Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule among Australian Youth

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was designed to measure two independent or orthogonal dimensions of mood. The present study concerned selected psychometric characteristics of the schedule in a convenience sample of 237 Australian adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. The results were generally supportive of the schedule's reported psychometric properties and for its use across age and nationality.
Application of Tissue Doppler Imaging in Cardiology

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a new echocardiographic technique employing the Doppler principle to measure the velocity of myocardial segments and other cardiac structures. It is well suited for the measurement of long-axis ventricular function. Impairment of longitudinal myocardial fiber motion is a sensitive marker of early myocardial dysfunction and ischaemia, and TDI might therefore become an important tool in routine echocardiography. The technique allows truly quantitative measurement of regional myocardial function both at rest and during stress echocardiography. TDI has great potential in the diagnosis of diastolic left ventricular dysfunction, overcoming the load-dependence of conventional Doppler techniques. Right ventricular function, intracardiac and pulmonary artery pressures, transplant rejection and intraventricular dyssynchrony can also be assessed. This article reviews the current and evolving applications of TDI in cardiology.
Contextual Dependencies in a Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm

Two experiments with human subjects assessed contextual dependencies in a stimulus equivalence paradigm. Subjects learned to form two sets of stimuli in a matching-to-sample training procedure. Each set was presented against one of two different background colours, the contextual cues. At test, the influence of a context change—that is, presenting each set against the other context—was measured on baseline, symmetry, and equivalence trials. These three trial types reflect a difference in task complexity. It was predicted that the magnitude of context-dependent effects would be a positive function of task complexity. In Experiment 1, the context change was realized by switching the stimulus set at test while keeping the background colour constant. In Experiment 2, the stimulus set remained constant, and the background colour was switched. In both experiments, a change in context only resulted in an increase in response latency on equivalence trials; no effect was seen on symmetry and baseline trials. Results were discussed in the framework of switch costs, habituation to contextual stimuli, and a model based on Shea and Wright (1995) that explains the differential influence of a context switch on easy versus difficult tasks.
Food-based science curriculum yields gains in nutrition knowledge.

BACKGROUND Students may be receiving less than an average of 4 hours of nutrition instruction per year. Integrating nutrition with other subject areas such as science may increase exposure to nutrition education, while supporting existing academics. METHODS During the 2009-2010 school year, researchers implemented the Food, Math, and Science Teaching Enhancement Resource (FoodMASTER) Intermediate (FMI) curriculum in 18 fourth-grade classrooms, whereas 16 classrooms served as comparison. FMI is a hands-on, integrative curriculum for children in grades 3-5 that uses food as a tool to teach mathematics and science. Researchers developed a 28-item multiple-choice questionnaire to assess students' nutrition knowledge in 6 content areas. Students were evaluated at baseline and post-intervention. Data were analyzed using independent t tests. Analysis of covariance was employed to control for differences at baseline when assessing the effectiveness of the FMI curriculum to increase nutrition knowledge. RESULTS A significant improvement was observed in total nutrition knowledge at post-intervention (adjusting for baseline) between groups (F [1] = 128.95; p < .01) and in all content areas post-intervention. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study suggest teachers were successfully able to integrate science and nutrition to meet multiple academic standards. More specifically, results showed implementation of the integrative FMI curriculum effectively improved fourth-graders' nutrition knowledge compared with students not exposed to FMI.
Impact of a Rapid Herpes Simplex Virus PCR Assay on Duration of Acyclovir Therapy

