Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concerns and confidence of general practitioners in providing telephone consultations.

BACKGROUND In recent years the number of telephone consultations provided out of hours has increased. However, most general practitioners (GPs) have received little training in this area despite the specific skills needed to compensate for lack of visual information. Moreover, there has been no research exploring GPs' concerns and training needs in telephone consulting. AIM To assess GPs' concerns and levels of confidence in providing telephone consultations in order to inform the development of a new training course. METHOD Prior to attending the course, GPs were surveyed by interview or self-completion questionnaire to explore their confidence in providing telephone consultations. RESULTS Thirty-eight GPs participated, and the sample was highly skewed towards females. The average age of participants was 42 years, 5 years less than the mean for GPs in the area. Low levels of confidence were reported by GPs in providing telephone consultations out of hours. A number of characteristics were common to telephone consultations described as difficult. The most important were lack of visual clues and lack of information about the patient, both of these were heightened in the out-of-hours period. Organizational factors leading to reduced confidence levels were also identified. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates low levels of confidence among GPs conducting telephone consultations, and highlights contributing factors. Although it is not clear how far these results can be generalized, they demonstrate the need to consider telephone consulting skills training in the context of new out-of-hours arrangements. The results have been used to develop a two-day course.
Emodin Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis via Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Oxidative Activities in Rats

Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can severely damage lung function, which may result in death. Emodin is a major ingredient of rhubarb and has been proven to protect against lung disruptions. Our study focused on the potential medicinal effect of emodin against IPF. Material/Methods The experiment subjects were fully-grown male Sprague-Dawley rats with average weight of 180–220 kg. Histological analyses, Western blotting analysis, quantitative real-time PCR, and statistical analysis were used in the study. Results We found that emodin significantly reduced lung structural distortion, collagen overproduction, massive inflammatory cells infiltration, proinflammatory cytokines expansion, and injuries caused by administration of bleomycin (BLM). Additionally, emodin suppressed the accumulation of p-IκBα and NF-κB, while stimulating the Nrf2-antioxidant signaling process in damaged lungs. Emodin inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by BLM in the lungs. Moreover, emodin suppressed the TGF-β1 expression and the downstream signal molecules p-Smad-2 and p-Smad-3, which are reinforced by BLM. Emodin can also reverse EMT-like shifts induced by recombinant TGF-β1 in alveolar epithelial cultured cells. Conclusions The effect of emodin in fibrotic lung injury is closely related to its favorable properties of anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation.
Plasticity at hippocampal to prefrontal cortex synapses: Dual roles in working memory and consolidation

The involvement of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex in cognitive processes and particularly in learning and memory has been known for a long time. However, the specific role of the projection which connects these two structures has remained elusive. The existence of a direct monosynaptic pathway from the ventral CA1 region of the hippocampus and subiculum to specific areas of the prefrontal cortex provides a useful model for conceptualizing the functional operations of hippocampal‐prefrontal cortex communication in learning and memory. It is known now that hippocampal to prefrontal cortex synapses are modifiable synapses and can express different forms of plasticity, including long‐term potentiation, long‐term depression, and depotentiation. Here we review these findings and focus on recent studies that start to relate synaptic plasticity in the hippocampo‐prefrontal cortex pathway to two specific aspects of learning and memory, i.e., the consolidation of information and working memory. The available evidence suggests that functional interactions between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in cognition and memory are more complex than previously anticipated, with the possibility for bidirectional regulation of synaptic strength as a function of the specific demands of tasks. Hippocampus 10:438–446, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Valence evaluation with approaching or withdrawing cues: directly testing valence–arousal conflict theory

ABSTRACT The valence–arousal conflict theory assumes that both valence and arousal will trigger approaching or withdrawing tendencies. It also predicts that the speed of processing emotional stimuli will depend on whether valence and arousal trigger conflicting or congruent motivational tendencies. However, most previous studies have provided evidence of the interaction between valence and arousal only, and have not provided direct proof of the interactive links between valence, arousal and motivational tendencies. The present study provides direct evidence for the relationship between approach–withdrawal tendencies and the valence–arousal conflict. In an empirical test, participants were instructed to judge the valence of emotional words after visual–spatial cues that appeared to be either approaching or withdrawing from participants. A three-way interaction (valence, arousal, and approach–withdrawal tendency) was observed such that the response time was shorter if participants responded to a negative high-arousal stimulus after a withdrawing cue, or to a positive low-arousal stimulus after an approaching cue. These findings suggest that the approach–withdrawal tendency indeed plays a crucial role in valence–arousal conflict, and that the effect depends on the congruency of valence, arousal and tendency at an early stage of processing.
Social position and functional decline among non-disabled old men and women.

