Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parental Perspectives of the Health Status and Health-Related Quality of Life of Teen-Aged Children Who Were Extremely Low Birth Weight and Term Controls

Objectives. To compare the health status and health-related quality of life of teen-aged children who were extremely low birth weight (ELBW) with matched controls from the perspective of their parents. Study Design. Geographically defined cohort; longitudinal follow-up; cross-sectional interviews. Participants: parents of 149/169 (88%) ELBW children between 12 and 16 years of age (including 41 children with neurosensory impairments) and 126/145 (87%) parents of term controls. Health status of the teenagers was classified according to the 6 attributes of the Health Utilities Index Mark 2, based on information obtained during parent interviews. Parents were asked to imagine themselves living in their own child's health state and 4 preselected hypothetical health states when providing directly measured standard gamble utility scores. Results. Parents of ELBW children reported a higher frequency and more complex functional limitations than parents of controls for their own children's health status. Also, the mean utilities were lower (ELBW = .91 vs controls = .97) and the variability in their scores was greater. There were no differences in the valuation of the hypothetical health states provided by parents of ELBW and control children. Conclusions. ELBW children were reported to have a greater burden of disability than were control children based on parental descriptions. Nonetheless, parents of ELBW children, on average, rated the health-related quality of life of their children fairly high. Thus, differences in reported functional status are not necessarily associated with lower utility scores.
Trimethylamine N-oxide Supplementation Abolishes the Cardioprotective Effects of Voluntary Exercise in Mice Fed a Western Diet

Excessive consumption of western diet (WD) induces obesity, resulting in cardiac dysfunction. Voluntary exercise ameliorates WD-induced obesity, but its effect on cardiac dysfunction remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that elevated trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbe-derived metabolite, can impair cardiac function in WD-induced obesity. We hypothesized that cardiac dysfunction in WD-induced obesity would be prevented by voluntary exercise but abolished by TMAO supplementation. Male CD1 mice fed a WD were assigned to sedentary, exercise or exercise with TMAO treatment for 8 weeks. Male CD1 mice fed a normal diet (ND) for 8 weeks were assigned to sedentary (control). Compared with ND-sedentary mice, WD-sedentary mice gained significantly more body weight and displayed metabolic abnormalities at the end of the experiment. Echocardiography showed significantly impaired cardiac systolic and diastolic function in WD-induced obese mice. Voluntary exercise partially attenuated weight gain and metabolic disorders, but completely prevented cardiac dysfunction in WD-induced obese mice. Molecular studies revealed that WD-sedentary mice had elevated plasma TMAO levels, along with increased myocardial inflammation and fibrosis, all of which were inhibited by voluntary exercise. Of note, concomitant administration of TMAO had no effects on body weight and metabolic disorders, but it abolished the beneficial effects of voluntary exercise on cardiac dysfunction, myocardial inflammation, and fibrosis in WD-induced obese mice. The results suggest that voluntary exercise prevents cardiac dysfunction in WD-induced obesity by inhibiting myocardial inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, the cardioprotective effects of voluntary exercise in WD-induced obesity can be abolished by TMAO supplementation, which abrogates voluntary exercise-induced changes in myocardial inflammation and fibrosis.
Mangafodipir (MnDPDP)-and MnCl2-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation in bovine mesenteric arteries.

