Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parenting Stress and Its Relationship to the Behavior of Children with Joubert Syndrome

This study describes the relationship between parenting stress and behavior in children with Joubert syndrome, a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. Parents (N = 43) reported severely impaired child adaptive behaviors. Most children did not show maladaptive behaviors, but a subset of approximately 20% displayed significant problems in areas such as inattention, overactivity, social withdrawal, and atypical behaviors. Mothers (59%) and fathers (40%) reported elevated levels of parenting stress. A hierarchical regression, including demographics, adaptive behavior, and maladaptive behavior, predicted 67% of the variance in mothers' stress and 40% of the variance in fathers' stress. Maladaptive behaviors uniquely contributed to maternal and paternal stress. The child's adaptive behavior level contributed significantly to parenting stress for mothers but not for fathers. Findings provide a better understanding of the impact of child behavior on parents car-ing for a child with Joubert syndrome. (J Child Neurol 2006;21:163—167; DOI 10.2310/7010.2006.00019).
Disgust, shame and the psychosocial impact of skin picking: Evidence from an online support forum

This article examines the accounts of individuals who problematically pick their skin and explores their subjective experiences. In total, 100 problem disclosure statements were taken from posts made to a publicly accessible online skin picking support forum. These posts were systematically analysed using thematic analysis. Themes of disgust, shame and psychosocial avoidance dominated the analysis and appeared central to the experience of skin picking. Skin picking was shown to be a heterogeneous experience with a complex emotional profile. We argue that disgust, shame and related avoidance behaviour should be considered when conceptualising skin picking and considering treatment interventions.
Being excellent: predicting team performance, proactivity, and proficiency in technology industries

This research proposes a model based on team climate theory to explain the development of team performance, proficiency, and proactivity in technology industries. In the model, team performance, proficiency, and proactivity are indirectly related to team climate that consists of politics, emotional regulation, and charisma via the mediation of cooperation and team efficacy. Empirical testing of this model, by investigating personnel from high-tech organisations, confirms the theoretical applicability of team climate across high-tech working groups. Based on the empirical findings, this research provides managerial implications and research limitations.
In vitro cultivation of human fetal pancreatic ductal stem cells and their differentiation into insulin-producing cells.

AIM To isolate, culture and identify the human fetal pancreatic ductal stem cells in vitro, and to observe the potency of these multipotential cells differentiation into insulin-producing cells. METHODS The human fetal pancreas was digested by 1 g/L collagease type IV and then 2.5 g/L trypsin was used to isolate the pancreatic ductal stem cells, followed by culture in serum-free, glucose-free DMEM media with some additional chemical substrates in vitro (according to the different stage). The cells were induced by glucose-free (control), 5 mmol/L, 17.8 mmol/L and 25 mmol/L glucose, respectively. The cell types of differentiated cells were identified using immunocytochemical staining. RESULTS The shape of human fetal pancreatic ductal stem cells cultured in vitro was firstly fusiform in the first 2 wk, and became monolayer and cobblestone pattern after another 3 to 4 wk. After induced and differentiated by the glucose of different concentrations for another 1 to 2 wk, the cells formed the pancreatic islet-like structures. The identification and potency of these cells were then identified by using the pancreatic ductal stem cell marker, cytokeratin-19 (CK-19), pancreatic beta cell marker, insulin and pancreatic alpha cell marker, glucagons with immunocytochemical staining. At the end of the second week, 95.2% of the cells were positive for CK-19 immunoreactivity. Up to 22.7% of the cells induced by glucose were positive for insulin immunoreactivity, and less than 3.8% of the cells were positive for glucagon immunoreactivity in pancreatic islet-like structures. The positive ratio of immunoreactive staining was dependent on the concentration of glucose, and it was observed that the 17.8 mmol/L glucose stimulated effectively to produce insulin- and glucagons-producing cells. CONCLUSION The human fetal pancreatic ductal stem cells are capable of proliferation in vitro. These cells have multidifferentiation potential and can be induced by glucose and differentiated into insulin-producing cells in vitro.
Umbilical Artery Thrombosis is a Rare but Clinically Important Finding: A Series of 7 Cases with Clinical Outcomes

Umbilical artery thrombosis is a rare occurrence and is associated with poor neonatal outcomes. We present a series of 7 cases occurring over a 13-year period. The National Maternity Hospital is a tertiary referral center with approximately 10 000 births per annum. Cases were identified by a keyword search on the laboratory computer system. Seven cases were retrieved over a 13-year period (from an estimated 116 000 births): 5 cases from 7306 placentas and 2 cases from 1174 autopsies performed. Only cases with isolated umbilical artery thrombosis were included in the study. Placental histology from all cases was examined, placental gross findings were recorded, and clinical information and Doppler findings were obtained. Two infants were stillborn, and an additional 3 of the 7 cases were small for dates. All liveborn infants had a complicated neonatal course: 1 infant had a caudate infarction, 1 was born with partial acrania and schizencephaly, and 1 had a prolonged intensive care unit admission for low birth weight and jaundice. One case had absent end diastolic flow on Doppler ultrasound. Three cases had a cord diameter narrower than that expected for gestational age. All cases showed evidence of placental hypoperfusion. Umbilical artery thrombosis is a rare occurrence and carries a poor prognosis.
Two Distinct Interneuron Circuits in Human Motor Cortex Are Linked to Different Subsets of Physiological and Behavioral Plasticity

