Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Circulating Levels of Angiotensinogen, Sex, and Hormone Therapy - The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Background: Angiotensinogen, the unique precursor of all angiotensin hormones of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS), is now a potential target in a novel pharmacological approach to hypertension. Investigating the factors that influence angiotensinogen levels, including sex hormones, may have important therapeutic implications. Methods: Plasma angiotensinogen and sex hormones levels were measured in 5,171 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants. Linear models were employed to determine the associations of angiotensinogen with sex hormones, and mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of HT on blood pressure (BP) and hypertension through angiotensinogen. Results: Angiotensinogen levels were significantly higher in postmenopausal women receiving HT (n=760) compared to women not receiving HRT (n=1,675) and in men (n=2,736). A positive association was present between angiotensinogen and estrogen levels that differed in magnitude between sexes and by HT status among postmenopausal women (women on HT: r=0.44, p< 0.0001; women not on HT: r=0.09, p=0.0002; and men: r= 0.07, p=0.0003). The type of HT formulation (estrogen or estrogen/progesterone) and its duration of use did not significantly affect angiotensinogen levels. HT indirectly increased systolic BP ({beta}=1.24) and the odds of hypertension (OR=1.065) through its effect of increasing angiotensinogen. Conclusions: A positive association was present between angiotensinogen and estrogen levels that differed by HT status. HT impacts systolic BP and hypertension indirectly by increasing angiotensinogen. This study underscores the role of angiotensinogen in hypertension, and the complex relationship between HT and hypertension.
Inhibition of mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase impairs viability of cancer cells in a cell-specific metabolism-dependent manner

2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is often implied to be inactive in cancer, but this was not experimentally tested. We addressed the question through specific inhibition of OGDH by succinyl phosphonate (SP). SP action on different cancer cells was investigated using indicators of cellular viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS), metabolic profiling and transcriptomics. Relative sensitivity of various cancer cells to SP changed with increasing SP exposure and could differ in the ATP- and NAD(P)H-based assays. Glioblastoma responses to SP revealed metabolic sub-types increasing or decreasing cellular ATP/NAD(P)H ratio under OGDH inhibition. Cancer cell homeostasis was perturbed also when viability indicators were SP-resistant, e.g. in U87 and N2A cells. The transcriptomics database analysis showed that the SP-sensitive cells, such as A549 and T98G, exhibit the lowest expression of OGDH compared to other TCA cycle enzymes, associated with higher expression of affiliated pathways utilizing 2-oxoglutarate. Metabolic profiling confirmed the dependence of cellular SP reactivity on cell-specific expression of the pathways. Thus, oxidative decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate is significant for the interdependent homeostasis of NAD(P)H, ATP, ROS and key metabolites in various cancer cells. Assessment of cell-specific responses to OGDH inhibition is of diagnostic value for anticancer strategies.
Influence of Conative Attitudes towards Green Advertising on Black Generation Y Students’ Environmental Behaviour

This article reports on a study undertaken to determine the influence of conative attitudes towards green advertising on black Generation Y students’ environmental behaviour in the South African context. In South Africa, the Generation Y cohort, which is defined as including individuals born between 1986 and 2005, accounted for 40 percent of the country’s population in 2011. The African portion of this cohort (hereafter referred to as black Generation Y) comprise an estimated 84 percent of this cohort. This translates into black Generation Y individuals being a market force of significant importance to marketers, including those engaged in green advertising efforts. Despite the importance of this market segment, their consumer behaviour remains under researched in general, specifically concerning their attitudes towards environmental issues and marketing. In order to address this shortfall in the literature, a structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on conative attitudes towards green advertising and how this influences environmental behaviour from a sample of 400 black Generation Y students across four South African public registered higher education institutions’ campuses situated in the Gauteng province. Data analysis included measurement of model fit, independent z-tests and path analysis using structural equation modelling. According to the results, there was acceptable fit between the proposed two-dimensional model for measuring conative attitudes towards green advertising and the data in the sample. The findings suggest that in South Africa, black Generation Y students’ conative attitudes towards green advertising have a significant positive influence on their environmental behaviour. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013. v4n3p17
Time Predictable CPU and DMA Shared Memory Access

