Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tear Physiology of Aqueous Deficiency and Evaporative Dry Eye

Purpose. To determine the differences in tear physiology between aqueous deficiency dry eye (ADDE) and evaporative dry eye (EDE), and evaluate their utility in diagnosis. Methods. Fifty-six dry eye patients were classified into 30 ADDE and 26 EDE according to the recently published Dry Eye Workshop criteria. A range of tear physiology measures comprising of tear evaporation, turnover rate (TTR), distribution, volume and osmolarity, and meibomian gland dropout were measured in these patients. The effectiveness of the tests, singly and in combinations, in differentiating between the dry eye subtypes was evaluated by retrospective allocation into groups and by Receiver Operative Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Results. Statistically significant differences were seen for TTR and tear evaporation (with lower values for ADDE) between ADDE and EDE, but no significant differences were seen for tear osmolarity, volume, distribution, and meibomian gland dropout scores. Differentiation of ADDE and EDE by a cut-off value of 11%/min for TTR was found to have a sensitivity of 86%, specificity of 75%, positive predictive value 89%, negative predictive value 69%, and overall accuracy 83%. The area under the curve on the ROC curve was 0.83. For tear evaporation, a cut-off of 60 g/m2h was found to have a sensitivity of 77%, specificity of 55%, positive predictive value 38%, negative predictive value 80%, and overall accuracy 58% in subtype differentiation. The area under the curve was 0.59 on the ROC curve. The distribution curve of the evaporation rates for ADDE and EDE, showed an overlap coefficient of 0.76 indicating that tear evaporation is within a similar range in these two dry eye subtypes. Conclusions. Tear turnover is significantly lower in ADDE than EDE, but there is considerable overlap of tear evaporation between the two dry eye subtypes. Tear osmolarity and turn over tests can be conducted sequentially to effectively diagnose dry eye and its subtypes.
Cyclic antidepressant overdose in children: A proposed treatment protocol

Cyclic antidepressant overdose is a major cause of drug overdose deaths and morbidity in the United States. The cyclic antidepressants are prescribed widely by primary care physicians and psychiatrists, and accidental overdose in children is not uncommon. Children have exhibited toxic effects with relatively small amounts of cyclic antidepressants. The management of cyclic antidepressant overdose is difficult because of the complex effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems. The pertinent pharmacology of cyclic antidepressants in therapeutic amounts and in overdose is reviewed in this article. The clinical manifestations of cyclic antidepressant overdose are described. A protocol for effective management of cyclic antidepressant overdose in children is proposed.
Determinants of Savings among Rural Women in Borno State, Nigeria

The study analysed the determinants of savings among rural women in Borno State. Primary data for the study were obtained through the used of structured questionnaires from 600 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. Frequency distribution, percentages, mean, bar chart and pie chart were used to examine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area. Logit regression model was used to determine the effects of factors (socioeconomic, institutional and cultural) on the probability of savings of the respondents. The study revealed that majority (88%) of the respondents were married. It was also evident from the study that about 90% of the respondents fell within the age range of 20-50 years. The mean household size was 6. The study also revealed that majority (64%) had Agriculture as their main livelihood activity, and many (54%) had no formal education. The result showed that income was obtained from farming and nonfarming livelihood activities. The study went further to reveal that majority stored grains as assets. It was revealed by the study that many (41%) of the women in the study Original Research Article Nuhu et al.; AJAEES, 5(4): 202-214, 2015; Article no.AJAEES. 2015.053 203 area were involved in Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCAs) as a financial saving tool. Based on the finding of this study, it is recommended that there is need to implement policies that will boost the productivity and improve the income of rural women. Institutions that are involved in developmental projects need to increase support to improve the business environment of rural women.
Authoritative Parenting and Sensation Seeking as Predictors of Adolescent Cigarette and Marijuana Use

Adolescents with high sensation-seeking tendencies often seek out thrill seeking experiences to satisfy their need for stimulation and sensation. In many cases, sensation-seeking adolescents fulfill their need for stimulation and sensation by using illicit substances. However, not all high sensation seekers use drugs, although the factors that prevent or buffer sensation seeking remain unexplored. This study fills this gap in extant research by examining the role of authoritative parenting as a protective factor that prevents or buffers cigarette and marijuana use by adolescents with high sensation-seeking tendencies. Data from 1,461 adolescents attending 6th through 8th grades in central Colorado were gathered during a semester-long classroom-based intervention to prevent the onset or further use of cigarettes. Results indicate that authoritative parenting moderated the effect of sensation seeking on adolescent marijuana attitudes, intentions, and peer influence but not behaviors. Further, authoritative parenting was a stronger influence than sensation seeking on cigarette-related outcomes with just the opposite effect observed for marijuana-related outcomes.
Pseudophosphorylation of tau protein alters its ability for self‐aggregation

