Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographic Study (LEADS) Design and Methodology

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study is to describe the Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Attributes and Demographic Study (LEADS) design, instrument development, pilot testing, sampling procedures, and data collection methodology. Response rates are provided, along with results of follow-up surveys of non-responders (NRs) and a special survey of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals who were not nationally certified. Methods Annual surveys from 1999 to 2008 were mailed out to a random, stratified sample of nationally registered EMT-Basics and Paramedics. Survey weights were developed to reflect each respondent’s probability of selection. A special survey of NRs was mailed out to individuals who did not respond to the annual survey to estimate the probable extent and direction of response bias. Individuals who indicated they were no longer in the profession were mailed a special exit survey to determine their reasons for leaving EMS. Results Given the large number of comparisons between NR and regular (annual) survey respondents, it is not surprising that some statistically significant differences were found. In general, there were few differences. However, NRs tended to report higher annual EMS incomes, were younger, healthier, more physically fit, and were more likely to report that they were not practicing EMS. Comparisons of the nationally certified EMS professionals with EMS professionals who were not nationally certified indicated that nationally certified EMS providers were younger, had less EMS experiences, earned less, were more likely to be female and work for private EMS services, and less likely to work for fire-based services. These differences may reflect state and local policy and practice, since many states and local agencies do not require maintenance of national certification as a requirement to practice. When these differences were controlled for statistically, there were few systematic differences between non-nationally certified and nationally certified EMS professionals. Conclusions The LEADS study is the only national, randomized, and longitudinal data source for studying EMS professionals in the United States. Although not without flaws, this study remains an excellent source of information about EMS provider demographics, attributes, attitudes, workplace issues and concerns, and how the profession has changed from 1999 to 2008. LevineR. Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographic Study (LEADS) design and methodology. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(Suppl. 1):s7–s17.
Intestinal fluid accumulation induced by oral challenge with Vibrio cholerae or cholera toxin in infant mice

The diarrheal response of orally inoculated infant mice to viable Vibrio cholerae and purified cholera toxin was quantitated by means of a fluid accumulation (FA) ratio. The FA ratio is defined as the gut weight/remaining body weight. FA ratios were determined in relation to time of exposure and dose. Onset of fluid accumulation with viable cells of strains CA401 and 569B occurred 8 h postinoculation and reached a near maximum of 16 h. A dose of 4 x 10(6) colony-forming units of strain CA401 was required for a positive response 16 to 18 h postinoculation. Several other classical cholera strains demonstrated a similar dose-related response. Strain 569B, however, required a 100-fold higher dose to give a positive response. Several mutant cholera strains were decreased virulence in other model systems elicited FA ratios decreased from wild-type values. Onset of fluid accumulation which cholera toxin occurred 6 to 8 h postinoculation and reached a maximum by 10 h. A dose of 0.5 microng was required for a positive response 10 to 12 h postinoculation. The positive response to toxin could be inhibited by preincubation with specific antitoxin.
Perceived loudness and voice quality in affect cueing

The paper describes an auditory experiment aimed at testing whether the intrinsic loudness of a stimulus with a given voice quality influences the way in which it signals affect. Synthesised voice quality stimuli in which intrinsic loudness was systematically manipulated were presented to listeners to test the effect of this manipulation on the affective colouring of the stimuli. The results showed that even when devoid of intrinsic loudness variation, non-modal voice quality stimuli were capable of communicating affect. However, changing the loudness of a non-modal voice quality stimulus towards its intrinsic loudness resulted in the increase of affective ratings.
The Mid-ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Active Mnemonic Retrieval

The role of the mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in memory retrieval is examined and compared with the role of the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the monitoring of information in memory. It has been argued that the mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (areas 47/12 and 45) is involved in the active retrieval of information from posterior cortical association areas. Active retrieval is required when stimuli in memory do not bear stable relations to each other and therefore retrieval cannot be automatically driven by strong, stable, and unambiguous stimulus or context relations. Data from functional activation studies with normal human subjects are presented that have demonstrated specific changes in activity within the mid-ventrolateral region of the frontal cortex in relation to the active retrieval of information from memory. By contrast, increases in activity in the mid-dorsolateral region of the frontal cortex occur when the performance of the tasks requires monitoring of information in memory.
Association of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Width With Anterior Knee Laxity.

