Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular adsorbent recirculating system is ineffective in the management of type 1 hepatorenal syndrome in patients with cirrhosis with ascites who have failed vasoconstrictor treatment

Background The pathogenetic mechanism of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is paradoxical renal vasoconstriction consequent upon systemic and splanchnic arterial vasodilatation. Molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) is a specialised form of dialysis that clears albumin-bound substances, including vasodilators, and therefore can potentially reduce systemic vasodilatation in cirrhosis. Objective To assess the efficacy of MARS in improving systemic and renal haemodynamics in patients with cirrhosis with refractory ascites and type 1 HRS not responding to vasoconstrictor therapy. Methods A pilot study was carried out in an academic teaching hospital. The study group comprised six patients with cirrhosis, refractory ascites and type 1 HRS not responding to vasoconstrictor treatment. All patients received 5 days of 6–8 h of MARS dialysis. The main outcome measures were pre-MARS and post-MARS measurements of glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow, neurohormones, cytokines and nitric oxide (NO), as well as daily biochemistry, haematology and urinary volume. Results There were no significant changes in systemic haemodynamics and GFR following MARS treatments, despite a significant reduction in NO concentrations (111.5±18.8 μmol/l pre-MARS, to 65.1±8.2 μmol/l post-MARS, p=0.05). There was a transient reduction in serum creatinine (p<0.05), Child–Pugh and MELD (Model End-Stage Liver Disease) scores with MARS, but no significant difference was observed in neurohormone and cytokine levels. Four of six patients died following MARS treatments. Conclusions In patients with cirrhosis, refractory ascites and type 1 HRS not responding to vasoconstrictor treatment, MARS is ineffective in improving systemic haemodynamics and renal function despite reduction in NO levels, suggesting that vasodilatation in advanced cirrhosis is not due to excess systemic vasodilators alone. Transient reduction in serum creatinine indicates direct removal by MARS, and may not represent improved renal function.
Initially Held Hypothesis Does Not Affect Encoding of Event Frequencies in Contingency Based Causal Judgment

ii Acknowledgments . iii List of Tables . v List of Figures . vi Early Philosophical Conceptualizations of Causality . 1 Modern Psychological Theories of Causality . 7 The Analysis of Causal Judgment . 10 Contingency . 11 Effect base rates . 15 Generalization . 19 Associative Models of Causality . 19 Causal Model Theory . 23 Causal Support Theories . 27 The Interaction of Top-down and Bottom-up Processes . 30 The Present Experiment . 33 Method . 37 Results . 41 Discussion . 43 References . 54
The efficacy of biologic agents in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative efficacy of subsequent biologic therapies in patients with RA who have had an inadequate response to prior therapy with a TNF-α inhibitor. METHODS A systematic review was conducted using the MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library databases and abstract lists from the European League Against Rheumatism, American College of Rheumatology and British Society of Rheumatology congresses. Searches covered the period from May 2009 (August 2009 for MEDLINE) to January 2011. Therapies considered were abatacept, adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab and rituximab, used at European licensed standard dose regimens. RESULTS Four full publications and 41 congress abstracts met the criteria for inclusion. Significant improvements in RA signs and symptoms were reported for TNF inhibitors (individual agents or groups of agents, depending on the study) and for abatacept and rituximab. Rituximab was also associated with significantly improved radiographic outcomes. No head-to-head randomized controlled trials directly comparing different agents were published during the search period. Comparative data from registries and other observational studies suggest that rituximab is at least as effective as an alternative TNF inhibitor, and in some studies significantly more effective, in TNF inadequate responders. CONCLUSIONS RA patients with an inadequate response to one or more TNF inhibitors derive significant clinical benefit from subsequent therapy with an alternative TNF inhibitor or with rituximab or abatacept. Prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to help physicians in the best choice of further therapy for their patients.
Risk factors for glucose intolerance in Danish women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are reported to be at risk for glucose intolerance. The aim of the study was to describe these risk factors in a population of Danish PCOS women attending a gynecologic clinic and to identify the parameters with the strongest correlation to the fasting blood glucose levels. In addition, we studied whether the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) diagnosed more cases of glucose intolerance in this PCOS population than the fasting plasma glucose value (FPG) alone.
Replica-Exchange Cluster Algorithm

In finite-size scaling analyses of Monte Carlo simulations of second-order phase transitions one often needs an extended temperature/energy range around the critical point. By combining the replica-exchange algorithm with cluster updates and an adaptive routine to find the range of interest, we introduce a new flexible and powerful method for systematic investigations of critical phenomena. As a result, we gain two further orders of magnitude in the performance for 2D and 3D Ising models in comparison with the recently proposed Wang-Landau recursion for cluster algorithms based on the multibondic algorithm, which is already a great improvement over the standard multicanonical variant.
Adolescent Work, Vocational Development, and Education

