Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acceptable noise level and psychophysical masking.

PURPOSE Individuals with low acceptable noise levels (ANLs) accept more noise than individuals with high ANLs. To determine whether ANL is influenced more by afferent or efferent cortical responsiveness, the authors measured differences in temporal masking responses between individuals with low versus high ANLs. If listeners with low ANLs have masked thresholds similar to those of listeners with high ANLs, low ANLs may be due to reduced afferent responsiveness affecting both the masker and signal. If, however, listeners with low ANLs have masked thresholds better than that of listeners with high ANLs, there may be a physiological basis for improved selective attention via stronger efferent inhibition of the "unwanted" sound. METHOD Participants were 19 listeners with normal hearing between the ages of 19 and 35. Ten listeners had low ANLs and 9 had high ANLs. All participants were compared using tone-in-noise simultaneous, forward, and backward masking tasks. RESULTS Results revealed no observed differences in masked thresholds between the low versus high ANL group. The low ANL group, however, required significantly more threshold runs to achieve criterion necessary for threshold determinations. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that low ANLs are associated with reduced afferent cortical responsiveness and, possibly, decreased sustained attention.
Service Awareness Among the Elderly

This research examines the elderly's awareness of "in-home" versus "aging network" services. Awareness levels are found to be considerably higher for the latter. Multiple-regression analysis reveal that age, education and self-assessed health are significantly related to awareness of both services. In-home service awareness is also related to sex, marital status, number of sick days, and whether or not an individual lives alone. Contact with informal networks is not related to service awareness.
Sex Segregation and Occupational Gender Inequality in the United States: Devaluation or Specialized Training?1

This article examines two hypotheses of the wage effects of occupational sex composition in the United States: the devaluation and the specialized human capital hypothesis. With data from an expanded version of the May 1988 Current Population Survey, this study finds that differences in the length of specialized training across occupations and industries, together with a few demographic and human capital attributes, are able to completely explain all of the sex composition effects among women and men, whites and blacks. The central results are difficult to reconcile with the devaluation hypothesis but are remarkably consistent with the specialized human capital hypothesis.
Clinical Significance of Hepatic Iron Deposition and Serum Iron Values in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

OBJECTIVES:To assess the potential association between hepatic iron deposition or serum iron values and hepatic fibrosis and inflammatory activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.METHODS:In 100 consecutive patients with hepatitis C virus infection, tissue iron deposition was assessed by quantifying iron stain on liver biopsy specimens. Serum iron, ferritin, and transferrin saturation were determined by standard laboratory procedures. Statistical analyses incorporated potential confounders associated with hepatic fibrosis.RESULTS:Twenty-one patients had no fibrosis (stage 0), 13 had portal fibrosis (stage I), 31 had periportal fibrosis (stage II), 10 had bridging fibrosis (stage III), and 25 had cirrhosis (stage IV). Positive iron stain found in liver biopsy specimens of 19 patients was associated with stage III or IV fibrosis (p= 0.004). No significant difference was found between the iron concentration or the hepatic iron index in patients with stage III or IV fibrosis compared with patients with stage I or II fibrosis. At least 1 of 3 serum iron values assessed was abnormal in 55 patients. In univariate analysis, elevated serum iron (p= 0.01), serum ferritin (p< 0.001), and transferrin saturation (p= 0.002) were associated with stage III or IV fibrosis. In multivariate analysis, the only independent predictive factor of severe hepatic fibrosis was serum ferritin (p< 0.02; odds ratio = 11.35). The serum ferritin value and tissue iron stain had a significant positive correlation (p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Increased hepatic iron deposition may be associated with more advanced hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. The serum ferritin value, an independent predictor of severe hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, may predict hepatic iron deposition and severity of fibrosis.
INTERFERENCE WITH THE RECONSOLIDATION OF TRAUMA‐RELATED MEMORIES IN ADULTS

Reactivated memories go through a process of reconsolidation, during which they are malleable and susceptible to modification. Strategies targeting the interruption of memory reconsolidation hold the promise of weakening fear memories that underlie traumatic stress disorders. Although many studies have examined the efficacy of reconsolidation interference strategies with fear memories developed in a laboratory, very few have examined this with trauma‐related episodic memories. This study aims to examine whether new learning can interfere with the reconsolidation of trauma‐related episodic memories, when the affective content of the new learning and memory match.
Ideational Influence, Connectedness, and Venue Representation: Making an Assessment of Scholarly Capital

