Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toll-Like Receptor 9 Modulates Immune Responses to Aspergillus fumigatus Conidia in Immunodeficient and Allergic Mice

ABSTRACT The role of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in antifungal responses in the immunodeficient and allergic host is unclear. We investigated the role of TLR9 in murine models of invasive aspergillosis and fungal asthma. Neutrophil-depleted TLR9 wild-type (TLR9+/+) and TLR9-deficient (TLR9−/−) mice were challenged with resting or swollen Aspergillus fumigatus conidia and monitored for survival and lung inflammatory responses. The absence of TLR9 delayed, but did not prevent, mortality in immunodeficient mice challenged with resting or swollen conidia compared to TLR9+/+ mice. In a fungal asthma model, TLR9+/+ and TLR9−/− mice were sensitized to soluble A. fumigatus antigens and challenged with resting or swollen A. fumigatus conidia, and both groups of mice were analyzed prior to and at days 7, 14, and 28 after the conidium challenge. When challenged with resting conidia, TLR9−/− mice exhibited significantly lower airway hyper-responsiveness compared to the TLR9+/+ groups. In contrast, A. fumigatus-sensitized TLR9−/− mice exhibited pulmonary fungal growth at days 14 and 28 after challenge with swollen conidia, a finding never observed in their allergic wild-type counterparts. Increased fungal growth in allergic TLR9−/− mice correlated with markedly decreased dectin-1 expression in whole lung samples and isolated dendritic cell populations. Further, whole lung levels of interleukin-17 were lower in allergic TLR9−/− mice compared to similar TLR9+/+ mice. Together, these data suggest that TLR9 modulates pulmonary antifungal immune responses to swollen conidia, possibly through the regulation of dectin-1 expression.
Escalation, Timing and Severity of Insurgent and Terrorist Events: Toward a Unified Theory of Future Threats

I present a unified discussion of several recently published results concerning the escalation, timing and severity of violent events in human conflicts and global terrorism, and set them in the wider context of real-world and cyber-based collective violence and illicit activity. I point out how the borders distinguishing between such activities are becoming increasingly blurred in practice -- from insurgency, terrorism, criminal gangs and cyberwars, through to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and London riots. I review the robust empirical patterns that have been found, and summarize a minimal mechanistic model which can explain these patterns. I also explain why this mechanistic approach, which is inspired by non-equilibrium statistical physics, fits naturally within the framework of recent ideas within the social science literature concerning analytical sociology. In passing, I flag the fundamental flaws in each of the recent critiques which have surfaced concerning the robustness of these results and the realism of the underlying model mechanisms.
Use of a Vital Capacity Maneuver to Prevent Atelectasis after Cardiopulmonary Bypass: An Experimental Study

Background Respiratory failure secondary to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) remains a major complication after cardiac surgery. The authors previously found that the increase in intrapulmonary shunt was well correlated with the amount of atelectasis. They tested the hypothesis that post‐CPB atelectasis can be prevented by a vital capacity maneuver (VCM) performed before termination of the bypass. Methods Eighteen pigs received standard hypothermic CPB (no ventilation during bypass). The VCM was performed in two groups and consisted of inflating the lungs during 15 s to 40 cmH2 O at the end of the bypass. In one group, the inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) was then increased to 1.0. In the second group, the FIO2 was left at 0.4. In the third group, no VCM was performed (control group). Ventilation‐perfusion distribution was measured with the inert gas technique and atelectasis by computed tomographic scanning. Results Intrapulmonary shunt increased after bypass in the control group (from 4.9 +/‐ 4% to 20.8 +/‐ 11.7%; P < 0.05) and was also increased in the vital capacity group ventilated with 100% oxygen (from 2.2 +/‐ 1.3% to 6.9 +/‐ 2.9%; P < 0.01) but was unaffected in the vital capacity group ventilated with 40% oxygen. The control pigs showed extensive atelectasis (21.3 +/‐ 15.8% of total lung area), which was significantly larger (P < 0.01) than the proportion of atelectasis found in the two vital capacity groups (5.7 +/‐ 5.7% for the vital capacity group ventilated with 100% oxygen and 2.3 +/‐ 2.1% for the vital capacity group ventilated with 40% oxygen. Conclusion In this pig model, postcardiopulmonary bypass atelectasis was effectively prevented by a VCM.
Dropout Prevention for Youth with Disabilities: Efficacy of a Sustained School Engagement Procedure

