deafness adaptively redirects attentional resources from central to peripheral vision to monitor extrapersonal space in the absence of auditory cues, producing a more evenly distributed attention gradient across visual space. However, little direct evidence exists that peripheral advantages are functionally tied to central deficits, rather than determined by independent mechanisms, and previous studies using several attention tasks typically report peripheral advantages or central deficits, not both. To test the general altered attentional gradient proposal, we employed a novel divided attention paradigm that measured target localization performance along a gradient from parafoveal to peripheral locations, independent of concurrent central object identification performance in prelingually deaf and hearing groups who differed in access to auditory input. Deaf participants without cochlear implants (No-CI), with cochlear implants (CI), and hearing participants identified vehicles presented centrally, and concurrently reported the location of parafoveal (1.4°) and peripheral (13.3°) targets among distractors. No-CI participants but not CI participants showed a central identification accuracy deficit. However, all groups displayed equivalent target localization accuracy at peripheral and parafoveal locations and nearly parallel parafoveal-peripheral gradients. Furthermore, the No-CI group’s central identification deficit remained after statistically controlling peripheral performance; conversely, the parafoveal and peripheral group performance equivalencies remained after controlling central identification accuracy. These results suggest that, in the absence of auditory input, reduced central attentional capacity is not necessarily associated with enhanced peripheral attentional capacity or with flattening of a general attention gradient. Our findings converge with earlier studies suggesting that a general graded trade-off of attentional resources across the visual field does not adequately explain the complex task-dependent spatial distribution of deaf-hearing performance differences reported in the literature. Rather, growing evidence suggests that the spatial distribution of attention-mediated performance in deaf people is determined by sophisticated cross-modal plasticity mechanisms that recruit specific sensory and polymodal cortex to achieve specific compensatory processing goals.
Prevalence of Symptoms of Cervical and Lumbar Stenosis Among Participants in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study

Study Design. Cross-sectional. Objectives. To determine the prevalence of symptoms typical of cervical and lumbar stenosis, evaluate the relationship between lumbar and cervical symptoms, and assess the impact of these symptoms on health status. Summary of Background Data. Degenerative changes of the spine frequently associated with aging, may result in stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal. Little is known about the prevalence or health impact of symptoms associated with stenosis in older individuals. Methods. Between March 2000 and April 2002, 5995 men aged ≥65 years participating in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study completed a self-administered questionnaire and clinical examination. Information was collected on demographics, spinal/joint health, and general health status. Results. Overall, 14.4% of men had had clinically relevant neck pain during the previous year, and almost half this group (6.5%) had numbness/tingling/weakness (NTW) extending into the arm; 26.2% reported clinically relevant lower back pain, which in 12.2%, was accompanied by NTW extending into the leg. Men with spinal pain (neck or lower back) accompanied by NTW radiating into a limb had poorer health status than those with milder pain. Conclusions. Symptoms suggestive of cervical and lumbar stenosis are relatively common among this cohort of older men, and generalized spinal stenosis may occur in as many as 4%.
Copeptin Level After Carotid Endarterectomy and Perioperative Stroke

We evaluated the prognostic value of copeptin levels in a cohort of surgical patients after elective carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Twenty-one patients with perioperative stroke were prospectively recruited. The diagnosis of cerebrovascular event (CVE) was confirmed by computed tomography. Additionally, 21 patients with CEA without any complications (control patients) were enrolled. Blood samples were taken within 3 hours of the symptom onset. Circulating copeptin level was significantly higher in patients with CVE when compared to controls (P = .025), and significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors (P = .030) after CVE. Plasma concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were also elevated in patients with CVE (IL-6: P = .043; CRP: P = .002). We conclude that the activation of the stress axis in patients with CEA results with copeptin elevation, but more so in patients with perioperative stroke. Copeptin may be a helpful biomarker for stroke risk assessment in patients after CEA.
Learners and learning in the twenty‐first century: what do we know about students’ attitudes towards and experiences of information and communication technologies that will help us design courses?

