Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adherence to treatment: assessment of an unmet need in asthma.

BACKGROUND In asthma, as in other chronic conditions, poor adherence to treatment and to medical advice is common and contributes to substantial worsening of the disease and increased health care costs. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate patients' self-reported adherence to asthma medication regimens and to identify possible correlations between treatment adherence and depression, anxiety, and coping strategies. METHODS Sixty-three asthmatic outpatients (27 men and 36 women; mean age +/- SD, 38.5 +/- 14.1) were consecutively enrolled during their routine control visit. Patients were asked to complete 3 different questionnaires: the Adherence Schedule in Asthma, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Coping Orientations to Problem Experienced questionnaires. RESULTS Depression was detected in 32.3% of patients and anxiety in 34.9%. A negative correlation was found between older age and perception of family support (rho = -0.33). The presence of anxiety displayed a positive correlation with difficulty in accepting the illness (rho = 0.33) and a negative correlation with acceptance of illness limitations (p = -0.30); it was also positively correlated with fear of the side effects of medication (rho = 0.37). The presence of depression was negatively correlated with acceptance of illness limitations (rho = -0.32), knowledge of the illness (p = -0.29), and with ability to identify worsening signs (rho = -0.31). CONCLUSION This study shows how different factors may modulate adherence to asthma treatment. The opportunity to identify reasons for nonadherence through a simple assessment will allow a tailored intervention to be planned for each patient.
Interpersonal Relationships as Mediators of Structural Effects: College Student Socialization in a Traditional and an Experimental University Environment.

College student change on values, intellectual orientation, and personal development was analyzed in the context of a causal model. The research was based on a longitudinal panel study of students in a traditional, large liberal arts college, and a small, innovative, living-learning subenvironment. The results indicated that college impact on students in different environments was mediated through the process of human interaction with socializing agents. The significant direct effect of the college environment on student value change was reduced to a small, nonsignificant component when examined in conjunction with the proposed mediating factors of interpersonal relationships.
IL-13 Gene Polymorphisms are Associated With Rhinosinusitis and Eosinophilic Inflammation in Aspirin Intolerant Asthma

Purpose Aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA) is characterized by moderate to severe asthma that is aggravated by aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Affected patients frequently have chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis due to persistent upper and lower airway inflammation with marked eosinophilia. IL-13 plays a crucial role in the development of allergic asthma by inducing airway eosinophilia and hyper-reactivity and it has been correlated with an increased eosinophil count. Methods Two promoter polymorphisms of the IL-13 gene (-1510 A>C and -1055C>T) and one coding nonsynonymus Arg110Gln (110G>A) polymorphism were genotyped using primer extension methods in 162 patients with AIA, 301 patients with aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA), and 430 normal healthy controls (NC). Results There was no significant difference in the genotype, allele, and haplotype frequencies of the three polymorphisms among the three groups. AIA patients with the AA genotype -1510A>C (P=0.012) and CC genotype -1055C>T (P<0.001) had a significantly higher frequency of rhinosinusitis, as compared to those with the minor alleles of these two single nucleotide polymorphisms. AIA patients with the GG genotype had a higher peripheral eosinophil count (P=0.025) and a higher serum eotaxin-1 level (P=0.044), as compared to patients with the AA genotype IL-13 Arg110Gln (110G>A). Conclusions These findings suggest that the IL-13 polymorphisms at -1510A>C and 1055C>T are associated with the development of rhinosinusitis in AIA patients. IL-13 Arg110Gln may be associated with an increased eosinophil count and eotaxin-1 level and could increase eosinophilic inflammation in the upper and lower airways of patients with AIA.
Links between Psychotropic Substance Use and Sensation Seeking in a Prevalence Study: The Role of Some Features of Parenting Style in a Large Sample of Adolescents

