Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous cannabinoids in patients with schizophrenia and substance use disorder during quetiapine therapy

Disturbances in the endogenous cannabinoid (ECB) system in schizophrenia may contribute to their enhanced sensitivity to psychoactive substances, and the beneficial effects of second-generation antipsychotics for substance abuse in schizophrenia may involve modulatory effects on ECB. To verify these two assumptions, 29 patients (24 completers) with schizophrenia and substance use disorders (SUD) were treated with quetiapine for 12 weeks, and peripheral ECB levels were measured, using high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, in patients (weeks 0, 6 and 12) and 17 healthy volunteers. Baseline anandamide levels were significantly higher in patients, relative to controls. This result is consistent with studies describing ECB dysfunctions in schizophrenia. SUD parameters improved during treatment, but no changes in ECB occurred over time. Improvements in substance abuse were probably not mediated by modulatory effects of quetiapine on ECB. Lastly, baseline anandamide predicted endpoint SUD scores (alcohol/ cannabis). Anandamide is a potential target for medications aimed at relieving SUD in schizophrenia.
Work Motivation and Satisfaction: Light at the End of the Tunnel

After decades of research it is now possible to offer a coherent, data-based theory of work motivation and job satisfaction. The present model combines aspects of the following theories: goal setting, expectancy, social-cognitive, attribution, job characteristics, equity, and turnover-commitment. The resulting model is called the high performance cycle. It begins with organizational members being faced with high challenge or difficult goals. If high challenge is accompanied by high expectancy of success or self-efficacy, high performance results, given that there is: commitment to the goals, feedback, adequate ability, and low situational constraints. High performance is achieved through four mechanisms, direction of attention and action, effort, persistence, and the development of task strategies and plans. High performance, if rewarding, leads to job satisfaction, which in turn facilitates commitment to the organization and its goals. The model has implications for leadership, self-management, and education.
ASSESSING WEB SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS: THE E- SERVPERF APPROACH

This study examines the dimensions of web service quality based on e-customer’s expectations and perceptions. We develop operationalized web service quality constructs, and analyze their relationships with customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in an e-business environment. The three identified dimensions of web service quality are perceived risk, web content and service convenience. Although perceived risk may lead to a favorable perception of web service equality, it does not necessarily translate to customer satisfaction or positive behavioral intentions. Individual PC skill sets may affect perception of service convenience but seems to have no influence on how customers assess web service quality, customer satisfaction or behavioral intentions to use the e-service. The indirect or mediating influence of satisfaction on web service quality and behavioral intentions is as strong, if not stronger than, as the direct influence of web service quality and behavioral intentions.
The Holozoan Capsaspora owczarzaki Possesses a Diverse Complement of Active Transposable Element Families

Capsaspora owczarzaki, a protistan symbiont of the pulmonate snail Biomphalaria glabrata, is the centre of much interest in evolutionary biology due to its close relationship to Metazoa. The whole genome sequence of this protist has revealed new insights into the ancestral genome composition of Metazoa, in particular with regard to gene families involved in the evolution of multicellularity. The draft genome revealed the presence of 23 families of transposable element, made up from DNA transposon as well as long terminal repeat (LTR) and non-LTR retrotransposon families. The phylogenetic analyses presented here show that all of the transposable elements identified in the C. owczarzaki genome have orthologous families in Metazoa, indicating that the ancestral metazoan also had a rich diversity of elements. Molecular evolutionary analyses also show that the majority of families has recently been active within the Capsaspora genome. One family now appears to be inactive and a further five families show no evidence of current transposition. Most individual element copies are evolutionarily young; however, a small proportion of inserts appear to have persisted for longer in the genome. The families present in the genome show contrasting population histories and appear to be in different stages of their life cycles. Transcriptome data have been analyzed from multiple stages in the C. owczarzaki life cycle. Expression levels vary greatly both between families and between different stages of the life cycle, suggesting an unexpectedly complex level of transposable element regulation in a single celled organism.
Potential collaboration discovery using document clustering and community structure detection

Complex network analysis is a growing research area in a wide variety of domains and has recently become closely associated with data, text and web mining. One of the most active areas in the study of complex networks is the detection of community structure, which can be related to the clustering problem in data mining. This paper employs a community structure detection algorithm for document clustering in order to discover potential relationships in a social network. The proposed approach is explored in a case study of potential collaboration discovery among the research staff in the Graduate Civil Engineering Department of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The results show that the combined use of both techniques provides useful insights on the relationships, both existent and potential, among individuals in the social network.
Pore-Scale Flow Measurements at the Interface between a Sandy Layer and a Model Porous Medium: Application to Statistical Modeling of Contact Erosion