This article reports on issues relevant for teachers and instructional designers anticipating using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education, particularly those wishing to adopt a flexible learning approach aimed at improving the quality of the student experience. The data that are reported on span more than five years, and have been gathered from a range of large quantitative postal surveys and smaller qualitative surveys, with total respondents numbering around 80,000. The large‐scale surveys cover annual course reviews, computer access, students’ use of media, access to media technologies and ICT access and use. The smaller qualitative studies include students’ use of CD‐ROMs and online tuition. This article describes the students’ backgrounds and how this can affect their studies. It discusses students’ access to media technologies and what their perceptions of media are in the context of independent learning. The conclusion is that, although ICTs can enable new forms of teaching and learning to take place, they cannot ensure that effective and appropriate learning outcomes are achieved. It is not technologies, but educational purposes and pedagogy, that must provide the lead, with students understanding not only how to work with ICTs, but why it is of benefit for them to do so. Knowing about students’ use of media as well as their attitudes and experiences can help teachers and instructional designers develop better courses.
Would-Be Teachers' Competence in Applying ICT: Exposition and Preconditions for Development

Changes in educational technologies modify the role of the teacher and require new competencies. Scientific literature describes competence in using ICT as the wholeness of two structural components - basic and educational ICT competence. The conception has been considered conducting research on would-be teachers' competence in applying ICT. The article deals with the exposition of would-be teachers' competence in applying ICT in the process of teaching practice and focuses on the impact of studying informatics in forms 11 and 12 on the development of the latter competence. Research disclosed that would-be teachers had fully mastered ordinary abilities demonstrating basic and educational competencies in ICT. The development of would-be teachers' competence has been accepted as a permanent process starting yet before the studies at university within the process of learning informatics in forms 11 and 12.
The New C Standard An Economic and Cultural Commentary

Form of Control Expression % Abstract Form of Control Expression % object 15.5 object < integer-constant 2.2 object == object 8.9 object > integer-constant 1.8 function-call 7.4 function-call == object 1.6 ! object 7.4 object > object 1.4 expression 5.7 object ! = integer-constant 1.3 object ! = object 4.2 function-call == integer-constant 1.2 object == integer-constant 4.0 object < object 1.1 ! function-call 3.8 others 32.4 Table 1728.9:Occurrence ofswitch statement controlling expressions (as a percentage of all switch statements). Based on the visible form of the.c files. Whereobjectis a reference to a single object, which may be an identifier, a member (e.g., s.m, s->m->n, or a[expr]), integer-constant is an integer constant expression, and expressionrepresents all other expressions. Abstract Form of Control Expression % object 75.3 function-call 14.2 expression 5.2 *v object 2.0 others 3.3Form of Control Expression % object 75.3 function-call 14.2 expression 5.2 *v object 2.0 others 3.3 Table 1728.10:Occurrence of equality, relational, and logical operators in the conditional expression of an if statement (as a percentage of all such controlling expressions and as a percentage of each operator). Based on the visible form of the . c files. The percentage of controlling expressions may not sum to 100% because more than one of the operators occurs in the same expression. Operator % Controlling Expression % Occurrence of Operator Operator % Controlling Expression % Occurrence of Operator == 31.7 88.6 >= 3.5 76.8 ! = 14.1 79.7 no relational/equality 47.5 — < 6.9 45.6 || 9.6 85.9 <= 1.9 68.6 && 14.5 82.3 > 3.5 84.9 no logical operators 84.2 —
Long term follow-up of patients affected by temporomandibular joint dysfunction treated with orthodontic and/or prosthetic occlusal therapy.

AIM Clinical evidences about therapeutic effectiveness of splint therapy and modern concept concerning the etiopathogenesis of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) lead to a review of the therapeutic approach accepted until the middle 90s for the solution of this derangement of the stomathognatic system. Aim of this study is to produce a long term follow-up of a sample of TMD patients, to estimate the validity and utility of the present therapeutic procedures. METHODS After diagnostical classification of the patients observed, they have been included in a therapeutic protocol. The outcomes obtained (46 patients at the 1st control in 1994 and 38 patients at the last control in 2001) are re-examined with an average follow-up of 10 years. RESULTS The results obtained showed the efficacy of the therapeutic procedures carried out (36 healed, 9 improved and 1 worsened at the 1994 check-up: on the whole, a successful result in 98% of cases; 17 healed, 21 improved and 8 lost at the 2001 check-up: on the whole, a successful result in 100% of cases), but at present their application has to be reviewed according to a more conservative and careful therapeutic approach, based on the evaluation of some fundamental parameters. CONCLUSION The rehabilitative occlusal therapy, in its various aspects, is successful in the long term treatment of TDMs, as long as it is used only when it is possible to determine a correct indication.