Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular factors in Alzheimer’s disease

The traditional assumption that there are two distinct forms of dementia—vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease—respectively with and without evidence of vascular disease as a presumed causative factor, has been called into question by recent epidemiological evidence which raises the possibility that vascular risk factors may be important in the aetiology not only of dementia in general but also specifically for Alzheimer’s disease. This editorial summarises these epidemiological findings and considers possible methods of pathogenesis. The historical distinction between the vascular dementias and Alzheimer’s disease is a major obstacle in assessing the role of vascular disease as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Defining a condition according to its presumed aetiology can preclude a critical examination of risk factors included or excluded by that definition. Research criteria such as NINCDS-ADRDA,1 emphasise Alzheimer’s disease as a diagnosis of exclusion particularly with regard to vascular disease, therefore any association between the two will be underestimated through selective classification. The increased use of imaging techniques may cause additional confusion—namely, what bearing should evidence of subclinical cerebrovascular disease (known to be common in older populations) have on the diagnosis? However, failing to assess subclinical cerebrovascular disease in this way limits the conclusions that can be drawn from any association found between vascular risk factors and clinical Alzheimer’s disease, an important issue being whether such an association is mediated by an effect on Alzheimer’s pathology or by cognitive impairment secondary to increased cerebrovascular disease in the context of “mixed dementia”. Given high rates of mixed Alzheimer’s and cerebrovascular pathology at postmortem examination,2 a diagnostic system which attempts to subdivide dementia into mutually exclusive categories is of limited usefulness in assessing the role of disease processes which may affect both. The problem of subclinical disease complicates the assessment not only of dementia as the outcome …
WBOPENDATA: Stata module to access World Bank databases

wbopendata draws from the main World Bank collections of development indicators, compiled from officially-recognized international sources, and made available through the World Bank Open Data Initiative, and presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates. Users can chose from one of three of the languages supported by the database, namely, English, Spanish, or French. Three possible downloads options are currently supported: country - all indicators for all years for a single country. topic - all indicators within a specific topic, for all years and all countries. indicator - all years for all countries for a single indicator. Users can also choose to have the data displayed in either the wide or long format (wide is the default option).
LACK OF OPTIMISM AMONG MARKETING STUDENTS VS. OTHER STUDENTS

For the first time in American history, the current generation of college-age students may be destined for diminished financial opportunities than their parents. However, they may not realize that and may continue to have expectations higher than reality. Marketing students appear to be the least optimistic about their futures than students with other majors. This study utilizes a sample of 334 undergraduate students enrolled in marketing classes to find that dependent variables in three categories – family influences, demographic influences, and academic influences – impact the three independent variables of the study – student degree aspirations, career aspirations, and expected starting salaries.
Spiritual Expression and Immune Status in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study examined relationships between spirituality and immune function in 112 women with metastatic breast cancer. Spirituality was assessed by patient reports of frequency of attendance at religious services and importance of religious or spiritual expression. White blood cell counts, absolute numbers of lymphocytes, T‐lymphocyte subsets, and natural killer cells were assessed by flow cytometry. Assessments of natural killer cell activity and delayed‐type hypersensitivity responses to skin test antigens provided two measures of functional immunity. In analyses controlling for demographic, disease status, and treatment variables, women who rated spiritual expression as more important had greater numbers of circulating white blood cells and total lymphocyte counts. Upon examination of relationships with lymphocyte subsets, both helper and cytotoxic T‐cell counts were greater among women reporting greater spirituality.
ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY AND THE RATE OF MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION IN THE DIVERSIFICATION OF GREATER ANTILLEAN ANOLES

The pace of phenotypic diversification during adaptive radiation should decrease as ecological opportunity declines. We test this prediction using phylogenetic comparative analyses of a wide range of morphological traits in Greater Antillean Anolis lizards. We find that the rate of diversification along two important axes of Anolis radiation—body size and limb dimensions—decreased as opportunity declined, with opportunity quantified either as time elapsed in the radiation or as the diversity of competing anole lineages inferred to have been present on an island at different times in the past. Most previous studies of the ecological opportunity hypothesis have focused on the rate of species diversification; our results provide a complementary perspective, indicating that the rate of phenotypic diversification declines with decreasing opportunity in an adaptive radiation.
Sense-making theory and practice: an overview of user interests in knowledge seeking and use

