Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uptake of breast cancer screening in older women.

OBJECTIVES to determine breast screening uptake in older women and to ascertain from previous non-attenders whether they would accept screening if invited. DESIGN a random sample of older women randomly selected from three Family Health Service Authorities were interviewed in their homes. PARTICIPANTS 1604 women aged 65 years and over living at home, a response rate of 94%. RESULTS 120 respondents (8%) had previously been screened. Rates were higher among those who were married, separated or divorced than those who were single (P < 0.01). Of those who had not previously been screened, 742 (50%) reported that they would attend if invited. Age influenced potential attendance: 67% of those aged 65-69 would accept compared with 27% of those aged 80 and over (P < 0.0001). Future attenders were significantly more likely to belong to the upper social class and to be currently married, and were significantly less likely to be disabled or depressed, but more likely to be anxious (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS it is unjustifiable to exclude women over 65 from breast screening on the basis of assumed low uptake rates. Certain categories of women--such as those who were physically disabled, depressed, single or from lower social classes--could be targeted to achieve maximum uptake rates.
HOXA5 Inhibits Metastasis via Regulating Cytoskeletal Remodelling and Associates with Prolonged Survival in Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma

Homeobox genes comprise a family of regulatory genes that contain a common homeobox domain and act as transcription factors. Recent studies indicate that homeobox A5 (HOXA5) may serve as a tumour suppressor gene in breast cancers. However, the precise role and the underlying mechanism of HOXA5 in lung cancer remain unclear. Oligonucleotide microarrays and an invasion/metastasis lung adenocarcinoma cell line model were used to determine the correlation between HOXA5 expression and cancer cell invasion ability. We found that ectopic expression of HOXA5 in highly invasive cancer cells suppressed cell migration, invasion, and filopodia formation in vitro and inhibited metastatic potential in vivo. Knockdown of HOXA5 promoted the invasiveness of lung cancer cells. In addition, HOXA5 expression was associated with better clinical outcome in non-small cell lung cancer patients with wild-type EGFR. Furthermore, genome-wide transcriptomic and pathway analyses were performed to identify the potential molecular mechanisms. Our data showed that HOXA5 may bind to the promoters of the cytoskeleton-related genes and downregulate their mRNA and protein expression levels. Our studies provide new insights into how HOXA5 may contribute to the suppression of metastasis in lung cancer via cytoskeleton remodelling regulation. Therefore, targeted induction of HOXA5 may represent a promising approach for non-small-cell lung cancer therapy.
The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective

The text argues that far from being the fruit of an activist judiciary, the ascendency of civil rights and liberties has rested on the democratization of access to the courts - the influence of advocacy groups, the establishment of governmental enforcement agencies, the growth of financial and legal resources for ordinary citizens, and the strategic planning of grass roots organizations. Pointing to the idea that the shift in the rights of individuals is best understood as a "bottom up" rather than a "top down" phenomenon.
Tissue distribution and residues of clenbuterol, salbutamol, and terbutaline in tissues of treated broiler chickens.

To examine the tissue distribution and residues after withdrawal of various beta-agonists (i.e., clenbuterol, salbutamol, and terbutaline) 160 1-d-old broiler chickens were assigned to four groups. During treatment (16 to 35 d), the birds were fed a control diet or a diet containing 1 ppm of clenbuterol, 10 ppm of salbutamol, or 10 ppm of terbutaline. After d 35 all groups received the control diet. Five birds of each group were then slaughtered and tissues were collected on d 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 43 following withdrawal of beta-agonists from the feed. Extraction of beta-agonists from the tissues was carried out by a new method using hetero-bifunctional solid phase extraction. The amount of beta-agonists in the extracts was measured by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The highest concentrations of beta-agonists were found in feathers: 224 ng of clenbuterol/g, 1,140 ng of salbutamol/g, and 1,159 ng of terbutaline/g. Clenbuterol accumulated above plasma levels in all tissues that were investigated (liver, kidney, stomach, muscle, fat, feather, eye). Salbutamol was most concentrated in feather, eye, liver, and kidney; terbutaline accumulated only in feather, liver, and kidney. Overall, clenbuterol showed the highest accumulation in the tissues analyzed. A withdrawal period of greater than 2 wk was required for residues in edible tissues to decline below detectable levels.
Mixed Methods and Wicked Problems