In this paper, we propose a first step towards a time predictable computer architecture for single-chip multiprocessing (CMP). CMP is the actual trend in server and desktop systems. CMP is even considered for embedded realtime systems, where worst-case execution time (WCET) estimates are of primary importance. We attack the problem of WCET analysis for several processing units accessing a shared resource (the main memory) by support from the hardware. In this paper, we combine a time predictable Java processor and a direct memory access (DMA) unit with a regular access pattern (VGA controller). We analyze and evaluate different arbitration schemes with respect to schedulability analysis and WCET analysis. We also implement the various combinations in an FPGA. An FPGA is the ideal platform to verify the different concepts and evaluate the results by running applications with industrial background in real hardware.
Sequential intensified conditioning followed by prophylactic DLI could reduce relapse of refractory acute leukemia after allo-HSCT

The major obstacle is leukemia relapse for refractory leukemia undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We previously introduced a strategy of sequential intensified conditioning and early rapid immunosupressant withdrawal for refractory leukemia undergoing allo-HSCT, with 5-year overall survival (OS) and 3-year relapse rate of 44.6% and 33.3%. To reduce leukemia relapse, prophylactic donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) was administered based on our historical strategy. A total of 153 refractory advanced acute leukemia patients were enrolled in this prospective study. According to the availability of donor lymphocytes and the criteria for DLI, 144 patients surviving day +60 were divided into two groups (80 DLI versus 64 non-DLI). The relapse rate was less and OS was better in patients receiving DLI than in those not receiving DLI (22.7% vs 33.9%, P=0.048; 58.1% vs 54.9%, P=0.043). The non-relapse mortality (NRM) was similar between DLI and non-DLI groups (P=0.104). Overall, the 5-year overall and disease-free survival post-transplantation were 51.1%±5.7% and 49.2%±5.3%. The 5-year relapse rate and NRM were 27.3%±4.4% and 29.7%±5.3%. Multivariate analysis revealed that lower bone marrow blasts on day 0, DLI and chronic graft-versus-host disease were associated with less relapse and better OS. The strategy of sequential intensified conditioning followed by early immunosupressant withdrawal and DLI could reduce relapse of refractory acute leukemia after allo-HSCT and improve survival.
The Role of Task Experience and Prior Knowledge for Detecting Invalid Augmented Feedback while Learning a Motor Skill

Two hypotheses were investigated. These were generated from results reported by Buekers, Magill, and Sneyers (1994) and an uncertainty account of those and other effects on skill learning of erroneous knowledge of results (KR). The first hypothesis proposes that if experienced performers have developed the capability of detecting and correcting errors, then they should not be influenced by erroneous KR in the same way as novices. The second proposes that if information about the invalid feedback is given to subjects prior to the beginning of the practice trials, then the capability for assessing feedback can be accelerated such that subjects who receive this advance information should not be misled by the erroneous KR. The first hypothesis was investigated in Experiment 1 by having subjects practise an anticipation timing task for 450 trials. One group received correct KR on all trials, and another group received no KR. Half of the subjects in each group were unexpectedly switched to erroneous KR after 400 trials. Results indicated that the erroneous KR influenced both groups during acquisition and on a retention test one minute later. However, on a retention test given one week later, only the group that had practised with no KR before being switched to erroneous KR continued to show the negative influence of the invalid KR. The second hypothesis was examined in Experiment 2 by telling subjects prior to beginning practice trials that it was possible that the KR they received would be erroneous. Results showed that this intervention strategy was effective on the no-KR retention tests only for subjects who had no-KR trials alternated with trials on which they received the erroneous KR. The results of these experiments provide evidence that uncertainty about the validity of sensory feedback increases the likelihood that subjects will be misled by invalid augmented feedback. Moreover, this uncertainty can be overcome by increased experience or by providing advance knowledge about the nature of the invalid feedback.
The Development of an Intragroup Norm and the Effects of Interpersonal and Structural Challenges

Portions of this paper were written while the second author was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. We are grateful for the financial support provided by the National Science Foundation (#BNS87-00864 and SES88-15566) and the Russell Sage Foundation. The authors thank Max Bazerman, Connie Gersick, Marya Leatherwood, Huseyin Leblebici, Greg Oldham, three anonymous reviewers, and especially Gerald Salancik for their comments on earlier versions of this paper. Portions of this paper were presented at the 1988 National Academy of Management Meetings in Anaheim, CA. This study manipulated the norm-formation process and investigated how members of new groups respond to challenges to their newly developed norm. Bargaining pairs composed of individuals who each had repeated cooperative experiences formed implicit cooperative norms, expecting cooperation and acting cooperatively in a subsequent, similar task. Alternatively, pairs with repeated competitive experiences formed competitive norms for the same tasks. Some pairs' norms were challenged interpersonally when the members of a new pair had opposite prior experiences but needed to take joint action. Pairs were also challenged structurally, when the new task altered their incentives for cooperation. The study not only manipulated different norms in the same task, but its results indicate that interpersonal challenges are more successful when they are cooperative; structural challenges are more successful when they are strong and competitive. '
Scaling identity connects human mobility and social interactions

