Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech rates of New Zealand English- and American English-speaking children

Adult speakers of New Zealand English demonstrate faster speaking rates than adult speakers of Australian, American, or British English. Little, however, is known about comparability of speaking rates in children who speak different varieties of English. This study begins to address this need through examining articulation rate and overall speaking rate data for ten New Zealand English-speaking children (aged 3;1 – 3;5 years) and ten American English-speaking children (aged 2;11 – 3;5 years). The participants had typically developing speech and language skills and the data were collected from conversational language samples where the child was engaged in a play activity with a speech pathologist or parent. Both groups demonstrated significantly faster articulation rates compared to overall speaking rates. In addition, utterance length was significantly correlated with both speaking rate and articulation rate. Group differences were evident. Contrary to previous results reported for adults, the New Zealand children demonstrated slower overall speaking rates and slower articulation rates than the American children. Results of a vowel analysis indicated a higher percentage of lax vowel production and lower percentage of tense vowel production among the American children compared to New Zealand children, indicating that vowel differences were a contributing factor to the observed differences in speech rates. The clinical applicability of the present data is discussed.
Immunohistochemical evaluation of mast cells and vascular endothelial proliferation in oral submucous fibrosis.

INTRODUCTION Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic, progressive, scarring disease that predominantly affects the people of south-east Asian origin. AIM The present study is aimed at comparing and correlating the mast cell density (MCD) and micro vascular density (MVD) in normal mucosa and different grades of OSMF and to analyze their role in the disease progression. MATERIALS AND METHODS MCD was assessed immunohistochemically using anti mast cell tryptase and MVD was assessed using anti-factor VIII related von Willebrand factor. RESULTS The one way comparison of MVD and MCD in normal mucosa and among different grades of OSMF showed a significant increase in MCD and MVD among OSMF cases. Correlation analysis using Pearson correlation coefficient, showed positive correlation between MCD and MVD i.e. as MCD increases there is an exponential increase in MVD. CONCLUSION The increase in MVD and MCD reveals their role in the pathogenesis of OSMF, a lesion characterized by progressive fibrosis in early stages and failure of degradation or remodeling in the advanced stages.
Pulmonary anatomic arteriovenous shunting caused by epinephrine.

Pulmonary anatomic arteriovenous (A-V) shunting was measured with technetium Tc 99m human albumin microspheres in 44 anesthetized dogs. In untreated dogs, after a 15- to 30-minute observation period following the first microsphere injection, no significant changes in heart rate, arterial pressure, cardiac output, or the pH occurred, but there was a small increase in arterial oxygen pressure and a small decrease in arterial carbon dioxide pressure. These were attributed to preanesthetic excitement or reactions to the anesthetic itself. The second microsphere injection showed no significant change in pulmonary shunting. Infusions of epinephrine hydrochloride at the rate of 2μg/kg/min and 4μg/kg/min showed significant increases in the pulmonary shunting to 320% and 573% of control values, respectively, during the same time intervals. Epinephrine in amounts that can be produced endogenously under conditions of stress may cause the opening of anatomic pulmonary A-V shunts.
Ensuring the Validity of the Micro Foundation in DSGE Models

The presence of i) stochastic trends, ii) deterministic trends, and/or iii) stochastic volatility in DSGE models may imply that the agents' objective functions attain infinite values. We say that such models do not have a valid micro foundation. The paper derives sufficient conditions which ensure that the objective functions of the households and the firms are finite even when various trends and stochastic volatility are included in a standard DSGE model. Based on these conditions we test the validity of the micro foundation in six DSGE models from the literature. The models of Justiniano & Primiceri (American Economic Review, forth-coming) and Fernandez-Villaverde & Rubio-Ramirez (Review of Economic Studies, 2007) do not satisfy these sufficient conditions, or any other known set of conditions ensuring finite values for the objective functions. Thus, the validity of the micro foundation in these models remains to be established.
Feature Selection: A Useful Preprocessing Step

