Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of castration on insulin levels and glucose tolerance in the mouse differ from those in man

Plasma insulin concentration is increased in prostate cancer patients during androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and hyperinsulinemia has been associated with aggressive prostate cancer behavior. To investigate the possible role of castration‐induced hyperinsulinemia as a mechanism that may attenuate the beneficial effects of ADT in patients with prostate cancer, a murine model would be useful. We therefore investigated long‐term metabolic effects of castration in several mouse models.
Motivation to volunteer: a case study of the Edinburgh International Magic Festival

Purpose – Using the inaugural Edinburgh International Magic Festival (EIMF) as a case study, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the motivational factors prevalent in a group of young event and festival volunteers.Design/methodology/approach – This paper will first review the extent of volunteering and, thereafter, will discuss volunteering in the festival and events industry. Focussing on motivations to volunteer, this paper will also identify key research that has examined volunteer motivation in the festival and event sector. Within the context of the festivals and events sector, the paper highlights the benefits of volunteering to the volunteer, the organisation and the community as a whole. The paper discusses volunteering as a means of developing specific skills and knowledge that improve volunteers' CVs and potentially has a positive impact on career opportunities and careers in the festival and event industries. Using the inaugural EIMF as a case study, the authors conducted semi‐structured i.
Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data : Frontier Estimation Subject to Shape Constraints

Literature of productive efficiency analysis is currently divided between two main paradigms: the parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and the deterministic, nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This paper develops a new encompassing framework that melds the SFA-style stochastic composite error term to the DEA-type nonparametric frontier that satisfies monotonicity and concavity. The new approach is referred to as Stochastic Nonparametric Envelopment of Data (StoNED). StoNED method utilizes convex nonparametric least squares (CNLS), which estimates the shape of the frontier without any assumptions about its functional form or smoothness. In crosssectional settings, distinguishing inefficiency from noise requires distributional assumptions, which can be relaxed in the case of panel data. We estimate the conditional expectations of inefficiency based on the CNLS residuals, using the method of moments and pseudolikelihood techniques. Performance of the StoNED procedure is examined using Monte Carlo simulations.
Stress-Induced Mutagenesis in Bacteria

The evolutionary significance of stress-induced mutagenesis was evaluated by studying mutagenesis in aging colonies (MAC) of Escherichia coli natural isolates. A large fraction of isolates exhibited a strong MAC, and the high MAC variability reflected the diversity of selective pressures in ecological niches. MAC depends on starvation, oxygen, and RpoS and adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate regulons; thus it may be a by-product of genetic strategies for improving survival under stress. MAC could also be selected through beneficial mutations that it generates, as shown by computer modeling and the patterns of stress-inducible and constitutive mutagenesis. We suggest that irrespective of the causes of their emergence, stress-induced mutations participate in adaptive evolution.
Evidence for the Translation Initiation of Leaderless mRNAs by the Intact 70 S Ribosome without Its Dissociation into Subunits in Eubacteria*

In eubacteria, the dissociation of the 70 S ribosome into the 30 S and 50 S subunits is the essential first step for the translation initiation of canonical mRNAs that possess 5′-leader sequences. However, a number of leaderless mRNAs that start with the initiation codon have been identified in some eubacteria. These have been shown to be translated efficiently in vivo. Here we investigated the process by which leaderless mRNA translation is initiated by using a highly reconstituted cell-free translation system from Escherichia coli. We found that leaderless mRNAs bind preferentially to 70 S ribosomes and that the leaderless mRNA·70 S·fMet-tRNA complex can transit from the initiation to the elongation phase even in the absence of initiation factors (IFs). Moreover, leaderless mRNA translation proceeds more efficiently if the intact 70 S ribosome is involved compared with the 30 S subunit. Furthermore, excess amounts of IF3 inhibit leaderless mRNA translation, probably because it promotes the disassembly of the 70 S ribosome into subunits. Finally, excess amounts of fMet-tRNA facilitate the IF-independent translation of leaderless mRNA. These observations strongly suggest that leaderless mRNA translation is initiated by the assembled 70 S ribosome and thereby bypasses the dissociation process.
Familial apoceruloplasmin deficiency associated with blepharospasm and retinal degeneration

A 52-year-old woman had a newly recognized disorder of familial hypoceruloplasminemia, blepharospasm, retinal degeneration, and high-density areas in CT of the basal ganglia and liver scan. Immunofixation electrophoresis disclosed apoceruloplasmin deficiency. Kinetic, x-ray analysis, and histochemical study showed accumulation of iron in liver and brain, but not of copper. Intestinal copper absorption was reduced, but liver uptake was increased. Ceruloplasmin is involved in iron metabolism, and the findings suggest that hypoceruloplasminemia due to lack of apoceruloplasmin was causally linked to the iron deposition in basal ganglia and other organs, leading to blepharospasm and retinal degeneration.
Computer Assessment of Overselective Visual Attention in Six-Year and Nine-Year Old Boys

