Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF DIELECTRIC BARRIERS TO THE ELECTRIC FIELD OF ROD-PLANE AIR GAP

The rod-plane gap is extensively used for studies on the breakdown characteristics of gases. In this study, influence of a dielectric barrier on the electric field and potential distributions in a vertically arranged rod-plane gap was numerically analysed by using finite element method (FEM). Maximum field in the gap was examined for different gap distances, size and material of the barrier and positions of the barrier between electrodes for estimating the discharge phenomena. The effect of changing the permittivity of the surrounding dielectric material on the field stress is also studied. The results of the field computation show how the maximum electric field varies with the factors mentioned above. As a result, the highest electric field intensity occurs when the barriers were positioned at the nearest point to the rod electrode and the small sized barriers become effective only in very small air gaps.
The role of the &agr;7 nicotinic receptor in cognitive processing of persons with schizophrenia

Purpose of review Cognitive abilities are established as major deficits in those with schizophrenia and represent significant impediments toward successful psychosocial functioning within the community. Pharmacological treatments have historically focused on reducing the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, with recent increased attention to developing agents to improve cognition as a treatment outcome. This review will highlight the recent advances in developing agents that act at neuronal &agr;7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Recent findings A number of agents have demonstrated improvements in cognitive deficits in studies using both preclinical and clinical models. Evidence suggests that &agr;7 nAChR activation impacts rule acquisition and initial learning in preclinical models. Preclinical studies indicate improved spatial working memory and reversal of phencyclidine-induced learning and memory deficits. Clinical studies indicate normalization of neuronal default network activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging methods. In addition, research on new agents developed to improve cognition suggests improved cognitive functioning in multiple domains (e.g., attention, memory, executive functioning, sensory gating and overall cognition) and promising safety profiles of additional agents. Summary Improvements in cognitive functioning within preclinical and clinical studies of schizophrenia are evident through the use of &agr;7 nAChR agonists, while positive allosteric modulators may gain increased attention in the future.
Effects of hydralazine-induced vasodilation on the energy metabolism of murine tumors studied by in vivo 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The effects of hydralazine on tumor energy metabolism and on some cardiovascular parameters were measured. Tumor energy metabolism was studied in C3Hf/Sed mice with isotransplants of a spontaneous murine fibrosarcoma (FSaII, congruent to 100 mm3 in volume) and 31P-NMR. Cardiovascular parameters were measured in anesthetized C3Hf/Sed mice via intracarotid catheter. Hydralazine doses of 0.25 mg/kg given ip caused an increase of the phosphocreatine to inorganic phosphate ratio (PCr: Pi) in 5 of 6 animals. These doses had minimal effects on mean arterial blood pressure, though there may have been an increased cardiac output due to a decreased afterload. Hydralazine doses greater than or equal to 2.0 mg/kg given ip were associated with a decrease in PCr, nucleotide triphosphate, and pH, and an increase in Pi (P less than .01 for control vs. 10 mg hydralazine/kg). This substantial decrease in high-energy phosphates was associated with a pronounced decrement in mean arterial blood pressure. These findings provide a rational basis for the study in experimental systems of hydralazine-induced enhancement of cell killing by hyperthermia and by agents toxic to hypoxic cells. Further, these results can be taken as a sign that hydralazine should be used with care in patients undergoing radiation treatment.
Triassic blueschists and eclogites from northwest Turkey : vestiges of the Paleo-Tethyan subduction

Triassic eclogite and blueschist facies rocks occur as a thrust sheet, 25-km long and over 2-km thick, in an Eocene fold-andthrust belt in northwest Turkey along the İzmir–Ankara suture. The thrust sheet consists mainly of metabasites with minor marble, phyllite and metachert, and rare lenses of serpentinite. The common blueschist facies mineral assemblage in the metabasites is sodic amphibole + epidote + albite + chlorite + phengiteF garnet. Sodic amphibole commonly shows replacement by barroisite, and there is continuous petrographic transition from blueschist–metabasites to barroisite-bearing epidote– amphibolites. Eclogite with the mineral assemblage of garnet + sodic pyroxene + sodic–calcic amphibole + epidote is found only in one locality. P–T conditions of the epidote–blueschist facies metamorphism are estimated as 450F 50 jC and 11F 2 kbar. The blueschist formation was followed by a decrease in pressure and increase in temperature, leading to the development of barroisite-bearing epidote–amphibolites. Phengite, sodic amphibole and barroisite Ar/Ar ages from three metabasic rocks range between 215 and 205 Ma, and indicate Late Triassic high-pressure metamorphism. The Triassic blueschists in northwest Turkey constitute part of a much larger allochthonous tectonic unit of Triassic mafic volcanic rocks. They probably represent the upper layers of a Triassic oceanic plateau, which was accreted to the Laurasian margin during the latest Triassic. The close spatial association of the Triassic and Cretaceous blueschists along the İzmir–Ankara suture suggests that the suture represents a long-lived plate boundary of Late Palaeozoic to early Tertiary age. D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Exceptional longevity in men: modifiable factors associated with survival and function to age 90 years.

