Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choroid plexus tumors in pediatric patients

Abstract Objective. Choroid plexus tumors are rare intraventricular tumors, accounting for less than 1% of all intracranial tumors and 2–4% of brain tumors in children. The authors present their experience in the management of these lesions, and a review of the literature is performed. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the outcome of pediatric patients with choroid plexus tumors treated with surgical resection. The patients’ charts were reviewed for demographic data, clinical presentation, surgical therapy and follow-up. Results. This study involves 18 consecutive choroid plexus tumors: 14 papillomas, 2 atypical papillomas and 2 carcinomas. The tumor was located in the lateral ventricles (12), the fourth ventricle (4) and the third ventricle (2). The mean age at presentation was 4.6 years. Surgical resection was performed in all cases and no patients died perioperatively. Survival rate of papilloma patients was 100% without evidence of recurrent disease (mean follow-up for 73 months). Survival rate of carcinoma patients was 50% (mean follow-up for 23.5 months). One carcinoma patient died of disseminated disease 13 months after surgery. The functional outcome in long-term survivors after papilloma surgery was excellent. Postoperative extraventricular drainage (EVD) was performed in 12 patients. Five patients (27.8%) had persistent hydrocephalus after tumor resection and required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Conclusion. Choroid plexus papilloma is a surgically curable disease. Postoperative EVD was considered effective in lowering the rate of shunt requirement through releasing the blood-tinged CSF and small particles of tumor residue.
Quantum Mechanical Modeling of Catalytic Processes

Advances in quantum chemical methods in combination with exponential growth in the computational speed of computers have enabled researchers in the field of catalysis to apply electronic structure calculations to a wide variety of increasingly complex problems. Such calculations provide insights into why and how changes in the composition and structure of catalytically active sites affect their activity and selectivity for targeted reactions. The aim of this review is to survey the recent advances in the methods used to make quantum chemical calculations and to define transition states as well as to illustrate the application of these methods to a selected series of examples taken from the authors’ recent work. 453 A nn u. R ev . C he m . B io m ol . E ng . 2 01 1. 2: 45 347 7. D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w . a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g by U ni ve rs ity o f C al if or ni a B er ke le y on 1 1/ 12 /1 1. F or p er so na l u se o nl y. CH02CH21-Bell ARI 12 May 2011 15:49
A Puromycin-Sensitive Aminopeptidase Is Essential for Meiosis in Arabidopsis thalianaw⃞

Puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidases (PSAs) participate in a variety of proteolytic events essential for cell growth and viability, and in fertility in a broad range of organisms. We have identified and characterized an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant (mpa1) from a pool of T-DNA tagged lines that lacks PSA activity. This line exhibits reduced fertility, producing shorter siliques (fruits) bearing a lower number of seeds compared with wild-type plants. Cytogenetic characterization of meiosis in the mutant line reveals that both male and female meiosis are defective. In mpa1, early prophase I appears normal, but after pachytene most of the homologous chromosomes are desynaptic, thus, by metaphase I a high level of univalence is observed subsequently leading to abnormal chromosome segregation. Wild-type plants treated with specific inhibitors of PSA show a very similar desynaptic phenotype to that of the mutant line. A fluorescent PSA-specific bioprobe, DAMPAQ-22, reveals that the protein is maximally expressed in wild-type meiocytes during prophase I and is absent in mpa1. Immunolocalization of meiotic proteins showed that the meiotic recombination pathway is disrupted in mpa1. Chromosome pairing and early recombination appears normal, but progression to later stages of recombination and complete synapsis of homologous chromosomes are blocked.
USING LEARNING PROGRESSIONS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN INQUIRY MODEL FOR FORCE AND MOTION AT K-5 LEVEL

Science faculty and teacher curriculum specialists implemented a model for teacher development with intensive involvement of 34 K-5 teachers from two rural districts in NE Kentucky over a two-year period. The KY science standards were used as a framework for constructing learning progressions and linked guided inquiry activities in the content area of force and motion. The questions in this paper concern the development and structure of the learning progressions, their impact on developing curricular materials, and the effect they have on teacher cognitive development in the area of force and motion. The learning progressions were developed through an iterative process during which teachers in each grade level gained familiarity with content and pedagogy for all grades. This enabled the leadership team to learn from the teachers what would be meaningful at each grade level, in addition to the teachers themselves gaining comfort with science content. Pre-post testing of content knowledge, ongoing formative assessment, feedback surveys, and classroom observations permitted insight into teachers' initial knowledge base in these areas and changes in their conceptions of scientific ideas, as well as the impact of the project on student learning.
The Effect of Three or Six Years of Denosumab Exposure in Women With Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: Results From the FREEDOM Extension

