Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Children with Dehydrating Diarrhoea

The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for diagnosis of pneumonia are based on the history of cough or difficult breathing and age-adjusted respiration rates. Metabolic acidosis associated with dehydrating diarrhoea also influences the respiration rate. Two hundred and four children, aged 2 to 59 months, with dehydrating diarrhoea and a history of cough and/or fast breathing, were enrolled in a prospective study. Pneumonia diagnoses were made on enrollment and again 6 hours post-enrollment (after initial rehydration), using the WHO guidelines. These were compared with investigators’ clinical diagnosis based on history and findings of physical examination and a chest x-ray at the same time points. Using the WHO guidelines, 149/152 (98%) infants in the 2-11 months age-group and 38/40 (95%) children in the 12-59 months age-group were diagnosed to have pneumonia on enrollment, which dropped to 107 (70%) and 30 (75%) respectively at 6 hours post-enrollment. The specificity of the WHO guidelines for diagnosis of pneumonia was very low (6.9%) at enrollment but increased to 65.5% at 6 hours post-enrollment, after initial rehydration. The specificity of the WHO guidelines for diagnosis of pneumonia in young children is significantly reduced in dehydrating diarrhoea. For young children with dehydrating diarrhoea, rehydration, clinical and radiological assessments are useful in identifying those with true pneumonia.
From differential equations to Boolean networks: A Case Study in modeling regulatory networks

Methods of modeling cellular regulatory networks as diverse as differential equations and Boolean networks co-exist, however, without any closer correspondence to each other. With the example system of the fission yeast cell cycle control network, we here set the two approaches in relation to each other. We find that the Boolean network can be formulated as a specific coarse-grained limit of the more detailed differential network model for this system. This lays the mathematical foundation on which Boolean networks can be applied to biological regulatory networks in a controlled way.
Nuclear and mitochondrial genes contain similar phylogenetic signal for pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbiformes).

Molecular systematic studies generally assume that gene trees are reasonable estimates of species trees. We tested the validity of this assumption in the pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbiformes) by comparing phylogenies derived from nuclear (beta-fibrinogen intron 7) and mitochondrial (cytochrome b) genes. Trees derived from the two genes when analyzed separately contained many nodes in common. A partition homogeneity test revealed no significant incongruence between trees derived from the two genes; so, we combined nuclear and mitochondrial data in subsequent phylogenetic analyses. The resulting tree, which was highly resolved and generally well supported, contained a strong biogeographic component. The rate of nucleotide substitution for the nuclear intron was approximately six times slower than that of cytochrome b. This resulted in a much higher consistency index for trees derived from the intron because of the low level of multiple substitution. However, the degree of resolution and support for trees reconstructed from the two genes was similar. We also examined the transition and transversion substitution rates for the genes. Third position transversions for cytochrome b accumulated linearly with intron divergence, suggesting low levels of multiple substitution for third position transversions.
Hepatitis B virus–cell interactions and pathogenesis

Like all viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and pathogenesis depends on the critical interplay between viral and host factors. In this review, we will focus on the recent progress in understanding the virus–host interactions at the level of the infected cell. These interactions include the requirement of cellular chaperones for the initiation of HBV reverse transcription, the role of the HBV X protein (HBx) in modifying viral and cellular transcription and signaling, the formation of the HBV episomal DNA and its epigenetic regulation in viral persistence, and the cellular factors involved in viral entry, nucleocapsid maturation, and virion secretion. J. Cell. Physiol. 216: 289–294, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1): regulation of the neuropeptide VGF and role in neurodevelopment and synapses

