Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Conflict of Interest in Abdominal Wall Reconstruction With Acellular Dermal Matrix

IntroductionConflict of interest (COI) and disclosure of financial relationships have received increased attention recently owing in part to the passage of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biological to record payments to physicians and health care systems. The impact of financial relationships with industry sponsorship and COI reporting on surgical outcomes of abdominal wall reconstruction with acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) has not been previously explored. MethodsA systematic review of the literature for studies that evaluated surgical outcomes in abdominal wall reconstruction using ADM was conducted. The level of evidence of these studies was evaluated; and data concerning the type of industry, government, or national society sponsorship, primary outcome, complications, and statistical results were collected. The overall favorability of the study with respect to ADM use was systematically assessed. Comparisons between type of sponsorship and significant results were analyzed using the Pearson &khgr;2 test. ResultsA total of 204 studies were identified, of which 124 fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Sixty-four (52%) studies had a disclosure statement present. Conflict of interest was reported in 39 (61%) of these studies. Taken collectively, studies that report no COI are more likely to be unfunded (P < 0.001). Studies with a reported COI are more likely to report a favorable outcome with respect to infection (P < 0.01), wound complications (P < 0.01), and overall morbidity (P < 0.07) and mortality (P < 0.05). ConclusionsIndustry sponsorship and COI are common in abdominal wall reconstruction studies with ADM. Studies authored by groups disclosing an industry conflict that report clinical outcomes are significantly associated with reporting lower postoperative complications, and consequently describing positive research findings.
The ultraluminous X-ray source population of NGC 4485/4490.

We report the results of spectral and temporal variability studies of the ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) contained within the interacting pair of galaxies NGC 4485/4490, combining Chandra and XMM–Newton observations. Each of the four separate observations provide at least modest quality spectra and light curves for each of the six previously identified ULXs in this system; we also note the presence of a new transient ULX in the most recent observation. No short-term variability was observed for any ULX within our sample, but three out of five sources show correlated flux/spectral changes over longer time-scales, with two others remaining stable in spectrum and luminosity over a period of at least 5 yr. We model the spectra with simple power-law and multicolour disc blackbody models. Although the data are insufficient to statistically distinguish models in each epoch, those better modelled (in terms of their χ 2 fit) by a multicolour disc blackbody appear to show a disc-like correlation between luminosity and temperature, whereas those modelled by a power-law veer sharply away from such a relationship. The ULXs with possible correlated flux/spectral changes appear to change spectral form at ∼2 × 10 39 erg s −1 , suggestive of a possible change in spectral state at high luminosities. If this transition is occurring between the very high state and a super-Eddington ultraluminous state, it indicates that the mass of the black holes in these ULXs is around 10–15 M� .
Tissue Renin–Angiotensin Systems: A Unifying Hypothesis of Metabolic Disease

The actions of angiotensin peptides are diverse and locally acting tissue renin–angiotensin systems (RAS) are present in almost all tissues of the body. An activated RAS strongly correlates to metabolic disease (e.g., diabetes) and its complications and blockers of RAS have been demonstrated to prevent diabetes in humans. Hyperglycemia, obesity, hypertension, and cortisol are well-known risk factors of metabolic disease and all stimulate tissue RAS whereas glucagon-like peptide-1, vitamin D, and aerobic exercise are inhibitors of tissue RAS and to some extent can prevent metabolic disease. Furthermore, an activated tissue RAS deteriorates the same risk factors creating a system with several positive feedback pathways. The primary effector hormone of the RAS, angiotensin II, stimulates reactive oxygen species, induces tissue damage, and can be associated to most diabetic complications. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that an activated tissue RAS is the principle cause of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, and additionally is mediating the majority of the metabolic complications. The involvement of positive feedback pathways may create a self-reinforcing state and explain why metabolic disease initiate and progress. The hypothesis plausibly unifies the major predictors of metabolic disease and places tissue RAS regulation in the center of metabolic control.
Population, Households and Fisheries in the Parish of Hvalsnes, Southwestern Iceland, 1750–1850

Abstract This is an in-depth study of the parish of Hvalsnes, a small fishing community situated on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, during the period 1750–1850. The study is inspired by the nordic Coastal Region Project carried out in the 1990s, focussing on the relationship between economic factors and household size and structure. With reference to the concept of ecotype, Hvalsnes is compared to a few farming communities in southern and western Iceland as regards a number of economic and demographic factors. Among the features characterizing the Hvalsnes community was the large proportion of crofter and cottar households in relation to those of independent farmer-fishermen; the former constituted a valuable workforce for the commercial cod fisheries on the abundant Reykjanes banks. At the same time, the study reveals that during the winter season the operation of the fishing fleet was highly dependent on seasonal migration from farming areas. In this perspective Hvalsnes appears to be an Icelandic parallel to Lofoten in Norway. A closer view of the techniques and social organization of fishing in the parish discloses significant differences between its three individual sections. It is argued that these differences help to explain why some sections suffered more, in economic and demographic terms, than others from the natural catastrophes and political changes which took place towards the end of the eighteenth century. However, these changes did not alter the general condition of the landless population: cottars by the seaside and living-in servants in the countryside. Among these groups many individuals continued now as before their seasonal migration between the two ecotypes. Tentatively, it is argued that the seasonal exchange of workforce between fishing and farming communities contributed to an efficient use of the labour capacity of their members.
Social identity and intergroup relations