BACKGROUND Prospective data on nongenetic determinants of exceptional longevity are limited, and information on long-lived men and their functional status is particularly sparse. We examined modifiable factors associated with a life span of 90 or more years and late-life function in men. METHODS In this prospective cohort study of 2357 healthy men (mean age, 72 years) within the Physicians' Health Study (1981-2006), biological and lifestyle factors and comorbid conditions were assessed by self-report with baseline and annual questionnaires. Mortality and incidence of major diseases were confirmed by medical record review. Late-life function was assessed 16 years after baseline by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. RESULTS A total of 970 men (41%) survived to at least age 90 years. Smoking was associated with increased risk of mortality before age 90 years (hazard ratio [HR]; 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75-2.51), and similar associations were observed with diabetes (HR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.52-2.26), obesity (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.10-1.90), and hypertension (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15-1.43). Regular exercise was associated with a nearly 30% lower mortality risk (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.62-0.83). The probability of a 90-year life span at age 70 years was 54% in the absence of smoking, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, or sedentary lifestyle. It ranged from 36% to 22% with 2 adverse factors and was negligible (4%) with 5. Compared with nonsurvivors, men with exceptional longevity had a healthier lifestyle (67% vs 53% had <or=1 adverse factor), had a lower incidence of chronic diseases, and were 3 to 5 years older at disease onset. They had better late-life physical function (mean +/- SD score [maximum 100], 73 +/- 23 vs 62 +/- 30; P < .001) and mental well-being (mean score, 84 +/- 14 vs 81 +/- 17; P = .03). More than 68% (vs 45%) rated their late-life health as excellent or very good, and less than 8% (vs 22%) reported fair or poor health (P < .001 for trend). Regular exercise was associated with significantly better-and smoking and overweight with significantly worse-late-life physical function. Smoking also was associated with a significant decrement in mental function. CONCLUSION Modifiable healthy behaviors during early elderly years, including smoking abstinence, weight management, blood pressure control, and regular exercise, are associated not only with enhanced life span in men but also with good health and function during older age.
Katherine Philips’s French Translations: Between Mediation and Appropriation

ABSTRACT While Katherine Philips's translations from Corneille, especially her Pompey, have attracted substantial scholarly attention in recent years, her other translations from the French have been relatively neglected. Yet these shorter translations are key to understanding the kind of niche as a social, fashionable author Philips was attempting to create for herself in the latter part of her career. The French poems she chose to translate or imitate are indicative of the forms of poetry she was trying to promote in the early 1660s, as she looked towards France for inspiration and sought to make an impact in British literary and musical life by emulating French models. Her interest in the French court air and ballet also sheds light on her aims in composing her songs between the acts in Pompey. Philips's French poems testify to her interest in contemporary French musical and literary culture, as well as in a more highbrow pastoral literature that she was trying to adapt for an English audience. Her translation of Saint-Amant's “Solitude” in particular represents an ambitious attempt to make an intervention in the contemporary debate about neo-Epicureanism, while also reflecting her literary flair for identifying popular poems.
Different production of soluble HLA‐G antigens by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease: A noninvasive diagnostic tool?

Background: HLA‐G antigens are nonclassical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules characterized by tolerogenic and antiinflammatory properties. Recently, a different expression of HLA‐G antigens has been observed between intestinal biopsies of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) patients. These data suggested a functional role for HLA‐G molecules in the diseases and proposed the HLA‐G modulation as a marker for the diagnosis of UC and CD. The soluble HLA‐G antigens (sHLA‐G) are circulating molecules mainly produced by activated peripheral blood CD14+ monocytes. Methods: We tested, by specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the sHLA‐G molecule levels in the supernatants of unstimulated and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 30 healthy subjects, 10 CD, and 18 UC patients. The data were not influenced by treatment or disease activity. Results: The results confirmed a different sHLA‐G expression between the diseases, with a spontaneous secretion of sHLA‐G in CD patients but not in UC and healthy subjects. Moreover, a lack of sHLA‐G antigens has been reported in UC patient cultures after LPS activation but not in healthy subjects and CD patients. The defective sHLA‐G production was related to an impaired IL‐10 secretion in UC but not in CD. Conclusions: Overall, these results confirm the presence of a different biological characteristic between CD and UC patients and suggest sHLA‐G production by PBMC as a noninvasive diagnostic tool in the early phases of the diseases.
Motor Tests and Cognition in Healthy Older Adults