Overselective attention is a perceptual problem that interferes with a child’s learning and development. Although overselective attention is frequently reported in students with developmental disabilities, it has typically not been observed in children of normal development. Stimulus compounds composed of letters and symbols and all letters were administered to see if overselective attention occurred for nondisabled children when more complex stimuli were presented. Two stimulus-control testing procedures, administered with computer touch-screen technology, assessed how the children attended to stimulus compounds when conditional discriminations requiring simultaneous attention to multiple cues were provided. In addition, four young boys and three older boys were given the same conditionaldiscrimination tests to assess overselective attention in different age groups. Overselective attention occurred in the young boys and persisted despite extended training, although following extended training, the young boys did eventually attend simultaneously to two stimulus elements. These findings indicate overselective attention is not only found in students with developmental disabilities but also occurs in children of normal development. The results of this study also suggest that restricted attention in young boys appears to be temporary since overselective attention was not observed in older boys. In contrast, restricted attention in children with developmental disabilities is often chronic and doesn’t diminish as the child advances in age. It may not be the presence of overselective attention but how long overselective attention persists that distinguishes children with attentional disturbances and developmental disabilities.
Preliminary Functional Results and Quality of Life After Implantation of a New Bone Conduction Hearing Device in Patients With Conductive and Mixed Hearing Loss

Objective To review functional results and quality of life of the first patients implanted with a newly introduced bone conduction implant system. Study Design Retrospective chart analysis of 6 patients (6 ears) implanted for conductive hearing loss (CHL) and mixed hearing loss (MHL) in 1 tertiary referral center between July 2012 and February 2013. Methods Implantation of a new bone conduction hearing device. Pure tone audiometry (air conduction and bone conduction thresholds, pure tone average, air-bone gap, and functional gain), speech audiometry (Freiburg Monosyllabic Test), intraoperative and postoperative complication rate, and patient satisfaction (Glasgow benefit inventory [GBI]) were assessed. Results Air-conduction pure tone average (PTA) was 58.8 ± 8.2 dB HL. Unaided average air-bone gap (ABG) was 33.3 ± 6.2 dB. Aided air-conduction PTA in sound field was 25.2 ± 5.1 dB HL. Aided average ABG was -0.3 ± 7.3 dB. Average functional gain was 33.6 ± 7.2 dB. Mean improvement of GBI was +36.1. No intraoperative complications occurred. During a follow-up period of 8.5 ± 2.2 months, no device failure and no need for revision surgery occurred. Conclusion Audiometric results of the new bone conduction hearing system are satisfying and comparable to the results of devices that have been applied previously for CHL and MHL. Intraoperatively and postoperatively, no complications were noted. Level of Evidence 4 (Individual retrospective cohort study)
Design and Evaluation of New Unified Criteria for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Based on the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine Criteria

Background: Current disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) criteria are insufficient for predicting mortality. Hemostatic endothelial molecular markers are useful for DIC diagnoses. We aimed to design new DIC criteria involving these markers based on the recently published Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) DIC criteria, which exhibit higher sensitivity for mortality. Materials and Methods: Patients with severe sepsis or septic shock admitted to a tertiary referral hospital in Japan between September 2009 and November 2011 were included. Clinical data, including hemostatic endothelial molecular markers, were measured within 12 hours after admission. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted for 8 candidate variables to identify the mortality-related markers. Then, we designed new unified criteria based on the JAAM DIC criteria and involving the identified optimal markers. Results: Of the 79 patients, 66 (83.5%) survived and 13 (16.5%) died. Protein C activity correlated best with mortality with a very high prognostic value (area under the curves [AUCs] = 0.850; P < .001), followed by plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (AUC = 0.828; P < .001). The unified criteria, consisting of the JAAM DIC criteria plus these 2 markers, exhibited greater prognostic value for mortality (sensitivity, 84.6%; specificity, 80.3%). Moreover, DIC-positive patients using the unified criteria had significantly higher disease severity, as indicated by the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. Conclusion: Our unified criteria involving hemostatic endothelial molecular markers reflected not only mortality but also the severity of illness in patients with severe sepsis.
Importance of beta-lactamase inhibitor pharmacokinetics in the pharmacodynamics of inhibitor-drug combinations: studies with piperacillin-tazobactam and piperacillin-sulbactam

