Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential Added Value of Psychological Capital in Predicting Work Attitudes

Meeting the challenge of effectively managing human resources requires new thinking and approaches. To extend the traditional perspective of economic capital, increasing recognition is being given to human capital and more recently social capital, this article proposes and empirically tests the potential added value that psychological capital may have for employee attitudes of satisfaction and commitment. After first providing the background and theory of PsyCap, this article reports a study of manufacturing employees (N = 74) that found a significant relationship between PsyCap and job satisfaction (r=.373) and organization commitment (r=.313). Importantly, the employees' PsyCap had a significant added impact over human and social capital on these work attitudes. Future research and practical implications conclude the article.
Oral Administration of Cyclopentane Neuraminidase Inhibitors Protects Ferrets against Influenza Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Several cyclopentane inhibitors of influenza virus neuraminidase that have inhibitory activities in tissue culture similar to those of zanamivir and oseltamivir have recently been described. These new inhibitors have been examined for efficacy against a virulent H3N2 influenza virus when administered orally to infected ferrets. Preliminary studies indicated that oral administration of BCX-1923, BCX-1827, or BCX-1812 (RWJ-270201) at a dose of 5 or 25 mg/kg of body weight was active in ferrets in reducing respiratory and constitutional signs and symptoms, but these antivirals affected virus titers in the upper and lower respiratory tracts only marginally. Of the three compounds, BCX-1812 seemed to be the most efficacious and was examined further at higher doses of 30 and 100 mg/kg. These doses significantly reduced peak virus titers in nasal washes and total virus shedding as measured by areas under the curve. Virus titers in lung homogenates were also reduced compared to those in controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. As was observed with BCX-1812 at lower doses, the nasal inflammatory cellular response, fever, and nasal signs were reduced while ferret activity was not, with activity remaining similar to uninfected animals.
Will you still need me, will you still screen me, when I'm past 64?

Breast screening policy in Britain is based on women's age, as it should be. Age is the most important risk factor for breast cancer, and in younger women the health gain from screening is vanishingly small. A lower age limit is therefore rational. But when age related decisions are irrational or inequitable, they may reflect ageism. Is this the case with the upper limit for breast screening? The NHS screening service follows the recommendation in the Forrest report that in view of poor response rates there is insufficient benefit from offering screening to women aged 65 and over, though it may be available on request.1 This recommendation was based on the Utrecht study and the United Kingdom trial,2 3 both of which apparently showed a rapid fall in acceptance of repeated screening over 65.1 In Sweden, by contrast, uptake was 80% to age 74.4 However, neither the Utrecht nor the British trial recruited women over 65. Forrest presumably meant the Nijmegen study, where women …
Circulatory Support for the Patient in Cardiac Arrest: Some Research Perspectives

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as a treatment for the patient in cardiac arrest, has been met with varying degrees of success. Two of the problems which have been identified include variations in the application of the technique and the initiation of the treatment with respect to the time of arrest. Modifications to the technique, such as active compression-decompression CPR, interposed abdominal compression CPR, and open chest CPR, have not significantly improved survival. It is clear that the major problem is the technique's inability to provide the necessary myocardial and cerebral blood flow required for recovery. It would seem that extracorporeal perfusion as a resuscitative technique should solve the problems associated with CPR. Extracorporeal circulatory support has met success in some applications but has not been found to be a universal answer for the patient in cardiac arrest. The purpose of this paper is to review the current status of CPR and extracorporeal circulatory support, overview the techniques employed, and summarize applied research that is ongoing in this institution.
Cone contrasts do not predict color constancy

A successive, asymmetric color-matching paradigm was used to investigate the link between cone contrast and the stability of perceived colors. We measured the perceived color shifts of 10 Munsell samples, induced by test illuminant A, simulated in u′v′ color space. The capacity of the visual system to resist these shifts, otherwise known as color constancy, is measured in terms of the Brunswik ratio, BR. Cone contrasts are calculated with respect to either the physical or perceived background. Subjective cone contrasts show a better fit to the von Kries law than those based on the physical background. Complete cone adaptation occurs when color constancy is high. However we show conditions where cone adaptation seems complete but color constancy is poor.
Performance Trends in 161-km Ultramarathons

