Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deficits in the Mimicry of Facial Expressions in Parkinson's Disease

Background: Humans spontaneously mimic the facial expressions of others, facilitating social interaction. This mimicking behavior may be impaired in individuals with Parkinson's disease, for whom the loss of facial movements is a clinical feature. Objective: To assess the presence of facial mimicry in patients with Parkinson's disease. Method: Twenty-seven non-depressed patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 28 age-matched controls had their facial muscles recorded with electromyography while they observed presentations of calm, happy, sad, angry, and fearful emotions. Results: Patients exhibited reduced amplitude and delayed onset in the zygomaticus major muscle region (smiling response) following happy presentations (patients M = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.15 to 0.18, controls M = 0.26, CI 0.14 to 0.37, ANOVA, effect size [ES] = 0.18, p < 0.001). Although patients exhibited activation of the corrugator supercilii and medial frontalis (frowning response) following sad and fearful presentations, the frontalis response to sad presentations was attenuated relative to controls (patients M = 0.05, CI −0.08 to 0.18, controls M = 0.21, CI 0.09 to 0.34, ANOVA, ES = 0.07, p = 0.017). The amplitude of patients' zygomaticus activity in response to positive emotions was found to be negatively correlated with response times for ratings of emotional identification, suggesting a motor-behavioral link (r = –0.45, p = 0.02, two-tailed). Conclusions: Patients showed decreased mimicry overall, mimicking other peoples' frowns to some extent, but presenting with profoundly weakened and delayed smiles. These findings open a new avenue of inquiry into the “masked face” syndrome of PD.
The relationship between disease activity, joint destruction, and functional capacity over the course of rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between functional capacity, disease activity, and joint destruction over the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS The followup data on 378 patients with early RA (duration <1 year), included in an open, prospective study since 1985 at the Department of Rheumatology of the University Medical Center Nijmegen, were used. Functional capacity, disease activity, and joint destruction were assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ DI), the Disease Activity Score (DAS), and a modification of the sharp radiographic damage score, respectively. Multiple linear regression was used to model the data collected at 0, 3, 6, and 9 years after study start, to investigate which variables influenced functional capacity during the disease course. A general linear mixed model for longitudinal data, which included the variables identified as significant in the multiple linear regression models and several interaction terms between the variables, was run. RESULTS On average, the functional capacity of the patients, as measured by the HAQ DI, worsened over the course of the disease after an initial improvement. After an initial reduction in the extent of disease activity, the mean DAS remained more or less stable over the course of the disease. The mean modified sharp joint damage score worsened over the course of the disease, with a slower progression rate later in the disease. In the multiple linear regression at 0, 3, and 6 years after study start, disease activity was found to be an important factor influencing functional capacity, and at 6 and 9 years, joint damage had an important effect on functional capacity. Furthermore, at 6 and 9 years, there was an interaction effect of joint destruction with disease activity. In the general linear mixed model, disease activity, joint damage, and an interaction effect of disease activity and joint damage were the main factors explaining functional capacity. CONCLUSION The effect of disease activity and joint destruction on functional capacity changes over the course of the disease. In early RA, functional capacity is most associated with disease activity, and in late disease, with joint damage.
Modular authorization

There are three major drawbacks of a centralized security administration in distributed systems: It creates a bottleneck for request handling, it tends to enforce homogeneous security structures in heterogeneous user groups and organizations, and it is a weak point in terms of security attacks, reliability, and fault tolerance. In this paper we introduce a distributed authorization concept which is based on a modular authorization language for supporting cooperatingdistributed authorization teams. These teams are partially ordered into a hierarchy in that they inherit authorization rules from higher order teams but still exercise their autonomy by (dynamically) setting local rules that serve the special local needs in distributed organizations.Conflictsbetween between rules inherited from different higher ranking sources, orviolationsof higher order rules through local rules would be detected, on the logical level or through request evaluation, as contradictions or contradicting results, respectively. Conflict resolution mechanisms are presented, and examples are discussed extensively.
A Qualitative Study on Turkish Preschool Children's Environmental Attitudes Through Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism

