Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholinergic nicotinic receptors: Competitive ligands, allosteric modulators, and their potential applications

Discovery of the important role played by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in several CNS disorders has called attention to these membrane proteins and to ligands able to modulate their functions. The existence of different subtypes at multiple levels has complicated the understanding of this receptor's physiological role, but at the same time has increased the efforts to discover selective compounds in order to improve the pharmacological characterization of this kind of receptor and to make the possible therapeutical use of its modulators safer. This review focuses on the structure of new ligands for nAChRs, agonists, antagonists and allosteric modulators, and on their possible applications. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23, No. 4, 393–426, 2003
Age and Distress in the Czech Republic

The relation between age and distress was examined with four-wave panel data from the Czech Republic. Age was positively associated with Czech men’s 1999 depression (the older panel members compared with the middle-aged members) and negatively with women’s problem behavior prior to controls. Age was also associated with change in men’s depression between 1994 and 1999, but not change in women’s problem behavior. The additions of life-course variables, economic experiences, and health and social-psychological resources helped explain the relation between age and change in men’s depression, and this was particularly true for economic experiences and personal resources. These same variables were also related to change in men’s problem behavior and women’s depression. Men’s problem behavior and women’s depression appeared to be distress symptoms but simply not related to age.
Early ERP Modulation for Task-Irrelevant Subliminal Faces

A number of investigations have reported that emotional faces can be processed subliminally, and that they give rise to specific patterns of brain activation in the absence of awareness. Recent event-related potential (ERP) studies have suggested that electrophysiological differences occur early in time (<200 ms) in response to backward-masked emotional faces. These findings have been taken as evidence of a rapid non-conscious pathway, which would allow threatening stimuli to be processed rapidly and subsequently allow appropriate avoidance action to be taken. However, for this to be the case, subliminal processing should arise even if the threatening stimulus is not attended. This point has in fact not yet been clearly established. In this ERP study, we investigated whether subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs outside the focus of attention. Fourteen healthy participants performed a line judgment task while fearful and non-fearful (happy or neutral) faces were presented both subliminally and supraliminally. ERPs were compared across the four experimental conditions (i.e., subliminal and supraliminal; fearful and non-fearful). The earliest differences between fearful and non-fearful faces appeared as an enhanced posterior negativity for the former at 170 ms (the N170 component) over right temporo-occipital electrodes. This difference was observed for both subliminal (p < 0.05) and supraliminal presentations (p < 0.01). Our results confirm that subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs early in the course of visual processing, and more importantly, that this arises even when the subject's attention is engaged in an incidental task.
Prevalence of Balantidium coli Infection in Bred Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in Guangxi, southern China

Background Balantidium coli infects humans, primates and pigs, causing serious diarrhea and dysentery. Little information on the prevalence of B. coli in primates is available in China. This investigation was conducted to determine the prevalence of B. coli infection in bred rhesus monkeys in Guangxi Zhuang Nationality Autonomous Region (GZNAR), southern China. Methods A total of 120 fecal samples were collected from rhesus monkeys bred in cages in GZNAR and B. coli cysts and/or trophozoites were examined microscopically after sedimentation with water in May 2013. Results (64.2%) samples were tested positive. The prevalence was 65% (39/60) and 63.3% (38/60) in female and male monkeys, respectively. 80% (48/60) cages in this nonhuman primate center were positive for B. coli. Conclusion The present survey revealed high circulation of B. coli in bred rhesus monkeys in GZNAR, which poses potential threats to animal and human health.
Familial silence surrounding HIV and non-disclosure of HIV status to older children and adolescents

ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of children with HIV are surviving to adolescence and beyond, many of whom are orphaned. Disclosure of childrens' and adolescents' HIV status has been shown to improve adherence and retention in HIV treatment programmes. We investigated caregiving arrangements and intra-familial experience of HIV and its relationship to HIV disclosure to older children and adolescents. Children aged 6–15 years, newly diagnosed with HIV infection or previously diagnosed but not engaged in HIV care, were recruited from seven primary care clinics in Harare, Zimbabwe. Their caregivers responded to a nurse-led questionnaire. Family history of HIV, disclosure of HIV status to the child and reasons for non-disclosure were ascertained. The association between sociodemographics, caregiving, family HIV history and other characteristics and non-disclosure of HIV status to the child was determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. We recruited 385 participants, median age = 11 years (IQR: 9–13); 52% were female. Disclosure had occurred in 79% of children aged 11–15 years and 19% of children aged 6–10 years. Age under 11 years (adjusted OR [aOR] = 18.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.64–33.55; p < 0.001), being male [aOR]= 2.56, 95% CI = 1.49–4.54; p = 0.001, being unaware of the parents’ HIV status [aOR]= 32.42, 95% CI = 13.19–79.71; p < 0.001, and being newly diagnosed [aOR]= 2.52, 95% CI = 1.29–4.91; p = 0.007, were independently associated with non-disclosure. Disclosure outside of the family occurred infrequently and included friends of family (7%), school teacher (8%), school headmaster (4%) and church pastor (6%). High non-disclosure rates were present as well as a lack of discussion about HIV within the family. Disclosure outside of family was low reflecting difficulty in caregivers’ ability to discuss HIV with their child or surrounding community. HIV programmes need to support families in the disclosure process.
Cerebellar involvement in cognitive function: evidence from neuroimaging