An in vitro pharmacokinetic model was used to study the pharmacodynamics of piperacillin-tazobactam and piperacillin-sulbactam against gram-negative bacilli producing plasmid-encoded beta-lactamases. Logarithmic-phase cultures were exposed to peak antibiotic concentrations observed in human serum after the administration of intravenous doses of 3 g of piperacillin and 0.375 g of tazobactam or 0.5 g of sulbactam. Piperacillin and inhibitor were either dosed simultaneously or piperacillin was dosed sequentially 0.5 h after dosing with the inhibitor. In studies with all four test strains, the pharmacodynamics observed after simultaneous dosing were similar to those observed with the sequential regimen. Since the ratio between piperacillin and tazobactam was in constant fluctuation after sequential dosing, these data suggest that the pharmacodynamics of the piperacillin-inhibitor combinations were not dependent upon maintenance of a critical ratio between the components. Furthermore, when regrowth was observed, the time at which bacterial counts began to increase was similar between the simultaneous and sequential dosing regimens. Since the pharmacokinetics of the inhibitors were the same for all regimens, these data suggest that the length of time that the antibacterial activity was maintained over the dosing interval with these combinations was dictated by the pharmacokinetics of the beta-lactamase inhibitor in the combination. The antibacterial activity of the combination appeared to be lost when the amount of inhibitor available fell below some critical concentration. This critical concentration varied depending upon the type and amount of enzyme produced, as well as the specific inhibitor used. These results indicate that the antibacterial activity of drug-inhibitor combinations, when dosed at their currently recommended ratios, is more dependent on the pharmacokinetics of the inhibitor than on those of the beta-lactam drug.
Impact of Parental and Contextual Factors on Differential Treatment of Siblings in the Families

Abstract Despite a powerful social norm that parents should treat offspring equally, beginning in early childhood and continuing through adulthood, parents often differentiate among their children in such domains as affection, privileges, and discipline. The current study examined whether parental and contextual risk factors contribute to mothers and fathers’ differential treatment when accounting for sibling dyad characteristics in five domains (privileges, chores, affection, discipline, and temporal involvement). One hundred and twenty families with equal number of the four sibling sex constellations (girl-boy, boy-boy, girl-girl and boy-girl) were studied. Even where equal treatment was normative a substantial proportion of parents reported differential treatment. Children’s reports about the parental differential treatment were taken through a standardized scale. Parental differential treatment was more in opposite sibling sex dyads as compared to same sibling sex dyads. Parents favoured more to older siblings in domains of privileges and allocation of household chores. Parents favoured younger siblings in domains of affection and temporal involvement. Mothers were more differential in treatment as compared to fathers. Paternal differential treatment was seen in temporal involvement as fathers spend more time with sons than daughters. Parental differential treatment patterns were significantly related to parental and contextual variables.
A 1.2V 10µW NPN-based temperature sensor in 65nm CMOS with an inaccuracy of ±0.2°C (3s) from −70°C to 125°C

This paper describes a temperature sensor realized in a 65nm CMOS process with a batch-calibrated inaccuracy of ±0.5°C (3s) and a trimmed inaccuracy of ±0.2°C (3s) from −70°C to 125°C. This represents a 10-fold improvement in accuracy compared to other deep-submicron temperature sensors [1,2], and is comparable with that of state-of-the-art sensors implemented in larger-feature-size processes [3,4]. The sensor draws 8. 3µA from a 1.2V supply and occupies an area of 0.1mm2, which is 45 times less than that of sensors with comparable accuracy [3,4]. These advances are enabled by the use of NPN transistors as sensing elements, the use of dynamic techniques i.e. correlated double sampling (CDS) and dynamic element matching (DEM), and a single room-temperature trim.
Tuning Gender

Although analyses indicate that mainstream media are a prominent force in the gender socialization of Black youth, little is known about the nature of gender messages in contemporary music, especially in music by Black artists. To explore this issue, we conducted a systematic content analysis of 527 top songs by Black artists released from 1990 to 2010, coding each song for the presence of 23 attributes reflecting hegemonic masculinity and femininity. Analyses also examined differences in gender messages based on time period and genre. Findings indicated that representations of hegemonic masculinity were most likely to reflect hypermasculinity, characterizing Black men as competitive, dangerous, sex-focused, and materialistic. Portrayals of women were more likely to reflect hyperfeminine attributes, emphasizing the importance of women’s physical attractiveness, utility as sexual objects, and emotional expressiveness. Representations of men as hypermasculine and of women as hyperfeminine sexual objects increased over time, and were more frequent for rap/hip-hop music than for other genres. Results are discussed in terms of the potential links between music exposure and the gender development of Black youth.
Noncontingent Reinforcement for the Standpoint of an Applied Behavior Analyst