This study explores preschool children's attitudes towards environmental issues with a focus on the issue of gender as a factor affecting their attitudes. The study sample comprised 40 preschool age children living in Ankara, Turkey. The research adopted a qualitative approach, and the data were collected through interviews in which a questionnaire was administered. The interview questionnaire was adapted from ‘The Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale-Preschool Version’ which contains 15 interview questions and sub-questions. The findings of our study indicate that most of the 5–6-year-old children initially appear to have ecocentric attitudes towards environmental issues in all the dimensions. However, when the children explained their reasons for choosing one of the two pictures, their responses were evaluated as emanating from anthropocentric attitudes. No difference in the attitudes of the preschool children was detected in relation to their gender. In conclusion, this study shows that the educational programmes at the preschool stage need to be broadened and improved, particularly in the provision of outdoor study in natural settings for the children to develop a more ecocentric attitude towards the environment.
Therapy of metronidazole with azathioprine to prevent postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease: a controlled randomized trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS More than 80% of Crohn's disease (CD) patients undergoing resection suffer recurrence of their disease. Therapy with aminosalicylates, antimetabolites, or antibiotics leads to a modest reduction in the incidence of recurrence. GOAL We sought to examine whether metronidazole for 3 months together with azathioprine (AZA) for 12 months is superior to metronidazole alone to reduce recurrence of postoperative CD in "high-risk" patients. METHODS CD patients undergoing curative ileocecal resection with >or=1 risk factor for recurrence received metronidazole (3 months) and AZA/placebo (12 months). The primary end point was the proportion of patients with significant endoscopic recurrence 3 and 12 months after surgery. Secondary end points included clinical recurrence, safety, and tolerability of treatment. RESULTS Eighty-one patients were randomized; 19 discontinued the study early. Significant endoscopic recurrence was observed in 14 of 32 (43.7%) patients in the AZA group and in 20 of 29 (69.0%) patients in the placebo group at 12 months postsurgery (P = .048). Intention-to-treat analysis revealed endoscopic recurrence in 22 of 40 (55%) in the AZA group and 32 of 41 (78%) in the placebo group at month 12 (P = .035). At month 12, 7 of 32 patients had no endoscopic lesions in the AZA group, versus 1 of 29 in the placebo group (P = .037). CONCLUSIONS Despite the enhanced risk of recurrence, the overall incidence of significant recurrence was rather low, probably owing to the metronidazole treatment that all patients received. Concomitant AZA resulted in lower endoscopic recurrence rates and less severe recurrences 12 months postsurgery, predicting a more favorable clinical outcome. This combined treatment seems to be recommendable to all operated CD patients with an enhanced risk for recurrence.
Transcranial low-level laser therapy enhances learning, memory, and neuroprogenitor cells after traumatic brain injury in mice

Abstract. The use of transcranial low-level laser (light) therapy (tLLLT) to treat stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is attracting increasing attention. We previously showed that LLLT using an 810-nm laser 4 h after controlled cortical impact (CCI)-TBI in mice could significantly improve the neurological severity score, decrease lesion volume, and reduce Fluoro-Jade staining for degenerating neurons. We obtained some evidence for neurogenesis in the region of the lesion. We now tested the hypothesis that tLLLT can improve performance on the Morris water maze (MWM, learning, and memory) and increase neurogenesis in the hippocampus and subventricular zone (SVZ) after CCI-TBI in mice. One and (to a greater extent) three daily laser treatments commencing 4-h post-TBI improved neurological performance as measured by wire grip and motion test especially at 3 and 4 weeks post-TBI. Improvements in visible and hidden platform latency and probe tests in MWM were seen at 4 weeks. Caspase-3 expression was lower in the lesion region at 4 days post-TBI. Double-stained BrdU-NeuN (neuroprogenitor cells) was increased in the dentate gyrus and SVZ. Increases in double-cortin (DCX) and TUJ-1 were also seen. Our study results suggest that tLLLT may improve TBI both by reducing cell death in the lesion and by stimulating neurogenesis.
Investigation of age-related changes in the expression of aquaporin-1 and aquaporin-5 in the salivary glands of mice

Abstract Conclusion: The increased AQP5 expression associated with ageing in glands, which mainly secreted a serous solution, suggests a compensation for the decreased amount of saliva secretion associated with age progression. Objective: To investigate the change in aquaporin-1 (AQP1) and aquaporin-5 (AQP5) expression in the salivary glands in young and elder mice. Materials and method: Twelve female mice from the Balb/C genus (30–50 g) were used. The mice were separated into two groups: Group I had 2-month-old mice and Group II had 18-month-old mice. Salivary glands (glandula parotidea, glandula sublungualis, glandula submaxillaris) were excised and examined immunohistochemically and histopathologically. AQP1 and AQP5 expression of young and elder mice was evaluated using the H-score. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Upon histopathological examination, the acini of glands were found to be atrophic in elder mice. The number and diameter of intercalated ducts were increased. Indeed, the amount of adipose tissue in the gland was increased. Upon immunohistochemical examination, both AQP1 and AQP5 levels in sublingual glands of elder mice were increased (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, only AQP5 levels were increased in the parotid gland of elder mice (p < 0.01).
Metallothionein as a Prognostic Biomarker in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with a general upward trend in incidence. Basic and clinical breast cancer research has continued at a rapid pace, in the endeavor to understand the biology of the disease so as to improve management of patients. Besides traditional pathological indicators, expression of molecular markers in breast cancer has also been comprehensively investigated. This paper will focus on the prognostic utility of metallothioneins (MTs), a family of low molecular weight metal binding proteins encoded by at least 10 functional MT genes that are associated with cell proliferation in breast cancer. Evidence that MT is a potential prognostic biomarker for breast cancer is supported by many reports in the literature. Expression of the MT protein has been detected by immunohistochemistry in a significant portion of invasive ductal breast cancers. MT expression has also been well studied in association with traditional clinico-pathological parameters of breast cancers. Generally, higher MT expression in breast cancers is predictive of worse patient outcomes. The relationship of MT isoforms to histological grade, estrogen receptor (ER) status, and prognosis will also be discussed.
Workplace health promotion and working conditions as determinants of employee health

