Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is associated with enhanced thrombin generation and platelet activation

Objectives: To investigate the association of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction with blood coagulation, platelet activity and inflammatory response in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and sinus rhythm. Patients and main outcome measures: In 42 patients with HCM with sinus rhythm, including 16 patients with resting LVOT obstruction (gradient ⩾30 mm Hg) and 29 age- and sex-matched controls, markers of thrombin generation (thrombin–antithrombin complex (TAT), prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2)), platelet activation (soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), β-thromboglobulin (β-TG), P-selectin) and inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)6, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα)) were determined. Results: Thrombin, platelet and inflammatory markers were higher in the entire HCM group than in controls (p<0.005 for all compared parameters). Compared with non-obstructive HCM, obstructive HCM was associated with increased thrombin formation (TAT, F1+2), platelet activation (sCD40L, β-TG, P-selectin) and both CRP and IL6 levels. Only the level of TNFα was similar in both forms of HCM. In contrast, a comparison of non-obstructive HCM with controls showed that all these variables (except for P-selectin) were similar; P-selectin was higher in non-obstructive HCM. The LVOT gradient correlated positively with all the raised blood markers (r from 0.39 to 0.73; p<0.05), except for TNFα. In multiple regression analysis models, the LVOT gradient was the only independent predictor of TAT (R2 = 0.61; p<0.001), sCD40L (R2 = 0.59; p<0.001), F1+2 (R2 = 0.55; p = 0.002), P-selectin (R2 = 0.49; p = 0.004) and β-TG (R2 = 0.38; p = 0.005) in patients with HCM. Conclusions: LVOT obstruction is independently associated with enhanced thrombin generation and platelet activity in patients with HCM with sinus rhythm.
Motor directional tuning across brain areas: directional resonance and the role of inhibition for directional accuracy

Motor directional tuning (Georgopoulos et al., 1982) has been found in every brain area in which it has been sought for during the past 30-odd years. It is typically broad, with widely distributed preferred directions and a population signal that predicts accurately the direction of an upcoming reaching movement or isometric force pulse (Georgopoulos et al., 1992). What is the basis for such ubiquitous directional tuning? How does the tuning come about? What are the implications of directional tuning for understanding the brain mechanisms of movement in space? This review addresses these questions in the light of accumulated knowledge in various sub-fields of neuroscience and motor behavior. It is argued (a) that direction in space encompasses many aspects, from vision to muscles, (b) that there is a directional congruence among the central representations of these distributed “directions” arising from rough but orderly topographic connectivities among brain areas, (c) that broad directional tuning is the result of broad excitation limited by recurrent and non-recurrent (i.e., direct) inhibition within the preferred direction loci in brain areas, and (d) that the width of the directional tuning curve, modulated by local inhibitory mechanisms, is a parameter that determines the accuracy of the directional command.
Protein composition of a high-protein barley flour and barley grain

The hot air-dried, proteinaceous by-product from a barley starch pilot plant was compared with the raw material of the process, 10% dehulled barley grain. The by-product, high-protein barley flour, has been used for feeding pigs, cows, and sheep. The proportions' of four protein fractions, isolated according to their solubility, and the nonprotein nitrogen content were evaluated. The polypeptide distribution of the protein fractions was observed by gel electrophoresis. The amino acids of the fractions were determined
IL-2 Simultaneously Expands Foxp3+ T Regulatory and T Effector Cells and Confers Resistance to Severe Tuberculosis (TB): Implicative Treg–T Effector Cooperation in Immunity to TB

The possibility that simultaneous expansion of T regulatory cells (Treg) and T effector cells early postinfection can confer some immunological benefits has not been studied. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that early, simultaneous cytokine expansion of Treg and T effector cells in a tissue infection site can allow these T cell populations to act in concert to control tissue inflammation/damage while containing infection. IL-2 treatments early after Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of macaques induced simultaneous expansion of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg, CD8+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells, and CD4+ T effector/CD8+ T effector/Vγ2Vδ2 T effector populations producing anti-M. tuberculosis cytokines IFN-γ and perforin, and conferred resistance to severe TB inflammation and lesions. IL-2–expanded Foxp3+ Treg readily accumulated in pulmonary compartment, but despite this, rapid pulmonary trafficking/accumulation of IL-2–activated T effector populations still occurred. Such simultaneous recruitments of IL-2–expanded Treg and T effector populations to pulmonary compartment during M. tuberculosis infection correlated with IL-2–induced resistance to TB lesions without causing Treg-associated increases in M. tuberculosis burdens. In vivo depletion of IL-2–expanded CD4+Foxp3+ Treg and CD4+ T effectors during IL-2 treatment of M. tuberculosis-infected macaques significantly reduced IL-2–induced resistance to TB lesions, suggesting that IL-2–expanded CD4+ T effector cells and Treg contributed to anti-TB immunity. Thus, IL-2 can simultaneously activate and expand T effector cells and Foxp3+ Treg populations and confer resistance to severe TB without enhancing M. tuberculosis infection.
401(K) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2002

