Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deficits of visual attention and saccadic eye movements after lesions of parietooccipital cortex in monkeys.

1. Visual attention is often profoundly disturbed in humans after damage to the cortex of the posterior parietal lobe, particularly of the minor hemisphere, with some patients being totally unaware of visual stimuli in the hemifield of extrapersonal space contralateral to the cortical damage. This severe form of visual inattention is usually called contralateral neglect and has occasionally been reported following posterior parietal lesions in monkeys. However, in monkeys, only qualitative observations have been published and those reports are not in agreement concerning the severity of the deficit. The present experiments were designed to measure quantitatively the amount of disruption of selective visual attention which is produced by lesions of posterior parietal and parietooccipital cortical lesions in monkeys. 2. Five monkeys were trained to visually fixate and follow with their gaze a small visual stimulus as it suddenly moved varying distances (8, 16, or 24 degrees) from the midline into the left or right visual hemifields. Two animals then received a unilateral cortical lesion limited to the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Three animals received unilateral lesions which included both the inferior parietal lobule and a portion of adjacent dorsal prestriate cortex (IPL-PS). 3. Visual inattention is commonly divided into two levels of severity. The more severe form, contralateral neglect, is the complete absence of behavioral response to a stimulus in the visual field contralateral to hemisphere damage. The less severe deficit, usually called visual extinction, is a tendency to ignore the contralateral of two visual stimuli when they appear simultaneously and symmetrically placed with respect to the center of the subject's surroundings. The five monkeys in this study were tested on a stimulus paradigm which simultaneously measured the severity of visual neglect and also the amount and duration of visual extinction which were produced by the cortical lesions. 4. All monkeys displayed contralateral visual extinction after unilateral posterior parietal or parietooccipital lesions. Three of the five monkeys showed a reversal of the visual extinction after a second, symmetrical lesion was placed in the opposite hemisphere. No monkey showed evidence of full-blown contralateral neglect after lesions limited to the parietooccipital cortex, either in the formal testing situation or during informal neurological examinations. The severity of the observed inattention did not appear to be related to the size of the cortical lesions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Molecular Defects Underlying the Kell Null Phenotype*

Expression of the Kell blood group system is dependent on two proteins, Kell and XK, that are linked by a single disulfide bond. Kell, a type II membrane glycoprotein, is a zinc endopeptidase, while XK, which has 10 transmembrane domains, is a putative membrane transporter. A rare phenotype termed Kell null (Ko) is characterized by the absence of Kell protein and Kell antigens from the red cell membrane and diminished amounts of XK protein. We determined the molecular basis of eight unrelated persons with Ko phenotypes by sequencing the coding and the intron-exon splice regions of KEL and, in some cases, analysis of mRNA transcripts and expression of mutants on the cell surface of transfected cells. Six subjects were homozygous: four with premature stop codons, one with a 5′ splice site mutation, G to A, in intron 3, and one with an amino acid substitution (S676N) in exon 18. Two Ko persons with premature stop codons had identical mutations in exon 4 (R128Stop), another had a different mutation in exon 4 (C83Stop), and the fourth had a stop codon in exon 9 (Q348Stop). Two Ko persons were heterozygous for two mutations. One had a 5′ splice site mutation (G to A) in intron 3 of one allele that caused aberrant splicing and exon skipping, and the other allele had an amino acid substitution in exon 10 (S363N). The other heterozygote had the same amino acid substitution in exon 10 (S363N) in one allele and a premature stop codon in exon 6 (R192Stop) in the other allele. The S363N and S676N mutants, expressed in 293T cells, were retained in a pre-Golgi compartment and were not transported to the cell surface, indicating that these mutations inhibit trafficking. We conclude that several different molecular defects cause the Kell null phenotype.
Lower extremity strength and mechanics during jumping in women with patellofemoral pain.

CONTEXT Lower extremity (LE) weakness might be associated with altered mechanics during weight bearing in subjects with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). OBJECTIVE To analyze LE strength, mechanics, and the association between these variables among women with and without PFPS during a simulated athletic task. DESIGN Case control. SETTING Motion-analysis laboratory. SUBJECTS 20 women with PFPS and 20 healthy women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Peak isometric lateral trunk-flexion, hip-abduction, hip external-rotation, knee-flexion, and knee-extension strength, as well as hip- and knee-joint excursions and angular impulses during single-leg jumps. RESULTS PFPS subjects produced less hip-abduction, hip external-rotation, and trunk lateral-flexion force than the control group. The PFPS group also demonstrated greater hip-adduction excursion and hip-abduction impulses. The association between the strength measurements and LE mechanics was low. CONCLUSIONS Women with PFPS demonstrate specific weaknesses and altered LE mechanics. Weakness is not, however, highly correlated with observed differences in mechanics.
Similarities vs. differences in place learning and circadian activity in rats after fimbria‐fornix section or ibotenate removal of hippocampal cells

