Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inversion Reveals Perceptual Asymmetries in the Configural Processing of Human Body

Ambiguous human bodies performing unimanual/unipedal actions are perceived more frequently as right-handed/footed rather than left-handed/footed, which suggests a perceptual and attentional bias toward the right side of others’ body. A bias toward the right arm of human bodies could be adaptive in social life, most social interactions occurring with right-handed individuals, and the implicit knowledge that the dominant hand of humans is usually placed on their right side might also be included in body configural information. Given that inversion disrupts configural processing for human bodies, we investigated whether inversion reduces the bias toward the right side of human bodies. Consistent with our hypothesis, when presented with ambiguous stimuli depicting humans performing lateralized actions or movements, participants perceived a greater proportion of right-handed figures when the stimuli were shown upright than when the stimuli were shown inverted. The present findings seem to confirm our hypothesis that body configural information may include some form of knowledge about the probable handedness of other individuals, although alternative accounts involving the role of experience cannot be ruled out.
Blood lead levels in children living near abandoned metal-recovery plants.

Following the identification of high levels of lead in the soils of residences near two abandoned Montreal metal-recovery plants, blood lead concentrations were analyzed for children living or cared for in the affected neighbourhood. Overall, the distribution of blood lead levels (geometric mean = .27 mumol/L, range .11-1.01) among the 52 children sampled was similar to those of children of other Quebec localities without known point sources of lead. Nevertheless, multiple regression analysis did suggest a modest influence of the concentration of lead in children's own yards (as measured by actual soil samples or as estimated by a geostatistical modeling procedure) on their blood lead level (.05 mumol/l rise for a 1000 ppm increase in soil lead, 95% C.I.-.01, .11). This estimate of the influence of soil on blood lead is at the lower end of the range reported by others. We suggest that these Montreal results demonstrate the modest effects of lead-contaminated soil when its access is limited by grass cover and/or when the emissions which produced it have ceased.
The Use of Hope as a Coping Mechanism in Abused Women

The purpose of this study was to identify how abused women use hope and to determine whether hope is a coping mechanism in their relationship with the abusers. Four focus group sessions were conducted with a sample of 24 women using a phenomenological methodology. The data analysis indicated that abused women maintain hope in four major dimensions: hope for change in their partner's behavior, hope for survival, hope as something to cling to, and hope for control of the situation. The subjects stated that hope was used as a coping mechanism to help them keep their sanity; but in this context, the subjects often saw hope as false or unreal. Thus some abused women used hope as a mechanism to attempt to resolve cognitive dissonance between their internal beliefs and the external reality of physical violence.
Non–invasive assessment of autonomic cardiovascular control in normal human pregnancy and pregnancy- associated hypertensive disorders: a review

Purpose Pre-eclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy. Although the disorder usually becomes apparent only in the third trimester of pregnancy, evidence is available that underlying pathophysiological abnormalities are already present early in pregnancy. The association between alterations in autonomic cardiovascular control and the development of hypertension in pregnancy has been investigated for some time. Non-invasive methods are especially of interest, since they have the advantage of minimal risk for the mother and the conceptus and enable repeated measurements during pregnancy. If non-invasive tests for autonomic cardiovascular control could demonstrate the increased sympathetic activity, as observed by microneurography than this method is a candidate for early identification of pre-eclampsia. Therefore, the literature on non-invasive testing of autonomic cardiovascular control in normal pregnancies and pre-eclampsia was summarized. Data identification and selection Medline was searched and 36 articles on autonomic cardiovascular control in human pregnancy by non-invasive test methods were reviewed. For each test method, data of different studies were summarized to evaluate if the method could discriminate between healthy pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. Conclusion Although small differences have been observed between normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia in individual studies using non-invasive methods, the consistency in the available data is insufficient to discriminate between normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. The failure to demonstrate the increased sympathetic activity, as observed by direct microneurography, might be due to methodological factors of the non-invasive studies. Alternatively, sympathetic activity to resistance vessels in skeletal muscle may not be a proper reflection of autonomic cardiovascular control in pregnancy. Well-designed longitudinal research could be useful to test these suppositions.
Haematology of Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) restrained by physical or chemical means