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is an empirically validated procedure effective in the treatment of challenging behavior among individuals with developmental disabilities. In this paper, we review some of the practical issues that arise in using NCR in applied settings. We conclude that NCR should be used after a functional assessment has identified the consequence maintaining challenging behavior so that the reinforcer delivered in NCR matches the reinforcer that maintains challenging behavior. Initially, reinforcement may need to be given on an almost continuous basis, which may be logistically difficult in some applied settings. Over time, the schedule of reinforcement must be thinned to increase the feasibility of NCR for use in applied settings. NCR is viewed as a temporary and short-term solution that is relatively easy for parents and teachers to use. In addition, NCR can be combined with skills-building treatments to promote development of the individual’s adaptive behaviors.
Independent dominating sets and hamiltonian cycles

A graph is uniquely hamiltonian if it contains exactly one hamiltonian cycle. In this note we prove that there are no r‐regular uniquely hamiltonian graphs when r > 22. This improves upon earlier results of Thomassen. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 54: 233–244, 2007
Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis defines haplotype patterns in mouse

The nature and organization of polymorphisms, or differences, between genomes of individuals are of great interest, because these variations can be associated with or even underlie phenotypic traits, including disease susceptibility. To gain insight into the genetic and evolutionary factors influencing such biological variation, we have examined the arrangement (haplotype) of single-nucleotide polymorphisms across the genomes of eight inbred strains of mice. These analyses define blocks of high or low diversity, often extending across tens of megabases that are delineated by abrupt transitions. These observations provide a striking contrast to the haplotype structure of the human genome.
A Narrative Study of Emotions Associated with Negative Childhood Experiences Reported in the Adult Attachment Interview

A NARRATIVE STUDY OF EMOTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NEGATIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES REPORTED IN THE ADULT ATTACHMENT INTERVIEW LYNNE HARTMAN Antioch University Seattle Seattle, WA Attachment patterns, which tend to be stable over time, are passed from one generation to the next. Secure attachment has been linked to adaptive social functioning and has been identified as a protective factor against mental illness. The parents’ state of mind with regard to attachment—as measured with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) (Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002)—predicts the attachment classification for the infant in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Earned-secure individuals have overcome negative childhood experiences to achieve a secure state of mind in adulthood. Earned security, like continuous security, strongly predicts infant security in the next generation. Preoccupied anger is one of the main constructs measured in the AAI that may lead to classification of an insecure, preoccupied state of mind. The current study was an analysis of the narratives of eight individuals whose AAIs indicated mild to high scores for preoccupied anger. All of these individuals have spent considerable energy and resources in grappling with negative childhood experiences. Participants were interviewed regarding how their feelings changed over time and what, if any, events contributed to how their feelings changed. For most participants, the emergence of sustained subjective anger was reported in late
Function factorization using warped Gaussian processes

We introduce a new approach to non-linear regression called function factorization, that is suitable for problems where an output variable can reasonably be modeled by a number of multiplicative interaction terms between non-linear functions of the inputs. The idea is to approximate a complicated function on a high-dimensional space by the sum of products of simpler functions on lower-dimensional subspaces. Function factorization can be seen as a generalization of matrix and tensor factorization methods, in which the data are approximated by the sum of outer products of vectors. We present a non-parametric Bayesian approach to function factorization where the priors over the factorizing functions are warped Gaussian processes, and we do inference using Hamiltonian Markov chain Monte Carlo. We demonstrate the superior predictive performance of the method on a food science data set compared to Gaussian process regression and tensor factorization using PARAFAC and GEMANOVA models.
Impact of treatment with methimazole on the Bcl-2 expression in CD8+ peripheral blood lymphocytes in children with Graves' disease.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The protein product of the proto-oncogene Bcl-2 is a physiological inhibitor of programmed cell death. The results obtained in our previous researches suggest that apoptosis may be involved in the regulation of an immune response in hyperthyroidism. The most common cause of hyperthyroidism is Graves' disease. The aim of this study was evaluation of expression of Bcl-2 protein in peripheral blood T lymphocytes in hyperthyroid children due to Graves' disease (GD) before and after therapy with methimazole (MMI), in comparison with healthy controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty-two children with newly diagnosed hyperthyreosis due to GD before and after 4-6 weeks treatment with MMI, and 20 healthy controls were included into the study. The staining with monoclonal antibodies against CD8 and Bcl-2 was performed within 2 hours after collection, and followed with flow cytometry acquisition and analysis. RESULTS Our study revealed that the expression of Bcl-2 protein in circulating CD8+ T lymphocytes of patients with hyperthyreosis was significantly lower than in healthy controls (p<0.03). The expression of Bcl-2 after 4-6 week therapy with MMI returned to normal level. The difference in Bcl-2 expression between patients after treatment and control group was insignificant. CONCLUSIONS The use of MMI in the treatment of hyperthyroidism due to GD leads to the normalization of the Bcl-2 expression on the CD8+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood. Our findings suggest that the changes in the expression of Bcl-2 on the CD8+ cells indicate the involvement of these cells and Bcl-2-regulated apoptotic pathway in the pathogenesis of GD.