Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Neuropathies in Hyperglycemic and Hypoglycemic Diabetic Rats

We investigated the effects of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia on development of peripheral neuropathy in somatic motor and sensory nerves in type 1 diabetic BB/Wor rats. The animals were maintained in a hyper- or hypoglycemic state by treatment with insulin for 3 months. Nondiabetic siblings served as controls. Qualitative analysis of the gastrocnemius and sural nerves by light and electron microscopy revealed signs of Wallerian-type axonal degeneration and regeneration of large myelinated fibers in the hypoglycemic but not the hyperglycemic animals. Degeneration was more common in the gastrocnemius nerve than in the sural nerve. In hypoglycemic rats, myelinated fibers in both the gastrocnemius and sural nerves had significantly shorter internodes and smaller diameters. The decreased fiber diameter was related (r = −0.9) to the duration of severe hypoglycemia (≤2.5 mmol/L). Myelinated fiber occupancy was also decreased without any significant changes in fiber counts in both the gastrocnemius and sural nerves. In hyperglycemic rats, myelinated fibers in the sural nerve but not the gastrocnemius nerve had smaller diameters compared with controls. We conclude that hypoglycemia has a more severe impact on somatic motor nerves than on somatic sensory nerves, whereas hyperglycemia affects only somatic sensory nerves.
The Use of Narrative Structures in Television News

The content of TV news is often not retained or understood by the audience. This article discusses a concept for increasing retention and comprehension levels relating to TV news. Results of an experimental reception analysis with 215 participants show that retention and comprehension can be improved by employing a narrative device to present TV news. Adopting a narrative form for TV news also gives a clearer distance and perspective to the news content, which has advantages for social communication.
Progenitor cell subsets and engraftment kinetics in children undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

The main objective of the present study was to determine the role of CD34+ cell subsets in the haemopoietic recovery of children undergoing peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. For this purpose, 38 leukaphereses from 33 children with malignancies mobilized with G‐CSF were analysed. Using dual‐colour flow cytometry, different subpopulations of CD34+ cells were quantified and the number of each reinfused subsets correlated with haemopoietic resurgence. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of CD34+CD38− cells and CD34+CD38+ cells correlated better with time to neutrophil and platelet recovery, respectively, than the total number of CD34+ cells. Threshold values for rapid haemopoietic recovery, determined by the receiver operating characteristic analysis, were found to be 0.5 × 106 CD34+CD38− cells for neutrophil engraftment, and 2.0 × 106 CD34+CD38+ cells for platelet recovery. It is suggested that the analysis of CD34+ cell subsets could increase understanding of the repopulation capacity of a given leukapheresis product in peripheral blood stem cell transplantation procedures in children. In particular, this procedure could be extremely useful when low numbers of CD34+ cells are collected.
Developing Engineering Students' Communication Skills by Reducing their Communication Apprehension

Communication Skills Laboratory (GE1352), a course for undergraduate engineering and technology students studying at colleges affiliated to the Anna University, Chennai, India was introduced in November 2006. The main objective of the course is to develop students' communication skills and prepare them for placement / campus recruitment. As it was observed that many students have speech anxiety, at the start of the course, the personal report of communication apprehension (PRCA-24) instrument (McCroskey, 1982) was used among a sample of 120 students at the Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai to measure their communication apprehension (CA) and speaking tests were administered to the same students to assess their speaking skills. The analysis of the PRCA scores and the results of the speaking tests revealed that majority of the students have high communication apprehension and around 60 per cent of them lack communication skills. Only if effective measures are taken to help students overcome communication apprehension, it is possible to develop their communication skills in an effective manner. Based on this assumption, certain measures were taken to help students reduce their CA. This paper discusses the results of PRCA-24 and speaking tests, lists the suggestions given by the students themselves to overcome their CA and explains the steps taken to help students overcome their CA and thus develop their communication skills.
The Role of Utility Value in Achievement Behavior: The Importance of Culture