Reference values for some haematological and plasma biochemical constituents were established in Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) restrained either physically or chemically with tiletamine-zolazepam. The following variables were studied: haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration, total erythrocyte and leucocyte counts, haematological indices, erythrocyte dimensions, differential count of leucocytes, glucose, urea, uric acid, cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, total plasma protein, albumin, globulins, albumin-globulin ratio, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, total phosphorus, chloride and osmolality. No haematological data have been published before but the values observed were in the general range of other artiodactyls, with the exception of the number and size of the erythrocytes which were respectively larger and smaller than in most other ruminants. Significant differences were found for a number of the variables between the values recorded in physically restrained animals and the values recorded in anaesthetised animals; they included the number of erythrocytes and related parameters, the plasma proteins and some inorganic ions.
Kisspeptin-10, a KiSS-1/metastin-derived decapeptide, is a physiological invasion inhibitor of primary human trophoblasts

Trophoblast invasion of the uterine extracellular matrix, a critical process of human implantation and essential for fetal development, is a striking example of controlled invasiveness. To identify molecules that regulate trophoblast invasion, mRNA signatures of trophoblast cells isolated from first trimester (high invasiveness) and term placentae (no/low invasiveness) were compared using U95A GeneChip microarrays yielding 220 invasion/migration-related genes. In this `invasion cluster', KiSS-1 and its G-protein-coupled receptor KiSS-1R were expressed at higher levels in first trimester trophoblasts than at term of gestation. Receptor and ligand mRNA and protein were localized to the trophoblast compartment. In contrast to KiSS-1, which is only expressed in the villous trophoblast, KiSS-1R was also found in the extravillous trophoblast, suggesting endocrine/paracrine activation mechanisms. The primary translation product of KiSS-1 is a 145 amino acid polypeptide (Kp-145), but shorter kisspeptins (Kp) with 10, 13, 14 or 54 amino acid residues may be produced. We identified Kp-10, a dekapeptide derived from the primary translation product, in conditioned medium of first trimester human trophoblast. Kp-10, but not other kisspeptins, increased intracellular Ca2+ levels in isolated first trimester trophoblasts. Kp-10 inhibited trophoblast migration in an explant as well as transwell assay without affecting proliferation. Suppressed motility was paralleled with suppressed gelatinolytic activity of isolated trophoblasts. These results identifed Kp-10 as a novel paracrine/endocrine regulator in fine-tuning trophoblast invasion generated by the trophoblast itself.
Implementation of an iPhone as a wireless accelerometer for quantifying gait characteristics

The capacity to quantify and evaluate gait beyond the general confines of a clinical environment under effectively autonomous conditions may alleviate rampant strain on limited and highly specialized medical resources. An iPhone consists of a three dimensional accelerometer subsystem with highly robust and scalable software applications. With the synthesis of the integral iPhone features, an iPhone application, which constitutes a wireless accelerometer system for gait quantification and analysis, has been tested and evaluated in an autonomous environment. The acquired gait cycle data was transmitted wireless and through email for subsequent post-processing in a location remote to the location where the experiment was conducted. The iPhone application functioning as a wireless accelerometer for the acquisition of gait characteristics has demonstrated sufficient accuracy and consistency.
TNF-α and IL10 polymorphisms interaction increases the risk of ankylosing spondylitis in Chinese Han population.