This report documents performance-related trends in 100-mile (161-km) ultramarathon running competitions in North America. A retrospective analysis of results from 1977 through 2008 revealed that annual finish rates increased initially and then plateaued by the early 1990s at nearly 60%. The fastest times were produced by the 30-39 year age group among the men and the 40-49 year age group for the women. Finish times of women improved relative to men through the 1980s, but were then stable over the past two decades with the fastest women running about 20% slower than the fastest men. Additionally, the average times of the fastest runners did not change over the past two decades for any age group for either sex. The percentage difference in finish times between the first and fifth place runners has remained lower (p<0.0001) for men than women, and has shown an upward trend (p=0.003) across time for men. It is concluded that increasing participation in 161-km ultramarathons in North America has not been associated with improvements in performance or depth of competition with the exception of the relative improvements in finish times for women compared with men that was evident through the 1980s.
Pooled samples bias fungal community descriptions

We tested the accuracy of molecular analyses for recovering the species richness and structure of pooled fungal communities of known composition. We constructed replicate pools of 2–20 species and analysed these pools by two separate pooling‐DNA extraction procedures and three different molecular analyses (Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RFLP) and clone library‐sequencing). None of the methods correctly described the known communities. Only clone library‐sequencing with high sequencing per pool (∼100 clones) recovered reasonable estimates of richness. Frequency data were skewed with all procedures and analyses. These results indicate that the error introduced by pooling samples is significant and problematic for ecological studies of fungal communities.
Cryoablation at Growing Myocardium: No Evidence of Coronary Artery Obstruction or Intimal Plaque Formation Early and Late after Energy Application

Background: Animal studies and clinical observations have demonstrated that radiofrequency current application at growing myocardium may result in coronary artery obstruction. Recently, cryoenergy has emerged as an effective alternative to radiofrequency ablation of arrhythmogenic substrates in pediatric patients. Up to now, there has been a lack of experimental data concerning the effects of cryoenergy application at growing myocardium.
DNA Interaction and Dimerization of Eukaryotic SMC Hinge Domains*

The eukaryotic SMC1/SMC3 heterodimer is essential for sister chromatid cohesion and acts in DNA repair and recombination. Dimerization depends on the central hinge domain present in all SMC proteins, which is flanked at each side by extended coiled-coil regions that terminate in specific globular domains. Here we report on DNA interactions of the eukaryotic, heterodimeric SMC1/SMC3 hinge regions, using the two known isoforms, SMC1α/SMC3 and the meiotic SMC1β/SMC3. Both dimers bind DNA with a preference for double-stranded DNA and DNA rich in potential secondary structures. Both dimers form large protein-DNA networks and promote reannealing of complementary DNA strands. DNA binding but not dimerization depends on approximately 20 amino acids of transitional sequence into the coiled-coil region. Replacement of three highly conserved glycine residues, thought to be required for dimerization, in one of the two hinge domains still allows formation of a stable dimer, but if two hinge domains are mutated dimerization fails. Single-mutant dimers bind DNA, but hinge monomers do not. Together, we show that eukaryotic hinge dimerization does not require conserved glycines in both hinge domains, that only the transition into the coiled-coil region rather than the entire coiled-coil region is necessary for DNA binding, and that dimerization is required but not sufficient for DNA binding of the eukaryotic hinge heterodimer.
The IMPACT Study (Influence of Sensor-Equipped Microcatheters on Coronary Hemodynamics and the Accuracy of Physiological Indices of Functional Stenosis Severity)

Background—The Navvus pressure sensor–equipped microcatheter allows to measure functional stenosis severity over a work-horse guidewire and is used as a more feasible alternative to regular sensor-equipped wires. However, Navvus is larger in diameter than contemporary sensor-equipped guidewires and may, thereby, influence functional measurements. The present study evaluates the hemodynamic influence of the Navvus microcatheter. Methods and Results—In patients with intermediate coronary stenosis, coronary pressure and flow velocity were measured using a dual sensor–equipped guidewire before and after introduction of Navvus. Patients were randomized to microcatheter-first or guidewire-first measurement. The primary end point was the difference in hyperemic stenosis resistance index between measurements before and after introduction of Navvus. Measurements were completed in 28 patients (28 stenoses). Mean hyperemic stenosis resistance was 0.37±0.19 Hg/cm/s for wire-only assessment and 0.48±0.26 Hg/cm/s after Navvus introduction (P<0.001). Bland–Altman analysis documented a mean bias of +0.11 Hg/cm/s (limits of agreement: −0.13 to 0.36), proportional to mean hyperemic stenosis resistance (Spearman &rgr; =0.61; P=0.001). Passing–Bablok analysis revealed absence of a constant difference but significant proportional difference between the methods. Mean fractional flow reserve was 0.86±0.06 for wire-only assessment and 0.82±0.07 after Navvus introduction (P<0.001). Bland–Altman analysis documented a mean bias of −0.033 (limits of agreement: −0.09 to 0.03), proportional to mean fractional flow reserve (Spearman &rgr; =0.40; P=0.036). Passing–Bablok analysis revealed significant constant and proportional differences between methods. Similar results were documented for resting indices of stenosis severity. Conclusions—Introduction of the Navvus microcatheter leads to clinically relevant stenosis severity overestimation in intermediate stenosis.
Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios in planktonic foraminifera: Proxies for upper water column temperature reconstruction

