Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary α-linolenic acid diminishes experimental atherogenesis and restricts T cell-driven inflammation

Aims Epidemiological studies report an inverse association between plant-derived dietary α-linolenic acid (ALA) and cardiovascular events. However, little is known about the mechanism of this protection. We assessed the cellular and molecular mechanisms of dietary ALA (flaxseed) on atherosclerosis in a mouse model. Methods and results Eight-week-old male apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE−/−) mice were fed a 0.21 % (w/w) cholesterol diet for 16 weeks containing either a high ALA [7.3 % (w/w); n = 10] or low ALA content [0.03 % (w/w); n = 10]. Bioavailability, chain elongation, and fatty acid metabolism were measured by gas chromatography of tissue lysates and urine. Plaques were assessed using immunohistochemistry. T cell proliferation was investigated in primary murine CD3-positive lymphocytes. T cell differentiation and activation was assessed by expression analyses of interferon-γ, interleukin-4, and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) using quantitative PCR and ELISA. Dietary ALA increased aortic tissue levels of ALA as well as of the n−3 long chain fatty acids (LC n−3 FA) eicosapentaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. The high ALA diet reduced plaque area by 50% and decreased plaque T cell content as well as expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and TNFα. Both dietary ALA and direct ALA exposure restricted T cell proliferation, differentiation, and inflammatory activity. Dietary ALA shifted prostaglandin and isoprostane formation towards 3-series compounds, potentially contributing to the atheroprotective effects of ALA. Conclusion Dietary ALA diminishes experimental atherogenesis and restricts T cell-driven inflammation, thus providing the proof-of-principle that plant-derived ALA may provide a valuable alternative to marine LC n−3 FA.
Anything to Declare? The Struggle for Inclusive Education and Children's Rights

This paper argues for a clear and unequivocal message from those who advocate Inclusive Education. It suggests that the compulsory segregation of children with 'special needs' will continue until the Law underwrites their right to an equal choice of education. The message to advocates is to make the affirmation of children's rights their primary goal, before resorting to detailed educational debates. It also highlights the plight of David McKibben and his family who have taken on the East Belfast Education Board to fight for David's right to attend his local mainstream high school. David experienced further discrimination and rejection by the independent special needs tribunals. David and his family have welcomed the opportunity to have their predicament highlighted in this paper, which asserts that the independent special needs tribunals and current United Kingdom education legislation are fundamentally at odds with the human rights of disabled and non-disabled children.
Auditory-Motor Rhythms and Speech Processing in French and German Listeners

Moving to a speech rhythm can enhance verbal processing in the listener by increasing temporal expectancies (Falk and Dalla Bella, 2016). Here we tested whether this hypothesis holds for prosodically diverse languages such as German (a lexical stress-language) and French (a non-stress language). Moreover, we examined the relation between motor performance and the benefits for verbal processing as a function of language. Sixty-four participants, 32 German and 32 French native speakers detected subtle word changes in accented positions in metrically structured sentences to which they previously tapped with their index finger. Before each sentence, they were cued by a metronome to tap either congruently (i.e., to accented syllables) or incongruently (i.e., to non-accented parts) to the following speech stimulus. Both French and German speakers detected words better when cued to tap congruently compared to incongruent tapping. Detection performance was predicted by participants' motor performance in the non-verbal cueing phase. Moreover, tapping rate while participants tapped to speech predicted detection differently for the two language groups, in particular in the incongruent tapping condition. We discuss our findings in light of the rhythmic differences of both languages and with respect to recent theories of expectancy-driven and multisensory speech processing.
Occupational injuries among working adolescents in New York State.

OBJECTIVE To determine the number, distribution, determinants, and health consequences of occupational injuries among working adolescents in New York State. DESIGN A retrospective, population-based analysis of New York State workers' compensation award data and the Annual Demographic File, a supplement to the US Bureau of the Census Current Population Survey. PARTICIPANTS Adolescents, aged 14 through 17 years, who received workers' compensation awards for occupational injury from 1980 through 1987. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES (1) Numbers, types, and rates of occupational injuries in working adolescents by age, sex, industry, and occupation; (2) health consequences of injury, especially disability and death; and (3) secular trends in injury award rates. RESULTS A total of 9656 adolescents were compensated for occupational injuries; 4201 compensated adolescents (43.5%) suffered permanent disability; 31 working adolescents died. The annual mean rate of compensated occupational injury was 28.2 per 10,000 adolescent workers. Rates were higher in males than in females and ranged from 8.2 per 10,000 in 14-year-old male workers to 46.8 per 10,000 in 17-year-old male workers. Highest rates by industry were seen in manufacturing (49.0/10,000 adolescent workers) and agriculture (46.2/10,000). Unskilled labor was the most dangerous occupation (52.3/10,000). CONCLUSION Occupational injuries are a substantial and underrecognized contributor to the continuing epidemic of injury among adolescents.
The Effects of Anxiety on Perceiving the Reachability of Passing Objects