How does a single brain region participate in multiple behaviors? Here we argue that two separate interneuron circuits in the primary motor cortex (M1) contribute differently to two varieties of physiological and behavioral plasticity. To test this in human brain noninvasively, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of M1 hand area to activate two independent sets of synaptic inputs to corticospinal neurons by changing the direction of current induced in the brain: posterior-to-anterior current (PA inputs) and anterior-to-posterior current (AP inputs). We demonstrate that excitability changes produced by repetitive activation of AP inputs depend on cerebellar activity and selectively alter model-based motor learning. In contrast, the changes observed with repetitive stimulation of PA inputs are independent of cerebellar activity and specifically modulate model-free motor learning. The findings are highly suggestive that separate circuits in M1 subserve different forms of motor learning.
Parallel plate patch antenna with horizontal coupling lines

In this paper a new parallel plate antenna is presented. The antenna operates in the DBS band. As a difference to traditional designs a TENO has been created inside the parallel plate waveguide. The field propagating inside is coupled through microstrip lines to the radiating patches. A 15deg tilted radiation pattern is desired. A prototype has been manufactured, and the results are presented
The antiinflammatory action and pharmacokinetics of a novel glucosamine-based di-peptide aminosugar.

PURPOSE We have previously shown favorable in vitro gut permeability for three novel di-peptide esters of glucosamine (GlcN) likely facilitated by the peptide transporter 1 (PepT1). Herein, we report the development of a novel assay for the determination of bioavailability of the peptide ester of interest, the anti-inflammatory properties of a glycine-valine ester derivative of GlcN (GVG) as well as its pharmacokinetics under healthy and inflammatory conditions. METHODS A pre-column derivatization (with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl) HPLC assay was developed to study bioavailability of GVG, GlcN or cleaved GlcN in the rats that were cannulated in their right jugular vein for blood collection. The compounds of interest were orally administered to both healthy and arthritic rats. Serial blood samples and urine were collected and assayed for the compounds. The stability of the GVG was also tested after incubation with the rat feces. Efficacy of GVG was tested in inflamed rats (injection of 0.2 mL of Mycobacterium butyricum in squalene) following GVG (20 and 30 mg/kg/day GlcN equivalent) or GlcN (20 and 90 mg/kg/day) administration. Arthritis index was calculated at the end of the experiment. RESULTS The assay was linear (ranged between 0.05-20 μg/mL) and reproducible (intra- and inter-day<10%). Among the tested compounds, only GVG showed a significantly higher plasma concentrations and urinary excretion than GlcN (≈3-fold increase). GVG showed a favorable stability in the rat feces. Adjuvant arthritis was completely prevented with doses greater than 20 mg/kg/day with GVG being 3-fold more potent than GlcN. CONCLUSION The examined glycine-valine-GlcN di-peptide aminosugar is a potent anti-inflammatory compound due to its favorable properties to deliver GlcN into the systemic circulation.
STABILITY OF VIRGIN COCONUT OIL EMULSION WITH MIXED EMULSIFIERS TWEEN 80 AND SPAN 80

Virgin coconut oil emulsion (VCOE) is an alternative VCO product which has a reduced amount of oily taste when the VCO is consumed directly. This study was aimed to obtain the formulation of VCOE and determine the physical and chemical properties and also stability of emulsion with the addition of mixed emulsifiers Tween 80 and Span 80 (T80S80). Emulsions were formulated using mixed emulsifiers with the mass ratio of T80 to S80 of 100:0; 80:20; 60:40; 40:60; 20:80 and 0:100, respectively. The best ratio of the emulsifier was used to determine the stability of VCO and water mixtures with the diversity ratio of VCO to water were 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70, 20:80 and 10:90, respectively; the concentrations of emulsifier used were 1, 0.75 and 0.5%. VCOE was successfully formulated in the mixture of VCO-water ratio of 80:20. The VCOE products have high viscosities in each concentration of emulsifier and remained stable in room temperature. The contents of the peroxide number were 1.51 to 1.53 meq/kg sample and free fatty acid were 0.09 to 0.1%, which indicated that the emulsions were not rancid.
Catecholamine-Mediated Increases in Gain Enhance the Precision of Cortical Representations

