Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED INCREASE IN THE INTRA‐OCULAR PRESSURE IN THE RABBIT EYE

An earlier paper reports experiments to produce an increase in the intra-ocular pressure in the rabbit eye by obstructing the outflow of aqueous humour by various means (Huggert, 1957). This study has been continued with the purpose of ascertaining the mechanism of this pressure change. In the first of three groups of subjects the pressure was raised by ligating the vessels at the posterior pole of the eye. In the second group the anterior chamber was blocked by injection of India ink, and in the third group by first ligating the vessels and then, when constant intra-ocular pressure level had been obtained, administering the ink. The first procedure resulted in an immediate brief but marked rise in pressure followed by a period during which the pressure was below the original value; it then rose slowly until just above the original value, where it remained fairly constant. The second procedure gave a pronounced brief rise in pressure after some days which dropped to a constant level, slightly below the original. In the third group injection of the ink when a constant level had been attained resulted in roughly the same pressure variations as was observed in the second group. The most likely explanation of the increase in pressure in the ligated eyes would seem to be the one advanced by Weekers 6% Delmarcelle to account for the rise produced by an aneurysmatic connection between the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus that is to say, a pathologic increase in the episcleral venous pressure. The same cause has been assumed in the cases of mediastinal tumour accompanied by venous stasis described by Brolin and
Selective processing of threat-related cues in day surgery patients and prediction of post-operative pain.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the use of a measure of selective processing bias associated with anxiety as a predictor of post-operative pain independently of self-report measures of anxiety. METHODS Forty-seven women admitted for minor gynaecological surgical procedures completed a selective processing task (modified Stroop) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory immediately prior to surgery. Following surgery they completed the McGill Short-Form Pain Questionnaire. Intraoperative analgesia consumption was also recorded. RESULTS Participants demonstrated significantly slower colour-naming times for physical threat cues than control cues. This was not due to an emotionality effect, as colour-naming times for neutral and positive cues were not significantly different. This bias was congruent with the participants' current concerns, as colour-naming times were significantly slower for physical threat words than for social threat words. This index of selective processing bias significantly predicted post-operative pain independently of self-reported state and trait anxiety. CONCLUSIONS The advantages of measures of psychological constructs that are not reliant on self-reporting are discussed.
Cone and Seed Pests of Pinus pinea: Assessment and Characterization of Damage

ABSTRACT Cone and seed insects have played a key role in the decline of stone pine nut production in Italy. To evaluate the impact caused by native Palearctic and exotic insects, a greater knowledge of pest symptoms is required. During 2008–2009, first and second-year stone pine cones, as well as the seeds produced, were examined in Tuscany (Italy) to assess viability. Insect damage was characterized based on external signs on the cones and seed endosperms, and the impact of recorded insect species on nut production was evaluated. In the current study, cones attacked by anobiid beetles and Dioryctria spp. were observed, as well as asymptomatic dead cones and cones with resin drops and patches, that could not easily be related to a damaging agent. As regards the anobiid beetles, adults of Ernobius parens (Mulsant and Rey) and E. impressithorax Pic emerged from cones in laboratory rearing. A low number of cones damaged by Dioryctria spp. was recorded whereas high percentages of cones showed resin exudates. The presence of resin cannot be definitely related to a damaging agent, although the feeding activity of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann could be one of the reasons. Damage by L. occidentalis was assessed by seed observation. Most of the seeds displayed tissues that had been damaged by this pest.
A computational model of microwave imaging

Currently, for the studying of the internal structure of different objects apply the ultrasonic oscillations, x-rays, using the properties of nuclear magnetic resonance, etc. Each of the appropriate methods are peculiar to specific restrictions, so actual search and study of alternative types of probing actions. They include radio waves and ranges microwave and EHF. Below we consider the implementation of computational models of microwave imaging.
Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis: A Study of National Capd Registry Data

From January 1981 to July 1988, the U.S. National CAPD Registry followed 23,771 patients on CAPD or CCPD for 3 months or more in 498 participating centers. Of these patients, 281 were deemed to have enough recovery of renal function to do without dialysis for at least 3 months. The median time on PD before recovery was 126 days in 138 patients treated only by PD from the start of dialysis. The median time to recovery in 106 patients was 238 days from the start of any chronic dialysis. A Cox model analysis revealed significantly (p<0.05) increased chances for renal function recovery in patients with systemic immunological diseases with renal involvement (relative risk for recovery [rr]=2.48), patients with renal infarction related to renal vascular occlusion (rr=4.13), and patients >60 years of age compared to a younger group (rr=1.72). However, patients >60 and <21 experienced similar recovery rates. Reduced chances (p<0.05) for recovery were associated with diabetic glomerulosclerosis (rr=0.25) and polycystic kidney disease (rr=0.13). These findings show that renal function recovery rates in chronic hemodialysis and chronic peritoneal dialysis cannot be properly compared unless all risk factors (favoring or against recovery) are balanced, as in a prospective randomized trial.
Error Framing Effects on Performance: Cognitive, Motivational, and Affective Pathways