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a sustained dropout prevention procedure that incorporated monitoring and school engagement strategies. Ninety-four students with learning and emotional/behavioral disabilities received interventions in Grades 7 and 8; half of the students (treatment group) continued to receive intervention through Grade 9. Results of this experimental study indicated that, for two of three measures, students in the treatment group were significantly more likely to be engaged in school than were control group students. The overall performance of both treatment and control students, however, points to the need for early and sustained support for students with learning and behavioral disabilities to attain academic and behavioral standards.
Viewer-Centered and Object-Centered Representations in the Recognition of Naturalistic Line Drawings

Although most recent research on visual object recognition suggests that shape is represented in a viewer-centered reference frame, Tarr and Pinker (Psychological Science, 1990) propose that object-centered representations exist, but can code the spatial relations among the parts of an object along only one dimension. This hypothesis was formulated on the basis of research with novel abstract shapes. We tested and confirmed the generality of this hypothesis for the recognition of realistic line drawings of familiar objects. The results also allow us to rule out previous hypotheses concerning the shift from orientation dependence to orientation independence in the recognition of repeatedly viewed drawings.
The Emergent Working Society of Leisure

Abstract This paper explores a contemporary trend in the sociology of work and leisure which engages with classic leisure studies concerns about the nature of peoples' uses of time and their relationship to production and consumption. Utilizing data from qualitative research into the career biographies of creative industries workers in a small coastal town in England, we posit that we are witnessing an emerging working society of leisure. This involves a shift from a consumption to a production focus: ‘doing leisure’ is now about cultural production. Class remains a major determinant of the leisure experience—the most successful tend to be those with significant external sources of economic and cultural capital. As such, we conclude by arguing that the emergent working society of leisure is neither the social democratic project of classic leisure studies, nor the meritocratic project of liberal democracy, but an inherently classist and exclusionary project of the ‘post-work’ era.
Optimal intron analyses in the trimeresurus radiation of Asian pitvipers.

Nuclear introns are commonly used as phylogenetic markers, but a number of issues related to alignment strategies, indel treatments, and the incorporation of length-variant heterozygotes (LVHs) are not routinely addressed when generating phylogenetic hypotheses. Topological congruence in relation to an extensive mitochondrial DNA multigene phylogeny (derived from 2,423 bp of 12S, 16S, ND4, and CYTB genes) of the Asian pitviper Trimeresurus radiation was used to compare combinations of "by eye" and edited and unedited ClustalX 1.8 alignments of two nuclear introns. Indels were treated as missing data, fifth character states, and assigned simple and multistate codes. Upon recovery of the optimal alignment and indel treatment strategy, a total evidence approach was used to investigate the phylogenetic utility of the indels and test new generic arrangements within Trimeresurus. Approximately one third of the intron data partitions exhibited LVHs, suggesting that they are common in introns. Furthermore, a simple concatenation approach can facilitate the incorporation of LVHs into phylogenetic analyses to make use of all available data and investigate mechanisms of molecular evolution. Analyses of ClustalX 1.8-assisted alignments were generally more congruent than the "by eye" alignment and the analysis of a simple coded, edited ClustalX 1.8 (gap opening cost 5, gap extension cost 1) alignment revealed the most congruent tree. The total evidence approach supported the new arrangements within Trimeresurus, suggesting that the phylogeny should be considered as a working benchmark in Asian pitviper systematics. Finally, a critical appraisal of the diverse array of indels (56 to 57 per intron, ranging from 1 to 151 bp in length) suggested that they are a combination of Hennigian and homoplasious events unrelated to indel size or location within the intron. [Alignment; indels; intron analysis; length-variant heterozygotes; Trimeresurus. ].
Different terror management strategies in practising Christians raised with religious or secular world views and implications for counselling

This study examined the effect of mortality salience on cultural world views defence strategies employed by participants who were raised within the Christian faith compared with those who converted to Christianity as adults. As predicted, mortality salience did not lead to increased defence of participants’ secular Australian cultural world views. However, when the sample was divided into ‘raised religious’ and ‘raised secular’ groups, believers who were not raised in the Christian faith and converted to Christianity as adults were more likely to use culturally rather than religiously based world views defence strategies when exposed to reminders of death than were the ‘raised religious’ group. Practical implications for counsellors working with clients facing increased awareness of death and mortality are discussed.
Implicit Feedback for Recommender Systems

Can implicit feedback substitute for explicit ratings in recommender systems? If so, we could avoid the difficulties associated with gathering explicit ratings from users. How, then, can we capture useful information unobtrusively, and how might we use that information to make recommendations? In this paper we identify three types of implicit feedback and suggest two strategies for using implicit feedback to make recommendations.
Optimal Precoding for Digital Subscriber Lines

