Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transatlantic invasion routes and adaptive potential in North American populations of the invasive glossy buckthorn, Frangula alnus.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Many invasive species severely threaten native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. One of the most prominent questions in invasion genetics is how invasive populations can overcome genetic founder effects to establish stable populations after colonization of new habitats. High native genetic diversity and multiple introductions are expected to increase genetic diversity and adaptive potential in the invasive range. Our aim was to identify the European source populations of Frangula alnus (glossy buckthorn), an ornamental and highly invasive woody species that was deliberately introduced into North America at the end of the 18th century. A second aim of this study was to assess the adaptive potential as an explanation for the invasion success of this species. METHODS Using a set of annotated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were assigned a putative function based on sequence comparison with model species, a total of 38 native European and 21 invasive North American populations were subjected to distance-based structure and assignment analyses combined with population genomic tools. Genetic diversity at SNPs with ecologically relevant functions was considered as a proxy for adaptive potential. KEY RESULTS Patterns of invasion coincided with early modern transatlantic trading routes. Multiple introductions through transatlantic trade from a limited number of European port regions to American urban areas led to the establishment of bridgehead populations with high allelic richness and expected heterozygosity, allowing continuous secondary migration to natural areas. CONCLUSIONS Targeted eradication of the urban populations, where the highest genetic diversity and adaptive potential were observed, offers a promising strategy to arrest further invasion of native American prairies and forests.
Pathological complete response in younger and older breast cancer patients

Introduction Pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant systemic treatment for inoperable locally advanced breast cancer is defined as complete microscopic disappearance of invasive cancer in both the breast and axilla in the postoperative specimen. The aim of the study was to characterize the groups of younger (≤ 40 years old) and older (≥ 70 years old) breast cancer patients who achieved a pCR. Material and methods One hundred thirty-eight consecutive patients aged between 30 and 78 years with locally advanced breast cancer, operated on after neoadjuvant systemic treatment between November 2007 and June 2010, were analyzed. In this group 9 women (6.5%) were 40 years of age or younger, and 12 patients (8.7%) were 70 years of age or older. Results In the younger group, pCR was achieved in 1 patient with triple negative, invasive ductal breast cancer, G3, BRCA 1 mutation, treated with cisplatin. A near pCR was achieved in 2 other patients, with triple negative, invasive ductal breast cancer, G3, treated with AT. The pCR in the breast was found in a HER2 positive patient. In older patients, pCR was achieved in 2 patients with triple negative, invasive ductal breast cancer, G3, treated with AT or FEC. Pathologic complete response in the axilla was achieved in 1 patient with triple negative, ductal carcinoma. The pCR rates were significantly higher in triple negative breast cancer in both groups (p = 0.047 and p = 0.018, respectively). Conclusions Pathologic complete response was significantly associated with receptor- based subtypes in both young and old women.
Adaptive Gain Modification of the Blink Reflex

A reflex blink results from the interaction of only three forces: ( 1 ) an active upward force produced by the tonically active levator palpebrae muscle, which elevates the upper eyelid; (2) an active downward force created by the normally quiescent orbicularis oculi (00) muscle, which closes the eyelid; and (3) an intrinsic, passive downward force, which acts to pull the upper eyelid down. During a blink the levator palpebrae relaxes and the 00 transiently contracts, rapidly lowering the eyelid. As the 00 returns to its quiescent state, the levator palpebrae resumes its tonic activity, overcoming the passive downward tension and slowly raising the eyelid. (For a review see refs. 1-3.) Despite the mechanical and neuronal simplicity of reflex blinks, they manifest many characteristics of more complex motor systems? One such characteristic is the ability of the blink reflex to undergo adaptive gain modification. Adaptive gain changes occur when the nervous system alters the relation between the magnitude of a stimulus and the amplitude of the ensuing reflex to compensate for persistent perturbations that modify the normal response. These gain changes can either increase or decrease the amplitude of the movement, depending on the perturbation. Saccadic eye movements, a much more complex motor behavior than blinking, illustrate this form of motor learning. ' Presentation of a target 10 degrees eccentric to the point of fixation normally elicits a 10-degree saccadic eye movement. However, if the investigator presents this stimulus and then shifts the target to a point 14 degrees eccentric during the saccadic eye movement, the eye will fall 4 degrees short of the target. If this target shift is done repeatedly, the saccadic system begins to compensate by producing a 14-degree saccade when presented with a target 10 degrees eccentric. Thus, the adaptive gain change recalibrates the relation between stimulus magnitude and the ensuing motor response so as to bring the movement-evoking input and the motor output back into register.
Impulsivity, the orbitofrontal cortex and borderline personality disorder

