Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Square-Stepping Exercise on balance and depressive symptoms in older adults

"Efectos del Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) en equilibrio y sintomas depresivos en adultos mayores. " El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar los efectos del SSE (Square-Stepping Exercise) en los sintomas depresivos, equilibrio y movilidad funcional de ancianos. Los participantes fueron divididos en dos grupos: Grupo de Entrenamiento (TG), que celebro 16 semanas de intervencion con SSE y Grupo Control (GC), que respondio evaluaciones plumas. El rango de equilibrio de Berg Balance de el Time Up nd Go Test (TUG) constituyeron el protocolo de evaluacion, y se encontro el equilibrio y la movilidad funcional. La Escala de Depresion Geriatrica breve (GDS-15) se utilizo para medir los sintomas depresivos. Las evaluaciones se realizaron antes y despues de 16 semanas. Los resultados significativos se observaron en TG, como el mantenimiento de la puntuacion GDS-15 y la mejora de tiempo para realizar el TUG, que se refleja en una mejor movilidad funcional en CG. Podemos concluir que la ESS es una herramienta importante para promover el equilibrio, la prevencion y disminucion de los sintomas depresivos.
Construction d’une échelle de prise de risques et validation auprès d’adolescents pratiquant un sport alpin de glisse.

Dans les sports alpins de glisse, la surrepresentation des adolescents panni les blesses justifie les interrogations sur leurs pratiques sportives risquees. L'objectif de cette etude est de construire et valider un questionnaire evaluant la temerite, la consommation de psychotropes et les comportements securitaires adoptes durant la pratique du surf des neiges ou du ski alpin. L'echantillon est compose de 685 adolescents (316 filles et 368 garcons) âges de 14 a 17 ans. Une analyse factorielle exploratoire par maximum de vraisemblance revele une solution de trois facteurs correspondant aux dimensions evaluees par le questionnaire et la coherence interne des echelles est generalement satisfaisante. Les correlations faibles a moderees entre les echelles indiquent qu'il s'agit de construits psychologiques distincts. Des analyses de regression multiple indiquent que les trois dimensions sont statistiquement predites par la recherche d'intensite (AISS; Arnett) et l'impulsivite (BIS-10, Barratt). Le sexe (mâle) et le type de sport pratique (surf des neiges, sports emergeants) sont associes a la temerite et a la consommation de psychotropes. Le nombre d'annees d'experience est positivement associe a la temerite et aux comportements securitaires, alors que l'estime de soi est positivement associee aux comportements securitaires. La discussion souligne l'importance de distinguer la prise de risques intentionnelle (temerite) des mesures de precautions (securite) dans les etudes portant sur la prise de risques.
GENETICS AND RECENT HUMAN EVOLUTION

Abstract Starting with “mitochondrial Eve” in 1987, genetics has played an increasingly important role in studies of the last two million years of human evolution. It initially appeared that genetic data resolved the basic models of recent human evolution in favor of the “out-of-Africa replacement” hypothesis in which anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa about 150,000 years ago, started to spread throughout the world about 100,000 years ago, and subsequently drove to complete genetic extinction (replacement) all other human populations in Eurasia. Unfortunately, many of the genetic studies on recent human evolution have suffered from scientific flaws, including misrepresenting the models of recent human evolution, focusing upon hypothesis compatibility rather than hypothesis testing, committing the ecological fallacy, and failing to consider a broader array of alternative hypotheses. Once these flaws are corrected, there is actually little genetic support for the out-of-Africa replacement hypothesis. Indeed, when genetic data are used in a hypothesis-testing framework, the out-of-Africa replacement hypothesis is strongly rejected. The model of recent human evolution that emerges from a statistical hypothesis-testing framework does not correspond to any of the traditional models of human evolution, but it is compatible with fossil and archaeological data. These studies also reveal that any one gene or DNA region captures only a small part of human evolutionary history, so multilocus studies are essential. As more and more loci became available, genetics will undoubtedly offer additional insights and resolutions of human evolution.
Researching the social impact of the arts: literature, fiction and the novel

This paper offers a contribution to current debates in the field of cultural policy about the social impact of the arts. It explores the conceptual difficulties that arise in the notion of ‘the arts’ and the implications of these difficulties for attempts to generalise about their value, function and impact. It considers both ‘essentialist’ and ‘institutional’ perspectives, first on ‘the arts’ in toto and then on literature, fiction and the novel with the view of making an innovative intellectual connection between aesthetic theories and contemporary cultural policy discourse. The paper shows how literature sits uneasily in the main systems of classifying the arts and how the novel and fiction itself are seen as problematic categories. The position of the novel in the literary canon is also discussed, with particular reference to the shifting instability of the canon. The paper suggests that the dilemmas thrown up in trying to define or classify the novel are likely to be encountered in attempting to define other art forms. The implications of these findings for the interpretation and conduct of traditional ‘impact studies’ are explored.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-induced immunosuppression: evidence for viral interference with T-cell maturation

Acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection is associated with general immunosuppression which develops during the second week of the infection and persists for several weeks. In the present study, the ability of LCMV-infected mice to mount a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response was investigated in a transplantation assay, using LCMV-immunized mice as recipients. By this means it was possible to evaluate the T-cell responsiveness of the acutely infected mice separately. Our results revealed a marked depression of the T-cell function temporally related to immunosuppression in the intact mouse. Furthermore, this hyporesponsiveness could not be explained as an effect of suppressor cells. Occurring shortly before these changes were a drastic decrease in cortical thymocytes and a reduction in T-cell progenitors in the bone marrow and spleen. Our findings are consistent with the assumption that a numerical deficiency of immunocompetent T-cells due to viral interference with T-cell maturation plays an important role in LCMV-induced immunosuppression.
Microvascular free tissue transfer.

types of atrial flutter) are not amenable to such treatment. In these circumstances an alternative to surgical ablation of atrioventricular conduction tissue is transvenous ablation of the His bundle or the atrioventricular node. This new technique, first applied to man by Scheinman et al after experiments on dogs,19 is designed to induce atrioventricular block, thus removing the ventricles from the influence of supraventricular rhythms. An electrode catheter is positioned in the region of the bundle of His and a shock of200 to 375 watt seconds from a conventional cardioversion apparatus is delivered to the pole from which the largest His potential is recorded. In most patients the result is either complete atrioventricular block or a lesser degree of block. Most patients also develop a junctional escape rhythm, but in any case all need to be given a permanent pacemaker because the clinical course of the conduction defect and the escape rhythm is not known. This technique has been used successfully in many refractory supraventricular tachycardias.19-21 Its obvious advantage is that open heart surgery is avoided-and, indeed, the number of patients referred for surgery seems likely to decrease as transvenous ablation techniques become more widely accepted. Above all, no serious side effects or complications have been noted. Properly employed, this method is an important advance in the management of refractory supraventricular tachycardia, and with refinement it may even be possible to "cure" certain types of tachycardia. The technique does, however, require experience of intracardiac studies and should not be undertaken lightly. These advances made recently in our understanding of supraventricular tachycardias and their treatment have been based largely on detailed information from intracardiac studies.2224 With currently available drugs and therapeutic techniques there is no supraventricular tachycardia which could properly be described as "refractory. "
Renegotiating identity: cancer narratives.

We frame the work of living with cancer as one which is identity-altering. Interviews with a heterogeneous group of cancer patients of varying sites and stages were used to conceptualise the identity work as involving disrupted feelings of fit, renegotiating identity, and biographical work. Patient narratives reflect these categories depending on their stage of illness and their experiences in medical institutions. ‘Identity work’ is used to describe the process of patients' evaluations of the meaning of their illness within the actual context of ongoing, organised social relationships, including the medical system. We discuss the implications for narrative analyses in the social sciences.
Stereotype Threat and Women's Performance in Engineering

Recent research has demonstrated that stereotype threat—the concern that others will judge one negatively due to a stereotype that exists about one's group—interferes with women's performance on standardized math and engineering exams. In the current research we find that when a shortened version of the Fundamental of Engineering Exam is described as a test that is diagnostic of ability (i.e., when stereotype threat is high) women perform worse than men on the test. When stereotype threat is reduced, however (by characterizing the test as non‐diagnostic or as not producing gender differences), women do just as well as men. The implication of these results for improving the engineering education environment is discussed.
Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa skin displays a chronic growth-activated immunophenotype. Implications for carcinogenesis.