Filamentous tau protein deposits are a pathological hallmark of a group of neurodegenerative disorders (tauopathies). Tau protein in these aggregates is highly phosphorylated at different phosphorylation sites. Although tau filaments can be formed by heparin‐induced aggregation of unphosphorylated recombinant tau, it is not known how tau phosphorylation modulates aggregation behaviour. Analysis of the effect of tau phosphorylation at defined single or multiple sites is hampered by the low specificity of protein kinases and the highly dynamic turnover of phosphorylation in vivo. To overcome this problem we employed site‐directed mutagenesis to convert serine and threonine to aspartic acid or glutamic acid, which introduce a negative charge and conformational change that mimic phosphorylation. We tested 14 different mutated tau proteins for their propensity for self‐aggregation and formation of tau filaments. Tau aggregation was monitored with thioflavin S fluorescence in the presence of different inducers such as heparin, Al3+, Fe2+ and Fe3+. We found that mutations in the N‐terminal portion up to amino acid 208 mainly suppress tau aggregation, whereas mutations in the C‐terminal region mainly lead to an enhanced aggregation. Mutations in the middle portion of tau showed a mixed picture of suppression and enhancement of aggregation. A single amino acid change Ser422Glu has aggregation‐favouring properties with all four inducers.
Effect of bradykinin and its antagonists on superficial and deep pain in human subjects and dogs.

It has been demonstrated that release of kinins like bradykinin and kallikrin during tissue injury is responsicble for local vasodilatation, increased capillary permeability, diapedisis of leucocyte and pain (1). Further aspirin like compounds are known to antagonize the effects of kinins which may be responsible for their antiinflammatory activity (2). Similarly an antagonism of bradykinin evoked pain by narcotic and non-narocotic analgesics has been reported by Lim et al (6).
Dynamic Search-Based Test Data Generation Focused on Data Flow Paths

A method of placing an article onto a surface in close proximity to an adjacent previously-placed article, comprises gripping the article between a pair of jaws, tilting it away from the previously-placed article about an axis parallel to the surface and thereafter releasing it by opening the jaws, the tilt being sufficient to bring the lowered side of the gripped article close to the surface, with the elevated jaw remaining sufficiently high to clear the previously-placed article as it opens. A manipulator suitable for carrying out this method comprises, a gripper having a pair of jaws, a supporting structure for positioning the gripper and an orientation zone interconnecting the gripper and supporting structure for orientating the gripper, the orientation zone comprising means for tilting the gripper about a first axis and means for rotating the gripper about a second axis wherein the tilting means lie between the gripper and the rotation means and the axis of tilt is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the orientation zone being connected to the supporting structure by a joint which enables the first axis to be held parallel to the surface when the gripper is tilted.
Triple Combinations of Lower and Longer Alkyl Gallates and Oxacillin Improve Antibiotic Synergy against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Using liposome systems, we found that gallates with short alkyl chains were located in the external medium and those with longer alkyl chains were located in the surface region of lipid bilayer. Combinations of these gallates remarkably reduced oxacillin MICs against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to below the antibiotic breakpoint (≤2 μg/ml).
Kinetic evidence distinguishing volume‐sensitive chloride current from other types in guinea‐pig ventricular myocytes.

1. Kinase‐mediated chloride currents (ICl) in guinea‐pig ventricular myocytes were activated by application of phorbol ester or forskolin, and compared with currents induced by hyposmotic swelling. Swelling‐activated current was identified as ICl from changes in reversal potential, outward rectification and conductance when the Cl‐gradient was modified. 2. Kinase‐stimulated currents were relatively time and voltage independent, whereas hyposmotic swelling‐stimulated (hyposmotic‐stimulated) currents inactivated during 100 ms pulses to positive potentials. Forskolin stimulated time‐independent ICl in myocytes with current unresponsive to hyposmotic superfusion, and superimposed a similar pedestal on time‐dependent ICl in swollen myocytes. 3. Less negative holding potentials depressed hyposmotic‐stimulated ICl tested at +80 mV; inhibition was half‐maximal at ‐25 mV. Pulses from ‐80 to +80 mV inactivated up to 75% of ICl along a multi‐exponential time course; repolarization elicited inwardly developing tail currents whose time courses suggest complex gating. 4. Hyperpolarizations, after strongly‐inactivating depolarizations, triggered reactivating tail currents whose amplitude and configuration were dependent on voltage and Cl‐gradients; tails were large and inwardly developing at potentials negative to the calculated Cl‐equilibrium potential (ECl), small and outwardly developing at potentials positive to ECl, and time independent near ECl. 5. These results suggest that the volume‐sensitive Cl‐ channels investigated here are distinct from other Cl‐ channels in guinea‐pig ventricular myocytes. However, their voltage‐dependent properties strongly resemble those of volume‐sensitive Cl‐ channels in certain epithelial cells.
Optimizing otoscopy competency in audiology students through supplementary otoscopy training.