Aims. The objectives of the study were to (a) investigate the prevalence risk of current drug users and (b) explore the association between parental monitoring, adolescent-parent relationship, family structure, financial status, and sensation-seeking and psychotropic substance use. Methods. Data were drawn from the 2002 Italian student population survey of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. The sample size was 10,790 adolescents, aged 15–19 years. Multivariate logistic analyses were performed. Findings. The prevalence of users was 27.3% (34.2% males; 21.6% females). Single-parent and reconstructed families were related to the greatest likelihood of substance use. A medium financial status and, for females, a satisfying relationship with father were protective factors. Probability of engaging in risk-taking behavior increased when parental knowledge decreased. Exploring deeper how parental monitoring could modify the relation between different traits of sensation seeking and substances use revealed the following: “thrill and adventure seeking,” within the case of a good monitoring, can help against the use of substances; “boredom susceptibility” is not associated with drug use, except when parental monitoring is weak. Conclusions. Specific subdimensions, associated with substance use, may be more amenable to prevention than general interventions on sensation-seeking personality. Family is the context that could promote health education.
The importance of sodium for anoxic transmission damage in rat hippocampal slices: mechanisms of protection by lidocaine.

1. The effect of sodium influx on anoxic damage was investigated in rat hippocampal slices. Previous experiments demonstrated that a concentration of tetrodotoxin which blocks neuronal transmission protects against anoxic damage. In this study we examined low concentrations of lidocaine (lignocaine; which do not block neuronal transmission), for their effect on recovery of the evoked population spike recorded from the CA1 pyramidal cell layer. 2. Recovery of the population spike, measured 60 min after a 5 min anoxic period, was 4 +/‐ 2% of its preanoxic, predrug level. Lidocaine concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 microM significantly improved recovery to 56 +/‐ 12, 80 +/‐ 7 and 70 +/‐ 14%, respectively. 3. Lidocaine (10 microM) did not alter the size of the evoked response before anoxia and had no significant effect on potassium levels or calcium influx during anoxia. It did, however, reduce cellular sodium levels (146 +/‐ 7 vs. 202 +/‐ 12 nmol mg‐1) and preserve ATP levels (2.17 +/‐ 0.07 vs. 1.78 +/‐ 0.07 nmol mg‐1) during anoxia. All values were measured at the end of 5 min of anoxia except those for Ca2+ influx which were measured during 10 min of anoxia. 4. High concentrations of lidocaine (100 microM) did not improve recovery significantly over that observed with 10 microM. They also had no significantly greater effects on sodium levels than 10 microM lidocaine (137 +/‐ 12 vs. 146 +/‐ 7 nmol mg‐1); however, 100 microM lidocaine significantly improved potassium (202 +/‐ 18 vs. 145 +/‐ 6 nmol mg‐1) and ATP (2.57 +/‐ 0.06 vs. 2.17 +/‐ 0.07 nmol mg‐1) levels, while reducing calcium influx (7.76 +/‐ 0.12 vs. 9.24 +/‐ 0.39 nmol mg‐1 (10 min)‐1) when compared with 10 microM lidocaine. 5. We conclude that sodium influx and ATP depletion are of major importance in anoxic damage since 10 microM lidocaine reduced these changes during anoxia and improved recovery of the population spike. In addition, our results indicate that the properties of the sodium channel are altered during anoxia, since sodium influx is blocked by a concentration of lidocaine that does not affect the population spike in the preanoxic period.
Understanding Continuance Usage of Social Networking Services: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Study of the Chinese Context

Social networking services (SNS) provide innovative online platforms for social interactions and communications. In order to understand users’ continuance intention of using SNS, we first propose a comprehensive research model based on the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) of IS continuance. Our model examines direct and indirect factors affecting users’ continuance intention of SNS usage. We then apply the model in an empirical study, in which we collect and analyze survey data from the users of a major Chinese SNS website. The results of the study reveal different effects of individual motivations such as perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment on continued usage intention (CUI) in SNS. We also find significant impact of non-individual motivation (i.e., structural embeddedness) on CUI. This research not only extends the IS continuance theory into SNS studies, but also provides IS researchers and SNS practitioners empirical insights into CUI in SNS and its underlying factors in the Chinese context.
Solution strategies and gender differences in spatial visualization tasks