Context: The Fracture Reduction Evaluation of Denosumab in Osteoporosis Every 6 Months (FREEDOM) extension is evaluating the long-term efficacy and safety of denosumab for up to 10 years. Objective: The objective of the study was to report results from the first 3 years of the extension, representing up to 6 years of denosumab exposure. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a multicenter, international, open-label study of 4550 women. Intervention: Women from the FREEDOM denosumab group received 3 more years of denosumab for a total of 6 years (long-term) and women from the FREEDOM placebo group received 3 years of denosumab (crossover). Main Outcome Measures: Bone turnover markers (BTMs), bone mineral density (BMD), fracture, and safety data are reported. Results: Reductions in BTMs were maintained (long-term) or achieved rapidly (crossover) after denosumab administration. In the long-term group, BMD further increased for cumulative 6-year gains of 15.2% (lumbar spine) and 7.5% (total hip). During the first 3 years of denosumab treatment, the crossover group had significant gains in lumbar spine (9.4%) and total hip (4.8%) BMD, similar to the long-term group during the 3-year FREEDOM trial. In the long-term group, fracture incidences remained low and below the rates projected for a virtual placebo cohort. In the crossover group, 3-year incidences of new vertebral and nonvertebral fractures were similar to those of the FREEDOM denosumab group. Incidence rates of adverse events did not increase over time. Six participants had events of osteonecrosis of the jaw confirmed by adjudication. One participant had a fracture adjudicated as consistent with atypical femoral fracture. Conclusion: Denosumab treatment for 6 years remained well tolerated, maintained reduced bone turnover, and continued to increase BMD. Fracture incidence remained low.
The Importance of Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom

This paper is concerned with the importance of teaching culture in a foreign language class. Linguists have long recognized that the forms and uses of a given language reflect the cultural values of the society in which the language is spoken. This means language learners need to be aware, for example, of the culturally appropriate ways to address people, express gratitude, make requests etc. Effective commutation is not just a matter of language proficiency, it is also about being able to understand other people and language alone is not enough for this. Language is a tool which reflects the life of the people from the culture that it was born from and thus learning the target language alone is not enough to communicate effectively. Communication is not the ability to speak the language but to understand the other person and since language is a tool that reflects the culture ( life style, ideas etc.) of the speaker in the communication proses, learning the culture is as important as learning the language itself when it comes to understanding each other. Since each language was born to meet the needs of the society that it was born from knowing that societies culture is necessary to fully master that language.
Safety of antipsychotics in people with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND Despite frequent use, little is known about the metabolic and endocrine side-effects of antipsychotics in individuals with intellectual disability. AIMS To compare indices of obesity, glucose, lipids and prolactin between antipsychotic-treated and antipsychotic-naive individuals with intellectual disability and also between participants with intellectual disability and controls from the general population. METHOD Observational study comparing 138 antipsychotic-treated and 64 antipsychotic-naive participants with intellectual disability in one National Health Service trust with general population controls. RESULTS Antipsychotic treatment comprised: risperidone 48%,olanzapine 18%, thioxanthenes 10%, other 24%; monotherapy 95% of participants; mean treatment duration 8 years;median daily chlorpromazine equivalent dose 108 mg(range 16–667). Metabolic indices were the same or more favourable in the intellectual disability group than the general population control group but overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes were more prevalent in the women in the intellectual disability group than the control group. Metabolic indices were similar, statistically or clinically, between the antipsychotic-treated and the antipsychotic-naive groups but there was a non-significant trend towards a higher rate of type 2 diabetes in the antipsychotic group. A total of 100%and 70% of participants on amisulpride/sulpiride and risperidone respectively had hyperprolactinaemia, with secondary hypogonadism in 77% and 4% of affected women and men. CONCLUSIONS Antipsychotics, on average, did not increase metabolic risk,although the existence of a susceptible subgroup at risk of diabetes cannot be excluded. Some antipsychotics induced hyperprolactinaemic hypogonadism, requiring active management. However, our findings suggest that antipsychotics at the low doses routinely prescribed for people with intellectual disability are generally safe in relation to metabolic adverse effects, even if efficacy remains poorly defined.
17&bgr;-Estradiol Increases Rat Cerebrovascular Prostacyclin Synthesis by Elevating Cyclooxygenase-1 and Prostacyclin Synthase