As my 5-year tenure as editor of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research comes to an end, I want to use this editorial space to present some challenges for our community of mixed methods researchers. The challenges emanate from the concept of wicked problems and the promises associated with mixed methods to understand complexity through diverse approaches. I borrow the term wicked problems from urban planners Rittel and Webber (1973), who described wicked problems as those that involve multiple interacting systems, are replete with social and institutional uncertainties, and for which only imperfect knowledge about their nature and solutions exist. Hence, they argue that there are no completely right solutions to this type of problem; only better and worse solutions that are in part determined by how the problem is understood. Levin, Cashore, Bernstein, and Auld (2012) added the concept of super wicked problems distinguished by these additional characteristics: problems for which time is running out, there is no central authority, the persons trying to solve the problem are also causing it, and policies to address them discount the future. Methodologically, Camillus (2008) claims that wicked problems cannot be resolved by traditional processes of analyzing vast amounts of data or more sophisticated statistical analyses. Examples of wicked problems include climate change, terrorism and conflict, social inequities, health care, educational access, and poverty. Identification of wicked problems and approaches to the use of research as a tool to inform decisions for action related to them have progressed since Rittel and Webber (1973) first published on this concept. For example, a special issue of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research focused on mixed methods strategies that were used to study social inequities experienced by marginalized populations to address wicked problems such as access to education for Roma populations in Europe (Flecha, 2014), creating safe places for internally displaced gay and bisexual men and transwomen in Columbia (Zea, Aguilar-Pardo, Betancourt, Reisen, & Gonzales, 2014), and building research capacity in the spinal cord injury community in New Zealand (Sullivan, Derrett, Paul, Beaver, & Stace, 2014). Gomez (2014) claims that mixed methods approaches are particularly germane for approaches to address these wicked problems because they allow researchers from diverse groups to have a common language to guide their inquiry, participants from vulnerable groups to be included in culturally appropriate and supportive ways, and policy makers to be part of the process of problem and solution identification and documentation. Another example of the use of mixed methods to address wicked problems comes from the work of the Educational Resilience Approaches section of the World Bank; they have a project to address wicked problems such as lack of access to education and reduction of gender violence in conflict zones and in contexts of adversity by adopting a resilience-focused transformative
Linking executive functions and procedural metacognition

Traditionally, researchers have discussed executive function and metacognition independently. However, more recently, theoretical frameworks linking these two groups of higher order cognitive processes have been advanced. In this article, we explore the relationship between executive function and procedural metacognition, and summarize theoretical similarities. From a developmental perspective, the assumed theoretical resemblances seem to be supported, considering development trajectories and their substantial impact on areas that include learning and memory. Moreover, empirical evidence suggests direct relationships on the task level, on the level of latent variables, and in terms of involved brain regions. However, research linking the two concepts directly remains rare. We discuss evidence and developmental mechanisms, and propose ways researchers can investigate links between executive function and procedural metacognition.
Counting people with support vector regression

A special and simple method is proposed to improve people counting by adopting low-leveled feature extraction and pattern predicting techniques. Firstly, we use a morphological background modeling and a Gaussian masking method to distinguish moving targets more effectively from video frames. Then, we proposed a Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) feature extraction to catch more meaningful characteristics of appearance and shape of pedestrians. Other features such as edge features and texture features, are integrated as inputs to learn a support vector regression machine and finally to predict the number of pedestrians on a video frame. The experimental results indicate that our proposed method has better performance than other methods, on both database of [4] and ours.
Fixation of Revision Implants Is Improved by a Surgical Technique to Crack the Sclerotic Bone rim

Revision joint replacement has poorer outcomes compared with primary joint replacement, and these poor outcomes have been associated with poorer fixation. We investigated a surgical technique done during the revision operation to improve access from the marrow space to the implant interface by locally cracking the sclerotic bone rim that forms during aseptic loosening. Sixteen implants were inserted bilaterally by distal femur articulation of the knee joint of eight dogs, using our controlled experimental model that replicates the revision setting (sclerotic bone rim, dense fibrous tissue, macrophages, elevated cytokines) by pistoning a loaded 6.0-mm implant 500 μm into the distal femur with particulate PE. At 8 weeks, one of two revision procedures was done. Both revision procedures included complete removal of the membrane, scraping, lavaging, and inserting a revision plasma-spray Ti implant. The crack revision procedure also used a splined tool to circumferentially locally perforate the sclerotic bone rim before insertion of an identical revision implant. Superior fixation was achieved with the cracking procedure in this experimental model. Revision implants inserted with the rim cracking procedure had a significantly higher pushout strength (fivefold median increase) and energy to failure (sixfold median increase), compared with the control revision procedure. Additional evaluation is needed of local perforation of sclerotic bone rim as a simple bone-sparing means to improve revision implant fixation and thereby increase revision implant longevity.
Simultaneous Beat-by-Beat Investigation of the Effects of the Valsalva Maneuver on Left and Right Ventricular Filling and the Possible Mechanism

