Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
C REACTIVE PROTEIN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RENAL DISEASES

Base-line serum levels of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) are predictive of future myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death in apparently healthy subjects, suggesting the hypothesis that chronic inflammation might be important in the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis. CRP production is mediated by several inflammatory mediators: interleukin 6 (IL-6) is currently felt to be the major cytokine influencing the acute phase response. CRP and other acute phase proteins are elevated in dialysis patients and cardiovascular diseases represent the single largest cause of mortality in chronic renal failure patients. Little information is available, however regarding CRP and IL-6 plasma levels in pre-dialysis renal failure. Plasma CRP was determined by a modification of the laser nephelometry technique; IL-6 by immunoassay (RD System); and fibrinogen, serum albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides, hematocrit, white blood cell count, erythrocytic sedimentation rate (ESR) and urinary protein levels by standard laboratory techniques. Results were obtained in 102 chronic pre-dialysis patients whose mean age was 53 ± 5.8 years with a mean creatinine clearance (CCr) of 52 ± 37 mL/min). CRP was greater than 5 mg/L in 25% of the global population. CRP and IL-6 were 4.0 ± 4.6 mg/L and 5.8 ± 5.6 pg/mL, respectively and were not significantly correlated (r = 0.11, p = n.s.). CRP and IL-6 were however related with renal function (CRP versus CCr r = −0.40 p < 0.001; IL-6 versus CCr r = −0.45; p < 0.001). When patients were divided in two groups according to renal function, CRP resulted 7.4 ± 6.3 mg/L in the group of patients with a CCr lower than 20 mL/min (n = 32) and 2.76 ± 4.35 in the group of patients with a CCr higher than 20mL/min (n = 70) (p < 0.0001). CRP and IL-6 were positively related with ESR (r = 0.32 and 0.46 respectively). Serum albumin levels were not significantly different in the two groups of patients (3.2 ± 0.4 versus 3.0 ± 0.5 g/dL). CRP and serum albumin were not significantly related (r = 0.17). CRP and IL-6 correlated positively with ESR (r = 0.32 and 0.46 respectively). In pre-dialysis patients we have demonstrated an increase in both CRP and IL-6 that occurs as renal function decreases. These data provided evidence of the activation – even in the predialysis phase of renal failure – of mechanisms known to contribute to the enhanced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of the uremic syndrome.
Using Photography as a Means of Phenomenological Seeing: “Doing Phenomenology” with Immigrant Children

Abstract The aim of the study presented in this paper was to understand the lifeworlds of children who experience immigration and whose lives are marked by dramatic changes in their being-in-the-world. More specifically, the study proceeded from the question: What does it mean for an immigrant child to enter school in a new country? Two methodological questions were also explored, namely (1) How does one conduct a phenomenological investigation of a childhood phenomenon when the researchers and the participants do not share a common language? and (2) How does one engage children in the research process so that they provide not only “thick” descriptions of their experiences using alternative, non-linguistic means, but also make meaning of these experiences? In the current study, still photography was used to help the immigrant children recall and make meaning of what they experienced on their first day of school in a new country. In the process, they were enabled to become conscious photographers who came to see the world in such a way that photographic seeing became phenomenological seeing. Two examples of the children’s visual narratives in the form of fotonovelas are presented to illustrate a methodology that involves fusion of the horizons surrounding the children, captured images of situations they encountered as they entered the classroom, and how the viewer saw the created image. The expanded notion of text and the use of digital technology in developing the text opened a space not only for visual representation of the children’s lived experiences, but also for phenomenological analysis of these experiences. It is suggested that, although the written and visual texts produced as a result of the study differ, they are similar in the way in which they allow for phenomenological reflection and in their ability to show the phenomenon so as to evoke the reader’s “phenomenological nod”.
Predicting Sensory Gating Measures From Sensory Registration Measures in Children with and without Sensory Processing Disorders

