Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Binary Additivity of Subjective Probability Does not Indicate the Binary Complementarity of Perceived Certainty.

People's numeric probability estimates for 2 mutually exclusive and exhaustive events commonly sum to 1.0, which seems to indicate the full complementarity of subjective certainty in the 2 events (i.e., increases in certainty for one event are accompanied by decreases in certainty for the other). In this article, however, a distinction is made between the additivity of probability estimates and the complementarity of internal perceptions of certainty. In Experiment 1, responses on a verbal measure of certainty provide evidence of binary noncomplementarity in the perceived likelihoods of possible scenario outcomes, and a comparison of verbal and numeric certainty estimates suggests that numeric probabilities overestimated the complementarity of people's certainty. Experiment 2 used a choice task to detect binary noncomplementarity. Soliciting numeric probability estimates prior to the choice task changed the participants' choices in a direction consistent with complementarity. Possible mechanisms yielding (non)complementarity are discussed. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Heart Rate of the Developing Chick Embryo.∗

Summary A new technique was used to measure the heart rate of developing chick embryos. Ballistocardiography should afford ideal conditions for observing embryonic heartbeats with a minimum of disturbance to the embryo. The same embryos can be measured on each day of incubation. The heart rate increased from day 4 through day 10 and then decreased until hatching time. The average frequency at 10 days was 280 bpm and 263 bpm at 19 days of incubation. Male embryos consistently had slower average heart rates than did females. No significant difference was observed in the average daily heart rate of embryos from 4 different genotypes, even though differences are apparent between adults of these genotypes. Mechanical disturbances or alterations in temperature had a marked effect on the heart rate of the embryo. Brief exposure to room temperature or slight injuries, such as those following insertion of electrodes, usually result in a decreased heart rate.
A fluorescence‐based method coupled with Disruptor filtration for rapid detection of F + RNA phages

F + RNA phages are commonly used as indicators of faecal contamination. This study evaluated a fluorescent method for the detection of F + RNA phages based on testing the phage‐mediated release of β‐galactosidase. Factors that may potentially interfere with phage detection were investigated, and the assay was optimized. Low numbers of F + RNA phages were detected by the fluorescent method coupled with a concentration step using a Disruptor filter. The fluorescent method, when used alone, detected 1 log PFU ml−1 of F+RNA phages within 3 h, while 0·01 PFU ml−1 was detected within 5 h when the method was combined with the concentration step. This is the first time to combine a fluorescent method with a filtration step by the use of Disruptor filter for rapid detection of low numbers of F + RNA phages, and this method can be adapted to detect other lytic phages infecting host cells that produce measurable enzyme activity.
Quick identification of febrile neonates with low risk for serious bacterial infection: an observational study

Objective: To examine the possible usefulness of simple and quick criteria for identifying febrile neonates with low risk for serious bacterial infection (SBI). Design: All febrile neonates who were admitted between August 1998 and August 2003 to the Pediatric Emergency Department, HaEmek Medical Center, Afula, Israel, and to the Poriya Hospital, Tiberias, Israel, were included in the study. The recommended evaluation of each neonate included details of medical history and a complete physical examination, including blood culture, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white cell count (WBC), and analysis and culture of urine and cerebrospinal fluid. Other tests were carried out as necessary. Patients who met all the following criteria were considered to have low risk for SBI: (1) unremarkable medical history; (2) good appearance; (3) no focal physical signs of infection; (4) ESR <30 mm at the end of the first hour; (5) WBC 5000–15 000/mm3; (6) a normal urine analysis by the dipstick method. Results: Complete data were available for 386 neonates. SBI was documented in 108 (28%) neonates, of whom 14% had a urinary tract infection, 9.3% had acute otitis media, 2.3% had pneumonia, 1.3% had cellulitis, 0.5% had bacterial meningitis and 0.5% had bacterial gastroenteritis. The overall incidence of SBI was 1 in 166 (0.6%) neonates who fulfilled the criteria compared with 107 in 220 (48.6%) in the neonates who did not fulfil the criteria (p<0.001). The negative predictive value for SBI of the combination of the low-risk criteria was 99.4% (95% confidence interval 99.35% to 99.45%). Conclusions: Fulfilment of the criteria for low risk might be a reliable and useful tool for excluding SBI in febrile neonates.
Similar Outcomes of Catheters Implanted by Nephrologists and Surgeons: Analysis of the Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Multicentric Study