• Epidermolysis bullosa represents a grouping of inherited skin diseases characterized by epidermal fragility and frequently wounded skin. The recessive dystrophic subtype of epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is characterized by extensive dermal scarring after healing of repeated epidermal injuries and by an unusually high incidence of squamous cell carcinoma occurring in chronically wounded skin. In contrast, the simplex form of epidermolysis bullosa usually heals without scarring and does not predispose to malignant neoplasms of the skin. The differences in scarring and the neoplastic potential of these two forms of epidermolysis bullosa prompted us to investigate growth activation and differentiation characteristics in epidermal keratinocytes in individuals with these disorders. The expression of filaggrin, involucrin, cytokeratins, and the growth activation marker psi-3 was examined by immunohistochemistry in skin biopsy specimens from four individuals with epidermolysis bullosa simplex and six individuals with RDEB. Previous experiments using this technique have demonstrated that these antibodies are good markers for identifying growth-activated keratinocytes in wounded and hyperplastic epidermis. All biopsy specimens of healed wounds in skin from patients with RDEB showed epidermis that reacted with antibodies to filaggrin, involucrin, specific cytokeratins, and psi-3 in a growth-activated pattern. This growth-activated phenotype was maintained in keratinocytes from previously wounded skin that had been healed for more than 2 years. The RDEB growth-activated phenotype detected by immunohistochemistry was not associated with microscopically detectable epidermal hyperplasia. In contrast, all cases of epidermolysis bullosa simplex examined showed an epidermal phenotype similar to that of keratinocytes in normal skin. Thus, healing with dermal scar formation in RDEB is associated with a persistent growth-activated immunophenotype of epidermal keratinocytes. This chronic growth activation state or failure of cells to differentiate in a normal fashion may be directly linked to the high incidence of squamous cell cancers in individuals with RDEB. ( Arch Dermatol . 1990;126:78-83)
Octopamine and Tyramine Contribute Separately to the Counter-Regulatory Response to Sugar Deficit in Drosophila

All animals constantly negotiate external with internal demands before and during action selection. Energy homeostasis is a major internal factor biasing action selection. For instance, in addition to physiologically regulating carbohydrate mobilization, starvation-induced sugar shortage also biases action selection toward food-seeking and food consumption behaviors (the counter-regulatory response). Biogenic amines are often involved when such widespread behavioral biases need to be orchestrated. In mammals, norepinephrine (noradrenalin) is involved in the counterregulatory response to starvation-induced drops in glucose levels. The invertebrate homolog of noradrenalin, octopamine (OA) and its precursor tyramine (TA) are neuromodulators operating in many different neuronal and physiological processes. Tyrosine-ß-hydroxylase (tßh) mutants are unable to convert TA into OA. We hypothesized that tßh mutant flies may be aberrant in some or all of the counter-regulatory responses to starvation and that techniques restoring gene function or amine signaling may elucidate potential mechanisms and sites of action. Corroborating our hypothesis, starved mutants show a reduced sugar response and their hemolymph sugar concentration is elevated compared to control flies. When starved, they survive longer. Temporally controlled rescue experiments revealed an action of the OA/TA-system during the sugar response, while spatially controlled rescue experiments suggest actions also outside of the nervous system. Additionally, the analysis of two OA- and four TA-receptor mutants suggests an involvement of both receptor types in the animals' physiological and neuronal response to starvation. These results complement the investigations in Apis mellifera described in our companion paper (Buckemüller et al., 2017).
Cloning and in vivo expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (Flkl) in the naturally hypoxia‐tolerant subterranean mole rat

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGF) plays a critical role in blood vessel formation and affects nerve growth and survival. VEGF receptor 2 (Flkl) functions as the major signal transducer of angiogenesis, mediating VEGF induction of endothelial tubulogenesis. We have cloned and analyzed expression of Flkl in the blind subterranean mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi. Spalax experience abrupt and sharp changes in oxygen supply in their sealed underground niche and, hence, are genetically adapted to hypoxia and serve as a unique, natural mammalian model organism for hypoxia tolerance. Spalax Flkl is relatively conserved at the nucleic acid and amino acid level compared to human, mouse, and rat orthologs. Reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze Flkl expression in muscle and brain of animals exposed to ambient or variant hypoxic oxygen levels at multiple stages of development. Transcript levels were compared with those obtained from Rattus, a primary model for human physiology. Our findings demonstrate that under nor‐moxic conditions Flkl patterns of expression correlate well with our previous investigations of VEGF expression. Exposure to hypoxic conditions resulted in divergent patterns of Flkl expression between Spalax and Rattus and between muscle and brain. It appears that the regulatory mechanisms differentiating expression between the species and between tissues are most likely unique, suggesting that Flkl expression may be regulated by multiple processes, including both angiogene‐sis and neurogenesis. — Band M. , Shams, I. , Joel, A. , Avivi A. Cloning and in vivo expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (Flkl) in the naturally hypoxia‐tolerant subterranean mole rat. FASEB J. 22, 105–112 (2008)
Ethnofederalism, separatism, and conflict: what have we learned from the Soviet and Yugoslav experiences?