ABSTRACT Our purpose was to examine whether positive error framing, that is, making errors salient and cuing individuals to see errors as useful, can benefit learning when task exploration is constrained. Recent research has demonstrated the benefits of a newer approach to training, that is, error management training, that includes the opportunity to actively explore the task and framing errors as beneficial to learning complex tasks (Keith & Frese, 2008). Other research has highlighted the important role of errors in on–the–job learning in complex domains (Hutchins, 1995). Participants (N = 168) from a large undergraduate university performed a class scheduling task. Results provided support for a hypothesized path model in which error framing influenced cognitive, motivational, and affective factors which in turn differentially affected performance quantity and quality. Within this model, error framing had significant direct effects on metacognition and self-efficacy. Our results suggest that positive error framing can have beneficial effects even when tasks cannot be structured to support extensive exploration. Whereas future research can expand our understanding of error framing effects on outcomes, results from the current study suggest that positive error framing can facilitate learning from errors in real-time performance of tasks.
Deuterium dilution: the time course of 2H enrichment in saliva, urine, and serum.

Total body water (TBW) volume can by measured in humans by administering an oral dose of an isotope tracer, such as 2H2O or H218O, and measuring the isotope enrichment in saliva, urine, or serum samples. Although serum has long been considered the medium of choice for measuring isotope enrichment because of rapid tracer equilibration (1), urine or saliva sampling is less burdensome to the patient. However, the measurement of isotope enrichment was found to be less reliable in urine than in serum, possibly because of a longer time period for isotopic equilibration of the bladder contents relative to serum (2). Schoeller et al. (1) suggested that saliva was an acceptable medium for measurement of TBW using 2H218O because isotopic equilibration occurred within 3 h and provided results similar to those obtained in serum. In another study, the enrichments of 2H in saliva and plasma were identical and reached a plateau 2 h after administration of an oral 10-g dose of 2H2O (3). To our knowledge, there have been no within-subject comparisons of the time to achieve a 2H enrichment plateau in saliva, urine, and serum samples obtained simultaneously. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the time course for isotope equilibration of 2H in saliva, urine, and serum and the level of agreement in 2H enrichment among these media. This information can be applied to protocols for measurement of TBW in clinical and research settings (4)(5). Five healthy, weight-stable, nonobese women [mean (SD) body mass index, 22.1 (2.0) kg/m2], 20 to 43 years of age, provided written informed consent and completed the study. The study was approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board. The …
Assessment of end-to-end performances of a GNSS-based road user charging system based on IFSTTAR-GEOLOC and Q-Free cooperation

The paper deals with the issues that have to be faced when researching a Road User Charging (RUC) in Norway based upon GNSS and with an innovative methodology especially developed to address these issues proposed by CEN-CENELEC TC5/WG1 and supported by the SaPPART COST Action. The paper presents a case study applying the methodology to a specific RUC algorithm developed by the Norwegian company Q-Free. A dedicated GNSS position error model has been produced by Ifsttar GEOLOC for this purpose.
Malignant germ-cell tumors of the ovary.

Malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary are those neoplasms derived from the primitive germ cells of the embryonic gonad. As a group they represent less than 5% of all ovarian malignancies [1]. Younger patients with ovarian tumors, however, have a much greater likelihood of having a malignant germ cell tumor [2, 3].
Carotid endarterectomy trends in the patterns and outcomes of care at academic medical centers, 1990 through 1995.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the patterns of inpatient care and patient characteristics have changed for patients undergoing a carotid endarterectomy across a group of academic medical centers from 1990 through 1995. If changes occurred, we investigated whether they had an impact on patient outcomes. DESIGN Retrospective evaluation of patients undergoing a carotid endarterectomy using a hospital discharge data set compiled by the Academic Medical Center Consortium. SETTING Ten academic medical centers. PATIENTS A total of 7019 hospital admissions for patients who had 1 carotid endarterectomy performed as a principal procedure from January 1990 to December 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Trends in patient demographics, comorbidities, length of stay, days in the intensive care unit, and inpatient cerebral arteriogram use were determined. Patient outcomes included inpatient mortality, discharge to an institution, 30-day readmission rate, and selected diagnoses (postoperative hemorrhage, infection, or seizure; acute myocardial infarction; or cranial nerve palsy) and postprocedure diagnostic tests (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the head and electroencephalogram) indicative of complications. RESULTS Over the 6-year study period, the number of carotid endarterectomies performed more than doubled and the percentage of hospital admissions for patients 65 years or older increased from 65% to 75%. The mean and median length of stay halved and the percentage of admissions with transfers to the intensive care unit decreased from 56% to 26% of cases. In addition, the percentage of cases with a cerebral arteriogram during the same admission but prior to the day of the carotid endarterectomy decreased from 52% to 27%. There were no trends in inpatient mortality, discharge to an institution, or 30-day readmission rate. There were no significant trends indicative of poorer quality of care as measured by the frequency of secondary diagnoses or postprocedure diagnostic test use. CONCLUSIONS Despite dramatic changes that have occurred in patient characteristics and in hospital management practices for patients undergoing a carotid endarterectomy from 1990 to 1995, we were unable to detect any measurable impact on patient outcomes. These data have implications for monitoring and evaluating the impact of systemwide change on the overall quality of care for patients undergoing a carotid endarterectomy.
Analysis of human kallikrein 7 expression as a potential biomarker in cervical neoplasia

Overexpression of kallikrein 7, a proteolytic enzyme important for epithelial cell shedding, may be causally involved in carcinogenesis, particularly in tumor metastasis and invasion. In this study, we have evaluated hK7 (human kallikrein 7) protein levels by immunohistochemistry in 367 cervical histological samples including 35 cases of cervicitis, 31 low‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, 51 high‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (H‐SIL), 197 squamous cervical carcinomas (SCC) and 53 cervical adenocarcinomas. We have observed that hK7 staining increased with the severity of cervical disease. Intense hK7 staining was found in 15.2% of cervicitis samples, in contrast to 55% of H‐SIL and 68% of SCC. Moreover, 92.5% of adenocarcinomas also exhibited intense hK7 staining. Differences in the expression of hK7 could potentially be used as a biomarker for the characterization of different stages of cervical disease.
Seasonal Variation in Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents and DPPH Scavenging Activity of Bellis perennis L. Flowers

Variations in total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as antioxidant activity of Bellis perennis (common daisy) flowers were investigated. The flowers were collected monthly (from March to October, i.e., during the usual flowering season of the plant) at three localities in three different years. Total flavonoids were determined spectrophotometrically by two methods: by formation of a complex with aluminium chloride after acidic hydrolysis of flower extracts (method 1) and by reaction with boric and oxalic acids in extracts without their modification (method 2). Total phenolics were determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The antioxidant activity was determined spectrophotometrically by a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The contents of flavonoids varied from 0.31 to 0.44 mg quercetin equivalent/100 mg dry weight (method 1) and from 1.37 to 2.20 mg apigenin-7-glucoside equivalent/100 mg dry weight (method 2). Total phenolics ranged from 2.81 to 3.57 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 mg dry weight. The antioxidant activity expressed as IC50 values varied from 66.03 to 89.27 µg/mL; it is about 50, 30, 20, and 10 times lower as compared with quercetin, ascorbic acid, Trolox®, and butylhydroxytoluene, respectively, and about five times higher in comparison with apigenin-7-glucoside. There is a significant correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolics. No correlation between total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity was observed. Contents of phenolics and flavonoids as well as antioxidant activity of daisy flowers vary to a relatively small extent during the year and are not dependant on the time of collection. Thus, the flowers possess comparable quality as to these characteristics over the whole flowering season of Bellis perennis. Effects of environmental factors on the amounts of secondary metabolites in plants are also discussed.
Preferences for involvement in medical decision making: Comparing British and German views

