Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collecting information: Optimizing outcomes, screening options, or facilitating discrimination?

Collection of information prior to a decision may be integrated into a compensatory choice process; if it is, the information packet that is collected should be the one that produces the highest net gain. Alternatively, information may be collected in order to screen out options that fail to meet minimum standards; if this is the case, people should not choose options on which they have not collected available information. We tested these and other predictions from the two approaches in four experiments. Participants were given specific information about three attributes of each choice option but only probabilistic information about a fourth one. They rated attractiveness of options, decided whether to collect specific information about the fourth attribute of each one, rated options again, and then selected one of them. Data were consistent with neither of the above approaches. Instead they suggested that people collect information in order to facilitate their ability to discriminate between the attractiveness of options.
Immunolocalization of a Histidine-Rich Epidermal Differentiation Protein in the Chicken Supports the Hypothesis of an Evolutionary Developmental Link between the Embryonic Subperiderm and Feather Barbs and Barbules

The morphogenesis of feathers is a complex process that depends on a tight spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression and assembly of the protein components of mature feathers. Recent comparative genomics and gene transcription studies have indicated that genes within the epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) encode numerous structural proteins of cornifying skin cells in amniotes including birds. Here, we determined the localization of one of these proteins, termed EDMTFH (Epidermal Differentiation Protein starting with a MTF motif and rich in Histidine), which belongs to a group of EDC-encoded proteins rich in aromatic amino acid residues. We raised an antibody against an EDMTFH-specific epitope and performed immunohistochemical investigations by light microscopy and immunogold labeling by electron microscopy of chicken embryos at days 14–18 of development. EDMTFH was specifically present in the subperiderm, a transient layer of the embryonic epidermis, and in barbs and barbules of feathers. In the latter, it partially localized to bundles of so-called feather beta-keratins (corneous beta-proteins, CBPs). Cells of the embryonic periderm, the epidermis proper, and the feather sheath were immunonegative for EDMTFH. The results of this study indicate that EDMTFH may contribute to the unique mechanical properties of feathers and define EDMTFH as a common marker of the subperiderm and the feather barbules. This expression pattern of EDMTFH resembles that of epidermal differentiation cysteine-rich protein (EDCRP) and feather CBPs and is in accordance with the hypothesis that a major part of the cyclically regenerating feather follicle is topologically, developmentally and evolutionarily related to the embryonic subperiderm.
Attenuating reactivity among low self-esteem individuals: The role of attentional-control

Securing social acceptance and avoiding social rejection are basic human needs. When faced with rejection, individuals low in self-esteem show elevated defensive psychological reactions. However, an emerging literature indicates that individual differences in attentional-control - the ability to direct and maintain attentional focus - might attenuate these reactions. In three studies, the present research further investigated the role attentional-control plays in attenuating reactivity to rejection among low self-esteem individuals. Self-esteem and attentional-control were measured with questionnaires. In Study 1 we found that low self-esteem high attentional-control individuals perceived and construed social rejection in less threatening ways. In Study 2 we found that that low self-esteem high attentional-control individuals showed enhanced BOLD response in brain regions related to emotion regulation (rostral anterior cingulate cortex) when judging the valence of artwork that depicts social rejection. In Study 3, we found that following a real-life rejection experience, rumination is significantly reduced by the second day among low self-esteem high attentional-control people, but not in their low attentional-control counterparts. Consistent with prior research demonstrating the buffering role of attentional-control in self-esteem (Gyurak & Ayduk, 2007), these studies indicate that individuals low in self-esteem but high in attentional-control responded less negatively to social rejection than low self-esteem low attentional-control individuals. Finally, in Study 4, we explored the correlates of attentional-control measured by the Attentional Control Scale (Derryberry & Reed, 2002) used in the first three studies by examining its relationship to self-report measures of emotion and self-regulatory scores, and performance on executive function measures. These results showed that higher scores on the Attentional Control Scale were related to emotion reappraisal ability and conscientiousness. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between higher scores on the Attentional Control Scale and complex executive function measure of Verbal Fluency. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that attentional-control attenuates defensive reactions to social rejection among otherwise vulnerable low self-esteem individuals, possibly via the engagement of behavioral and emotion regulatory mechanisms.
Does A View of Nature Promote Relief From Acute Pain?