A variety of evidence derived from functional neuroimaging suggests that the cerebellum participates in cognitive function, a conclusion consistent with the results of studies of patients with cerebellar damage and with recent advances in the understanding of cortiocerebellar pathways. This review focuses on the importance of cerebro-cerebellar interactions in understanding cerebellar influences on neocortical function. First, the phenomenon of crossed-cerebellar diaschisis, and the converse occurrence of neocortical hypometabolism following cerebellar damage, is discussed in light of imaging studies demonstrating the coupling between these structures during specific cognitive tasks. Then, using the pattern of cerebellar activation in verbal working memory as a model, experiments are reviewed that demonstrate a specific topology of the functional connectivity of the cerebellum and the neocortex, leading to the hypothesis that the articulatory control system may be mediated by a frontal cortex-superior cerebellar loop, while phonological storage may be mediatated by a temporal/parietal-inferior cerebellar loop. Overall, the set of observations illustrate how neuroimaging can help bridge the gap between neuroanatomy and cognitive psychology.
The genetics of α1‐antitrypsin: a family study in England and Scotland

The results of Pi typing 5237 unrelated Caucasians are presented, together with the phenotypes of 2203 children from 1156 families. The estimate of the gene frequencies in the United Kingdom are Pi-M equal 0-9303, Pi-S equal 0-050, Pi-Z equal 0-0141, Pi-minus equal 0-0015, Pi-V equal 0-0004. Evidence for three new alleles, Pi-W2, Pi-Y2 is presented. The results of twin studies and quantitative studies are discussed.
Scalable and Secure Resource Location

In this paper we present Captain Cook, a service that continuously monitors resources in the Internet, and allows clients to locate resources using this information. Captain Cook maintains a tree-based representation of all the collected resource information. The leaves in the tree contain directly measured resource information, while internal nodes are generated using condensation functions that aggregate information in child nodes. We present examples of how such information may be used for cluster management, application-level routing and placement of servers, and pervasive computing. The nodes are automatically replicated updates being propagated using a novel hierarchical gossip protocol. We analyze how well this protocol behaves, and conclude that updates propagate quickly in spite of scale, failed nodes, and message loss. We describe how Captain Cook can be made secure using Public Key Certificates without compromising its scalability.
Counterfactual mutation of critical classroom incidents: implications for reflective practice in initial teacher education

This study explores reflective practice through the lens of counterfactual thinking and examines its role in encouraging student teachers to reflect on negative ‘critical incidents’. The study posits that reflections on critical incidents are often not ‘critical’ in nature. They more frequently result in counterfactual thinking processes which leads to a counterfactually mutated outcome congruent with one’s initial beliefs. To explore this issue, the study examined a collection of school placement reflections (n = 180) from a cohort of initial teacher education students on a 4-year B.Ed programme in the Republic of Ireland. The data revealed that, where present in the student teachers’ reflections, critical incidents of a negative nature did invoke counterfactual thinking. These counterfactually mutated scenarios and actions tended to draw on quite traditional views of teaching and tended to reinforce the idea that teachers should be authority figures. The study discusses some of the factors, specific to teacher education, that increase the likelihood that counterfactually thinking is invoked and raises questions about current practice in teacher education that contribute to this.
Die Einstellungen der Hausärzte zu Demenzen

Zusammenfassung Die Einstellungen der Hausärzte zum Thema Demenz scheinen einen großen Einfluss auf die Versorgung dieser Patientengruppe und ihrer Angehörigen zu haben. Dabei spielen sowohl das Wissen der Ärzte, aber auch affektive Faktoren (wie z.B. Tabuisierungstendenzen) und externe Schwierigkeiten (wie z.B. Zeitmangel in der Praxis) eine Rolle. Diese wirken sich auf die Versorgung im gesamten Krankheitsverlauf aus, von der Erkennung bis zur Pflege im Endstadium der Demenz. Sowohl in der Forschung, als auch bei Fortbildungsprogrammen muss berücksichtigt werden, dass nicht allein mögliche Wissenslücken der Hausärzte für eine defizitäre Versorgung verantwortlich sind.
An Avian Contribution to the Presence of Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) and Borrelia burgdorferi on the Sutter Buttes of California