CONTEXT Greater anterior knee laxity (AKL) has been identified as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk factor. The structural factors that contribute to greater AKL are not fully understood but may include the ACL and bone geometry. OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship of ACL width and femoral notch angle to AKL. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Controlled laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Twenty recreationally active females (age = 21.2 ± 3.1 years, height = 1.66.1 ± 7.3 cm, mass = 66.5 ± 12.0 kg). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Anterior cruciate ligament width and femoral notch angle were obtained with magnetic resonance imaging of the knee and AKL was assessed. Anterior cruciate ligament width was measured as the width of a line that transected the ACL and was drawn perpendicular to the Blumensaat line. Femoral notch angle was formed by the intersection of the line parallel to the posterior cortex of the femur and the Blumensaat line. Anterior knee laxity was the anterior displacement of the tibia relative to the femur (mm) at 130 N of an applied force. Ten participants' magnetic resonance imaging data were assessed on 2 occasions to establish intratester reliability and precision. Using stepwise backward linear regression, we examined the extent to which ACL width, femoral notch angle, and weight were associated with AKL. RESULTS Strong measurement consistency and precision (intraclass correlation coefficient [2,1] ± SEM) were established for ACL width (0.98 ± 0.3 mm) and femoral notch angle (0.97° ± 1.1°). The regression demonstrated that ACL width (5.9 ± 1.4 mm) was negatively associated with AKL (7.2 ± 2.0 mm; R(2) = 0.22, P = . 04). Femoral notch angle and weight were not retained in the final model. CONCLUSIONS A narrower ACL was associated with greater AKL. This finding may inform the development of ACL injury-prevention programs that include components designed to increase ACL size or strength (or both). Future authors should establish which other factors contribute to greater AKL in order to best inform injury-prevention efforts.
How does a symmetric dimer recognize an asymmetric substrate? A substrate complex of HIV-1 protease.

The crystal structure of an actual HIV-1 protease-substrate complex is presented at 2.0 A resolution (R-value of 19.7 % (R(free) 23.3 %)) between an inactive variant (D25N) of HIV-1 protease and a long substrate peptide, Lys-Ala-Arg-Val-Leu-Ala-Glu-Ala-Met-Ser, which covers a full binding epitope of capsid(CA)-p2, cleavage site. The substrate peptide is asymmetric in both size and charge distribution. To accommodate this asymmetry the two protease monomers adopt different conformations burying a total of 1038 A(2) of surface area at the protease-substrate interface. The specificity for the CA-p2 substrate peptide is mainly hydrophobic, as most of the hydrogen bonds are made with the backbone of the peptide substrate. Two water molecules bridge the two monomers through the loops Gly49-Gly52 (Gly49'-Gly52') and Pro79'-Val82' (Pro79-Val82). When other complexes are compared, the mobility of these loops is correlated with the content of the P1 and P1' sites. Interdependence of the conformational changes allows the protease to exhibit its wide range of substrate specificity.
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Lung Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study in Galicia, Spain

Lung cancer has multiple risk factors and tobacco is the main one. Diet plays a role, but no clear effect has been consistently observed for different fruit and vegetable consumption. We aim to assess the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and lung cancer risk through a hospital-based case-control study in Spanish population. We recruited incident lung cancer cases in 2 Spanish hospitals from 2004 to 2008. Controls were individuals attending hospital for trivial surgery. Cases and controls were older than 30 and did not have a neoplasic history. We collected information on lifestyle with special emphases on tobacco and dietary habits. We included 371 cases and 496 controls. We found no protective effect for overall fruit consumption. For green leafy vegetables, the odds ratio (OR) was 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.32–2.69), and for other vegetables the OR was 0.77 (95% CI = 0.40–1.48) for the categories compared. We observed a reduced risk for broccoli and pumpkin intake. Although fruit consumption does not seem to be associated with a lower lung cancer risk, only the frequent consumption of specific green leafy vegetables and other vegetables might be associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer.
Identification of proteins in the hamster DNA end‐binding complex