Neurophysiological evidence suggests that neuromodulators, such as norepinephrine and dopamine, increase neural gain in target brain areas. Computational models and prominent theoretical frameworks indicate that this should enhance the precision of neural representations, but direct empirical evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. In two functional MRI studies, we examine the effect of baseline catecholamine levels (as indexed by pupil diameter and manipulated pharmacologically) on the precision of object representations in the human ventral temporal cortex using angular dispersion, a powerful, multivariate metric of representational similarity (precision). We first report the results of computational model simulations indicating that increasing catecholaminergic gain should reduce the angular dispersion, and thus increase the precision, of object representations from the same category, as well as reduce the angular dispersion of object representations from distinct categories when distinct-category representations overlap. In Study 1 (N = 24), we show that angular dispersion covaries with pupil diameter, an index of baseline catecholamine levels. In Study 2 (N = 24), we manipulate catecholamine levels and neural gain using the norepinephrine transporter blocker atomoxetine and demonstrate consistent, causal effects on angular dispersion and brain-wide functional connectivity. Despite the use of very different methods of examining the effect of baseline catecholamine levels, our results show a striking convergence and demonstrate that catecholamines increase the precision of neural representations. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Norepinephrine and dopamine are among the most widely distributed and ubiquitous neuromodulators in the mammalian brain and have a profound and pervasive impact on cognition. Baseline catecholamine levels tend to increase with increasing task engagement in tasks involving perceptual decisions, yet there is currently no direct evidence of the specific impact of these increases in catecholamine levels on perceptual encoding. Our results fill this void by showing that catecholamines enhance the precision of encoding cortical object representations, and by suggesting that this effect is mediated by increases in neural gain, thus offering a mechanistic account of our key finding.
The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Perceptions of Entrepreneurs and Intentions to Become an Entrepreneur

In this study we examine the role of socially constructed gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship and their influence on men and women's entrepreneurial intentions. Data on characteristics of males, females, and entrepreneurs were collected from young adults in three countries. As hypothesized, entrepreneurs were perceived to have predominantly masculine characteristics. Additional results revealed that although both men and women perceive entrepreneurs to have characteristics similar to those of males (masculine gender–role stereotype), only women also perceived entrepreneurs and females as having similar characteristics (feminine gender–role stereotype). Further, though men and women did not differ in their entrepreneurial intentions, those who perceived themselves as more similar to males (high on male gender identification) had higher entrepreneurial intentions than those who saw themselves as less similar to males (low male gender identification). No such difference was found for people who saw themselves as more or less similar to females (female gender identification). The results were consistent across the three countries. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
The Impact of Non-Financial Stakeholders on Accounting Conservatism: The Case of Labor Unions

This study examines the relation between labor union strength and conditional accounting conservatism. Prior research suggests that strong labor unions restrict management from substituting high risk investments for low risk investments. Conceptually, conditional accounting conservatism also serves to restrict this type of asset substitution. Thus, union strength and conservatism might act as substitutes. However, it is plausible that labor unions induce greater information asymmetry, which increases shareholder demand for conservatism, and that managers seeking a bargaining advantage with unions have incentives to supply conservatism. This implies a complementary relation between union strength and conservatism. To determine which of these relations hold, we use Basu’s (1997) asymmetric timeliness framework. We find that stronger unions are associated with lower levels of conservatism, even after controlling for abnormal bid-ask spread, size, book-to-market ratio, leverage, and litigation risk. Results are also robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including controlling for endogeneity, alternative measurement horizons, CEO ownership, and unconditional conservatism. Overall, we provide evidence about the impact of a key stakeholder, namely labor unions, on an important property of earnings.
Biochemical and Molecular Analyses of Gibberellin Biosynthesis in Fungi

The plant hormone, gibberellin (GA), regulates plant growth and development. It was first isolated as a superelongation-promoting diterpenoid from the fungus, Gibberella fujikuroi. G. fujikuroi uses different GA biosynthetic intermediates from those in plants to produce GA3. Another class of GA-producing fungus, Phaeosphaeria sp. L487, synthesizes GA1 by using the same intermediates as those in plants. A molecular analysis of GA biosynthesis in Phaeosphaeria sp. has revealed that diterpene cyclase and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases were involved in the plant-like biosynthesis of GA1. Fungal ent-kaurene synthase is a bifunctional cyclase. Subsequent oxidation steps are catalyzed by P450s, leading to biologically active GA1. GA biosynthesis in plants is divided into three steps involving soluble enzymes and membrane-bound cytochrome P450. The activation of plant GAs is catalyzed by soluble 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases, which is in contrast to the catalysis of fungal GA biosynthesis. This difference suggests that the origin of fungal GA biosynthesis is evolutionally independent of that in plants.
Early remission in thyrotoxicosis produced by short courses of treatment.

