Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of age and task demands on visual selective attention.

We investigated whether young and older adults differ on measures of interference (INT), negative priming (NP), and inhibition of return (IOR) on a spatial selective attention task that gradually increased in cognitive demand, from simple perceptual matching to letter identification. For both groups, INT increased and IOR decreased with task demand; while NP remained stable. We found age-related increases in INT, NP, and IOR, independent of task demand. However, only between-groups differences in IOR remained after correcting for age-related slowing in response times. Finally, we found no association between our measures of attention across groups, suggesting negligible overlap between INT, NP, and IOR. Our results indicate that attention is selectively and independently influenced by age and task demands, with both effects dependent on how attention is measured. These findings shed light on the "frontal hypothesis of aging. "
Patient characteristics that are associated with urodynamically diagnosed detrusor instability and genuine stress incontinence.

OBJECTIVE We sought to compare characteristics of patients with urodynamically diagnosed detrusor instability or genuine stress incontinence. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective audit of 293 consecutive women who were referred to a urogynecologist for evaluation of urinary incontinence between June 1996 and April 2000. RESULTS Of the 293 patients, 289 women had a physical examination and urodynamic testing, which revealed genuine stress incontinence (35%), detrusor instability (32%), mixed incontinence (29%), or normal urodynamic function (4%). Compared with patients with detrusor instability, those women with genuine stress incontinence were more likely to be white than African American (P <.0001) and to have a cystocele(P =.027), rectocele (P <.0001), or paravaginal defect (P =.004). No differences in age, gravidity, parity, estrogen treatment, or previous anti-incontinence procedure were identified between women with detrusor instability and women with genuine stress incontinence. CONCLUSION In a tertiary referral center, the distribution of urinary incontinence is evenly divided among genuine stress incontinence, detrusor instability, and mixed incontinence. Patients with genuine stress incontinence are more likely to be white and to have pelvic floor prolapse and symptoms of pure stress incontinence.
An autoradiographic analysis of the differential ascending projections of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei in the rat

The differential projections from the dorsal raphe and median raphe nuclei of the midbrain were autoradiographically traced in the rat brain after 3H‐proline micro‐injections. Six ascending fiber tracts were identified, the dorsal raphe nucleus being the sole source of four tracts and sharing one with the median raphe nucleus. The tracts can be classified as those lying within the medial forebrain bundle (dorsal raphe forebrain tract and the median raphe forebrain tract) and those lying entirely outside (dorsal raphe arcuate tract, dorsal raphe periventricular tract, dorsal raphe cortical tract, and raphe medial tract). The dorsal raphe forebrain tract lies in the ventrolateral aspect of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) and projects mainly to lateral forebrain areas (e.g., basal ganglion, amygdala, and the pyriform cortex). The median raphe forebrain tract lies in the ventromedial aspect of the MFB and projects to medial forebrain areas (e.g., cingulate cortex, medial septum, and hippocampus). The dorsal raphe cortical tract lies ventrolaterally to the medial longitudinal fasciculus and projects to the caudate‐putamen and the parieto‐temporal cortex. The dorsal raphe periventricular tract lies immediately below the midbrain aqueduct and projects rostrally to the periventricular region of the thalamus and hypothalamus. The dorsal raphe arcuate tract curves laterally from the dorsal raphe nucleus to reach the ventrolateral edge of the midbrain and projects to ventrolateral geniculate body nuclei and the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei. Finally, the raphe medial tract receives fibers from both the median and dorsal raphe nuclei and runs ventrally between the fasciculus retroflexus and projects to the interpeduncular nucleus and the midline mammillary body.
Correlation of skin barrier impairment in atopic dermatitis with aeroallergen sensitization.

BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis (AD) often predates the development of allergic sensitization in the so-called atopic march. Several studies have pointed out epidermal barrier impairment as a major cause of this evolution. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to assess atopic skin integrity by means of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and Corneometer, and to investigate possible correlations between barrier integrity measurements and the degree of sensitization to aeroallergens (allergy score). METHODS Sixty-one children (6 months to 17 years old) with AD were clinically evaluated by the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index. TEWL and Corneometer evaluations were performed on lesion sites as well as on healthy skin. The subjects underwent skin-prick testing, and the severity of allergic sensitization was assessed for each patient by summing all wheal diameters (the allergy score). The same tests were performed in 20 children without AD. RESULTS In patients with AD, TEWL and Corneometer results were found to be higher and lower, respectively, on eczematous areas in comparison with healthy skin, and differences were significantly correlated to the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis index (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.007, respectively). The TEWL result was significantly higher in nonlesional skin of the patients with AD compared with that of individuals without AD (p = 0.017). Of the patients with AD, 59% were sensitized to inhalant allergens; allergy scores were positively correlated with both AD duration (r = 0.63; p < 0.0001) and nonlesional skin TEWL values (r = 0.46; p = 0.002). No significant correlation was found between allergy scores and skin parameters in subjects without AD. CONCLUSION Patients with AD are affected by barrier function impairment, even on noneczematous skin. This defect is associated with greater aeroallergen sensitization and may contribute to allergic respiratory symptom development.
The purpose and function of humour in health, health care and nursing: a narrative review.