Abstract Three groups of 12 observers (a high trait anxiety group, a neutral trait anxiety group, and a low trait anxiety group) judged whether approaching balls were reachable or not under two conditions: a control condition and an anxiety condition. Under the anxiety condition, an egostressor was used to provoke anxiety on the part of the observers. State anxiety, as measured by the state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) and the anxiety thermometer, was found to increase significantly for the high trait anxiety group only. Heart rate elevation above resting level however was found to remain high under the anxiety condition and to decrease as the experiment progressed under the control condition for all three groups, suggesting that they were all affected by the anxiety manipulation. In line with the predictions of the theory of affordances, anxiety did not influence the location of the judged critical point. The steepness of the slope of the discri.
Profiles of enteropathogens in asymptomatic children from indigenous communities of Mérida, Venezuela.

INTRODUCTION In Latin America, gastrointestinal infections represent one of the main causes of death among indigenous groups, with a mortality rate three times greater than in the general population. In this study, the carrier state of enteropathogens and the epidemiological risk factor in asymptomatic children from indigenous communities of Mérida, Venezuela, were determined. METHODOLOGY Fifty-eight healthy children, 5 years of age and under, were clinically and epidemiologically evaluated. Fecal samples were tested for a range of classic enteropathogens. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests (AST) were performed by dilution methods. RESULTS Of the specimens studied, there were 34 (58.6%) positive samples, and a single enteropathogen was detected in 22 (64.6%) of these. Associations of two and three enteropathogens were observed in 10 (29.3%) and two (5.8%) cases, respectively. Blastocystis hominis (16; 47.0%) and Salmonella spp. (15; 43.9%) were the most frequently detected enteropathogens. Carriage of enteropathogens was most frequent in children older than two years. The variety of food in the daily diet was the risk factor strongly associated with the presence of parasites and/or enteric bacteria (p = 0.024 < 0.05 and p = 0.000 < 0.05, respectively). The majority of these bacteria were susceptible to the antibiotics tested in vitro. CONCLUSION This study shows a high prevalence of enteropathogen carriage in asymptomatic children aged five and under from indigenous communities; this result is statistically related to the consumption of food. These findings stress the need of continuous epidemiological surveillance in vulnerable populations, as an important step to prevent the morbidity and mortality due to gastrointestinal infections.
The Impact of Competition and Group Ownership on Radio News

A secondary analysis of a national survey of managers at radio news stations was used to examine the impact of group ownership and competition on news content and the news department. Group ownership had no impact on the financial commitment or the local and staff emphasis of news coverage. Competition resulted in more staff-prepared news and a higher proportion ofairtime devoted to staff-prepared news, but in a lower percentage of staff-prepared reports devoted to local news.
The Competition State, City-Regions, and the Territorial Politics of Growth Facilitation

As urban centres of agglomeration expand and compete for investment, new demands may arise for additional housing, infrastructure, and services. Failure to meet these demands imposes costs on firms and workers, stifles expansion, and potentially compromises the long-run economic competitiveness of the growth area. Drawing on evidence from Germany (Munich), Sweden (Stockholm), and the UK (Cambridge) this paper examines the organisational and political challenges of growth facilitation in the context of post-Keynesian political and economic restructuring. Particular emphasis is placed on tensions arising from changes in the form and function of European state social regulation. These tensions are not simply a matter of neoliberal regulatory deficit but reflect broader societal cleavages in relation to the uneven spatial impact of local economic growth. Deploying the concept of territorial structures of growth facilitation provides a conceptual framework for taking forward research on the relationship between state spatial regulation, state restructuring, and the competitiveness of city-regions.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Bend It like Beckham: Embodying the Motor Skills of Famous Athletes

distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Shoulder balance after surgery in patients with Lenke Type 2 scoliosis corrected with the segmental pedicle screw technique.