: Assessing the research capital that a scholar has accrued is an essential task for academic administrators, funding agencies, and promotion and tenure committees worldwide. Scholars have criticized the existing methodology of counting papers in ranked journals and made calls to replace it (Adler & Harzing, 2009; Singh, Haddad, & Chow, 2007). In its place, some have made calls to assess the uptake of a scholar’s work instead of assessing “quality” (Truex, Cuellar, Takeda, & Vidgen, 2011a). We identify three dimensions of scholarly capital (ideational influence (who uses one’s work? ), connectedness (with whom does one work? ) and venue representation (where does one publish their work? )) in this paper as part of a scholarly capital model (SCM). We develop measurement models for the three dimensions of scholarly capital and test the relationships in a path model. We show how one might use the measures to evaluate scholarly research activity.
Nurture, nature and some very dubious social skills: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of talent identification practices in elite English youth soccer

This paper reports qualitative findings regarding the concepts and practices utilised in talent identification (TI) among professional coaches working in English youth soccer. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, detailed interviews with seven such coaches are explored, with a view to elucidating the links between understanding, practice, experience and professional context. Findings reveal three superordinate themes, relating to (1) a primarily ‘nurtured’ and trainable understanding of the broad concept of talent itself, (2) an ostensibly contradictory model of semi-static player psychology, and (3) a highly selective mechanism for separating evidence for ‘mental strength’ and ‘social skills’. It is contended that these findings underscore a case for more thorough interrogation of the real worlds inhabited by coaches, such that ideas about ‘good practice’ in TI might be more effectively reconciled with grounded knowledge of the practical everyday necessities of being a coach.
[Values of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio in predicting sensitivity to intravenous immunoglobulin in Kawasaki disease].

OBJECTIVE To study the values of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in predicting the sensitivity to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in Kawasaki disease (KD). METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 404 children with newly diagnosed KD. The data on routine blood tests, NLR, and PLR were collected before and after IVIG treatment. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off values of NLR and PLR in predicting the insensitivity to IVIG. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictive factors for insensitivity to IVIG. RESULTS Of all patients, 31 were insensitive to IVIG. Compared with the IVIG sensitivity group, the IVIG insensitivity group had a significantly higher incidence rate of coronary artery ectasia (P<0.01), a shorter course of disease when IVIG therapy was initiated (P<0.05), and significantly higher NLR, PLR, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level before and after treatment (P<0.05). The optimal cut-off values for NLR and PLR to predict IVIG insensitivity were 4.36 and 162 before IVIG treatment and 1.45 and 196 after treatment. The multivariate regression analysis showed that the course of disease before IVIG treatment, CRP before IVIG treatment, and NLR and PLR before and after IVIG treatment were independent predictive factors for IVIG insensitivity. CONCLUSIONS NLR and PLR can be used to predict IVIG insensitivity in children with KD.
Comparative associations of muscle mass and muscle strength with mortality in dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Reduced muscle mass and strength are prevalent conditions in dialysis patients. However, muscle strength and muscle mass are not congruent; muscle strength can diminish even though muscle mass is maintained or increased. This study addresses phenotype and mortality associations of these muscle dysfunction entities alone or in combination (i.e., concurrent loss of muscle mass and strength/mobility, here defined as sarcopenia). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS This study included 330 incident dialysis patients (203 men, mean age 53±13 years, and mean GFR 7±2 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)) recruited between 1994 and 2010 and followed prospectively for up to 5 years. Low muscle mass (by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry appendicular mass index) and low muscle strength (by handgrip) were defined against young reference populations according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. RESULTS Whereas 20% of patients had sarcopenia, low muscle mass and low muscle strength alone were observed in a further 24% and 15% of patients, respectively. Old age, comorbidities, protein-energy wasting, physical inactivity, low albumin, and inflammation associated with low muscle strength, but not with low muscle mass (multivariate ANOVA interactions). During follow-up, 95 patients (29%) died and both conditions associated with mortality as separate entities. When combined, individuals with low muscle mass alone were not at increased risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.23; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.56 to 2.67). Individuals with low muscle strength were at increased risk, irrespective of their muscle stores being appropriate (HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.87) or low (HR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.71). CONCLUSIONS Low muscle strength was more strongly associated with aging, protein-energy wasting, physical inactivity, inflammation, and mortality than low muscle mass. Assessment of muscle functionality may provide additional diagnostic and prognostic information to muscle-mass evaluation.
Series N ° 1343 Can CRRA Preferences Explain CAPM-Anomalies in the Cross-Section of Stock Returns ?