AIMS The target of this article was to reveal the role of tumor necrosis factors α (TNF-α) and Interleukin-10 (IL10) gene polymorphisms in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) development and explore the interaction between these two gene polymorphisms. METHODS The genotyping of gene polymorphims was conducted using ABI Taqman assay method in 84 AS patients and 92 healthy people. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was checked in the control group and the genotypes and alleles difference were compared with χ(2) test. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to identify the strength of association between gene polymorphism and disease. Meanwhile, multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method was used to analysis the interaction between gene polymorphisms. RESULTS The genotypes CG+CC of the minor allele in IL10 rs1878672 in cases was obviously higher frequency than the controls (P=0.03) and the minor allele C was also associated with the increased risk of AS, compared with G allele (OR=2.05, 95% CI=1.08-3.89). Rs3024490 in IL10 also showed a significant correlation to the onset risk of AS (GG vs. TT: OR=3.03, 95% CI=1.04-8.87; G vs. T: OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.08-2.68). What's more, there was the interaction between TNF-α rs3093662 and IL10 rs3021094, rs3024490 polymorphisms in AS. CONCLUSIONS IL10 rs1878672 and rs3024490 polymorphisms obviously increase the susceptibility to AS, but not TNF-α rs3093662. Both IL10 and TNF-α polymorphisms may affect the onset of AS.
Muscarinic Modulation of Striatal Dopamine, Glutamate, and GABA Release, as Measured with In Vivo Microdialysis

Abstract: Intrastriatal microdialysis was used to administer muscarinic drugs in freely moving rats for 40 min at a flow rate of 2 µl/min. Administration of the nonselective agonist pilocarpine at 10 mM increased striatal dopamine release and decreased extracellular GABA and glutamate overflow. Perfusion with the muscarinic M2 antagonist methoctramine at 75 µM increased extracellular dopamine and glutamate concentrations but exerted no changes on extracellular GABA levels. Intrastriatal administration of the M1 antagonist pirenzepine at 0.05 µM decreased extracellular dopamine overflow. Application of pirenzepine (0.05 and 5 µM) exerted no effects on the measured GABA or glutamate levels. There are thus important differences in applied doses of muscarinic drugs needed to obtain modulatory effects. High doses of agonists are probably needed to superimpose on the background of tonic influences of striatal acetylcholine, whereas antagonists can block the receptors in small doses. We further suggest that M1 receptors might tonically facilitate striatal dopamine release, that M2 receptors might tonically inhibit striatal glutamate efflux, and that acetylcholine does not exert tonic effects on striatal GABA release. The link with the pilocarpine animal model for temporal lobe epilepsy will be discussed.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PRIVATE RETURNS TO INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION IN CAMEROON

Since 1960, the Cameroon Government has invested very heavily in Cameroon’s educational system –nursery through to higher education level. There has been pressure on the government to put more emphasis on the primary level rather than on tertiary level. The paper’s findings strongly suggest that emphasis should be on all the educational levels, and more so, on the tertiary level. The conclusion is drawn from the earnings function model from which estimates are brought out on the average rate of return to education with the marginal return referring to additional year of education at the different levels.
The cholinesterases: from genes to proteins.

Linkages between cholinesterases and the pharmacological sciences extend back to the mid-nineteenth century when the first organophosphate was synthesized (1) and physostigmine was recognized in the western world for possessing pharmacological activity (2). However, not until Sir Henry Dale (3) delineated two components of the cholinergic nervous system was the suggestion made that physostigmine inhibited an enzyme that catalyzed the breakdown of choline esters. Dale's and later Loewi & Navratil's (4) studies established a role for acetylcholine as a labile neurotransmitter. The high turnover number of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the specificity of its inhibitors, and the selectivity of thiocholine-metal ion interactions provided the bases for sensitive in vitro and in situ assay systems (5-7). Several cholinesterase inhibitors remain of value as medicinal agents and insecticides, but others possess the potential for insidious use as chemical warfare agents (8). Despite this long history of study, less than a decade has passed since the primary structure of a cholinesterase was determined (9), and only in 1991 was its crystal structure solved (10). Clearly, these recent events have added a new perspective to cholinesterase research wherein all facets of gene expression become amenable to study and structure-function relation­ ships within this family of enzymes can be approached at an atomic level
Social Capital, Creativity, and New Product Advantage: An Empirical Study

