Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spontaneous regression of pulmonary leiomyomas during pregnancy

Multiple pulmonary nodular densities simulating metastatic cancer were discovered in a routine chest roentgenogram of a 30‐year‐old pregnant woman. Lung biopsy revealed nodules composed of smooth muscle and collagenous tissue containing entrapped glandular elements. The lesions were initially interpreted as multiple pulmonary fibroleiomyomatous hamartomas (MPFLH). During pregnancy and the post‐partum period, the pulmonary nodules regressed spontaneously. Critical analysis of the published cases as well as our own case indicates that multiple pulmonary fibroleiomyomatous hamartomas (MPFLH) cannot be distinguished from benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) by either clinical, roentgenographic, or pathologic criteria and that all represent pulmonary metastases from a primary uterine neoplasm. The spontaneous regression of the pulmonary nodules in the present case as well as the increased risk for development of progressive pulmonary insufficiency in the pre‐menopausal patients indicates an apparent hormonal dependence. Total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy appears to be the treatment of choice.
Extracellular ATP in activity‐dependent remodeling of the neuromuscular junction

Electrical activity during early development affects the development and maintenance of synapses (Spitzer [ 2006 ]: Nature 4447:707–712), but the intercellular signals regulating maintenance of synapses are not well identified. At the neuromuscular junction, adenosine 5‐triphosphate (ATP) is coreleased with acetylcholine at activated nerve terminals to modulate synaptic function. Here we use cocultured mouse motor neurons and muscle cells in a three‐compartment cell culture chamber to test whether endogenously released ATP plays a role in activity‐dependent maintenance of neuromuscular synapses. The results suggest that ATP release at the synapse counters the negative effect of electrical activity, thus stabilizing activated synapses. Confirming our previous work (Li et al. [ 2001 ]: Nat Neurosci 4:871–872), we found that in doubly innervated muscles, electrical stimulation induced heterosynaptic downregulation of the nonstimulated convergent input to the muscle fiber with no or little change of the stimulated inputs. However, in preparations that were stimulated in the presence of apyrase, an enzyme that degrades extracellular ATP, synapse downregulation of stimulated inputs was substantial and significant, and end plate potentials were reduced. Apyrase treatment for 20 h in the absence of stimulation did result in moderate diminution, but this was prevented by blocking spontaneous neural activity with tetrodotoxin. The P2 receptor blocker, suramin, also induced activity‐dependent synapse diminution. The decrease in synaptic efficacy produced by prolonged stimulation in the presence of apyrase persisted for greater than 20 h, consistent with a developmental time‐course and distinct from the rapid neuromodulatory actions of ATP that have been demonstrated by others. We conclude that extracellular ATP promotes stabilization of the neuromuscular junction and may play a role in activity‐dependent synaptic modification during development. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007.
The effect of olanzapine pretreatment on acute cocaine toxicity in mice

Background. Acute cocaine poisoning causes neuroexcitation and can be fatal. The toxic effects of cocaine can be attenuated by antagonists of serotonin, muscarinic cholinergic, and dopamine receptors. Olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic medication, is an antagonist of these receptors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of olanzapine pretreatment for attenuation of acute cocaine toxicity using a mouse model. Methods. Eighty male CF-1 mice were randomly assigned to olanzapine (1 mg/kg) or placebo pretreatment. Fifteen minutes later, all animals received 103 mg/kg intraperitoneal cocaine. Results. Overall mortality was 11% for olanzapine-treated animals and 45% for placebo. Olanzapine also appeared to alter the characteristics of seizures due to cocaine. Conclusions. In this model of acute cocaine toxicity, olanzapine pretreatment attenuated acute cocaine toxicity. Olanzapine should be evaluated further as a potential treatment for acute cocaine poisoning.
Simulation analysis of receptive-field size of retinal horizontal cells by ionic current model

The size of the receptive field of retinal horizontal cells changes with the state of dark/light adaptation. We have used a mathematical model to determine how changes in the membrane conductance affect the receptive-field properties of horizontal cells. We first modeled the nonlinear membrane properties of horizontal cells based on ionic current mechanisms. The dissociated horizontal cell model reproduced the voltage–current (V–I) relationships for various extracellular glutamate concentrations measured in electrophysiological studies. Second, a network horizontal cell model was also described, and it reproduced the V–I relationship observed in vivo. The network model showed a bell-shaped relationship between the receptive-field size and constant glutamate concentration. The simulated results suggest that the calcium current is a candidate for the bell-shaped length constant relationship.
Constructing a research database of social and environmental reporting by UK companies