BACKGROUND To examine the relation between different aspects of social position and functional decline at 5 year follow-up in 75 year old men and women. METHODS The study includes 606 non-disabled 75 year old participants living in Glostrup, Denmark. Functional ability was measured by the Mob-H Scale which measures need of help in six common mobility activities. Three outcome measures were used: a) functional decline, alive, b) functional decline, including death, and c) death. Measures of social position were vocational training, income and tenure. RESULTS Income and tenure which reflect material wealth were related to functional decline and death in both men and women, but the patterns differed: housing tenure was related to functional decline and death among the men, while income was related to functional decline and death among the women. The associations were not attenuated when adjusted by behavioural factors. CONCLUSION The results indicate that poor material wealth is associated with functional decline independent of behavioural factors in a selected population of non-disabled older adults. Thus, the cumulative influence of material wealth throughout the life-course cannot be avoided in old age just by a healthy behaviour once you have reached old age.
Structured set partitions and multilevel concatenated coding for partial response channels

We present a systematic way to construct multilevel concatenated codes for partial response (PR) channels using: (1) a structured set partition (SSP) of multiple channel output sets and (2) a set of conventional block codes with different error correcting capabilities. A lower bound on the minimum squared Euclidean distance of the constructed codes is given. This bound is based on the interset minimal Euclidean distances of the SSP and the minimum Hamming distances of the used block codes. An example of SSP for the extended class 4 partial response channel (EPR4) is presented. Iterative suboptimal decoding, which combines Viterbi detection on the trellis of the PR channel with algebraic error detection/correction, can be applied to the constructed concatenated codes. Truncated versions of the iterative decoding scheme are simulated and compared with each other.
Towards Reading Hidden Emotions: A Comparative Study of Spontaneous Micro-Expression Spotting and Recognition Methods

Micro-expressions (MEs) are rapid, involuntary facial expressions which reveal emotions that people do not intend to show. Studying MEs is valuable as recognizing them has many important applications, particularly in forensic science and psychotherapy. However, analyzing spontaneous MEs is very challenging due to their short duration and low intensity. Automatic ME analysis includes two tasks: ME spotting and ME recognition. For ME spotting, previous studies have focused on posed rather than spontaneous videos. For ME recognition, the performance of previous studies is low. To address these challenges, we make the following contributions: (i) We propose the first method for spotting spontaneous MEs in long videos (by exploiting feature difference contrast). This method is training free and works on arbitrary unseen videos. (ii) We present an advanced ME recognition framework, which outperforms previous work by a large margin on two challenging spontaneous ME databases (SMIC and CASMEII). (iii) We propose the first automatic ME analysis system (MESR), which can spot and recognize MEs from spontaneous video data. Finally, we show our method outperforms humans in the ME recognition task by a large margin, and achieves comparable performance to humans at the very challenging task of spotting and then recognizing spontaneous MEs.
Personality and major depression: a Swedish longitudinal, population-based twin study.

CONTEXT Prior studies suggest that the personality traits of neuroticism and extroversion may be related to the liability to major depression (MD). OBJECTIVE To clarify the magnitude and nature of the association between neuroticism and extroversion and the risk for MD. DESIGN Longitudinal population-based twin cohort. SETTING General community. PARTICIPANTS A total of 20 692 members of same-sex twin pairs from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry who completed a self-report questionnaire assessing neuroticism and extroversion in 1972 and 1973 and were personally interviewed for lifetime history of MD more than 25 years later.Main Outcome Measure Lifetime history of modified DSM-IV MD. RESULTS Levels of neuroticism strongly predicted the risks for both lifetime and new-onset MD. Twin modeling indicated that the association between neuroticism and MD resulted largely from shared genetic risk factors, with a genetic correlation of +0.46 to +0.47. Levels of extroversion were weakly and inversely related to the risks for lifetime and new-onset MD. This effect disappeared when we controlled for the level of neuroticism. Twin modeling produced similar results. CONCLUSIONS Results from both longitudinal and genetic analyses support the hypothesis that neuroticism strongly reflects the liability to MD. This association arises largely because neuroticism indexes the genetic risk for depressive illness. However, substantial proportions of the genetic vulnerability to MD are not reflected in neuroticism. By contrast, extroversion is only weakly related to risk for MD.
How Learning about Scientists' Struggles Influences Students' Interest and Learning in Physics