A good catheter implantation technique is important to allow for effective peritoneal access function and long‐term technique survival. Studies regarding results obtained by nephrologists in comparison with surgeons have been limited to small single‐center experiences. Thus, the objective of this study was to explore the impact of the peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion operator on early catheter complications and on technique survival in a large national multicentric cohort study (Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Multicentric Study, BRAZPD). Adult incident patients recruited in the BRAZPD from December 2004 to October 2007 having undergone first PD catheter implantation were included in the analysis. Mechanical and infectious early complication rates were defined as time to the first event occurring up to 3 months after catheter insertion and adjusted for comorbidities. Valid data of 736 patients (mean age of 59 ± 16 years old, 52% women, 61% white) were analyzed. Mechanical (HR 0.99 [CI 0.56–1.76]; p = 0.98) and infectious (HR 0.63 [CI 0.32–1.23]; p = 0.17) early complication rates were similar between groups. Long‐term catheter survival was also similar between groups. Early complications rates and catheter survival were similar between groups defined by operator profile (nephrologist or surgeon), supporting the role of interventional nephrology in the placement of PD catheters.
What Fuels Publication Bias?

Summary Significance tests were originally developed to enable more objective evaluations of research results. Yet the strong orientation towards statistical significance encourages biased results, a phenomenon termed “publication bias”. Publication bias occurs whenever the likelihood or time-lag of publication, or the prominence, language, impact factor of journal space or the citation rate of studies depend on the direction and significance of research findings. Although there is much evidence concerning the existence of publication bias in all scientific disciplines and although its detrimental consequences for the progress of the sciences have been known for a long time, all attempts to eliminate the bias have failed. The present article reviews the history and logic of significance testing, the state of research on publication bias, and existing practical recommendations. After demonstrating that more systematical research on the risk factors of publication bias is needed, the paper suggests two new directions for publication bias research. First, a more comprehensive theoretical model based on theories of rational choice and economics as well as on the sociology of science is sketched out. Publication bias is recognized as the outcome of a social dilemma that cannot be overcome by moral pleas alone. Second, detection methods for publication bias going beyond meta-analysis, ones that are more suitable for testing causal hypotheses, are discussed. In particular, the “caliper test” seems well-suited for conducting theoretically motivated comparisons across heterogeneous research fields like sociology. Its potential is demonstrated by testing hypotheses on (a) the relevance of explicitly vs. implicitly stated research propositions and on (b) the relevance of the number of authors on incidence rates of publication bias in 50 papers published in leading German sociology journals.
Variance of age at onset in a Japanese family with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis associated with a novel cu/zn superoxide dismutase mutation

Although about 5 to 10% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases are familial, the pathophysiology of ALS remians unknown. A new point mutation in exon 4 of the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene, resulting in an amino acid substitution of leucine84 by valine (L84V), in a Japanese patient with familial ALS (FALS) was identified. This L84V substitution was not observed in 57 normal Japanese control subjects. The enzymatic activities of Cu/Zn SOD of skin fibroblasts were significantly reduced to 75% of the control level in the affected patient. The progression of the disease with this mutation is very rapid, but the age at onset varies with sex or generation within a family.
Chinese Drivers’ Risky Driving and Risk Taking in Other Life Situations

The first aim of this study was to investigate Chinese drivers’ preferences to risk-taking behaviors encountered in daily life, including safety and health, finance, recreation, social areas, and ethics. The second aim was to evaluate the association between Chinese risky driving and other risk-taking behaviors. A questionnaire survey was conducted with the 324 Chinese drivers who responded. Through a principal component analysis an 8-factor structure was created to interpret different domains of risk-taking behaviors. They were risks in driving, ethics, recreation, gambling, abused health (voluntarily engaging in smoking and binge drinking), investment, ignored health (ignoring personal health, such as eating expired food), and monetary social areas. The result of multiple regression analysis showed that drivers who were likely to engage in driving risks were also likely to take risks in domains of ethics, abused health, gambling, investment, recreation, and ignored health.
Aberrant Expression of the Transcription Factors Snail and Slug Alters the Response to Genotoxic Stress

ABSTRACT Snail and Slug are closely related transcriptional repressors involved in embryonic patterning during metazoan development. In human cancer, aberrant expression of Snail and/or Slug has been correlated with invasive growth potential, a property primarily attributed to their ability to directly repress transcription of genes whose products are involved in cell-cell adhesion, such as E-cadherin, occludin, and claudins. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of alterations in epithelial cell fate mediated by aberrant expression of Snail or Slug, we analyzed the consequences of exogenous expression of these factors in human cancer cells. Aberrant expression of either Snail or Slug led to changes in cell morphology, the loss of normal cell-cell contacts, and the acquisition of invasive growth properties. Snail or Slug expression also promoted resistance to programmed cell death elicited by DNA damage. Detailed molecular analysis revealed direct transcriptional repression of multiple factors with well-documented roles in programmed cell death. Depletion of endogenous Snail by RNA interference led to increased sensitivity to DNA damage accompanied by increased expression of the proapoptotic factors identified as targets of Snail. Thus, aberrant expression of Snail or Slug may promote tumorigenesis through increased resistance to programmed cell death.
Surface Properties of the Skin of the Pilot Whale Globicephala melas

