Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human and Clinical Nutrition Transferrin Kinetics Are Altered in Children with Severe Protein-Energy Malnutrition

This study was undertaken to determine the following: 1 ) the kinetic changes responsible for the depletion and repletion of plasma transferrin (Tr) concentration in children with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM); 2 ) the role of infection in mediating these changes; and 3 ) whether plasma Tr concentration is related to body protein status. We measured plasma Tr concentration, and fractional (FSR) and absolute (ASR) Tr synthesis rates with the use of a constant intragastric infusion of H3-leucine in 14 children with PEM, at 2 d postadmission (study 1), 8 d postadmission when infections were under control (study 2), and at recovery (study 3). In studies 1 and 2, the children synthesized less Tr and had lower Tr concentrations compared with values at recovery. When infections were controlled, plasma Tr concentration rose, but Tr synthesis was unchanged. There were only fair correlations (P õ 0.05) between plasma Tr concentrations and indices of wasting. Concerning malnourished children, we reached the following conclusions: 1 ) changes in the Tr pool size are achieved mainly through changes in synthesis rate; 2 ) infections play a minor role in reducing the Tr pool through either changes in the rate of catabolism or loss from the intravascular space; and 3 ) Tr concentration is not a very good indicator of protein nutritional status. J. Nutr. 127: 1469–1474, 1997.
Acute cholestatic liver disease protects against glycerol-induced acute renal failure in the rat.

BACKGROUND It is widely held that liver disease predisposes toward acute tubular necrosis. The present study examines the effect of acute cholestatic liver disease on the susceptibility to glycerol-induced acute tubular necrosis in the rat. METHODS Acute cholestatic liver disease was induced by ligation of the common bile duct, while the intramuscular injection of hypertonic glycerol was used to induce acute tubular necrosis. Renal injury was assessed by plasma creatinine concentration and renal histology. An in vitro model of heme protein-induced renal injury (hemoglobin in conjunction with glutathione depletion) was employed to assess the cytoprotective effects of bilirubin. RESULTS Ligation of the common bile duct markedly reduced acute renal injury that occurs in the glycerol model (7.5 mL/kg body weight), as evidenced by a lower plasma creatinine concentration and less severe renal histologic injury. At a higher dose of glycerol (10 mL/kg body weight), ligation of the common bile duct again reduced renal injury and cumulative mortality that occurs five days after the induction of this model of acute renal failure. These protective effects of ligation of the common bile duct could not be ascribed to less severe muscle injury or red cell damage. Ligation of the common bile duct induced heme oxygenase-1 in the kidney and markedly so in the liver. Inhibition of heme oxygenase significantly attenuated, but did not prevent, the protective effects conferred by ligation of the common bile duct. Bilirubin, in low micromolar concentrations, was cytoprotective against heme protein-induced cell injury in vitro. CONCLUSIONS Ligation of the common bile duct confers resistance to glycerol-induced acute tubular necrosis in the rat, actions that arise, in part, from the induction of heme oxygenase-1 in the kidney and liver. Bilirubin, in micromolar concentrations, protects against heme protein-induced renal injury. Our studies uncover a novel form of acquired resistance to renal injury, occurring, unexpectedly, in the setting of acute cholestatic liver disease. We speculate that such potentially cytoprotective alterations may safeguard the kidney against irreversible functional and structural injury in the hepatorenal syndrome.
Semantic Influences On Parsing: Use of Thematic Role Information in Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution

Abstract Ferreira and Clifton (1986, Experiment 1) found that readers experienced equal difficulty with temporarily ambiguous reduced relatives clauses when the first noun was animate (e.g., "The defendant examined by the lawyer was . . .") and when it was inanimate and thus an unlikely Agent (e.g., "The evidence examined . . ."). This data pattern suggested that a verb′s semantic constraints do not affect initial syntactic ambiguity resolution. We repeated the experiment using: (1) inanimate noun/verb combinations that did not easily permit a main clause continuation, (2) a baseline condition with morphologically unambiguous verbs (e.g., "stolen"), (3) a homogeneous set of disambiguating prepositional phrases, and (4) a display in which all of the critical regions were presented on the same line of text. In two eye-movement experiments, animacy had immediate effects on ambiguity resolution: only animate nouns showed clear signs of difficulty. Post-hoc regression analyses revealed that what little processing difficulty readers had with the inanimate nouns varied with the semantic fit of individual noun/verb combinations: items with strong semantic fit showed no processing difficulty compared to unambiguous controls, whereas items with weak semantic fit showed a pattern of processing difficulty which was similar to Ferreira and Clifton (1986). The results are interpreted within the framework of an evidential (constraint-based) approach to ambiguity resolution. Analyses of reading times also suggested that the millisecond per character correction for region length is problematic, especially for small scoring regions. An alternative transformation is suggested.
Using self-reports to predict student performance

