Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascular Health and Risk Management Dovepress Current and Emerging Therapeutic Options for the Treatment of Chronic Chagasic Cardiomyopathy

Chagas' disease is an endemic disease in Latin America caused by a unicellular parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that affects almost 18 million people. This condition involves the heart, causing heart failure, arrhythmias, heart block, thromboembolism, stroke, and sudden death. In this article, we review the current and emerging treatment of Chagas' cardiomyopathy focusing mostly on management of heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure therapeutical options including drugs, stem cells and heart transplantation are revised. Antiarrhythmic drugs, catheter ablation, and intracardiac devices are discussed as well. Finally, the evidence for a potential role of specific antiparasitic treatment for the prevention of cardiovascular disease is reviewed. Chagas' disease is an endemic disease in Latin America caused by a unicellular parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. Almost 18 million people are infected 1 and almost 25% of them will develop chronic myocardial disease in the following years or decades. The intermediate phase of the disease, also known as " undetermined phase " (currently a term under review, given the fact that several physiopathological mechanisms occur during this phase) may last for two to three decades, and the only " detectable " manifestation of the disease is the immunological reaction and some degree of autonomic dysfunction. Approximately 30% of the infected patients will develop end organ disease (cardiac, gastrointestinal, and neurological). 2 Although a marked decrease in the incidence has been observed in the last decade it is still a major health problem in many countries of Latin America. In 2005, the genome sequence of Trypanosoma cruzi was finally discovered, initiating a new era of Chagas' disease treatment based on targeting specific protein kinases and phosphatases. 3 Chronically infected individuals may develop, after the asymptomatic period, chronic myocarditis (Figure 1, Panels A and B) and less frequently megacolon, megaesophagus, or neurological afflictions. 2,4 The main causes of death associated with chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy (CChC) are progressive congestive heart failure and sudden cardiac death. 5,6 Although malignant ventricular arrhythmias are thought to be the main cause of sudden death, bradyarrhyth-mias, and thrombo-embolic events account for some of the sudden death as well. 7,8 Chagas' disease has become a worldwide problem, given the new patterns of immigration. Physicians around the world should become aware of its existence and how to recognize and treat it. 9 This review is intended to revise the current therapeutical options for the treatment of heart failure and ventricular arrhythmias associated with CChC.
Mergers and the Perception of Market Power: the Role of Aspiration Levels

In this paper, we study bilateral mergers in experimental Cournot markets with initially three or four firms. Theory predicts pre-and post-merger total output well. However, merged firms produce significantly more than firms without a merger history. As a result, mergers are not as unprofitable as predicted. By analyzing two control treatments, we provide an explanation for these results based on the notion of aspiration levels. The results have some general consequences for adaptive play in changing environments.
The Relation Between Perceived Parenting Practices and Achievement Motivation in Mathematics

Abstract In this study, perceived parenting styles and parental involvement were examined to determine if they predicted student motivation. The two views of motivation examined included achievement goal theory and self-determination theory. Algebra I students (N = 140) in a Southeast Texas public high school completed self-report surveys. Multivariate analyses indicated that perceived authoritative parenting was positively related to both a mastery goal orientation and higher relative autonomy. Permissive parenting was negatively related to a mastery orientation and positively related to a performance approach orientation. Authoritarian parenting was positively related to a performance approach orientation only. Also, behavioral involvement was positively related to both a performance approach and performance avoidance goal orientation. Generally, future research should include measures that are specific to the beliefs and attitudes of adolescents and that address more specific aspects of parenting styles.
Effects of Manipulable Influences on High School Grades Across Five Ethnic Groups

Abstract Theories of school learning consistently point to ability, quality of instruction, motivation, and academic instructional time as important influences. Research also supports those variables and related variables as important for learning, but few researchers have assessed the combined effects or examined both direct and indirect effects. Here we used LISREL to test a conceptual model of school learning, examining the effects of five variables (ability, quality, motivation, course work, and homework) common to school learning theories on student grades. A large, nationally representative sample of high school youth was used to test the model. Following a test of the model for the entire sample, we tested it separately for each major ethnic group, and for boys and girts. Each theory-derived influence was supported, although there were differences in the magnitude of influences across ethnic groups. A particularly interesting finding was that Asian-American students' learning, in particular, seemed.
The Distinction Between the Affective Psychoses and Schizophrenia