ABSTRACT Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections of the central nervous system (CNS) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates in children. This study assessed the impact of a direct HSV (dHSV) PCR assay on the time to result reporting and the duration of acyclovir therapy for children with signs and symptoms of meningitis and encephalitis. A total of 363 patients with HSV PCR results from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were included in this retrospective analysis, divided into preimplementation and postimplementation groups. For the preimplementation group, CSF testing was performed using a laboratory-developed real-time PCR assay; for the postimplementation group, CSF samples were tested using a direct sample-to-answer assay. All CSF samples were negative for HSV. Over 60% of patients from both groups were prescribed acyclovir. The average HSV PCR test turnaround time for the postimplementation group was reduced by 14.5 h (23.6 h versus 9.1 h; P < 0.001). Furthermore, 79 patients (43.6%) in the postimplementation group had dHSV PCR results reported <4 h after specimen collection. The mean time from specimen collection to acyclovir discontinuation was 17.1 h shorter in the postimplementation group (31.1 h versus 14 h; P < 0.001). The median duration of acyclovir therapy was also significantly reduced in the postimplementation group (29.2 h versus 14.3 h; P = 0.01). Our investigation suggests that implementation of rapid HSV PCR testing can decrease turnaround times and the duration of unnecessary acyclovir therapy.
Do current measurement approaches underestimate levels of unwanted childbearing? Evidence from rural India

The validity of estimates of unintended childbearing has often been questioned, especially given their almost exclusive reliance on responses to survey questions that ask women to recall their intentions about past pregnancies. An opportunity to compare prospective and retrospective descriptions of intendedness was provided by a follow-up survey in four Indian states in 2002–2003 of rural woman originally interviewed in the 1998–99 National Family Health Survey-2. The results demonstrate a pronounced tendency for births prospectively classified as unwanted to be retrospectively described as having been wanted or mistimed. The main reason seems to be either that mothers adapt to the reality of a new birth or are reluctant to describe an existing child as having initially been unwanted. Our findings suggest that retrospective accounts of the wantedness of a birth, such as those obtained by current Demographic and Health Surveys, may lead to significant underestimates of true levels of unwanted childbearing.
Fibrinogen inhibits fibroblast‐mediated contraction of collagen

Extracellular matrix changes in composition and organization as it transitions from the provisional matrix of the fibrin/platelet plug to collagen scar in healed wounds. The manner in which individual matrix proteins affect these activities is not well established. In this article we describe the interactions of two important extracellular matrix components, fibrin and collagen, using an in vitro model of wound contraction, the fibroblast‐populated collagen lattice. We utilized different fibrinogen sources and measured tissue reorganization in floating and tensioned collagen lattices. Our results showed that both fibrin and fibrinogen decreased the contraction of fibroblast populated collagen lattices in a dose‐dependent manner. Polymerization of fibrinogen to fibrin using thrombin had no effect on this inhibition. Further, there was no effect due to changes in protein concentration, alternate components of the fibrin sealant, or the enzymatic action of thrombin. These results suggest that the initial stability of the fibrin provisional matrix is due to the fibrin, because this protein appears to inhibit contraction of the matrix. This may be important in the early phases of wound healing when clot stability is vital for hemostasis. Later, as fibrin is replaced by collagen, wound contraction can occur. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:380–385)
Qualitative data analysis

Good qualitative research uses a systematic and rigorous approach that aims to answer questions concerned with what something is like (such as a patient experience), what people think or feel about something that has happened, and it may address why something has happened as it has. Qualitative data often takes the form of words or text and can include images. Qualitative research covers a very broad range of philosophical underpinnings and methodological approaches. Each has its own particular way of approaching all stages of the research process, including analysis, and has its own terms and techniques, but there are some common threads that run across most of these approaches. This Research Made Simple piece will focus on some of these common threads in the analysis of qualitative research. So you have collected all your qualitative data – you may have a pile of interview transcripts, field-notes, documents and …
Acute Transient Vestibular Syndrome: Prevalence of Stroke and Efficacy of Bedside Evaluation