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate general psychosocial work conditions and specific workplace health promotion (WHP) measures in relation to employee health and sickness absence in Swedish municipal social care organizations. Design/methodology/approach - In a random sample of 60 out of the 290 municipalities in Sweden, 15,871 municipal social care employees working with elderly and disabled clients were sent a questionnaire concerning psychosocial work environment, WHP, and self-rated health. The responses (response rate 58.4 per cent) were complemented by register data on sickness absence (agt;14 days). All data were aggregated to employer level. Findings - A structural equation modelling analysis using employer-level data demonstrated that employers with more favourable employee ratings of the psychosocial work conditions, as well as of specific health-promoting measures, had better self-rated health and lower sickness absence level among employees. Practical implications - The results from this representative nationwide sample of employers within one sector indicate that employers can promote employee health both by offering various health-specific programmes and activities, such as work environment education, fitness activities, and lifestyle guidance, as well as by forming a high-quality work environment in general including developmental and supportive leadership styles, prevention of role conflicts, and a supportive and comfortable social climate. Originality/value - This study with a representative nationwide sample demonstrates: results in line with earlier studies and explanations to the challenges in comparing effects from specific and general WHP interventions on health.
The Professional School Counselor and Accountability

Too often, school counselors are evaluated through a teacher assess ment process, which has little meaning or relevance to the professional school counselor's tasks or role. The unclear definition and confusion surrounding the role may be a result of the historical changes sur rounding this position, the discrepancies in school counselor tasks among counselors themselves, and the lack of a clear definition on the role of the school counselor.
Making Metacognition Explicit: Developing a Theoretical Foundation for Metacognitive Prompting During Scenario-based Training

In this paper we describe a set of metacognition related training interventions that can be introduced in advanced scenario-based training systems. A long line of research in the cognitive and learning sciences has shown that knowledge acquisition is more effective when learners reflect upon their comprehension processes. We support this view and discuss how instruction can assist trainees in monitoring their learning in order to facilitate overall retention and transfer. We focus on the multidimensional nature of metacognition and emphasize the regulatory component of metacognition. Regulation involves an active process engaged by the trainee in service of learning. We present a theoretical framework that describes how this can be developed as a means of instructional strategy in preparation for, during execution of, and in reflection upon, a given learning episode.
Studies of Natural Language Concepts. III. Concept Overdiscrimination in Comprehension between Two and Four Years of Age.

SALTZ, ELI; DIXON, DAVID; KLEIN, STEPHANIE; and BECKER, GLADYS. Studies of Natural Language Concepts. III. Concept Overdiscrimination in Comprehension between Two and Four Years of Age. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1682-1685. Young children's comprehension of natural language concepts was examined by having 2and 4-year-olds select pictorial instances of 5 concrete semantic concepts. The results showed that the 2-year-olds were less likely than were the 4-year-olds to consider instances as exemplars of the concepts, especially if the instances were "peripheral" ones as regards the concepts (e.g., a lion for the concept cat). This tendency of greater overdiscrimination in comprehension by 2than by 4-year-olds supports Saltz's (1971) theory of the acquisition of natural language concepts which holds that such concepts are initially narrow ones which expand with increasing age.
The prevention of business failure : a state of the art

Research related to the prevention of business failure is surveyed in this paper. More specifically, the evolution of the accounting literature on business failure from a predictive to a preventive perspective is explained. After a clarification of the concept of business failure prevention, the main features of representative studies are presented and analysed. These studies are compared in terms of dynamics of the results proposed, of failure stage(s) studied, of conceptual approach privileged, of research object and of methodology used to obtain results. A typology of the research on business failure prevention is then proposed on the basis of two pertinent differentiating criteria: the dynamics of the contributions and the failure stage(s) taken into consideration. This paper finally stresses current limitations of business failure prevention literature, particularly the need for a consensus on how and why firms fail and the lack of investigation about typical failure profiles and paths. Potentialities for future progress in the field are discussed at the end of the paper.
The Postcolonial Animal