Studies of sensory gating in children with and without disabilities have shown large within group variances. Freedman, et al. (1987) studied 108 typical children aged 1-19 years. They reported that the P50 T/C ratio in typical children ranged from 0 to 1. MylesWorsley et al. (1996) examined the developmental and genetic influences on the P50 sensory gating in 127 participants ages 10-39 years. Contrary to Freedman et al. (1987), their results indicated that there was not a difference in the P50 ratio between children and adults. Kemner, et al. (2002) examined 12 children with autism and 11 children without autism aged 7-13 years. The mean P50 T/C ratio for typical children was . 47 (SD = .50) and for children with autism was . 28 (SD = .36). Marshall, et al. (2004) included a group of 10 outgoing children, a group of 12 socially withdrawn children, and an “unselected” group of 10 children, all within the ages of 7-13 years old. The mean P50 T/C ratio across whole sample was . 90 (SD = .53). Measures of brain response to simple auditory stimuli might provide insight to the sources of variability in children. For example, Lincoln et al. (1995) investigated N1 and P2 amplitude and latency differences based on changes in stimulus intensity and frequency (Hz), assessing the regulation of sensory input in children 8 to 14 years old with and without autism. According to Lincoln et al. (1995), children with autism do not show an increase in N1 amplitude in response to increased auditory stimuli intensity compared to normal children. Characterizing the sources of the individual differences in sensory gating in young children may lead to better early detection and treatment of children with sensory processing disorders. Introduction Method
Multi-criteria neutrosophic decision making method based on score and accuracy functions under neutrosophic environment

A neutrosophic set is a more general platform, which can be used to present uncertainty, imprecise, incomplete and inconsistent. In this paper a score function and an accuracy function for single valued neutrosophic sets is firstly proposed to make the distinction between them. Then the idea is extended to interval neutrosophic sets. A multi-criteria decision making method based on the developed score-accuracy functions is established in which criterion values for alternatives are single valued neutrosophic sets and interval neutrosophic sets. In decision making process, the neutrosophic weighted aggregation operators (arithmetic and geometric average operators) are adopted to aggregate the neutrosophic information related to each alternative. Thus, we can rank all alternatives and make the selection of the best of one(s) according to the score-accuracy functions. Finally, some illustrative examples are presented to verify the developed approach and to demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.
Some conditional correlation inequalities for percolation and related processes

Consider ordinary bond percolation on a finite or countably infinite graph. Let s, t, a, and b be vertices. An earlier paper (J. Van den Berg and J. Kahn, Ann Probab 29 (2001), 123–126 ) proved the (nonintuitive) result that, conditioned on the event that there is no open path from s to t, the two events ”there is an open path from s to a” and “there is an open path from s to b” are positively correlated. In the present paper we further investigate and generalize the theorem of which this result was a consequence. This leads to results saying, informally, that, with the above conditioning, the open cluster of s is conditionally positively (self‐) associated and that it is conditionally negatively correlated with the open cluster of t.
1-[4-[4[(4R,5R)-3,3-Dibutyl-7-(dimethylamino)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-1,1-dioxido-1-benzothiepin-5-yl]phenoxy]butyl]-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane Methanesulfonate (SC-435), an Ileal Apical Sodium-Codependent Bile Acid Transporter Inhibitor Alters Hepatic Cholesterol Metabolism and Lowers 