Creativity is one of the critical factors to effectively establish new product (NP) advantage. Previous studies on network relationships are mostly focused on direct effects of social capital on NP advantage. Possible mediating roles of creativity between the causal relationships of social and NP advantage were neglected. We develop a mediation model in which the social capital affects NP advantage through creative ideas in NPs and related marketing programs (MPs). The findings confirm that NP and MPs creativity mediates the relationship between social capital and NP advantage.
Reduced dorsal and orbital prefrontal gray matter volumes in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND Converging neuroanatomic, neurophysiological, and neurobehavioral evidence implicate prefrontal subregions in schizophrenia. Neuroanatomic studies with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging enable regional volume parcellation. Inconsistent reports may relate to variable methods and small samples. We attempted to resolve volume differences within sectors of the prefrontal lobe in a large sample, relating volumes to clinical and neurocognitive features. METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 70 patients with schizophrenia (40 men and 30 women; 29 neuroleptic naive and 41 previously treated) and 81 healthy controls (34 men and 47 women). Gray and white matter volumes of the dorsolateral, dorsomedial, orbitolateral, and orbitomedial prefrontal cortex were quantified. Symptoms, functioning, and neurocognition were assessed concurrently. RESULTS Reduced prefrontal gray matter volume was observed in patients. The reduction was evident for the dorsolateral area in men (9%) and women (11%), for the dorsomedial area only in men (9%), and for orbital regions only in women (23% and 10% for lateral and medial, respectively). The reduction of orbital volume in women was associated with poorer premorbid functioning, more severe negative symptoms, and depression. Volume of dorsal cortex was positively associated with better performance on abstraction and attention tasks across all groups. CONCLUSIONS Schizophrenia is associated with reduced gray matter volume in prefrontal cortex, which affects men and women in the dorsolateral sector. The effects are moderated by sex for dorsomedial and orbital regions and are related to symptom severity and cognitive function. This is not a by-product of treatment, since the differences are evident in neuroleptic-naive patients.
The crystal structure of a sulfurtransferase from Azotobacter vinelandii highlights the evolutionary relationship between the rhodanese and phosphatase enzyme families.

Rhodanese is an ubiquitous enzyme that in vitro catalyses the transfer of a sulfur atom from suitable donors to nucleophilic acceptors by way of a double displacement mechanism. During the catalytic process the enzyme cycles between a sulfur-free and a persulfide-containing form, via formation of a persulfide linkage to a catalytic Cys residue. In the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azotobacter vinelandii the rhdA gene has been identified and the encoded protein functionally characterized as a rhodanese. The crystal structure of the A. vinelandii rhodanese has been determined and refined at 1.8 A resolution in the sulfur-free and persulfide-containing forms. Conservation of the overall three-dimensional fold of bovine rhodanese is observed, with substantial modifications of the protein structure in the proximity of the catalytic residue Cys230. Remarkably, the native enzyme is found as the Cys230-persulfide form; in the sulfur-free state the catalytic Cys residue adopts two alternate conformations, reflected by perturbation of the neighboring active-site residues, which is associated with a partly reversible loss of thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase activity. The catalytic mechanism of A. vinelandii rhodanese relies primarily on the main-chain conformation of the 230 to 235 active-site loop and on a surrounding strong positive electrostatic field. Substrate recognition is based on residues which are entirely different in the prokaryotic and eukaryotic enzymes. The active-site loop of A. vinelandii rhodanese displays striking structural similarity to the active-site loop of the similarly folded catalytic domain of dual specific phosphatase Cdc25, suggesting a common evolutionary origin of the two enzyme families.
Evaluation of Cytokines in Pleural Fluid for the Differential Diagnosis of Tuberculous Pleurisy