OBJECT The authors evaluated the effectiveness of Lenke Type 2 criteria in scoliosis correction with the segmental pedicle screw (PS) technique, with emphasis on shoulder balance. METHODS Twenty-five consecutive patients with Lenke Type 2 scoliosis (structural double thoracic curves, sidebending Cobb angle > 25 degrees , or T2-5 kyphosis > 20 degrees ) who underwent segmental PS instrumentation were included in this study. At surgery, the patients were an average of 14.1 years of age, and the average duration of follow-up was 2.9 years. For radiological evaluation of the patients, preoperative, postoperative, and the latest available follow-up radiographs were used. The difference between right and left shoulder heights was determined to assess shoulder balance. All patients were treated with fusion of both the proximal and distal curves. RESULTS The mean preoperative proximal thoracic curve of 43 degrees was corrected to 21 degrees postoperatively, a 51.2% correction. The preoperative lower thoracic curve of 61 degrees was corrected to 23 degrees , for a 62.3% correction. The preoperative shoulder height difference of -5.92 +/- 12.52 mm (range: -31 to +14 mm, negative designating a lower left shoulder) was improved to 1.52 +/- 8.12 mm. Postoperatively, no patient had significant or moderate shoulder imbalance, 4 patients had minimal shoulder imbalance, and 21 patients had balanced shoulders. CONCLUSIONS Although Lenke Type 2 criteria were developed wth Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation, they are successfully applied to determining thoracic fusion when segmental PS instrumentation is used.
Maternal temperature history activates Flowering Locus T in fruits to control progeny dormancy according to time of year

Significance Seed behavior is known to be highly dependent on the temperature during seed set, but the mechanism is poorly understood. Here we show that the mother plant plays a central role in the control of progeny seed dormancy, integrating long-term temperature memories in fruit tissues using the same pathway that controls flowering time. Regulation of seed coat properties by maternal flowering time pathways effectively passes timing information across generations, aligning progeny behavior with time of year. Seasonal behavior is important for fitness in temperate environments but it is unclear how progeny gain their initial seasonal entrainment. Plants use temperature signals to measure time of year, and changes to life histories are therefore an important consequence of climate change. Here we show that in Arabidopsis the current and prior temperature experience of the mother plant is used to control germination of progeny seeds, via the activation of the florigen Flowering Locus T (FT) in fruit tissues. We demonstrate that maternal past and current temperature experience are transduced to the FT locus in silique phloem. In turn, FT controls seed dormancy through inhibition of proanthocyanidin synthesis in fruits, resulting in altered seed coat tannin content. Our data reveal that maternal temperature history is integrated through FT in the fruit to generate a metabolic signal that entrains the behavior of progeny seeds according to time of year.
Malaria chemoprophylaxis in sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND Malaria is the most common precipitating cause of crises in sickle cell disease in malaria-endemic countries. Health professionals often recommend life-long malaria chemoprophylaxis for people with sickle cell disease living in these areas. It is therefore important we have good evidence of benefit. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of routine malaria chemoprophylaxis in people with sickle cell disease. SEARCH METHODS We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register (January 2006), Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group Specialized Register (July 2006), CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2006, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1966 to January 2006), EMBASE (1974 to January 2006), LILACS (1982 to January 2006), and reference lists. We also contacted organizations and pharmaceutical companies. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing chemoprophylaxis with any antimalarial drug given for a minimum of three months compared with a placebo or no intervention. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two authors independently applied the inclusion criteria, assessed the risk of bias in the trials, and extracted data. Dichotomous data were analysed using risk ratios (RR) and presented with 95% confidence intervals (CI). MAIN RESULTS Two trials with a total of 223 children with homozygous sickle cell disease met the inclusion criteria. A randomized controlled trial in Nigeria compared two different antimalarial drugs with a placebo, and reported that chemoprophylaxis reduced sickle cell crises (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.83; 97 children), hospital admissions (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.63; 97 participants), and blood transfusions (RR 0.16, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.56; 97 participants). A quasi-randomized controlled trial of 126 children in Uganda compared an antimalarial drug plus antibiotics with no antimalarial plus placebo. Chemoprophylaxis reduced the number of episodes of malaria and dactylitis, and increased mean haemoglobin values in this trial. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS It is beneficial to give routine malaria chemoprophylaxis in sickle cell disease in areas where malaria is endemic. 4 November 2019 Update pending New contributors needed The CIDG Editors are looking for contributors to update and maintain this Cochrane Review. Contact the CIDG Managing Editor for further information.
The representation of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in British newspapers : a critical discourse analysis.

The paper is a CDA investigation on discursive strategies employed by various British newspapers between 1996-2006 in the ways they represent refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. The period covers several world events which have impacted such representation, creating a large number of articles on and/or about these groups. A combination of quantitative and qualitative down-sampling technique is then devised to restrict the number of articles to a sensitive sample which takes into account the newspapers' ideological stands; conservative/liberal, their types; quality/tabloid and the relevant world events. The paper discusses some of the salient issues in the ways these groups of people are represented in British newspapers during these 10 years and shows that despite differences — arising from differences in ideological viewpoints and their types — in some important ways all the newspapers contribute to construct refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in similar ways.
Solar Particle Events and Self-Organized Criticality: Are Deterministic Predictions of Events Possible?