] Reliable temperature estimates from both surface and subsurface ocean waters are needed to reconstructpast upper water column temperature gradients and past oceanic heat content. This work examines therelationships between trace element ratios in fossil shells and seawater temperature for surface-dwellingforaminifera species, Globigerinoides ruber (white) and Globigerina bulloides, and deep-dwelling species,Globorotalia inflata, Globorotalia truncatulinoides (dextral and sinistral) and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata.Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios in shells picked in 29 modern core tops from the North Atlantic Ocean are calibratedusing calculated isotopic temperatures. Mg/Ca ratios on G. ruber and G. bulloides agree with published dataand relationships. For deep-dwelling species, Mg/Ca calibration follows the equation Mg/Ca = 0.78 (±0.04) exp (0.051 (±0.003) T) with a significant correlation coefficient of R
COMPARISON OF CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR THE POISSON MEAN: SOME NEW ASPECTS

• We perform a comparative study among nineteen methods of interval estimation of the Poisson mean, in the intervals (0,2), [2,4] and (4,50], using as criteria coverage, expected length of confidence intervals, balance of noncoverage probabilities, E(P-bias) and E(P-confidence). The study leads to recommendations regarding the use of particular methods depending on the demands of a particular statistical investigation and prior judgment regarding the parameter value if any.
Gender- and age-related differences in osteoclast formation from circulating precursors.

A number of bone diseases characterised by excessive osteolysis (e.g. osteoporosis and Paget's disease) exhibit a marked gender difference in prevalence and are more common in the elderly population. Bone resorption is carried out by osteoclasts, which are formed by fusion of circulating mononuclear precursor cells of haematopoietic origin. In this study, we have determined whether there are gender- and age-related differences in osteoclast formation from circulating precursors. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were co-cultured with UMR106 osteoblast-like cells in the presence of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) or cultured alone in the presence of sRANKL (soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand) and M-CSF. As assessed by the formation of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive (TRAP(+)) and vitronectin receptor-positive (VNR(+)) multinucleated cells (MNCs), there was no difference in the number of circulating osteoclast precursors in males and females. Lacunar resorption carried out by osteoclasts formed from these precursors was generally increased in males compared with females (P=0.03). An increase in the number of TRAP(+) and VNR(+) MNCs formed from male PBMCs was noted in response to 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) (P<0.005). An increase in lacunar resorption in cultures of PBMCs (10(5) per well) from males was also noted in response to 10(-9) M 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) (P<0.05) and sRANKL (P=0.05), but not M-CSF. The addition of dexamethasone resulted in a marked increase in osteoclast formation and lacunar resorption in both males and females. Post-menopausal females and males of comparable age showed similar levels of osteoclastogenesis. Pre-menopausal women showed similar levels of osteoclastogenesis but less resorption (P=0.01) compared with males of comparable age. These results show that there are specific gender/age-related differences in osteoclast formation and bone resorption and have implications for evaluating osteoclastogenesis in skeletal diseases such as primary osteoporosis and Paget's disease.
Who Will Speak for Me? Improving End-of-Life Decision-Making for Adolescents With HIV and Their Families

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this research was to test the effectiveness of a model of family/adolescent-centered advance care planning for adolescents living with HIV and their families for increasing congruence and quality of communication while decreasing decisional conflict. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Ours was a 2-group, randomized, controlled trial in 2 hospital-based outpatient clinics in Washington and Memphis from 2006 to 2008. Participants (N = 38 dyads) included medically stable adolescents aged 14 to 21 years with HIV/AIDS and surrogates/families aged ≥21 years. Three 60- to 90-minute sessions were conducted 1 week apart via a semistructured family interview with a trained/certified interviewer. Each session encompassed, respectively: (1) Lyon Advance Care Planning Survey; (2) Respecting Choices interview; and (3) Five Wishes. Controls received (1) developmental history, (2) safety tips, and (3) future plans. Family congruence was measured by the Statement of Treatment Preferences and adolescent decisional conflict by the Decisional Conflict Scale, immediately after session 2. Communication was measured by the Quality of Participant-Interviewer Communication Scale after each session. RESULTS. Adolescent demographics were as follows: mean age was 16 years; 40% were boys; 92% were black; HIV transmission rate was 68% perinatal and 32% sexually acquired; 42% were asymptomatic; 29% were symptomatic; and 29% had a diagnosis of AIDS. Significantly increased congruence for testing the difference of the 2 κ values for the 2 conditions was observed for intervention versus control dyads. Intervention adolescents reported feeling significantly better informed about end-of-life decisions. Intervention adolescents and all of the surrogates were more likely to feel that their attitudes and wishes were known by the interviewer over time. Intervention families, significantly more so than controls, rated the overall quality of discussion as very good to excellent. CONCLUSIONS. Family-centered advance care planning by trained facilitators increased congruence in adolescent/surrogate preferences for end-of-life care, decreased decisional conflict, and enhanced communication quality. Families acknowledged a life-threatening condition and were willing to initiate end-of-life conversations when their adolescents were medically stable.
The Effect of Ethnicity on ICU Use and DNR Orders in Hospitalized AIDS Patients