Twenty-eight patients with Graves' disease were treated with short-term antithyroid drug therapy. i.e. treatment was discontinued as soon as they became euthyroid. This was less than 4 months in all patients. Ten patients remained euthyroid, although in two of these, thyrotoxicosis recurred after the patients had been euthyroid for more than 2 months. The other 18 patients relapsed within 12 weeks of stopping therapy, and only two have become euthyroid after a further 12 month period of treatment. All patients who remitted were thyrotoxic for the first time whereas all patients with a past history of thyroid disease relapsed. Positive thyroid microsomal antibody titres were more frequent in patients who remitted, otherwise there were no indicators of a favourable outcome. The remission rate with antithyroid therapy which is only continued until the patient becomes euthyroid is similar to that for treatment lasting 12--18 months. Short-term therapy has the advantage of savings in both patient and clinician time.
Preoperative high dose methylprednisolone improves patients outcome after abdominal surgery.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of preoperative high dose methylprednisolone on stress response and outcome. DESIGN Randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. SETTING University hospital, Germany. SUBJECTS 20 patients listed for abdominal surgery of whom 10 had major intra-abdominal interventions and 10 had incisional hernias repaired. INTERVENTIONS Methylprednisolone 30 mg/kg (100 ml) was given by slow intravenous infusion 90-60 minutes before operation. The control group received the same volume of sodium chloride. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Speed of convalescence, degree of fatigue, amount of pain, consumption of analgesics, breathing capacity, and hospital stay, as well as humoral and cellular mediators of the stress response. RESULTS Methylprednisolone significantly improved criteria of postoperative recovery, fatigue by 47%, (day 1), convalescence by about 45% (days 1-3), and breathing capacity (FEV1) between 47% and 29% (days 5, 7) (p < 0.05, ANOVA), and led to a significant reduction of median hospital stay of 4.5 days. C-reactive protein concentration was significantly decreased (by 46% on day 3) and T-cell activation was suppressed (day 1). CONCLUSION Outcome of the patients after conventional abdominal surgery is substantially improved by preoperative high dose methylprednisolone. This effect is more pronounced in patients having major operations.
Identification of key regulators of gene expression in mammalian oocyte and embryo

Mammalian oocyte is a highly differentiated cell which gives rise to an embryo after fertilization. Importantly, fully-grown oocytes become transcriptionally inactive at the end of the growth phase. During following stages of development, i. e. meiotic maturation of the oocyte and early embryonic development, only transcripts previously synthesized and stored are used. The tight correlation between mRNA distribution and subsequent protein localization and function provides a mechanism of spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression used by various cell types. However, not much is known about mRNA localization and translation in the mammalian oocyte and early embryo. The aim of my thesis was to determine the localization of transcripts and components of translational machinery in the mammalian oocyte and embryo and to uncover the mechanisms of spatiotemporal regulation of translation as a prerequisite for correct oocyte and embryo development. We have shown that nuclei of both mouse and human oocytes contain RNA molecules and RNA binding proteins. Following the nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD), translational hot-spots occur in the area surrounding the nuclear region. We suppose that mRNAs previously retained in the nucleus are released to the cytoplasm during NEBD and their subsequent translation gives rise to proteins essential for further meiotic progression and embryonic development. We have further shown that protein synthesis in the mentioned hot-spots is regulated via mTOR–eIF4F pathway, which is activated after NEBD. Taken together our results support the notion that asymmetric localization of RNA determines the timing and localization of translation in mammalian oocyte.
Competition in the Bill Payment Market

This paper models the demand for merchant acceptance and consumer usage of a four-party payment scheme in the bill payment market. Within a cointegrating framework, demand equations are estimated using vector error correction models. Results illustrate the importance of network effects in determining consumer usage and merchant demand. Additionally, price elasticities suggest the market for payments in Australia is competitive.
Missing Data Imputation in Two Phase III Trials Treating HIV1 Infection

In most longitudinal clinical trials, some patients drop out before the end of the planned follow-up, and, in order to allow an all-patient intent-to-treat analysis to be performed, it is common practice to use some method of imputation to estimate values for missing data. However, different imputation methods may provide different results, and it is essential to investigate the sensitivity of the analysis using different imputation rules. In our analysis of two trials of the new HIV1 fusion inhibitor enfuvirtide, we compared some standard methods of imputing and analyzing HIV1-RNA data with two novel alternatives, to check the robustness of the primary endpoint results. The standard methods were: (1) last-observation-carried-forward, (2) baseline carried forward, and (3) multiple imputation. These were compared with a nearest-neighbour hot-deck method, specifically proposed for imputation of missing HIV1-RNA data, and with a heuristic approach: censored regression analysis of the last-observation-carried-forward. To supplement this analysis of real clinical trial data, we investigated the performance of the same imputation methods on simulated datasets designed to cover a broader range of missing data patterns.