Significance Both our mobility and communication patterns obey spatial constraints: Most of the time, our trips or communications occur over a short distance, and occasionally, we take longer trips or call a friend who lives far away. These spatial dependencies, best described as power laws, play a consequential role in broad areas ranging from how an epidemic spreads to diffusion of ideas and information. Here we established the first formal link, to our knowledge, between mobility and communication patterns by deriving a scaling relationship connecting them. The uncovered scaling theory not only allows us to derive human movements from communication volumes, or vice versa, but it also documents a new degree of regularity that helps deepen our quantitative understanding of human behavior. Massive datasets that capture human movements and social interactions have catalyzed rapid advances in our quantitative understanding of human behavior during the past years. One important aspect affecting both areas is the critical role space plays. Indeed, growing evidence suggests both our movements and communication patterns are associated with spatial costs that follow reproducible scaling laws, each characterized by its specific critical exponents. Although human mobility and social networks develop concomitantly as two prolific yet largely separated fields, we lack any known relationships between the critical exponents explored by them, despite the fact that they often study the same datasets. Here, by exploiting three different mobile phone datasets that capture simultaneously these two aspects, we discovered a new scaling relationship, mediated by a universal flux distribution, which links the critical exponents characterizing the spatial dependencies in human mobility and social networks. Therefore, the widely studied scaling laws uncovered in these two areas are not independent but connected through a deeper underlying reality.
Linguistics in the Study and Teaching of Literature

Literary texts include linguistic form, as well as specialized literary forms (some of which also involve language). Linguistics can offer to literary studies an understanding of these kinds of form, and the ways by which a text is used to communicate meaning. In order to cope with the great variety of creative uses of language in literature, linguistics must acknowledge that some texts are assigned structure by non-linguistic means, but the boundaries between linguistic and non-linguistic explanations for literary language are not clearly drawn. The article concludes with discussion of what kinds and level of linguistics might usefully be taught in a literature classroom, and offers practical suggestions for the application of linguistics to literature teaching.
[Assessment of self-representation abilities in seven-, eight-year-old children].

BACKGROUND Theory of Mind. AIM the purpose of this study was to assess the self-representation abilities in 7-8 year old children and to verify the relationship between the Theory of Mind and language. METHOD subjects of this study were 100 children - 50 boys and 50 girls - with ages between 7:2 and 8:11, divided in four groups: 7-year-old children with no communication deficits (Group 1), with 37 subjects; 7-year-old children with phonological retard (Group 2), with 13 subjects; 8-year-old children with no communication deficits (Group 3), with 46 subjects; and 8- year- old children with phonological retard (Group 4), with 4 subjects. All of the subjects were students of a municipal school in the city of São Paulo and were submitted to speech, language and hearing tests prior to the assessment of the self-representation abilities. The assessment of the self-representation abilities is composed by four tests proposed by Fernandes (2002) and adapted by Mecca (2005). RESULTS 88% of the 7-year-old subjects passed the self-representation abilities test; 92% of the 8-year-old subjects also passed the same test. No statistically significant differences were found between gender, age or group. CONCLUSION generally, children around 7 years have already acquired the Theory of Mind, however this acquisition can take longer and occur at other ages. The type of interaction and the presence of abstract elements during conversation can have an influence on the children's performance in tasks involving the theory of mind.
Sjogren’s syndrome: Review of the aetiology, Pathophysiology & Potential therapeutic interventions

Background Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, resulting in glandular dysfunction. Objectives: This study aims to review the aetiology of Sjogren’s syndrome, highlight aspects that contribute to the pathophysiology of the disease and explore treatment options that target different mediators of pathogenesis. Material and Methods The MEDLINE/PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched systematically with the terms “Sjogren’s syndrome”; “clinical”; “treatment”; “management”. Eligible studies had to meet a predefined inclusion criteria. Results 912 identified studies were evaluated against the inclusion criteria. 25 eligible studies were included for review. Sjogren’s syndrome is a multifactorial condition with genetic, environmental and hormonal factors playing a role in establishing the condition. B-cell activating factor (BAFF) is an important mediator in the induction and perpetuation of this condition. Elevated BAFF levels, found in patients with SS, promote growth of B-cells and subsequent production of autoantibody; anti-SSA/Ro. BAFF inhibitors are important potential therapeutic drugs that may be effective in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome. Other potential targets include CD20 and CD22 that cause B-cell depletion. Conclusions The pathophysiology of this exocrinopathy has not fully been elucidated. Potential therapeutic interventions include BAFF inhibitors and anti-CD20 and anti-CD22 therapy. However, no clinical trials have been conducted on subjects with Sjogren’s syndrome to support existing research. Key words:Sjogren’s syndrome, autoimmune, rheumatology.
Effect of grain size and snowpack water equivalence on visible and near‐infrared satellite observations of snow

