Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postmenopausal hormone therapy and change in mammographic density.

BACKGROUND Mammographic density is an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Postmenopausal hormone use is associated with an increase in mammographic density, but the magnitude of the density increase is unknown. METHODS Baseline and 12-month mammograms were obtained for 571 (65%) of the 875 women, aged 45-64 years, who were enrolled in the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions Trial and randomly assigned to receive placebo, daily conjugated equine estrogens at 0.625 mg/day (CEE), daily CEE and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) at 10 mg/day on days 1-12 (CEE+MPA-cyclic), daily CEE and MPA at 2.5 mg/day (CEE+MPA-continuous), or daily CEE and micronized progesterone (MP) at 200 mg/day on days 1-12 (CEE+MP). We analyzed digitized mammograms to determine the percentage of the left breast that was composed of dense tissue (i.e., mammographic percent density). Linear regression analysis was used to examine the effects of treatments on the change in mammographic percent density between baseline and 12 months, before and after adjustment for possible confounders. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS The adjusted absolute mean changes in mammographic percent density over 12 months were 4.76% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.29% to 6.23%), 4.58% (95% CI = 3.19% to 5.97%), and 3.08% (95% CI = 1.65% to 4.51%) for women in the CEE+MPA-cyclic, CEE+MPA-continuous, and CEE-MP groups, respectively. Each of those absolute mean changes was statistically significantly different from the adjusted absolute mean change in mammographic percent density for women in the placebo group, which was -0.07% (95% CI = -1.50% to 1.38%). CONCLUSION Greater mammographic density was associated with the use of estrogen/progestin combination therapy, regardless of how the progestin was given, but not with the use of estrogen only.
Engaging the Business/Industrial Sector in Accessibility Research: Lessons in Bridge Building

This article examines challenges of engaging the business/industry sector in research on the use of information technology to enhance accessibility for people with disabilities in two areas of common interest—to employment and to public and retail services. The data presented arise from the joint effort of two research teams who independently encountered challenges in engaging private sector firms in their respective projects. Using a case study approach, the experiences of both groups were examined for themes representing factors that inhibited collaboration between research and business sectors, and those that enhanced collaboration. Trustworthiness of themes was established by submitting them for critique and feedback to key informants knowledgeable in both business and research. From a social systems theory perspective, findings suggest that the most important differences between research and business systems reside in the meaning of communication each uses, and differences in assumptions about and value placed on factors such as pursuit of new knowledge, the importance of marketability of findings, and so on. Additional complications arise in pursuit of research related to disability. Factors to build on when seeking research collaboration include an understanding of the language and culture of business systems, and the very real possibility of developing disability research into secondary goals that business systems typically pursue once the prime need for profitability has been at addressed (the notion of satisficing). Implications for communication between disability research and business systems are identified.
Occupational stress: its causes and consequences for job performance.

This paper reports two studies of occupational stress and its relation with antecedent variables and job performance. The first study, in which 104 nurses participated in group discussions and 96 nurses completed a questionnaire, identified 45 stressful events for nurses. In the second study, 171 nurses who completed another questionnaire were also rated by a supervisor and/or a co-worker. Ratings of interpersonal aspects of job performance (such as sensitivity, warmth, consideration, and tolerance) and cognitive/motivational aspects (such as concentration, composure, perseverence, and adaptability) correlated significantly with self-reported perceptions of stressful events, subjective stress, depression, and hostility. Models developed through path analysis suggest that the frequency and subjective intensity of the 45 events identified in Study 1 cause feelings of stress, which lead to depression, which, in turn, causes decrements in interpersonal and cognitive/motivational aspects of job performance. Much of the literature on occupational stress emphasizes its effects on health. Dependent variables in such research include blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level, and heart disease (Cooper & Marshall, 1976). We know relatively little, however, about the relation of stress to job performance. This article examines patterns of covariation between subjective stress and job performance and explores relations with individual characteristics, job conditions, stressful work events, and affective states.
Rallying around the President: When and Why Do Americans Close Ranks behind Their Presidents during International Crisis and War?

Many studies have reported that US presidents often become more popular at the onset of wars and other security crises. Research on this “rally-round-the-flag” phenomenon has focused on either rational calculation of success, chances of military actions, popular perceptions of security threats, or the role of opinion leaders. This paper proposes a new approach: I argue that challenges to the symbolic status of the nation vis-à-vis other nations drive rally periods. This study examines the rally-round-the-flag phenomenon from a comparative historical perspective, using a new database of war events and security crises from 1950–2006. The analysis reveals that two types of status challenges result in nationalist rally reactions: first, the public has rallied behind presidents when wars and security crises were viewed as an opportunity for the United States to reclaim its previously damaged national honor; and second, rallies have emerged when the president claimed the mantle of “leader of the free world” in an internationally authorized coalition attack on a foreign country.
Dictyostelium mutants lacking multiple classic myosin I isoforms reveal combinations of shared and distinct functions