A balanced chromosomal translocation of the Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene in a large Scottish pedigree is linked to major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, cutting through classic diagnostic categories. Even though many DISC1-interacting molecules are known, suggesting its role as a scaffold protein, consequences of DISC1 knockdown on the cellular proteome of primary neurons, which might indicate the most relevant pathways regulated by DISC1, are lacking. Using an unbiased proteomic approach, we show that expression of 31 proteins related to neurodevelopment (e.g. CRMP-2, stathmin) and synaptic function (e.g. MUNC-18, NCS-1) is regulated by DISC1 in primary mouse neurons. Hence, this study reinforces the idea that DISC1 is a unifying regulator of both neurodevelopment and adult synaptic function, thereby providing a link between these two key anatomical and cellular circuitries. To date schizophrenia is known to be a neurodevelopmental disease in which the most critical lesions occur during early development. The present study emphasizes the importance of synaptic changes, a notion that is also supported by other recent reports. These data also lend support to a multifactorial origin of these illnesses in which several processes, both during neurodevelopment but also during adulthood, are deregulated.
University of Birmingham Goal Orientations and Beliefs About the Causes of Sport Success Among Elite Skiers

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between goal orientations and beliefs about the causes of success among elite athletes and to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) in high-level competitive sport. Male and female intercollegiate skiers (N=143) completed the TEOSQ specific to skiing and a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the determinants of success in skiing. Factor analysis of the TEOSQ revealed two independent subscales that demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Task orientation was positively linked with the beliefs that skiing success is a result of hard work, superior ability, and selecting activities that one can perform successfully, and ego orientation to the beliefs that taking an illegal advantage, possessing high ability, selecting tasks that one can accomplish, and external variables are reasons for skiing success. Factor analysis of the two goal orientation and four belief scale scores revealed two divergent goalbelief dimensions in competitive skiing.
The Use of Pearson's with Ordinal Data

Through the use of computer simulations, Labovitz's (1970) examination of the effects of "randomly stretching" measurement scales on the correlation between these stretched scales and an equal distance scoring system are reformulated and extended. Specifically, we examine the effects of the number of rank categories (C) for rank-order variables on the product moment correlation (r) between stretched scales and an equal distance scoring system. The stretched scales are drawn from three types of distributions: (1) the uniform distribution (i.e., the one used by Labovitz), (2) the normal distribution, and (3) a skewed distribution (log-normal distribution). We find that the average correlation (r) between the equal distance scoring system and the stretched scale is quite high for both the uniform and normal distributions, and that I increases with C only when C is greater than four or five. Thus, contrary to suggestions in the literature, I is not a monotonic function of C. More importantly, for the skewed distribution, is a monotonically decreasing function of C and is substantially smaller than r's based on uniform and normal distributions. The implications of these findings for the use of Pearson's r with rank-order values are discussed.
Development and extraction optimization of baicalein and pinostrobin from Scutellaria violacea through response surface methodology

Objective: To develop a process that involves optimization of the amount of baicalein and pinostrobin from the hydro-methanolic extract of the leaves of Scutellaria violacea by response surface methodology (RSM). Materials and Methods: The combinatorial influence of various extraction parameters on the extraction yield was investigated by adopting Box–Behnken experimental design. Preliminary experiments carried out based on the traditional one variable at a time optimization revealed four such operational parameters to play a crucial role by influencing the yield. These four process parameters at three levels were considered to obtain the Box–Behnken experimental design. Results: RSM based model fitted to the resulting experimental data suggested that 52.3% methanol/water, 12.46:1 solvent-solid ratio, 285 rpm agitation and 6.07 h of extraction time are the optimal conditions which yielded a maximized amount of baicalein and pinostrobin of 2.9 and 4.05 mg/g DM. Analysis of variance revealed a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.999 for baicalein and 0.994 for pinostrobin), signifying a good fit between the regression model (second order) and the experimental observations. Conclusion: The present study signifies that both the metabolites have been extracted from S. violacea for the first time. Further, this study developed an optimized extraction procedure to obtain maximum yield of the metabolites, which is unique and better than conventional extraction methodology. The operational parameters under optimized conditions accounts for the lowest cost in extraction process thus, providing an efficient, rapid and cost-effective method for isolation and scale up of these commercially vital flavonoids.
A prospective cohort study of neurocognitive function in aviremic HIV-infected patients treated with 1 or 3 antiretrovirals.