AIM This paper is a report of a review conducted to identify, critically analyse and synthesize the humour literature across a number of fields related to health, health care and nursing. BACKGROUND The humour-health hypothesis suggests that there is a positive link between humour and health. Humour has been a focus of much contention and deliberation for centuries, with three theories dominating the field: the superiority or tendentious theory, the incongruity theory and the relief theory. DATA SOURCES A comprehensive literature search was carried out in January 2007 using a number of databases, keywords, manual recursive searching and journal alerts (January 1980-2007) cross-referenced with the bibliographic databases of the International Society of Humor Studies. An inclusion and exclusion criterion was identified. REVIEW METHODS A narrative review of evidence- and non-evidence-based papers was conducted, using a relevant methodological framework with additional scrutiny of secondary data sources in the latter. Humour theories, incorporating definition, process and impact constituted a significant part of the appraisal process. RESULTS A total of 1630 papers were identified, with 220 fully sourced and 88 included in the final review. There is a dearth of humour research within nursing yet, ironically, an abundance of non-evidence-based opinion citing prerequisites and exclusion zones. Examination of physician-patient interaction and the humour-health hypothesis demonstrates that use of humour by patients is both challenging and revealing, particularly with regard to self-deprecating humour. CONCLUSION Nurses and nursing should adopt a circumspect and evidenced-based approach to humour use in their work.
Purification of glycoprotein gD of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 by use of monoclonal antibody

Glycoproteins gD-1 and gD-2 of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, respectively, were purified on an immunoadsorbent consisting of the type-common monoclonal antibody HD-1 linked to Sepharose. Each glycoprotein was of sufficient purity, quantity, and biological activity to be used for immunological and biochemical studies. Each glycoprotein induced high titers of type-common monospecific neutralizing antibody in mice. Amino aicd analysis indicated that gD-1 and gD-2 had similar though not identical amino acid compositions.
Anticancer Activities of Selected Species of North American Lichen Extracts

Cancer is the second leading cause of human deaths in the USA. Despite continuous efforts to treat cancer over the past 50 years, human mortality rates have not decreased significantly. Natural products, such as lichens, have been good sources of anticancer drugs. This study reports the cytotoxic activity of crude extracts of 17 lichen species against Burkitt's lymphoma (Raji) cells. Out of the 17 lichen species, extracts from 14 species showed cytotoxicity against Raji cells. On the basis of IC50 values, we selected Xanthoparmelia chlorochroa and Tuckermannopsis ciliaris to study the mechanism of cell death. Viability of normal lymphocytes was not affected by the extracts of X. chlorochroa and T. ciliaris. We found that extracts from both lichens decreased proliferation, accumulated cells at the G0/G1 stage, and caused apoptosis in a dose‐dependent manner. Both lichen extracts also caused upregulation of p53. The T. ciliaris extract upregulated the expression of TK1 but X. chlorochroa did not. We also found that usnic, salazinic, constictic, and norstictic acids were present in the extract of X. chlorochroa, whereas protolichesterinic acid in T. ciliaris extracts. Our data demonstrate that lichen extracts merit further research as a potential source of anticancer drugs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Autophagy-mediated regulation of phytohormone metabolism during rice anther development

ABSTRACT Autophagy has recently been shown to be required for postmeiotic anther development including anther dehiscence, programmed cell death-mediated degradation of the tapetum and pollen maturation in rice. Several phytohormones are known to play essential roles during male reproductive development including pollen maturation. However, the relationship between phytohormone metabolism and autophagy in plant reproductive development is unknown. We here comprehensively analyzed the effect of autophagy disruption on phytohormone contents in rice anthers at the flowering stage, and found that endogenous levels of active-forms of gibberellins (GAs) and cytokinin, trans-zeatin, were significantly lower in the autophagy-defective mutant, Osatg7–1, than in the wild type. Treatment with GA4 partially recovered maturation of the mutant pollens, but did not recover the limited anther dehiscence as well as sterility phenotype. These results suggest that autophagy affects metabolism and endogenous levels of GAs and cytokinin in rice anthers. Reduction in bioactive GAs in the autophagy-deficient mutant may partially explain the defects in pollen maturation of the autophagy-deficient mutant, but tapetal autophagy also plays other specific roles in fertilization.
Chapuis Jean et Hervé Rivière, Wayana eitoponpë. (Une) Histoire (orale) des Indiens Wayana

Ce monumental ouvrage de plus de mille pages, illustre de nombreuses photographies et enrichi par quatre annexes et trois index, se presente en deux parties. La premiere se refere a l’ethnohistoire ou, plutot, a l’auto-histoire des Wayana, les analyses portant sur 51 recits collectes en Guyane francaise par Jean Chapuis au cours de ses differents sejours sur le terrain entre 1992 et 1998. La deuxieme, nettement plus courte, porte sur le kalawu, une serie de chants anciens associes au rituel d.
Mixed synapses discovered and mapped throughout mammalian spinal cord.