James A. Tulsky, MD, is a Research Associate in the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at the VA Medical Center, Durham, N.C. ; is Co-Director of the Program in Medical Ethics, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Division of General Internal Medicine, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University Medical Center, Durham; and is a Soros Faculty Scholar for the Project on Death in America. Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and is Consulting Professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Charles L. Bennett, MD, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate in Health Services at Chicago VA Healthcare System, Lakeside Division; and is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Chairman of the Health Policy Working Group at the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center of Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Health: Evidence from Low‐Income Individuals in Tennessee

We investigate the factors that contribute to participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) and the effects of such participation on self‐assessed health (SAH). Our estimation approach consists of an endogenous switching ordered probability model, using the copula approach, for a sample of current and former Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in Tennessee. Results indicate that sociodemographic characteristics play a role in SNAP participation. Interestingly, we find that participation in SNAP is inversely related to SAH.
A computer-based medical-history system.

IN spite of the homage devoted to the importance of the medical history, there has been remarkably little research on the subject. Neither the method of history taking and recording nor the reliability and usefulness of the data collected has been studied as rigorously as the other tools of clinical medicine, in large part because neither the method nor the data lend themselves well to research. The traditional method of taking and recording medical histories involves serious problems for both the practicing physician and the clinical research worker. History taking consumes a large amount of the physician's time, and inadequate .
Uncertainty analysis in EMC simulation based on Stochastic Collocation Method

In this paper, the Stochastic Collocation Method is introduced into EMC uncertainty analysis. It is demonstrated to be accurate, with high computational efficiency, compared with the Method of Moments, the perturbation method and the Monte Carlo method. The Stochastic Collocation Method requires no modification to the original solver, and it is fit for being introduced into EMC simulation software.
The Supply Function Equilibrium and its Policy Implications for Wholesale Electricity Auctions

The supply function equilibrium provides a game-theoretic model of strategic bidding in oligopolistic wholesale electricity auctions. This paper presents an intuitive account of current understanding and shows how welfare losses depend on the number of firms in the market and their asymmetry. Previous results and general recommendations for divisible-good/multi-unit auctions provides guidance on the design of the auction format, setting the reservation price, the rationing rule, and restrictions on the offer curves in wholesale electricity auctions.
Uridine Diphosphate Hexoses in Leukocytes and Fibroblasts of Classic Galactosemics and Patients with Other Metabolic Diseases

ABSTRACT: To examine uridine diphosphate hexose (UDPhexose) content of cells that have more complete metabolic patterns than erythrocytes, which have been commonly used in the study of galactosemia, the concentrations of uridine diphosphate galactose (UDPgalactose) and uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPglucose) were determined in white blood cells (WBC) and fibroblasts cultured from skin biopsies. Leukocyte UDPgalactose and UDPglucose values were determined in 60 normal individuals, 14 classic gamactosemics, and 18 patients with other metabolic diseases on protein-restricted and low-lactose diets. There was no difference in the average concentration of these compounds between any of these groups. There was no relationship between age and WBC UDPhexose content or correlation of WBC and erythrocyte UDPhexose levels in the same blood specimens. WBC from galactosemic individuals differ from their red blood cells because the former do not show the low average UDPgalactose levels and abnormal UDPglucose to UDPgalactose ratio previously reported for erythrocytes from galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase-deficient individuals. Fibroblast cell lines from 10 normal and 10 galactosemic individuals, cultured and grown to confluence in glucose medium, also showed no difference in nucleotide sugar concentrations. Thus far, of the cell types easily available, red blood cells appear to be unique in showing an abnormality in nucleotide sugar metabolism. The fact that galactosemic fibroblasts demonstrate no abnormality in the concentration of these compounds suggests that the defective galactosylation that has been observed in galactosemic fibroblasts is not due to unavailability of UDPgalactose.