Statistical classification techniques and machine learning methods have been applied to some Information Retrieval (IR) problems: routing, filtering and categorization. Most of these methods are usually awkward and sometimes intractable in highly dimensional feature spaces. In order to reduce dimensionality, feature selection has been introduced as a pre-processing step. In this paper, we assess to what extent feature selection can be used without causing a loss in effectiveness. This problem can be tackled since a couple of recent learners do not require a preprocessing step. On a text categorization task, using the Reuters-22,173 collection, we give empirical evidence that feature selection is useful: first, the size of the collection index can be drastically reduced without causing a significant loss in categorization effectiveness. Then, we show that feature selection speeds up the time required to automatically build the categorization system.
p21WAF1/CIP1 AND MDM2 EXPRESSION IN NON‐HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO p53 STATUS: A p53+, MDM2−, p21− IMMUNOPHENOTYPE ASSOCIATED WITH MISSENSE p53 MUTATIONS

p53 is a tumour suppressor gene which is often found to be inactivated in most types of human cancer. p53 is a transcription factor, the inactivation of which may lead to significant variations in the levels of p53 downstream proteins, such as p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2. In view of the significance of p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 as wild‐type (wt) p53 targets, this study was undertaken to monitor the varying expression of these proteins in non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) in relation to p53 gene status. A total of 57 cases of different histological types of NHL were included in this study. Proteins p53, p21and MDM2 were analysed by immunohistochemical techniques, taking the levels expressed in reactive lymphoid tissues as reference points. p53 gene point mutations (exons 5–8) were looked for using the PCR–SSCP technique and direct sequencing. Fifteen of the 57 cases studied showed 16 mutations at the p53 gene: 12 missense, one nonsense, two silent mutations, and one frameshift deletion. Most missense mutations were associated with high levels of p53 protein, while the nonsense mutations and frameshift deletion did not induce detectable levels of p53. All cases with mutation at the p53 gene (15) showed null or low levels of p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 proteins, suggesting that null or missense mutations at this gene give rise to a protein that is unable to transactivate the p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 genes. The association between missense p53 mutation and dissociate immunophenotype (p53+, MDM2−, p21−) was statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, P=0·0024). This anomalous p53+, MDM2−, p21− phenotype was also found in a small group of five cases with wt p53; this could indicate that in these cases p53 transactivation capacity has been abrogated by a mechanism other than p53 mutation. Most cases with the wt p53 gene show simultaneous immunohistochemical expression of all three proteins and often display higher levels than those found in reactive lymphoid tissue. There is a tendency for EBV‐positive cases to harbour high levels of p53+ and p21+, suggesting that EBV could be involved in the nuclear accumulation of p53 and p21WAF1/CIP1 in NHL. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The value of breast self‐examination

In this study of 2092 women with cancer of the breast, those who had practiced breast self‐examination (BSE) had earlier cancer than did those who had not practiced BSE. This was true for both black and white races, all educational and economic levels, each age group, and within each period of delay between first symptom and medical consultation. The practice of BSE increased as the educational level rose and diminished as age advanced. A higher percentage of whites than blacks used the procedure. Breast self‐examination is safe and without cost to the women who practice it. It has the potential for helping more women to find their breast cancer early than any other method now available and feasible for widespread use. Cancer 47:989–995, 1981.
AN ASYMPTOTIC THEORY FOR LINEAR MODEL SELECTION

In the problem of selecting a linear model to approximate the true un- known regression model, some necessary and/or sufficient conditions are estab- lished for the asymptotic validity of various model selection procedures such as Akaike's AIC, Mallows' Cp, Shibata's FPEλ, Schwarz' BIC, generalized AIC, cross- validation, and generalized cross-validation. It is found that these selection proce- dures can be classified into three classes according to their asymptotic behavior. Under some fairly weak conditions, the selection procedures in one class are asymp- totically valid if there exist fixed-dimension correct models; the selection procedures in another class are asymptotically valid if no fixed-dimension correct model exists. The procedures in the third class are compromises of the procedures in the first two classes. Some empirical results are also presented.
Selection of Bacteria with Favorable Transport Properties Through Porous Rock for the Application of Microbial-Enhanced Oil Recovery

This paper presents a bench-scale study on the transport in highly permeable porous rock of three bacterial species—Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, and Clostridium acetobutylicum—potentially applicable in microbial-enhanced oil recovery processes. The transport of cells during the injection of bacterial suspension and nutrient medium was simulated by a deep bed filtration model. Deep bed filtration coefficients and the maximum capacity of cells in porous rock were measured. Low to intermediate (∼106/ml) injection concentrations of cellular suspensions are recommended because plugging of inlet surface is less likely to occur. In addition to their resistance to adverse environments, spores of clostridia are strongly recommended for use in microbial-enhanced oil recovery processes since they are easiest among the species tested to push through porous rock. After injection, further transport of bacteria during incubation can occur by growth and mobility through the stagnant nutrient medium which fills the porous rock. We have developed an apparatus to study the migration of bacteria through a Berea sandstone core containing nutrient medium.
Variable expression of the 235 kDa rhoptry protein of Plasmodium yoelii mediate host cell adaptation and immune evasion