Background and Purpose— The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of stroke and efficacy of bedside evaluation in diagnosing stroke in acute transient vestibular syndrome (ATVS). Methods— We performed a prospective, single-center, observational study that had consecutively recruited 86 patients presenting with ATVS to the emergency department of Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital from January to December 2014. All patients received a constructed evaluation, including HINTS plus (head impulse, nystagmus patterns, test of skew, and finger rubbing) and brain magnetic resonance imagings. Patients without an obvious cause further received perfusion-weighted imaging. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine clinical parameters to identify stroke in ATVS. Results— The prevalence of stroke was 27% in ATVS. HINTS plus could not be applied to the majority of patients because of the resolution of the vestibular symptoms, and magnetic resonance imagings were falsely negative in 43% of confirmed strokes. Ten patients (12%) showed unilateral cerebellar hypoperfusion on perfusion-weighted imaging without an infarction on diffusion-weighted imaging, and 8 of them had a focal stenosis or hypoplasia of the corresponding vertebral artery. The higher risk of stroke in ATVS was found in association with craniocervical pain (odds ratio, 9.6; 95% confidence interval, 2.0–45.2) and focal neurological symptoms/signs (odds ratio, 15.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.5–93.8). Conclusions— Bedside examination and routine magnetic resonance imagings have a limitation in diagnosing strokes presenting with ATVS, and perfusion imaging may help to identify strokes in ATVS of unknown cause. Associated craniocervical pain and focal neurological symptoms/signs are the useful clues for strokes in ATVS.
Estimation and Testing for Unit Root Processes with GARCH (1, 1) Errors: Theory and Monte Carlo Evidence

Abstract Least squares (LS) and maximum likelihood (ML) estimation are considered for unit root processes with GARCH (1, 1) errors. The asymptotic distributions of LS and ML estimators are derived under the condition α + β < 1. The former has the usual unit root distribution and the latter is a functional of a bivariate Brownian motion, as in Ling and Li [Ling, S. , Li, W. K. (1998). Limiting distributions of maximum likelihood estimators for unstable autoregressive moving‐average time series with GARCH errors. Ann. Statist.26:84–125]. Several unit root tests based on LS estimators, ML estimators, and mixing LS and ML estimators, are constructed. Simulation results show that tests based on mixing LS and ML estimators perform better than Dickey–Fuller tests which are based on LS estimators, and that tests based on the ML estimators perform better than the mixed estimators.
Selective Attention in Consumer Finance: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in the Credit Card Market

In partnership with a Personal Finance Platform in Brazil, I implement a randomized intervention to measure the effect of reminders for timely payment of credit card bills. While I find a 13% reduction in the cost of late fees paid, 31% of the users that avoid credit card late payments, incur instead overdraft fees on their checking accounts. This leads to heterogeneous gains from the intervention with some users saving 15% in total fees paid, and others incurring increased fees of 5%. I interpret these results using theories of salience-driven selective attention, and argue that informational nudges may inflate the perceived importance of the target task. The results of this experiment suggest that when designing policy interventions, one size may not fit all, and targeting nudges to those who are more likely to benefit from them has the potential to significantly increase the gains from the intervention. ∗I am grateful to Effi Benmelech, Meghan Busse, Leemore Dafny, Brian Melzer and Richard Thaler for their very valuable guidance and support. I also thank Hasat Cakkalkurt, Anthony DeFusco, Jeff Ely, Sean Hundtofte, Cynthia Kinnan, Daniel Martin, David Matsa, Takeshi Murooka, John Mondragon, Paola Sapienza, Andrei Shleifer and seminar participants at Northwestern, LMU Munich, 2016 Whitebox Conference, Banco de Mexico, 2016 IPA Financial Inclusion Gathering, TAMU, UOttawa, Colby College, Stanford, UBC, Georgetown, NYU Household Finance Conference, and ITAM Alumni Conference, for their comments. All remaining mistakes should be blamed on my own selective attention. IRB ID: STU00201364. †Texas A&M University. Email: pmedina@tamu.edu
Meta-Analysis of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene Polymorphism and Alzheimer's Disease in East Asians