This paper examines asset allocation, account balance, and loan activity of a large representative group of 401(k) plan participants as of year-end 2002 using data gathered by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) in their collaborative effort known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project. The EBRI/ICI 401(k) database is the most comprehensive source of 401(k) plan participant-level data available to date, containing 15.5 million active 401(k) plan participants in 46,310 plans with $618.6 billion in assets as of year-end 2002.
Arab America: Gender, Cultural Politics, and Activism

are specific process structures that orient the narrators in their self-directed search for an answer to the very broad and wide-open question they have been asked to consider. In the specific case study on European identity, the respondents’ prompting stimulus was something along the lines of ‘‘the ways in which Europe plays a role in the lives of people’’ (p. 26). As the informants were encouraged to tell their whole story, it was up to them to construct the narrative and select what and how much they wanted to say. In terms of data analysis too, autobiographical narrative interviews present notable complexities. For the Euroidentities project, the research team evaluated the biographical content of the interviews through sequential structural analysis, although other analytical methods were also explored, including the biographicalnarrative interpretative method, narrative ethnography, and the social constructivist approach. In the end, the variety (albeit all belonging to a similar tradition) of analytical procedures and methodological approaches that the researchers applied were meant to bring to the fore the multidimensional aspects of individual biographies and highlight the complex dynamics linking the individual and the social world. According to the authors, the biographical methods open up a whole field of knowledge that other approaches can only approximate; they also allow bridging the gap between structure and agency, an old theoretical and methodological dilemma that has never been put to rest. The volume engages in an exceptionally thorough explanation of biographical methods, and for those who are interested in this qualitative approach the book will be a must read. For other readers concerned with identity and Europe, however, this methodological emphasis might be more than they asked for, while they will still find the substantive discussion a bit lacking. No doubt, the book raises thought-provoking points on European identity; it rightly encourages us to consider the European dimension of identity formation as still under construction, and the idea the authors put forward of a ‘‘European mental space’’ as a tool to think about Europeanization is also a stimulating contribution. Yet the book does not delve deeply into these subjects nor does it offer a historical background on the European question. From this point of view, it will hardly satisfy those looking to understanding the general parameters of the issue. For an in-depth analysis of European identity, those readers will have to look somewhere else.
Quantitative Trait Loci for Grain Yield and Adaptation of Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) Across a Wide Range of Water Availability

Grain yield is a major goal for the improvement of durum wheat, particularly in drought-prone areas. In this study, the genetic basis of grain yield (GY), heading date (HD), and plant height (PH) was investigated in a durum wheat population of 249 recombinant inbred lines evaluated in 16 environments (10 rainfed and 6 irrigated) characterized by a broad range of water availability and GY (from 5.6 to 58.8 q ha−1). Among the 16 quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affected GY, two major QTL on chromosomes 2BL and 3BS showed significant effects in 8 and 7 environments, with R2 values of 21.5 and 13.8% (mean data of all 16 environments), respectively. In both cases, extensive overlap was observed between the LOD profiles of GY and PH, but not with those for HD. QTL specific for PH were identified on chromosomes 1BS, 3AL, and 7AS. Additionally, three major QTL for HD on chromosomes 2AS, 2BL, and 7BS showed limited or no effects on GY. For both PH and GY, notable epistasis between the chromosome 2BL and 3BS QTL was detected across several environments.
ECOLOGICAL SPECIATION IN STICKLEBACKS: ENVIRONMENT‐DEPENDENT HYBRID FITNESS

“Ecological” speciation occurs when reproductive isolation evolves as a consequence of divergent selection between populations exploiting different resources or environments. We tested this hypothesis of speciation in a young stickleback species pair by measuring the direct contribution of ecological selection pressures to hybrid fitness. The two species (limnetic and benthic) are strongly differentiated morphologically and ecologically, whereas hybrids are intermediate. Fitness of hybrids is high in the laboratory, especially F1 and F2 hybrids (backcrosses may show some breakdown). We transplanted F1 hybrids to enclosures in the two main habitats in the wild to test whether the distribution of resources available in the environment generates a hybrid disadvantage not detectable in the laboratory. Hybrids grew more slowly than limnetics in the open water habitat and more slowly than benthics in the littoral zone. Growth of F1 hybrids was inferior to the average of the parent species across both habitats, albeit not significantly. The contrast between laboratory and field results supports the hypothesis that mechanisms of F1 hybrid fitness in the wild are primarily ecological and do not result from intrinsic genetic incompatibilities. Direct selection on hybrids contributes to the maintenance of sympatric stickleback species and may have played an important role in their origin.
Combined 18F-Fluoride and 18F-FDG PET/CT Scanning for Evaluation of Malignancy: Results of an International Multicenter Trial