A large number of empirical studies find evidence for systematic deviations from the CAPM. The CAPM tends to understate the returns on low-beta stocks and overstate the returns on high-beta stocks, which means that the security market line is too steep. Other well-documented anomalies are the size premium and the value premium. The CAPM is a special case of the consumption-based CAPM. This study adresses the question whether the consumption-based CAPM with constant relative risk aversion preferences can explain CAPM-anomalies. An example of an economy with power utility and lognormal returns is examined that can be solved in closed form. The model leads to a security market line that is flatter than in the CAPM and generates a size and a value premium. The comparative statics suggest that cross-sectional anomalies and the equity premium puzzle are of a very similar nature.
Nitric oxide and coronary vascular endothelium adaptations in hypertension

This review highlights a number of nitric oxide (NO)-related mechanisms that contribute to coronary vascular function and that are likely affected by hypertension and thus become important clinically as potential considerations in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of coronary complications of hypertension. Coronary vascular resistance is elevated in hypertension in part due to impaired endothelium-dependent function of coronary arteries. Several lines of evidence suggest that other NO synthase isoforms and dilators other than NO may compensate for impairments in endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) to protect coronary artery function, and that NO-dependent function of coronary blood vessels depends on the position of the vessel in the vascular tree. Adaptations in NOS isoforms in the coronary circulation to hypertension are not well described so the compensatory relationship between these and eNOS in hypertensive vessels is not clear. It is important to understand potential functional consequences of these adaptations as they will impact the efficacy of treatments designed to control hypertension and coronary vascular disease. Polymorphisms of the eNOS gene result in significant associations with incidence of hypertension, although mechanistic details linking the polymorphisms with alterations in coronary vasomotor responses and adaptations to hypertension are not established. This understanding should be developed in order to better predict those individuals at the highest risk for coronary vascular complications of hypertension. Greater endothelium-dependent dilation observed in female coronary arteries is likely related to endothelial Ca2+ control and eNOS expression and activity. In hypertension models, the coronary vasculature has not been studied extensively to establish mechanisms for sex differences in NO-dependent function. Genomic and nongenomic effects of estrogen on eNOS and direct and indirect antioxidant activities of estrogen are discussed as potential mechanisms of interest in coronary circulation that could have implications for sex- and estrogen status-dependent therapy for hypertension and coronary dysfunction. The current review identifies some important basic knowledge gaps and speculates on the potential clinical relevance of hypertension adaptations in factors regulating coronary NO function.
A Personalized Approach to Optimize Hepatitis B Treatment in Treatment-naive Patients

Firstly, the selection of good candidates for therapy is crucial. Patients with chronic active hepatitis B – with relatively low levels of HBV DNA replication (<109 copies/ml) and relatively high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels – are good candidates for therapy. By contrast, patients with chronic hepatitis B in the immu-notolerance phase, who have high levels of HBV DNA and persistently normal ALT levels, as well as inactive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers with low HBV DNA and normal ALT levels do not have an indication for therapy as they are poor responders. Secondly, the characteristics of the patient (for example, gender, age, immune status, general health status and comorbidities), the characteristics of the liver disease (for example, presence of cirrhosis and liver function) and the characteristics of the virus (for example, genotype) are important when assessing the chance of success and when choosing the best therapeutic strategy (nucleoside/ nucleotide analogue or interferon). Thirdly, during therapy, the antiviral effect – assessed by decrease in HBV DNA level – allows an individualized response-guided approach. In addition, quantification of HBsAg after 3–6 months of interferon therapy appears to be a good predictor of sustained virological response after treatment and HBsAg clearance. Continuing interferon therapy until week 48 is justified in patients with a significant decrease in HBsAg. Ongoing and future studies will provide useful information regarding prolonging interferon therapy beyond 48 weeks in some patients in order to increase efficacy, and also regarding the role of combination therapy with interferon and potent nucleoside/nucleotide analogues, such as entecavir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.
Biomechanics and Mechanotransduction in Cells and Tissues Extracellular matrix ( ECM ) microstructural composition regulates local cell-ECM biomechanics and fundamental fibroblast behavior : a multidimensional perspective

Pizzo, A. M. , K. Kokini, L. C. Vaughn, B. Z. Waisner, and S. L. Voytik-Harbin. Extracellular matrix (ECM) microstructural composition regulates local cell-ECM biomechanics and fundamental fibroblast behavior: a multidimensional perspective. J Appl Physiol 98: 1909–1921, 2005. First published December 23, 2004; doi:10.1152/ japplphysiol.01137. 2004. —The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides the principal means by which mechanical information is communicated between tissue and cellular levels of function. These mechanical signals play a central role in controlling cell fate and establishing tissue structure and function. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms by which specific structural and mechanical properties of the ECM influence its interaction with cells, especially within a tissuelike context. This lack of knowledge precludes formulation of biomimetic microenvironments for effective tissue repair and replacement. The present study determined the role of collagen fibril density in regulating local cell-ECM biomechanics and fundamental fibroblast behavior. The model system consisted of fibroblasts seeded within collagen ECMs with controlled microstructure. Confocal microscopy was used to collect multidimensional images of both ECM microstructure and specific cellular characteristics. From these images temporal changes in three-dimensional cell morphology, timeand space-dependent changes in the three-dimensional local strain state of a cell and its ECM, and spatial distribution of 1-integrin were quantified. Results showed that fibroblasts grown within high-fibrildensity ECMs had decreased length-to-height ratios, increased surface areas, and a greater number of projections. Furthermore, fibroblasts within low-fibril-density ECMs reorganized their ECM to a greater extent, and it appeared that 1-integrin localization was related to local strain and ECM remodeling events. Finally, fibroblast proliferation was enhanced in low-fibril-density ECMs. Collectively, these results are significant because they provide new insight into how specific physical properties of a cell’s ECM microenvironment contribute to tissue remodeling events in vivo and to the design and engineering of functional tissue replacements.
Soil Carbon Loss by Soil Respiration under Different Tillage Treatments