Previously, synaptic activity in the spinal cord of adult mammals was attributed exclusively to chemical neurotransmission. In this study, evidence was obtained for the existence, relative abundance, and widespread distribution of "mixed" (chemical and electrical) synapses on neurons throughout the spinal cords of adult mammals. Using combined confocal microscopy and "grid-mapped freeze fracture," 36 mixed synapses containing 88 "micro" gap junctions (median = 45 connexons) were found and mapped to 33 interneurons and motor neurons in Rexed laminae III-IX in cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spinal cords of adult male and female rats. Gap junctions were adjacent to presumptive active zones, where even small gap junctions would be expected to increase synaptic efficacy. Two morphological types of mixed synapse were discerned. One type contained distinctive active zones consisting of "nested" concentric toroidal deformations of pre- and postsynaptic membranes, which, because of their unusual topology, were designated as "synaptic sombreros. " A second type had gap junctions adjacent to active zones consisting of broad, flat, shallow indentations of the plasma membrane. Morphometric analysis indicates that mixed synapses correspond to 3-5% of all synapses on the somata and proximal dendrites, but, because of their subcellular location and morphology, they could represent 30-100% of excitatory synapses. The relative abundance of mixed synapses on several classes of neurons in spinal cords of adult rats suggests that mixed synapses provide important but previously unrecognized pathways for bidirectional communication between neurons in the mammalian central nervous system.
Distribution of Polyphenol Oxidase in Flour Millstreams of Canadian Common Wheat Classes Milled to Three Extraction Rates

CONCLUSIONS The availability of an assay kit for the determination of starch damage in flour offers a convenient and simple alternative to the current standard methods. Starch damage determinations with the assay kit are highly correlated to those of the standard methods, but the kit procedure is standardized and more rapid. With the kit procedure, 40 samples can be analyzed in 2 hr. The kit is therefore applicable for use in situations where there are large sample numbers, such as in the monitoring of millstream runs and in wheat breeding programs. The starch damage assay kit is now available commercially from MegaZyme (Aust) Pty Ltd. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank all of the laboratories that participated in the collaborative evaluation of the starch damage assay kit. We also thank J. R. Donelson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Station Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory, Wooster, for the provision of starch damage results by the AACC and Wooster methods and A. Evers of the Flour Millers and Bakers Research Association, Charleywood, for distributing the assay kits to collaborators in the UK. We also thank Malcolm Glennie-Holmes, Bill Barnes, David Mugford, and Arthur Gilmour for their comments on the manuscript. This research was funded in part by the Grains Research Development Corporation of Australia.
Susceptibility of Ceftolozane-Tazobactam and Ceftazidime-Avibactam Against a Collection of β-Lactam-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria

Mark D. Gonzalez, Ph.D., Allison R. McMullen, Ph.D., Meghan A. Wallace, B.S., Matthew P. Crotty, Pharm.D. , David J. Ritchie, Pharm.D. , and Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Ph.D. Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA; Pharmacy Department, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO; Department of Pharmacy, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Pharmacy Practice Department, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA
Sonic hedgehog-dependent synthesis of laminin α1 controls basement membrane assembly in the myotome

Basement membranes have essential structural and signalling roles in tissue morphogenesis during embryonic development, but the mechanisms that control their formation are still poorly understood. Laminins are key components of basement membranes and are thought to be essential for initiation of basement membrane assembly. Here, we report that muscle progenitor cells populating the myotome migrate aberrantly in the ventral somite in the absence of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling, and we show that this defect is due to the failure to form a myotomal basement membrane. We reveal that expression of Lama1, which encodes laminin α1, a subunit of laminin-111, is not activated in Shh-/- embryos. Recovery of Lama1 expression or addition of exogenous laminin-111 to Shh-/-;Gli3-/- embryos restores the myotomal basement membrane, demonstrating that laminin-111 is necessary and sufficient to initiate assembly of the myotomal basement membrane. This study uncovers an essential role for Shh signalling in the control of laminin-111 synthesis and in the initiation of basement membrane assembly in the myotome. Furthermore, our data indicate that laminin-111 function cannot be compensated by laminin-511.
Impact of thorough block sampling in the histologic evaluation of melanomas.