Background and Purpose— It has been reported that estrogens modulate peripheral vascular synthesis of vasodilatory hormones, including prostacyclin. If this occurs in the cerebral circulation, it could have important consequences in the modulation of cerebral hemodynamic function and improvement of stroke outcome. We investigated the hypothesis that in vivo 17&bgr;-estradiol treatment of ovariectomized rats increases cerebrovascular prostacyclin production via elevation of the enzymes responsible for prostacyclin synthesis. Methods— Cerebral blood vessels from 17&bgr;-estradiol–treated and nontreated ovariectomized rats were isolated and examined for prostacyclin synthesis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or for protein levels of cyclooxygenase-1, prostacyclin-synthase, and cytosolic phospholipase A2 by immunoblot analysis. Results— We report that chronic in vivo 17&bgr;-estradiol treatment significantly enhanced basal prostacyclin synthesis in rat cerebral blood vessels by 2.6-fold over control. 17&bgr;-Estradiol treatment also resulted in a 5.1-fold increase of cyclooxygenase-1 protein and a 6.7-fold increase of prostacyclin-synthase protein in the cerebral vasculature. There was no effect of estrogen on levels of cytosolic phospholipase A2. Conclusions— Our findings suggest that estrogen influences the biosynthesis of prostacyclin, which may be important in the regulation of cerebral blood flow and thrombosis. This finding may shed light on the mechanisms that govern sex-based differences in cerebrovascular disease.
Mammalian reproductive data fitted to a mathematical model.

If intervals between successive births were identically and independently distributed, a model for reproductive performance could be put in terms of a renewal process, in which reproductive performance is predicted from known distributions of the intervals. For a sample of mice, expected reproductive performance was estimated, according to such a model, from observed distributions of intervals between litters. A graphical comparison of expected and observed results indicated that the variance of the cumulative number of litters born by termination of the experiment exceeded that in the model. The mean number of litters was a less sensitive indicator than the variance. Because of oscillations inherent in such data, a fit cannot be attempted to values observed for only a single day, such as at the end of the experiment. It is felt that this method warrants further exploration as an approach to studying variation in reproductive performance.
The Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Associated Mental Health Problems Among Institutionalized Orphans in Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Orphanhood is becoming a more common experience for children in Tanzania, in part as a consequence of the AIDS pandemic, trauma and poverty. The number of orphans and risk of psychopathology has been steadily increasing even in regions where the AIDS epidemic has stabilized. Institutional care for orphaned children is uncommon in sub-Sahara Africa and seen as a last resort primarily as orphanages are often seen as a source of unhealthy psychological development and orphans’ ability to survive and thrive as adults is significantly threatened if raised in an orphanage. Research in this area is minimal in Tanzania. The magnitude of PTSD and associated mental health problems among orphans in Dar es Salaam is unknown, The aims of the study was to determine the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child abuse, depressive symptoms and suicidal tendency among orphans in Dar es Salaam and the associations between PTSD and social demographic characteristics, child abuse, depression and suicidality among orphans in Dar es Salaam. A cross-sectional study was conducted among orphans aged 7 to 17 years from 15 orphanages in Dar es Salaam. Ethical clearance was sought from MUHAS and convenient sampling applied to reach 350 eligible participants. A self administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection on socio-demographic characteristics and child abuse events. Three standardized scales were used to collect measures for PTSD, depression and suicidality. Data were cleaned and analyzed by SPSS version 15 windows. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis with significant level set at p<0.005 were used. Eighty four participants (24%) met DSM 1V criteria for PTSD, 65.7% reported child abuse events, 78% depressive symptoms and 25.7% suicidal tendency. Findings also showed a strong association between PTSD symptoms sexual abuse and suicidality. Analysis indicated that being out of school and being a single orphan was significantly associated with risk to develop PTSD (p < 0.002) (p<0.0009). Multinomial regression analysis revealed the predictors of PTSD among orphans to be sexual child abuse (AOR= 2.5, 95% CI 1.2 - 2.5, p <0.012) suicidal tendency (AOR= 3.7, 95% CI 1.6 - 5.0, p < 0.001) and marginally physical child abuse (AOR= 1.81, 95% CI 0.8 – 60.8, p < 0.07). Orphanhood brings a host of mental health vulnerabilities including PTSD. A cultural recognition of PTSD and its long term negative consequences needs to be developed and interventions to address the vulnerabilities and risks for mental health problems among institutionalized orphans. Caregivers should be trained to recognize PTSD symptoms, child abuse, depressive symptoms and suicidal tendencies among orphans and refer them for early intervention. School enrolment should be considered compulsory for all institutionalized orphans.
Transforming Leadership Identity in a Virtual Environment

Schein contends that “unless leaders become learners themselves … acknowledg[ing] vulnerabilities and uncertainties—then transformational learning will never take that leads to transformative learning, the authors engaged educational leadership doctoral students in an Experimental Simulation, using masked identities in a virtual environment. In order for students to fully examine the how of their knowing—to let go of a set of well practiced good student behaviors and risk personal discomfort required for reflection and transformation, the instruction included the Interactive Learning Model. ©” The learning experience offered clear evidence that when individuals engage in experiential learning that disrupts a carefully crafted student identity and that experience is supported by enhanced knowledge of the learning self, facilitated reflection can lead to a marked shift in both learner and leader identity.
Mycoplasma bovis: Mechanisms of Resistance and Trends in Antimicrobial Susceptibility