Male Hartley guinea pigs (10/group) were assigned either to a control diet (no drug treatment) or to diets containing 0.4, 2.2, or 7.3 mg/day of an ileal apical sodium-codependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) inhibitor, 1-[4-[4[(4R,5R)-3,3-dibutyl-7-(dimethylamino)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-1,1-dioxido-1-benzothiepin-5-yl]phenoxy]butyl]-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2] octane methanesulfonate (SC-435). Based on food consumption, guinea pigs received 0, 0.8, 3.7, or 13.4 mg/kg/day of the ASBT inhibitor. The amount of cholesterol in the four diets was maintained at 0.17%, equivalent to 1200 mg/day in the human situation. Guinea pigs treated with 13.4 mg/kg/day SC-435 had 41% lower total cholesterol and 44% lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations compared with control (P < 0.01), whereas no significant differences were observed with either of the lower doses of SC-435. Hepatic cholesterol esters were significantly reduced by 43, 56, and 70% in guinea pigs fed 0.8, 3.7, and 13.4 mg/kg/day of the ASBT inhibitor, respectively (P < 0.01). In addition, the highest dose of the inhibitor resulted in a 42% increase in the number of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triacylglycerol molecules and a larger VLDL diameter compared with controls (P < 0.05). Acyl-CoA cholesterol/acyltransferase activity was 30% lower with the highest dose treatment, whereas cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, the regulatory enzyme of bile acid synthesis, was 30% higher with the highest ASBT inhibitor dose (P < 0.05). Furthermore, bile acid excretion increased 2-fold with the highest dose of SC-435 compared with the control group (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations by the ASBT inhibitor is a result of alterations in hepatic cholesterol metabolism due to modifications in the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids.
Reducing motion artifacts in photoplethysmograms by using relative sensor motion: phantom study

Abstract. Currently, photoplethysmograms (PPGs) are mostly used to determine a patient’s blood oxygenation and pulse rate. However, PPG morphology conveys more information about the patient’s cardiovascular status. Extracting this information requires measuring clean PPG waveforms that are free of artifacts. PPGs are highly susceptible to motion, which can distort the PPG-derived data. Part of the motion artifacts are considered to result from sensor-tissue motion and sensor deformation. It is hypothesized that these motion artifacts correlate with movement of the sensor with respect to the skin. This hypothesis has been proven true in a laboratory setup. In vitro PPGs have been measured in a skin perfusion phantom that is illuminated by a laser diode. Optical motion artifacts are generated in the PPG by translating the laser diode with respect to the PPG photodiode. The optical motion artifacts have been reduced significantly in vitro, by using a normalized least-mean-square algorithm with only a single coefficient that uses the laser’s displacement as a reference for the motion artifacts. Laser displacement has been measured accurately via self-mixing interferometry by a compact laser diode with a ball lens integrated into the package, which can be easily integrated into a commercial sensor.
Moment analysis of multibreath nitrogen washout in healthy preterm infants

Moment analysis (MA) of multibreath nitrogen washout (MBNW) has not previously been applied to newborn infants. The aim of the present study was to adapt this method to healthy preterm infants using an improved technique suitable for small infants, and to determine reference values of MA. Twenty healthy preterm infants with a mean birth weight (± SD) of 1,666 ± 402 g and a mean gestational age of 31.3 ± 2.1 weeks were studied during their first 7–28 days of life. Computerized bedside equipment with very low dead space was constructed. The limits of normal variability were determined from results of duplicate studies. Outcome variables included functional residual capacity (FRC), the first‐to‐zeroth moment ratio (M1/M0), the second‐to‐zeroth moment ratio (M2/M0), and the lung clearance index (LCI).
Effects of Changes in Ventricular Size on Regional and Surface QRS Amplitudes in the Conscious Dog