This study examined solution strategies and gender differences in a Spatial Visualization (Vz) task. Two kinds of strategies, analytic and holistic or spatial manipulation, were operationalized by a self-report questionnaire and three time based variables obtained in a comp uterized form board task, the R-E. The variables were: time of initial encoding of the target stimulus, duration of processes that follow the first encoding, including visual comparisons and mental movements, and total time for each item. Seventyfive women and 77 men completed Vz tests, the R-E and the self-report measure. Neither level of Vz in marker tests nor gender were associated with strategy choice.
Oncogenic K-Ras Regulates Bioactive Sphingolipids in a Sphingosine Kinase 1-dependent Manner*

Background: Sphingosine kinase 1 is regulated by oncogenesis. Results: K-Ras increases SK1 activity leading to increased S1P and decreased ceramide. Conclusion: Oncogenic K-Ras regulates sphingolipid metabolism through its effect on sphingosine kinase 1. Significance: This is the first report showing that oncogenic K-Ras regulates sphingolipid metabolism through SK1 and that this regulation is independent of phosphorylation at serine 225. Sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1) is an important enzyme involved in the production of the bioactive lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). SK1 is overexpressed in many forms of cancer, however, the contribution of SK1 to cancer progression is still unclear. One of the best characterized mutations found in several forms of human cancer is an activating point mutation in the Ras oncogene, which disrupts its GTPase activity and leads to stimulation of the MEK/ERK pathway. Because SK1 activity and subcellular localization have been shown to be regulated by ERK, we wished to investigate the effect of oncogenic Ras, a potent activator of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway, on the activity of SK1 and sphingolipid metabolism. Using HEK293T cells transiently transfected with the K-RasG12V oncogene and both wild type and Sphk1−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts stably infected with retroviral K-RasG12V, we found that K-RasG12V increases the production of S1P and decreases the production of ceramide in a SK1-dependent manner. In addition, we found that expression of the K-RasG12V oncogene leads to plasma membrane localization of SK1 and a reduction in cytosolic levels of SK1. This effect is likely mediated by the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway as constitutively active B-Raf or MEK1 are able to activate SK1, but constitutively active Akt1 is not. We believe this research has important implications for how sphingolipids may be contributing to oncogenic transformation and provide some of the first evidence for oncogenes inducing specific changes in sphingolipid metabolism through SK1 regulation.
The Social Construction of Reality

Publikacijoje apžvelgiama žinojimo sociologijos disciplinos raida, pateikiamos svarbiausios jos nagrinėjamos sąvokos ir tyrimo tikslai. Teigiama, kad tikrovė yra socialiskai konstruojama ir kad žinojimo sociologija turi analizuoti sio konstravimo procesus. Ji turi aiskinti ne tik empirine žinojimo įvairove visuomenėse, bet taip pat ir procesus, dėl kurių bet kuris žinojimas tampa socialiskai pripažinta tikrove. K. Marxo tezė, kad žmogaus sąmone apsprendžia jo socialinė būtis, tapo bazine žinojimo sociologijos teze. Terminą „žinojimo sociologija“įvedė M. Scheleris. Jis teigė, kad visuomenė lemia idėjų būtį, bet ne jų prigimtį ir pabrėžė individualaus žmogiskojo žinojimo aprioriskumą, kuris prasmės sistemą įgyja visuomenėje. K. Mannheimas teigė, kad visuomenė sąlygoja ne tik žmogiskosios idealizacijos formą, bet ir turinį. Jam svarbiausias buvo ideologijos reiskinys. Skyrė partikuliarinės, totalinės ir bendrosios ideologijos sąvokas. R. Mertonas siekė sujungti žinojimo sociologijos ir struktūrinės funkcinės teorijos pozicijas. Autoriai isplecia sios sociolgijos tyrimo objektą teigdami, kad ji turi tirti ne tik idėjų istoriją, bet viską, kas visuomenėje laikoma žinojimu.
Applications of Holography in Fluid Mechanics and Particle Dynamics