Summary In an attempt to demonstrate a valid boundary between schizophrenia and the affective psychoses, discriminant function analyses have been carried out with history, mental state and follow-up data in two populations of patients. A bimodal distribution of discriminant scores was obtained in one of them (a general psychotic sample of 128 patients), using a discriminant function derived from the same sample; but when the function was applied to the second population (a schizoaffective sample of 106 patients) the distribution was ambiguous. Functions derived from the schizoaffective sample produced highly skewed distributions of discriminant scores in the general psychotic sample. Kraepelin's hypothesis that the functional psychoses consist of two distinct disease entities receives some support from our findings, but there is still no compelling evidence that the universe of psychotic patients falls naturally into these two groups.
E-Learning and the Semantic Web: A Descriptive Literature Review

A number of 3.0 e-learning systems have been proposed in the literature to capture the numerous benefits that the Semantic Web has to offer to the higher education sector. These 3.0 e-learning systems identify some essential Semantic Web characteristics that are either discussed as stand-alone factors or tend to revolve around the complexities of the Semantic Web technology and its implementation, often disregarding users’ needs. Conversely, a comprehensive analysis of e-learning models for higher education in the literature revealed several Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that are relevant to the Semantic Web but often overlooked in 3.0 e-learning models. Consequently, this chapter provides an overview of the CSFs of e-learning relevant to 3.0 e-learning systems as well as an overview of the main Semantic Web characteristics for e-learning to define a new and combined set of 3.0 e-learning characteristics that will holistically represent 3.0 e-learning systems capturing the needs and expectations of users. The new initial 3.0 e-learning model proposed is evaluated within the higher education sector in Mauritius.
Sound Localization Acuity in Very Young Infants: An Observer-Based Testing Procedure.

Infants 8 to 28 weeks of age weretested to determine the smallest sound shift off midline and along the horizontal axis that could be reliably discriminated, that is, minimum audible angle. Both sound-shift and no-shift trials were presented. For each trial, an observer decided, based solely on the infant's behavior, whether the sound shifted location (i.e., an observer-based yes-no task). To isolate sensory from nonsensory factors, analyses were performed on d' scores
Umbilical blood gas analysis in preeclamptic versus healthy pregnancies with preterm birth

Abstract Objective: Comparing the value of umbilical cord arterial blood gas (UC-ABG) analysis in the prediction of neonatal mortality and morbidity in the preeclamptic versus healthy pregnancies with preterm birth. Methods: Eight hundred sixteen preterm (born at <37 gestational weeks) neonates with no other morbidities who were born by cesarean section were evaluated. Immediately after delivery, UC-ABG analysis was performed and the neonates were followed. Results: Preeclamptic women had lower umbilical cord blood (UCB) pH (7.2 4 ± 0.1 versus 7.2 7 ± 0.08, p = 0.008) and higher UCB base deficit (BD) (3.5 ± 3.7 versus 2.2 ± 3.4, p = 0.005) compared with controls. In the preeclamptic group, UCB metabolic acidosis (pH < 7.15 and B.D > 8) was not independently associated with neonatal morbidity or mortality, while in the control group UCB metabolic acidosis was independently associated with low 10-min Apgar (OR, 4.9; 95%CI 1.37–18.03), respiratory distress syndrome (OR, 2.37; 95%CI 1.05–6.17), intraventricular hemorrhage (OR, 3.01; 95%CI 1.13–7.99), and neonatal mortality (OR, 17.33; 95%CI 4.51–66.53). Conclusions: The preterm neonates born to preeclamptic mothers have lower UCB pH and higher BD. In these neonates, UCB acidosis is not independently associated with any adverse neonatal outcomes. In contrast, in the preterm neonates born to healthy mothers, UCB metabolic acidosis is independently associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity.
Partitioned systolic multiplier for GF(2/sup m/)

This paper presents a partitioned systolic array with an arbitrary number of PEs for MSB-first approach multiplication in GF(2/sup m/) based on the polynomial representation. As compared to the related multipliers presented by Wang et al. the proposed partitioned systolic array requires significantly small number of basic cells. It requires only m/2 number of basic cells and has the same throughput rate as when it has 2 bands. The proposed systolic array architecture has an arbitrary number of PEs using the partitioning concept although it suffers a little loss of computation times.
Drought resistance, water-use efficiency, and yield potential-are they compatible, dissonant, or mutually exclusive?