Soil carbon stocks are highly vulnerable to human activities (such as tillage), which can decrease carbon stocks significantly. These activities break down soil’s organic matter and some carbon is converted to carbon dioxide (CO2). A part of CO2 (a greenhouse gas that is one of the main contributor to global warming) is lost from the soil by soil respiration (soil CO2 efflux). The aim of our study is to determine the soil carbon loss by soil CO2 efflux under different tillage treatments. The experimental site is characterized by continental climate. Field experiment with six different tillage treatments usually used in this area was set up on Stagnic Luvisols in Daruvar, central lowland Croatia in 1994 with investigation aim on determination of soil degradation by water erosion and later, in 2011, expanded to the research on soil CO2 efflux. Tillage treatments differed in tools that were used, depth and direction of tillage. Tillage treatments were: black fallow (BF), ploughing up/down the slope to 30 cm (PUDS), no-tillage (NT), ploughing across the slope to 30 cm (PAS), very deep ploughing across the slope to 50 cm (VDPAS) and subsoiling (50 cm) plus ploughing (30 cm) across the slope (SSPAS). Field measurements of soil CO2 concentrations were conducted during one year (n = 14) from November 2011 till November 2012, when cover crop was corn (Zea mays L.). Preliminary soil sampling for determination of soil total carbon content was conducted in April 2011. This paper presents results of soil total carbon content in the soil surface layer (0-30 cm), the variations of CO2-C efflux during the year, soil carbon loss by CO2-C efflux and correlation between soil total carbon content and CO2-C efflux. The range of soil surface total carbon content varied from 19083.7 kg/ha at BF treatment up to 31073.6 kg/ha at SSPAS treatment. The treatment with the lowest average measured CO2-C efflux was BF. The average CO2-C efflux at BF treatment was 7.9 kg CO2-C/ha/day where CO2-C efflux varied from 2.3 kg CO2-C/ha/day up to 22.6 kg CO2-C/ha/day. The treatment with the highest average measured CO2-C efflux was NT. Range of CO2-C efflux at NT treatment varied from 7.8 kg CO2-C/ha/day up to 65.8 kg CO2-C/ha/day and the average CO2-C efflux was 24.4 kg CO2-C/ha/day. Daily soil total carbon loss by soil respiration ranged from 0.04% at BF treatment up to 0.09% at NT treatment. Soil CO2-C efflux was fully positively correlated with soil total carbon content (r=0.91). After all mentioned, it can be stated that in these agro-ecological conditions, best tillage practice in sustainable plant production in terms of the lowest daily soil total carbon loss (0.06%) by soil respiration is ploughing to 30 cm (PUDS and PAS). Still, it is necessary to conduct the total soil carbon balance in the future research for better understanding of soil carbon gains and losses.
Susceptibility of nine organophosphorus pesticides in skimmed milk towards inoculated lactic acid bacteria and yogurt starters.

BACKGROUND Previous research has shown that fresh milk might be polluted by some organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs). In this study the dissipation of nine OPPs, namely chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, diazinon, dichlorvos, fenthion, malathion, phorate, pirimiphos-methyl and trichlorphon, in skimmed milk was investigated to clarify their susceptibility towards lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yogurt starters. RESULTS Skimmed milk was spiked with nine OPPs, inoculated with five strains of LAB and two commercial yogurt starters at 42 °C for 24 and 5 h respectively and subjected to quantitative OPP analysis by gas chromatography. Degradation kinetic constants of these OPPs were calculated based on a first-order reaction model. OPP dissipation in the milk was enhanced by the inoculated strains and starters, resulting in OPP concentrations decreasing by 7.0-64.6 and 7.4-19.2% respectively. Totally, the nine OPPs were more susceptible to Lactobacillus bulgaricus, as it enhanced their degradation rate constants by 18.3-133.3%. Higher phosphatase production of the assayed stains was observed to bring about greater OPP degradation in the milk. CONCLUSION Both LAB and yogurt starters could enhance OPP dissipation in skimmed milk, with the nine OPPs studied having different susceptibilities towards them. Phosphatase was a key factor governing OPP dissipation. The LAB of higher phosphatase production have more potential to decrease OPPs in fermented foods.