The breakups of Yugoslavia and the USSR, as well as the violent conflicts that took place on their ruins, spurred a large number of studies claiming that the ethnofederal designs of these states were at the root of these events. I argue that the ethnofederal designs of these states were themselves the consequences of prior nationalist mobilizations in the Russian empire and the Balkans. I also criticize this literature for using the wrong baseline of comparison for evaluating the performance of ethnofederal states, for selecting cases on the dependent variable, for ascribing to ethnofederalism what should be ascribed to other variables, and for relying on certain questionable assumptions about separatism.
DISTRIBUTED INFERENCE IN BAYESIAN NETWORKS

Bayesian networks originated as a framework for distributed reasoning. In singly connected networks, there exists an elegant inference algorithm that can be implemented in parallel having a processor for every node. It can be extended to take advantage of the OR-gate, a model of interaction among causes that simplifies knowledge acquisition and evidence propagation. We also discuss two exact and one approximate methods for dealing with general networks. It will be shown how all these algorithms admit distributed implementations.
Random Number Generation Deficit in Early Schizophrenia

Random number generation with a written response mode provides a potentially appealing marker for executive processes. Impaired performance on written random number generation tasks has been reported in chronic schizophrenic patients. However, no study has investigated whether such a deficit occurs in early schizophrenia and whether its profile and severity are similar to those in patients with chronic illness. This study investigated the ability to generate random numbers in patients with early schizophrenia (n = 44) and a healthy control group (n = 48). Patients were less able to maintain several production strategies and generated more stereotyped response sequences, whereas their abilities to identify randomness with an even-handed treatment of digits and to monitor the equality of occurrence of single digits appeared to remain intact. These results provide evidence that some aspects of the deficits in random number generation among chronic schizophrenic patients are also present at early psychotic episode, while some other aspects are relatively less affected in the early years.
Atypical ulcerations

An 81-year-old woman was referred to us in April 2004 with lesions over her buttocks and thighs. In 1970 she was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, and from 1975 to 1995 her pain was managed with injections of pentazocine 60 mg (2 ml) intramuscularly 4–5 times daily. She had not received further injections in the past 9 years, instead using fentanyl patches, coproxamol and tramadol tablets for pain relief. Over the past 8 months she had developed ulceration over previous injection sites. On examination there were multiple firm subcutaneous nodules surrounded by a halo of hyperpigmentation over the lateral aspects of both thighs and buttocks (Fig. 1a). The skin surrounding these nodules was tense and had a woody induration. Overlying the nodules on both buttocks there were multiple sinuses which had intermittently discharged hard, white material. She was systemically well with no signs suggestive of infection. Radiography of the buttock and thighs (Fig. 1b) showed extensive subcutaneous calcification with no evidence of underlying osteomyelitis.
Assessment of the work environment of multidisciplinary hospital staff.

PURPOSE The purpose of this article is to investigate the performance of scales to assess the work environment of hospital professional staff, other than nurses or physicians. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A survey was conducted among professional (non-nursing or medical) staff at a 300-bed urban, university-affiliated Canadian hospital. A total of 24 work environment items were adapted from a scale previously validated among nursing staff. Scales were developed based on a principal components analysis, and were compared among four groups of staff. The relationships between the scales and the following measures were then explored using univariate and multivariate analyses: satisfaction with the work environment, perceived quality of patient care, perceived frequency of patient/family complaints, work-related injuries, and verbal abuse of staff. FINDINGS The survey response rate was 154/200 (76.6 percent). Four scales were identified (with corresponding Cronbach's alpha), assessing the following aspects of the work environment: supervisory support (0.88), team-work (0.84), professionalism (0.77), and interdisciplinary relations (0.64). In multivariate analyses, there were significant differences between the job groups in all four scales. One or more of the scales was significantly associated with overall satisfaction, perceived quality, and adverse incidents, even after adjustment for other staff characteristics. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS Limitations include: the cross-sectional design, subjective measurement of quality of care, small sample sizes in some groups of staff, and the single study site. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The scales developed in this study may be used by managers to assess hospital staff perceptions of the work environment. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The four proposed scales appear to measure meaningful aspects of the working environment that are important in determining overall satisfaction with the work environment and are related to quality of care.
Under Consideration for Publication in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming Disjunctive Logic Programs with Inheritance

The paper proposes a new knowledge representation language, called ÄÈ , which extends disjunc-tive logic programming (with strong negation) by inheritance. The addition of inheritance enhances the knowledge modeling features of the language providing a natural representation of default reasoning with exceptions. A declarative model-theoretic semantics of ÄÈ is provided, which is shown to generalize the Answer Set Semantics of disjunctive logic programs. The knowledge modeling features of the language are illustrated by encoding classical nonmono-tonic problems in ÄÈ. The complexity of ÄÈ is analyzed, proving that inheritance does not cause any computational overhead, as reasoning in ÄÈ has exactly the same complexity as reasoning in disjunctive logic programming. This is confirmed by the existence of an efficient translation from ÄÈ to plain dis-junctive logic programming. Using this translation, an advanced KR system supporting the ÄÈ language has been implemented on top of the DLV system and has subsequently been integrated into DLV.