In this issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Iagaru et al. report an international, multicenter trial that compared coinjected 18F-fluoride and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging with separate 18F-fluoride and 18F-FDG PET/CT scans in 115 patients with cancer (1). In the cohort of patients included in this trial, both 18F-fluoride and combined 18F-fluoride and 18F-FDG PET/CT scans detected more skeletal metastases in 48 subjects than did 18F-FDG alone, 29 of whom had no skeletal disease detected on 18F-FDG scans. 18F-FDG PET/CT scans detected extraosseous metastases in 48 patients. The combined 18F-fluoride/18F-FDG scans missed 3 lung nodules in 2 subjects and skull lesions in a further 2 subjects, but in none of these was overall staging affected.
The cultural construction of child development: creating institutional and cultural intersubjectivity

Since its inception in the early nineteenth century, early childhood education has moved beyond European communities and become institutionalized in countries such as Australian, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. At the same time, many European countries have experienced migration, and now have broadly based culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Although early education has continued to evolve over time, some fundamental principles about the nature of learning have remained static. In drawing upon cultural‐historical theory, this paper seeks to make visible early childhood institutional practices that may no longer be relevant, particularly when western theory and middle‐class practices are not representative of the culturally and linguistically diverse communities they serve. In this paper, an alternative model of child development is offered that takes into account and values the diversity of children’s cultural experiences.
Health-related quality of life measurement in patients admitted with coronary heart disease and heart failure to a cardiology department of a secondary urban hospital in Greece.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to measure the quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease and heart failure, who make up the majority of admissions to an acute hospital cardiology unit. METHODS The study was undertaken in the General Hospital of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, and recruited 153 patients. The SF-36 and EQ-5D questionnaires were administered to evaluate health-related quality of life at hospital admission, discharge and one month after the discharge date. RESULTS The analysis indicates that the quality of life of coronary disease patients is quite low and improved very marginally between admission and one month post discharge. The same applies for heart failure patients, who are associated with even lower quality of life scores. CONCLUSION As illness affects all aspects of life, such as physical functioning, emotional balance, social role and general wellbeing, measurement of quality of life is considered to be an important factor in the assessment of the objective and subjective status of the individual's health. It appears in this context that patients with cardiac conditions suffer a significant deterioration in their quality of life status.
INVESTIGATION OF BIAS IN JOB EVALUATION RATINGS OF COMPARABLE WORTH STUDY PARTICIPANTS

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of knowledge of current pay levels and perceived job gender on subsequent job evaluations. The sample consisted of 53 job evaluators in professional and scientific positions at the University of Iowa who had previously received 20 hours of training in job evaluation and participated in over 100 hours of job evaluations during the implementation of a comparable worth pay system. The hypothesis that jobs with high (manipulated) pay levels would receive higher evaluations than jobs with low (manipulated) pay levels was confirmed, although the effects were smaller than those reported in other studies. In addition, evidence of a pro-female bias was found (p < .08) in the job evaluation ratings. Implications of these findings for job evaluation research and practice are discussed.
Comparison of suture material and technique of closure of subcutaneous fat and skin in caesarean section

Background: A large number of women undergo caesarean section throughout the world. These women pass through a period of post operative pain and a morbidity period. These women translate into a substantial portion of population and hence there is a load on the financial resources of healthcare system. Use of the appropriate technique to approximate the wound after caesarean section would not only avoid financial load but also help in early recovery of the patient. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the effects of alternative techniques for closure of subcutaneous fat and skin on maternal health and use of healthcare resources in caesarean section. Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing Caesarean section were divided in two groups of one thousand patients each. Patients with hematological disorders or a malignancy, diabetes, septicemia or chorioamnionitis were excluded from the study. In all the patients, after stitching the uterus, the rectus sheath was stitched with thread vicryl No.1 (synthetic absorbable braided sutures with polyglycolic acid, polycaprolactone and calcium stearate coating), using a round body needle. Then the patients were divided into two groups. In group I, vicryl No.1 thread used in stitching of the rectus sheath was continued into the skin with application of subcuticular stitches, after securing the edges with a knot. In group II, after stitching the rectus sheath with vicryl No. 1, the thread was cut and interrupted sutures were applied in subcutaneous fat with thread vicryl No. 2. Skin was stitched with subcuticular stitches using proline 2, a non-absorbable propylene suture. The two groups of patients were observed for the duration of surgery, post-operative pain in stitches, patient satisfaction about removal of stitches, evidence of wound infection or seroma, and cosmetic results. Results: It was noted that the duration of surgery in group I was on average 7.5 minutes less as compared to the duration in group II. Patients in group I were more satisfied with the results of the surgery and were relieved to know that their stitches did not need to be removed. Conclusion: Although no difference was found in the rates of wound infection and formation of scar tissue between the group I and group II, the duration of surgery was less and the patients were more satisfied in group I.
Parties, Gender Quotas and Candidate Selection in France

