Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal and predicted anxiety in 9–12‐year‐old track and field athletes

In an effort to determine the applicability of individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF) theory in young athletes, state anxiety was assessed in 40 track and field athletes (20 male and 20 female) from 9 to 12 years of age. Optimal anxiety was determined by having participants complete the state‐trait anxiety scale for children (STAIC) with instructions to recall how anxious they felt prior to their best performance of the season. Twenty‐four hours prior to three ‘more important’ and three ‘less important’ track meets, participants completed the STAIC under instructions to predict how anxious they would feel 1 h prior to the upcoming track meet. Actual precompetition anxiety was assessed 1 h prior to each meet. Selfratings of performance were collected following each meet in which the athletes competed. Athletes were grouped by age (younger, 9‐10 years old); (older, 11‐12 years old) and by gender for analysis. Analysis by independent t‐tests indicated that predicted and actual precompetition anxiety values did not differ for either age or gender for the more important meets. However, the 11‐12‐year‐old girls had higher (P<0.05) predicted and actual anxiety values in the ‘less important’ meets than all other groups. Significant correlations (P<0.05) between predicted and actual precompetition anxiety occurred in all groups for both the less important and more important meets (r=0.66‐0.97), with the exception of the 9–10‐year‐old girls for less important meets (r=0.38, P>0.05). Of all the participants, 26% reported performing best when anxiety values were in the high range. Self‐ratings of performance were not lower (P>0.05) in cases in which the athlete experienced high levels of precompetition anxiety. In summary, the present findings indicate that several aspects of IZOF theory apply to preadolescent athletes.
Predicting the evolution of Kaposi sarcoma, in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era

Background:The outcome of Kaposi sarcoma varies. While many patients do well on highly active antiretroviral therapy, others have progressive disease and need chemotherapy. In order to predict which patients are at risk of unfavorable evolution, we established a prognostic score. Method:The survival analysis (Kaplan–Meier method; Cox proportional hazards models) of 144 patients with Kaposi sarcoma prospectively included in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, from January 1996 to December 2004, was conducted.Outcome analyzed: use of chemotherapy or death.Variables analyzed: demographics, tumor staging [T0 or T1 (16)], CD4 cell counts and HIV-1 RNA concentration, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) DNA in plasma and serological titers to latent and lytic antigens. Results:Of 144 patients, 54 needed chemotherapy or died. In the univariate analysis, tumor stage T1, CD4 cell count below 200 cells/μl, positive HHV8 DNA and absence of antibodies against the HHV8 lytic antigen at the time of diagnosis were significantly associated with a bad outcome.Using multivariate analysis, the following variables were associated with an increased risk of unfavorable outcome: T1 [hazard ratio (HR) 5.22; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.97–9.18], CD4 cell count below 200 cells/μl (HR 2.33; 95% CI 1.22–4.45) and positive HHV8 DNA (HR 2.14; 95% CI 1.79–2.85). We created a score with these variables ranging from 0 to 4: T1 stage counted for two points, CD4 cell count below 200 cells/μl for one point, and positive HHV8 viral load for one point. Each point increase was associated with a HR of 2.26 (95% CI 1.79–2.85). Conclusion:In the multivariate analysis, staging (T1), CD4 cell count (<200 cells/μl), positive HHV8 DNA in plasma, at the time of diagnosis, predict evolution towards death or the need of chemotherapy.
Time-varying Cointegration Models and Exchange Rate Predictability in Korea

We examine the validity of popular exchange rate models such as the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis and the monetary model for Korean won/US dollar exchange rate. Various specification tests demonstrate that Korean data are more favorable for both models based on time-varying cointegration coefficients as compared to those based on constant cointegration coefficients. When the abilities to predict future exchange rates between those models based on timevarying cointegration coefficients are compared, an in-sample analysis shows that the time-varying PPP (monetary model) has better predictive power over horizons shorter (longer) than one year. Results from an out-of-sample analysis indicate that the time-varying PPP outperforms models based on constant cointegration coefficients when predicting future exchange rate changes in the long run.
Comparative studies on storage stability of ferrous iron in whole wheat flour and flat bread (naan)

Whole wheat flour was fortified with premix containing ferrous sulfate, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and folic acid (20.0:20.0:1.5 ppm) and was stored at ambient temperature for 60 days. Naans (flat bread) were prepared from 0 ppm, 25 ppm, 50 ppm and 75 ppm ferrous iron-fortified flour samples at 10-day intervals and were analyzed for physicochemical constants and sensory evaluation. It was observed that flour containing 75 ppm ferrous sulfate contained the highest iron residues. The total iron in flour samples showed no significant difference, while ferrous iron significantly decreased in fortified flour (0.53–3.08%) and in the naans (0.42–3.48%) because of its oxidation to ferric iron during storage. The phytic acid content decreased (0.886–0.810%) significantly during the same storage period. Iron levels affected some sensory characteristics significantly (P≤0.05), including color, texture, flexibility, chewability and overall acceptability of the naans, but not taste and flavor. The sensory attributes of naans illustrated that naans containing 50 ppm ferrous iron are more acceptable than those prepared with 75 ppm ferrous iron.
Re-Thinking a MNC: The Role of Cognitive Interventions in Organizational Design