The severity of infections caused by the malaria parasite Plasmodium is in part due to the rapid multiplication cycles in the blood of an infected individual. A fundamental step in this phenomenon is the invasion of selected erythrocytes of the host by the parasite. The py235 rhoptry protein multigene family of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii has been implicated in mediating host cell selection during erythrocyte invasion and virulence. Here we show using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis that variations in the amounts of py235 may be a mechanism that the parasite uses to define its host cell repertoire. High levels of py235 expression leads to a wider range of erythrocytes invaded and therefore increased virulence. In contrast, to evade PY235‐specific immunity, the parasite downregulates py235 thereby decreasing the host cell repertoire and virulence. These results demonstrate a new mechanism where variations in the amounts of parasite ligand define the parasite host cell repertoire and enable it to evade host immunity.
Predicting Implementation Success of an Evidence-based Program to Promote Healthy Relationships among Students Two to Eight Years after Teacher Training

During the past decade, teachers in over 1,500 schools in Canada have been trained to implement the empirically validated Fourth R program, but the sustainability of the program post-training is unknown. For this study, 197 teachers in 26 districts in 6 provinces were surveyed to determine the extent to which they were using the program 2 years or more after training, what modifications they make, and perceived barriers to implementation and sustainability. Results indicated high satisfaction with the program, strong implementation fidelity, and the importance of training, support, and accountability in improving implementation. Training, implementation, and monitoring implications are highlighted.
The crustacean and molluscan fauna of Tasmanian saltmarshes

The crustaceans and molluscs of 65 saltmarshes and brackish marshes around the coast of Tasmania and the major Bass Strait islands were surveyed. Over 50 species were collected, but only eight (three talitrid amphipods, one crab and four gastropods) were confined to saltmarshes; the typical saltmarsh assemblage consisted of two talitrid amphipods, three oniscoid isopods, two crabs, two prosobranch snails and two pulmonate snails. The greatest species richness was found in marshes from the southeast and the far northwest, where the most extensive saltmarshes have developed. Several undescribed talitrids were collected and the range of two coastal species was extended significantly. The native woodlouse Plymophiloscia ulverstonensis was commonly found on the upper parts of the marshes, as was the introduced slater Porcellio scaber. The burrowing grapsid crab Helograpsus haswellianus was common on the marshes, though it was replaced by the ocypodid Heloecius cordiformis in brackish marshes, and by another grapsid, Paragrapsus gaimardii, in the only marsh examined on King Island. The hymenosomatid crab Amarinus paralacustris was recorded from the state for the first time at Hendersons Lagoon. Amphibolid and ellobiid snails typified the molluscan fauna of the marshes. The introduced ellobiid Phytia myosotis appears to have a major disjunction in its distribution between the southeast and northern sites. Tasmanian saltmarshes have a similar diversity of crustaceans and molluscs to those of New Zealand and South Africa. They are richer in species than saltmarshes of the northeast Atlantic coasts but have fewer crustaceans than the temperate east coast marshes of North America, and fewer molluscs than those of the coasts of the Pacific northwest.
Atypical fibroxanthoma of the skin: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study and a discussion of its histogenesis

The morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of 37 atypical fibroxan‐thomas of the skin were examined. Twenty‐four tumours were nodular ulcerative lesions on the head and face of patients with a median age of 75 years, whereas 13 tumours occurred on the trunk and limbs of patients with a median age of 48 years. Both pleomorphic polygonal and giant cells as well as the spindle cell component of the tumours stained for the histiocytic markers α1‐antichymotrypsin, aggtitypsin, lysozyme and, less frequently, for ferritin. Leu M1 antigen and peanut agglutinin receptors were not demonstrable in tumour cells. This antigenic profile was contrasted with the findings in six cases of dermatotibroma which were largely not reactive with the antisera used. The immunohistochemical findings in atypical fibroxanthomas suggest that they represent a homogeneous group of tumours which are related to tissue histiocytes. These results are discussed in the context of the published findings in other so‐called fibrohistiocytic tumours including dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The diagnoses in three cases coded as atypical fibroxanthomas were revised on the basis of their showing a different immunohistochemical profile.
Variation with Land Use of Immune Function and Prevalence of Avian Pox in Galapagos Finches