interpretations of ‘culture’ itself. After a preface by Culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand, a text by Augustin Girard—one of the father figures of the analysis of cultural policy in France—and a brief introductory chapter by Poirrier and Geneviève Gentil, three early chapters trace the institutional, legal and developmental history of the shared responsibility for culture borne by the state and decentralised instances. Subsequently, 10 contributions review how processes and policies have worked in practice in a variety of different cultural fields, ranging from dance and music, to books and reading, cinema, museums and historic monuments. Perhaps the most stimulating of the chapters is ultimately that by Rizzardo, who concludes the study with a wide-ranging consideration of how public policy in the cultural field can best be instituted and legitimised, suggesting that in the final analysis, reinvigorated cultural policies stressing cooperation, partnership and invention can be a significant element of response to the crisis of confidence in the French social and cultural models. All in all, this is an exceedingly rich source of comment and expert analysis, primary and secondary material and bibliographical details for anyone interested in the rich tapestry of public policy in the cultural field in France over recent decades. University libraries where French cultural policy is taught and researched would be well advised to acquire this volume.
Allergy, living and learning: diagnosis and treatment of allergic respiratory diseases in Europe.

BACKGROUND Allergy Living and Learning (ALL) is a European initiative designed to increase knowledge and understanding of people living with allergies in order to improve respiratory allergy care. OBJECTIVES To investigate diagnostic and treatment patterns associated with respiratory allergies, patients' perception of their treatment, and restrictions on daily activities. METHODS Using a telephone-based randomized screening method, we recruited and analyzed 7004 patients (aged 16-60 years) with self-reported respiratory allergic disease from 10 European countries. Patients answered questions assessing their knowledge, experience, and perception of their condition and its treatment. Data analyses were descriptive. RESULTS The most prevalent conditions were allergic rhinitis (66%) and asthma (26%), and the average duration of the symptoms of respiratory allergy was 14.5 years. Over 30% of patients had never had a specific diagnostic test. About 80% of patients used medication for their respiratory allergy, and 10% of those not receiving treatment had severe symptoms. One-third of patients were not satisfied with their treatment, and two-thirds experienced restrictions in daily activities. Medication was most commonlytaken in the form of tablets and nasal spray. Allergy-specific immunotherapy was received by 16% of patients. Knowledge of specific immunotherapy was low overall and varied widely by country: 30% of patients (country range, 10%-52%) had never heard of this treatment option. CONCLUSIONS A notable proportion of individuals with respiratory allergy in Europe are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and dissatisfied with their treatment. Addressing these shortcomings may help to optimize respiratory allergy care and, ultimately, quality of life.
Classification of pulmonary nodules on computed tomography scans. Evaluation of the effectiveness of application of textural features extracted using wavelet transform of image

In this paper, we present an efficient lung nodule classification system. The proposed system extracts various texture and morphological features from the pre-marked regions of interest containing lung nodules. The Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix method is applied to extract the texture characteristics of the lung nodules. Additional features are extracted from the images transformed by discrete wavelet transform to extend the variety of texture features. Attribute selection is performed on the resulting feature vector to reduce the redundancy of the dataset. Resulting feature collection is used to train several classification models (Neural Network, Random Forest, K-nearest neighbors, Naive Bayes classifier, Support vector machine) which are used to distinguish regions of interest containing malignant nodules from those containing benign nodules.
An Integrated Crosscutting Concern Migration Strategy and its Application to JHOTDRAW

In this paper we propose a systematic strategy for migrating crosscutting concerns in existing object-oriented systems to aspect-based solutions. The proposed strategy consists of four steps: mining, exploration, documentation and refactoring of crosscutting concerns. We discuss in detail a new approach to aspect refactoring that is fully integrated with our strategy, and apply the whole strategy to an object-oriented system, namely the JHotDrAW framework. The result of this migration is made available as an open-source project, which is the largest aspect refactoring available to date. We report on our experiences with conducting this case study and reflect on the success and challenges of the migration process, as well as on the feasibility of automatic aspect refactoring.