Satellite observations of snow in the near-infrared wavelengths can be used to roughly estimate snow grain size. When the grain size is large, it is possible to use measurements in the visible wavelengths to estimate snow water equivalence below some threshold value of around 100 mm. While sufficient data to fully evaluate these possibilities are not available, model calculations, selected satellite observations, and limited ground truth are in qualitative agreement. Complications arise because the effect of contamination by atmospheric aerosols is similar to that of finite depth, and because the near-infrared channel on the NOAA TIROS-N series satellites is not in the wavelength region where snow reflectance is most sensitive to grain size.
Using Electronic Health Record Data to Develop and Validate a Prediction Model for Adverse Outcomes in the Wards*

Objective:Over 200,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year and many of these events may be preventable. Current vital sign–based risk scores for ward patients have demonstrated limited accuracy, which leads to missed opportunities to identify those patients most likely to suffer cardiac arrest and inefficient resource utilization. We derived and validated a prediction model for cardiac arrest while treating ICU transfer as a competing risk using electronic health record data. Design:A retrospective cohort study. Setting:An academic medical center in the United States with approximately 500 inpatient beds. Patients:Adult patients hospitalized from November 2008 until August 2011 who had documented ward vital signs. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Vital sign, demographic, location, and laboratory data were extracted from the electronic health record and investigated as potential predictor variables. A person-time multinomial logistic regression model was used to simultaneously predict cardiac arrest and ICU transfer. The prediction model was compared to the VitalPAC Early Warning Score using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and was validated using three-fold cross-validation. A total of 56,649 controls, 109 cardiac arrest patients, and 2,543 ICU transfers were included. The derived model more accurately detected cardiac arrest (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.88 vs 0.78; p < 0.001) and ICU transfer (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.77 vs 0.73; p < 0.001) than the VitalPAC Early Warning Score, and accuracy was similar with cross-validation. At a specificity of 93%, our model had a higher sensitivity than the VitalPAC Early Warning Score for cardiac arrest patients (65% vs 41%). Conclusions:We developed and validated a prediction tool for ward patients that can simultaneously predict the risk of cardiac arrest and ICU transfer. Our model was more accurate than the VitalPAC Early Warning Score and could be implemented in the electronic health record to alert caregivers with real-time information regarding patient deterioration.
An Observation Procedure for Assessing Children's Social Behaviours in Free Play Settings

ABSTRACT An observation system yielding information on children's social behaviours in free play settings together with procedures for training observers to achieve reliable data is described. Assessment of social involvement in play activities using the Parten Scale is combined with frequency and topographic information on social interactions to describe individual child behaviour while simultaneous observation of three children gives comparison data against which to evaluate behaviours of a target child. Results from observations of three children in each of three kindergartens over twelve sessions showed high interobserver reliability with validity indicated by data discriminating teacher identified low socially involved children from randomly selected comparison children. Sensitivity to the effects of intervention was also shown and examples given of the use of the procedures in clinical assessment. Data from an evaluation of the effects of priority coding versus recording of all codes in each interva.
Modern Nuclear Force Predictions for the α Particle

We present new calculations of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particle which are based on the most modern nucleon-nucleon interactions alone and combined with the Tucson-Melbourne or the Urbana IX three-nucleon interaction. Results for the binding energies and some properties of the wave function are given. On that phenomenological level little room is left for the action of a possible four-nucleon force.
Factorial Structure of Three Procrastination Scales with a Spanish Adult Population

The present study explored the factorial structure of three well-known procrastination measures: the General Procrastination Scale (GP; Lay, 1986), the Adult Inventory of Procrastination (AIP; McCown & Johnson, 1989), and the Decisional Procrastination Scale (DP; Mann, 1982) with 502 Spanish adults between 25 and 67 years old. The principal component analysis indicated a one-factor structure for GP and DP, and two factor components for AIP. The internal consistency of the three scales was satisfactory. Results suggested that the Spanish versions of the three procrastination scales were effective and reliable. Finally, a principal component analysis with the three scales indicated a four-factor model of procrastination, namely: dilatory behaviors, indecision, lack of punctuality, and lack of planning.