Inadequate control of acute pain is a well-recognized and serious problem. Distraction is one of the methods used in adjunct with medications to relieve pain. Nature-related sensory stimuli are frequently used for both distraction and relaxation. The human response model that focuses on individual adaptation to health conditions is used in this article to guide an analysis of relevant studies. Four studies in clinical settings evaluated the effect of nature (as a visual stimulus) to determine whether it promoted relief of acute pain. All these studies also used audio stimuli (nature sounds or music). Distracting visual and auditory stimuli used together provided stronger evidence of pain reduction than when either type of stimulus was used alone.
An efficient universal prediction algorithm for unknown sources with limited training data

Inspired by C. E. Shannon's celebrated paper: "Prediction and entropy of printed English" (1951), we consider the optimal prediction error for unknown finite-alphabet ergodic Markov sources, for prediction algorithms that make inference about the most probable incoming letter, where the distribution of the unknown source is apparent only via a short training sequence of N + 1 letters. We allow N to be a polynomial function of K, the order of the Markov source, rather than the classical case where N is allowed to be exponential in K. A lower bound on the prediction error is formulated for such universal prediction algorithms, that are based on suffixes that were observed somewhere in the past "training sequence" X/sub -N//sup -1/ (i.e. it is assumed that the universal predictor, given the past (N + 1)-sequence which serves as a training sequence is no better than the optimal predictor given only the longest suffix that appeared somewhere in the past X/sub -N//sup -1/ vector). For a class of stationary Markov sources (which includes all Markov sources with positive transition probabilities), a particular universal predictor is introduced, and it is demonstrated that its performance is "optimal" in the sense that it yields a prediction error which is close to the lower bound on the universal prediction error, with limited training data. The results are nonasymptotic in the sense that they express the effect of limited training data on the efficiency of universal predictors. An asymptotically optimal universal predictor which is based on pattern matching appears elsewhere in the literature. However, the prediction error of these algorithms does not necessarily come close to the lower bound in the nonasymptotic region.
COMPOSITION AND PHYSICO -CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BUFFALO MILK WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON LIPIDS, PROTEINS, MINERALS, ENZYMES AND VITAMINS

ABSTRACT The businesses community of different sectors affected by current energy crisis in Pakistan tends towards dairy business.They are highly interested by the information on milk composition particularly of buffalo milk due to its majorcontribution in national’s milk production i.e. 63% according to the FAO’s published data of 2010. It is necessary toknow for maximum value addition in dairy food chain as the nutrients not only determine the dietary value of milk forhuman consumption but also help to define market strategies for various classes of consumers like growing children,nursing mothers, young persons involved in hard jobs or elderly people. Buffaloes are most important sources of milk forhuman consumption in several parts of the world including Pakistan. It is characterized by higher solids contents forbeing richer source of lipids, protein, lactose and minerals. Buffalo milk has long been valued by its important chemicalcomposition determining nutritive properties and suitability in the manufacture of traditional as well as industrial dairyproducts. Recently buffalo milk’s constituents, their nutritional importance and bioactive properties have received muchattention. In this paper, the composition and physico-chemical properties of major constituents of buffalo milk withparticular emphasis on lipids, protein, minerals, enzymes and vitamins have been presented. The concentration andpartition of major elements between different phases of buffalo milk are also given. The enzymic profiles as well as thenutrient molecules have been presented for the said milk which determines its suitability for various processes and endproducts. The available technologies need some modifications even from milking machines to industrial processing. It isa golden opportunity for the investors to come into buffalo milk business to get advantage from the governmentinitiatives in the current period. In this way, we will be able to improve the genetic potential of buffaloes in getting moremilk of higher quality and experimenting diversity of products particularly cheeses and other fermented dairy productsfor the local market and export by better exploiting the uniqueness of buffalo milk.Key words: Buffalo milk, chemical composition, physico-chemical properties.
The impact of fractionation in SBRT: Analysis with the linear quadratic model and the universal survival curve model

Abstract Background. Since the impact of fractionation in SBRT has not been systematically investigated, this modelling study was performed to see how the therapeutic window is affected for a range of fractions at target doses commonly administered in SBRT. Material and methods. Isoeffective tumour-doses (constant cell survival) were calculated with the linear quadratic (LQ) and the universal survival curve (USC) models for 2–20 fractions. The isoeffective tumour-regimes (with α/β = 10 Gy) were used to calculate the sparing of normal tissues (with α/β = 3 Gy) for an increasing number of fractions. Sparing was calculated as an increase in cell survival and decrease in normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) as compared to a common scheme with 3 fractions of 22 Gy to the centre of the target [(15 Gy to the periphery of the planning target volume (PTV)]. Results. At a high dose per fraction, above about 15 Gy, the USC model predicted much lower fractionation sensitivity than the LQ model. This holds true for both tumour and normal tissues. The USC model also predicted greater sparing of normal tissues outside the PTV as compared to the LQ model. Especially at dose levels of the order of 30–50% to that in the centre of the target. The decrease in NTCP predicted by the USC model was of the order of 30% for 10 fractions as compared to the NTCP for 3 fractions. With the LQ model the corresponding decrease was of the order of 10%. Conclusion. The USC model generally predicts a larger therapeutic window than the LQ model for an increasing number of fractions than today's practice in SBRT.
Rescuing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from Inefficient Information Systems--A Multi-disciplinary Method for ERP System Requirements Engineering