This review examines the accuracy and the concurrent and predictive validity of brief self-report information, and evaluates the promise and problems involved in its practical use. In section one, the pc_:er of self-report information for predicting and understanding grades is reviewed. In the second section, research on the influence of background and personal information en students' progress through higher education is summarized. The third section deals with the prediction of creative or high level accomplishment. The fourth section reviews the increase in the understanding of students' educational backgrounds that biographical information provides. In the fifth section, the power of biographical information to predict vocational choices and vocational success is reviewed. The sixth section is a review of the technical and theoretical requirements of effective biographical and self-report information systems. In the last section, the general functions of biographical data are considered. Throughout the review, emphasis is placed on predictive validity of the measures in educational settings because the power of a variable to predict later performance or choices is necessary before the variable can be used for guidance or sectioning. However, wherever warranted, other aspects of the use of self-report information are also discussed. '(RC) Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from
Characterization of the mouse bile salt export pump overexpressed in the baculovirus system

The bile salt export pump (Bsep), a member of the ATP‐binding cassette superfamily of transporters, mediates the ATP‐dependent canalicular secretion of bile salts. We have cloned and expressed the mouse Bsep (mBsep) protein in Sf9 insect cells, and characterized its transport and ATPase properties. Because its deduced amino acid sequence predicts multiple phosphorylation sites for protein kinase A, protein kinase C (PKC) and Ca2+‐calmodulin dependent kinase II, we have also tested whether mBsep undergoes phosphorylation. MBsep transports both glycine and taurine conjugated bile salts. Sf9 cell membranes that express mBsep exhibit higher basal ATPase activity than control membranes, and this is further stimulated by bile salts and inhibited by vanadate. Taurochenodeoxycholate is transported with the highest affinity and is the most potent inducer of ATPase activity. Cyclosporin A, glibenclamide and rifamycin SV, all competitive inhibitors of Bsep transport, also reduced the bile salt‐stimulated ATPase activity. MBsep exists as a phospho‐protein when expressed in Sf9 cells and the immunoprecipitated mBsep complex is a substrate for the catalytic subunit of PKC. When mBsep and the α‐isoform of mouse PKC are co‐expressed in Sf9 cells, a ninefold stimulation of phosphorylation occurs. This is further increased to 18‐fold after activation by phorbol ester. Given that bile salts activate selected PKC isoforms in hepatocytes, including the α isoform, the phosphorylation of mBsep by PKCα may represent a point of regulation for this transporter that is mediated by its own substrate. (HEPATOLOGY 2001;33:1223‐1231.)
Attitudes and social representations: a theoretical and experimental approach

We propose here to establish the theoretical link between the concepts of ‘attitude’ and ‘social representation’. We shall base our proposal on recent conceptions of the notion of attitude, and on a structural approach to representations which account for their evaluative nature. This theoretical proposal will be followed by two experiments. The first showed that attitudes towards objects are based on the evaluative components of the representation of those objects. The second showed that a change in attitude about an object may be accompanied by changes in the evaluative dimension of its representation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rac3 Regulates Cell Invasion, Migration and EMT in Lung Adenocarcinoma through p38 MAPK Pathway

Background: The role of Rac3 in cell proliferation in lung adenocarcinoma has been tackled in our previous study. However, the role of Rac3 in cell invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma is still not clear. Methods: The expression of Rac3 in lung adenocarcinoma specimens and paired noncancerous normal tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) was employed to silence Rac3 in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines A549 and H1299. A p38 MAPK inhibitor (LY2228820) was employed to inhibit activity of p38 MAPK pathway. Cell invasion and migration in vitro were examined by invasion and migration assays, respectively. PathScan® intracellular signaling array kit and western blot were employed in mechanism investigation. Results: Rac3 expression was frequently higher in lung adenocarcinoma than paired noncancerous normal tissues. Rac3 expression was an independent risk factor for lymphonode metastasis, and was associated with worse survival outcome. Silencing of Rac3 inhibited cell invasion and cell migration in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Knockdown of Rac3 decreased activity of p38 MAPK pathway. LY2228820, which was an important p38 MAPK inhibitor, inhibited Rac3-induced cell invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma. E-cadherin expression was increased and vimentin expression was decreased after silencing of Rac3 or following the treatment of LY2228820. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that Rac3 regulates cell invasion, migration and EMT via p38 MAPK pathway. Rac3 may be a potential biomarker of invasion and metastasis for lung adenocarcinoma, and knockdown of Rac3 may potentially serve as a promising therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma.
Recent HIV-1 Infection Contributes to the Viral Diffusion over the French Territory with a Recent Increasing Frequency