BACKGROUND Scope of practice in audiology encompasses proficiency in visual inspection of ear canal and tympanic membrane (TM) as well as otoscopy interpretation skills to determine normal versus abnormal conditions of outer and middle ear. Audiology students can develop skills in otoscopy through education and supervised training. Studies have shown that additional otoscopy training increased skills in medical students and general practitioners. However, educational and supervised practices targeting otoscopy competency during audiology graduate coursework are lacking. Also, no studies have attempted to determine otoscopy skills among audiology students. PURPOSE To determine the effectiveness of the otoscopy training model on clinical competency and confidence level of audiology students in performing and interpreting otoscopy. RESEARCH DESIGN A combination of experimental treatment design with random assignment of treatment and control groups and delayed treatment for control group. STUDY SAMPLE Thirty-two first- and second-year audiology graduate students who were enrolled in a pediatric audiology class participated in this study. Students were randomly assigned to the control (n = 16, 14 females) or experimental (n = 16, 14 females) group. INTERVENTION Participants in the experimental group received supplementary otoscopy training including didactic otoscopy lectures as well as clinical training using manikin ears. The control group received the same pretest and posttest and then completed a third assessment (posttest 2) after receiving the same training. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS An evaluation of knowledge and skills regarding otoscopy between groups and time was conducted at three times: (a) pretraining, (b) upon completion of training for the experimental group, (c) upon completion of training by the control group. The evaluation consisted of a written exam, a clinical exam, and a self-perception rating of confidence. Both written exam scores and clinical exam scores (otoscopy manikin) were analyzed via two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs), whereas chi-square (χ²) statistic was conducted to evaluate the effects of training on the confidence level of students of both groups. RESULTS Experimental and control groups demonstrated significant increased overall competency in otoscopy following the otoscopy training model with didactic and laboratory components. Posttest confidence ratings showed increases in all groups, and there were no significant differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS The need for supplementary otoscopy training was warranted by low knowledge and clinical competency in otoscopy skills of audiology students as measured by pretest mean scores. After completing the training, both experimental and control groups showed significant improvement in knowledge and competency. Results also suggest that perceived confidence ratings may be misleading in determining students' clinical otoscopy skills.
An Optimized Transform for ECG Signal Compression

A significant feature of the coming digital era is the exponential increase in digital data, obtained from various signals specially the biomedical signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG), electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyogram (EMG) etc. How to transmit or store these signals efficiently becomes the most important issue. A digital compression technique is often used to solve this problem. This paper proposed a comparative study of transform based approach for ECG signal compression. Adaptive threshold is used on the transformed coefficients. The algorithm is tested for 10 different records from MIT-BIH arrhythmia database and obtained percentage root mean difference as around 0.528 to 0.584% for compression ratio of 18.963:1 to 23.011:1 for DWT. Among DFT, DCT and DWT techniques, DWT has been proven to be very efficient for ECG signal coding. Further improvement in the CR is possible by efficient entropy coding.
Computer-assisted optimization of reversed-phase HPLC isocratic separations of neutral compounds

Rational selection of optimized experimental conditions for chromatographic separation of analytes is realized nowadays by means of specialized computer programs. Two such programs, DryLab (LC Resources, Walnut Creek, California, USA) and ChromSword (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), were compared in this research. The aim of the study was to compare the optimization of chromatographic separations of neutral compounds performed isocratically in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems. A detailed description and discussion of the differences in predicted and experimental chromatographic retention parameters is reported. The conclusion reached is that the two programs provide identical predictions of retention data, when predictions are based on two initial experimental chromatographic measurements. An additional option of ChromSword, employing the quantitative structure-retention relationships (QSRR), appears to provide satisfactory predictions of the separation when molecular structural data along with retention data from a single initial experimental run are used as inputs. Predictions based on molecular structure alone are not very accurate and are not likely to provide useful separation information.
Demand on verbal working memory delays haemodynamic response in the inferior prefrontal cortex