SUMMARYEight conscious dogs instrumented with wall thickness sonomicrometers and 11 subcutaneous electrodes in a modified McFee vectorcardiographic array were studied during changes in ventricular volume. Simultaneous measurements were made of QRS amplitudes of the endocardial and epicardial ECG, QRS spatial vector magnitudes (SVM), end-diastolic wall thickness (EDT), end-systolic wall thickness (EST) and the amount of systolic thickening (δWT). Ventricular size was decreased by atropine and infulsion of 0.02 μg/kg/min of isoproterenol to increase the mean heart rate from 81 ± 5 beats/min (mean ± SEM) to 174 10 beats/min (p < 0.001), and was reflected by an increased mean EDT (9.06 ± 0.64 mm to 9.94 ± 0.61 mm, p < 0.005). The endocardial QRS amplitude increased in each dog (mean increase 21.55 ± 1.36 mV to 25.13 ± 1.35 mV, p < 0.001), whereas the SVM decreased from 7.69 ± 0.75 mV to 6.18 ± 0.48 mV (p < 0.02). Ventricular size was then increased by rapid saline infusion and was reflected by a decrease of EDT from 9.65 ± 0.66 mm to 9.09 ± 0.66 mm (p < 0.001), while heart rate remained unchanged. Endocardial amplitude decreased in each dog (average decrease 3.59 ± 0.25 mV, p < 0.001), while the SVM increased in each dog (average increase 0.81 ± 0.18 mV, p < 0.005). The mean epicardial amplitudes did not change significantly during either increases or decreases in ventricular volume. In each dog, there was a linear relation between EDT and endocardial amplitudes (r values > 0.88) and an inverse linear relation between EDT and SVM (r values > −0.80). The relations between EST or AWT and regional and QRS surface amplitudes were nonlinear. We conclude that in the conscious dog changes in endocardial QRS amplitudes and SVM respond in an opposite manner to changes in ventricular volume. In this experimental model, alterations in endocardial QRS amplitudes were related directly to changes in diastolic wall thickness; changes in body surface QRS amplitudes were inversely related to wall thickness, a finding that may relate in part to alterations in the distance of the heart from the chest wall.
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES ABOUT OLDER ADULTS ACROSS TIME AND STATES

The original Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz was modified and presented to 954 elementary, middle, and high school students (grades 3, 6, 9, 12) in West Virginia and Texas. Three separate experiments were summarized involving the Child Adolescent Facts on Aging Quiz (CAFAQ). Similar student responses on number of correct items and bias were noted in 1983 and 1998. Adolescents showed positive bias, but elementary school children showed negative bias toward older adults. Female adolescents tended to show more positive bias than male adolescents. With regard to ethnicity, White adolescents answered more correct items than Hispanic adolescent students. Hispanic adolescents tended to show more negative bias than White or Black adolescent students. No relationship between weekly contact with an older adult and accuracy or bias was observed.
Fermentative Production of Dextran using Food Industry Wastes

Dextran is a Dglucose polymer which is produced by Leuconostoc mesenteroides grown in a sucroserich media. The organism was obtained from the Persian Type Culture Collection (PTCC) and was transferred in MRS broth medium at 30°C and pH 6.8 for 24 h. After preparation of inoculums, organisms were inoculated into five liquid fermentation media containing either molasses or cheese whey or different combinations of cheese whey and molasses. After certain fermentation period, the produced dextran was separated and dried. Dextran yield was calculated and significant differences in different media were observed. Furthermore, FTIR analysis was performed and the r esults showed that there were no significant differences in the produced dextran structures.
1 PROTEIN-AND DIABETES-INDUCED GLOMERULAR 2 HYPERFILTRATION : ROLE OF GLUCAGON , 3 VASOPRESSIN , AND UREA 4 5 6

6 Lise BANKIR, Ronan ROUSSEL, and Nadine BOUBY 7 8 INSERM UMRS 1138, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Paris, France; 9 Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6), Paris, France. 10 11 12 13 Short title : Glomerular hyperfiltration. Role of AVP, glucagon and urea 14 15 Word Count : 10700 words (without figure captions and references) 16 + 11 figures and 2 tables. 17 18 Address for Correspondance 19 Lise BANKIR 20 INSERM U 1138, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers 21 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine, 75006 PARIS, France 22 Tel : 33 1 47 35 34 15 or 33 6 82 94 80 10 23 E-mail : lise.bankir@inserm.fr 24 25 26 27 Disclosures : All authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. 28 29 Articles in PresS. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol (April 29, 2015). doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00614. 2014
Spelling Checkers and Students with Learning Disabilities: Performance Comparisons and Impact on Spelling