Two studies tested how participants’ responses to utility value interventions and subsequent interest in a math technique vary by culture (Westerners vs. East Asians) and levels of initial math interest. Participants in Study 1 were provided with information about the utility value of the technique or not. The manipulation was particularly effective for East Asian learners with initially lower math interest, who showed more interest in the technique relative to low-interest Westerners. Study 2 compared the effects of two types of utility value (proximal or distal) and examined the effects on interest, effort, performance, and process variables. Whereas East Asian participants reaped the most motivational benefits from a distal value manipulation, Westerners benefited the most from a proximal value manipulation. These findings have implications for how to promote motivation for learners with different cultural backgrounds and interests.
ALK in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Pathobiology, Epidemiology, Detection from Tumor Tissue and Algorithm Diagnosis in a Daily Practice

Patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) harboring an ALK rearrangement, detected from a tissue sample, can benefit from targeted ALK inhibitor treatment. Several increasingly effective ALK inhibitors are now available for treatment of patients. However, despite an initial favorable response to treatment, in most cases relapse or progression occurs due to resistance mechanisms mainly caused by mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of ALK. The detection of an ALK rearrangement is pivotal and can be done using different methods, which have variable sensitivity and specificity depending, in particular, on the quality and quantity of the patient’s sample. This review will first highlight briefly some information regarding the pathobiology of an ALK rearrangement and the epidemiology of patients harboring this genomic alteration. The different methods used to detect an ALK rearrangement as well as their advantages and disadvantages will then be examined and algorithms proposed for detection in daily routine practice.
The Wake-Promoting Hypocretin–Orexin Neurons Are in an Intrinsic State of Membrane Depolarization

Wakefulness depends on the activity of hypocretin–orexin neurons because their lesion results in narcolepsy. How these neurons maintain their activity to promote wakefulness is not known. Here, by recording for the first time from hypocretin–orexin neurons and comparing their properties with those of neurons expressing melanin-concentrating hormone, we show that hypocretin–orexin neurons are in an intrinsic state of membrane depolarization that promotes their spontaneous activity. We propose that wakefulness and associated energy expenditure thus depend on that property, which allows the hypocretin–orexin neurons to maintain a tonic excitatory influence on the central arousal and peripheral sympathetic systems.
Ocular Manifestations in Patients with HIV Infection/AIDS who were Referred from the ART Centre, Hassan, Karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND Ocular involvement in HIV infection/AIDS is very common and it includes various clinical presentations which may be asymptomatic or atypical or they may be the initial manifestations of the underlying disease. The severity of these lesions increases as the immune competency decreases, leading to visual impairment or blindness. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and the types of HIV associated ocular conditions and their effect on the vision in patients with HIV/AIDS. METHODS This cross sectional study was based on the patients with HIV infection/AIDS, who were referred to the Ophthalmic OPD, District hospital, Hassan. These patients were referred from the District ART Centre for a complete ophthalmic evaluation, irrespective of their immune status and the presence or absence of symptoms. All the patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, which included both anterior and posterior segment evaluation and colour vision assessment. RESULTS Out of the 553 patients, 66% belonged to the age group of 21-40 years. 87% of the patients had a BCVA of >6/18, whereas 4.7% had very poor vision. 37.6% of the patients had ocular manifestations. Anterior segment, posterior segment and neuro-ophthalmic manifestations were seen in 7%, 9.94% and 5.79% of the patients respectively. The most common anterior segment manifestation was recurrent lid infections, while HIV microangiopathy was the most common posterior segment manifestation. The other unusual findings included an abnormal colour vision in 6.3% of the patients and bilateral lid retraction in 8.5% of the patients. CONCLUSION Since ocular manifestations are very common and as they can occur at any time during the course of HIV infection, an awareness on various patterns of the ocular disease and the screening of all the patients with HIV infection/AIDS is a must.
Transcription factor Late SV40 Factor (LSF) functions as an oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive cancer with no currently available effective treatment. Understanding of the molecular mechanism of HCC development and progression is imperative for developing novel, effective, and targeted therapies for this lethal disease. In this article, we document that the cellular transcription factor Late SV40 Factor (LSF) plays an important role in HCC pathogenesis. LSF protein was significantly overexpressed in human HCC cells compared to normal hepatocytes. In 109 HCC patients, LSF protein was overexpressed in >90% cases, compared to normal liver, and LSF expression level showed significant correlation with the stages and grades of the disease. Forced overexpression of LSF in less aggressive HCC cells resulted in highly aggressive, angiogenic, and multiorgan metastatic tumors in nude mice. Conversely, inhibition of LSF significantly abrogated growth and metastasis of highly aggressive HCC cells in nude mice. Microarray studies revealed that as a transcription factor, LSF modulated specific genes regulating invasion, angiogenesis, chemoresistance, and senescence. The expression of osteopontin (OPN), a gene regulating every step in tumor progression and metastasis, was robustly up-regulated by LSF. It was documented that LSF transcriptionally up-regulates OPN, and loss-of-function studies demonstrated that OPN plays an important role in mediating the oncogenic functions of LSF. Together, these data establish a regulatory role of LSF in cancer, particularly HCC pathogenesis, and validate LSF as a viable target for therapeutic intervention.
Leadership Development Revisted: An Assessment of Midshipmen Learning Processes at the United States Naval Academy.