BACKGROUND The evolution of neurocognitive performance in aviremic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients treated with <3 antiretrovirals is unknown. METHODS We prospectively included aviremic (≥1 year) HIV-positive patients, without concomitant major neurocognitive confounders, currently receiving boosted lopinavir or darunavir as monotherapy (n = 67) or triple antiretroviral therapy (ART) (n = 67) for ≥1 year. We evaluated neurocognitive function (7 domains) at baseline and after 1 year. We performed analysis of covariance to evaluate if 1 additional year of exposure to monotherapy compared with triple ART had an effect on Global Deficit Score (GDS) changes after adjustment for potential confounders. We also compared the evolution of neurocognitive performance and impairment rates. RESULTS Intention-to-treat analysis showed that monotherapy did not influence 1-year GDS change after adjustment for significant confounders (age, ethnicity, duration of therapy, hepatitis C virus status, and HOMA-IR index); the adjusted effect was -0.04 (95% confidence interval, -.14 to .05; P = .38). Neurocognitive stability was observed with monotherapy and triple therapy (GDS crude mean change, -0.09 [95% confidence interval, -.16 to -.01] vs -0.08 [-.14 to -.02]), after 1 year of follow-up, similar proportions of patients changed neurocognitive status from impaired to unimpaired (monotherapy, 4 of 18 [22.2%]; triple therapy, 4 of 19 [21.1%]; P = .91) and vice versa (monotherapy, 5 of 44 [10.2%] and triple therapy, 3 of 45 [6.3%]; P = .48). Similar results were observed in an on-treatment analysis and with use of clinical ratings instead of GDS changes. CONCLUSIONS The number of antiretrovirals included in the ART regimen does not seem to influence the evolution of neurocognitive function in HIV-infected patients with suppressed plasma viremia.
Evaluation of the Relationship between Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) and Body Mass Index (BMI): A Review Article

Background: Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a valvular heart disease in which the two valve flaps of the mitral valve do not close equally, and part of the mitral valve slips backward loosely into the left atrium during systole. In general, MVP is associated with low body mass index (BMI), as confirmed by several studies. However, the reason for the higher prevalence of MVP in patients with low BMI remains unknown. Objectives: There is no reliable evidence on the role of genetics or pathophysiological factors in this correlation, and the hypothesis that the size of BMI may lead to MVP or vice versa has not yet been established. Materials and Methods: In this study, all the articles were evaluated in terms of the inclusion criteria. In total, we found 546 articles via PubMed and Google scholar, out of which 30 articles were mainly focusing on MVP, MVR as the major complication of MVP, and BMI, which were included in this systematic review. Results: Among these reviewed studies, patients with MVP had a lower BMI score compared to the subjects without MVP. The low and high BMI score were 28±5 kg/m and 31±6 kg/m, respectively. Conclusions: In the present study, we concluded that low BMI is directly associated with the occurrence of MVP.
Progesterone enhances prostaglandin E2 production via interaction with nitric oxide in the mouse acrosome reaction.

In the present study we evidenced that progesterone could directly stimulate sperm nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in capacitated mouse spermatozoa. This stimulation led to an increase in sperm prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and subsequent acrosomal exocytosis. However, cGMP levels were not modified during the progesterone-induced acrosome reaction under our experimental conditions. These results suggest a functional role for nitric oxide as an intracellular messenger through, at least, stimulation of PGE2 production during the acrosome reaction triggered by progesterone.
Taiwanese EFL Learners' Perception of English Word Stress *