Contributors Preface Henri Tajfel Introduction Henri Tajfel Part I. The Cognitive Construction of Groups: 1. Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group John C. Turner 2. The determination of collective behaviour Stephen Reicher 3. Social identity and relations of power between groups Jean-Claude Deschamps 4. Intergroup relations and attribution process Miles Hewstone and J. M. F. Jaspars Part II. The Dynamics of Interaction Between Groups: Experimental Studies: 5. Perceived illegitimacy and intergroup relations Brian Caddick 6. The battle for acceptance: an investigation into the dynamics of intergroup behaviour Rupert J. Brown and Gordon F. Ross 7. Power and intergroup discrimination Sik Hung Ng 8. Cross-cultural studies of minimal groups: implications for the social identity theory of intergroup relations Margaret Wetherell 9. Individuality and membership in the intergroup system Murray Horwitz and Jacob M. Rabbie Part III. Contexts of Social Identity: Ethnicity and Social Differentials: 10. Intergroup conflict in Northern Ireland Ed Cairns 11. Problems of identity and social conflict: research on ethnic groups in Italy Dora Capozza, Emiliana Bonaldo and Alba Di Maggio 12. Intergroup relations, ethnic identity and self-evaluation in Indonesia J. M. F. Jaspars and Suwarsih Warnaen 13. The Swedish-speaking Finns: a case study of ethnolinguistic identity Karmela Liebkind 14. Intergroup perceptions in British higher education: a field study Richard Y. Bourhis and Peter Hill 15. Open conflict and the dynamics of intergroup negotiations Claude Louche Part IV. Conclusion: 16. Instrumentality, identity and social comparisons Henri Tajfel Subject index Author index.
A biologically inspired meta-control navigation system for the Psikharpax rat robot

A biologically inspired navigation system for the mobile rat-like robot named Psikharpax is presented, allowing for self-localization and autonomous navigation in an initially unknown environment. The ability of parts of the model (e.g. the strategy selection mechanism) to reproduce rat behavioral data in various maze tasks has been validated before in simulations. But the capacity of the model to work on a real robot platform had not been tested. This paper presents our work on the implementation on the Psikharpax robot of two independent navigation strategies (a place-based planning strategy and a cue-guided taxon strategy) and a strategy selection meta-controller. We show how our robot can memorize which was the optimal strategy in each situation, by means of a reinforcement learning algorithm. Moreover, a context detector enables the controller to quickly adapt to changes in the environment—recognized as new contexts—and to restore previously acquired strategy preferences when a previously experienced context is recognized. This produces adaptivity closer to rat behavioral performance and constitutes a computational proposition of the role of the rat prefrontal cortex in strategy shifting. Moreover, such a brain-inspired meta-controller may provide an advancement for learning architectures in robotics.
A configurational framework for diversity: socialization and culture

Purpose – To develop hypotheses aimed at finding ways to take full advantage of the benefits associated with selecting and hiring dissimilar employees such as creativity, productivity, and problem solving, while avoiding negative consequences such as lower job satisfaction and increased turnover.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the diversity, socialization, and culture literature was conducted. In addition, this research is based on configurational theory and the idea that all the constructs interact with one another in order to affect outcomes in an organization.Findings – The literature review and theory development support the idea that, in order to benefit from the positive outcomes related to diversity, organizations should implement individualized socialization tactics within a collectivistic organizational culture.Research limitations/implications – The hypotheses need to be empirically tested.Practical implications – This research suggests that it is possible for managers to get the most .
Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Homosocial World of Working-Class Amusements 2. Leisure and Labor 3. Putting on Style 4. Dance Madness 5. The Coney Island Excursion 6. Cheap Theater and the Nickel Dumps 7. Reforming Working Women's Recreation Conclusion Notes Index
Current Emotion Research in Behavioral Neuroscience: The Role(s) of the Amygdala

