Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Post‐traumatic growth in breast cancer: how and when do distress and stress contribute?

While several theoretical models provide explanation for the genesis and development of post‐traumatic growth (PTG) in the aftermath of stressful events, empirical evidence regarding the predictors and consequences of PTG in breast cancer patients in active treatment and early survivorship is inconclusive. This study, therefore, examines the role of distress and stress as predictors and outcomes of PTG in women with breast cancer over an 18‐month period.
How good is good enough? Exploring social workers’ conceptions of preparedness for practice

Abstract This study examined the question: ‘How do social work practitioners construct preparedness for practice? ’ The answer to this question was explored through a research conducted in 2013 consisting of a survey based on the Australian Association of Social Workers’ Practice Standards and interviews with social work practitioners who had experience working with graduating social work students in their final field education placements. The responses of 25 survey participants suggest that social work practitioners generally expect new graduates to have ‘moderate’-level skills across the different practice areas, although a small but notable number of supervisors expect new graduates to have general work preparedness at a ‘developed’ level. In addition to having a clear understanding of and identification with professional values, purpose and ethics, the eight interview participants spoke of the importance of empathy and the ability to work within a multidisciplinary organisational environment.
Optimal cache allocation for femto helpers with joint transmission capabilities

As cellular network operators are struggling to keep up with the rapidly increasing traffic demand, two key directions are deemed necessary for beyond 4G networks: (i) extensive cell densification to improve spatial reuse, and (ii) storage of content as close to the user as possible to cope with the backhaul constraints and increased interference. However, caching has mostly been studied with an exclusive focus either on the backhaul network (e.g. the “femto-caching” line of work) or on the radio access (e.g. through coded caching or cacheaided CoMP). As a result, an understanding of the impact of edge caching on network-wide and end-to-end performance is lacking. In this paper we investigate the problem of optimal caching in a context where nearby small cells (“femto-helpers”) can coordinate not just in terms of what to cache but also to perform Joint Transmission (a type of CoMP). We show that interesting tradeoffs arise between caching policies that improve radio access and ones that improve backhaul, and propose an algorithm that provably achieves an 1/2-approximation ratio to the optimal one (which is NP-hard), and performs well in simulated scenarios.
The Association between Four Genetic Variants in MicroRNAs (rs11614913, rs2910164, rs3746444, rs2292832) and Cancer Risk: Evidence from Published Studies

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in diverse biological pathways and may act as either tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA may contribute to cancer development with changes in the microRNA's properties and/or maturation. Polymorphisms in miRNAs have been suggested in predisposition to cancer risk; however, accumulated studies have shown inconsistent conslusionss. To further validate determine whether there is any potential association between the four common SNPs (miR-196a2C>T, rs11614913; miR-146aG>C, rs2910164; miR-499A>G, rs3746444; miR-149C>T, rs2292832) and the risk for developing risk, a meta-analysis was performed according to the 40 published case-control studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the extent of the association. The results demonstrated that the rs11614913TT genotype was significantly associated with a decreased cancer risk, in particular with a decreased risk for colorectal cancer and lung cancer, or for Asian population subgroup. In addition, the rs2910164C allele was associated with decreased risk for esophageal cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in particular in Asian population subgroup. Similarly, the rs3746444G allele was observed as a risk factor for cancers in the Asian population. It is concluded that two SNPs prsent in miRNAs(rs11614913TT, and rs2910164C) may protect against the pathogenesis of some cancers, and that the rs3746444 may increase risk for cancer.
Strategic Improvements for Gross Anatomy Web-Based Teaching

Current generations of graduate students have been immersed in technology from their early school years and have high expectations regarding digital resources. To better meet the expectations of Gross Anatomy students at our institution, electronic radiology teaching files for first-year coursework were organized into a web site. The web site was custom designed to provide material that directly correlated to the Gross Anatomy dissection and lectures. Quick links provided sets of images grouped by anatomic location. Additionally, Lab and Study Companions provided specific material for the students to review prior to and after lectures and gross dissections. Student opinions of this education resource were compared to student opinions of the prior year's digital teaching files. The new content was ranked as more user friendly (3.1 points versus 2.3 points) and more useful for learning anatomy (3.3 points versus 2.6 points). Many students reported that using the web portal was critical in helping them to better understand relationships of anatomical structures. These findings suggest that a well-organized web portal can provide a user-friendly, valuable educational resource for medical students who are studying Gross Anatomy.
How Much Can Large-Scale Video-on-Demand Benefit From Users' Cooperation?