OBJECTIVE To determine if changes in histologic parameters obtained from intermittent sampling of the entire block correlated with differences in prognosis and management. DESIGN Prospective analysis of skin biopsy specimens. SETTING Skin pathology laboratory. Patients One hundred consecutive patients with an unequivocal diagnosis of melanoma. Interventions Two initial slides were prepared from serial sections of 5-mum thickness. When evaluation of the initial slide revealed melanoma, 5 additional slides were obtained by sectioning at levels through the entire block. Breslow depth, Clark level, ulceration, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, vascular invasion, regression, presence of a precursor lesion, and histologic type of melanoma for the first slide and the additional 6 slides were analyzed and compared. RESULTS Review of the additional 6 slides from level sectioning revealed a greater maximum tumor thickness than was evident from the original slide in 43% of the cases. In 10 of these cases, the new maximum tumor thickness measurements changed the surgical management of the patients. Ulceration was observed in 6% of cases on the initial slides, and an additional 3% of lesions were found to have ulceration on levels. The level of invasion was deeper than originally found in 10% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS Level sectioning through an entire block of a melanoma specimen provides additional information in the classification and management of melanomas. Extensive block sampling will result in more accurate information regarding histologic parameters of melanoma, but the yield must be balanced with the extra cost of materials, time, labor, and the potential disadvantage of not retaining tissue for future use.
Estimating the Causal Effects of Social Interaction with Endogenous Networks

Identifying causal effects attributable to network membership is a key challenge in empirical studies of social networks. In this article, we examine the consequences of endogeneity for inferences about the effects of networks on network members' behavior. Using the House office lottery (in which newly elected members select their office spaces in a randomly chosen order) as an instrumental variable to estimate the causal impact of legislative networks on roll call behavior and cosponsorship decisions in the 105th–112th Houses, we find no evidence that office proximity affects patterns of legislative behavior. These results contrast with decades of congressional scholarship and recent empirical studies. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of accounting for selection processes and omitted variables in estimating the causal impact of networks.
Comparison of thinning and prescribed fire restoration treatments to Sierran mixed-conifer historic conditions

Thinning and prescribed fire are widely used to restore fire-suppressed forests, yet there are few studies of their effectiveness in Sierran mixed-conifer forest. We compared stand conditions in replicated plots before and after a combination of thinning and burning treatments against a reconstruction of the same forest in 1865. The historical forest had 67 stems/ha (trees ≥5 cm DBH), equal percentages of shade-tolerant and -intolerant tree species, stems randomly distributed at the stand scale, and a flat diameter distribution across size classes. The pretreatment forest averaged 469 stems/ha, which comprised 84% shade-tolerant and 14% shade-intolerant species, were highly clustered, and had a reverse-J-shaped diameter distribution. Thinning treatments failed to approximate historical composition, spatial pattern, or diameter distribution. Treatments left too many small trees, removed too many intermediate-sized trees (50–75 cm DBH), and retained a reverse-J-shaped diameter distribution. Current old grow.
Morphological and metabolic responses to starvation by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella alga BrY

The response of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella alga BrY to carbon and nitrogen starvation was examined. Starvation resulted in a gradual decrease in the mean cell volume from 0.48 to 0.2 micron 3 and a dramatic decrease in Fe(III) reductase activity. Growth of starved cultures was initiated with O2, ferric oxyhydroxide, Co(III)-EDTA, or Fe(III)-bearing subsurface materials as the sole electron acceptor. Microbially reduced subsurface materials reduced CrO(4)2-. Starvation of dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria may provide a means of delivering this metabolism to contaminated subsurface environments for in situ bioremediation.
MARINE MACROALGAE FOR ASSESSMENT OF RADIONUCLIDE AND HEAVY METAL POLLUTION IN THE BLACK SEA

Radionuclide and heavy metal content have been monitored systematically since 1996 in eleven of the widespread Black Sea macroalgae species from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast by low level gamma spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. Tendencies in the concentration variations during the studied period are examined and all obtained data give information about different macrophytic species ability to accumulate certain nuclides and trace elements from one and the same sampling location. The obtained data are compared with the results from the regions of the Black Sea, Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Atlantic Ocean
Let's talk about sex: where are the young females in blood flow restriction research?

Low‐load resistance exercise with the blood flow restriction (BFR) has been shown to increase muscle size similar to that of traditional high‐load resistance training. Throughout the BFR literature, there is a vast difference between the quantity of young females included in the literature compared to young males, older males and older females. Therefore, the purpose of this minireview is to discuss the underrepresentation of young females in the BFR literature and review the potential physiologic reasons as to why they may have been excluded. In conclusion, the female menstrual cycle, a normal physiological occurrence, is presumably the reason as to why majority of young females are excluded from participation in BFR studies. Instead of excluding females, we recommend that BFR studies should include both sexes and plot the results separately to determine whether a sex difference exists.