The Finger Tapping Test (FTT) and Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT) are commonly used in neuropsychological assessments. The performance of healthy older adults on these tasks has not been well characterized in the existing literature. The present study examines FTT and GPT performance in a sample of 307 community-dwelling older individuals (ages 55–74) with no neurological or psychiatric history. Results: FTT performance was influenced by age, gender, and education, while GPT performance was influenced by age and gender. Findings are presented for both hands, as well as dominant-to-non-dominant hand ratio score, on each test. Correlations with other neuropsychological measures demonstrated that the GPT is more strongly correlated with measures of most domains (memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and spatial organization) than the FTT. Conclusions: While the FTT can be used to measure upper extremity motor ability, the GPT may be more strongly associated with general cognitive functioning in healthy adults. The FTT and GPT results presented will improve the utility of these tasks in clinical assessments of older adults.
Influence of Mild Cognitive Impairment on Visual Word Recognition

ABSTRACT The present study examined the effects of normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on visual word recognition. Madden et al. (1999) reported evidence of general slowing of cognitive processes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients relative to younger adults and healthy older adults using a lexical decision task. It was of interest to determine whether similar effects would be observed in MCI patients relative to healthy younger and older adults. We extended the lexical decision task paradigm developed by Allen et al. (2004b) on younger adults to an examination of the effect(s) of MCI on visual word recognition. Results from the present study showed that healthy older adults and MCI patients performed similarly. That is, both groups took longer than younger adults to process words presented in mixed-case than in consistent-case letters. Mild cognitive impairment patients, however, responded significantly more slowly than healthy older adults across all lexical decision task conditions and showed a trend toward larger case-mixing effects than healthy older adults, which suggests that MCI may result in poorer analytic processing ability. Based on the current findings, evidence of a generalized slowing of cognitive processes using a standard lexical decision task can be expanded to include not only AD patients, but also the preclinical stages of the disease as well.
Mass spectrometric quantification of amino acid oxidation products in proteins: insights into pathways that promote LDL oxidation in the human artery wall

Oxidatively damaged low density lipoprotein (LDL) may play an important role in atherogenesis, but the physiologically relevant pathways have proved difficult to identify. Mass spectrometric quantification of stable compounds that result from specific oxidation reactions represents a powerful approach for investigating such mechanisms. Analysis of protein oxidation products isolated from atherosclerotic lesions implicates tyrosyl radical, reactive nitrogen species, and hypochlorous acid in LDL oxidation in the human artery wall. These observations provide chemical evidence for the reaction pathways that promote LDL oxidation and lesion formation in vivo. — Heinecke, J. W. Mass spectrometric quantification of amino acid oxidation products in proteins: insights into pathways that promote LDL oxidation in the human artery wall. FASEB J. 13, 1113–1120 (1999)
Post-Error Correcting Code Modeling of Burst Channels Using Hidden Markov Models With Applications to Magnetic Recording

We present two approaches for modeling burst channels using hidden Markov models (HMMs). The first method is based on the maximum-likelihood approach and improves on the computational efficiency of earlier methods. We present new algorithms for scaling and for determining the model parameters by using smart search techniques. We then generalize a gap length analysis and apply it to modeling HMMs. The algorithms are low-complexity and memory-efficient. Finally, we present simulation results for modeling errors in magnetic storage channels and show how this can be used for evaluating decoder failure rates by using Wolf's method, from real observed data
Child & adolescent psychiatry : seclusion and restraint reform: an initiative by a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital.

Introduction by the column editor: It is gratifying to be able to offer such a fine article for this column on the topic of a program to change seclusion and restraint practices in a children's hospital. In doing so, the journal is also supporting the first author, a medical student, who is already showing great promise in psychiatry. The topic is critical and current. The authors' approach reflects good science and a respect for both the hospital staff and the children and adolescents who are their patients.
Chief technology officer roles and performance

This paper assesses the impact of Chief Technology Officers (CTO) on firm performance using upper-echelon theory, human capital theory and social capital theory. The upper-echelon theory is used to investigate how CTO roles are realised within a company regardless of the individual who carries them out, i.e. through a formal CTO position or not. Human and social capital theories are employed to assess how certain features of CTO influences his/her effect on company performance. Thus, this explorative study investigates two questions: (1) do CTO roles affect a firm's performance? , and (2) which features of the senior manager in charge of technology influence performance? To answer these questions the study first develops a conceptual model and subsequently tests the model based on a survey of 49 firms in electronics and machinery industries in Turkey. Two findings emerge: (1) the fulfilment of CTO roles increases a firm's profitability and (2) the existence of a distinct managerial technology position further improves profitability. Moreover, the study clearly shows the role of social capital theory in explaining how the company performance is likely to increase when the CTO/CTO-proxy manager is placed on a higher rung on the organisational ladder.
Successful use of weekly pegvisomant administration in patients with acromegaly.