This presentation is a concept review paper dealing with a central dilemma in understanding, designing, and acting upon crop plant improvement programs for drought conditions. The association among yield potential (YP), drought resistance (DR), and water-use efficiency (WUE) is often misunderstood, which in turn can lead to conceptual oversight and wrong decisions in implementing breeding programs for drought-prone environments. Although high YP is the target of most crop breeding programs, it might not be compatible with superior DR. On the other hand, high YP can contribute to yield in moderate stress environments. Plant production in water-limited environments is very often affected by constitutive plant traits that allow maintenance of a high plant water status (dehydration avoidance). Osmotic adjustment (OA) is a major cellular stress adaptive response in certain crop plants that enhances dehydration avoidance and supports yield under stress. Despite past voiced speculations, there is no proof that OA entails a cost in terms of reduced YP. WUE for yield is often equated in a simplistic manner with DR. The large accumulation of knowledge on crop WUE as derived from research on carbon isotope discrimination allows some conclusions on the relations between WUE on the one hand, and DR and YP on the other, to be made. Briefly, apparent genotypic variations in WUE are normally expressed mainly due to variations in water use (WU; the denominator). Reduced WU, which is reflected in higher WUE, is generally achieved by plant traits and environmental responses that reduce YP. Improved WUE on the basis of reduced WU is expressed in improved yield under water-limited conditions only when there is need to balance crop water use against a limited and known soil moisture reserve. However, under most dryland situations where crops depend on unpredictable seasonal rainfall, the maximisation of soil moisture use is a crucial component of drought resistance (avoidance), which is generally expressed in lower WUE. It is concluded that the effect of a single 'drought adaptive' gene on crop performance in water-limited environments can be assessed only when the whole system is considered in terms of YP, DR, and WUE.
Gesture mimicry in expression of laughter

Mimicry and laughter are two social signals displaying affiliation among people. To date, however, their relationship remains uninvestigated and relatively unexploited in designing the behaviour of robots and virtual characters. This paper presents an experiment aimed at examining how laughter and mimicry are related. The hypothesis is that hand movements a person produces during a laughter episode are mimicked through equivalent or other hand movements other participants in the interaction produce when they laugh. To investigate this, we analysed mimicry at two levels of specificity during laughter and non-laughter periods in a playful triadic social interaction. Changes in mimicry rates over the whole interaction were analysed as well as possible leader-follower relationships. Results show that hand movement rates were varied and strongly dependent on group. Even though hand movement are more frequent during laughter, mimicry does not increase. Mimicry levels, however, increase over the course of a session indicating that familiarity and comfort may increase emotional contagion.
The coronally advanced flap in combination with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and enamel matrix derivative in the treatment of gingival recession: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE The main objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of platelet-rich fibrin membrane used in combination with a coronally advanced flap (CAF) and to compare it with the use of an enamel matrix derivative (EMD) in combination with a coronally advanced flap in gingival recession treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS 20 split-mouth cases of maxillary anterior teeth or bicuspids presenting with Miller Class I or II gingival recession were treated with a CAF combined with a platelet-rich fibrin membrane (PRF group) or with EMD (EMD group) placed under a CAF. The following parameters were measured at baseline and at 12 months post treatment: gingival recession (GR), apicocoronal width of the keratinized tissue (WKT), and probing depth (PD). RESULTS Complete rot coverage in the PRF group was 65% (13 out of 20 recessions) and 60% in the EMD group (12 out of 20 recessions). GR was 4.10 ± 1.05 mm in the PRF group and 3.90 ± 1.00 mm in the EMD group at baseline, and 1.05 ± 0.45 mm in the PRF group and 1.15 ± 0.65 mm in the EMD group at 12 months. The difference observed between the tow groups at 12 months was statistically significant. Average root coverage was 70.5% in the EMD group and 72.1% in the PRF group. WKT was 1.30 ± 0.56 mm in the EMD group and 1.45 ± 0.86 mm in the PRF group at baseline, and 1.90 ± 0.81 mm in the EMD group and 1.62 ± 0.28 mm in the PRF group at 12 months. The difference observed between the two groups at 12 months was not statistically significant. Twelve-month changes in PD were not significantly different between the two groups. The pain intensity was statistically different between the two groups. The pain intensity was statistically different between groups for the first 5 days, favoring the PRF group. CONCLUSIONS The present study did not succeed in demonstrating any clinical advantage of the use of PRF compared to EMD in the coverage of gingival recession with the CAF procedure. The EMD group showed a higher success rate in increasing WKT than did the PRF group.
Fast three dimensional sodium imaging

An efficient scheme for fast three dimensional acquisition of sodium MR images is described. This scheme relies on the use of three dimensional k‐space trajectories with constant sample density to achieve significant (60–70%) reductions in total data acquisition time over conventional projection imaging schemes. The performance of this data acquisition scheme is demonstrated with acquisition of sodium data sets on phantoms and normal human volunteers at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla. The experimental results demonstrate that high quality three dimensional sodium images (0.2 cc voxel size, 10:1 signal‐to‐noise ratio) can be acquired at clinical field strengths (1.5 Tesla) in under 10 min.
In a warmer Arctic, mosquitoes avoid increased mortality from predators by growing faster