On the skin surface of delphinids small biofoulers are challenged to high shear water flow and liquid-vapor interfaces of air-bubbles during jumping. This state of self-cleaning is supported by the even, nano-rough gel-coated epidermal surface of the skin. The present study focussed on the intercellular evolution of gel formation and the chemical composition of the gel smoothing the skin surface of the pilot whale, Globicephala melas , using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in combination with cryo-scanning electron microscopy (CSM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the superficial layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, intercellular material was shown by electron optical methods to assemble from smaller into larger covalently cross-linked aggregates during the transit of the corneocytes towards the skin surface. XPS measurements showed that the surface of the skin and the intercellular gel included approximately the same amounts of polar groups (especially, free amines and amides) and non-polar groups, corresponding to the presence of lipid droplets dispersed within the jelly material. It was concluded from the results that the gel-coat of the skin surface is a chemically heterogeneous skin product. The advantages of chemically heterogeneous patches contributing to the ablation of traces of the biofouling process are discussed.
Good Volatility, Bad Volatility, and the Cross Section of Stock Returns

Based on intraday data for a large cross section of individual stocks and newly developed econometric procedures, we decompose the realized variation for each of the stocks into separate so-called realized up and down semi-variance measures, or “good” and “bad” volatilities, associated with positive and negative high-frequency price increments, respectively. Sorting the individual stocks into portfolios based on their normalized good minus bad volatilities results in economically large and highly statistically significant differences in the subsequent portfolio returns. These differences remain significant after controlling for other firm characteristics and explanatory variables previously associated with the cross section of expected stock returns.
Framing American Indians as the “First Americans”: Using Critical Multiculturalism to Trouble the Normative American Story

The author addresses ways in which secondary American history textbooks reflect and perpetuate the normative American story and identity by framing American Indians as the “first Americans,” while at the same time silencing indigenous voices in the telling of their own stories. This paper contributes to existing literature by providing an updated and critical analysis of a particular dimension of social studies texts and provides concrete examples and critical discussion of the master narrative at work in curricula. Suggestions are made for applying critical multiculturalism to the portrayal of the origins of humans in North America, using examples of indigenous texts currently used in classrooms that offer a truly multicultural resource for teachers.
Drug-eluting stents—what should be improved?

Despite the success of drug-eluting stents (DES) in reducing restenosis and the need for target vessel revascularization, several deficiencies have been unraveled since their first clinical application including the risk of stent thrombosis, undesired effects due to the stent polymer as well as the stent itself, and incomplete inhibition of restenosis (especially in complex lesions). Several novel stent systems are being investigated in order to address these issues. In second-generation DES, the rapamycin analogues zotarolimus and everolimus (and more recently biolimus) have been most extensively studied. Furthermore, special stent-coatings to actively promote endothelial healing (in order to reduce the risk of stent thrombosis) and to further reduce restenosis have been employed. To avoid undesirable effects of currently applied (durable) polymers, biocompatible and bioabsorbable polymers as well as DES delivery systems without the need for a polymer have been developed. Bioabsorbable stents, both polymeric and metallic, were developed to decrease potential late complications after stent implantation. Although most of these innovative novel principles intuitively seem appealing and demonstrate good results in initial clinical evaluations, long-term large-scale studies are necessary in order to reliably assess whether these novel systems are truly superior to first-generation DES with respect to safety and efficacy.
Binge drinking during pregnancy as a predictor of psychiatric disorders on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV in young adult offspring.