Contact erosion is potentially initiated at the interface between two soil layers by a groundwater flow within the coarser material. Once eroded by the flow, particles from the finer soil are transported through the pores of the coarser layer. Fluvial dikes are often exposed to this phenomenon. Small-scale experiments combining refractive index matching medium, planar laser-induced fluorescence, and particle image velocimetry were carried out to measure the flow characteristics in the vicinity of an interface between a model granular medium and a fine graded sandy layer. Longitudinal velocities and shear-stress distributions were obtained in Darcy flow conditions. They revealed a long tail toward large values, which reflects the spatial variability of the constrictions in the pores network. Taking into account these distributions can improve the modelling of contact erosion by going beyond the simple use of mean quantities, like Darcy velocity, as is usually proposed in the literature. This is done by successively considering the variability of the porous flow and also that of the critical shear stress. As a main consequence, the resulting global erosion rate is nownonzero for any value of the mean shear stress and there is no longer a stress threshold. Finally, the effect of paving at the sand surface can also be added to the statistical model and makes it possible to account very satisfactorily for previous contact erosion tests at the sample scale.
Serum FT 1 and FT 3 : Modified Analog Assays Compared with Dialysis Methods In Thyroid Dysfunction and Nonthyroldal illness

Several authors find that development of lung cancer often is associated with a lower dietary intake of retinol (vitamin A) (1,2), suggesting that this vitamin might even possess anti-carcinogenic properties. However, this correlation is much debated. Lopez et al. (3) found no significant differences between retinol concentrations in serum of cancerous and noncancerous patients; others (4, 5) claim that retinol is significantly lower in the serum of patients with lung cancer. Because these different studies each involved a small number of patients and unspecified (and thus perhaps unreliable) determination techniques, we decided to make a comparative study of this particular correlation in a large number of patients and control samples, using a sensitive, specific, and reliable analytical method. We studied 252 consecutive patients: 140 noncancerous control subjects, 70 lung cancer patients, and 42 patients with cancers other than lung cancer. All were men between 40 and 75 years in age, who were smokers. Retinol in serum was measured by a reversed-phase “high-performance” liquid-chromatographic method (6). The paired Student’s t-test was used for statistical comparison. The results (tabulated below) are not significantly different for control subjects and cancerous patients, regardless of where the cancer was located: Retinol concn In serum, mg/L
Radiographic and Histologic Analysis of the Tibial Tunnel after Allograft Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Goats

Background Several problems have been reported with use of allogenic grafts in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, including local immune response to allograft tendon within the synovial fluid, delayed maturation and ligamentization, and progressive tibial tunnel enlargement. Hypothesis There is a correlation between the use of allograft and tibial tunnel enlargement. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Twenty healthy adult female goats underwent allograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and were followed with serial radiographs at 6-week intervals. Animals were randomly chosen for sacrifice between 18 and 36 weeks for histologic assessment. Results Significant radiographic increases in tunnel size were noted within the first 6 weeks of healing and remained up to 36 weeks with no further remodeling noted. Histologic analysis showed progressive ligamentization of the allografts with tendon-to-tunnel wall biologic fixation with dense connective tissue. Remodeling and incorporation of the bone plug was seen in all cases. The allograft tendon underwent early fibrous attachment within the tunnel and remodeled toward ligament histologic structure. Remodeling and incorporation of the bone plug was seen by 18 weeks. Conclusion Tibial tunnel enlargement, consistent with that seen in humans after allograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, did not appear to affect the ultimate incorporation of the allograft on a histologic level.
Behavioral and synaptic defects in C. elegans lacking the NK‐2 homeobox gene ceh‐28

C. elegans pharyngeal behavior consists of two distinct types of muscle contractions, termed pumping and peristalsis. Pumping ingests and concentrates bacteria in the anterior pharyngeal lumen, and it is occasionally followed by a transient peristaltic contraction that carries ingested bacteria through the posterior pharyngeal isthmus. These behaviors are controlled by a small pharyngeal nervous system consisting of 20 neurons that is almost completely independent of the extra‐pharyngeal nervous system. The cholinergic motor neuron M4 controls peristalsis via synapses with the posterior isthmus muscles. Here we show that the NK‐2 family homeobox gene ceh‐28 is expressed in M4, where it regulates synapse assembly and peristalsis. ceh‐28 mutants exhibit frequent and prolonged peristalses, and treatment with agonists or antagonists of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors can phenocopy or suppress ceh‐28 mutant defects, respectively. Synapses in ceh‐28 mutant M4 cells are irregularly spaced and sized, and they are abnormally located along the full length of the isthmus. We suggest that CEH‐28 inhibits synaptogenesis, and that ceh‐28 mutant behavioral defects result from excessive or ectopic stimulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the isthmus muscles. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008
Mentoring and women's career advancement in Greece