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate companies' multiple information systems and help adapt best practices for business processes. ERP systems are in most cases off-the-shelf software packages and large by their size and complex by their structure. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require flexibility of the ERP system because of their individual operational processes. Therefore it is crucial to select and implement an ERP system that fits the requirements of the intended target processes. To support the requirements engineering of ERP systems, we have developed customer-centered ERP implementation (C-CEI) method. The method introduces a multi-disciplinary approach to the ERP project, and provides in-depth understanding of the company's processes and context of use. Using C-CEI method decreases the risk of SMEs to select an inappropriate system, and improves the system acceptance by the customer company's employees. In this paper we present the method and illustrate it by three SME case studies
Weight gain and body mass index following change from daytime to night shift – a panel study with nursing professionals

ABSTRACT We analyzed the association between change in work schedule and modifications in nutritional status. We performed a panel study with nursing professionals based on two surveys seven year apart (n = 372). Groups with no change in work schedule, change from daytime to night shift, and change from night to daytime shift were analyzed. Outcomes were weight gain and body mass index (BMI) category increase. Participants who changed from daytime to night shift showed about twice increase in odds of more than 5 kg weight gain and BMI category increase. Changing from daytime to night work seems to influence weight and BMI.
Do children eat less at meals when allowed to serve themselves?

BACKGROUND The effect of self-serving on young children's energy intake is not well understood. OBJECTIVE The objective was to examine individual differences in the effects of plated and self-served entrée portions on children's energy intake. DESIGN Two within-subjects experiments were used to examine ad libitum intake at meals in 63 children aged 3-5 y when 400 g of a pasta entrée was either plated or available for children to self-serve. Child age, sex, BMI, and responsiveness to increasing portion size (defined as individual slope estimates relating ad libitum intake of the entrée across a range of entrée portions) were evaluated as predictors of self-served portions. RESULTS Children's entrée and meal intakes did not differ between the self-served and plated conditions for the total sample or by child weight status. However, larger self-served entrée portions were associated with greater entrée and meal intakes. Children who served themselves larger entrée portions tended to be overweight and more responsive to portion size (ie, greater increases in entrée intake as plated portion size increased). Last, self-served portion predicted both entrée and meal intake over and above BMI z score and responsiveness to portion. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to our hypothesis, relative to plated portions, allowing children to self-serve the entrée portion did not reduce energy intake. Children who were more responsive to portion-size effects were likely to self-serve and eat larger entrée portions. Self-serving is not a one-size-fits-all approach; some children may need guidance and rules to learn how to self-select appropriate portion sizes.
TH17-Mediated Protection against Pneumococcal Carriage by a Whole-Cell Vaccine Is Dependent on Toll-Like Receptor 2 and Surface Lipoproteins

ABSTRACT A pneumococcal whole-cell vaccine (WCV) confers TH17-mediated immunogenicity and reduces nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage in mice. Activation of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) has been shown to be important for generating TH17 responses, and several lipidated pneumococcal proteins have TLR2-activating properties. Here we investigated the roles of TLR2 and lipidation of proteins in WCV-induced interleukin-17A (IL-17A) responses and protection against NP carriage. Immunization of Tlr2−/− mice with WCV conferred significantly lower IL-17A levels and reduced protection against NP carriage, compared to wild-type (WT) mice, suggesting that host TLR2 engagement is required for effective immunity and protection elicited by WCV immunization. Using a WCV with deletion of lgt, the gene encoding the enzyme required for lipidation and membrane attachment of prolipoproteins, we show that lipidation and membrane localization of these proteins are critical for the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the WCV. To evaluate the roles of diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt)-mediated processes in the recall of WCV-induced protective responses, we colonized WCV-immunized animals with a strain in which lgt was deleted. WCV-immunized animals still had significantly reduced colonization burdens, compared to control animals, which suggests that lipidation and membrane localization of pneumococcal prolipoproteins are less critical for the recall of the immune responses elicited by WCV immunization than for the priming of such responses. Elucidation of underlying immune mechanisms and the optimal characteristics of WCV formulations can help guide vaccine development and enhance our understanding of host-pneumococcus interactions.
Efficacy and safety of ritonavir-boosted dual protease inhibitor therapy in antiretroviral-naive HIV-1-infected patients: the 2IP ANRS 127 study.