Event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to test the involvement of the inferior prefrontal cortex in verbal working memory. Pairs of French nouns were presented to ten native French speakers who had to make semantic or grammatical gender decisions. Verbal working memory involvement was manipulated by making the categorization of the second noun optional. Decisions could be made after processing the first noun only (RELEASE condition) or after processing the two nouns (HOLD condition). Reaction times suggested faster processing for gender than for semantic category in RELEASE. Despite the absence of anatomical difference across tasks and conditions in the wide activated network, the haemodynamic response peak latencies of the inferior prefrontal cortex were significantly delayed in HOLD versus RELEASE while no such peak delay was observed in the superior temporal gyrus. Interestingly, this pattern did not interact with language tasks. This study shows that cognitive manipulation can influence haemodynamic time‐course and suggests that the main cognitive process determining inferior prefrontal activation is verbal working memory rather than specific linguistic processes such as grammatical or semantic analysis. Hum. Brain Mapping 19:37–46, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gravitational radiation from monopoles connected by strings

Monopole-antimonopole pairs connected by strings can be formed as topological defects in a sequence of cosmological phase transitions. Such hybrid defects typically decay early in the history of the Universe but can still generate an observable background of gravitational waves. We study the spectrum of gravitational radiation from these objects both analytically and numerically, concentrating on the simplest case of an oscillating pair connected by a straight string. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
An Empirical Research on the Impact of Large Shareholders of Listed SMEs on the Growth

Growth is important for measuring the operating situation and development prospects of listed small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), and there are many affecting factors. This paper take 111 listed companies from the A-share market as a sample, analyze the impact of the large shareholders on the growth of these SMEs. The paper chooses the net asset increase as the measure indicator for the growth of listed SMEs. Through simple group analysis, this paper studies the difference of the growth under the condition of different equities nature and different control types. The paper studies the impact of the equities ratio of the largest shareholder on the growth of the SMEs under the condition of different equities nature through regression analysis.
Prevention of bone loss after withdrawal of tamoxifen.

OBJECTIVE Tamoxifen has antiestrogenic effects in the breast and estrogenlike activity in the skeletons of postmenopausal women. We hypothesized that postmenopausal women with breast cancer would experience a rapid decline in bone mineral density (BMD) after stopping tamoxifen, similar to that seen with estrogen withdrawal. The objective of this study was to assess, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, whether administration of alendronate (70 mg weekly) would prevent bone loss associated with tamoxifen discontinuation. METHODS Postmenopausal women with breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive alendronate or placebo for 1 year within 3 months after withdrawal of tamoxifen therapy. We initiated a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of alendronate (70 mg weekly) in an effort to prevent bone loss associated with discontinuation of tamoxifen therapy. Patients treated with aromatase inhibitors were excluded from the study. BMD at the spine, hip, and forearm was measured at baseline and at 12 months. Analyses employed repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS Patient accrual was considerably limited by the substantial increase in use of aromatase inhibitors during the enrollment period. The study patients (N = 11) had similar baseline BMD T-scores in the alendronate (n = 6) and placebo (n = 5) subgroups. After 1 year, tamoxifen withdrawal was associated with a significant decline in BMD at the femoral neck, which appeared to be prevented by weekly administration of alendronate (-5.2% versus 0.1%; P = .02). Levels of urinary N-telopeptide, a marker of bone turnover, increased by 48% in study subjects in the placebo group (P < .01), whereas weekly alendronate treatment was associated with a 52% decline (P < .01) in this bone resorption marker. CONCLUSION Differences in BMD and bone turnover were evident despite the small sample size. These data suggest that postmenopausal women with breast cancer completing tamoxifen therapy warrant an evaluation of their skeletal health and that bisphosphonate therapy may be useful in preventing bone loss associated with discontinuation of tamoxifen.
Chemical constituents from the roots of Xanthium sibiricum

Xanthium sibiricum patrin ex Widder (Compositae) is an annual herb which grows all around China. Chemical investigations of its roots resulted in the identification of 15 compounds: stigmast-4-en-6β-ol-3-one (1), β-sitostenone (2), β-sitosterol (3), nonadecanoic acid (4), 5α,8α-epidioxy-22E-ergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol (5), scopoletin (6), Jatrocin B (7), (±)syringaresinol (8), 9,9′-O-di-(E)-feruloyl-(−)-secoisolariciresinol (9), cleomiscosin A (10), cleomiscosin C (11), N-trans-feruloyl tyramine (12), daucosterol (13), 5-methyluracil (14) and uracil (15). Structures were elucidated by spectroscopic (NMR and MS) methods and confirmed by comparing with reference samples and literature data. Compounds 1–2, 4–12, 14, and 15 were isolated from this genus for the first time, while this is the first report of coumarinolignoids in the Compositae family, and coumarinoligoids could be considered as valuable chemotaxonomic markers for the plant.