Abstract This study examines the concept of mentoring as a career-strategy tool in Greek organizations from a protégé's point of view and the effect of mentoring on women's career advancement. In particular, we hypothesize, first, that seeking mentoring is a multidimensional concept, consisting of a number of activities and behaviours interconnected in a career strategy scheme; second, that mentoring has a positive effect on career advancement; third, that organizational culture has a moderating effect in the relationship between mentoring and career advancement. The research was carried out in a sample of 297 women employed in Greek organizations. A series of factor and regression analyses were performed. The findings support our hypotheses and indicate the necessity for women to assume proactive behaviours in developing mentoring relationships in order to advance their careers; they also stress the role of the organization in creating a relationship-oriented organizational culture in order to facilitate women's mentorship.
Telling it straight? Dictionary definitions of women's genitals

Feminist concerns about the social representation of sex, sexuality, and sexual organs have included analyses of their representation both in dictionaries and in medical texts. Drawing on feminist and social constructionist work, we analysed entries for ‘clitoris’ and ‘vagina’, using entries for ‘penis’ as a comparison, in 12 medical and 16 English language dictionaries. Both ‘vagina’ and ‘clitoris’ were overwhelmingly defined by their location in a female body, whereas the penis was defined in terms of function. Description of sex/sexuality was frequently omitted from both vaginal and clitoral definitions, and women's genitals continue to be defined in relation to an implicit penile norm. Three assumptions informed these definitions – that female sexuality is passive (and male sexuality active), that women's genitals are ‘absence’ (and men’s are ‘presence’), and that genitals are used for heterosexual sex – explicitly coitus. We suggest that these definitions present, as natural biological fact, common sense sexist and heterosexist assumptions about female and male bodies and sexualities.
Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms in China

China has initiated experiments on “Learning in Regular Classrooms” (LRC) since the mid-1980s in response to the international trend of inclusive education and the domestic need of serving large numbers of children with disabilities. LRC is the main strategy to promote compulsory education for youngsters with disabilities. Despite the fact that LRC has been practiced for 20 years and the enrollment of children with disabilities is increasing each year, high instructional quality for students with disabilities who are learning in the general education classrooms has not yet been achieved. This is largely due to the shortage of trained teachers and resources. The authors advocate that a more systematic teacher training system in China be developed to address diverse learning needs in general classrooms and domestic and international efforts be made to transform the education system from the current rigidity toward a more flexible structure.
Average Grip Strength: A Meta‐Analysis of Data Obtained with a Jamar Dynamometer from Individuals 75 Years or More of Age

Background and Purpose: Although strength diminishes with age, average values for grip strength have not been available heretofore for discrete strata after 75 years. The purpose of this meta‐analysis was to provide average values for the left and right hands of men and women 75–79, 80–84, 85–89, and 90–99 years. Methods: Contributing to the analysis were 7 studies and 739 subjects with whom the Jamar dynamometer and standard procedures were employed. Results: Based on the analysis, average values for the left and right hands of men and women in each age stratum were derived. Conclusions: The derived values can serve as a standard of comparison for individual patients. An individual whose grip strength is below the lower limit of the confidence intervals of each stratum can be confidently considered to have less than average grip strength.
Clinical Features and Prognosis of Late-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results from the 1000 Faces of Lupus Study