Damage to either the fimbria‐fornix or to the hippocampus can produce a deficit in spatial behavior and change in locomotor activity but the extent to which the two kinds of damage are comparable is not known. Here we contrasted the effects of cathodal sections of the fimbria‐fornix with ibotenic acid lesions of the cells of the hippocampus (Ammon's horn and the dentate gyrus) on place learning in a swimming pool and on circadian activity. Rats in both ablation groups were impaired relative to control rats in learning a single place response but they did acquire the response as measured by swim latencies, errors, and by enhanced searching on probe trials. They were also more active than the control group on the test of activity. Nevertheless, the fimbria‐fornix group was initially more impaired on learning and was more active than the hippocampal group. Analysis of the strategies used in learning indicated that the lesion groups were very similar to each other but different from the control group especially in that at asymptotic performance, rats in both lesion groups made rather tight loops as they swam toward the platform. This strategy likely contributed to the greater proportion of time they spent swimming in the correct quadrant on the subsequent probe trial. These findings confirm that rats with fimbria‐fornix or hippocampal damage display impairments in place learning and are hyperactive but also show that there are lesion differences. The results are discussed with respect to the relative effectiveness of the lesions and the possibility that fibers in the fimbria‐fornix may mediate some functions that are not attributable to the hippocampus. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prospective study of body mass index, weight change, and risk of adult-onset asthma in women.

BACKGROUND Obesity and asthma are common disorders, and their prevalence rates continue to rise. Although individuals with asthma may gain weight as a result of activity limitations, the relationship between body mass index (BMI), which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters, and risk of developing asthma is not known. METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study of female US registered nurses in the Nurses' Health Study II. In 1991, after excluding women who died with probable asthma or with incomplete data, there were 85911 participants, aged 26 to 46 years. The main outcome measure was self-report of physician-diagnosed asthma with recent use of an asthma medication. RESULTS From 1991 to 1995, we identified 1596 incident cases of asthma. In a multivariate model controlling for 9 potential confounding factors (including age, race, smoking, physical activity, and energy intake), the relative risks of asthma for 6 increasing categories of BMI in 1991 were 0.9, 1.0 (reference), 1.1, 1.6, 1.7, and 2.7 (P for trend <.001). Stronger associations were found using stricter definitions for asthma, and the finding was present in a variety of subgroups. In analyses controlling for the same variables, as well as BMI at age 18, women who gained weight after age 18 were at significantly increased risk of developing asthma during the 4-year follow-up period (P for trend <.001). CONCLUSIONS The BMI has a strong, independent, and positive association with risk of adult-onset asthma. The increasing prevalence of obesity in developed nations may help explain concomitant increases in asthma prevalence.
Targeted transarterial oily chemoembolization for small foci of hepatocellular carcinoma using a unified helical CT and angiography system: analysis of factors affecting local recurrence and survival rates.

OBJECTIVE We assessed the local recurrence rate after a single targeted transarterial oily chemoembolization for small hepatocellular carcinoma with the unified helical CT and angiography system and analyzed the factors affecting the local recurrence rate and survival rate with Cox proportional hazards model. MATERIALS AND METHODS For 54 consecutive patients with 71 small hepatocellular carcinomas (< or = 5 cm) with no more than two associated lesions, targeted oily chemoembolization was performed with an emulsion of doxorubicin hydrochloride mixed with iodized oil or a suspension of zinostatin stimalamer followed by gelatin sponge particles. When local recurrence or a new lesion appeared, follow-up targeted oily chemoembolization was performed. RESULTS For 52 of 71 lesions, the catheterization to a subsegmental or more distal feeding artery could be performed. Local recurrence was recognized in 33.2% at 1 year and 37.8% at 2 and 3 years. The significant factors that affected local recurrence were tumor size (p = 0.005) and degree of deposition of iodized oil within the lesion (p = 0.049). The survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 93.3%, 77.1%, and 77.1%, respectively. The significant factors affecting survival rate were tumor thrombus in large vessels (p = 0.0001), appearing after the first chemoembolization, and maximum tumor size (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION Single targeted transarterial oily chemoembolization with the unified helical CT and angiography system had a low local recurrence rate for small hepatocellular carcinoma, and follow-up embolization resulted in a good survival rate. Tumor size along with degree of intratumoral iodized oil deposition and tumor thrombus along with maximum tumor size were significant factors affecting local recurrence and survival rate, respectively.
The effects of international price volatility on farmer prices and marketing margins in cattle markets