CONTEXT Clinical trials using 80 mg once weekly pegvisomant (pegV) in active acromegaly led to a 30% fall in serum IGF1. Subsequent studies demonstrated that daily administration of up to 40 mg/day achieved an IGF1 within reference range in 97% of patients. PegV has a half-life of >70 h suggesting weekly dosing may be possible but using higher doses than in the initial trials. OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of weekly dosing of pegV. DESIGN A two center, open-label prospective study in patients with acromegaly converted from a stable daily dose of pegV (median dose 15 mg daily (range 10-20 mg od), IGF1 normal for 3 months prior to inclusion) to twice-weekly (week 0-16) followed by once-weekly (week 16-32) administration. RESULTS Seven patients (4M, age 57+/-7 years, 6/7 prior transsphenoidal surgery, 7/7 prior radiotherapy) were recruited. Six patients completed the twice-weekly and five patients both the twice-weekly and once-weekly administration. Headaches led to two patient withdrawals at 0+24 weeks. Mean pre-dose serum IGF1 levels remained stable with the different administration regimens (IGF1 baseline 145+/-39 ng/ml, twice-weekly 124+/-39 ng/ml and once-weekly 127+/-22 ng/ml) and all values were within age adjusted IGF1 reference range. PegV dose was reduced in two patients and five opted to continue weekly administration at trial termination. Safety and quality of life parameters remained stable. CONCLUSIONS Twice and once-weekly administration of pegV is effective in controlling serum IGF1 levels in acromegaly and although not formally assessed, continuation of weekly dosing in five patients at study conclusion suggests patient preference for this regimen.
Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Properties of a Triherbal Formulation against Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Hepatotoxicity

The hepatoprotective activity of a triherbal formulation (GOV) comprising of 50 % ethanolic extract of Gongronema latifolia, Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina was studied using Wistar albino rats. The animals received a single intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 in a dose of 1 ml/kg of a 50 % (v/v) solution in liquid paraffin. GOV dose dependently and significantly (p< 0.05) attenuated the increase in serum hepatic enzyme levels after CCl4 treatment compared to the toxin control group. On administration of GOV, it dose dependently resulted in a significant (p< 0.05) elevation in the levels of serum CAT, GPx, GSH, GST, SOD and total protein and significant (p < 0.05) decrease in lipid peroxidation compared to the toxin control group. It also increased the attenuated the total protein concentrations compared to the toxin control group. The results were comparable to Liv 52 and silymarin.The results of this study confirmed the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of the triherbal formulation against carbon tetrachloride induced nephro-hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats.
University of Groningen Design of a Randomised Controlled Trial ( RCT ) on the effectiveness of a Dutch patient advocacy case management intervention among severely disabled Multiple Sclerosis patients

Background: Case management has been suggested as an innovative strategy that facilitates the improvement of a patient's quality of life, reduction of hospital length of stay, optimization of self-care and improvement of satisfaction of patients and professionals involved. However, there is little evidence about the effectiveness of the patient advocacy case management model in clinical practice. Therefore, the objective of our study was to examine the effects of the Dutch patient advocacy case management model for severely disabled Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients and their caregivers compared to usual care. Methods/design: In this randomized controlled trial the effectiveness of casemanagement on quality of life of patients and their caregivers, quality of care, service use and economic aspects were evaluated. The primary outcomes of this study were quality of life of MS-patients and caregiver burden of caregivers. Furthermore, we examined quality of life of caregivers, quality of care, service use and costs. Discussion: This is a unique trial in which we examined the effectiveness of case management from a broad perspective. We meticulously prepared this study and applied important features and created important conditions for both intervention and research protocol to increase the likelihood of finding evidence for the effectiveness of patient advocacy case management. Concerning the intervention we anticipated to five important conditions: 1) the contrast between the case management intervention compared to the usual care seems to be large enough to detect intervention effects; 2) we included patients with complex care situations and/or were at risk for critical situations; 3) the case managers were familiar with disease specific health-problems and a broad spectrum of solutions; 4) case managers were competent and authorized to perform a medical neurological examination and worked closely with neurologists specialized in MS; and 5) the case managers had a regional network of professionals and health care organisations at their disposal, and were accepted as a coordinator of care. We also put a lot of effort on the selection of eligible patients, randomization and statistical methods, but also on power analysis, selection of reliable, validated and sensitive outcome measures, and (statistical) control of confounders. Trial registration: Dutch Trial Register http://www.trialregister. nl. Trial ID: NTR762.