We propose an analytical framework to tightly characterize the scaling laws for the additional bandwidth that servers must supply to guarantee perfect service in peer-assisted Video-on-Demand systems, taking into account essential aspects such as peer churn, bandwidth heterogeneity, and Zipf-like video popularity. Our results reveal that the catalog size and the content popularity distribution have a huge effect on the system performance. We show that users' cooperation can effectively reduce the servers' burden for a wide range of system parameters, confirming to be an attractive solution to limit the costs incurred by content providers as the system scales to large populations of users.
Molecular Hydrogen Reduces LPS-Induced Neuroinflammation and Promotes Recovery from Sickness Behaviour in Mice

Molecular hydrogen has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in mouse models of acute neurodegeneration. The effect was suggested to be mediated by its free-radical scavenger properties. However, it has been shown recently that molecular hydrogen alters gene expression and protein phosphorylation. The aim of this study was to test whether chronic ad libitum consumption of molecular hydrogen-enriched electrochemically reduced water (H-ERW) improves the outcome of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation. Seven days after the initiation of H-ERW treatment, C57Bl/6 mice received a single injection of LPS (0.33 mg/kg i.p.) or an equivalent volume of vehicle. The LPS-induced sickness behaviour was assessed 2 h after the injection, and recovery was assessed by monitoring the spontaneous locomotor activity in the homecage for 72 h after the administration of LPS. The mice were killed in the acute or recovery phase, and the expression of pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus was assessed by real-time PCR. We found that molecular hydrogen reduces the LPS-induced sickness behaviour and promotes recovery. These effects are associated with a shift towards anti-inflammatory gene expression profile at baseline (downregulation of TNF- α and upregulation of IL-10). In addition, molecular hydrogen increases the amplitude, but shortens the duration and promotes the extinction of neuroinflammation. Consistently, molecular hydrogen modulates the activation and gene expression in a similar fashion in immortalized murine microglia (BV-2 cell line), suggesting that the effects observed in vivo may involve the modulation of microglial activation. Taken together, our data point to the regulation of cytokine expression being an additional critical mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of molecular hydrogen.
Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is modified by intra-articular liposomal clodronate in an experimental model of arthritis.

OBJECTIVE High-dose liposomal bisphosphonates exert apoptotic effects. This work studies the chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties of intra-articularly administered low-dose, non-cytotoxic liposomal clodronate. METHODS Antigen induced arthritis in rabbits was treated with intra-articular injections of liposomal clodronate. Drug effects on cartilage oligomeric matrix protein COMP was assessed using immunohistochemistry and morphometry of synovial membrane and hyaline articular cartilage. RESULTS COMP remained close to normal in liposomal clodronate treated superficial articular cartilage compared to a significant loss of COMP in arthritis controls treated with empty liposomes. The middle and deep layers of the hyaline articular cartilage were characterized by highly increased COMP expression in liposomal clodronate treated AIA joints compared to controls. In contrast to cartilage, synovial COMP expression was slightly decreased as a result of liposomal clodronate treatment. CONCLUSION Low-dose, non-cytotoxic liposomal clodronate exerts a dichotomous effect on synovial membrane and articular cartilage COMP in the AIA model. COMP is a useful inflammation marker in the synovial tissue, but it also contributes to the structural integrity of the hyaline articular cartilage forming bridges between type II and IX collagens. Enhancement of COMP in clodronate treated AIA cartilage suggests a chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory effect in the inflammatorily damaged and mechanically strained cartilage.
Acceleration of Cardiovascular Disease by a Dysfunctional Prostacyclin Receptor Mutation: Potential Implications for Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition

Recent increased adverse cardiovascular events observed with selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition led to the withdrawal of rofecoxib (Vioxx) and valdecoxib (Bextra), but the mechanisms underlying these atherothrombotic events remain unclear. Prostacyclin is the major end product of cyclooxygenase-2 in vascular endothelium. Using a naturally occurring mutation in the prostacyclin receptor, we report for the first time that a deficiency in prostacyclin signaling through its G protein–coupled receptor contributes to atherothrombosis in human patients. We report that a prostacyclin receptor variant (R212C) is defective in adenylyl cyclase activation in both patient blood and in an in vitro COS-1 overexpression system. This promotes increased platelet aggregation, a hallmark of atherothrombosis. Our analysis of patients in 3 separate white cohorts reveals that this dysfunctional receptor is not likely an initiating factor in cardiovascular disease but that it accelerates the course of disease in those patients with the greatest risk factors. R212C was associated with cardiovascular disease only in the high cardiovascular risk cohort (n=980), with no association in the low-risk cohort (n=2293). In those at highest cardiovascular risk, both disease severity and adverse cardiovascular events were significantly increased with R212C when compared with age- and risk factor–matched normal allele patients. We conclude that for haploinsufficient mutants, such as the R212C, the enhanced atherothrombotic phenotype is likely dependent on the presence of existing atherosclerosis or injury (high risk factors), analogous to what has been observed in the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition studies or prostacyclin receptor knockout mice studies. Combining both biochemical and clinical approaches, we conclude that diminished prostacyclin receptor signaling may contribute, in part, to the underlying adverse cardiovascular outcomes observed with cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition.
Disulfide-Linked Integrase Oligomers Involving C280 Residues Are Formed In Vitro and In Vivo but Are Not Essential for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Replication