Using a managerial cognition lens, we investigate the organizational design issues facing multinational corporation (MNC) managers. We apply concepts hitherto untested in the international management (IM) literature to a longitudinal study of reconfiguration efforts within a large, Asian MNC. We focus on how organizational design outcomes can be affected through mental interventions that provoke changes in senior executives’ mental representations of what the MNC is and can be to achieve a strategic redirection and redesign. We draw on extensive interview and other qualitative data. Our study contributes to the literatures on MNC design and to our understanding of the important, but largely neglected, micro-foundational role of cognition in IM. This field research on executive judgment and decision-making in real time offers unique insights into the dynamics of MNC design.
Relation between bed use, social deprivation, and overall bed availability in acute adult psychiatric units, and alternative residential options: a cross sectional survey, one day census data, and staff interviews

Abstract Objectives: To examine the relation between bed use, social deprivation, and overall bed availability in acute adult psychiatric units and to explore the range of alternative residential options. Design: Cross sectional survey, combined with one day census data; ratings by and interviews with staff; examination of routine data sources. Settings: Nationally representative sample of acute psychiatric units. Subjects: 2236 patients who were inpatients on census day. Main outcome measures: Bed occupancy levels, judged need for continuing inpatient care, reasons preventing discharge, scores on the Health of the Nation outcome scales. Results: Bed occupancy was related to social deprivation and total availability of acute beds (r =0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 0.88, F=8.72, df=2, 23; P=0.002). However, 27% (603/2215) of current inpatients (61% (90/148) of those with stays of >6 months) were judged not to need continuing admission. The major reasons preventing discharge were lack of suitable accommodation (37% (176/482) of patients in hospital <6 months v 36% (31/86) of those in hospital >6 months); inadequate domiciliary based community support (23% (113) v 9% (8)); and lack of long term rehabilitation places (21% (100) v 47% (40)). Scores on the Health of the Nation outcome scale were generally consistent with these staff judgments. Conclusions: The shortage of beds in acute psychiatric units is related to both social deprivation and the overall availability of acute beds. Patients currently inappropriately placed on acute admission wards should be relocated into more suitable accommodation, either in hospital or in the community. A range of provisions is required; simply providing more acute beds is not the answer. Key messages This study shows that there is a shortage of acute psychiatric beds and that this is related to both social deprivation and the overall availability of beds Over a quarter of inpatients were considered to be inappropriately placed on admission wards–for those with lengths of stay of more than six months this figure increased to 61% Lack of suitable accommodation, home based support, and rehabilitation places was identified as the major reason preventing discharge A range of hospital and community facilities is therefore required to address these problems of over-occupancy and shortages of acute beds
Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy and Judicious Use of Pediatric Emergency Resources.

BACKGROUND Pediatric returns to the emergency department (RTED) vary between 3% and 13% of the total ED volume of visits. However, the incidence and contribution of scheduled RTED on pediatric emergency department (PED) utilization is less clear. Antimicrobial stewardship programs on inpatient wards have been shown to improve judicious use of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in upon discharge. The implementation of such programs in PEDs has yet to be reported. The objectives of this study are to quantify the burden of scheduled RTED for OPAT on PED utilization and to examine how frequently OPAT use are supported by published practice standards for 3 common pediatric infections-cellulitis, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. METHODS We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of all visits made to the British Columbia Children's Hospital PED from May 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013. We identified scheduled RTEDs and characterized those associated with OPAT use with regard to their measures of PED utilization and clinical features. RESULTS Of 3904 RTED visits, 1310 (33.6%) were scheduled, of which 1029 were OPAT related. Among the latter, 749 RTEDs (69%) were for cellulitis, pneumonia, or urinary tract infections. The median length of stay for OPAT-related RTEDs was 2.0 hours. For 75 (24%) of 317 index visits and 213 (28%) of 749 subsequent RTEDs, oral antibiotic therapy would have been an appropriate option and OPAT could have been avoided. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that OPAT poses a sizable burden on PED utilization, with a proportion of them potentially preventable.
SAD kinases control the maturation of nerve terminals in the mammalian peripheral and central nervous systems