This article examines the consequences of adolescents’ employment experiences for vocational development and educational pursuits within varying historical and social contexts. Attention is directed to the changing social and cultural context for adolescent paid work, the balance of school and work, the influence of work experience on adolescent vocational development and educational/career achievement, and theoretical approaches that guide contemporary vocational development and career maturity studies. In light of current theories, research directions are suggested to enhance understanding of the influences of adolescent employment and work experiences on future educational pursuits and vocational pathways. School-based strategies and programs to promote adolescents’ initiative, engagement, and vocational development also are considered.
Effects of source temporal resolution on transport simulations of boreal fire emissions

[1] The quality of temporal information from daily burned area inputs was evaluated using a transport and chemistry experiment. Carbon monoxide emissions from boreal forest fires were estimated using burned area inputs with daily resolution. Averaging of emissions data to create 30-day aggregate data reduced the variance by 80%, indicating a substantial loss of information. Data from Russia, Canada, and Alaska were tested for periodicity to uncover systematic gaps in daily data. Some evidence of periodicity was found in data from Alaska, where temporal information came from fire mapping by the Alaskan Fire Service. Autocorrelation decayed rapidly and nearly monotonically for Canada and Russia, where temporal information came from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite observations. Daily data as well as 7-day and 30-day aggregates were used as input to the University of Maryland Atmospheric Chemistry and Transport Model, and output was compared with CO observations from the Cooperative Air Sampling Network (CASN); continuous measurements from Mace Head, Ireland; and total column CO retrievals from the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument. CASN flask measurements showed no sensitivity to high-frequency variability in the source, indicating the effectiveness of the filtering protocol at ensuring only well-mixed air masses are sampled in this data set. Differences between daily and 7-day simulations were too small for quantitative comparison in any of the data. For cases where the differences were substantial, simulations using daily and 7-day average sources agreed better with observations than 30-day average sources.
A core knowledge architecture of visual working memory.

Visual working memory (VWM) is widely thought to contain specialized buffers for retaining spatial and object information: a 'spatial-object architecture. ' However, studies of adults, infants, and nonhuman animals show that visual cognition builds on core knowledge systems that retain more specialized representations: (1) spatiotemporal representations for object tracking, (2) object identity representations for object recognition, and (3) view-dependent snapshots for place recognition. In principle, these core knowledge systems may retain information separately from one another. Consistent with this hypothesis, this study provides evidence that these three types of information are subject to independent working memory storage limits. These results, combined with those from previous studies, indicate that VWM contains three specialized buffers for retaining spatiotemporal information, object identity information, and snapshot information. Thus, VWM buffers parallel core knowledge systems. This 'core knowledge architecture' links the study of visual working memory to the study of the biological foundations of visual cognition.
Aminoglutethimide and metyrapone in the management of Cushing's syndrome.

Fifteen patients with endogenous Cushing's syndrome were treated with metyrapone and/or amino-glutethimide. The duration of the therapy varied from 19 up to 365 days. In patients with Cushing's disease, metyrapone (0.5-2.5 g/day) and aminoglutethimide (0.5-1.5 g/day) seemed equally effective in reducing the cortisol excretion (54 +/- 9 vs 40 +/- 7%). The majority of these patients also showed a clinical improvement. In 1 patient with adrenal adenoma, metyrapone induced a remission. In another patient with adrenocortical cancer, and in 2 with the ectopic ACTH syndrome, the cortisol excretion was significantly reduced by the combination of metyrapone and aminoglutethimide but no obvious clinical improvement was observed. Side effects i.e. rash and pruritus attributed to aminoglutethimide was seen in 3 patients which necessitated the omission of treatment in 2. On metyrapone a moderate hypertrichosis was observed in 1 patient. In conclusion both metyrapone and aminoglutethimide were useful as adjunctive therapy in Cushing's syndrome.
A wait-list randomized controlled trial of loving-kindness meditation programme for self-criticism.