The present study aims to test reliability of interferon gamma (IFN- γ) as a diagnostic marker for tuberculous pleurisy. In this study, interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were therefore compared with adenosine deaminase (ADA) in exudative pleural effusion of inflammatory, malignant and tuberculous origin to determine their diagnostic value and whether either or all of them could be helpful in the differential diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. Subjects and methods: This study included 11 patients with inflammatory, 13 patients with malignant, and 15 patients with tuberculous effusion matched for age and sex. Estimation of Pleural fluid levels of ADA, IL-8, TNF-α and IFN-γ. Results: Pleural fluid levels of ADA, IL-8, TNF-α and IFN-γ in the tuberculous group were significantly higher than in the malignant group. Also the levels of pleural fluid ADA, TNF-α and IFN-γ in the tuberculous group were significantly higher than in the inflammatory group. Analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, to evaluate the utility of the various parameters, demonstrates values for the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.702, 0.897, 0.927, and 0.987, respectively for IL-8, TNF α , ADA, and IFN γ. The sensitivity and specificity with IFN γ were 93% and 100%,respectively, which were superior to those for ADA(sensitivity: 80% and specificity:91%), TNF- α (sensitivity: 86% and specificity:91% ) and IL-8 (sensitivity: 46% and specificity: 72%) . Conclusions: Levels of the pleural fluid cytokines examined in this study were higher in the tuberculous than in the two other groups. Our data suggested that IFN- γ being shown to be especially very reliable, is a non -invasive and useful marker for diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy, with clear advantages over ADA.
Acute cholestatic liver injury caused by polyhexamethyleneguanidine hydrochloride admixed to ethyl alcohol

Introduction. Polyhexamethyleneguanidine hydrochloride (PHMG) is an antimicrobial biocide of the guanidine family. In the period from August 2006 to May 2007, more than 12500 patients were admitted to hospital with a history of drinking illegal cheap “vodka” in 44 different regions in Russia, of whom 9.4% died. In reality, the “vodka” was an antiseptic liquid composed of ethanol (≈93%), diethyl phthalate, and 0.1–0.14% PHMG (brand name “Extrasept-1”). Material and methods. We performed an analysis of the clinical features and outcome in four poisoning treatment centers in the cities of Perm, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, and Khabarovsk. A total of 579 patients (215 females and 364 males) with similar symptoms were included. Results. The main symptoms on admission included jaundice (99.7%), skin itch (78.4%), weakness (96%), anorexia (65.8%), dizziness (65.3%), nausea (54.8%), vomiting (22.6%), stomach ache (52.7%), diarrhea (32%), and fever (50%). Mild symptoms were found in 2.5% of cases, moderate in 63%, and severe in 34.5%. Laboratory results were (mean ± SD): total bilirubin 249 ± 158 μmol/L, direct bilirubin 166 ± 97 μmol/L, cholesterol 14 ± 8 mmol/L, alanine aminotransferase 207 ± 174 IU/L, aspartate aminotransferase 174 ± 230 IU/L, alkaline phosphatase 742 ± 751 IU/L, and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase 1199 ± 1095 IU/L. Patients generally recovered over a period of 1–5 months, although high levels of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase were still found in all patients examined after 6 months. Sixty-one patients (10.5%) died between 23 and 150 days after poisoning. Local cholestasis, inflammatory infiltration, and fibrosis developing into cirrhosis were found by liver biopsy. Conclusion. Acute liver injury caused by PHMG-hydrochloride or PHMG in combination with either ethanol or diethyl phthalate can be characterized as cholestatic hepatitis with a severe inflammatory component causing high mortality.
Coping strategies among Swedish children and adolescents with mobility impairment in relation to demographic data, disability characteristics and well‐being

Aim: The first aim of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of a four‐dimensional model of coping strategies, which includes ‘active coping’, ‘distraction’, ‘avoidance’ and ‘support seeking’ strategies, on children and adolescents with mobility impairment. The second aim was to identify coping strategies in this group. Finally, we analysed the relation between coping strategies and demographic data, disability characteristics and well‐being.