Although the influence of the Valsalva maneuver on the heart and circulatory system has been investigated, the mechanism of intrathoracic pressure influencing cardiovascular function is unclear. To test our hypothesis that the interaction between the anatomy-determined partially-intrathoracic system and the fully-intrathoracic system might explain those issues and help to disclose the mechanism, we used the Hitachi dual pulse wave Doppler echocardiographic apparatus to investigate simultaneously the beat-by-beat influence of 40-mmHg Valsalva maneuver on left and right cardiac ventricular filling in 30 male adult volunteers. The mitral and tricuspid blood inflow velocity spectra during the Valsalva maneuver were recorded simultaneously. The peak velocity (PV), velocity–time integral (VTI) and inflow volume (IV) of each cycle were measured or calculated. The PV, VTI and IV of the left heart remained unchanged at the first beat after the Valsalva maneuver onset (compared with those at rest, p>0.1) and then decreased gradually to the lowest at the 11±1.2th beat (range, 9th to 12th beat). Simultaneously, the PV, VTI and IV of the right heart decreased significantly (p<0.05) at the first cycle, decreased rapidly to the lowest at the 6±0.8th beat (range, 4th to 7th beat) and then increased gradually to the 9±1.3th beat (range, 8th to 10th beat). These results suggest that the left heart and right heart have different physiological responses to the Valsalva maneuver. These could be explained by our hypothesis, the interaction between the partially-intrathoracic system and the fully-intrathoracic system, which might help to disclose the mechanism of how intrathoracic pressure influences the heart and circulatory system.
Recognition of variable courtship song in the field cricket Gryllus assimilis

SUMMARY We analyzed the courtship song of the field cricket Gryllus assimilis. The song comprises two elements: groups of ca. 10 pulses (chirps) with low fundamental frequency (3.5–3.7 kHz) alternating with high-frequency (15-17 kHz) pulses (ticks) that usually occur as doublets. Some elements of courtship song are quite variable (high coefficient of variation) both within and between males, whereas others are more stereotypical. In experiments with playback of synthesized courtship songs, we studied the importance of several song parameters for mating success, which we evaluated as the probability with which females mounted muted, courting males. Altering some features that show little variability, such as chirp-pulse rate or carrier frequency of ticks, resulted in significant decreases in mounting frequency, consistent with the notion that trait values showing little variability are constrained by stabilizing selection exerted by females. However, alteration of one invariant trait, the occurrence of both song components, by omitting either component from test songs only slightly affected female responsiveness. Alteration of a variable song trait, the number of ticks per song phrase, had no effect on female response rate, thus failing to provide support for the idea that variable traits provide a substrate for sexual selection. An unusual characteristic feature of the song of G. assimilis is that chirp pulses often contain substantial high-frequency power, and indeed may entirely lack power at the fundamental frequency. Playback experiments showed that such songs are, nevertheless, behaviorally effective. To understand the neural basis for this, we recorded the responses of the two principal ascending auditory interneurons of crickets, AN1 and AN2. Our results suggest that the frequency selectivity of the neurons is sufficiently broad to tolerate the spectral variability of courtship chirps.
The Dopamine D2 Receptor Regulates the Development of Dopaminergic Neurons via Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase and Nurr1 Activation

Because the dopaminergic pathways in the midbrain have been closely associated with serious neuropsychiatric disorders, the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuronal development should provide some important clues for related disorders. In mice lacking the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R−/−), stereological cell counting analysis showed that the number of mesencephalic tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) cells was significantly low during ontogeny, compared with that observed in wild-type (WT) mice, thereby indicating an alteration in dopaminergic neuronal development in the absence of D2R. The results of immunohistochemical and reverse transcription-PCR analyses revealed that the expression of Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor, as well as Ptx3 expression, was selectively reduced in D2R−/− mice during the embryonic stage. A reporter gene assay using the Nur response element linked to the luciferase reporter gene indicated that the stimulation of D2R results in the activation of the Nurr1-mediated reporter gene. This D2R-mediated Nur response element-dependent transcriptional activity was regulated via the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Furthermore, quinpirole treatment was shown to elicit an increase in the number of TH-positive neurons, as well as the neuritic extension of TH neurons, coupled with ERK activation and Nurr1 activation in the TH-positive neurons in primary mesencephalic cultures from WT mice. However, this regulation was not detected in the D2R−/− mice. These results suggest that signaling through D2R in association with Nurr1 using ERK, plays a critical role in mesencephalic dopaminergic neuronal development.
The influence of attention on motion processing

This thesis examined the influences of attention on the processing of complex and simple motion stimuli. The work consists of two physiology studies. In the first study we investigated the question of how complex motion stimuli, namely transparent motion stimuli, are processed in area MT and the influence of attention on the processing. In our second study we were interested in attentional effects on visual motion stimuli in the primary visual cortex. We find a strong feature-based component which contributes to the processing of complex motion stimuli. Furthermore we show that effects of spatial attention influences spatial selectivity when processing simple motion stimuli in early visual processing stages.
Reliability of an fMRI paradigm for emotional processing in a multisite longitudinal study: Clarification and implications for statistical power