How does learning about scientists' struggles during their scientific knowledge building affect students' science learning? Two hundred and seventy-one high school students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) the struggle-oriented background information (n = 90) condition, which presented students with stories about 3 scientists' struggles in creating the content knowledge that the students were learning through online physics instructional units; (b) the achievement-oriented background information (n = 88) condition, in which students learned about these 3 scientists' lifetime achievements; and (c) a no background information (n = 93) condition, a control group in which students mainly learned information about the physics contents they were studying. Our measures assessed perceptions of scientists, interest in physics lessons, recall of science concepts, and physics problem solving. We found that the achievement-oriented background information had negative effects on students' perceptions of scientists, producing no effects on students' interest in physics lessons, recall of science concepts, or their solving of both textbook-based and complex problems. In contrast, the struggle-oriented background information helped students create perceptions of scientists as hardworking individuals who struggled to make scientific progress. In addition, it also increased students' interest in science, increased their delayed recall of the key science concepts, and improved their abilities to solve complex problems. The important message that learning about scientists' struggles sends is that even great scientists work hard. Providing an opportunity for students to relate scientists to their knowledge-building activities has important implications for science learning and instruction.
Inventory Data and Case Studies for Environmental Performance Evaluation of Concrete Structure Construction

This paper aims to provide common basis for the estimation of emission inventory data necessary for the evaluation of environmental impact of a concrete structure through its life cycle. Intensive literature survey and hearing to the institutes concerned have been deliberately conducted to collect relevant data to concrete materials, other materials involved, construction, demolition, and disposal and recycling. Consequently emission inventory data of CO2, SOx, NOx, and particulate matter were able to be prepared in an objective way. In addition, fundamental inventory data of these emission gases and particulate matter were provided for various kinds of energy. Furthermore most commonly used machines, instruments and other equipments on concrete structure construction are presented and provided for their related inventory data. In this way, inventory data regarding 91 detail items in total were able to be provided. By using these inventory data, four case studies where environmental impact caused by the construction of concrete structures was considered as a performance parameter of the structures similarly to serviceability, safety, and durability of the structures were also investigated based on design methods proposed previously by the authors in order to confirm the applicability of these inventory data to environmental performance evaluation of concrete structures.
Effects of cell cycle dependent kinases inhibitor on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of porcine oocytes

The aims of this study were to assess the effectiveness of roscovitine, a potent inhibitor of cell cyclin kinases, to prevent meiotic resumption in porcine oocytes, and to test the subsequent fertilisability and developmental competence of these oocytes. Roscovitine blocked porcine oocytes at the GV stage during 22–44 hr of culture. This effect was dose‐dependent, and a concentration of 25 μM was sufficient to prevent meiotic resumption in 92±5% of the oocytes after 22 hr in the presence of EGF and FSH. Cumulus expansion was also inhibited under these conditions. The histone H1 kinase activity in oocytes was inhibited in a dose‐dependent way, and maintained at a basal level with 25 μM of roscovitine. Synthesis of proteins of 29, 47 and 79 kDa, normally synthesized during maturation, was inhibited too. All these effects were fully reversible. However, the kinetics of maturation were accelerated after roscovitine removal, and the acceleration was more pronounced after 44 hr of inhibition than after 22 hr. Fertilization of oocytes blocked for 22 hr before a 44 hr maturation was decreased compared to control, but was not different from that of oocytes matured for 66 hr. The developmental competence was decreased for the oocytes cultured for 66 hr, including or not an inhibition period, but it was less reduced for oocytes maintained under inhibition for 22 hr. Roscovitine may thus protect oocytes against the aging mechanisms responsible for developmental competence loss, but not against loss of fertilisability. In conclusion, roscovitine provides a useful tool to study the morphological and biochemical basis of porcine oocyte terminal differentiation. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 60: 65–73, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Novel Recombinant Engineered gp41 N-terminal Heptad Repeat Trimers and Their Potential as Anti-HIV-1 Therapeutics or Microbicides*