The Sense‐making approach to studying and understanding users and designing systems to serve their needs is reviewed. The approach, developed to focus on user sense making and sense unmaking in the fields of communication and library and information science, is reviewed in terms of its implications for knowledge management. Primary emphasis is placed on moving conceptualizations of users, information and reality from the noun‐based knowledge‐as‐map frameworks of the past to verb‐based frameworks emphasizing diversity, complexity and sense‐making potentials. Knowledge management is described as a field on the precipice of chaos, reaching for a means of emphasizing diversity, complexity and people over centrality, simplicity and technology. Sense making, as an approach, is described as a methodology disciplining the cacophony of diversity and complexity without homogenizing it. Knowledge is reconceptualized from noun to verb.
The Relationship Between CEO Media Appearances and Compensation

Why do chief executive officers (CEOs) seek media appearances and what benefit do they gain from it? Using a sample of 2,666 U.S. firms from 1997 to 2009, we found that a CEO’s appearance in CNBC interviews and major news articles has a positive relationship with his or her compensation in the following year, after controlling for firm performance and other confounding factors. We further found that the positive relationship is weaker when the CEO is with a large company and is stronger when the CEO is with a company demonstrating strong stock market performance. Finally, we found that when the CEO has a high equity ownership or is a founder CEO, the positive relationship disappears.
Variations in the reporting of gestational age at induced termination of pregnancy.

Utilizing the 1980 Induced Abortion File maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics, we compared gestational age from date of last normal menses and the physician-based estimate of gestational age. An average . 51 week difference between the two methods was observed. Beyond seven weeks gestation, the date of last normal menses value was underestimated by the physician-based estimate with a markedly greater divergence after 20 weeks. A relatively greater underestimation of the date of last normal menses interval by the physician estimate was apparent for Whites after 13 weeks. The data of last normal menses value for non-state residents was overestimated across the entire range of the date of last normal menses gestational age distribution until 21 weeks.
Crossover Second Toe Deformity

The crossover second toe deformity occurs when the lateral collateral ligament and joint capsule of the second metatarsophalangeal joint deteriorate. The second toe initially deviates in a medial direction but with time deviates dorsally and crosses up and over the great toe. A total of 17 patients (22 toes) were evaluated and 11 patients (15 toes) underwent surgical correction. A 90° satisfactory rate was noted at 42 months follow-up.
Craniodental anatomy of a new late cretaceous multituberculate mammal from Udan Sayr, Mongolia.

The multituberculate Mangasbaatar udanii gen. et sp. n. , represented by two specimens from Udan Sayr locality in the Gobi desert (Mongolia), is a derived member of a speciose group of Late Cretaceous Mongolian multituberculates (LCMM), clustering together with large-size forms such as Catopsbaatar, Tombaatar, and Djadochtatherium, forming a monophyletic group. Tombaatar sabuli is the sister taxon and shares with the new form the dental formula, overall dental morphology, and approximate size. The new multituberculate has a very large middle ear cavity, housing a petrosal and promontorium that are deeply sunk into the braincase. The expansion of the middle ear cavity seems to be absent among basal LCMM, only developing among members of Djadochtatherioidea, and to an extreme degree in the Udan Sayr multituberculate and Tombaatar. Among living mammals, enlarged middle ear cavities confer enhanced low frequency audition and are often found in fossorial species, such as golden moles, and several groups of rodents adapted to open, arid environments. Burrowing is a possible behavior for the new mammal and its closest relatives with similarly expanded middle ear regions and an arid environment has been proposed for the sediments where most LCMM are found. The new taxon further demonstrates the morphological, and possibly ecological, diversity among multituberculates.
Functional and serological analysis of type II immunoglobulin G-binding proteins expressed by pathogenic group A streptococci

Bacterial immunoglobulin-binding proteins expressed on the surface of group A streptococci represent a heterogeneous family of functionally related proteins. In this report, we describe efficient methods for extracting immunoglobulin-binding proteins and classifying them functionally and antigenically. A common characteristic of immunoglobulin-binding proteins expressed by group A streptococci appears to be the absence of internal methionine residues in the binding protein. This has enabled development of a rapid, efficient, cyanogen bromide-based extraction procedure for solubilizing these molecules from intact bacteria. Studies carried out with a series of monospecific polyclonal antibodies prepared in chickens have identified two major antigenic classes of immunoglobulin-binding proteins. The methods described in this report facilitate a rapid functional and serological screening of immunoglobulin-binding proteins that should now enable detailed epidemiological studies of the importance of these molecules in group A streptococcal infections and their relationship to other surface proteins, in particular, the antiphagocytic M protein.
Characterization of a bacteriocin produced by a newly isolated Bacillus sp. Strain 8 A