Mycoplasma bovis is a cell-wall-less bacterium and belongs to the class Mollicutes. It is the most important etiological agent of bovine mycoplasmoses in North America and Europe, causing respiratory disease, mastitis, otitis media, arthritis, and reproductive disease. Clinical disease associated with M. bovis is often chronic, debilitating, and poorly responsive to antimicrobial therapy, resulting in significant economic loss, the full extent of which is difficult to estimate. Until M. bovis vaccines are universally available, sanitary control measures and antimicrobial treatment are the only approaches that can be used in attempts to control M. bovis infections. However, in vitro studies show that many of the current M. bovis isolates circulating in Europe have high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for many of the commercially available antimicrobials. In this review we summarize the current MIC trends indicating the development of antimicrobial resistance in M. bovis as well as the known molecular mechanisms by which resistance is acquired.
Assessing ‘good governance’:‘scientific’ measurement and political discourse

=965077 Kaufmann, D. , A. Kraay and M. Mastruzzi (2008) Governance Matters VII: aggregate and individual governance indicators 1996–2007, Washington, DC: World Bank Kaufmann, D. , A. Kraay and M. Mastruzzi (2010) The Worldwide Governance Indicators: methodology and analytical issues, World Bank policy research working paper 5430, available at http://ssrn. com/abstract=1682130 Kjaer, A. (2004) Governance, Malden, MA: Polity/Blackwell Langbein, L. and S. Knack (2008) ‘The Worldwide Governance Indicators and Tautology: causally related separable concepts, indicators of a common cause, or both? ’, policy research working paper 4669, Washington, DC: World Bank Lipson, L. (2011) The Politics of Equality: New Zealand’s adventures in democracy, introduction by J. Johansson, Wellington: Victoria
The Need for a New Social Work Perspective in an African Setting: The Case of Social Casework in Zambia

SUMMARY This article discusses traditional social casework principles and how some of these principles are irrelevant for social casework practice in an African setting or culture. The principles on which social casework is based involve western concepts foreign to the cultures of most developing countries. They are therefore inappropriate for social work practice in an African setting because they are based on values (especially self-determination and confidentiality) which assume concepts of individuality not applicable in an African society, particularly in Zambia.
Communication Within Sport Teams: Jungian Preferences and Group Dynamics

Contemporary group dynamics theorists and practitioners consistently highlight the importance of effective communication in facilitating successful team functioning (cf. Carron & Hausenblas, 1998). In this review paper, we explore how an understanding of Jungian preferences (cf. Jung, 1921/1971a) can provide an important theory-driven framework for those concerned with group dynamics in sport. As a basis for improved interaction, this model suggests that in order to effectively “adapt and connect” with other team members, one must first develop an acute understanding of self as well as the patterns of preferences that characterize those with whom one interacts. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical structure of this model and explain how the model can inform group dynamics interventions in sport.
The Moderating Effect of Employee Political Skill on the Link between Perceptions of a Victimizing Work Environment and Job Performance

Research has generally revealed only a weak link, if any at all, between victimization-related experiences and job performance. Drawing on the commonly used conservation of resources perspective, we argue that such inconsistent evidence in the organizational literature stems from an over-focus on personal resources at the expense of considering the role of social resources. Victimization is an interpersonal phenomenon with social ramifications. Its effects may be better captured when measured from the standpoint of the social environment, and analyzed relative to an employee’s capacity to effectively regulate those social resources. With the latter capacity being encapsulated by the construct of political skill, we conducted two studies to explore the moderating influence of employee political skill on the relationship between employee perceptions of a victimizing work environment and employee task performance. In Study 1, employees with low political skill exhibited reduced task performance when perceiving a victimizing environment, and this link was found to be mediated by tension in Study 2. Those with high political skill exhibit no change in performance across victimization perceptions in Study 2, yet an increase in performance in Study 1. We discuss our findings relative to the victimization and political skill literatures.
Changing Attitudes over Time: Assessing the Effectiveness of a Workplace Diversity Course

Diversity is increasing within the United States, and higher education will likely play a key role in preparing people to function in this new environment. This study assessed the effectiveness of a semester-long psychology workplace diversity course at changing student levels of ethnocentrism and attitudes regarding gender roles; the disabled; gays, lesbians, and bisexuals (GLBs); racial minorities; and the elderly in the workplace. The results indicated that the course had a positive impact on the perceived equality of gender roles; improved student attitudes toward the disabled, racial minorities, and GLBs at work; and increased intercultural tolerance.