We determine the linear precoding policy that maximizes the mutual information for general multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian channels with arbitrary input distributions, by capitalizing on the relationship between mutual information and minimum mean squared error (MMSE). The optimal linear precoder can be computed by means of a fixed- point equation as a function of the channel and the input constellation. We show that diagonalizing the channel matrix does not maximize the information transmission rate for nonGaussian inputs. A full precoding matrix may significantly increase the information transmission rate, even for parallel non-interacting channels. We illustrate the application of our results to typical Gigabit DSL systems.
Suppressive Effect of Captopril on Platelet Aggregation in Essential Hypertension

Effects of captopril on platelet aggregation were studied in 12 essential hypertensive subjects. At the same time, the effects of captopril and angiotensin II on platelet aggregation in vitro were examined in 20 volunteers. A 50-mg oral dose of captopril was administered daily to hypertensive subjects for 2 weeks; the dose was then increased to 100 mg daily for the next 2 weeks. Values of platelet aggregation induced by ADP, epinephrine, collagen, and arachidonic acid before captopril treatment were 71.9 ± 4.5, 77.3 ± 4.2, 72.4 ± 4.1, and 70.8 ± 4.3% (mean ± SE), respectively. Two weeks after daily administration of 50 mg captopril, these values were 56.7 ± 4.5, 50.8 ± 7.6, 64.0 ± 4.6, and 60.9 ± 3.9%, respectively, with significant reduction of platelet aggregation (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.01. and p < 0.005, respectively). Daily administration of 100 mg captopril also had a significant suppressive effect on platelet aggregation. Changes of platelet count and serum lipids were not significant. In vitro, captopril and angiotensin II added to plateletrich plasma had no effect on platelet aggregation. These results show that the suppressive effect of captopril on platelet aggregation is a secondary action in vivo.
The role of the autopsy in medical malpractice cases, I: a review of 99 appeals court decisions.

CONTEXT Fear that damaging information from autopsy may be introduced as evidence in lawsuits alleging medical malpractice is often cited as one factor contributing to the decline in autopsy rates. OBJECTIVE To determine how autopsy information influences the outcome of medical malpractice litigation. DESIGN We studied state court records in 99 cases of medical malpractice adjudicated from 1970 to the present to assess the role of information from autopsies in the outcomes. RESULTS The 3 largest groups defined by cause of death at autopsy were acute pulmonary embolism, acute cardiovascular disease, and drug overdose/interaction. Findings for defendant physicians outnumbered medical negligence in the original trial proceedings by a 3:1 margin. The appellate courts affirmed 51 acquittals and 19 findings of negligence, and reversed the original trial court decision in 29 cases for technical reasons. We found no significant relationship between accuracy of clinical diagnosis (using the autopsy standard) and outcome of a suit charging medical negligence. Even when a major discrepancy existed between the autopsy diagnosis and the clinical diagnosis, and the unrecognized condition was deemed treatable, defendant physicians were usually exonerated. Moreover, major diagnostic discrepancies were relatively uncommon in suits in which a physician was found to be negligent. Conversely, in about 20% of cases, autopsy findings were helpful to defendant physicians. CONCLUSIONS Our study confirms that a finding of medical negligence is based on standard-of-care issues rather than accuracy of clinical diagnosis. Autopsy findings may appear to be neutral or favorable to either the plaintiff or the defendant, but are typically not the crux of a successful legal argument for either side in a malpractice action. We conclude that fear of autopsy findings has no rational basis and is an important obstacle to uninhibited outcomes analysis.
Effect of Tryptophan Depletion on Mood in Male and Female Volunteers: A Pilot Study

We studied 12 healthy subjects, six males and six females, using the technique of tryptophan depletion in a double‐blind placebo controlled crossover design. Subjects rated their subjective mood and also underwent a mood induction procedure. The tryptophan free mixture significantly lowered plasma total and free tryptophan at +5 h. After the tryptophan‐free mixture, subjective ratings of mood fell in the females but not in the males. Whilst the mood induction procedure was effective at lowering mood, it did not have any greater effect on the day of tryptophan depletion in either women or men. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Acute erythroleukemia: diagnosis and management

Acute erythroleukemia is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia that has undergone several changes in classification over the past 30 years. There are two subtypes of acute erythroleukemia: the more common erythroid/myeloid subtype, defined by the presence of increased erythroid cells and myeloid blasts; and the rarer, pure erythroid subtype, characterized by expansion of immature erythroid cells only. The erythroid/myeloid subtype of acute erythroleukemia is closely related to acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes, and is frequently characterized by morphological dysplasia and complex karyotype. Pure erythroleukemia is a very uncommon subtype of leukemia associated with a very poor response and survival to current available therapeutic agents. Treatment results for this disease are suboptimal and new drugs are needed. This article summarizes current knowledge in the field of acute erythroleukemia.
High order harmonic passive mode-locking in double-clad fiber laser