Dictyostelium cells that lack the myoB isoform were previously shown to exhibit reduced efficiencies of phagocytosis and chemotactic aggregation ("streaming") and to crawl at about half the speed of wild- type cells. Of the four other Dictyostelium myosin I isoforms identified to date, myoC and myoD are the most similar to myoB in terms of tail domain sequence. Furthermore, we show here that myoC, like myoB and myoD, is concentrated in actin-rich cortical regions like the leading edge of migrating cells. To look for evidence of functional overlap between these isoforms, we analyzed myoB, myoC, and myoD single mutants, myoB/myoD double mutants, and myoB/myoC/myoD triple mutants, which were created using a combination of gene targeting techniques and constitutive expression of antisense RNA. With regard to the speed of locomoting, aggregation-stage cells, of the three single mutants, only the myoB mutant was significantly slower. Moreover, double and triple mutants were only slightly slower than the myoB single mutant. Consistent with this, the protein level of myoB alone rises dramatically during early development, suggesting that a special demand is placed on this one isoform when cells become highly motile. We also found, however, that the absolute amount of myoB protein in aggregation- stage cells is much higher than that for myoC and myoD, suggesting that what appears to be a case of nonoverlapping function could be the result of large differences in the amounts of functionally overlapping isoforms. Streaming assays also suggest that myoC plays a significant role in some aspect of motility other than cell speed. With regard to phagocytosis, both myoB and myoC single mutants exhibited significant reductions in initial rate, suggesting that these two isoforms perform nonredundant roles in supporting the phagocytic process. In triple mutants these defects were not additive, however. Finally, because double and triple mutants exhibited significant and progressive decreases in doubling times, we also measured the kinetics of fluid phase endocytic flux (uptake, transit time, efflux). Not only do all three isoforms contribute to this process, but their contributions are synergistic. While these results, when taken together, refute the simple notion that these three "classic" myosin I isoforms perform exclusively identical functions, they do reveal that all three share in supporting at least one cellular process (endocytosis), and they identify several other processes (motility, streaming, and phagocytosis) that are supported to a significant extent by either individual isoforms or various combinations of them.
Practice Effect of Working Memory Test

Objective:To confirm the least practice times to eliminate the practice effect in the Working Memory Test Method: Four volunteers from college students practiced the Working Memory Test many times in two consecutive days Their scores were analyzed Result:Comparing their results before and after practice, there were significant practice effects with two types, three levels In order to eliminate these effects, the practice times before formal test was no less than 18 Conclusion:Practice effect is one of the factors affecting the results of the Working Memory Test, which can be eliminate after at least 18 times practice
The effect of pragmatic instruction on speech act performance

This chapter reviews previous research on pragmatic intervention by exploring the extent to which the teachability of second-language speech acts is constrained by the nature of intervention and learner-attributable factors. The superiority of explicit pragmatic intervention over implicit treatment is confirmed overall, particularly in the teaching of the sociopragmatic features of speech acts. However, evidence suggests that such positive effects of explicit intervention are not always assured; moreover, some forms of implicit intervention are equally effective. Such variations in the findings are best explained in terms of an explicit/implicit continuum rather than a dichotomous explicit versus implicit framework. The current review also suggests that higher levels of linguistic proficiency and learner motivation may be prerequisites for maximally enhancing pragmatic teachability.
Seroepidemiological survey for canine angiostrongylosis in dogs from Germany and the UK using combined detection of Angiostrongylus vasorum antigen and specific antibodies

SUMMARY Dogs infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum, a potentially lethal parasite parasitizing the heart and pulmonary arteries, may present severe respiratory, haematological and neurological signs. In this first large-scale seroepidemiological survey, 4003 sera originating from Germany and 4030 from the UK were tested by an ELISA for the detection of circulating antigen of A. vasorum, and by a separate ELISA detecting specific antibodies. In Germany, where mainly western federal states were sampled, 0·3% (n = 13, CI: 0·2–0·6%) of dogs were positive in both ELISAs, whereas in total 0·5% (n = 20, CI: 0·3–0·8%) were antigen-positive and 2·25% (n = 90, CI: 1·8–2·8%) were positive for specific antibodies. Regions with antigen- and antibody-positive animals were overlapping. In the UK, where mainly the south of the country was sampled, 0·97% (n = 39, CI: 0·7–1·3%) of dogs were antigen- and antibody positive. In total, 1·32% (n = 53, CI: 1·0–1·7%) were antigen-positive, and 3·2% (n = 129, CI: 2·7–3·8%) were positive for specific antibodies, again in overlapping regions. These results confirm the occurrence of A. vasorum in a random dog population originating from large parts of the countries investigated. The use of the tests alone or in combination was considered as a function of their sensitivities and specificities, in order to guide efficient clinical and epidemiological application.
On consensus in multi-agent systems with linear high-order agents