The quantification of three-dimensional (3D) flow structures and particle dynamics is crucial for unveiling complex interactions in turbulent flows. This review summarizes recent advances in volumetric particle detection and 3D flow velocimetry involving holography. We introduce the fundamental principle of holography and discuss the debilitating depth-of-focus problem, along with methods that have been implemented to circumvent it. The focus of this review is on recent advances in the development of in-line digital holography in general, and digital holographic microscopy in particular. A mathematical background for the numerical reconstruction of digital holograms is followed by a summary of recently introduced 3D particle tracking and velocity measurement techniques. The review concludes with sample applications, including 3D velocity measurements that fully resolve the flow in the inner part of a turbulent boundary layer, the diffusion of oil droplets in high–Reynolds number turbulence, and predator-p.
Recreating culture: Slow Food as a leisure education movement

Though seemingly concerned only with food and agriculture, Slow Food ought to also be understood as a movement that addresses crises in societies’ use of leisure. Specifically, mealtime is examined as a site of conflict between gastronomic cultural traditions and the efficiency, standardisation, and profit-imperative of the global food infrastructure. Drawing on recent reconstructions of scholé, this paper examines Slow Food as an organisation that promotes a critical and reflective leisure practice in the form of eating. Specifically, it seeks to recreate gastronomic culture by facilitating meal experiences that are convivial, mindful, and ethical. Understood in this way, Slow Food's mission and methodology have important implications for reconstructing the concept of leisure education in contemporary society.
It is about time: Daily relationships between temporal perspective and well-being

This study examined the day-to-day relationships between temporal perspective and well-being. Temporal perspective has predominantly been measured with single-occasion measurement designs, which ignore the potential for within-person variations that may be important in accounting for fluctuations in well-being. A 14-day daily diary design was employed to examine the dimensions of temporal perspective (temporal focus, temporal attitude, and temporal distance) and their dynamic relationships with daily well-being. The results from multilevel analyses indicated that: (a) there is evidence of within-person variability in daily temporal perspective, and (b) this within-person variability in temporal perspective fluctuated systematically with fluctuations in daily well-being. Each temporal perspective dimension was useful in predicting daily well-being. Temporal perspective dimensions interacted with each other such that the daily relationships with well-being depended on both the temporal region (past, present, or future) and the nature of the thoughts (pleasant vs. unpleasant; near vs. far).
Noise reduction for enzymatic reactions: A case study for stochastic product clearance

A basic (though rather general) enzymatic reaction scheme is investigated here, with a substrate that transforms into a product by means of the catalytic action of an enzyme. The aim is of quantifying the effects of feedback in noise propagation. Noise sources are twofold: one affects the enzyme production, assuming to happen according to finite bursts of molecules; the other concerns the product clearance, with the classical linear elimination rate affected by a Bernoulli random variable that can switch `on' or `off' the clearance. Two distinct feedback control schemes on enzyme production are considered here: one from the final product of the pathway activity, the other from the enzyme accumulation (negative autoregulation). Metabolic noise is defined in terms of the square of the coefficient of variation of the product, and computations are carried out by means of moment equations. Results show that, according to the type of the feedback parameter chosen to tune the feedback action, one of the two feedback schemes is preferable to the other with respect to noise reduction.
Detection of specific anti-leptospiral immunoglobulins M and G in human serum by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect leptospire-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG in the sera of patients infected with leptospiral serovars hardjo, pomona, or copenhageni. All patients produced specific IgM and IgG detectable by ELISA. In contrast, only a few patients produced IgG agglutinins whereas all produced IgM agglutinins. The specificity and sensitivity of the test suggest that the ELISA anti-IgM technique is a suitable method for detecting leptospiral antibodies in human sera for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes.
REST Repression of Neuronal Genes Requires Components of the hSWI·SNF Complex*