Responds to the widely‐reported methodological problems which have arisen in research into corporate social and environmental reporting. Reports on an attempt to build a database of UK company social and environmental disclosure. The motivation behind the database is an attempt to provide, first, a data set which both refines and develops earlier attempts to capture and interpret such disclosures; second, a data set covering several years to permit longitudinal analysis; and third, a public database for accounting researchers who wish to pursue, in a systematic and comparable way, more focused hypotheses about social and environmental reporting behaviour. Explains the motivation for, the background to, and process of establishing such a database and attempts to expose the difficulties met and the assumptions made in establishing the structure of the data capture. The resultant database has already proved useful to other UK researchers. Aims to help researchers in other countries to develop their own metho.
Developing Deaf Children's Conceptual Understanding and Scientific Argumentation Skills: A Literature Review

Abstract There is limited research available in the area of science education for deaf children. In the twenty-first century, the importance of science and specifically scientific argumentation cannot be overlooked as a vital aspect of the curriculum. Current science teaching presents a range of difficulties for deaf students particularly when abstract concepts are delivered using a didactic approach with a reliance on text books. Research also identifies that inferencing skills and the language needed to articulate findings are often underdeveloped in deaf students. This review discusses the need for teaching and testing methods to be adapted to suit the learning needs of deaf students to provide them with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their knowledge in a manner which is not solely dependent on their literacy skills. In the concluding paragraphs it is suggested that by using analogy-based role play in science teaching, teachers are able to create a learning environment which allows participation with the abstract and enables students to explore scientific concepts which ordinarily could not be seen. It is further suggested that this teaching approach could equip deaf students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop scientific argumentation by allowing them to visualize and make links between concepts and ultimately raise their engagement and attainment in science.
Expert Coaches' Perceptions of Team Building

To date, most team building programs in sport have assessed athletes perceptions of improved team functioning. However, the coach plays an invaluable role in the development of the team. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of expert coaches on the topic of team building and to create an understanding of team building strategies specific to elite sport. Focus group methodology was implemented with a group of Canadian intercollegiate coaches. Twenty-nine coaches participated in one of five focus group sessions. Six themes emerged from the analysis: (a) fundamental elements of team building, (b) team environment, (c) coachs role and characteristics, (d) team building activities, (e) lessons learned, and (f) relationship between team building/cohesion/performance. Results improved the understanding of group cohesion and team building, and specifically addressed the role of the coach in developing a cohesive team.
Making virtual teams more effective: improving relational links

Purpose – To report on a study testing training methods to improve communications among virtual team members.Design/methodology/approach – Training methods for improving virtual team communications were developed and administered to 12 virtual teams. Surveys tracking cohesiveness, perceptions of the process and satisfaction with the outcomes were administered before, during and after teams working on a series of projects. These results were compared with similar teams working on the same projects who did not receive training.Findings – Results indicated that teams receiving training showed more cohesiveness, perceptions of the process and satisfaction. These factors have been shown to increase team members' ability to exchange information and to positively affect the group's performance.Practical implications – Relational link training seems beneficial for virtual teams as the teams in this study that had relational link training showed higher levels of group cohesiveness, satisfaction with their group's .
The influence of aging on the creep behavior of underfill encapsulants

Microelectronic encapsulants exhibit evolving properties that change significantly with environmental exposures such as isothermal aging and thermal cycling. Such aging effects are exacerbated at higher temperatures typical of thermal cycling qualification tests for harsh environment electronic packaging. In this work, the material behavior changes occurring in flip chip underfill encapsulants (silica filled epoxies) have been characterized for isothermal aging at four different temperatures that are below, near, and above the Tg of the material. A microscale tension-torsion testing machine has been used to evaluate the creep behavior of the underfill material at several temperatures, after various durations of environmental exposure. A novel method has been developed to fabricate underfill uniaxial test specimens so that they accurately reflect the encapsulant layer present in flip chip assemblies. Using the developed specimen preparation procedure, samples were prepared and isothermally aged for up to 10 months at 80, 100, 125, and 150 °C. Creep tests were then performed on both non-aged and aged samples at three different elevated temperatures where creep is significant (80, 100, and 125 °C). The changes in mechanical behavior were recorded for the various aging temperatures and durations of isothermal exposure. Empirical models have been developed to predict the evolution of the creep strain rate as a function of temperature, aging time, and aging temperature.
EARLY FLOWERING3 Regulates Flowering in Spring Barley by Mediating Gibberellin Production and FLOWERING LOCUS T Expression[C][W]