Objective. There is controversy whether older-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with a different, more benign disease course than in younger-onset SLE. Our objective was to characterize the clinical features and prognosis of late-onset SLE in a large, multicenter cohort. Methods. We studied adult-onset lupus in the 1000 Canadian Faces of Lupus cohort (n = 1528) of whom 10.5% had onset at age ≥ 50 years versus a control group with onset at < 50 years. Results. Disease duration was different in early- and late-onset groups (15 yrs in early vs 9.3 yrs in late; p < 0.001). Caucasians were represented more in the later-onset SLE group (55.6% vs 74.5%), while Asians and Blacks were more prevalent in the younger group. Younger-onset SLE subjects fulfilled more American College of Rheumatology criteria for SLE (< 50 yrs: 5.98 ± 1.68; ≥ 50 yrs: 5.24 ± 1.44; p < 0.0001). Despite an equal prevalence of anti-dsDNA, the younger-onset group more often had positive anti-Smith autoantibody, ribonucleoprotein, and hypocomplementemia, and more nephritis, rash, and cytopenias than the older-onset group. However, disease activity and damage accrual were higher in the older-onset group. The older patients received less prednisone and immunosuppressives (current and ever-use). As expected, comorbidity was higher in the older-onset SLE group. Conclusion. This study suggests that older age-onset SLE is not benign. There may be an interaction between lupus and age in which, although there is less lupus nephritis in the elderly, more disease activity and damage are present.
A stochastic model of the electrically stimulated auditory nerve: single-pulse response

Most models of neural response to electrical stimulation, such as the Hodgkin-Huxley equations, are deterministic, despite significant physiological evidence for the existence of stochastic activity. For instance, the range of discharge probabilities measured in response to single electrical pulses cannot be explained at all by deterministic models. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the stochastic component of auditory nerve response to electrical stimulation may be fundamental to functionally significant physiological and psychophysical phenomena. In this paper authors present a simple and computationally efficient stochastic model of single-fiber response to single biphasic electrical pulses, based on a deterministic threshold model of action potential generation. Comparisons with physiological data from cat auditory nerve fibers are made, and it is shown that the stochastic model predicts discharge probabilities measured in response to single biphasic pulses more accurately than does the equivalent deterministic model. In addition, physiological data show an increase in stochastic activity with increasing pulse width of anodic/cathodic biphasic pulses, a phenomenon not present for monophasic stimuli. Those and other data from the auditory nerve are then used to develop a population model of the total auditory nerve, where each fiber is described by the single-fiber model.
Feasibility of High-Density Climate Reconstruction Based on Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Collected Tree-Ring Data

AbstractThis study introduces a novel tree-ring dataset, with unparalleled spatial density, for use as a climate proxy. Ancillary Douglas fir and pinon pine tree-ring data collected by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA data) were subjected to a series of tests to determine their feasibility as climate proxies. First, temporal coherence between the FIA data and previously published tree-ring chronologies was found to be significant. Second, spatial and temporal coherence between the FIA data and water year precipitation was strong. Third, the FIA data captured the El Nino–Southern Oscillation dipole and revealed considerable latitudinal fluctuation over the past three centuries. Finally, the FIA data confirmed the quadrature-phase coupling between wet/dry cycles and Pacific decadal variability known to exist for the Intermountain West. The results highlight the possibility of further developing high-spatial-resolution climate proxy datasets for the western United States. (T.
Implementing Brief Interventions in Health Care: Lessons Learned from the Swedish Risk Drinking Project

The Risk Drinking Project was a national implementation endeavour in Sweden, carried out from 2004 to 2010, based on a government initiative to give alcohol issues a more prominent place in routine primary, child, maternity and occupational health care. The article describes and analyses the project. Critical factors that were important for the results are identified. The magnitude of the project contributed to its reach and impact in terms of providers’ awareness of the project goals and key messages. The timing of the project was appropriate. The increase in alcohol consumption in Sweden and diminished opportunities for primary prevention strategies since entry to the European Union in 1995 have led to increased expectations for health care providers to become more actively involved in alcohol prevention. This awareness provided favourable conditions for this project. A multifaceted approach was used in the project. Most educational courses were held in workshops and seminars to encourage learning-by-doing. Motivational interviewing was an integral aspect. The concept of risk drinking was promoted in all the activities. Subprojects were tailored to the specific conditions of each respective setting, building on the skills the providers already had to modify existing work practices. Nurses were afforded a key role in the project.
A Moving-Mesh Finite Element Method and its Application to the Numerical Solution of Phase-Change Problems

A distributed Lagrangian moving-mesh finite element method is applied to problems involving changes of phase. The algorithm uses a distributed conservation principle to de- termine nodal mesh velocities, which are then used to move the nodes. The nodal values are obtained from an ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) equation, which represents a gener- alisation of the original algorithm presented in Applied Numerical Mathematics, 54:450–469 (2005). Having described the details of the generalised algorithm it is validated on two test cases from the original paper and is then applied to one-phase and, for the first time, two- phase Stefan problems in one and two space dimensions, paying particular attention to the implementation of the interface boundary conditions. Results are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and the effectiveness of the method, including comparisons against analytical solutions where available.