Abstract : This thesis attempts to answer the following research questions: (1) How do midshipmen learn about leadership? (2) How do officer learning processes differ from midshipmen learning processes? The learning literature and the leadership literature identified the following leadership learning processes: (1) experience, (2) observation, (3) reflection, (4) experimentation, (5) interpersonal interactions, (6) organizational cultural, (7) formal instruction (i.e., conceptualization), and (8) self-direction. To test the research questions, the author conducted 25 focused interviews with Naval Academy midshipmen, Naval Postgraduate School students, and Naval Academy leadership instructors. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed. The data analysis yielded eight general themes related to midshipmen leadership development. The data suggested midshipmen learn leadership from the following sources: experience, observation, reflection, interpersonal interaction, and organizational culture. The interview data further suggested midshipmen do not learn leadership from formal classroom instruction; however, the officer interview data supported conceptualization (i.e., theoretical instruction) as an important leadership learning process. The officer interview data suggested that graduate students and leadership instructors use an integrated (i.e., systems) approach to learn leadership.
Sunlight in cyberspace? On transparency as a form of ordering

While we witness a growing belief in transparency as an ideal solution to a wide range of societal problems, we know less about the practical workings of transparency as it guides conduct in organizational and regulatory settings. This article argues that transparency efforts involve much more than the provision of information and other forms of ‘sunlight’, and are rather a matter of managing visibilities than providing insight and clarity. Building on actor-network theory and Foucauldian governmentality studies, it calls for careful attention to the ways in which transparency ideals are translated into more situated practices and become associated with specific organizational and regulatory concerns. The article conceptualizes transparency as a force that shapes conduct in organizational and socio-political domains. In the second section, this conceptualization of transparency as a form of ‘ordering’ is substantiated further by using illustrations of the effects of transparency efforts in the internet domain.
The School Leadership/School Climate Relation: Identification of School Configurations Associated with Change in Principals

This study examined the relation of school leadership to school climate, school structure, and student population characteristics, together referred to as school configuration. Archival and survey data were obtained from 122 elementary schools. Some schools had changed principals under less than positive circumstances, whereas other schools had not. Schools having principal changes had greater use and more students who were new to the district, new to the school, economically disadvantaged, and minority. Schools having principal changes also had slightly lower scores on criterion-referenced tests. Students and their parents also perceived these schools as less ordered and disciplined, and parents reported lower levels of school empowerment and participation in school activities. As predicted, within schools having principal changes, students and their parents showed less agreement in perceptions of the school environment. Implications of results for effectively configured school organizations and effective principal leadership are discussed.
Fuzzy linguistic propositional logic based on refined hedge algebra

We consider a fuzzy linguistic propositional logic having the truth domain as a refined hedge algebra. The syntax and semantic are defined, the resolution is chosen as the inference system. The soundness and completeness of the resolution procedure are proved using semantic tree technique. In order to capture the approximate nature of the resolution inference, we introduce the concept of reliability of resolution inference. The greater the reliability is the more certain the resolution inference is. Finally, we give an optimized resolution procedure which guarantees that each resolution proof has the maximal reliability.
Austerity, welfare reform and the rising use of food banks by children in England and Wales