We conducted two studies to investigate the benefits and limitations of spelling checkers with students with learning disabilities (LD). Study 1 compared the performance of 10 common spelling checkers in suggesting correct spellings for 555 unique misspellings from the writing of 55 students with LD in Grades 5 through 8. Study 2 investigated the success of 27 students with LD from Grades 6 through 8 in correcting their spelling errors with and without a spelling checker. Results indicated that spelling checkers are helpful but also have significant limitations. Unaided, students in Study 2 corrected 9% of their errors, with the spelling checker, they corrected 37% of their errors. Spelling checkers failed to identify 26% and 37% of errors in Studies 1 and 2, respectively, because the errors were other words correctly spelled. On average, spelling checkers suggested the correct spelling for approximately 55% of the identified errors, although the spelling checkers in Study 1 varied widely in performance. When the correct suggestion was provided, students usually (82% of the time) were able to select the correct word. Implications for instruction and design of spelling checkers are discussed.
Assessing the educational achievements of adults who were formerly placed in family foster care

Case records and interviews concerning educational achievements of 1087 foster care alumni are presented. Youth were served by a voluntary agency in 23 communities across the USA between 1966 and 1998. Because the alumni were older than most foster care follow-up studies, a more extensive picture of educational achievement was possible. High school graduation and college enrolment rates were comparable to or even greater than those of the general population, but the number of alumni completing high school with a Graduate Equivalency Diploma and the college dropout rates were a concern. Predictors of high school completion while in foster care, such as fewer placement changes, extracurricular activities and independent living training, are presented, along with recommendations for improving educational and vocational preparation.
Risky Decisions in a Lottery Task Are Associated with an Increase of Cocaine Use

Cocaine use disorder is associated with maladaptive decision-making behavior, which strongly contributes to the harmful consequences of chronic drug use. Prior research has shown that cocaine users exhibit impaired neuropsychological test performances, particularly with regard to attention, learning, and memory but also in executive functions such as decision-making and impulse control. However, to what extent cocaine users show impaired decision-making under risk without feedback has not yet been investigated systematically. Therefore, to examine risk-taking behavior, 31 chronic cocaine users and 26 stimulant-naïve healthy controls who were part of the Zurich Cocaine Cognition Study, performed the Randomized Lottery Task (RALT) with winning lotteries consisting of an uncertain and a certain prospect. Results revealed that risky decisions were associated with male sex, increased cocaine use in the past year, higher cocaine concentrations in the hair, and younger age. In addition, higher levels of cocaine in the hair and cumulative lifetime consumption were associated with risky decisions, whereas potentially confounding factors including cognition and psychiatric symptoms had no significant effect. Taken together, our results indicate that cocaine users who increased their consumption over a period of 1 year show deficits in the processing of risky information accompanied with increased risk-taking. Future research should analyse whether risky decisions could potentially serve as a prognostic marker for cocaine use disorder.
Managing International Portfolios With Small Capitalization Stocks

In the context of an international portfolio diversification problem, we find that small capitalization equity portfolios become riskier in bear markets, i.e. display negative co-skewness with other stock indices and high co-kurtosis. Because of this feature, a power utility investor ought to hold a well-diversified portfolio, despite the high risk premium and Sharpe ratios offered by small capitalization stocks. On the contrary small caps command large optimal weights when the investor ignores variance risk, by incorrectly assuming joint normality of returns. The dominant factor in inducing such shifts in optimal weights is represented by the co-skewness, the predictable, time-varying covariance between returns and volatilities. We calculate that if an investor were to ignore co-skewness and co-kurtosis risk, he would suffer a certainty-equivalent reduction in utility equal to 300 basis points per year under the steady-state distribution for returns. Our results are qualitatively robust when both European and North American small caps are introduced in the analysis. Therefore this paper offers robust evidence that predictable covariances between means and variances of stock returns may have a first order effect on portfolio composition.
Evaluation of MANET routing protocols in a realistic emergency response scenario

We evaluate the performance of several routing protocols for mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) in an emergency response scenario. The simulated scenario uses a disaster area mobility model and a wireless shadowing model to represent realistic first responder movements in a hybrid indoor/outdoor environment. The resulting scenario imposes some challenges on the MANET routing protocols such as intermittent connectivity and network partitions. The simulation results show that nodes have diverse connectivity characteristics which are challenging for state-of-the-art MANET routing protocols.