UNLABELLED Self-criticism is a vulnerability risk factor for a number of psychological disorders, and it predicts poor response to psychological and pharmacological treatments. In the current study, we evaluated the efficacy of a loving-kindness meditation (LKM) programme designed to increase self-compassion in a sample of self-critical individuals. Thirty-eight individuals with high scores on the self-critical perfectionism subscale of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale were randomized to an LKM condition (n = 19) or a wait-list (WL) condition (n = 19). Measures of self-criticism, self-compassion and psychological distress were administered before and immediately following the intervention (LKM or WL). WL participants received the intervention immediately after the waiting period. Both groups were assessed 3 months post-intervention. Intent-to-treat (n = 38) and per-protocol analyses (n = 32) showed significant reductions in self-criticism and depressive symptoms as well as significant increases in self-compassion and positive emotions in the LKM condition compared with the WL condition. A follow-up per-protocol analysis in both groups together (n = 20) showed that these gains were maintained 3 months after the intervention. These preliminary results suggest that LKM may be efficacious in alleviating self-criticism, increasing self-compassion and improving depressive symptoms among self-critical individuals. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE Self-criticism plays a major role in many psychological disorders and predicts poor response to brief psychological and pharmacological treatments for depression. The current study shows that loving-kindness meditation, designed to foster self-compassion, is efficacious in helping self-critical individuals become less self-critical and more self-compassionate. The study also suggests that practising loving-kindness may reduce depressive symptoms and increase positive emotions.
Recurring Goals and Learning: The Impact of Successful Reward Attainment on Purchase Behavior

The authors examine the impact of successfully attaining a goal on future effort directed at attaining the same goal. Using data from a major frequent-flier program, they demonstrate empirically how success contributes to an increase in effort exhibited in consecutive attempts to reach a goal. They replicate the effects in a laboratory study that shows that the impact of success is significant only when the goal is challenging. They also show how progress enhances perceptions of self-efficacy and how successfully completing the task provides an added boost, supporting the notion that self-learning is the principle mechanism driving their results.
Volatile Lending and Bank Wholesale Funding

The paper presents the first empirical study of the relation between bank loan volume volatility and bank retail and wholesale liabilities. We argue that since the volume of retail deposits is inflexible, banks facing volatile loan demand tend to fund loans with larger shares of wholesale rather than retail liabilities. We empirically confirm this argument using a unique dataset constructed from the weekly financial reports of 104 large U.S. commercial banks. The high frequency of the data allows us to employ dynamic identification schemes which mitigate reverse causality and selection concerns. Our results imply that the introduction of regulatory limits on wholesale liabilities will increase the exposure of banks to loan demand shocks. Such a regulation will also inhibit the ability of the banking sector to service more volatile loans. This may smooth the lending cycles, but it will also slow recoveries of lending volume after a substantial recession.
THE ROLE, PREPAREDNESS AND MANAGEMENT OF NURSES DURING DISASTERS

ment during disaster. Also it aimed to determine how nurses in different areas of specialization immediately prioritize the needs of people in times of unexpected situation. Furthermore, it determines the plan of action that may enhance the role, preparedness and management during disaster. The study is a descriptive survey design and utilized self -made questionnaire as the main tool in gathering data needed in the study. Also, it aims to identify the demographic profile in terms of age, gender, civil statu s, religious affiliation, years of service and area of specialization and to test the hypothesis of significant relationship between these profile variables
Surf localism in Costa Rica: exploring territoriality among Costa Rican and foreign resident surfers

ABSTRACT This study examines the phenomenon of surf localism among local Costa Rican and foreign resident surfers in Pavones, Costa Rica, a well-known surf break considered the second longest left-breaking wave in the world. A multidisciplinary territoriality framework is used to explore the ways in which surfers expressed ownership, defined boundaries and regulated behavior in the surf break. Using an ethnographic approach, the first author engaged in participant observation in the surf and the community. She also conducted interviews with Costa Rican residents, resident foreigners and tourists. The findings indicate a number of differences between Costa Rican surfers and resident foreigners with regard to ownership, boundary definition and regulating behavior. Costa Rican surfers felt a greater sense of ownership for the surf break, but were less likely to start verbal or physical conflicts with other surfers than resident foreigners. Resident foreigners indicated feeling a right to the surf break, more so than ownership, and were more likely to verbally confront tourists who were not following surf etiquette. There was also evidence of a cyclical pattern of localism. Many participants blamed conflicts between surfers on increased crowding. The results also highlight the importance of constant destination monitoring in order to ensure a positive surfing experience for Costa Ricans, foreigners and tourists in a community highly reliant on surf tourism income.
Variation of Individualism and Collectivism within and between 20 Countries

With data from a 20-nation study (N = 2,533), the authors investigated how individual patterns of endorsement of individualist and collectivist attitudes are distributed within and across national contexts. A cluster analysis performed on individual scores of self-reliance (individualist dimension), group-oriented interdependence (collectivist dimension), and competitiveness (individualist or collectivist dimension) yielded a typology of four constrained combinations of these dimensions. Despite the prevalence of a typology group within a given country, variability was observed in all countries. Self-reliant non-competitors and interdependent non-competitors were prevalent among participants from Western nations, whereas self-reliant competitors and interdependent competitors were more common in non-Western countries. These findings emphasize the benefits for cross-cultural research of a typological approach based on combinations of individualist and collectivist dimensions.
Long‐term survival of 1986 patients with intracranial meningioma diagnosed from 1953 to 1984 in Finland. Comparison of the observed and expected survival rates in a population‐based series