Substantial advances in our understanding of the neural bases of emotional processing have been made over the past decades. Overall, studies in humans and other animals highlight the key role of the amygdala in the detection and evaluation of stimuli with affective value. Nonetheless, contradictory findings have been reported, especially in terms of the exact role of this structure in the processing of different emotions, giving rise to different neural models of emotion. For instance, although the amygdala has traditionally been considered as exclusively involved in fear (and possibly anger), more recent work suggests that it may be important for processing other types of emotions, and even nonemotional information. A review of the main findings in this field is presented here, together with some of the hypotheses that have been put forward to interpret this literature and explain its inconsistencies.
NEW ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR COMPARING BONE FRACTURE ANGLES : A CONTROLLED STUDY OF HAMMERSTONE AND HYENA ( Cr o c u t a c r o c u t a ) LONG BONE BREAKAGE

Accurate interpretation of the cause and timing of bone breakage is essential for understanding the archaeological record. However, many variables potentially influencing break morphology have yet to be systematically explored. Focusing primarily on hammerstone breakage, we introduce new analytical methods for comparing fracture angles using the absolute values of the angle from 90°. We systematically control for intrinsic variables such as taxon, skeletal element, limb portion and skeletal age. We also compare experimental assemblages of femora broken by hammerstone and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). We show that fracture angles are influenced by breakage plane, skeletal element and limb portion. While the latter two have been suggested before, this is the first time the differences have been quantified. We suggest that researchers stratify their assemblages by these variables if they are using fracture angles in analyses. At the assemblage level, hyenas created more oblique fracture angles on oblique breaks than did hammerstones.
On Selected Morphemes in Saudi Arabian Sign Language

Following a year of study of Saudi Arabian Sign Language (SASL), we are documenting our findings to provide a grammatical sketch of the language. This paper represents one part of that endeavor and focuses on a description of selected morphemes, both manual and non-manual, that have appeared in the course of data collection. While some of the morphemes described here have been found to be unique to SASL, several have been previously identified in American Sign Language (ASL) as well as other European sign languages. The general methodology of the group of researchers is described in detail by Stephen and Mathur (this issue), and can be referred to as a background for the methodology described below. What follows is a description of three separate studies beginning with a description of manual aspectual markers by Carla Morris. This is followed by the description of the nonmanual intense face adverbial, and a description of tongue movements, both by Erin Schneider. All of the analyses seek to identify the form of the morphemes, as well as describe their possible functions. Each analysis is followed by comparison with similar phenomena in other languages and directions for future research on the topic.
The influence of the press upon the accuracy of report

The particular circumstance was the unwitting distortion by a university newspaper of certain data which had been presented in a lecture given as part of a course in general psychology. The results presented show that groups of college students who have not been subjected to the errors of a newspaper report are consistently more accurate in their answers to specific questions which deal with the facts distorted than are other groups of college students, who have, perhaps unwittingly, formed contradictory habits through the medium of the newspaper. Furthermore, they yield corroboration of other studies upon the findings (1) that reports which involve number statements are less accurate than those which are non-quantitative in character, and (2) that the differences in report between sexes are negligible. They also show to what extent a press article can displace information disseminated by the lecture method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
The Trappings of Home: Young Homeless People's Transitions Towards Independent Living