Since 2010, UK social policy has been dominated by austerity and welfare reform. These policy platforms sit on a wider set of shifts in policy framings, in terms of both understanding the issue of poverty and the most effective solutions to it. The resulting strategies employed have had significant impacts on children and their household incomes. Within the context of the changing nature of state welfare and the drive for more privatised (non-state) provision, this paper focuses on the effects of this on assistance to children in particular, employing charitable food banks as a case study. Empirical data from the UK's largest food bank organisation (the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network) are explored to chart the rise of this provision as an example of the increasingly important role charitable organisations are playing in caring for children in the face of a reduced welfare state. The results show that both in mean and absolute terms, provision of food parcels to children by charitable foodbanks has grown considerably since the impacts of austerity, welfare reform and rising costs of living kicked in (2012/13). The results indicate that foodbanks are playing a bigger role in the provision of care to children generally in this context, but particularly where childhood deprivation is high. This paper furthers geographical discussions about the changing nature of care for those in or at risk of poverty, focusing on the increased vulnerability of children that has resulted from recent social policy shifts. Food banks form a particularly high-profile example of the rising prominence of charitable care in the context of an increasingly reduced welfare state. By discussing some of the key challenges of this provision, the paper also facilitates critical thinking about the issues that the contemporary shift away from universal social security and public care services might raise.
USING PERSONALITY TYPE TO PREDICT STUDENT SUCCESS IN A TECHNOLOGY-RICH CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

BROWN, LAUREN HADLEY. Using personality type to predict student success in a technology-rich classroom environment. (Under the direction of Duane Akroyd.) The purpose of the research has been to determine whether personality type has predictive ability in student success in a high-technology classroom. Previous research in this area has focused on professor personality type and their teaching method, how student personality type matches their comfort levels with technology, or the effect of a high technology environment on personality type. The current study looks at the predictability of personality type on student success in a high-technology academic environment. The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) was used to assess student personality type while end-of-course grade in Chemistry 101, a technology-rich course, was used to measure success. Controlling variables were gender and SAT total score. Regression analyses showed that students who possessed the Sensing (S) personality type over the Intuiting (N) personality type performed significantly better in the high-technology classroom. Similarly, students who were Thinking (T) as opposed to Feeling (F) also did significantly better in a high-technology environment. Analyses also showed differences in the means for groups participating in this research. Males had significantly lower grades than females in Chemistry 101 but scored significantly higher than females on SAT total. Males were significantly more likely to be T than F and also were significantly more T than females. Gender differences on the MBTI, specifically the Thinking vs. Feeling scale, that are prevalent in the literature and nationwide data, were also found in this study. Implications for the use of this study are numerous. The most important application of this prediction would be for advisers to assist their students in choosing the best academic path and future career options. College departments who give the MBTI also can have a use for the results beyond the normal personality type descriptions. USING PERSONALITY TYPE TO PREDICT STUDENT SUCCESS IN A TECHNOLOGY-RICH CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT by LAUREN HADLEY BROWN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education ADULT AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION Raleigh 2006
Topographic organization of cortical inputs to the lateral nucleus of the macaque monkey amygdala: A retrograde tracing study

The objective of this study was to identify cortical areas that project to the lateral nucleus of the macaque monkey amygdaloid complex. Discrete injections of the fluorescent retrograde tracers Fast blue and Diamidino yellow were placed into different locations within the lateral nucleus. Retrogradely labeled cells were mapped using a computer‐aided digitizing system. In the frontal cortex, low numbers of retrogradely labeled cells were observed in medial and orbitofrontal regions (areas 10, 11, 12, 13, 13a, and 14). In the anterior cingulate cortex, low to moderate numbers of retrogradely labeled cells were located in areas 25, 24, and 32. In the insula, there were moderate to high numbers of retrogradely labeled cells in agranular and dysgranular regions. The parainsula cortex also demonstrated a moderate to high number of retrogradely labeled cells. In the temporal lobe, retrogradely labeled cells were most numerous in the rostral (polar) portion of the perirhinal cortex. Large numbers of labeled cells were also located throughout more caudal portions of the perirhinal regions as well as in the entorhinal cortex, area TE, and the superior temporal gyrus. Fewer retrogradely labeled cells were observed in the cortex along the dorsal bank of the superior temporal sulcus, in the parahippocampal cortex, and in area TEO. Although retrograde tracers can provide only limited evidence for topography, we nonetheless noted that the density of retrogradely labeled cells in a cortical area reliably depended on the location of the tracer injection in the lateral nucleus. J. Comp. Neurol. 421:52–79, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.