Purpose: To identify the protein components of the DNA end‐binding complex in hamster cells. Materials and methods: DNA end‐binding complexes were identified as follows. Nuclear extracts from Chinese hamster ovary cells (0.5–1.0 µg protein/lane) were incubated with 0.5 ng 32P‐labelled probe (144 bp) for 20 min at room temperature in the presence of 1 µg closed circular pUC18 plasmid, a non‐specific competitor in a final volume of 20 µl. The electrophoretic mobility of the protein–DNA complexes was analysed by electrophoresis in 5% polyacrylamide gels subjected to autoradiography. Antibodies to various DNA repair‐associated proteins were added to the DNA end‐binding complex reaction and a supershift identified DNA end‐binding complex components. These were confirmed by Western analysis of purified DNA end‐binding complex contents. Results: Using both supershift and Western analysis, the following proteins were identified in the DNA end‐binding complex: Ku70, Ku80, DNA‐dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, DNA ligase IV, X‐ray cross complementing protein 4, meiotic recombination protein 11 (Mre11), Werner's syndrome protein, Bloom's syndrome protein, p53, poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase, replication protein A (RPA) 14, and RPA32, ataxia telangiectasia mutant, c‐Abl, Rad50, Nijmegen breakage syndrome protein 1 (NBS1), and DNA ligase III were not detected in the binding complex by any assay. Using a combination of electro‐elution and autoradiography, it was estimated that the single DNA end‐binding complex contains at least 15 proteins whose molecular weights of the DNA end‐binding proteins ranged from 620 to 12 kDa. Conclusions: A combination of both a supershift assay and Western analysis of the DNA end‐binding complexes has identified 12 of at least 15 proteins present in the DNA end‐binding complex of Chinese hamster ovary cells. This protein complex contains Mre11, but not Rad50 or NBS1, suggesting that under some conditions, Mre11 might function independently of Rad50 and NBS1.
Disentangling the Sources of Mimicry: Social Relations Analyses of the Link Between Mimicry and Liking

Mimicry is an important interpersonal behavior for initiating and maintaining relationships. By observing the same participants (N = 139) in multiple dyadic interactions (618 data points) in a round-robin design, we disentangled the extent to which mimicry is due to (a) the mimicker’s general tendency to mimic (imitativity), (b) the mimickee’s general tendency to evoke mimicry (imitatability), and (c) the unique dyadic relationship between the mimicker and the mimickee. We explored how these mimicry components affected liking and metaperceptions of liking (i.e., metaliking). Employing social relations models, we found substantial interindividual differences in imitativity, which predicted popularity. However, we found only small interindividual differences in imitatability. We found support for our proposition that mimicry is a substantially dyadic construct explained mostly by the unique relationship between two people. Finally, we explored the link between dyadic mimicry and liking, and we found that a person’s initial liking of his or her interaction partner led to mimicry, which in turn increased the partner’s liking of the mimicker.
Supporting students with disabilities: good progress, but must try harder.

© 2 01 4 M A H ea lth ca re L td T he introduction of the Equality Act in 2010 has had a significant impact on policies and procedures in all organisations. Within health care, it has required creative thinking to ensure that the rights of individuals are balanced against the needs of patients and service users. However, implementing the requirements set out in the Act still provokes considerable discussion and debate. For universities delivering healthcare programmes, adjustments are often required for students with disabilities, which requires partnership working through consultation and effective communication to ensure that the students’ needs are met. This includes involving academic staff, support staff, practitioners who support students and the students themselves in the development of policies and procedures, and in the processes to identify and implement adjustments needed, to ensure that students are not disadvantaged. Equality and diversity training is a requirement for all academic and healthcare staff. Students are taught the importance of not making assumptions and being respectful of an individual’s beliefs and values. Sadly, despite this training, the response to students with disabilities from some students and academic and healthcare staff, still poses challenges that suggests that further education is required. Part of the problem is that the numbers of students with a disability remain relatively low (around 10% of students declared disabilities on entry to university in 2012 according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) (2014)), which means that direct contact is relatively limited. While training and education are important, actually working with students with a disability is probably the most effective means to break down barriers and dispel misconceptions. The introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995, which later became subsumed into the Equality Act in 2010, has removed many barriers to higher education and led to an increase in the number of applicants with a disability entering nursing. Often the decision to enter nursing has been Karen Elcock
Comparison of adverse gastrointestinal effects of acarbose and miglitol in healthy men: a crossover study.

OBJECTIVE The incidence of the gastrointestinal adverse effects is important to determine as these effects are the reason for lower compliance of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (alphaGIs). There has been no direct investigation of the adverse effects with acarbose or miglitol, therefore we compared them in healthy subjects. METHODS Twenty-two healthy men were administered 75 mg of miglitol or 100 mg of acarbose per every meal for three days. After four drug-free washout days, they were administered 100 mg of acarbose or 75 mg of miglitol per every meal, respectively. They reported the state of their stool, borborygmi, abdominal bloating, flatus, and abdominal pain on the 1st and 3rd day. RESULTS Stool tended to be soft when miglitol was administered and to be firm when acarbose was administered. The flatus score of acarbose was greater than that of miglitol. The abdominal bloating score of acarbose was greater than that of miglitol on the 1st day. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that if diabetic patients have constipation, firm stool, or flatus they may be administered miglitol and if they have diarrhea or soft stool they may be administered acarbose.
Resource depression on the Northwest Coast of North America

The mammal and fish faunal record from eight sites on the Columbia River (Oregon, USA) dating to the last 2200 years is examined to study subsistence change before and after European contact. Results show an increased use of low-ranked resources before contact and increased use of high-ranked resources after contact, trends that are predicted from changing demography and human predation pressure.
The Worksite Heart Health Improvement Project (WHHIP): feasibility and efficacy.