﻿ Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been associated with disinhibited or socially inappropriate behaviour and emotional irregularities in both humans and monkeys. Prominent characteristics of several personality disorder syndromes, in particular Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), are impulsivity and affective instability. This investigation aimed to determine if certain aspects of the Borderline Personality syndrome, in particular impulsivity, are associated with OFC dysfunction. Basic questionnaires of personality, emotion, and impulsivity together with tasks sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction that assess possible factors related to impulsivity, including time perception, sensitivity to reinforcers, and spatial working memory (SWM), were administered to OFC lesion, BPD, non-OFC prefrontal cortex lesion control, and normal control participants. OFC and BPD patients performed similarly, in that they were more impulsive, reported more inappropriate behaviours, BPD traits, anger, and less happiness than both control groups. They were also less open to experience and had a faster perception of time (in terms of time production) than normal controls. They performed differently on other tasks: BPD patients were less extraverted and conscientious and more neurotic and emotional than all other groups. OFC patients had more severe deficits in reversing stimulus-reinforcer associations compared to all other groups and had a faster perception of time (in terms of time estimation) than normal controls. Both OFC and non-OFC lesion patients had mixed lesions that included dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFC) damage. Accordingly, they both had SWM deficits, a task used to control for DLFC damage, compared to normal and BPD participants. Since BPD participants were not impaired on this task and non-OFC patients did not perform poorly on the same tests that OFC patients did, the neuropsychological deficits of BPD and OFC patients could not be attributed to SWM deficits or DLFC dysfunction. The findings suggest that some of the cognitive/behavioural deficits commonly found in BPD patients are related to OFC dysfunction while others are unrelated and are perhaps related to other brain systems. The possibility of amygdala dysfunction is discussed. The similarities and dissociations found between BPD and OFC patients on certain tasks may lead to a better understanding of the aetiology of BPD and the functions of the OFC. Theoretical and therapeutic implications of the findings are discussed.
Study of the X-Ray Background Spectrum and its Large-Scale Fluctuation with ASCA

We studied the energy spectrum and the large-scale fluctuation of the X-ray background with the ASCA GIS based on the ASCA MSS and LSS observations. A total of 91 fields with Galactic latitude |b|>10 deg were selected with a sky coverage of 50 deg^2 and 4.2 Ms of exposure. For each field, sources brighter than \sim 2\times 10^{-13}\ergs (2-10 keV) were eliminated. Spectral fits with a single power-law model for the individual 0.7-10 keV spectra showed a significant excess below \sim 2 keV, which could be expressed by an additional thermal model with kT\simeq 0.4 keV or a steep power-law model with photon index GS\simeq 6. The 0.5-2 keV intensities of the soft thermal component varied significantly by 1\sigma=52^{+4}_{-5}%, and showed a maximum toward the Galactic Center. This component is considered to be entirely Galactic. As for the hard power-law component, an average photon index of 91 fields was obtained to be GH = 1.412\pm 0.007\pm 0.025 and the average 2-10 keV intensity was calculated as FH = (6.38\pm 0.04\pm 0.64)\times 10^{-8} \ergss. The Galactic component is marginally detected in the hard band. The 2-10 keV intensities shows a 1\sigma deviation of 6.49^{+0.56}_{-0.61}%, while deviation due to the NXB is 3.2%. The observed deviation can be explained by the Poisson noise of source count in the f.o. v. (\sim 0.5 deg^2), even assuming a single \logn relation on the whole sky. Based on the observed fluctuation and the absolute intensity, an acceptable region of the \logn relation was derived, showing a consistent feature with the recent Chandra and XMM-Newton results. Fluctuation of the spectral index was also examined, and it implied a large amount of hard sources and a substantial variation in the intrinsic source spectra (GS\simeq 1.1\pm 1.0).
TOXICITY PREVENTION WITH AMIFOSTINE IN PEDIATRIC OSTEOSARCOMA PATIENTS TREATED WITH CISPLATIN AND DOXORUBICIN