This study examines the effects of export price volatility in cattle markets using panel data from twelve countries between 1970 and 2013. Fixed-effects models with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors were estimated to control for cross-sectional dependence. Results indicate that price transmission depends on prices previously paid to farmers, variations in export prices and volatility of export prices, which reduces farmer prices in developed countries and it increases them in developing countries. In contrast, marketing margins are reduced by contemporaneous export price volatility and are increased by previous volatility. Exporters in developing countries take more time to transmit shocks in international prices, pay lower prices to farmers and absorb a bigger proportion of price fluctuations. These price transmission imperfections affect investments, technology adoption, production level and quality across the chain in developing countries, which negatively impact farmers, input and service providers, .
Developing sustainable competitive advantage of a firm through human resource management practices: a competence-based approach

The paper aims to investigate the influence of particular human resource management (HRM) roles on the process of achieving different types of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). We create an empirical model including two parts for testing relationships such as competence-based HRM roles - SCA dimensions, and competence-based HRM. Using survey data from 227 European companies, this study explores how SCA dimensions may be developed through HRM. We argue that to achieve SCA, a company needs to develop competence-based HRM related to identifying and describing core competences. This study advocates that SCA could be assessed by evaluation of the level of development of different competence-based management functions. We prove that competence-based HRM is strongly related to competence management in an organisation and contributes to SCA development.
THE IMPAIRED AGED. A FOLLOW‐UP STUDY OF APPLICANTS REJECTED BY A VOLUNTARY HOME

In the past several decades, the “population explosion” of aged citizenry has stimulated communities and agencies to a variety of efforts to meet the emerging needs. The familiar statistics of the rise in numbers of aged persons have been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the incidence of those physical and mental impairments usually associated with the aging phase of life. Coherent and organized planning requires that the planning agency respond sensitively to such changing community needs, basing projected services and facilities on information rather than on intuition. Conceived and designed orginally for the L‘well-aged,” the Home for the Jewish Aged of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center has met this responsibility by modifying and extending its function. In the past decade there have been major developments designed to keep pace with the needs of the community. Within the Home itself, 160 beds were added to the original 190 through large building programs. Some existing facilities were converted to provide more nursing and supervisory care. Physical expansion has been accompanied by addition of services, programs, and staff. The Hospital of the Home for the Jewish Aged has been fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. The Gerontological Research Institute was created and its fully equipped laboratories are actively engaged in biological and biochemical research. An apartment building called York House North was built to house 265 older citizens needing a semi-independent living arrangement. I ts companion, York House South was completed in January 1965 and now accommodates another 250 people. Concurrent with this growth, the Home became aware of a changing pattern in the needs of its applicant group. While the waiting list remained large, it was necessary to deny admission to an increasing number of persons whose mental and physical impairments required a greater degree of care, attention, and supervision. The Home therefore undertook a comprehensive exploration of community needs which has already eventuated in significant changes in policy, facilities and staffing, and in the formulation of a variety of long-range plans. This study was one component of the survey. Its purpose was a followup of all persons rejected for service during a one-year period. The questions posed were Who were the people H.J.A. had not served? What had become of them?
The impact of resistance exercise training on the mental health of older Puerto Rican adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of a 16 week high-intensity progressive resistance exercise training (PRT) program on the mental health of older Puerto Rican adults with type 2 diabetes. METHODS Fifty-eight Puerto Rican adults were randomly assigned to supervised PRT (n = 29) or a control group (n = 29). A secondary analyses were conducted, and 2 mental health outcomes, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the SF-36 mental component summary score, were used to assess the impact of PRT on mental health status. At baseline, no differences were found on measures of self-reported mental health status. RESULTS PRT participants had significantly improved mental health status at follow-up (16 weeks). DISCUSSION The incorporation of exercise into treatment planning for older adults may have important benefits on their mental health status. More work is needed to understand the mechanisms by which this occurred as well as the applicability of these findings to sustainable community programs.
Development of a rapid DNA screening procedure for the Factor V Leiden mutation

Aim—To develop a rapid, simple and highly specific DNA screening procedure based on the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) to detect the Leiden mutation in whole blood. Methods—ARMS PCR amplification primers with additional mismatches at either -2 or -3, which greatly improves specificity, were constructed to detect the normal Factor V gene and the Leiden mutation in whole blood samples from patients with abnormal clotting results. Results—Construction of ARMS primers with either an additional mismatch at -2 or -3 at the 3′ end of the primer could be used to detect the Leiden mutation in 0.5 μ1 whole blood in under three hours. Primers destabilised at position -3 could be used at a lower annealing temperature, which gave greater sensitivity and are now routinely used. A control set of primers was included in the same reaction to act as a positive control. Conclusions—This rapid and specific assay for the factor V Leiden mutation is a useful addition to the investigation of patients with or at risk from thrombovascular disease.
Returns to Agricultural Microcredit: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