Objective To analyse the contribution of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection (PHI) to the French viral epidemic. Methods HIV-1 pol sequences included 987 PHI from the French ANRS PRIMO cohort between 1999 and 2010 and were analysed using a population-based phylogenetic approach. Clinical features, risk factors, sexual behaviour and drug resistance for clustered and nonclustered transmission events were ascertained. Results Viruses from 125 (12.7%) of PHI cosegregated into 56 transmission chains, with increasing frequency during the last years (10.2% before 2006 versus 15.2% of clusters in 2006–2010, p = 0.02). The mean number of patients per cluster was 2.44. Compared to unique PHI, clusters involved more often men, infected through homosexual intercourse, of young age, with a high number of casual sexual partnerships and frequent previous HIV serological tests. Resistant strains were found in 16.0% and 11.1% of clusters and unique PHI, respectively (p = 0.11). Overall, 34% (n = 19) clusters included patients followed in French regions far apart, involving 13 clusters with at least one Parisian patient. Conclusions PHIs are a significant source of onward transmission, especially in the MSM population. Recently infected people contribute to the spread of the viral epidemic throughout the French territory. Survey of transmitted drug resistance and behavioural characteristics of patients involved into clustered PHI may help to guide prevention and treatment interventions.
Voice onset time of Afrikaans speaking children aged four to seven years

The scarcity of developmental voice onset time (VOT) data for pre-school children of different languages, limits deductions regarding the influence of linguistic and age factors on VOT. Expanded developmental VOT-data are of diagnostic value in comparing normal and disordered speech and language in various populations. The purpose of this study was to obtain normative, acoustic information regarding the nature of VOT of voiced and voiceless Afrikaans stops in ten children, ranging in age from 4.0-7.0 years. VOT-measurements were made from wide-band spectrograms, using the Kay digital signal processing sonagraph, model 5500. A multi-subject case study design was used and results are described both qualitatively and quantitatively. Individual mean VOT's for voiced stop contexts ranged from -97-+12ms. Four-year-olds displayed voicing lead in 27% of their mean VOT-values, five-year-olds 4% and six-year-olds 80%. Individual mean VOT-values for voiceless stop contexts ranged from +11-+37ms with very similar performance across age groups. All age groups showed overlapping VOT-values for voiced and voiceless stops (i.e. in the short lag voicing category). Results indicated possible differences between the developmental patterns of VOT in Afrikaans and English.
Modifying perceptions of hostility and credibility of news coverage of an environmental controversy through media literacy

This study tests the proposition that hostile interpretations of media content can be reduced through news media literacy training. Within the context of the controversy over the adoption of biofuels as an energy source, we employ a web-based experimental design that manipulates subjects’ exposure to media literacy training and then presents them with news coverage on the issue of biofuels. We find strong support for the notion that media literacy affects individuals’ perceptions of media credibility. Exposure to a media literacy video led to increased ratings of story credibility, as well as increased trust in the media to cover both the issue and the news more broadly. Implications of these results are discussed.
Impact of Preclinical Exposure to Organ Donation on Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical Students

Context— Medical students receive little exposure to organ donation and procurement programs. Objective— To describe a student-run elective and its effect on participants' knowledge about and attitudes toward organ donation. Intervention— Preclinical students interacted directly with donor families, organ recipients, and donation representatives; many participated in an organ procurement with the surgical team. Design— Between 2005 and 2007, 13 students who participated in the elective and a procurement were compared with 72 students who took the elective but did not participate in a procurement and with 22 control students. Students who participated in a procurement wrote reflections about their experience. In 2010, 15 first-year students who participated in the elective and a procurement and 59 randomly selected control students completed a previously validated measure. Outcome— Themes included awe, surgical procedures, learning opportunities, and brain death. Regardless of procurement participation, the elective participants from 2005 to 2007 reported higher 4-item knowledge scores (P < .001) than control students reported, but their 4-item attitude scores did not differ (P = .21). The 2010 students did not differ from control students in their number of correct responses to the 20 knowledge questions (P = .48) or their individual responses to each of the 14 attitude questions (all P > .05). Results— Although elective participants reflected positively on their experiences and professed greater knowledge than control students via a researcher-made tool, these results were not sustained with a previously validated measure. These results point to the need for careful elective design and the need for more accurate measures to study the effectiveness of such interventions.
Reexamining Synthetic Speech: Intelligibility and the Effects of Age, Task, and Speech Type on Recall