OBJECTIVE Test the feasibility and efficacy of the Worksite Heart Health Improvement Project (WHHIP). DESIGN The WHHIP was a quasi-experimental 6-month pilot performed in 2 long-term care facilities. SAMPLE Thirty-nine female minority nursing assistants participated in this study with a mean age of 42.39 (SD = 12.79) years. MEASUREMENTS Measures were collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months and included blood pressure, lipid panel, body mass index, physical activity levels, diet behaviors, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy outcomes. INTERVENTION The 3-month WHHIP intervention included 3 components: environmental and policy assessment; education; and on-going motivation. The control site received education only. RESULTS Subject participation averaged 47% and 58% in exercise and diet related activities, respectively. Generalized estimating equations showed the treatment group showed significant improvements in depressive symptoms (p = .012), systolic blood pressure (p = .028), total cholesterol (p = .002) and triglycerides (p = .011) over time. The treatment group also showed trends for improvement in diet behaviors (p = .069) and diastolic blood pressure (p = .073). CONCLUSIONS This study provided feasibility evidence for the WHHIP and preliminary evidence that the WHHIP can improve heart healthy behaviors and subsequent outcomes among nursing assistants in long-term care settings.
The problem of suggestion in psychoanalysis: An analysis and solution

From its inception, psychoanalysis has been troubled by the problem of suggestion. I defend an answer to the problem of suggestion understood as a methodological concern about the evidential basis of psychoanalytic theory. This purely methodological approach is relatively uncommon in discussions in psychoanalysis. I argue that suggestion in psychoanalysis is best understood in terms of experimenter expectancy effects. Such effects are not specific to psychoanalysis, and they can be corrected for by relying on the corroboration of findings by different researchers. This response to the problem of suggestion faces several challenges, and a reply to these is offered. I argue that the psychodynamic model of mind, if not the metapsychological and etiological claims of psychoanalysis, can be vindicated in light of the actual agreement that exists.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Functional Knee Brace and Neoprene Sleeve Use after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background Despite a lack of evidence for their effectiveness, functional knee braces are commonly prescribed to patients after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Purpose This trial was conducted to compare postoperative outcomes in patients using an ACL functional knee brace and patients using a neoprene knee sleeve. Hypothesis Patients using a brace will have superior outcomes than those using a sleeve. Study Design Randomized controlled clinical trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods One hundred fifty patients were randomized to receive a brace (n = 76) or neoprene sleeve (n = 74) at their 6-week postoperative visit after primary ACL reconstruction with hamstring autograft. Patients were assessed preoperatively, then 6 weeks and 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Outcome measures included disease-specific quality of life (Anterior Cruciate Ligament–Quality of Life [ACL-QOL] Questionnaire), anterior tibial translation (KT-1000 arthrometer side-to-side difference), the single-limb forward hop test (limb symmetry index), and Tegner Activity Scale. Outcomes at 1 and 2 years were compared after adjusting for baseline scores. Subjective ratings of how patients felt while using the brace/sleeve were also collected for descriptive purposes using a questionnaire. Four a priori directional subgroup hypotheses were evaluated using tests for interactions. Results There were no significant differences between brace (n = 62) and sleeve (n = 65) groups for any of the outcomes at 1- and 2-year follow-ups. Adjusted mean differences at 2 years were as follows: −0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI], −7.52 to 5.64) for the ACL-QOL Questionnaire, −0.10 mm (95% CI, −0.99 to 0.81) for KT-1000 arthrometer side-to-side difference, −0.87% (95% CI, −8.89 to 7.12) for hop limb symmetry index, and −0.05 (95% CI, −0.72 to 0.62) for the Tegner Activity Scale. Subjective ratings of confidence in the knee provided by the brace/sleeve were higher for the brace group than the sleeve group. Subgroup findings were minimal. Adverse events were few and similar between groups. Conclusions A functional knee brace does not result in superior outcomes compared with a neoprene sleeve after ACL reconstruction. Current evidence does not support the recommendation of using an ACL functional knee brace after ACL reconstruction.