Evidence is presented that solar particle events are a self-organized critical phenomenon. Using daily and monthly fluences of solar protons measured by the IMP-8 and GOES satellite instrumentation over a 28-year period, long-term correlation of events, fractal characteristics and power function behavior for the density functions of fluence magnitudes and waiting times are demonstrated. The implications are that it is not possible to predict the time of occurrence and magnitude of solar particle events within narrow limits
Does gaze direction affect accuracy?

The gaze direction effect is the finding that observers are typically faster at detecting or identifying a target when it appears in the direction indicated by the gaze of a centrally presented face as compared to other locations. The present research investigated whether the gaze direction effect would occur in accuracy when the target was visually degraded and accuracy was emphasized. In two experiments, the targets were easy to identify correctly, and reaction time (RT) was the dependent variable. In similar experiments, the targets were made difficult to identify and accuracy was the dependent variable. Gaze direction affected RT, but not accuracy. A theoretical mechanism for the gaze direction effect that accounts for these findings is presented.
The effects of α‐methyldopa on myometrial noradrenaline release and myometrial contractility in rat

Background. α‐Methyldopa is a classic antihypertensive agent, used routinely in the treatment of pregnancy‐induced hypertension. However, only a few data are available about its direct uterotropic effect. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate the direct effects of α‐methyldopa on the myometrial adrenergic functions in rat. Methods. The effects of α‐methyldopa on the sympathetic transmission in the non‐pregnant, early pregnant and late‐pregnant myometrium were investigated by a superfusion technique. Myometrial samples from control and α‐methyldopa‐treated (200 mg/kg i.p. for 7 days) non‐pregnant, 7‐day and 21‐day pregnant rats were saturated with [3H]noradrenaline, and the liberation evoked by electric field stimulation was determined. The contractility responses to α‐ and β‐adrenergic stimulation were additionally characterised by generating concentration–response curves of myometrial rings to noradrenaline and terbutaline in the same arrangement. The changes in the density and affinity of the adrenergic receptors (α2 and β2) were investigated by a radioligand binding technique. Results. The treatment with α‐methyldopa substantially decreased both the [3H]noradrenaline uptake and release in both the non‐pregnant and early pregnant uterus, while treatment‐dependent changes were observed at term only in the uptake capacity. The contractility response to exogenous α‐sympathomimetics was higher in the group treated in early pregnancy, and a decreased terbutaline‐induced relaxation was observed in the non‐pregnant state and at term. The treatment resulted in increased affinity for α2 receptors in early pregnancy, while Kd for β2 was increased at term. Conclusions. Our experimental data suggest that besides its antihypertensive effect, α‐methyldopa may influence the adrenergic transmission of the pregnant uterus. Our results indicate that the agent decreases the efficacy of β2‐adrenergic agonists at term pregnancy and increases the response to α‐sympathomimetics in early pregnancy.
In vivo microvascular network imaging of the human retina combined with an automatic three-dimensional segmentation method

Abstract. Microvascular network of the retina plays an important role in diagnosis and monitoring of various retinal diseases. We propose a three-dimensional (3-D) segmentation method with intensity-based Doppler variance (IBDV) based on swept-source optical coherence tomography. The automatic 3-D segmentation method is used to obtain seven surfaces of intraretinal layers. The microvascular network of the retina, which is acquired by the IBDV method, can be divided into six layers. The microvascular network of the six individual layers is visualized, and the morphology and contrast images can be improved by using the segmentation method. This method has potential for earlier diagnosis and precise monitoring in retinal vascular diseases.
Burn-out among Israeli Arab school principals as a function of professional identity and interpersonal relationships with teachers

The study was aimed at shedding light on burn-out among Arab school principals in Israel by investigating its relationship to the principals' professional identity and their interpersonal relationships with their teachers. The sample consisted of 88 Israeli Arab school principals, a group of professionals whose burn-out was investigated for the first time in this study, and of 517 of their teachers. The principals were selected randomly from the total population of Arab school principals. The study instruments comprised three questionnaires that had been used in previous studies, where they had been tested for reliability. The results indicate a relatively low degree of burn-out experienced by the Arab school principals in general, and in comparison with school principals in the Jewish educational sector in particular. The variance in burn-out was explained to a statistically significant degree by professional identity and by a number of gaps between the principals' perceptions of actual and desired interpersonal relationships. The results are discussed with regard to psycho-sociological and cultural aspects.