OBJECTIVES We evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ritonavir-boosted dual protease inhibitor as a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-sparing regimen in a prospective open-label randomized pilot trial in antiretroviral-naive patients. METHODS Thirty patients received fosamprenavir/atazanavir/ritonavir (Group 1) and 31 patients received saquinavir/atazanavir/ritonavir (Group 2). The primary endpoint for efficacy was the rate of early virological success, defined as plasma viral load <50 copies/mL at week 16. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00122603). RESULTS At baseline, median (range) viral load was 4.8 log(10) copies/mL (4.0-5.7) and the median CD4 cell count was 271/mm(3) (197-740). Viral load was <50 copies/mL in 12/30 patients [40%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 23%-58%] and 13/31 patients (42%, 95% CI 25%-59%) at week 16 in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Patients with failing regimens (viral load >or=400 copies/mL at week 16 or >or=50 copies/mL at week 24) were switched to a standard antiretroviral regimen. At week 48, by an intention-to-treat analysis, 23/30 patients (77%) and 26/31 patients (84%) had plasma HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Four patients discontinued treatment for adverse events, all before week 4. No major changes in the protease gene were detected at treatment failure relative to baseline. Baseline viral load <50 000 copies/mL was the only predictor of virological success at week 16. CONCLUSIONS Ritonavir-boosted dual protease inhibitor regimens targeting only one step of viral replication were insufficient to rapidly suppress plasma HIV RNA to <50 copies/mL in antiretroviral-naive patients with high viral load at baseline.
Effect of gonadal steroids on the response to LH-RH in intact and castrated male rats.

The effect of pretreatment with several sex steroids and some of their combinations was studied in intact and castrated male rats. The pretreatment of intact male rats with testosterone did not modify the FSH release but inhibited the LH release after the injection of LH-RH as compared with the oil-pretreatment control rats. Dihydrotestosterone significantly depressed LH release, but did not modify FSH release after the administration of LH-RH. This resulted in a change of the FSH/LH ratio in serum after LH-RH, as compared with the oil-treated rats. Estradiol significantly inhibited the FSH release, but augmented the LH release after administering LH-RH, also resulting in a change of the FSH/LH ratio as compared with control rats. 17-α-Hydroxyprogesterone and pregnandione did not modify the pituitary response to LH-RH. The combination of estradiol plus dihydrotestosterone depressed the pituitary response to LH-RH. Estradiol plus 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone slightly augmented, and estradiol plus pregnandione .
Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake Is Essential for Synaptic Plasticity in Pain

The increase of cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]c) due to NMDA receptor activation is a key step for spinal cord synaptic plasticity by altering cellular signal transduction pathways. We focus on this plasticity as a cause of persistent pain. To provide a mechanism for these classic findings, we report that [Ca2+]c does not trigger synaptic plasticity directly but must first enter into mitochondria. Interfering with mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake during a [Ca2+]c increase blocks induction of behavioral hyperalgesia and accompanying downstream cell signaling, with reduction of spinal long-term potentiation (LTP). Furthermore, reducing the accompanying mitochondrial superoxide levels lessens hyperalgesia and LTP induction. These results indicate that [Ca2+]c requires downstream mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake with consequent production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for synaptic plasticity underlying chronic pain. These results suggest modifying mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and thus ROS as a type of chronic pain therapy that should also have broader biologic significance.
The Results of Vascular and Biliary Variations in Turks Liver Donors: Comparison with Others

Objective. To evaluate liver anatomy with a view to access unerring surgery in liver donors. Summary Background Data. Liver transplantation, the unique curative treatment option for end-stage hepatic failure, has become routinely practicable, which was inconceivable in the past. But, the vascular and biliary anatomy of the liver has not been completely disclosed yet. Methods. From 1994 to 2009, we have done a research on 496 liver donors. The data were accumulated and categorized according to the most widely used classification systems. Results. Of 496 liver donors, 393 (79.1%) underwent the right donor hepatectomy, 98 (19.9%) were performed the left lateral segmentectomy, and 5 donors (1%) underwent the left donor hepatectomy surgery. Given the data regarding to 398 liver donors undergone right and left donor hepatectomy, arteries, bile ducts, and portal vein showed classical anatomy in 107 (21.6%) donors. Variations in all three systems were found in 16 donors (3.2%). In the remaining 275 donors (75.2%), anatomical variations were found at either of arterial, biliary, or portal system. Conclusions. Our study could come up to actual estimate in liver anatomy as any of donors have not been removed in our institute due to high hilar dissection technique.