OBJECTIVE This study explored the extent to which the high frequency of psychiatric problems reported in clinical groups with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders might also be observed in a nonclinical group of young adults and the psychiatric conditions that are related to prenatal alcohol exposure in this group. METHOD From a longitudinal prospective study beginning with interviews of 1,529 pregnant women, a birth cohort of about 500 newborns was chosen to include all of the most heavily alcohol exposed plus a sampling of the continuum of alcohol exposures from total abstinence through heavy drinking. At an average age of 25.7 years, 400 members of this birth cohort were administered valid Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV (SCID), including both the SCID for axis I disorders and the SCID for axis II personality disorders. RESULTS The odds of the appearance of six psychiatric disorders and traits were more than double in adults exposed to one or more binge alcohol episodes in utero. Three of these six odds ratios were uniformly stable against confounding: axis I substance dependence or abuse disorders and axis II passive-aggressive and antisocial personality disorders or traits. CONCLUSIONS Prenatal exposure to alcohol may be a risk factor for specific psychiatric disorders and traits in early adulthood, even in a nonclinical group.
Tyramide Signal Amplification Permits Immunohistochemical Analyses of Androgen Receptors in the Rat Prefrontal Cortex

Research on neural androgen receptors (ARs) has traditionally focused on brain regions that regulate reproductive and aggressive behaviors, such as the hypothalamus and amygdala. Although many cells in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) also express ARs, the number of ARs per cell appears to be much lower, and thus, AR immunostaining is often hard to detect and quantify in the PFC. Here, we demonstrate that biotin tyramide signal amplification (TSA) dramatically increases AR immunoreactivity in the rat brain, including critical regions of the PFC such as the medial PFC (mPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). We show that TSA is useful for AR detection with both chromogenic and immunofluorescent immunohistochemistry. Double-labeling studies reveal that AR+ cells in the PFC and hippocampus are NeuN+ but not GFAP+ and thus primarily neuronal. Finally, in gonadally intact rats, more AR+ cells are present in the mPFC and OFC of males than of females. Future studies can use TSA to further examine AR immunoreactivity across ages, sexes, strains, and different procedures (e.g., fixation methods). In light of emerging evidence for the androgen regulation of executive function and working memory, these results may help understand the distribution and roles of ARs in the PFC.
Genotypic analysis of cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma: a comparative study of Southern blot analysis with polymerase chain reaction amplification of the T‐cell receptor‐γ gene

Summary The diagnosis of early cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a difficult point in dermatology. Recently, Southern blot analysis (SBA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been used to detect clonality in initial lesions in which clinical and histological findings are unspecific. Forty‐one, samples from 25 patients with CTCL were investigated for the presence of T‐cell receptor‐γ gene rearrangement using a nested PCR technique and analysed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Conventional SBA was also performed on 28 samples from 20 of these patients. In addition, 20 samples corresponding to patients with large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP), cutaneous B‐cell lymphoma (CBCL) and eczema were analysed by PCR in the same way as were the CTCL specimens. Most of the CTCL specimens (81%) showed clonality on PCR analysis. Among patients with mycosis fungoides, 71% of initial patch lesions and 100% of plaques and tumours showed clonal disease. Clonality could be detected in three of four histologically negative post‐treatment lesions. Clonal rearrangement was detected in one of three patients with LPP and in three of 10 patients with CBCL. None of the samples corresponding to patients with eczema showed positive results. SBA was significantly less sensitive than PCR in detecting clonality in CTCL patients (42% among early disease and 60% among advanced cases). The results indicate that this PCR/PAGE technique is a reliable and useful method for the detection of clonality in early skin lesions of CTCL patients and probably in the identification of silent extracutaneous involvement.
Medium‐term results of percutaneous vertebroplasty in multiple myeloma

Abstract: Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are common in multiple myeloma (MM). Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is used to stabilize vertebral collapse and treat the pain. Few studies have been carried out on PVP in MM and follow‐up has tended to be short. We have prospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of PVP in the VCFs resulting from MM or plasmacytomas. Nineteen PVP were performed in 12 consecutive patients. We monitored their pain and functional status using visual analog (VAS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale, respectively. For a subjective assessment, every patient was asked about his/her degree of satisfaction. The mean age of the participants was 66 yr. Significant improvement occurred 1 d after PVP according to the VAS score (7.5 pre‐PVP to 3.7, P < 0.0001) and ECOG assessment (3.1 to 2.5, P = 0.002). This significant improvement was maintained after 3.2 yr of follow‐up. Sixty‐three percent of patients were highly satisfied with the result of the PVP and 37% were satisfied. The peri‐operative mortality was 0%. Leakage of the cement outside of the vertebral body was noted in 16 of 19 injected vertebrae (84%) but none of the patients developed any clinical or neurological symptoms. At the last follow‐up, no further collapse in the treated or neighboring vertebrae was noted. VCFs caused by MM or plasmacytomas can be effectively treated by vertebroplasty. PVP is associated with early clinical improvement of pain and function and can be maintained after a long follow‐up without major procedure‐related complications.