Abstract Consensus of a group of agents in a multi-agent system is considered. All agents are modeled by identical linear n th order dynamical systems and the interconnection topology between the agents is modeled as a directed weighted graph. We provide answers to the questions whether the group converges to consensus and what consensus value it eventually reaches. Furthermore, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for convergence to consensus in the double integrator case and propose an LMI-based design for group consensus in the general case. An example is used to illustrate the results.
Value of sentinel node status as a prognostic factor in melanoma: prospective observational study

Abstract Objective To establish the prognostic value of knowledge of sentinel node status in melanoma. Design Single centre prospective observational study, with sentinel nodes identified by lymphoscintigraphy, γ probe, and intraoperative blue dye and examined by both conventional histopathology and immunopathology. Setting Specialist surgical service in west of Scotland. Participants 482 patients with melanoma who consented to sentinel node biopsy in 1996-2003. Main outcome measure Time to recurrence of or death from melanoma. Results Of 472 patients who consented to sentinel node biopsy and in whom at least one sentinel node was identified, 367 (78%) had no tumour in the sentinel node. At mean follow-up of 42 months, 299 (82%) of this group were alive and free from disease, 24 were alive with melanoma recurrence, and 31 had died of melanoma. Of 105 patients with a positive sentinel node biopsy, 44 (42%) were alive and disease free, 12 were alive with recurrence, and 46 had died of melanoma. The survival difference between patients who were negative and those who were positive for tumour in the sentinel node was highly significant at all thickness levels over 1.0 mm (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that sentinel node status was independent of tumour thickness and ulceration. 71/105 (68%) patients with a positive sentinel node had a negative completion lymphadenectomy, and 44/71 (62%) were alive and disease free at follow-up; 34 patients with a positive sentinel node had further nodes involved, and only 4 (12%) were disease free (P < 0.001). 16 patients (13 sentinel node biopsy positive; 3 negative) died of other causes. Conclusion Sentinel node status is a highly significant predictor of prognosis in melanoma and should be considered in adjuvant studies. However, it should not be regarded as a standard of care until mature data from ongoing randomised trials are available.
Role of clinical neurophysiological tests in evaluation of erectile dysfunction in people with spinal cord disorders.

BACKGROUND While erectile dysfunction is frequent among people with disorders of the spinal cord, the role of various clinical neurophysiological tests in assessment is not clear. AIMS To study the role of clinical neurophysiological investigations in assessing erectile dysfunction among men with spinal cord disorders. SETTING National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, India. DESIGN Survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS Subjects with a score of 21 or less on the International Index of Erectile Function-5 were classified as with erectile dysfunction and with a score of more than 21 as without erectile dysfunction. Clinical neurophysiological studies done were Sympathetic Skin Response from limbs, posterior tibial sensory evoked potential, pudendal sensory potential and bulbocavernous reflex. STATISTICAL ANALYSES Chi-square test. RESULTS Among 40 subjects 26 had erectile dysfunction. The frequency of abnormalities in clinical neurophysiological studies were: pudendal sensory evoked potentials--16, posterior tibial sensory evoked potentials--26, bulbocavernous reflex--5, sympathetic skin response from sole--24 and, sympathetic skin response from palm--18. Significant associations were noted between erectile dysfunction and abnormal pudendal sensory evoked potentials (P=0.0479), and absent sympathetic skin response from palm (P=0.0279) and sole (P< 0.001). There was no correlation between erectile dysfunction and posterior tibial sensory evoked potentials (P=0.133) or bulbocavernous reflex (P=0.418). Sympathetic skin response from sole was most sensitive (80.8%) and had best positive (87.5%) and negative predictive (68.8%) values. The specificity of these three tests was 78.6%. CONCLUSIONS Sympathetic skin response from the sole of the foot was the most sensitive and specific clinical neurophysiological test for erectile dysfunction in spinal cord disorders.
Trypanosoma cruzi Infection and Host Lipid Metabolism

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease. Approximately 8 million people are thought to be affected worldwide. Several players in host lipid metabolism have been implicated in T. cruzi-host interactions in recent research, including macrophages, adipocytes, low density lipoprotein (LDL), low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and high density lipoprotein (HDL). All of these factors are required to maintain host lipid homeostasis and are intricately connected via several metabolic pathways. We reviewed the interaction of T. cruzi with each of the relevant host components, in order to further understand the roles of host lipid metabolism in T. cruzi infection. This review sheds light on the potential impact of T. cruzi infection on the status of host lipid homeostasis.
Influence of age on outcome of total laparoscopic fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease.