Aims: The aim of this research was to investigate the production of bacteriocins by Bacillus spp. isolated from native soils of south of Brazil. Methods and Results: A bacteriocin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus 8 A was identified. The antimicrobial activity was produced starting at the exponential growth phase, although maximum activity was at stationary growth phase. A crude bacteriocin obtained from culture supernatant fluid was inhibitory to a broad range of indicator strains, including Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, and several species of Bacillus. Clinically relevant bacteria such as Streptococcus bovis and Micrococcus luteus were also inhibited. Bacteriocin was stable at 80°C, but the activity was lost when the temperature reached 87°C. It was resistant to the proteolytic action of trypsin and papain, but sensitive to proteinase K and pronase E.Bacteriocin activity was observed in the pH range of 6·0–9·0. Conclusions: A bacteriocin produced by Bacillus cereus 8 A was characterized, presenting a broad spectrum of activity and potential for use as biopreservative in food. Significance and impact of study: The identification of a bacteriocin with large activity spectrum, including pathogens and spoilage microorganisms, addresses an important aspect of food safety.
3D bone subtraction CT angiography for the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms: a comparison study with 2D bone subtraction CT angiography and conventional non-subtracted CT angiography

Background Bone subtraction computed tomography angiography (BSCTA) is better able to facilitate the detection of intracranial aneurysms adjacent to bone structures compared to conventional non-subtracted CTA (CNSCTA). However, the comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) BSCTA and conventional CTA in evaluating intracranial aneurysms remains unclear. Purpose To evaluate whether 3D BSCTA has a superior diagnostic accuracy to those of 2D BSCTA and CNSCTA in a single center with the same instrument. Material and Methods Sixty-three patients received 3D BSCTA, 2D BSCTA, and NSCTA for the detection and treatment planning of suspected intracranial aneurysms. The angiography readouts were reviewed by two independent radiologists. The sensitivity of CTA in detecting aneurysm was analyzed on a per-aneurysm and per-patient basis, using 3D digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and surgical findings as the gold standard. The potential of endovascular treatment or surgical clipping was also assessed based on information provided by the CTA. Results A total of 66 aneurysms were detected in 54 patients. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of 3D BSCTA were all 100%, and these values for 2D BSCTA were 98.1%, 100%, 100%, and 90%, respectively. The total sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of CNSCTA were 94.4%, 100%, 100%, and 75%, respectively. Finally, 100%, 98.1%, and 85.2% patients received appropriate treatment decisions after 3D BSCTA, 2D BSCTA, and CNSCTA imaging, respectively. Conclusion 3D BSCTA has a higher sensitivity for the detection of small aneurysms and aneurysms adjacent to bone compared to 2D BSCTA or CNSCTA, which were still able to obtain sufficient information for the detection of intracranial aneurysms and therapeutic decision-making.
SPORULATION OF BACILLUS SPHAERICUS GROWN IN ASSOCIATION WITH ERWINIA ATROSEPTICA

Woods (1953) made reference to the various methods of approach or levels of research in chemical microbiology conceived and practiced by the late Marjory Stephenson. He commented further as follows: "Perhaps the ultimate problem is to explain in biochemical terms the life of microbes in the mixed associations in which they usually exist in nature. " Except for the phenomenon of antibiosis, studies in this area, i.e., associations or interactions between bacteria, have been reported only sporadically. The present investigation is concerned with the phenomenon described earlier by Brady and Pelczar (1957), namely, the enhancement of sporulation by Bacillus sphaericus when grown in association with Erwinia atroseptica. Instances of bacterial sporulation in mixed cultures were described by Koser and McClelland (1918) when they used the symbiotic effects of Proteus vulgaris to secure suspensions of spores of Clostridium tetani and Clostridium putrificum. Mellon (1926) reported the improved sporulation of a bacillus in the presence of another organism. Culture filtrates of the associated organism affected early spore formation of the bacilli. However, these were passing observations. A report by Powell and Hunter (1955) was the first comprehensive experimental attempt to ascertain the nature of the sporulation enhancement effect in a mixed culture. These investigators observed a pronounced stimulation of sporulation in B. sphaericus by Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus. They concluded that stimulation of B. sphaericus sporulation in mixed culture was due to an in-
Low levels of physical activity are associated with dysregulation of energy intake and fat mass gain over 1 year.