Mn++ complexed to DPDP (N,N'-dipyridoxylethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetate-5,5'-bis(phosphate) generic name: mangafodipir), abbreviated MnDPDP, acts as an effective contrast enhancing agent for liver MRI. In clinical trials, a commonly reported side effect after i.v. administration of MnDPDP was facial flushing, most probably due to peripheral vasodilation. The present study was conducted to address possible mechanisms to explain the flushing effect. Nitric oxide is known to be stabilized in the presence of both uncomplexed and complexed Mn++ and this stabilization is probably due to the superoxide-scavenging properties of Mn++. The present study has demonstrated that both MnDPDP and MnCl2 relax phenylephrine precontracted bovine mesenteric artery strips in concentration-dependent manner. It was also found that a concentration of 10 microM MnDPDP, MnEDTA or MnCl2 gave approximately the same relaxation response as 0.1 microM acetylcholine. DPDP and EDTA had no appreciable intrinsic relaxation potential Mn(++)-induced relaxation was abolished when the endothelial layer was removed from the arteries. In addition, the Mn(++)-induced relaxation was attenuated by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro-arginine and the putative superoxide anion generator 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione, but not by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. Both N-nitro-arginine and 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione were found to induce an endothelium-dependent constriction of the bovine mesenteric artery strips. An approximately 2-fold increase in the intracellular concentration of cyclic GMP was detected after the addition of 10 microM MnDPDP or 0.1 microM acetylcholine. The increase in cyclic GMP coincided with the onset of relaxation and was effectively abolished by pretreatment with N-nitro-arginine. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Nitric oxide modulates right ventricular flow and oxygen consumption during norepinephrine infusion.

This study was designed to test if nitric oxide (NO) contributes to norepinephrine-induced right coronary vasodilation and if NO blunts the norepinephrine-induced increase in myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO(2)) in the right ventricle. In five anesthetized, open-chest dogs, mean aortic pressure, heart rate, right ventricular rate of pressure development over time (dP/dt), right coronary blood flow, and right ventricular MVO(2) were measured before and during graded intracoronary infusions of norepinephrine in the absence and presence of a NO synthase blocker, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 150 microg/min i.c.). During both conditions, right coronary blood flow and right ventricular MVO(2) significantly increased with graded infusions of norepinephrine. L-NAME significantly blunted the coronary hyperemic response to norepinephrine, although L-NAME did not alter the relationship between right ventricular MVO(2) and norepinephrine dose. However, when right ventricular function was indexed by heart rate x right ventricular maximum dP/dt x peak right ventricular systolic pressure, L-NAME significantly increased the oxygen cost of right ventricular function. These results indicate that NO contributes to norepinephrine-induced right coronary vasodilation and improves right ventricular oxygen utilization efficiency.
Malaria in rural Nigeria : implications for the millennium development goals

: The paper analyses the incidence of malaria in rural Nigeria and its implication for the country's efforts to meet the targets of various domestic and global development policy blueprints. In recent years, there has been remarkable increase in human and financial commitments to global malaria control, partly due to the need to meet specific and relevant development targets set in the millennium development goals (MDGs). However, these efforts have not translated into a significant decrease in the incidence of the disease and its impact in Nigeria. Using the cost of illness method to analyse the impact of malaria on various attempts at national development, the paper found that substantial resources and domestic output is lost annually to malaria attack in Oyo State. This has serious implications for the achievement of the principles of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) and the MDG target. It is implied from the results that effective control of malaria is capable of reducing household poverty, inequality, while improving various determinants of welfare and national development.
Direct measurement of the superconducting properties of single grain boundaries in Y1Ba2Cu3O7- delta.

Une mesure directe de la densite de courant critique des joints de grains individuels est effectuee. La variation du courant critique de joints de grains en fonction du champ magnetique indique qu'ils sont compris entre des regions de faible et fort couplage Josephson. Un joint de grains unique est utilise pour construire un dispositif supraconducteur quantique. Les caracteristiques courant-tension d'une jonction de joint de grains, a tension finie, montre une structure de sous-bande interdite
Entomopathogenic nematodes for control of Phyllophaga georgiana (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in cranberries

Abstract A series of laboratory and greenhouse experiments evaluated the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema scarabaei Stock & Koppenhöfer, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar, and H. zealandica Poinar for control of second- and third-instar cranberry white grub, Phyllophaga georgiana Horn (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), in cranberries. Steinernema scarabaei was the most effective species with 76–100% control at a rate of 2.5×109 IJ/ha in the greenhouse experiments. H. zealandica and especially H. bacteriophora were generally less effective and required rates of 5×109 IJ/ha for acceptable control. Larval stage had no effect on H. zealandica and H. bacteriophora performance, whereas S. scarabaei was more effective against third instars than second instars in the laboratory but not in the greenhouse experiments. Steinernema scarabaei, should it become commercially available, could be an effective alternative to chemical insecticides for P. georgiana management.
Robust Detection of Single and Double Persistent Scatterers in Urban Built Environments