Amifostine has emerged as a pancytoprotectant shown protection against nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity and ototoxicity in preclinical studies. Methods: We designed a prospective comparative randomized trial to evaluate the cytoprotective effects of amifostine in patients with osteosarcoma receiving cisplatin and doxorrubicin. Patients were evaluated for renal, hearing and cardiac toxicity. Results: We included 28 patients, mean age was 11.6 years, five had metastatic disease. Fifteen patients received amifostine and 13 did not. 20% of patients receiving amifostine developed renal toxicity compared to 30% in the control group (p = 0.318). Grade 1 and 2 audiologic toxicity was present in 100% of the experimental group against 85% of the controls (p = 0.501). Grade 1 cardiac toxicity was present in 2 patients in the control group (p = 0.175). There were no statistical significant differences between the two groups for chemotherapy-related toxicity. Response to chemotherapy was significantly better in the amifostine group. Conclusion: amifostine did not reduce the ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity of our treatment regime. It was not well tolerated due to emesis. It is a selective cytoprotectant without reducing the effect of chemotherapy.
Are goals or preconditions better explanations? It depends on the question

Recent research on causal inference suggests that common actions tend to be attributed to goals, whereas difficult actions, if obstructed, are attributed primarily to preconditions. The present studies examine the way that the framing of causal questions influences ratings of goals and preconditions for common actions. The studies test the view that ‘why’ questions favour goal explanations, by presenting causal questions framed as ‘why’ questions or ‘explain’ questions. Structured and free-response measures were used. They show that when the question is expressed as asking why an action occurs, goals are rated better than preconditions, regardless of the presence of obstacles, whereas if the question is framed as requesting an explanation of the action, preconditions are deemed better explanations than goals for obstructed actions. Goals remain better explanations when the action is unobstructed. These findings confirm the importance of the framing of causal questions for research on causal explanation, and suggest that the phrasing of causal questions influences the focus of explanations. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
'Moments of Change' as opportunities for influencing behaviour

This document is the final report from Project EV0506 – “Moments of change” as opportunities for influencing behaviour. It was commissioned by the Centre of Expertise on Influencing Behaviours at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The goal of the project was to explore whether “moments of change” – times in a person‟s life where existing habits and behavioural patterns are disrupted – provide a significant opportunity to encourage the take-up of pro-environmental behaviours. In particular, the project focused on life events (such as having a baby) and macroeconomic events (such as the 2008/9 “credit crunch”).
Evaluation of total creatine kinase levels in a spectrum of neuro-psychiatric disorders in a tertiary neurosciences centre

Introduction: To study usefulness of total creatine kinase (CK) as a screening tool in various neurological and psychiatric disorders in emergency setting of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A 1-year retrospective study was conducted on 102 patients with complaints pertaining to neurological and psychiatric disorders in a tertiary neurosciences centre in a metropolitan city. Blood samples in plain vial were received in Emergency Laboratory and total CK levels were measured by automated analyzer and its correlation with various diseases was analyzed. Results: It was observed that CK activity was raised in various psychiatric conditions-acute transient psychotic disorder, alcohol dependence syndrome, delirium, psychosis, mental retardation, catatonia, bipolar affective disorder (BAD), depression and mania and also in neurological disorders-seizures, meningitis, myasthenia gravis (multiple sclerosis), Guillain-Barre syndrome, extra pyramidal syndrome, neuroleptic malignant syndrome and infarct. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CK is a sensitive and an important screening parameter in diagnosis and monitoring of various neurological and psychiatric disorders in emergency setting. It is also helpful in identifying people at high risk for various neuro-psychiatric diseases.
Affective and cognitive components of job satisfaction: Scale development and initial validation

Job satisfaction is one of the most commonly studied variables in the organizational literature. It is related to a multitude of employee-relevant variables including but not limited to performance, organizational commitment, and intent to quit. This study examined two new instruments measuring the components of affect and cognition as they relate to job satisfaction. It further proposed including an evaluative (or true attitudinal) component to improve the prediction of job satisfaction. Results provide some evidence of both two and three factor structures of affect and cognition. This study found minimal support for the inclusion of evaluation in the measurement of job satisfaction. Affect was found to be the single best predictor of job satisfaction, regardless of the satisfaction measure used. Further development is needed to define the factor structures of affect and cognition as well as the role of these factors and evaluation in the prediction of job satisfaction.
Employees’ Social Context and Change-Oriented Citizenship

Change-oriented citizenship depends on support received from employees’ social context. Meta-analytic tests based on 131 independent samples and 38,409 employees confirmed positive relationships between leader, coworker, and organizational support and change-oriented citizenship, even after accounting for employees’ attitudes and intentions (i.e., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit). Moderator analyses indicated that specific coworker and organizational support had stronger relationships with change-oriented citizenship than generic support. In contrast, specific and generic leader support were equally important predictors of change-oriented citizenship.
Investor Expertise as Mastery over Mind: Regulating Loss Affect for Superior Investment Performance