Synthetic speech is a technology that can be utilized to convey information and aid people in their tasks. Older adults in particular are a population that may be able to benefit from synthetic speech, and they are a population that has been investigated in a limited capacity. The current researchers intended to elucidate lingering conflicts in previous research on the intelligibility and recall of word and stories in synthetic speech for older and younger adults and how that compared to similar conditions in natural speech. Twenty-four older and 24 younger adults completed intelligibility and recall tasks with word lists and stories. Results indicated that older adults had a more difficult time with all speech, natural speech was easier to understand and remember than synthetic speech, and stories were easier to recall than words. Results also indicated that older adults had a more difficult time understanding synthetic words as compared to natural words than younger adults. In addition, older adults improved differentially with the recall of stories as opposed to words when compared to the younger adult group. Potential directions for synthetic speech software design and future research are discussed.
Emotional security as a regulatory process in normal development and the development of psychopathology

Abstract Emotional security is a central concept in many accounts of normal development and the development of psychopathology. However, the construct has rarely been subject to precise explication, and the conceptualization of emotional security as deriving from qualities of family functioning as a whole requires development. Emotional security as a regulatory system is defined and related to current approaches to emotions as regulatory processes. Although our model is built upon attachment theory, the emphasis is shifted from the evolutionary/ethological origins of attachment theory to the regulation of emotional well being and security as a goal in itself. Emotional security is conceptualized from a contextualistic perspective, emphasizing the interplay between socioemotional and biological processes. Felt-security as a goal is defined from an organizational perspective, reflecting the entire pattern of the individual's reactions to events in relation to emotional security as a goal, as opposed to simply those reactions that are “conscious” or reported as “feelings. ” Component regulatory systems are specified (e.g., processes of emotion regulation, regulation of exposure to family affect), with illustrations centering on the impact of marital and parent-child relations on children's security.
Development planning and citizenship in Cape Town

This article argues that there is a dialectical relationship between development planning and citizenship in so far as planners, as institutional decision-makers, ensure a meaningful everyday lived experience for ordinary people. In post-apartheid South Africa, however, the statistical record signals a disjuncture and structural hiatus between what should be the basic rights of ordinary people and the role of local government in promoting citizen-driven development planning at the grassroots level. This article deals specifically with the Wallacedene community, who took the planning authorities to court to have their constitutional right of access to adequate housing and related services enforced. The implications of this court case vis-à-vis development planning are considered and recommendations are proffered.
Mosapride Accelerates the Delayed Gastric Emptying of High-Viscosity Liquids: A Crossover Study Using Continuous Real-Time 13C Breath Test (BreathID System)

Background/Aims The administration of liquid nutrients to patients is often accompanied by complications such as gastroesophageal reflux. To prevent gastroesophageal reflux, high-viscosity liquid meals are used widely, however, it still remains controversial whether high-viscosity liquid meals have any effect on the rate of gastric emptying. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining whether high-viscosity liquid meals had any effect on the rate of gastric emptying and mosapride might accelerate the rate of gastric emptying of high-viscosity liquid meals. Methods Six healthy male volunteers underwent 3 tests at intervals of > 1 week. After fasting for > 8 hours, each subject received one of three test meals (liquid meal only, high-viscosity liquid meal [liquid meal plus pectin] only, or high-viscosity liquid meal 30 minutes after intake of mosapride). A 13C-acetic acid breath test was performed, which monitored the rate of gastric emptying for 4 hours. Using the Oridion Research Software (β version), breath test parameters were calculated. The study parameters were examined for all the 3 test conditions and compared using the Freidman test. Results Gastric emptying was significantly delayed following intake of a high-viscosity liquid meal alone as compared with a liquid meal alone; however, intake of mosapride prior to a high-viscosity liquid meal was associated with a significantly accelerated rate of gastric emptying as compared with a high-viscosity liquid meal alone. Conclusions This study showed that high-viscosity liquid meals delayed gastric emptying: however, mosapride recovered the delayed rate of gastric emptying by high-viscosity liquid meals.
Towards the improvement of learning in secondary school: students' views, their links to theories of motivation and to issues of under- and over-achievement

This paper reports the views of students in a secondary comprehensive school on what made them want to learn, what made it difficult for them to learn, and what teachers could do to help them learn. It relates these reported views to some established psychological views of motivation and to models derived from attribution theory. It investigates the views of students identified as under- and over-achievers through the comparison of CAT scores in Year 7 and GCSE performance, and reveals that ‘conformity to the work and social norms of the classroom’, and ‘communication with teachers’, were two key factors which distinguished under- and over-achievers. However, the differences were not always in directions which might have been predicted.