A function of the transcription factor REST is to block the expression of neuronal phenotypic traits in non-neuronal cells. Previous studies have shown that REST-mediated repression requires histone deacetylase activity and that recruitment of deacetylases is mediated by two co-repressors, Sin3A and CoREST. In this study, we show that a repressor domain in CoREST interacts with BRG1-associated factor (BAF) 57, a component of the hSWI·SNF complex. In vivo, BAF57 occupies the neuronal sodium channel gene (Nav1.2) promoter, and targeting to this gene requires REST. In addition to BAF57, the ATPase BRG1 and BAF170, other members of the hSWI·SNF complex, are also present in the REST·CoREST repressor complex. Microinjection of specific antibodies against BRG1, BAF57, or BAF170 into Rat1 fibroblasts relieves repression of RE1 reporter genes. Together, our data suggest that ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, as well as histone deacetylation, is needed for REST-mediated repression.
An Investigation of Fuel Mixing and Reaction in a CH4/Syngas/Air Premixed Impinging Flame with Varied H2/CO Proportion

For industrial applications, we propose a concept of clean and efficient combustion through burning syngas on an impinging burner. We performed experimental measurements of particle image velocimetry, OH radical (OH*) chemiluminescence, flame temperature, and CO emission to examine the fuel mixing and reaction of premixed impinging flames of CH4/syngas/air with H2/CO in varied proportions. The velocity distribution of the combustion flow field showed that a deceleration area in the main flow formed through the mutual impingement of two jet flows, which enhanced the mixing of fuel and air because of an increased momentum transfer. The deceleration area expanded with an increased CO proportion, which indicated that the mixing of fuel and air also increased with the increased CO proportion. Our examination of the OH* chemiluminescence demonstrated that its intensity increased with increased CO proportion, which showed that the reaction between fuel and air accordingly increased. CO provided in the syngas hence participated readily in the reaction of the CH4/syngas/air premixed impinging flames when the syngas contained CO in a large proportion. Although the volume flow rate of the provided CO quadrupled, the CO emission increased by only 12% to 15%. The results of this work are useful to improve the feasibility of fuel-injection systems using syngas as an alternative fuel.
Weird reciprocity? A ‘within-culture across-country’ trust experiment and methodological implications

Abstract: Economic experiments carried out in the computer laboratory seldom account for broader real-world contextual variables that affect humans as learning and norm-adopting individuals. The here presented ‘within-culture across-country’ design of a standard trust experiment reveals an interesting phenomenon which most probably is related to the context that people live in: South African communities expressed extremely low trust while participants from Namibia exhibited high trust, but low reciprocity, although both share the same ethnic background. The country effect between the two regions remained large even after using a matching estimator to substantiate that these differences were not driven by sample selection bias. Qualitative evidence from the study area suggests that corrupt local institutions have led to lower trust in South African communities while participants in Namibia seemingly applied a deep-rooted behavioural norm of the Nama society which they perceived to be appropriate for the exchange in the experiment.
Financial Valuation and Risk Management Working Paper No . 92 Corporate Governance and Expected Stock Returns : Evidence from Germany

Recent empirical work shows that a better legal environment leads to lower expected rates of return in an international cross-section of countries. This paper investigates whether differences in firm-specific corporate governance also help to explain expected returns in a cross-section of firms within a single jurisdiction. Constructing a corporate governance rating (CGR) for German firms, we document a positive relationship between the CGR and firm value. In addition, there is strong evidence that expected returns are negatively correlated with the CGR, if dividend yields and price-earnings ratios are used as proxies for the cost of capital. Most results are robust for endogeneity, with causation running from corporate governance practices to firm fundamentals. Finally, an investment strategy that bought high-CGR firms and shorted low-CGR firms would have earned abnormal returns of around 12 percent on an annual basis during the sample period. We rationalize the empirical evidence with lower agency costs and/or the removal of certain governance malfunctions for the high-CGR firms.