Climate change is altering environmental temperature, a factor that influences ectothermic organisms by controlling rates of physiological processes. Demographic effects of warming, however, are determined by the expression of these physiological effects through predator–prey and other species interactions. Using field observations and controlled experiments, we measured how increasing temperatures in the Arctic affected development rates and mortality rates (from predation) of immature Arctic mosquitoes in western Greenland. We then developed and parametrized a demographic model to evaluate how temperature affects survival of mosquitoes from the immature to the adult stage. Our studies showed that warming increased development rate of immature mosquitoes (Q10 = 2.8) but also increased daily mortality from increased predation rates by a dytiscid beetle (Q10 = 1.2–1.5). Despite increased daily mortality, the model indicated that faster development and fewer days exposed to predators resulted in an increased probability of mosquito survival to the adult stage. Warming also advanced mosquito phenology, bringing mosquitoes into phenological synchrony with caribou. Increases in biting pests will have negative consequences for caribou and their role as a subsistence resource for local communities. Generalizable frameworks that account for multiple effects of temperature are needed to understand how climate change impacts coupled human–natural systems.
Linguistic Indicators of a False Confession

To date, most investigations of false confessions have focused on their prevention rather than their identification. In this study we investigated whether certain linguistic variables might help to distinguish between false confessional statements and true accounts. Using a within-subjects design, we elicited both false confessional statements and true accounts from 85 participants. We examined these for the presence of nouns, verbs and adjectives. Additionally, participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) to determine the relationship between noun, verb and adjective use and self-reported measures of state anxiety. Results showed that whereas nouns and verbs failed to discriminate between false confessions and true accounts, adjective use significantly decreased during false confessions. Anxiety was not associated with veracity. The current findings suggest that there are measurable linguistic differences between false confessions and true accounts that cannot be attributed to level of state anxiety.
The Political Economy of Diversity: Diversity Programs in Fortune 500 Companies

Using data from a 1998 SHRM survey, this study examines the prevalence and nature of diversity initiatives in Fortune 500 companies. The rhetoric of diversity in industry suggests that a diverse workforce is good for business. Diversity is typically defined in terms of such demographic factors as race, age, gender, ethnic background, and, to a lessor extent, sexual orientation. Our analysis shows that most Fortune 500 companies have some diversity initiatives, but that these initiatives are disproportionately aimed at certain minority groups. Thus, there appears to be a political economy of diversity in which some categories of diversity are valued over others. We place this analysis within the larger context of a changing economic, occupational and political factors affecting the diversity movement.
The Cloak of Competence: Stigma in the Lives of the Mentally Retarded

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Dynamics of the STAT3 Transcription Factor: Nuclear Import Dependent on Ran and Importin-β1

The signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) induces transcription of genes that control differentiation, inflammation, proliferation, and tumor cell invasion. Cytokines such as interleukin-6 and interferon stimulate the specific tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3, which confers its ability to bind consensus DNA targets. In addition, unphosphorylated STAT3 has been demonstrated to induce specific gene expression. STAT3 must gain entrance to the nucleus to impact transcription, however access to the nucleus is a tightly regulated process. Because nuclear trafficking is critical to the function of STAT3, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which STAT3 is imported to the nucleus. Live cell imaging techniques were used with STAT3 tagged with green fluorescence protein (GFP) or photoactivatable GFP to follow the cellular dynamics of both unphosphorylated and tyrosine phosphorylated forms. Cytokine activation did not alter the rate of STAT3 nuclear import or nuclear export. In addition, Förster resonance energy transfer experiments revealed homomeric interaction of unphosphorylated STAT3 dependent on its amino terminus, but this dimerization is not necessary for its nuclear import. Previous work demonstrated the adapter importin-α3 binds to STAT3 and is required for nuclear import. To determine whether STAT3 nuclear import is mediated by the importin-α/importin-β1 heterodimer, the effects of siRNA to importin-β1 were evaluated. Results indicate STAT3 nuclear import is dependent on the function of importin-β1. Since the Ran GTPase is necessary to bind importin-β1 in the nucleus for release of importin-α-cargo, the effect of a GTPase deficient mutant of Ran was tested. Expression of the Ran interfering mutant inhibited STAT3 nuclear import. This study defines importin-α/importin-β1/Ran as the molecular mechanism by which STAT3 traffics to the nucleus.