In this paper, we develop a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography-based persistent scatterer interferometry (Tomo-PSInSAR) method to detect single and double persistent scatterers (PSs) in urban built environments. By constructing a two-tier network, we can jointly detect single and double PSs with no need for preliminary removal of the atmospheric phase screen (APS) in the whole area. This technique is more applicable in high-rise built environments (e.g., Hong Kong) with cloudy and rainy weather, where there is much uncertainty when removing the APS. In the first-tier network, we aim to detect the most reliable single PSs (SPSs) by constructing a Delaunay triangulation network. To improve the robustness of estimation, we combine beamforming with an M-estimator for parameter estimation at the arcs and introduce a ridge estimator for network adjustment. In the second-tier network, we detect the remaining SPSs and all of the double PSs (DPSs) by constructing local star networks that use the SPSs detected in the first-tier network as reference points. To simplify the detection of DPSs, we employ a local maximum ratio method for extracting overlaid DPSs. Finally, 56 Hong Kong TerraSAR-X images are used to validate the Tomo-PSInSAR method.
Version control software in the open source process : a performative view of learning and organizing in the Linux collectif

This research describes a study of learning and organizing within the Linux kernel open source collective. For its empirical focus it concentrates on Linux kernel development activities and this collective's debates about the role of, and need for, an agreed approach to version control software. This is studied over a period of eight years from 1995-2003. A textual analysis of messages in the Linux Kernel mailing list is used as the primary data source, supported by other contemporary accounts. In this work learning and organizing are understood to be mutually constitutive, where one entails and enables the other. Learning is about interacting with the environment, organizing is about reflecting this in the collective. The thesis uses the theoretical approach of actor network theory, Bateson's levels of learning and Weick's concept of organizing, to analyze learning and organizing in the kernel collective. The analysis focuses on the discourse and interplay between relevant actors (human and non-human), and the ongoing debates among kernel developers over whether to use version control software, and then which version control software to adopt. The persistence and passion of this debate (it spans the 8 years studied and is ongoing) is evident, and allows a longitudinal study of the becoming of learning and organizing. Drawing on actor network theory, the thesis emphasizes the performative (worked out, lived, 'in the doing of', in other words the becoming) character of learning and organizing. The findings of the study reveal how learning is understood in the collective and is, to a degree, reflected in its organizing activity. Key themes that emerge include: the organizing of time and space, maintaining of transparency and the overall concern with sustaining the assemblage. The thesis offers a distinctive account of technical actors as an essential part of the open source process. In conclusion, it re-emphasizes the significance of code and the agency of non-human actors.
Bannayan–Riley–Ruvalcaba syndrome with reactive nodular lymphoid hyperplasia and autism and a PTEN mutation

Loredana Boccone,* Valentina Dessı̀, Antonietta Zappu, Silvia Piga, Maria Bonaria Piludu, Marco Rais, Carlo Massidda, Stefano De Virgiliis, Antonio Cao, and Georgios Loudianos Ospedale Regionale Microcitemie, Cagliari, Italy Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Biotecnologie, USC, Italy Istituto di Neurogenetica e Neurofarmacologia, CNR-Cagliari, Italy U.O. Anatomia Patologica, Ospedale Businco, Cagliari, Italy Chirurgia Oncologica, Ospedale Businco, Cagliari, Italy
Relationship of soccer heading to computerized neurocognitive performance and symptoms among female and male youth soccer players