This work shows that the early flowering and growth phenotypes of mutants of barley EARLY FLOWERING3 are promoted by increased production of gibberellin (GA). The authors find that GA is required for flowering and inflorescence development in spring barley grown under long-day conditions and that the GA-dependent control of flowering in barley is independent of FLOWERING LOCUS T1 activity. EARLY FLOWERING3 (ELF3) is a circadian clock gene that contributes to photoperiod-dependent flowering in plants, with loss-of-function mutants in barley (Hordeum vulgare), legumes, and Arabidopsis thaliana flowering early under noninductive short-day (SD) photoperiods. The barley elf3 mutant displays increased expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (FT1); however, it remains unclear whether this is the only factor responsible for the early flowering phenotype. We show that the early flowering and vegetative growth phenotypes of the barley elf3 mutant are strongly dependent on gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis. Expression of the central GA biosynthesis gene, GA20oxidase2, and production of the bioactive GA, GA1, were significantly increased in elf3 leaves under SDs, relative to the wild type. Inhibition of GA biosynthesis suppressed the early flowering of elf3 under SDs independently of FT1 and was associated with altered expression of floral identity genes at the developing apex. GA is also required for normal flowering of spring barley under inductive photoperiods, with chemical and genetic attenuation of the GA biosynthesis and signaling pathways suppressing inflorescence development under long-day conditions. These findings illustrate that GA is an important floral promoting signal in barley and that ELF3 suppresses flowering under noninductive photoperiods by blocking GA production and FT1 expression.
Learning and Transfer Under Two Methods of Word-Attack Instruction

The available evidence on word-attack instruction indicates that greater positive transfer (i.e., ability to read new words composed of familiar grapheme-phoneme correspondences) results from singleletter training than from whole-word training (Bishop, 1964; Jeffrey and Samuels, 1967). Nonetheless, sounding out and reading new words on a letter-by-letter basis (the single-letter method) is a very difficult task for the beginning reader. The child must first say or think each letter sound and then say the word, either by blending the sounds together or by figuring out and saying the word "made" by the sounds. Silberman (1964) and Jeffrey and Samuels (1967) report that the task of figuring out the word is particularly difficult for young children, even when they can say each individual sound in the word. It is hardly surprising that the task of figuring out the word made by a sequence of letter sounds is difficult for the beginning reader using the single-letter word-attack process. The difficulty of this task would appear to be at least partially a function of (1) the number of letters or sounds in the word, since the child presumably must remember each sound that he says or thinks in sounding out the word, and (2) the amount of distortion of the sounds pronounced individually, as contrasted with their pronunciation in the word itself. Even to figure out relatively simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, the child must recall a sequence of three sounds and normally must overcome considerable distortion of one or two of the sounds.
Counteracting depression and delinquency in late adolescence: The role of regulatory emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy beliefs

A prospective study was conducted to examine a conceptual model in which affective and interpersonal social self-efficacy beliefs affect depression and delinquency concurrently and at 4 years of distance, controlling for earlier adolescents’ exposure to family violence and adolescents’ self-regulation problems. Three hundred and ninety adolescents aged 11–13 years at Time 1 participated in the study. Data were collected 1, 3, and 7 years later. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure emotional and interpersonal self-efficacy, depression, and delinquency. Findings of structural equation modeling corroborated the posited paths of relations, showing that in middle adolescence self-efficacy beliefs related to individuals’ perceived capacity to handle negative emotions and to express positive emotions influence depression and delinquency concurrently and longitudinally through interpersonal social self-efficacy, namely individuals’ beliefs in their capability to handle relations with parents, to rebu.
Competition in the Parasitization of Callosobruchus maculatus between Dinarmus basalis and Choetospila elegans on Vigna unguiculata (Walp.) Seeds

Laboratory study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of hymenopteran parasitoids, (Dinarmus basalis and Choetospila elegans) parasitization of Callosobruchus maculatus on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds in the Department of Crop Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria. Treatments were the inoculation of D. basalis (sole), C. elegans (sole), a mixture of D. basalis and C. elegans into infested cowpea seeds and the control which received no parasitoids. The introduction of parasitoids was repeated at 3 d interval, and all treatments were replicated 3 times. Result indicated that early introduction of the parasitoids caused significantly (P ? 0.05) higher mortality of C.maculatus than late introduction. Mix culture of both parasitoids was significantly more efficacious than sole culture. The emergence of each parasitoid and the mortality of C. maculatus in sole culture showed a highly significant (P ? 0.01) positive relationship (r = 0.487) between C. maculatus and D. basalis but non-significant (P ? 0.05) though positive association (r = 0.289) with C. elegans. A multiple regression analysis between C. maculatus mortality and the emergence of the two parasitoids in mix culture also indicated a highly positive significant (P ? 0.01) relationship (R = 0.751, R2 = 0.564). Pearson Correlation analysis also showed a significant (P ? 0.05) positive association (r = 0.464, and 0.401) between C. maculatus mortality and emergence of C. elegans and D. basalis in mix culture, respectively. However, a non significant (P ? 0.05) negative relationship (r = -0.336) was observed between the two parasitoids in their emergence in mix culture, but D. basalis contributed more to the mortality of C. maculatus than C. elegans. Data from this study showed that D. basalis and C. elegans have potentials to be deployed as biological control entities in the management of C. maculatus as a part of the integrated pest management strategies of storage pests in the tropics.
Energetic Consequences of Walking Like an Inverted Pendulum: Step-to-Step Transitions