We report passive mode-locking of a soliton erbium-doped double-clad fiber laser operating at the 322nd harmonic of the fundamental cavity frequency. Repetition rates scalable up to 3 GHz have been obtained with a pulse duration of about 1 ps and a pulse energy of about 18 pJ. The supermode suppression at the 322nd harmonic is better than 25 dB. The dynamics of emergence of this operating regime is also presented revealing a very long timescale.
Individual determinants of work attendance: evidence on the role of personality

We investigate the influence of personality as measured by the Big Five personality scale on absenteeism using the 2005 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Estimates of a double hurdle negative binomial regression allow us to test hypotheses on the influence of the Big Five personality traits on work attendance. Our findings augment previous results on the link between personality and absenteeism by analysing representative data and including a large set of control variables typically not available in small scale surveys. We find clear negative correlations between the absence probability and Conscientiousness among women. For male employees a negative correlation with the incidence of absence is observed for the Agreeableness dimension. When looking at the length of absence occurrences Neuroticism is found to significantly influence male absenteeism despite controlling for the subjective health of the individual. Following the reasoning by Bowles et al. (2001) for the provision of effort by employees, employers might pay for incentive-enhancing preferences such as low Neuroticism among male employees because employers can only insufficiently monitor the true level of sickness of their employees and consequently want to avoid voluntary absenteeism.
No consistent association between processes-of-care and health-related quality of life among patients with diabetes: a missing link?

Purpose Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is considered a representative outcome in the evaluation of chronic disease management initiatives emphasizing patient-centered care. We evaluated the association between receipt of processes-of-care (PoC) for diabetes and HRQoL. Methods This cross-sectional study used self-reported data from non-institutionalized adults with diabetes in a Swiss canton. Outcomes were the physical/mental composites of the short form health survey 12 (SF-12) physical composite score, mental composite score (PCS, MCS) and the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL). Main exposure variables were receipt of six PoC for diabetes in the past 12 months, and the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) score. We performed linear regressions to examine the association between PoC, PACIC and the three composites of HRQoL. Results Mean age of the 519 patients was 64.5 years (SD 11.3); 60% were male, 87% reported type 2 or undetermined diabetes and 48% had diabetes for over 10 years. Mean HRQoL scores were SF-12 PCS: 43.4 (SD 10.5), SF-12 MCS: 47.0 (SD 11.2) and ADDQoL: −1.6 (SD 1.6). In adjusted models including all six PoC simultaneously, receipt of influenza vaccine was associated with lower ADDQoL (β=−0.4, p≤0.01) and foot examination was negatively associated with SF-12 PCS (β=−1.8, p≤0.05). There was no association or trend towards a negative association when these PoC were reported as combined measures. PACIC score was associated only with the SF-12 MCS (β=1.6, p≤0.05). Conclusions PoC for diabetes did not show a consistent association with HRQoL in a cross-sectional analysis. This may represent an effect lag time between time of process received and health-related quality of life. Further research is needed to study this complex phenomenon.
Match Quality, Search, and the Internet Market for Used Books

This paper examines the effect of the Internet on markets in which match-quality is important, including an analysis of the market for used books. A model in which sellers of unusual objects wait for high-value buyers to arrive brings out match quality and competition effects through which improved search technologies may increase both price dispersion and social welfare. A reduced-form empirical analysis finds support for a number of more nuanced predictions of the model in the context of the used book market, exploiting both cross-sectional differences across books and time-series differences in the wake of Amazon's acquisition and incorporation of a large used book marketplace. The paper develops a framework for structural estimation of a model based on the theory. The estimates suggest that the shift to Internet sales substantially increased both seller profits and consumer surplus.
The Influence of Bilingualism on Cognitive Strategy and Cognitive Development.

BEN-ZEEV, SANDRA. The Influence of Bilingualism on Cognitive Strategy and Cognitive Development. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1009-1018. The hypothesis is that mutual interference between the bilingual child's 2 languages forces the child to develop particular coping strategies which in some ways accelerate cognitive development. The sample consisted of 2 groups of Hebrew-English bilingual children, 1 group tested in the United States and the other group tested in Israel, and 2 groups of monolingual Jewish children, with those tested in the United States speaking only English and those tested in Israel speaking only Hebrew. In all groups parent occupation and education level were similarly high. WISC IQ was estimated from 4 subtests-Similarities, Digit Span, Picture Completion, and Picture Arrangement-and statistically controlled. In spite of lower vocabulary level, bilinguals showed more advanced processing of verbal material, more discriminating perceptual distinctions, more propensity to search for structure in perceptual situations, and more capacity to reorganize their perceptions in response to feedback.