This paper investigates how Taiwanese EFL learners perceive non-word pairs which differ only in the location of stress (e.g., fercept vs. fercept ) when the phonetic cue of pitch is manipulated. Fifty-eight Taiwanese EFL learners participated in two forced choice perceptual experiments, in which they were asked to identify a perceived non-word when its stressed syllable was signified e ither (i) by higher pitch or (ii) by a low rising tonal contour. The results show that, wh ile these L2 learners had little difficulty in perceiving stress when the stress was signified by higher pitch, they all had great difficulty in doing so when the stress was si gnified by the low rising tonal contour. In addition, analyses of their errors show that les s experienced learners relied mainly on higher pitch or rising pitch contour in guessing the position of stress, which may indicate a persistent effect of their L1 tonal syst em or L2 learners’ universal tendency of perceiving stress, while more experienced learne rs referred to the information of morpho-syntactic categories as a strategy in guessi ng the position of stress, suggesting their phonological awareness of the difference betw een lexical tone and lexical stress at their developmental stage.
Market Power, Credit Risk, Revenue Diversification and Bank Stability in Selected ASEAN Countries

This paper investigates the effects of market power on credit risk, revenue diversification and bank stability in selected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) using a sample of 153 commercial banks during 1998–2010. The authors find that bank market power is positively associated with credit risk and revenue diversification. Nevertheless, these associations diminished during the global financial crisis (GFC), implying that banks with greater market power have been better able to manage their non-performing loans during the crisis period. Bank stability, however, is not associated with market power. Instead, it is found to be a negative function of state ownership, asset composition and banking freedom. Overall, even though ASEAN banks with greater market power have higher credit risk, they are more diversified, thus leaving their overall bank risk unaffected.
Environmental Effects on Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Allergic Children

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a non-invasive marker of airway inflammation in asthma and respiratory allergy. Environmental factors, especially indoor and outdoor air quality, may play an important role in triggering acute exacerbations of respiratory symptoms. The authors have reviewed the literature reporting effects of outdoor and indoor pollutants on FeNO in children. Although the findings are not consistent, urban and industrial pollution—mainly particles (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—as well as formaldehyde and electric baseboard heating have been shown to increase FeNO, whilst ozone (O3) tends to decrease it. Among children exposed to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) with a genetic polymorphisms in nitric oxide synthase genes (NOS), a higher nicotine exposure was associated with lower FeNO levels. Finally, although more studies are needed in order to better investigate the effect of gene and environment interactions which may affect the interpretation of FeNO values in the management of children with asthma, clinicians are recommended to consider environmental exposures when taking medical histories for asthma and respiratory allergy. Further research is also needed to assess the effects of remedial interventions aimed at reducing/abating environmental exposures in asthmatic/allergic patients.
Trust and Power Two Works by Niklas Luhmann . By Niklas Luhmann. (New York: John Wiley, 1980. Pp. xix + 208. $28.95.)

(p. 19). "The individual," she tells us, "made his appearance in French philosophy in the Essays of Montaigne. " The most striking thing about this individual was that he was developed out of disillusion and retreat from public affairs. The religious dissensions of sixteenth-century France encouraged many men of sensibility to retire from the brutalities and bouleversements of public life, often into philosophy. As with most developments in European thought, this exploration of individuality was strongly colored by the revival of classical doctrines, in this case Stoicism and, particularly, Epicureanism. Individualism resembled these classical doctrines in being an intellectual response to a world in which the individual seemed to have lost the capacity to influence events. Absolutism, apart from its historical roots in the ideology of the French monarchy, appears as a way to restoring peace to a nation ravaged for more than a century by strident sects and turbulent nobles. The internal emigration of many of Keohane's individualists is thus a response both to the disease and to the cure. There is, significantly, little like it in English thought, though it casts an illuminating light upon Hobbes to regard him as in some respects part of the province of French intellectuality. (His affinity, however, does not save him from being misunderstood as a believer in arbitrary despotism, as on occasion by Rousseau: Hobbes degenerates into Hobbism as Machiavelli into Machiavellianism.)
Resilience in environmental educators