ABSTRACT The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase (IN) forms an oligomer that integrates both ends of the viral DNA. The nature of the active oligomer is unclear. Recombinant IN obtained under reducing conditions is always in the form of noncovalent oligomers. However, disulfide-linked oligomers of IN were recently observed within viral particles. We show that IN produced from a baculovirus expression system can form disulfide-linked oligomers. We investigated which residues are responsible for the disulfide bridges and the relationship between the ability to form covalent dimers and IN activity. Only the mutation of residue C280 was sufficient to prevent the formation of intermolecular disulfide bridges in oligomers of recombinant IN. IN activity was studied under and versus nonreducing conditions: the formation of disulfide bridges was not required for the in vitro activities of the enzyme. Moreover, the covalent dimer does not dissociate into individual protomers on disulfide bridge reduction. Instead, IN undergoes a spontaneous multimerization process that yields a homogenous noncovalent tetramer. The C280S mutation also completely abolished the formation of disulfide bonds in the context of the viral particle. Finally, the replication of the mutant virus was investigated in replicating and arrested cells. The infectivity of the virus was not affected by the C280S IN mutation in either dividing or nondividing cells. The disulfide-linked form of the IN oligomers observed in the viral particles is thus not required for viral replication.
“Potential Human Cancer Risks From Exposure to PCBs: A Tale of Two Evaluations”: Response to ATSDR Comments

In 1999 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released a Draft Toxicological Profile for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). In reviewing the potential human carcinogenicity of PCBs, ATSDR (1999) concluded that "The weight of evidence does not support a causal association for PCBs and human cancer at this time. " Just 1 year later, in an updated Toxicological Profile for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), the conclusions of another analysis (ATSDR, 2000) on whether exposure to PCBs might represent a carcinogenic risk to humans had dramatically changed to "Overall, the human studies provide some evidence that PCBs are carcinogenic" and "some of these studies provide meaningful evidence that PCBs are carcinogenic in humans. " Because this is a substantially different conclusion than that reached only one year previously, it raises a number of questions that must be considered particularly since "weight of evidence" has a precise meaning in the context of evaluating a body of epidemiological data. The present review addresses the additional scientific data that became available between the ATSDR 1999 and 2000 evaluations that was of a magnitude to offset the weight of evidence from numerous epidemiological studies that exposure to PCBs was not causally associated with human cancer to a conclusion only 1 year later that there was now "meaningful evidence" that PCBs posed a carcinogenic risk to humans. Also of interest are the criteria upon which this conclusion is based and the distinction between "weight of evidence" and the newer descriptors of "some evidence" and "meaningful evidence. " However, as shown in this review, only one relevant study was published between the ATSDR 1999 and 2000 evaluations and the results of this study were unequivocally supportive of the 1999 conclusion. Because of the continuing controversy surrounding this issue, in this review, all relevant epidemiological data on PCBs are summarized and subjected to another weight of evidence evaluation. This critical review is based on the most recent guidelines (U.S. EPA, 1999a, 2003) for conducting weight-of-evidence evaluations on a body of epidemiological data. Applying a weight-of-evidence evaluation to the PCB epidemiological studies can only lead to the conclusion that there is no causal relationship between PCB exposure and any form of cancer, thereby confirming the conclusions of ATSDR (1999). Also considered is the methodology and logic used by ATSDR (2000) that resulted in overturning the weight of evidence conclusions concerning the human carcinogenicity of PCBs in ATSDR (1999). This issue may have public health and policy implications. It seems appropriate that unbiased evaluations of a body of data, even of controversial issues such as the potential human carcinogenicity of PCBs, be conducted in a transparent manner following applicable guidelines. The dramatic differences between the conclusions of ATSDR (1999) and ATSDR (2000) do not appear to be consistent with this process.
Measurement Validity is Fundamentally a Matter of Definition, Not Correlation