Concerned as it is with the politics of historical and contemporary relations between “Western” and other cultures since 1492 or thereabouts, postcolonial studies has shown little interest in the fate of the nonhuman animal. In identifying the costs borne by non-European “others” in the pursuit of Western cultures’ sense of privileged entitlement, post-colonialists have concentrated upon “other” humans, cultures, and territories but seldom upon animals.
Diabetes affects the temporal dynamics of the repolarization properties of cardiomyocytes

The progressive changes in the repolarization phase of the action potential (AP) for isolated cardiomycytes from control and diabetic mice were tested on a set of 100 consecutive excitations at 2 Hz pacing rate. Each repolarization was normalized and fitted with a strictly decreasing function by using an original approach. The temporal properties of the repolarization function were automatically evaluated for the set of consecutive APs and the obtained indices were tested with linear regressions to define the dynamic characteristics of the repolarization over time. Specifically, whether the train of stimulations resulted in a stable pattern of APs or led to prolongation/shortening of the early and late repolarization phases was tested. In both control and diabetic groups prolongation and shortening of the AP were observed. Importantly, the progressive stimulation led to a faster late repolarization phase of the AP in the diabetic cells, as documented by a Wilcoxon signed rank test (p<;0.001). In contrast, AP indices for control myocytes were overall preserved over time. The dynamic changes of the AP profile in the diabetic group were restricted to the late repolarization phase, whereas the early phase behaved similarly for the two groups of cells. Thus, temporal dynamics of repolarization properties of cardiomyocytes are altered with diabetes.
A new linearization technique for minimax linear fractional programming

This paper presents a deterministic global optimization algorithm for solving minimax linear fractional programming (MLFP). In this algorithm, a new linearization technique is proposed, which uses more information of the objective function of the (MLFP) than other techniques. By utilizing this new linearization technique, the initial nonconvex programming problem (MLFP) is reduced to a sequence of linear relaxation programming (LRP) problems, which can provide reliable lower bound of the optimal value. The proposed algorithm is convergent to the global minimum of the (MLFP) through the successive refinement of the feasible region and solutions of a series of the (LRP). Compared with the known algorithms, numerical results show that the proposed algorithm is robust and effective.
Body Mass Index and Risk of Gallbladder Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

OBJECTIVES: To provide a quantitative assessment of the association between excess body weight, interpreted as increased body mass index (BMI), and the risk of gallbladder cancer (GBC). METHODS: We identified eligible studies in Medline and EMBASE up to 1 February 2015, and reference lists of retrieved articles. Summary relative risks with their 95% confidence intervals were calculated in a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed according to study design, gender, geographic location, ascertainment of exposure and adjustment for confounders. RESUITS: A total of 12 cohort studies and 8 case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with “normal” weight, the summary relative risks of GBC were 1.14 (95% CI, 1.04–1.25) for overweight individuals (BMI 25–30 kg/m2) and 1.56 (95% CI, 1.41–1.73) for obese individuals (BMI > 30 kg/m2). Obese women had a higher risk of GBC than men did (women: SRRs 1.67, 95% CI 1.38–2.02; men: SRRs 1.42, 95% CI 1.21–1.66), and there was significant association between overweight and GBC risk in women (SRRs 1.26, 95% CI 1.13–1.40), but not in men (SRRs 1.06, 95% CI 0.94–1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that obesity is associated with an increased risk of GBC, especially in women. Overweight is associated with GBC risk only in women.
The impact of maternal infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the infant response to bacille Calmette–Guérin immunization

Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) immunization provides variable protection against tuberculosis. Prenatal antigen exposure may have lifelong effects on responses to related antigens and pathogens. We therefore hypothesized that maternal latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) influences infant responses to BCG immunization at birth. We measured antibody (n = 53) and cellular (n = 31) responses to M. tuberculosis purified protein derivative (PPD) in infants of mothers with and without LTBI, in cord blood and at one and six weeks after BCG. The concentrations of PPD-specific antibodies declined between birth (median [interquartile range (IQR)]) 5600 ng ml−1 [3300–11 050] in cord blood) and six weeks (0.00 ng ml−1 [0–288]). Frequencies of PPD-specific IFN-γ-expressing CD4+T cells increased at one week and declined between one and six weeks (p = 0.031). Frequencies of IL-2- and TNF-α-expressing PPD-specific CD4+T cells increased between one and six weeks (p = 0.019, p = 0.009, respectively). At one week, the frequency of PPD-specific CD4+T cells expressing any of the three cytokines, combined, was lower among infants of mothers with LTBI, in crude analyses (p = 0.002) and after adjusting for confounders (mean difference, 95% CI −0.041% (−0.082, −0.001)). In conclusion, maternal LTBI was associated with lower infant anti-mycobacterial T-cell responses immediately following BCG immunization. These findings are being explored further in a larger study.