Abstract Birds from 45 species were sampled during three spring seasons from an isolated canyon on the Sutter Buttes in California for the presence of subadult stages of Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls, and for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner. These birds were found to have an infestation prevalence of 45%, a density of 1.7 ticks per bird, and an intensity of 3.8 ticks per infested bird. There was a significant difference in the I. pacificus infestations between canopy and ground-dwelling birds. Birds also demonstrated an overall infection with B. burgdorferi of 6.4% with significant difference between bird species. Amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 23s-5s rRNA intergenic spacer region of the Borrelia genome from one bird, a hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus (Nuttall), showed that the infection in this bird was caused by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto; the first such finding in a bird from the far west. Our results suggest that birds play a role in the distribution and maintenance of I. pacificus, and possibly of B. burgdorferi, at the Sutter Buttes, CA.
CD5-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a retrospective study in 337 patients treated by chemotherapy with or without rituximab.

BACKGROUND CD5-positive (CD5+) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) shows poor prognosis and frequent central nervous system (CNS) relapses under anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the prognosis and CNS relapse incidence of CD5+ DLBCL in the rituximab era. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed 337 patients with CD5+ DLBCL who received chemotherapy with (R-chemotherapy group; n = 184) or without (chemotherapy group; n = 153) rituximab. RESULTS No significant difference was found in clinical background comparisons between the two groups. In the R-chemotherapy group, 60% of the patients were older than 65 years at diagnosis. Both the complete response rate and overall survival (OS) were significantly better in the R-chemotherapy group (P = 0.0003 and P = 0.002, respectively). Multivariate analysis confirmed that chemotherapy without rituximab was associated with unfavorable OS. However, the probability of CNS relapse did not differ between the two groups (P = 0.89). The CNS relapse was strongly associated with short OS (P < 0.0001). In the R-chemotherapy group, 83% of patients who experienced CNS relapse had parenchymal disease. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that rituximab improves the OS of patients with CD5+ DLBCL but does not decrease the CNS relapse rate. More effective treatments with CNS prophylaxis are needed for CD5+ DLBCL patients.
Words of Light: Theses on the Photography of History

This text demonstrates that Walter Benjamin articulates his conception of history through the language of photography. Focusing on Benjamin's discussions of the flashes and images of history, it argues that the questions raised by this link between photography and history touch on issues that belong to the entire trajectory of Benjamin's writings: the historical and political consequences of technology, the relation between reproduction and mimesis, images and history, remembering and forgetting, allegory and mourning, and visual and linguistic representation. The book establishes the photographic constellation of motifs and themes around which Benjamin organizes his texts, thereby becoming a lens through which we one can begin to view his analysis of the convergence between the new technological media and a revolutionary concept of historical action and understanding.
Effects of a school‐based stress prevention programme on adolescents in different phases of behavioural change

This study examines whether the assumptions of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) are useful to evaluate the effectiveness of a school‐based stress prevention programme in adolescence to promote appropriate coping behaviour. The TTM assumes three consecutive phases in the adoption of behavioural patterns. Progress throughout the phases is promoted by three developmental determinants. It, therefore, was expected that programme participation is associated with a progression throughout the phases and with a change in the developmental determinants. Of 372 adolescents, aged between 13 and 16 years, 190 participated in a control condition and 182 in a stress prevention programme. Measurements were taken a week before (pre‐test), a week after (post‐test) and 12 weeks after the training (follow‐up‐test). Results indicated that adolescents in different phases of behaviour change report different numbers of stress symptoms. Programme participation is associated with a progression in phases which, however, was not stable after the programme had run its course. Besides this, adolescents in different phases benefit from participation differentially as different patterns of changes in the developmental determinants show. A systematic promotion in the different phases of behavioural change by integrating TTM‐tailored ‘tools’ into a stress management programme may improve participants’ intention and competence to actually show appropriate coping behaviour.
‘Students that just hate school wouldn’t go’: educationally disengaged and disadvantaged young people’s talk about university education

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on widening university participation and brings a focus on the classed and embodied nature of young people’s imagination to existing discussions. We interviewed 250 young people living in disadvantaged communities across five Australian states who had experienced disengagement from compulsory primary and secondary schooling. We asked them about their education and their educational futures, specifically how they imagined universities and university participation. For these young people, universities were imagined as ‘big’, ‘massive’ alienating schools. The paper explores how the elements of schooling from which these young people disengaged became tangible barriers to imagining and pursuing participation in university education. The primary barrier they described was their relationships with school teachers. Our analysis shows how relationships with teachers can impact the imagined improbability/probability of university participation. We offer suggestions for how barriers to university created by poor relationships with teachers may be overcome.
Effects of suppression of personal intrusive thoughts.