Background: The association of genetic polymorphism of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been controversial and has been investigated only in several small-sample studies. In the present study, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the cross-sectional association of ALDH2 variants and AD risk in East Asian populations. Methods: Trials were retrieved through MEDLINE, EMBASE, J-STAGE and the China National Knowledge Internet databases (from January 1, 1994 to November 1, 2010) without any restriction on language. Data were abstracted by a standardized protocol. Results: We found four studies of 821AD patients and 1380 healthy controls that qualified for the analysis. The variant ALDH2 genotype GA/AA was not associated with increased AD risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75-2.42; p = 0.32), even after stratification for the status of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele. However, in the subgroup analyses, the association was significant for men (OR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.10-2.67; p = 0.02). Conclusions: This study adds to the evidence that ALDH2 GA/AA genotype increases the risk of AD among East Asian men, although the effect size is moderate.
Transducin γ-Subunit Sets Expression Levels of α- and β-Subunits and Is Crucial for Rod Viability

Transducin is a prototypic heterotrimeric G-protein mediating visual signaling in vertebrate photoreceptor cells. Despite its central role in phototransduction, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate its expression and maintain approximately stoichiometric levels of the α- and βγ-subunits. Here we demonstrate that the knock-out of transducin γ-subunit leads to a major downregulation of both α- and β-subunit proteins, despite nearly normal levels of the corresponding transcripts, and fairly rapid photoreceptor degeneration. Significant fractions of the remaining α- and β-subunits were mislocalized from the light-sensitive outer segment compartment of the rod. Yet, the tiny amount of the α-subunit present in the outer segments of knock-out rods was sufficient to support light signaling, although with a markedly reduced sensitivity. These data indicate that the γ-subunit controls the expression level of the entire transducin heterotrimer and that heterotrimer formation is essential for normal transducin localization. They further suggest that the production of transducin β-subunit without its constitutive γ-subunit partner sufficiently stresses the cellular biosynthetic and/or chaperone machinery to induce cell death.
Occupation and histopathology of lung cancer: A case-control study in Rosario, Argentina.

BACKGROUND Male age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rate is high in Rosario City, Argentina (62.7 per 100,000). METHODS Case-control study involving interviews with 367 male lung cancer patients and 576 controls. RESULTS The histological distribution detected was: squamous cell 39%, adenocarcinoma 34%, small cell carcinoma 13%, and other or no specified cell type 14%. When comparing with the group unlikely to be exposed to occupational carcinogens, a 60% increase in risk was observed for the remaining occupations (P < 0.008). Risks were high for drivers (OR=1.9, CI: 1.1-4.0), construction (OR=2.5, CI: 1.0-5.9), and agricultural workers also (OR=1.8, CI: 1. 1-3.1). In regard to squamous cell carcinoma, increased risks were observed in the metal industry, particularly in welders (OR=2.9, CI: 1.0-10.1) and mechanics (OR=1.8, CI: 0.9-4.2). Smoking was not a substantial confounding effect. CONCLUSIONS Occupational exposures partly account for the high lung cancer mortality rate among male residents of Rosario City.
Upgrade Design to a Cryogen-Free 20-T Superconducting Outsert for a 47-T Hybrid Magnet

A Rutherford flat cable composed of sixteen 0.8-mm-diameter Nb3 Sn strands with CuNb-reinforced stabilizers (CuNb/Nb3Sn) has been developed for use as an outsert for a 47-T hybrid magnet. To guarantee the safety of the magnet in the event of a quench, the low residual resistance ratio characteristic of arc-melted-in-situ CuNb composite had to be improved upon, and to obtain high electric conductivity, a new CuNb fabrication method using a Nb rod was attempted. The thermal runaway characteristics of chemical vapor deposition- YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Y123) coated-conductor tapes with varying Cu stabilizer thicknesses were measured in magnetic fields of up to 10 T at temperatures ranging from 17 to 60 K. It was found that the ratio of the thermal runaway over-current to the critical current decreases as temperature decreases and that thermal runaway occurs just above the critical current level at 5 K. The properties of a cryogen-free, 20-T superconducting outsert for a 47-T hybrid magnet utilizing CuNb/Nb3Sn Rutherford flat cables and Y123 tapes and having a room temperature bore of 400 mm were investigated.
Combined Action of ERK and NFκB Mediates the Protective Effect of Phorbol Ester on Fas-induced Apoptosis in Jurkat Cells*