Introduced disease has been implicated in recent wildlife extinctions and population declines worldwide. Both anthropogenic‐induced change and natural environmental features can affect pathogen spread. Furthermore, environmental disturbance can result in changes in stress physiology, nutrition, and social structure, which in turn can suppress immune system function. However, it remains unknown whether landscape variation results in heterogeneity in host resistance to pathogens. Avian pox virus, a pathogen implicated in avian declines and extinctions in Hawaii, was introduced to the Galapagos in the 1890s, and prevalence (total number of current infections) has increased recently in finches. We tested whether prevalence and recovery trends in 7 species of Galapagos finches varied by elevation or human land use. To do so, we used infection data obtained from 545 wild‐caught birds. In addition, we determined whether annual changes in 4 aspects of innate immune function (complement protein activity, natural antibody activity, concentration of PIT54 protein, and heterophil:lymphocyte ratio) varied by elevation or land use. Prevalence and recovery rates did not vary by elevation from 2008 to 2009. Avian pox prevalence and proportion of recovered individuals in undeveloped and urban areas did not change from 2008 to 2009. In agricultural areas, avian pox prevalence increased 8‐fold (from 2% to 17% of 234 individuals sampled) and proportion of recovered individuals increased (11% to 19%) from 2008 to 2009. These results suggest high disease‐related mortality. Variation in immune function across human land‐use types correlated with variation in both increased prevalence and susceptibility, which indicates changes in innate immune function may underlie changes in disease susceptibility. Our results suggest anthropogenic disturbance, in particular agricultural practices, may underlie immunological changes in host species that themselves contribute to pathogen emergence.
Leukemia inhibitory factor induces an antiapoptotic response in oligodendrocytes through Akt‐phosphorylation and up‐regulation of 14‐3‐3

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) promotes the survival of oligodendrocytes (OLG) both in vitro and in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Here, we show that LIF protects mature rat OLG cultures selectively against the combined insult of the proinflammatory cytokines interferon‐γ and tumor necrosis factor‐α, but it does not protect against oxidative stress nor against staurosporine induced apoptosis. We further demonstrate that LIF activates the janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/Akt pathway in mature OLG. We show that LIF protection is independent of suppressors of cytokine signaling and Bcl‐2 mRNA expression levels. To gain further insight into the protective mechanism, a quantitative proteomic approach (DIGE) was applied to identify differentially expressed proteins in LIF‐treated OLG. Our results indicate that LIF induces a shift in the cellular machinery toward a prosurvival execution program, illustrated by an enhanced expression of isoforms of the antiapoptotic molecule 14‐3‐3. These data provide further insight into the mechanisms of LIF‐mediated protection of mature OLGs.
Community-dwelling persons with dementia: What do they need? What do they demand? What do they do? A systematic review on the subjective experiences of persons with dementia

Objectives: Including the perspectives of persons with dementia (PwD) is essential in order to organize care structures for them. With this systematic review, we set out to screen the existing scientific evidence on self-expressions of community-dwelling individuals with dementia in order to provide a research base for developing an intervention for persons in early stages of the disease. The leading research questions for this review are: What needs do PwD living at home express? What are their subjective demands? What do they do to cope with their situation? Methods: We performed a systematic literature review of review publications on subjective experiences of PwD. The publications were analysed using MAXQDA 10 to perform a thematic analysis. Results: We identified 41 relevant reviews, of which 6 met our inclusion criteria. PwD experience the whole range of human emotions. Their needs and demands do not differ significantly from those of other groups of patients with chronic conditions. Coming to terms with the disease and maintaining normality appeared to be major themes. With regard to expectations from the side of professional health care, the need for accompanying, continuous support and counselling appeared to be central. Furthermore, disclosure of diagnosis represents a critical stage for PwD, but our findings indicated that they prefer to be included in this process. Conclusions: PwD are well able to express their needs. They should be included in research since they can provide valuable findings. Furthermore, those findings should be implemented in applied dementia care.
Association of placenta praevia and sex ratio at birth.

MacGillivray et al reported a significant increase in the proportion of male infants born to women with placenta praevia. ' They concluded that late fertilisation may be a predisposing factor to placenta praevia because the male to female ratio is said to be increased when fertilisation occurs late in the menstrual cycle.2 We undertook the present study to explore the relation between placenta praevia and sex, taking parity and other factors into account.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Refractory Clostridium difficile Colitis in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to be safe and efficacious in individuals with refractory Clostridium difficile. It has not been widely studied in individuals with immunosuppression due to concerns about infectious complications. We describe two solid organ transplant recipients, one lung and one renal, in this case report that both had resolution of their diarrhea caused by C. difficile after FMT. Both recipients required two FMTs to achieve resolution of their symptoms and neither had infectious complications. Immunosuppressed individuals are at high risk for acquisition of C. difficile and close monitoring for infectious complications after FMT is necessary, but should not preclude its use in patients with refractory disease due to C. difficile. Sequential FMT may be used to achieve cure in these patients with damaged microbiota from antibiotic use and immunosuppression.