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest that appetite may be dysregulated at low levels of activity, creating an energy imbalance that results in weight gain. OBJECTIVE The aim was to examine the relation between energy intake, physical activity, appetite, and weight gain during a 1-y follow-up period in a large sample of adults. DESIGN Participants included 421 individuals (mean ± SD age: 27.6 ± 3.8 y). Measurements included the following: energy intake with the use of interviewer-administered dietary recalls and calculated by using changes in body composition and energy expenditure, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with the use of an arm-based monitor, body composition with the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and questionnaire-derived perceptions of dietary restraint, disinhibition, hunger, and control of eating. Participants were grouped at baseline into quintiles of MVPA (min/d) by sex. Measurements were repeated every 3 mo for 1 y. RESULTS At baseline, an inverse relation existed between body weight and activity groups, with the least-active group (15.7 ± 9.9 min MVPA/d, 6062 ± 1778 steps/d) having the highest body weight (86.3 ± 13.2 kg) and the most-active group (174.5 ± 60.5 min MVPA/d, 10260 ± 3087 steps/d) having the lowest body weight (67.5 ± 11.0 kg). A positive relation was observed between calculated energy intake and activity group, except in the lowest quintile of activity. The lowest physical activity group reported higher levels of disinhibition (P = 0.07) and cravings for savory foods (P = 0.03) compared with the group with the highest level of physical activity. Over 1 y of follow-up, the lowest activity group gained the largest amount of fat mass (1.7 ± 0.3 kg) after adjustment for change in MVPA and baseline fat mass. The odds of gaining >3% of fat mass were between 1.8 and 3.8 times as high for individuals in the least-active group as for those in the middle activity group. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that low levels of physical activity are a risk factor for fat mass gain. In the current sample, a threshold for achieving energy balance occurred at an activity level corresponding to 7116 steps/d, an amount achievable by most adults. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01746186.
Unlocking Student Motivation: Development of an Engineering Motivation Survey

Student motivation is an important part of a student’s engagement in learning. Researchers and educators across broad educational contexts have identified and investigated a variety of specific motivation-related constructs related to learning. However, few studies have developed and tested survey instruments for measuring motivation constructs within engineering education in a valid and reliable way. This study describes the development and piloting of such a survey, situated in expectancy-value theory, through numerous steps of validity and reliability testing. The survey items consist of 35 Likert scale questions measuring attainment value, interest-enjoyment value, utility value, cost and expectation of success for students obtaining a degree in engineering. Initial development of the survey was based on previously published instruments measuring expectancy-value constructs, as well as consultation with two experts on motivation research and one expert on survey development. The survey was piloted with 219 engineering students at a large public university located in the mid-Atlantic United States. Validity of items was confirmed by factor analysis. Resulting internal consistency ratings using Cronbach’s alpha produced scores higher than 0.70 in all cases, suggesting that the survey reliably measures theory constructs. Ultimately, this instrument will be useful to the engineering education community because of its potential to concisely measure all of the expectancy-value constructs (task values and expectancy of success) in engineering students. Motivation can be compared to other data such as persistence rates and measurements of career goals to better understand the decisions that students make about their engineering education and career by measuring such connections.
A Multicentric Western Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Advanced, Node-Negative Gastric Cancer Patients

Background:The presence of lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors in patients with gastric carcinoma. Node-negative patients have a better outcome, nevertheless a subgroup of them experience disease recurrence. Aim:To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of lymph node-negative advanced gastric carcinoma patients submitted to gastrectomy and D2 lymphadenectomy with a retrieved number of nodes greater than 15, after an actual follow-up of almost 5 years, and to evaluate outcome indicators. Study Design:The records of 301 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma and were adequately staged as N0 between 1992 and 2002 were retrospectively analyzed from the prospectively collected database of 7 centers participating to the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer. Results:Disease-specific and disease-free survival after 3, 5, and 10 years were 90.4%, 86.1%, 75.9%, and 72.1%, 57.3%, 57.3%, respectively. Mortality was 1.7%. The factors associated with a better disease-free survival at univariate analysis were age <60, T2 tumors, distal location, intestinal histotype, and number of retrieved nodes >25; depth of infiltration and histotype were the only 2 independent predictors of 5-year recurrence-free survival at multivariate analysis. Conclusion:These parameters must be considered to stratify node-negative gastric cancer patients for an adjuvant treatment and follow-up scheduling. Survival was similar to that previously reported by Eastern Centers. Lymphadenectomy is suggested to be effective, and retrieval of more than 25 nodes may be warranted.
The different roles of perceived stress in the association between older adults' physical activity and physical health.

OBJECTIVE This 4-year longitudinal study examined the different roles of perceived stress in the association between older adults' physical activities and physical health. We hypothesized that physical activities would exert beneficial effects on physical health by preventing chronically high levels of perceived stress. METHODS We assessed baseline levels of physical activities and repeated measures of perceived stress and physical symptoms in 3 waves of data from a sample of 157 older adults. RESULTS Among participants with high (but not low) baseline levels of perceived stress, physical activity predicted a 2-year reduction of perceived stress and a 4-year prevention of physical health symptoms. Moreover, the interaction effect on 4-year changes in physical symptoms was mediated by 2-year changes in perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS Physical health benefits of physical activity are particularly pronounced among older adults who perceive high levels of stress, and this effect is mediated by a prevention of chronically high perceptions of stress.