Using nationally representative household survey and utilising suitable quantitative tools, this study provides evidence in favour of the positive effect of participation in a credit programme on agricultural production. Our estimates suggest that credit had significant contribution towards household crop production–in comparison to an otherwise similar household without credit. Credit recipient households were found to produce significantly greater amount of agricultural commodities
Surgical treatment of Marfan patients with aneurysms and dissection of the proximal aorta.

BACKGROUND The authors retrospectively analyzed early and late results of surgical treatment for 79 Marfan patients with aneurysms and dissection of the proximal aorta. METHODS From September 1979 to February 1996, 79 patients with Marfan syndrome underwent aortic root replacement using composite grafts (n=68, Bentall-technique 63, button-technique 5), and ascending aortic replacement with a valve-sparing procedure (n=11). There were 12 patients (15.2%) who simultaneously received partial or total arch replacement. 55 patients (69.6%) were male, and 24 female (30.4%). The average age was 33.8 years. Forty-one patient (51.9%) had non-dissecting aneurysms while the remaining 38 patients suffered from either acute (24.0%) or chronic aortic dissection (24.0%). The aortic valve was involved in 97.5% of all cases. RESULTS The total early mortality (< or =30 days) was 3.8%, 10.5% for acute aortic dissection and 2.4% for non-dissecting aneurysms. There were no early postoperative deaths in patients after valve-sparing operation and in those with chronic aortic dissection. The follow-up rate was 98.7%. During a mean follow-up of 68+/-25 months 10 patients (13.3%) died and cardiac complications were a common cause of the late deaths. There was no late mortality in the valve-sparing operations during a mean follow-up period of 8+/-6 months, however, 1 required valve replacement. 19 (25.3%) of the 75 patients surviving late have undergone 25 secondary operations on the cardiovascular system. Reoperations at aortic sites distant from the original were much more frequent after primary repair for acute and chronic dissection when compared to non-dissecting aneurysms (p<0.005). Actuarial survival rate of all patients with composite graft replacement including early deaths was 91.2% at 1 year, 84.4% at 5 years and 75.2% at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS Composite graft insertion has become the gold standard for treating Marfan-patients with non-dissecting and dissecting aneurysms of the aortic root. Our early experience in 11 patients with valve-sparing procedures indicated that this,variant may be the better choice in selected patients.
Altered expression and functional profile of lysophosphatidic acid receptors in mitogen‐activated human blood T lymphocytes

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) from platelets and mononuclear phagocytes regulates T cell functions through endothelial differentiation gene‐encoded G protein‐coupled receptors (Edg Rs). Human blood unactivated CD4+ T cells express predominantly Edg‐4 LPA R over marginal levels of Edg‐2 LPA R, as assessed by semiquantitative PCR and Western blots. After mitogen activation, the CD4+ T cells express Edg‐2 Rs at approximately one half the level of Edg‐4 Rs. Secretion of IL‐2 by unactivated Edg‐4 R‐predominant CD4+ T cells incubated with anti‐CD3 plus anti‐CD28 antibodies was suppressed significantly and by up to 60% by 10−10 M to 10−6 M LPA, whereas secretion of IL‐2 by mitogen‐activated Edg‐2 R and Edg‐4 R codominant CD4+ T cells was enhanced by up to twofold by the same concentrations of LPA. The possibility that the two Edg Rs transduce different LPA signals to CD4+ T cells was supported by findings that IL‐2 secretion was inhibited by mouse anti‐Edg‐4 R monoclonal antibody, but enhanced by mouse anti‐Edg‐2 R monoclonal antibody. The separate effects of each LPA R were studied in Jurkat T cell transfectants expressing principally human Edg‐2 Rs (Jurkat‐T‐2) or Edg‐4 Rs (Jurkat‐T‐4) and stimulated with anti‐CD3 plus phorbol myristate acetate. LPA and anti‐Edg‐4 R antibody suppressed IL‐2 secretion by stimulated Jurkat‐T‐4 cells, whereas LPA and anti‐Edg‐2 R antibody enhanced IL‐2 secretion by stimulated Jurkat‐T‐2 cells. Activation‐induced alterations in the relative levels of Edg‐2 and ‐4 Rs on CD4+ T cells thus reverse the effects of LPA on T cell receptor‐stimulated generation of IL‐2.