Abstract Despite beneficial outcomes of patients' involvement in medical decision processes, it has been claimed that patients are generally not interested in medical decision making (MDM). Whereas current research focuses on actual MDM, this research explored the impact of nationality and perceptual processes of MDM. Preferences for involvement in decision making were examined in a sample of 204 German and 143 British university students. Hierarchical multiple regressions were employed to explore the link between socio-demographic information, individuals' perceived relationship with their GP, Health Locus of Control – Powerful Others, perceptions regarding the frequency and sufficiency of information provision and involvement in MDM, and individuals' preferred level of involvement and information. A significant amount of the variance in individuals preferences for involvement could be explained (Adjusted R 2 = .59, p < .001). Independent t-test analyses showed that British and German perceptions of care differed significantly on a variety of different measures. Separate analyses for the German and British group highlighted cross-national differences in care and preferences for involvement. The study suggests that preferences to become involved might depend more on perceptual processes than actual involvement in decision making, and that communication and national health policy could play an important role.
Riina Huusko DOWNSTREAM MIGRATION OF SALMON SMOLTS IN REGULATED RIVERS : FACTORS AFFECTING SURVIVAL AND BEHAVIOUR

Atlantic salmon is one of the most widely known migratory fish species whose populations have declined because of hydropower installations. Attempts have been made to preserve salmon stocks in regulated rivers by building fishways for adult fish migrating upstream, but downstream migration of salmon smolts has been almost totally ignored. Instead, captive breeding programmes and extensive stocking of hatchery-reared salmon smolts have been initiated to compensate for highly reduced natural production and to maintain salmon yields. In recent decades, demands to reduce the environmental effects of hydropower production, together with public awareness of decreasing recapture rate and yield of stocked salmon, have increased calls for rebuilding wild salmon stocks in rivers modified for hydropower production. As a consequence, survival of salmon smolts during downstream migration and the effects of hatchery rearing and stocking methods are now research topics of high importance. This thesis examined the need for modifications to the current standard hatchery rearing and release methods, determined the effects of commonly used tagging methods and investigated the impacts of river regulation on the survival and behaviour of downstream migrating smolts by applying telemetry techniques. Modifications made to the standard rearing processes noticeably affected the physiology, behaviour and survival of salmon smolts. In addition, the timing of release was shown to be a key factor for the survival of released smolts. Therefore, comprehensive rearing of smolts, and improving current release methods, especially to match the timing of release to the migration window of wild smolts, are high priorities. Observations in semi-natural environments indicated that commonly used tagging methods had only slight effects on the survival of smolts, so they can be freely used to examine smolt performance. However, more information on rearing and stocking processes and tagging methods is still needed to fully verify the present findings in field conditions. Finally, increasing smolt survival during their downstream migration in regulated rivers is an urgent issue, as survival of smolts was found to be six-fold lower within a river section with five hydropower dams than in a corresponding section of a free-flowing river. In future salmon stock rebuilding actions in regulated rivers, safeguarding downstream migration of smolts should be considered as an equally important issue to safeguarding upstream migration of spawners.
Linkage Analysis of Acute Insulin Secretion With GLUT2 and Glucokinase in Pima Indians and the Identification of a Missense Mutation in GLUT2

The acute insulin response (AIR), a measure of pancreatic β-cell function, aggregates in families and is a predictor for the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in insulin-resistant Pima Indians. To assess the genetic components of AIR and NIDDM, polymorphic dinucleotide repeat regions in two candidate genes, the liver/islet glucose transporter gene (GLUT2) and the glucokinase gene, were evaluated. Sib-pair linkage analyses were performed to determine if linkage exists between these marker loci and measurements of AIR and NIDDM. No linkage was found between glucokinase and either AIR or NIDDM. Robust sib-pair linkage analyses suggest linkage between GLUT2 and acute insulin response (P = 0.04), but no linkage was observed with NIDDM. The coding region of the GLUT2 gene was screened for mutations using polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. A single base change was identified in exon 3 in ∼5% of the study population, and it constitutes the first reported mutation in the human GLUT2 gene. This base change resulted in an amino acid substitution (Thr110→Ile110) in the second membrane-spanning region of the GLUT2 protein. No significant association was noted between AIR and the presence or absence of the mutation. Thus, this mutation in GLUT2 is unlikely the cause of a low AIR in Pima Indians.
Cross-Sectional Dispersion and Expected Aggregate Loan Losses

Debt holders face a concave payoff function. Well-performing borrowers pay back predetermined interest and principal, while poor-performing borrowers may cause losses. Consequently, the losses on a portfolio of loans or bonds depend not only on the mean performance but also on the cross-sectional dispersion in borrowers’ performance. Higher dispersion suggests higher losses due to a larger number of defaulting borrowers and higher loss given default. Thus, for debt holders, aggregate economic conditions should be redefined as a function of both the mean and the cross-sectional dispersion in borrowers’ performance. Empirical analysis of loan and bond portfolio performance confirms our hypotheses.