AIM To demonstrate that age does not influence the choice of treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We hypothesized that the outcome of total fundoplication in patients > 65 years is similar to that of patients aged < or = 65 years. METHODS Four hundred and twenty consecutive patients underwent total laparoscopic fundoplication for GERD. Three hundred and fifty-five patients were younger than 65 years (group Y), and 65 patients were 65 years or older (group E). The following elements were considered: presence, duration, and severity of GERD symptoms; presence of a hiatal hernia; manometric evaluation, 24 h pH-monitoring data, duration of operation; incidence of complications; and length of hospital stay. RESULTS Elderly patients more often had atypical symptoms of GERD and at manometric evaluation had a higher rate of impaired esophageal peristalsis in comparison with younger patients. A mild intensity of heartburn often leads physicians to underestimate the severity of erosive esophagitis. The duration of the operation was similar between the two groups. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications was low and the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups. An excellent outcome was observed in 92.9% young patients and 91.9% elderly patients. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic antireflux surgery is a safe and effective treatment for GERD even in elderly patients, warranting low morbidity and mortality rates and a significant improvement of symptoms comparable to younger patients.
Online Learning in Monkeys

We examine online learning in the context of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), a task for which the concept acquisition strategies for human and other primates are well documented. We describe a new WCST experiment in rhesus monkeys, comparing the monkeys' behaviors to that of online learning algorithms. Our expectation is that insights gained from this work and future research can lead to improved artificial learning systems.
Evidence of reduced sympatho-adrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary activity during static muscular work in patients with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE To assess activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis during static exercise in patients with fibromyalgia. PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixteen patients with fibromyalgia and 16 healthy controls performed a static knee extension until exhaustion. Plasma catecholamines, adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol, as well as blood pressure and heart rate, were assessed before, during and following contraction. Plasma C reactive protein was analysed at baseline. RESULTS Blood pressure and heart rate increased during contraction (p < 0.001) and decreased following contraction (p < 0.001) in both groups alike. Compared with baseline, plasma catecholamines increased during contraction in both groups (p < 0.001), but patients with fibromyalgia had lower levels of plasma adrenaline (p < 0.04) and noradrenaline (p < 0.08) at all times. Adrenocorticotropic hormone increased at exhaustion in controls (p < 0.001), but not in patients with fibromyalgia, who also had lower adrenocorticotropic hormone at exhaustion (p < 0.02) compared with controls. There were no group differences, or changes over time in plasma cortisol. High sensitivity C reactive protein was higher in patients with fibromyalgia compared with controls (p < 0.02). CONCLUSION Patients with fibromyalgia exhibited a hypoactive sympatho-adrenal system as well as a hypo-reactive hypothalamic-pituitary axis during static exercise.
Relationship Between Proactive Personality and Employee Well-Being: Mediating Effect of Psychological Capital

Proactive personality scale, psychological capital questionnaire and employee well-being questionnaire are adopted in the research, and employees are investigated through network questionnaire. Data are analyzed for exploring the relationship between proactive personality and employee wellbeing as well as the mediating effect of psychological capital. The result showed that employee proactive personality can be applied for significant forward prediction of employee wellbeing and psychological capital; psychological capital can be applied for significant forward prediction of employee wellbeing; psychological capital has complete mediating effect between proactive personality and employee well-being.
Multihop network capacity estimation

The research of Gupta and Kumar (March 2000) gave a proportional relationship of the network capacity. We propose a simple approach to deriving the multihop radio network capacity in this paper. This approach is not only able to give the proportional relationship, but it also presents an explicit formulation of the network capacity as well. The formulation is applicable to both the trend prediction of large network and capacity estimation of a small network. This result is valuable for both the theoretical research and for practical performance estimation of multihop radio network. In addition, the methodology can easily be extended to more complex cases, as illustrated by our three-dimensional study. We also implement an ideal network model to verify the capacity derivation, and theoretically prove that the formula is consistent with the previous research works. From the derivation of the formula, most of the important parameters that affect the capacity are discussed and possible approaches to capacity improvement are proposed.
On Singular 1-Rotational Steiner 2-Designs

A Steiner 2-design is 1-rotational over a groupGif it admitsGas an automorphism group fixing one point and acting regularly on the remainder. 1-rotational Steiner 2-designs have come into fashion since 1981, when Phelps and Rosa (Discrete Math.33(1981), 57? 66) studied Steiner triple systems that are 1-rotational over the cyclic group. While all 1-rotational Steiner 2-designs con- structed in the past have exactly oneshort block-orbit, in this paper we also consider 1-rotational Steiner 2-designs not having this property. We call themsingularand we show that they are quite rare. In particular, we enumerate all the abelian 1-rotational 2-(49, 4, 1) designs.