Contemporary environmental issues (such as global warming) can present psychological stress, the effects of which are under-examined. The ability to "bounce back" from stress associated with increasing environmental adversity can be understood as resilience, and can be found in some environmental educators. The following paper examines how veteran environmental educators respond to psychological stress to increasing environmental adversity and describes the experience of resilience. Through in-depth interviews, this hermeneutical study sheds light on the environmental factors and internal competencies that contribute to resilience in seven environmental educators. Additionally, the interaction (known as the person/environment transactional process) between these factors and competencies is explored, providing insight into how the participants construct resilience. Kumpfer's (1999) Resilience Framework provided the organizational framework for the results of this study. Findings suggest ways in which resilience in environmental educators can be supported and offers directions for future research.
Does Interferon and Ribavirin Combination Therapy Increase the Rate of Treatment Response in Children With Hepatitis C?

Background Interferon-&agr; was the first accepted treatment of chronic hepatitis C. In recent years, adding ribavirin has produced better response rates in adult patients than monotherapy with interferon-&agr;. Whether adding ribavirin also improves treatment results in pediatric patients remains unclear. Methods Twelve patients were given 3 million U/m2 subcutaneous interferon-&agr; three times weekly and 15 mg/kg oral ribavirin daily, and 10 patients were given only 3 million U/m2 subcutaneous interferon-&agr; three times weekly for a total of 12 months. Results The dropout rate was 22.8% (25% for patients receiving combination treatment versus 20% for those receiving monotherapy). At the end of treatment, viral clearance was achieved in 50% of the patients who received combination treatment versus 30% of those who received monotherapy. After 12 months of posttreatment follow-up, sustained response rates were 30% and 41.7%, respectively. Of those who responded to treatment, 66.7% had received ribavirin whereas 37.5% of nonresponders had received ribavirin therapy. Conclusion Adding ribavirin to interferon treatment improved end-of-treatment response rates in children with chronic hepatitis C. Tolerance of treatment was similar to tolerance of monotherapy. However, studies of greater numbers of pediatric patients with longer follow-up periods are necessary to determine prolonged sustained response.
Impact of image fusion and attenuation correction by SPECT-CT on the scintigraphic detection of parathyroid adenomas

Summary Aim: In addition to planar parathyroid scintigraphy, SPECT and image fusion with CT/MR improve adenoma detection in primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). This study evaluated the use of a hybrid SPECT-CT device concerning image fusion and attenuation correction (AC). Patients, methods: The data of 26 patients with pHPT, preoperatively examined by 99mTc-sestamibi dual-phase scintigraphy plus SPECT-CT (low-dose CT), was retrospectively evaluated by two observers in a consensus reading. The images of planar scintigraphy, non-attenuation corrected SPECT (SPECTNAC), attenuation corrected SPECT (SPECTAC) and SPECTAC-CT were interpreted and compared to the results of surgery. The effect of AC on focus intensity was semiquantified by determination of the tumor-to-background (TB) ratio for SPECTAC and SPECTNAC. Finally, the TBAC/TBNAC-ratio was calculated for each focus and correlated to the distance of a focus from the body surface. Results: 20/26 (77%) patients were positive in planar scintigraphy. One focus was detected by SPECT only. AC of SPECT-data increased image contrast but had no impact on the detection rate. Additional SPECTAC-CT image fusion facilitated the localization of three mediastinal foci. In the semiquantitative analysis an increase in TB after AC was observed, although there was no strong correlation between depth of the focus (16-60 mm) and the TBAC/TBNAC-ratio (r = 0.213, p = 0.353). Conclusion: The detection rate of planar scintigraphy is only slightly improved by SPECT imaging. Due to the low spatial resolution of the CT component, the benefit of image fusion is limited to mediastinal foci. However, as TB and image contrast is measurably improved after AC there is a potential to improve the sensitivity of parathyroid SPECT.