Whether the rebound effect of thought suppression would occur with self-generated intrusive thoughts and whether the rebound would be followed by negative metacognitions concerning one's ability to control one's thoughts were explored. In Experiment 1, Ss (N=104) were asked to (a) suppress and then express or (b) express and then suppress their own intrusive thoughts during written stream-of-consciousness tasks. Results revealed the reverse of the rebound effect: Initial suppression was followed by diminished expression of the intrusive thoughts. Experiment 2 (N=116) replicated the original rebound effect (Wegner, 1989) and showed that the rebound was followed by increased reports of feeling out of control of one's thoughts
Influence of hip-flexion angle on hamstrings isokinetic activity in sprinters.

CONTEXT Hamstrings strains are common and debilitating injuries in many sports. Most hamstrings exercises are performed at an inadequately low hip-flexion angle because this angle surpasses 70° at the end of the sprinting leg's swing phase, when most injuries occur. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of various hip-flexion angles on peak torques of knee flexors in isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions and on the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio. DESIGN Descriptive laboratory study. SETTING Research laboratory. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS Ten national-level sprinters (5 men, 5 women; age = 21.2 ± 3.6 years, height = 175 ± 6 cm, mass = 63.8 ± 9.9 kg). INTERVENTION(S) For each hip position (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° of flexion), participants used the right leg to perform (1) 5 seconds of maximal isometric hamstrings contraction at 45° of knee flexion, (2) 5 maximal concentric knee flexion-extensions at 60° per second, (3) 5 maximal eccentric knee flexion-extensions at 60° per second, and (4) 5 maximal eccentric knee flexionextensions at 150° per second. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Hamstrings and quadriceps peak torque, hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio, lateral and medial hamstrings root mean square. RESULTS We found no difference in quadriceps peak torque for any condition across all hip-flexion angles, whereas hamstrings peak torque was lower at 0° of hip flexion than at any other angle (P < .001) and greater at 90° of hip flexion than at 30° and 60° (P < .05), especially in eccentric conditions. As hip flexion increased, the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio increased. No difference in lateral or medial hamstrings root mean square was found for any condition across all hip-flexion angles (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS Hip-flexion angle influenced hamstrings peak torque in all muscular contraction types; as hip flexion increased, hamstrings peak torque increased. Researchers should investigate further whether an eccentric resistance training program at sprint-specific hip-flexion angles (70° to 80°) could help prevent hamstrings injuries in sprinters. Moreover, hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio assessment should be standardized at 80° of hip flexion.
Identification and Management of Acute Malnutrition in Hospitalized Children: Developed Country Perspective.

D uring the past 3 decades, there has been an increased awareness of malnutrition (undernutrition) in developed countries. In contrast to developing countries where most of the childhood malnutrition is related to food insecurity and poverty, a majority of malnourished children in developed countries are secondarily malnourished because of a specific, usually chronic disorder. Severe acute malnutrition constitutes a small proportion of all malnutrition in this setting, yet accounts for a disproportionately high risk of morbidity and mortality and, once identified, is considered a medical emergency. This review focuses on the identification and management of acute malnutrition in hospitalized children in developed countries.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Distance Education within the Context of Traditional Classroom

Distance education has become a platform for delivery of education around the globe. Nations are seizing the opportunities. This learning tool is offering and thereby providing anytime anywhere forms of education to bridge the educational gap in respective nations. In view of this expansion, assessing the effectiveness of distance education within the context of traditional classroom delivery of instruction is expedient. This will better inform educational institutions in planning a distance education program.
A Scalable Data Platform for a Large Number of Small Applications

As a growing number of websites open up their APIs to ex- ternal application developers (e.g., Facebook, Yahoo! Wid- gets, Google Gadgets), these websites are facing an intrigu- ing scalability problem: while each user-generated applica- tion is by itself quite small (in terms of size and through- put requirements), there are many many such applications. Unfortunately, existing data-management solutions are not designed to handle this form of scalability in a cost-effective, manageable and/or flexible manner. For instance, large in- stallations of commercial database systems such as Oracle, DB2 and SQL Server are usually very expensive and diffi- cult to manage. At the other extreme, low-cost hosted data- management solutions such as Amazon's SimpleDB do not support sophisticated data-manipulation primitives such as joins that are necessary for developing most Web applica- tions. To address this issue, we explore a new point in the design space whereby we use commodity hardware and free software (MySQL) to scale to a large number of applications while still supporting full SQL functionality, transactional guarantees, high availability and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). We do so by exploiting the key property that each application is "small" and can fit in a single machine (which can possibly be shared with other applications). Using this property, we design replication strategies, data migration techniques and load balancing operations that automate the tasks that would otherwise contribute to the operational and management complexity of dealing with a large number of applications. Our experiments based on the TPC-W bench- mark suggest that the proposed system can scale to a large number of small applications.