This paper describes the experiences of young homeless people in Western Australia during their transitions to more permanent accommodation and independent living. For these young homeless people, permanent accommodation provided an opportunity for ‘feeling at home’ and having a sense of control and stability associated with ‘home’. Within this space, these young people wanted to be considered ‘normal’ home occupiers. In this context, the paper discusses how young homeless people experience and negotiate the social and cultural understandings of home outside socially accepted pathways of leaving the parental home and becoming ‘normal’ home occupiers themselves. The paper shows how this experience of home, and the potential it offers previously homeless young people, is interrupted by discourses of youth workers, neighbours and society at large, which serve to (re)position them outside the community of ‘normal’ home occupiers. The findings have implications for both policy and the delivery of services to young homeless people.
Three-Year Population-Based Evaluation of Standardized Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive-Unit-Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Standardized mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing based on 15 and 24 loci recently has been proposed for Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotyping. So far, this optimized system has been assessed in a single, 1-year population-based study performed in Germany (M. C. Oelemann, R. Diel, V. Vatin, W. Haas, S. Rusch-Gerdes, C. Locht, S. Niemann, and P. Supply, J. Clin. Microbiol. 45:691-697, 2007). Here, we evaluated these optimized formats in a much larger population-based study conducted during 39 months in the Brussels capital region of Belgium. Isolates from 807 patients were genotyped. The resolution power, cluster, and lineage identification by the standardized MIRU-VNTR sets were compared to those obtained using standardized IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), spoligotyping, and a previous 12-MIRU-VNTR-locus set. On a subset representing 77% of the cases during a 16-month period, a high concordance was observed between unique isolates or strain clusters as defined by standardized MIRU-VNTR and IS6110-RFLP (i.e., more than five IS6110 bands). When extended to the entire population-based collection, the discriminatory subset of 15 loci decreased the strain-clustering rate by almost twofold compared to that of the old 12-locus set. The addition of the nine ancillary MIRU-VNTR loci and/or spoligotyping only slightly further decreased this strain-clustering rate. Familial, social, and/or geographic proximity links were found in 48% of the clusters identified, and well-known risk factors for tuberculosis transmission were identified. Finally, an excellent correspondence was determined between our MIRU-VNTR-spoligotyping strain identifications and external reference strain lineages included in the MIRU-VNTRplus database and identified by, e.g., large sequence polymorphisms. Our results reinforce the proposal of standardized MIRU-VNTR typing as a new reference genotyping method for the epidemiological and phylogenetic screening of M. tuberculosis strains.
Sensitization of Glioma Cells to Tamoxifen-Induced Apoptosis by Pl3-Kinase Inhibitor through the GSK-3β/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Malignant gliomas represent one of the most aggressive types of cancers and their recurrence is closely linked to acquired therapeutic resistance. A combination of chemotherapy is considered a promising therapeutic model in overcoming therapeutic resistance and enhancing treatment efficacy. Herein, we show by colony formation, Hochest 33342 and TUNEL staining, as well as by flow cytometric analysis, that LY294002, a specific phosphatidylinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, enhanced significantly the sensitization of a traditional cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent, tamoxifen-induced apoptosis in C6 glioma cells. Activation of PI3K signaling pathway by IGF-1 protected U251 cells from apoptosis induced by combination treatment of LY294002 and tamoxifen. Interference of PI3K signaling pathway by PI3K subunit P85 siRNA enhanced the sensitization of U251 glioma cells to tamoxifen -induced apoptosis. By Western blotting, we found that combination treatment showed lower levels of phosphorylated AktSer473 and GSK-3βSer9 than a single treatment of LY294002. Further, we showed a significant decrease of nuclear β-catenin by combination treatment. In response to the inhibition of β-catenin signaling, mRNA and protein levels of Survivin and the other three antiapoptotic genes Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1 were significantly decreased by combination treatment. Our results indicated that the synergistic cytotoxic effect of LY294002 and tamoxifen is achieved by the inhibition of GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Alliance, Technique, and their Interactions in Predicting Outcome of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Brief Dynamic Therapy

With depressed elderly patients treated in behavioral (BT), cognitive (CT) or brief dynamic therapy (BDT), the prediction of outcome by alliance, technique (exploratory and supportive), and their interactions was examined. The alliance was rated on the CALPAS-R, and technique on the Inventory of Therapeutic Strategies (ITS). In BT, pretherapy depression levels and alliance predicted outcome, as did more exploratory interventions provided in the context of poorer alliances at midtherapy. In CT, alliance and exploratory interventions predicted outcome throughout treatment, as did more exploratory interventions provided in the context of poorer alliances at midtherapy. In BDT, some alliance dimensions predicted outcome throughout treatment, as did exploratory techniques at midtherapy; furthermore, the use of exploratory interventions in the context of better alliances tended to predict better outcomes, a finding contrary to the ones observed in BT and CT. Therefore, differential processes were observed acros.
Purification and Properties of Uricase from Candida Sp. and Its Application in Uric Acid Analysis in Serum

The purification of uricase from Candida sp. was carried out by precipitation with ammonium sulfate then further proceeded with Sephadex G200, and DEAE-cellulose DE52 chromatographies. The specific activity of the enzyme was enhanced from 0.05-12 (U/mg protein). The purity of the enzyme was judged to be homogeneous by SDS-PAGE. Some of the general properties of enzyme were investigated. The optimum reaction pH and temperature were 8.5 and 30 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme was stable at a pH range from 8.5-9.5 and at temperatures lower than 35 degrees C. The apparent Km value of the enzyme was calculated to be about 5.26 x 10(-6) mol/L. The molecular weight was determined to be 70,000-76,000 by the gel filtration and SDS-PAGE techniques. The isoelectric point was determined to be pH 5.6. The effects of some metallic ions on enzyme activity and stability were discussed. The partial purified uricase was used in serum uric acid determination. The within-batch imprecision percentage ranged from 2.16-2.63 and the between-batch imprecision percentage ranged from 2.4-3.6. The recovery ratio were from 96-101%. The correlation among this method and Boehringer, Roche, or Biotrol enzymatic kits were Y = 1.086x-0.50 (r = 0.981), Ya = 0.959x-0.29 (r = 0.97), and Yb = 1.110x-0.45 (r = 0.956), respectively. A linear calibration curve was obtained at 2.5-15 mg/dL uric acid. The stability of reagents and the effects of some substances in serum were also surveyed.