For most people, investing in stocks is a stressful experience, and this is particularly true in a loss situation. The emotional stress from a significant loss is quite likely to hamper effective decision making with respect to future investments. In three separate studies, with a combined sample of 60 professional investors and 154 lay investors, the authors compare differences in the magnitude of gain and loss affect felt by experts and lay investors as well as differences in affect regulation strategies employed. The findings demonstrate that professional investors are more effective than lay investors in coping with ups and downs of investing. In particular, professional investors show a lesser degree of gain and loss affect than lay investors with regard to both anticipated and experienced affect. Additionally, professional investors demonstrate a pronounced tendency to reappraise a loss situation as a positive learning experience, and to attribute failure in investment to themselves rather than blaming the market or blaming others. These types of affect regulation strategies result in a lower loss affect experienced by professional investors, which in turn leads to greater loss realization and better investment performance.
Is it Merely a Question of “What” to Prompt or Also “When” to Prompt?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the effectiveness of prompts depends on their point of presentation time in self-regulated learning. First, based on the cognitive load theory, we investigated whether presenting prompts during the learning process instead of before has a positive effect on the process and outcome of self-regulated learning. Second, based on an integration of the cognitive load theory and a model of learning regulation goals, we investigated whether presenting prompts during learning and according to a theoretically optimal course of learning regulation has a positive effect on the process and outcome of self-regulated learning. In an experimental study with a one-factorial between-subjects design, with “point of presentation time of prompts” as independent variable and strategy use as well as learning outcome as dependent variables, 95 students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. During self-regulated learning in a computer-based learning environment on .
Effect of antitumor treatments on triple-negative breast cancer patients

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks the expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 (HER2/neu), which renders hormone-related endocrine and targeted therapy essentially futile. Objective: We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effects of antitumor regimens in the treatment of TNBC patients. Methods: We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, through January 2017 using the following keywords: “triple negative breast cancer,” “TNBC,” and “random*” without language restrictions. The major outcome in the present analysis was the overall response rate (ORR), and the secondary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). A network meta-analysis and multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression were used to compare antitumor regimens. Results: We included 35 articles assessing a total of 8476 TNBC patients in our systematic review. The regimen of Bevacizumab, Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel (78.2%) was the most likely to improve the ORR in TNBC patients, followed by EndoTAG-1 and Paclitaxel (69.7%), Carboplatin and Paclitaxel (65.0%), and Bevacizumab and Paclitaxel (61.8%). In the patients without metastasis, the regimen of Bevacizumab, Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel (74.9%) remained the most likely to improve the ORR. We could not analyze the results for patients with metastasis or outcomes of PFS and OS because no >4 regimens formed a network. In the regression analysis, Bevacizumab (odds ratio [OR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43–2.05; P < .001) and Carboplatin (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.62–2.64; P < .001) correlated with superior ORR outcome, and Iniparib (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.11–2.07; P = .009) correlated with superior OS outcome. Conclusion: The regimen including Bevacizumab, Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel was the most likely to improve the ORR in TNBC patients and in advanced metastatic TNBC patients. The administration of Bevacizumab and Carboplatin provided greater benefit toward improved patient ORR.
Serotonin syndrome and the combined use of deprenyl and an antidepressant in Parkinson's disease

The manufacturer of deprenyl (selegeline; Eldepryl) (Somerset Pharmaceuticals, Tampa, FL) recently advised physicians to avoid prescribing the drug in combination with an antidepressant because of potentially serious CNS toxicity that may represent the serotonin syndrome. Manifestations of the serotonin syndrome vary but may include changes in mental status and motor and autonomic function. To better estimate the frequency of the serotonin syndrome in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) treated with deprenyl and an antidepressant, we surveyed all investigators in the Parkinson Study Group. Based on estimates provided by the 47 investigators (75%) who responded, 4,568 patients were treated with the combination of deprenyl and an antidepressant medication. Eleven patients (0.24%) were reported to have experienced symptoms possibly consistent with the serotonin syndrome. Only two patients (0.04%) experienced symptoms considered to be serious. No deaths were reported. We also reviewed all published case reports and adverse experiences reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the manufacturer of Eldepryl. Available information indicates that serious adverse experiences resulting from the combined use of deprenyl and an antidepressant medication in patients with PD are quite rare and that the frequency of the true “serotonin syndrome” is even rarer.