Peptides derived from N-terminal heptad repeat (NHR) of the HIV-1 gp41 are generally poor inhibitors of HIV-1 entry, because they tend to aggregate and do not form a trimeric coiled-coil. In this study, we have fused portions of gp41 NHR, e.g. N36 or N28, to the T4 fibritin trimerization domain, Foldon (Fd), thus constructing novel NHR trimers, designated N36Fd or N28Fd, which could be expressed in Escherichia coli cells. The purified N36Fd and N28Fd exhibited SDS-resistant trimeric coiled-coil conformation with improved α-helicity compared with the corresponding N-peptides. They could interact with a C-peptide (e.g. C34) to form stable six-helix bundle and possessed potent anti-HIV-1 activity against a broad spectrum of HIV-1 strains. N28Fd was effective against T20-resistant HIV-1 variants and more resistant to proteinase K compared with T20 (enfuvirtide), a C-peptide-based HIV fusion inhibitor. Therefore, N28Fd trimer has great potentials for further development as an affordable therapeutic or microbicide for treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection.
An expanded pharmacogenomics warfarin dosing table with utility in generalised dosing guidance

Summary Pharmacogenomics (PGx) guided warfarin dosing, using a comprehensive dosing algorithm, is expected to improve dose optimisation and lower the risk of adverse drug reactions. As a complementary tool, a simple genotype-dosing table, such as in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Coumadin drug label, may be utilised for general risk assessment of likely over- or under-anticoagulation on a standard dose of warfarin. This tool may be used as part of the clinical decision support for the interpretation of genetic data, serving as a first step in the anticoagulation therapy decision making process. Here we used a publicly available warfarin dosing calculator (www.warfarindosing.org) to create an expanded gene-based warfarin dosing table, the CPMC-WD table that includes nine genetic variants in CYP2C9, VKORC1, and CYP4F2. Using two datasets, a European American cohort (EUA, n=73) and the Quebec Warfarin Cohort (QWC, n=769), we show that the CPMC-WD table more accurately predicts therapeutic dose than the FDA table (51 % vs 33 %, respectively, in the EUA, McNemar’s two-sided p=0.02; 52 % vs 37 % in the QWC, p<1×10−6). It also outperforms both the standard of care 5 mg/day dosing (51 % vs 34 % in the EUA, p=0.04; 52 % vs 31 % in the QWC, p<1×10−6) as well as a clinical-only algorithm (51 % vs 38 % in the EUA, trend p=0.11; 52 % vs 45 % in the QWC, p=0.003). This table offers a valuable update to the PGx dosing guideline in the drug label. Supplementary Material to this article is available at www.thrombosis-online.com.
Performance of Ideation Projects based on Task Characteristics

The purpose of this present research is first to analyze how the process of ideation has unfolded in community-supporting platforms, exploring ideation patterns and thereby the identification and analysis of how task characteristics that influence the contribution performance in ideation projects. Building a model based on task design theories for task characteristics and problem-solving theory, this study is addressing this aim with an empirical analysis of 335 ideation projects that vary based on task characteristics. The results from a negative binomial model indicate that while reward and specified task topics have a positive impact on the success of ideation; sector information as an alternative task characteristic has an inverse effect.
The role of systemic therapies in the management of melanoma brain metastases

Purpose of review Brain metastases in metastatic melanoma are highly prevalent and are associated with significant morbidity and a poor prognosis. Local therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) has been the mainstay of treatment, due in part to the lack of efficacy of systemic therapy. This review will focus on new systemic therapies for metastatic melanoma and their evolving role in the management of brain metastases. Recent findings BRAF inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy in active (i.e. untreated or progressing) brain metastases in BRAFV600 mutated metastatic melanoma. The cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) antibody, ipilimumab, has also shown activity, particularly in asymptomatic metastases. Studies of programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 checkpoint inhibitors and combination BRAF and MEK inhibitor therapy in brain metastases are planned. Emerging evidence on the molecular biology of melanoma brain metastases, particularly the role of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-AKT pathway, may identify additional therapeutic targets. Summary The development of systemic therapy effective in controlling both intra-cranial and extra-cranial melanoma metastases has resulted in a change in the paradigm of management. More research is required in patients with active brain metastases to improve patient outcomes, including studies early in the development of novel therapies, and studies to determine the safe and effective combination or sequencing of local and systemic therapies.