The mechanisms whereby phorbol esters antagonize Fas-induced apoptosis in Jurkat T cells are poorly defined. In the present study, we report that protection from Fas-induced apoptosis by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) is dependent on both ERK and NFκB activation. First, we showed that two specific mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase-inhibitors, PD98059 and U0126, both counteracted TPA-mediated suppression of Fas-induced apoptosis. Moreover, the dose-dependence of U0126-mediated inhibition of ERK phosphorylation correlated with that of reversion of the anti-apoptotic effect of TPA. Second, we observed an excellent correlation between repression of TPA-induced NFκB activation by an irreversible inhibitor of IκBα phosphorylation, BAY11–7082, and its ability to abrogate TPA-induced suppression of Fas-mediated apoptosis. Furthermore, we located the anti-apoptotic effect of both ERK and NFκB to lie upstream of the mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization event. Finally, although each inhibitor at optimal, non-toxic concentration by itself only partly reversed TPA-mediated repression of apoptosis, the combination of U0126 and BAY11–7082 completely abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of TPA. Together these findings suggest that TPA-induced activation of ERK and NFκB are parallel events that are both required for maximal inhibition of Fas-induced apoptosis in Jurkat T cells.
Acute Confusional States in Patients Undergoing Hip Surgery

Background: There is general agreement that acute confusional state (ACS) is common among elderly patients admitted to hospital, although exact figures are difficult to obtain. The objective of the current study was to investigate the onset of ACS during hospital stay and to isolate possible predisposing, facilitating and precipitating factors associated with the onset of ACS. Methods: Non-confused patients, ≥65 years of age, undergoing orthopedic hip surgery, were consecutively included in the study (n = 225). Of these, 149 patients were operated on because of acute hip fracture and 76 underwent elective hip-replacement surgery. ACS was diagnosed by the DSM-IV criteria for delirium. Structured observations of ACS onset were performed every 2nd to every 4th hour during the patients’ entire hospital stay. A protocol was used to document the observations on sleep, activities, well being and behavior. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to measure cognitive functioning. Results: Of 225 patients 20% were diagnosed with ACS. The incidence of ACS was 24.3% in the group of hip-fractured patients and 11.7% in the hip-replacement surgery patients. The onset of ACS was postoperative (mean 24 ± 21 h after surgery) in all but 8 patients. The duration of ACS among recovered patients was generally less than 48 h (mean 42 ± 43 h). Predisposing factors were older age, cognitive impairment and pre-existing cerebrovascular or other brain diseases. Facilitating factors related to ACS were associated with communication and social isolation, e.g. impaired hearing and sight, reticence and passivity. One precipitating factor, besides surgery, may be the use of psychopharmacological drugs. Conclusion: The incidence of ACS was 20% among hip surgery patients. Older age and social isolation were factors associated with ACS. Increased attention and interaction with older patients could be of value in avoiding ACS during hospitalization.
Racial differences in the frequency of depressive symptoms among community dwelling elders: The role of socioeconomic factors

In a biracial sample of community dwelling elders (n = 4162, the Duke EPESE), African-Americans endorsed more items than Whites on a standardized depression scale, the CES-D, in unadjusted, cross-sectional analyses. However, indices of socioeconomic status (e.g., education and problems meeting needs) were found to mediate the relationship between race and depression. When these socioeconomic variables were included in cross-sectional analyses, the association between depressive symptoms and race reversed such that Whites were significantly more likely to endorse depressive symptoms than African-Americans. Further, whereas in unadjusted, longitudinal analyses, race was unrelated to changes in depressive symptoms over time, with the inclusion of the socioeconomic variables Whites were found to endorse more depressive symptoms than African-Americans. We conclude that socioeconomic variables influence the size and direction of racial differences in the endorsement of depressive symptoms in community dwelling elders.