Walking like an inverted pendulum reduces muscle-force and work demands during single support, but it also unavoidably requires mechanical work to redirect the body’s center of mass in the transition between steps, when one pendular motion is substituted by the next. Production of this work exacts a proportional metabolic cost that is a major determinant of the overall cost of walking.
Working memory in event‐ and time‐based prospective memory tasks: Effects of secondary demand and age

An experiment is reported examining the role of working memory in two laboratory‐based prospective memory (PM) tasks. Participants viewed a film for a later recognition memory task while simultaneously monitoring auditorially presented arithmetic problems for incorrect solutions. The arithmetic verification task was either low demand or high demand. In addition, participants were required either to indicate whenever an animal appeared in the film (event‐based PM task), or whenever 3 min had elapsed (time‐based PM task). PM performance was higher when the arithmetic task was low demand than when it was high demand. Young participants were more successful in both PM tasks than older participants, but only under high demand. Age did not interact with PM task type overall, and the young participants were faster overall in both types of PM task. Taken together, the results indicate that working memory plays an important role in PM tasks.
Expatriate‐local interactions: an investigation in China

Purpose: This study aims to build on recent research, by investigating and examining how likely it is that Chinese locals (i.e. host country nationals (HCNs)) would offer support to expatriates from India and the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered from 222 participants in Chinese organizations, asking them to respond to questions about their willingness to offer support to expatriates. Findings: As predicted, perceived values similarity was significantly related to higher dogmatism, which had a significant positive relationship with ethnocentrism. Further, ethnocentrism had a significant negative relationship with willingness to offer support. Research limitations/implications: All data were collected from the participants at one point in time, so the study's results are subject to common method bias. Also, it only included India and the USA, as the two countries of origin of the expatriates. Practical implications: Given HCNs do not automatically offer support to all expatriates, organizations might consider sending expatriates who are culturally similar to HCNs, as they are more likely to receive support, which will help their adjustment and thus organizational effectiveness. Originality/value: This study adds to the small, but growing, number of empirical investigations of HCN willingness to support expatriates. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
A four-year validation study of an assessment center in a financial corporation

Ratings on 18 assessment dimensions formulated independently by assessors (psychologists and high-level managers), consensus ratings on the same dimensions, and overall assessment ratings were collected for 329 assessees. Two hundred and seventy-four of the assessees were promoted based on their scores obtained in the assessment process. For 240 of these we succeeded in obtaining ratings on two criterion measures over a period of four years. These criterion data were provided by their superiors who were unaware of the scores obtained in the assessment process. Multiple regression analyses were run on the data from all the assessment ratings and criterion measures. The results demonstrated a long-term validity for the assessment center. However, we were not able to discern a consistent pattern of statistically significant differences between the predictive validities of high-level managers and psychologists as assessors. Possibly, the type of criterion measure moderates the predictive validity of managers' and psychologists' ratings. Further, theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Radiculopathy of C-5 after anterior decompression for cervical myelopathy.

OBJECT The authors conducted a study to examine the incidence and causes of postoperative C-5 radiculopathy, and they suggest preventive methods for C-5 palsy after anterior corpectomy and fusion. METHODS The authors included in the study 18 patients with postoperative C-5 radiculopathy from 563 patients who underwent anterior decompression and fusion for cervical myelopathy. There were 10 cases of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) and eight cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). All patients received conservative treatment. Posttreatment full recovery was present in eight patients, and Grade 3/5 strength was documented in six in whom some weakness remained. Radiographic evaluation revealed that the C3-4 and C4-5 cord compression was significantly more severe in patients with paralysis than in those without paralysis. The incidence of paralysis was higher in patients with OPLL than in those with CSM (chi-square test, p = 0.03). The incidence of paralysis increased in parallel with the number of fusion levels (correlation coefficient r = 0.94). Multivariate analysis revealed that the final manual muscle testing (MMT) value was closely related to the preoperative MMT value (computed t value 4.17; p < 0.01) and preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score for cervical myelopathty (computed t value, 2.75; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Preexisting severe stenosis at C3-4 or C4-5 in patients with OPLL is a risk factor for paralysis. Preoperative muscle weakness and a low JOA score are factors predictive of poor recovery.