Primary objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between soccer heading and computerized neurocognitive performance and symptoms in female and male youth soccer players. Research design: Cross-sectional and prospective design. Methods and procedures: A total of 63 (27 females, 36 males) youth soccer players aged 13–18 years (M = 15.89, SD = 1.17) participated in the study. Participants completed the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) and symptom report. Main outcomes: Computerized neurocognitive performance (e.g., verbal and visual memory, motor processing, and reaction time) and symptoms. Results: There were no differences in neurocognitive performance or symptoms among low-, moderate-, and high-exposure header groups. The current sample outperformed the 10th percentile norms for neurocognitive and symptom scores. Males headed the ball more frequently and reported lower verbal and visual memory and motor processing speed scores than females. Conclusion: The current findings did not support a relationship between soccer heading and computerized neurocognitive performance and symptoms. The researchers suggest that any purported effects of soccer heading in youth are subtle and may affect only a small number of athletes. The reported sex differences in heading exposure warrant further attention.
Stereological analysis of the reorganization of the dentate gyrus following entorhinal cortex lesion in mice

Denervation of the dentate gyrus by entorhinal cortex lesion has been widely used to study the reorganization of neuronal circuits following central nervous system lesion. Expansion of the non‐denervated inner molecular layer (commissural/associational zone) of the dentate gyrus and increased acetylcholinesterase‐positive fibre density in the denervated outer molecular layer have commonly been regarded as markers for sprouting following entorhinal cortex lesion. However, because this lesion extensively denervates the outer molecular layer and causes tissue shrinkage, stereological analysis is required for an accurate evaluation of sprouting. To this end we have performed unilateral entorhinal cortex lesions in adult C57BL/6J mice and have assessed atrophy and sprouting in the dentate gyrus using modern unbiased stereological techniques. Results revealed the expected increases in commissural/associational zone width and density of acetylcholinesterase‐positive fibres on single brain sections. Yet, stereological analysis failed to demonstrate concomitant increases in layer volume or total acetylcholinesterase‐positive fibre length. Interestingly, calretinin‐positive fibres did grow beyond the border of the commissural/associational zone into the denervated layer and were regarded as sprouting axons. Thus, our data suggest that in C57BL/6J mice shrinkage of the hippocampus rather than growth of fibres underlies the two morphological phenomena most often cited as evidence of regenerative sprouting following entorhinal cortex lesion. Moreover, our data suggest that regenerative axonal sprouting in the mouse dentate gyrus following entorhinal cortex lesion may be best assessed at the single‐fibre level.
Immunologic and Serologic Testing in Patients with Ménière's Disease

Objective To establish the value of immunologic and serologic testing in patients with Ménière's disease. Study Design Prospective cohort. Setting University-based, tertiary care balance center. Intervention Patients with active unilateral or bilateral Ménière's disease underwent testing, including antinuclear antibodies, anti-DNA antibodies, rheumatoid factor, complement levels, anti-Sjögren syndrome A and B antibodies, sedimentation rate, antiphospholipid antibodies, Western blot for anticochlear antibodies (anti-heat shock protein 70), microhemagglutination test for Treponema pallidum, and Lyme titers. Outcome Measures Results of laboratory tests. Results In patients with unilateral Ménière's disease (n = 40), 27% demonstrated elevated antiphospholipid antibody titers (population norm, 6–9%). The majority of these patients manifested negative assays on the other tests listed above. In patients with bilateral Ménière's disease (n = 18), elevations in antinuclear antibody titers (38%) were the most notable finding. As part of a broader study of patients with progressive hearing loss, four patients with positive syphilis titers were identified; however, none of these patients complained of vertigo. Conclusion In general, the results of this study do not support the hypothesis that immune or infectious pathologies are involved in the pathogenesis of unilateral Ménière's disease. In particular, Lyme disease does not seem to cause labyrinthine disease. However, the potential role of the thrombogenic antiphospholipid antibodies must be further investigated. Patients with bilateral Ménière's disease may be more likely to have a systemic autoimmune process.
Narrative identity and meaning making across the adult lifespan: an introduction.