Significance Synapses between neurons are the primary means by which information flows through the nervous system. The molecular and functional complexity of synapses has been appreciated for some time, but the mechanisms by which synapses assemble remain unclear. We previously identified a conserved pair of signaling proteins, SAD kinases, required for two early events in the formation of axons by developing neurons. Here, we demonstrate that this same pair of signaling molecules acts in a later step to promote the maturation of axonal segments into presynaptic nerve terminals. Thus, SAD kinases may serve to coordinate multiple aspects of neuronal development. Axons develop in a series of steps, beginning with specification, outgrowth, and arborization, and terminating with formation and maturation of presynaptic specializations. We found previously that the SAD-A and SAD-B kinases are required for axon specification and arborization in subsets of mouse neurons. Here, we show that following these steps, SAD kinases become localized to synaptic sites and are required within presynaptic cells for structural and functional maturation of synapses in both peripheral and central nervous systems. Deleting SADs from sensory neurons can perturb either axonal arborization or nerve terminal maturation, depending on the stage of deletion. Thus, a single pair of kinases plays multiple, sequential roles in axonal differentiation.
An extra-trees-based automatic target recognition algorithm

In this article, we describe a new automatic target recognition algorithm for classifying SAR images. It is based on the PiXiT image classifier, already used in several applications, which uses randomized sub-windows extraction and extremely randomized trees (extra-trees). This approach requires very little pre-processing of the images, thereby limiting the computational load. It was successfully tested on the public standard MSTAR database, achieving a misclassification rate of about one percent.
Influence of environmental statistics on inhibition of saccadic return

Initiating an eye movement is slowed if the saccade is directed to a location that has been fixated in the recent past. We show that this inhibitory effect is modulated by the temporal statistics of the environment: If a return location is likely to become behaviorally relevant, inhibition of return is absent. By fitting an accumulator model of saccadic decision-making, we show that the inhibitory effect and the sensitivity to local statistics can be dissociated in their effects on the rate of accumulation of evidence, and the threshold controlling the amount of evidence needed to generate a saccade.
New doxycycline‐inducible transgenic lines in Xenopus

We have characterized two new transgenic Xenopus lines enabling transgene expression using the Tet‐On inducible system. An inducer line expresses the doxycycline‐ (Dox‐) activated transcription factor rtTA under control of the ubiquitous promoter CMV. A responder line enables Dox‐inducible expression of a dominant positive thyroid hormone receptor via a tetracycline responsive transgenic promoter (TRE). Dox‐induced expression of transgenic GFP mRNA was detectable after 3 hr and increased up to 10‐ to 50‐fold by 2 days depending on dose of Dox. Induced GFP mRNA expression returned to uninduced levels within 3 days upon Dox removal. Treatment of rtTA inducer and TRE responder double transgenic animals with Dox caused acceleration of metamorphic changes in thyroid hormone‐response gene expression and morphology. These transgenic lines will be made available through the new Xenopus Stock Center and will serve as valuable tools for genetic analysis of development and metamorphosis. Developmental Dynamics 240:1467–1474, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A comparison of biochemical and functional alterations of rat and human erythrocytes stored in CPDA‐1 for 29 days: implications for animal models of transfusion

Animal models of transfusion are employed in many research areas yet little is known about the storage‐related changes occurring in the blood used in these studies. This study assessed storage‐related changes in red blood cell (RBC) biochemistry, function and membrane deformability in rat and human packed RBCs when stored in CPDA‐1 at 4 °C over a 4‐week period. Human blood from five volunteers and five bags of rat RBC concentrates (five donor rats per bag) were collected and stored at 4 °C. RBC function was assessed by post‐transfusion viability and the ability to regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and 2,3‐diphosphoglycerate (DPG) when treated with a rejuvenation solution. Membrane deformability was determined by a micropipette aspiration technique. ATP in rat RBCs declined more rapidly than human RBCs; after 1 week rat ATP fell to the same level as human cells after 4 weeks of storage (rat, 2·2 ± 0·2 µmol g−1 Hb; human, 2·5 ± 0·3 µmol g−1 Hb). Baseline DPG concentrations were similar in rat and human RBCs (16·2 ± 2·3 µmol g−1 Hb and 13·7 ± 2·4 µmol g−1 Hb) and declined very rapidly in both species. Human RBCs fully regenerated ATP and DPG when treated with a rejuvenation solution after 4 weeks of storage. Rat RBCs regenerated ATP but not DPG. Post‐transfusion viability in rat cells was 79%, 26% and 5% after 1, 2 and 4 weeks of storage, respectively. In rats, decreased membrane deformability became significant (− 54%) after 7 days. Human RBC deformability decreased significantly by 34% after 4 weeks of storage. The rejuvenation solution restored RBC deformability to control levels in both species. Our results indicate that rat RBCs stored for 1 week in CPDA‐1 develop a storage lesion similar to that of human RBCs stored for 4 weeks and underscores significant species‐specific differences in the structure and metabolism of these cells.
Comparative Analysis of AGE and RAGE Levels in Human Somatic and Embryonic Stem Cells under H2O2-Induced Noncytotoxic Oxidative Stress Conditions

The accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) occurs in ageing and in many degenerative diseases as a final outcome of persistent oxidative stress on cells and organs. Environmental alterations taking place during early embryonic development can also lead to oxidative damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and AGE accumulation. Whether similar mechanisms act on somatic and embryonic stem cells (ESC) exposed to oxidative stress is not known; and therefore, the modelling of oxidative stress in vitro on human ESC has been the focus of this study. We compared changes in Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) advanced glycation end products and RAGE levels in hESC versus differentiated somatic cells exposed to H2O2 within the noncytotoxic range. Our data revealed that hESC accumulates CML and RAGE under oxidative stress conditions in different ways than somatic cells, being the accumulation of CML statistically significant only in somatic cells and, conversely, the RAGE increase exclusively appreciated in hESC. Then, following cardiac and neural differentiation, we observed a progressive removal of AGEs and at the same time an elevated activity of the 20S proteasome. We conclude that human ESCs constitute a unique model to study the consequence of an oxidative environment in the pluripotent cells of the embryo during the human preimplantation period.
Use of Risk Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment in Decision Making: A Common Policy Research Agenda

Quantitative risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are both analytical tools used to support decision making in environmental management. They have been developed and used by largely separate groups of specialists, and it is worth considering whether there is a common research agenda that may increase the relevance of these tools in decision‐making processes. The validity of drawing comparisons between use of the tools is established through examining key aspects of the two approaches for their similarities and differences, including the nature of each approach and contextual and methodological aspects. Six case studies involving use of each approach in public decision making are described and used to draw out concerns about using RA and LCA in this context. The following categories of concern can be distinguished: philosophical approach of the tools; quantitative versus qualitative assessment; stakeholder participation; the nature of the results; and the usefulness of the results in relation to time and financial resource requirements. These can be distilled into a common policy research agenda focusing on: the legitimacy of using tools built on a particular perspective in decision making; recognition and role of value judgments in RA and LCA; treatment of uncertainty and variability; the influence of analytical tools in focusing attention on particular aspects of a decision‐making situation; and understandability of the results for nonspecialists. It is concluded that it is time to bring together the experiences of RA and LCA specialists and benefit from cross‐fertilization of ideas.
Oxidative stress and biochemical responses in the tissues of African catfish Clarias gariepinus juvenile following exposure to primextra herbicide

Abstract Primextra is a commercial herbicide formulation generally used in agriculture for weed control. The present study was designed to investigate the oxidative stress biomarkers and biochemical responses in the tissues of Clarias gariepinus juvenile exposed to primextra. Fish were exposed to 0.24 and 0.47 mgL−1 corresponding to 1/20 and 1/10th of 96 h LC50 of the herbicide. The liver and muscle tissues were sampled on day 1, 5, 10 and 15 and results showed concentration and time dependent significant increase (p < 0.05) in the values of lipid peroxidation, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and alkaline phosphatase in both tissues. A marked significant increase (p < 0.05) was observed in the values of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and glucose in the liver while a mixed trend in their values were observed in the muscle. The values of superoxide dismutase and protein in both tissues were comparable to the control except on day 15 in the liver where the values significantly declined. The condition factor was not directly affected but values of hepatosomatic index were significantly reduced. The present findings revealed that primextra induced toxic stress even at sublethal concentrations resulting in alterations of the studied parameters which were more evident in the fish liver than in the muscle tissue.
A Multicenter Evaluation of Blood Glucose Awareness Training-II

OBJECTIVE Blood glucose awareness training (BGAT) teaches individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes to more accurately estimate/detect their blood glucose (BG) fluctuations. It has not, however, consistently resulted in improved ability to detect low BG. To assess an enhanced version of BGAT (BGAT-II), with more focus on increasing sensitivity to low BG events, a multicenter study was undertaken. Following up on previous findings that BGAT is most effective with individuals who are least accurate in estimating BG, this study explicitly recruited subjects who did and did not report reduced awareness of hypoglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventy-eight subjects from three research sites participated in a repeated baseline design. Subjects' BG estimation accuracy and BG profiles were assessed 6 months before, immediately before, and immediately after BGAT-II. RESULTS Post-treatment, BGAT-II led to better overall accuracy in detecting BG fluctuations and better detection of both low and high BG levels. This was achieved while the number of low readings of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) was reduced. Reduction in the number of low SMBG events was significant only for subjects reporting awareness of hypoglycemia. Detection of low BG was significant only for subjects reporting reduced awareness of hypoglycemia. Both groups demonstrated equivalent improvements in detection of high BG levels. CONCLUSIONS BGAT may be an eﬀective behavioral strategy for reversing hypoglycemic unawareness and an adjunct to intensive insulin therapy to reduce the occurrence of severe hypoglycemia.