In this commentary, we clarify the meaning of the generalizability‐theory‐based coefficients reported in our multisite reliability study of fMRI measures of regional brain activation during an emotion processing task (Gee et al., Human Brain Mapping 2015;36:2558–2579). While the original paper reported generalizability and dependability coefficients based on the design of our traveling subjects study (in which each subject was scanned twice at each of eight sites), those coefficients are of limited applicability outside of the reliability study context. Here we report generalizability and dependability coefficients that represent the reliability one can expect for a multisite study, in which a given subject is scanned once on a scanner drawn randomly from the pool of available scanners (i.e., analogous to the more typical multisite study design). We also characterize the implications of a multisite versus single‐site study design for statistical power, including Figure 1 that shows sample size requirements to detect activation in two key nodes of the emotion processing circuitry given observed differences in reliability of measurement between single‐site and multisite designs.
Design and control of a novel thermo-tactile multimodal display

This paper describes the design and control of a water-based multimodal haptic display. The system is able to provide temperature and pressure (pulse) cues through a finger-sized display. Temperature feedback is obtained by mixing hot and cold water stored in two water tanks. The heating and cooling of the water is performed with a Peltier whose two surfaces are used, thus increasing the energetic efficiency of the system. Mixing the hot and cold water allows for very rapid temperature changes essential in applications such as object discrimination. The device can provide cooling rates sufficient to mimic the contact with any object found in our daily lives. Tactile (pulse) feedback is achieved by closing the circuit with a valve while building up the pressure with the pump. Results show that temperature is controlled with a precision of ±1°C in the range of 20°C to 40°C while simultaneously generating sensible pulses. In addition, this display is MRI-compatible as it is remotely actuated using water. These characteristics make the system suitable for psychophysics experiments, which are considered to be one of the goals and the next logic step of this work.
Mast cells and multiple sclerosis: a quantitative analysis

The average number of mast cells observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) plaques from four patients, was 0.35 mast cells per mm2. This number represents 1/100 of the amount found in normal human skin. Most mast cells were observed in the border zones of the MS plaques and were clustered in restricted areas along venules and capillaries, which represent the main area of oedema formation in the brain. This cell type may be considered as a contributor to the pathogenesis of oedema formation and subsequent myelin destruction in MS.
Lymphocyte Development and Function in the Absence of Retinoic Acid-Related Orphan Receptor α1

The orphan nuclear receptor, retinoid acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)α, is essential for the development of cerebellar Purkinje cells and bone tissue. RORα may also play a critical role in lymphocyte development and function because staggerer mice, a natural mutant strain with a disrupted expression of RORα, have reduced thymic and splenic cellularity. In this report, we analyzed the role of RORα in lymphocyte development by examining lymphoid compartments in RORα−/− mice and Rag-2−/− mice reconstituted with RORα−/− bone marrow. We found that T and B cell development was severely defective in RORα−/− mice, but not in Rag-2−/−/RORα−/− chimeric mice. We also analyzed cellular and humoral immune responses in Rag-2−/−/RORα−/− chimeric mice. Our results show that serum IgG levels were elevated in Rag-2−/−/RORα−/− chimeric mice after immunization with a T-dependent Ag compared with control chimeras. IFN-γ production by RORα−/− CD8+ T cells after TCR stimulation was also increased. Furthermore, RORα−/− mast cells and macrophages produced an increased amount of TNF-α and IL-6 upon activation. These results indicate that RORα indirectly regulates lymphocyte development by providing an appropriate microenvironment and controls immune responses by negatively regulating cytokine production in innate immune cells and lymphocytes.
Interaction of the rumen fungus Orpinomyces joyonii with Megasphaera elsdenii and Eubacterium limosum

The degradation and fermentation of microcrystalline cellulose were studied in monoculture of the polycentric anaerobic fungus Orpinomyces joyonii and in co‐cultures with the rumen bacteria Megasphaera elsdenii and Eubacterium limosum. More than 25% of cellulose hydrolysis products (glucose and cellodextrins) were released by the fungus into the medium after 8 d of cultivation. These products were metabolized by bacteria in mixed cultures. In co‐culture with the fungus M. elsdenii and E. limosum. increased the extent of microcrystalline cellulose degradation by 10·12% and 7·96%, respectively. Biomass yield in co‐cultures was increased by 89·9% and 59·4% for M. elsdenii and E. limosum. Ycellulose for fungus alone was 52·29 g dry matter mol‐1 glucose. These values were 64·93 and 55·92 g mol‐1 glucose unit in co‐culture with M. elsdenii and E. limosum, respectively.