In a quiet but consistent way, a new subdiscipline of personality psychology—narrative identity research—has emerged. Its organizing concern is how individuals employ narratives to develop and sustain a sense of personal unity and purpose from diverse experiences across the lifespan (McAdams, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001). Partly obscured by its interweavings with clinical, developmental, and cognitive psychology, as well as links to social psychology (e.g., Baumeister, Wotman, & Stillwell, 1993; Gergen, 1992; Sarbin, 1986), and the related social sciences of sociology and anthropology, it has sometimes seemed too diffuse or chameleonlike to identify. Finding allies in philosophy (Ricoeur, 1984), psychoanalysis (Schafer, 1981; Spence, 1982), narrative therapy (White & Epston, 1990) and literature (e.g., Lau, 2002; Bruner & Weisser, 1991), it may have appeared too humanities-oriented to be considered a part of scientific inquiry. With its roots in the personological perspective of Henry Murray (1938), it may have been written off by some as too grand in design and similar to Murray’s noble, but daunting, efforts to capture all of the complexity of human personality. Now, however, it is clear that there is a body of midcareer and younger empirical researchers who place narrative identity at the center of personality. In the language of McAdams’s (1995) framework of personality, this group draws on Level 1 ‘‘Trait’’ measures,
Lymph nodes as sites of metastases from sarcomas of soft tissue

Records of 323 patients with TNM Stage M0 sarcoma of soft tissue treated by the Radiation Medicine Service of the Massachusetts General Hospital over a 14‐year period were reviewed to study the incidence and the implication of regional lymph node involvement. Nineteen patients (5.9%) had evidence of sarcoma metastatic to draining lymph nodes, zero of 63 (0%) were Grade 1 sarcomas, two of 118 (2%) were Grade 2, and 17 of 142 (12%) were Grade 3 sarcomas. Among patients with Grade 3 sarcomas, rhabdomyosarcoma (five of 14), vascular sarcoma (two of five), and epithelioid sarcoma (four of five) were associated with a higher incidence of lymph node involvement than synovial sarcomas (zero of four), fibrosarcomas (zero of 16), malignant fibrohistiocytomas (one of 29), neurofibrosarcomas (one of eight), liposarcomas (one of 14), and leiomyosarcomas (one of ten). From the 19 patients who had evidence of metastatic nodes, six (32%) were alive more than 58 months after the treatment of the nodes; four of six patients were without further tumor. The data of this study are compared with those cited in a review of the literature.
Pleuropulmonary manifestation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi Arabia

Background and Objectives: Pleuropulmonary (PP) involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, limited data are available regarding lung complications in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia. The objectives of the current study were to determine the prevalence of PP manifestations and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 419 patients diagnosed at a tertiary center over a 12.5-year period. The frequency of pulmonary manifestations was recorded based on combined results from chest X-rays, pulmonary function tests, and high-resolution computed tomography scan of the chest. Results: The overall frequency of lung involvement was 25.8%. Pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung disease were the most common abnormalities (36%, 35%, and 23%, respectively). The presence of comorbid illness (odds ratio [OR]: 3.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.02–5.1), male gender (OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3–4.24), and the presence of extra-articular manifestations of RA (ExRA) (OR: 2.35; 95% CI: 0.4–4.01) were predictive of lung involvement. Conclusions: Pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung disease were the most common abnormalities seen in RA patients. The presence of comorbidity, male gender, and ExRA was significantly associated with lung involvement.
Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil and Major Constituents of Salvia chloroleuca

The aerial parts of Salvia chloroleuca were collected at full flowering stage at Shahrestanak (Tehran province of Iran). The essential oil was isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by combination of capillary GC and GC-MS. Thirty-four components were identified, representing 98.5% of the total oil. β-Pinene (10.6%), α-pinene (9.0%), β-caryophyllene (9.0%), 1,8-cineole (9.0%) and carvacrol (7.9%) were the main components. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of S. chloroleuca was studied against seven Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and three fungi (Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger); the disc diffusion method and MIC values indicated that the oil exhibited moderate to high antimicrobial activity.