Intracranial meningioma was diagnosed and histologically verified in 1986 patients, 597 men and 1389 women, between 1953 and 1984 in Finland. The closing date of this survival study was December 31, 1987, and the follow‐up was complete. Meningiomas, usually slowly growing and surgically curable benign tumors, caused considerable short‐term mortality, with a relative survival rate (RSR) of 83% at 1 year, and slight but continual long‐term mortality, with RSR of 71% at 15 years. From 1979 to 1984, when computed tomography (CT) was available, the mortality at 3 months for the patients who had surgical procedures was 2% in those younger than 45 years and 10% in those older than 64 years; patients who did not have operations had 1‐year mortality of 61%. The short‐term and long‐term excess mortalities are associated significantly with old age, no surgical procedure, and the period of diagnosis; the long‐term excess mortality also is associated with male gender.
Three Per Cent Dextran‐60 as a Plasma Substitute in Blood Component Therapy

Microaggregate‐poor erythrocyte concentrate with 3% dextran‐60 as a plasma substitute was compared with microaggregate‐poor whole blood for replacement of intra‐operative blood loss. Their blood volume‐conserving effects were studied by sequential blood volume determination with radioactive technetium (99mTc) in 19 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Pre‐operatively there was no difference in blood volume between the groups. Immediately after surgery and on the 2nd postoperative day there was no difference in total blood volume. Blood component therapy with 3% dextran as a plasma substitute is an efficient principle for intra‐operative blood loss replacement at hip operations.
Paleogeodetic records of seismic and aseismic subduction from central Sumatran microatolls, Indonesia

We utilize coral microatolls in western Sumatra to document vertical deformation associated with subduction. Microatolls are very sensitive to fluctuations in sea level and thus act as natural tide gauges. They record not only the magnitude of vertical deformation associated with earthquakes (paleoseismic data), but also continuously track the long-term aseismic deformation that occurs during the intervals between earthquakes (paleogeodetic data). This paper focuses on the twentieth century paleogeodetic history of the equatorial region. Our coral paleogeodetic record of the 1935 event reveals a classical example of deformations produced by seismic rupture of a shallow subduction interface. The site closest to the trench rose 90 cm, whereas sites further east sank by as much as 35 cm. Our model reproduces these paleogeodetic data with a 2.3 m slip event on the interface 88 to 125 km from the trench axis. Our coral paleogeodetic data reveal slow submergence during the decades before and after the event in the areas of coseismic emergence. Likewise, interseismic emergence occurred before and after the 1935 event in areas of coseismic submergence. Among the interesting phenomenon we have discovered in the coral record is evidence of a large aseismic slip or “silent event” in 1962, 27 years after the 1935 event. Paleogeodetic deformation rates in the decades before, after, and between the 1935 and 1962 events have varied both temporally and spatially. During the 25 years following the 1935 event, submergence rates were dramatically greater than in prior decades. During the past four decades, however, rates have been lower than in the preceding decades, but are still higher than they were prior to 1935. These paleogeodetic records enable us to model the kinematics of the subduction interface throughout the twentieth century.
Fate of endogenous stem/progenitor cells following spinal cord injury

The adult mammalian spinal cord contains neural stem and/or progenitor cells that slowly multiply throughout life and differentiate exclusively into glia. The contribution of adult progenitors to repair has been highlighted in recent studies, demonstrating extensive cell proliferation and gliogenesis following central nervous system (CNS) trauma. The present experiments aimed to determine the relative roles of endogenously dividing progenitor cells versus quiescent progenitor cells in posttraumatic gliogenesis. Using the mitotic indicator bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and a retroviral vector, we found that, in the adult female Fisher 344 rat, endogenously dividing neural progenitors are acutely vulnerable in response to T8 dorsal hemisection spinal cord injury. We then studied the population of cells that divide postinjury in the injury epicenter by delivering BrdU or retrovirus at 24 hours after spinal cord injury. Animals were euthanized at five timepoints postinjury, ranging from 6 hours to 9 weeks after BrdU delivery. At all timepoints, we observed extensive proliferation of ependymal and periependymal cells that immunohistochemically resembled stem/progenitor cells. BrdU+ incorporation was noted to be prominent in NG2‐immunoreactive progenitors that matured into oligodendrocytes, and in a transient population of microglia. Using a green fluorescence protein (GFP) hematopoietic chimeric mouse, we determined that 90% of the dividing cells in this early proliferation event originate from the spinal cord, whereas only 10% originate from the bone marrow. Our results suggest that dividing, NG2‐expressing progenitor cells are vulnerable to injury, but a separate, immature population of neural stem and/or progenitor cells is activated by injury and rapidly divides to replace this vulnerable population. J. Comp. Neurol. 498:525–538, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.