Correlations between sets of measurements produced by several measures can be determinative of the validity of these measures only insofar as theories about how these measurements relate in correlation and regression terms are already known to be true. However, scientific theories can only be known to be true insofar as they have already been demonstrated to be true by valid measurements. Therefore, only the nature of a measure that produces the measurements for representing a dimension can justify claims that these measurements are valid for that dimension, and this is ultimately exclusively a matter of the normative definition of that dimension in the science that involves that dimension. Thus, contrary to the presently prevailing theory of construct validity, a measure's measurements themselves logically cannot at all indicate their own validity or invalidity by how they relate to other measures' measurements unless these latter are already known to be valid and the theories represented by all these several measures' measurements are already known to be true. It is only the conformity of a measure to the normative conceptual analysis and so definition of a dimension that can make the measurements it produces valid measurements on that dimension. This makes it essential for each basic science to achieve normative conceptual analyses and definitions for each of the dimensions in terms of which it describes and causally explains its phenomena.
A High Pressure Flowing Oil Switch for Gigawatt, Repetitive Applications

A repetitive oil switch for directed energy applications has been developed in a joint effort between teams at the University of Missouri - Columbia, Alpha Omega Power Technologies and the Boeing Company. The switch is operated at test pressures to 17.24 MPa (2500 psi), flow rates to 0.72 L-s-1 (11.4 gpm), charge voltages to -300 kV and discharge energies to 275 J per pulse at 20 pps. An examination of the electrodes after 250,000 shots with the original design led to the design of an insert device which resulted in higher performance fluid flow within the switch. The flow shaper-enhanced switch was tested for 150,000 shots, the results of which are presented in the following paper. Electrode lifetime has been evaluated for stainless steel under the original and enhanced fluid flow conditions and is reported.
Exploring the Roles of Spectral Detail and Intonation Contour in Speech Intelligibility: An fMRI Study

The melodic contour of speech forms an important perceptual aspect of tonal and nontonal languages and an important limiting factor on the intelligibility of speech heard through a cochlear implant. Previous work exploring the neural correlates of speech comprehension identified a left-dominant pathway in the temporal lobes supporting the extraction of an intelligible linguistic message, whereas the right anterior temporal lobe showed an overall preference for signals clearly conveying dynamic pitch information [Johnsrude, I. S. , Penhune, V. B. , & Zatorre, R. J. Functional specificity in the right human auditory cortex for perceiving pitch direction. Brain, 123, 155–163, 2000; Scott, S. K. , Blank, C. C. , Rosen, S. , & Wise, R. J. Identification of a pathway for intelligible speech in the left temporal lobe. Brain, 123, 2400–2406, 2000]. The current study combined modulations of overall intelligibility (through vocoding and spectral inversion) with a manipulation of pitch contour (normal vs. falling) to investigate the processing of spoken sentences in functional MRI. Our overall findings replicate and extend those of Scott et al. [Scott, S. K. , Blank, C. C. , Rosen, S. , & Wise, R. J. Identification of a pathway for intelligible speech in the left temporal lobe. Brain, 123, 2400–2406, 2000], where greater sentence intelligibility was predominately associated with increased activity in the left STS, and the greatest response to normal sentence melody was found in right superior temporal gyrus. These data suggest a spatial distinction between brain areas associated with intelligibility and those involved in the processing of dynamic pitch information in speech. By including a set of complexity-matched unintelligible conditions created by spectral inversion, this is additionally the first study reporting a fully factorial exploration of spectrotemporal complexity and spectral inversion as they relate to the neural processing of speech intelligibility. Perhaps surprisingly, there was little evidence for an interaction between the two factors—we discuss the implications for the processing of sound and speech in the dorsolateral temporal lobes.
Clinical Effectiveness of Primary and Secondary Headache Treatment by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

The clinical effectiveness of primary and secondary headache treatment by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with various locations of stimulating electrodes on the scalp was analyzed retrospectively. The results of the treatment were analyzed in 90 patients aged from 19 to 54 years (48 patients had migraine without aura, 32 – frequent episodic tension-type HAs, 10 – chronic tension-type HAs) and in 44 adolescents aged 11–16 years with chronic post-traumatic HAs after a mild head injury. Clinical effectiveness of tDCS with 70–150 μA current for 30–45 min via 6.25 cm2 stimulating electrodes is comparable to that of modern pharmacological drugs, with no negative side effects. The obtained result has been maintained on average from 5 to 9 months. It has been demonstrated that effectiveness depends on localization of stimulating electrodes used for different types of HAs.