Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constructional morphology and mode of attachment of the trunk of Corynosoma cetaceum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae)

Dead specimens of Corynosoma cetaceum were used to describe the trunk musculature of this species and to infer the use of the trunk as a secondary holdfast. Inferences were based on trunk muscle arrangement, changes in trunk shape, size and distribution of spines, and geometry of tegument thickness. The foretrunk of C. cetaceum is swollen and forms a spiny disk that is bent ventrally. The disk is flattened by several groups of muscles not described previously, which seem able to finely adjust the disk surface over the substratum. Disk attachment appears to be accomplished by two dorsal neck retractor muscles specialized in pulling the anchored proboscis into the foretrunk. This mechanism has been described in other acanthocephalans, becoming surprisingly efficient when used with a flattened, armed foretrunk. The ventrally spined hindtrunk requires force to move downwards in order to attach. A single ventral neck retractor muscle seems specialized in pulling the posterior trunk forward, inducing a downward force due to the muscle's precise points of insertion. This mechanism necessarily generates ventral wrinkling that needs to be eliminated for the spiny surface to be functional. The trunk ventral muscles are apparently arranged so as to concentrate the “excess” of the tegument into a single fold, optimizing the use of the remaining surface for attachment. The size and distribution of spines, as well as the geometry of tegumental thickness, conform to these observations. Morphological changes, seemingly simple, such as structural bending, may have triggered a cascade of subtle modifications and new functions during acanthocephalan evolution, reflecting how morphological integration and novelty interact. J. Morphol. 241:237–249, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Combination of feature‐reduced MR spectroscopic and MR imaging data for improved brain tumor classification

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the combination of magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) data and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data on the classification result of four brain tumor classes. Suppressed and unsuppressed short echo time MRSI and MRI were performed on 24 patients with a brain tumor and four volunteers. Four different feature reduction procedures were applied to the MRSI data: simple quantitation, principal component analysis, independent component analysis and LCModel. Water intensities were calculated from the unsuppressed MRSI data. Features were extracted from the MR images which were acquired with four different contrasts to comply with the spatial resolution of the MRSI. Evaluation was performed by investigating different combinations of the MRSI features, the MRI features and the water intensities. For each data set, the isolation in feature space of the tumor classes, healthy brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid was calculated and visualized. A test set was used to calculate classification results for each data set. Finally, the effect of the selected feature reduction procedures on the MRSI data was investigated to ascertain whether it was more important than the addition of MRI information. Conclusions are that the combination of features from MRSI data and MRI data improves the classification result considerably when compared with features obtained from MRSI data alone. This effect is larger than the effect of specific feature reduction procedures on the MRSI data. The addition of water intensities to the data set also increases the classification result, although not significantly. We show that the combination of data from different MR investigations can be very important for brain tumor classification, particularly if a large number of tumors are to be classified simultaneously. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of ranolazine on maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with resistant atrial fibrillation

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) may arise out of anomalous impulse activity at atrial venous junctions. Triggered activity may be a source of abnormal impulse activity. Ranolazine is an anti-anginal agent, which inhibits normal and abnormal late Na+ channel current in the ventricle and peak Na+ channel current in the atrium. This produces an energy sparing effect and stabilizes cardiac membranes. Ranolazine is a potent inhibitor of triggered activity. The purpose of this report is to describe our initial experience with ranolazine used in patients with resistant AF. Methods Seven patients (4 males, 3 females, 67 ± 9 years) who developed recurrent AF within hours to a few days of restoring sinus rhythm despite AF ablation and /or failing one or more anti-arrhythmic agents were started on ranolazine (500-1000 mg/twice/day) after stopping all other anti-arrhythmic therapy. All but one patient had some form of associated structural heart disease. Results Two patients received no apparent benefit from ranolazine developing recurrent AF within 2 days. All other patients derived significant benefit. Four patients have experienced no recurrent AF. The other patient relapsed at 3 months and again at 6 months. The mean time in sinus rhythm to date, or to the first relapse, for the five responders was 27 ± 11 weeks. No clinically evident pro-arrhythmic episodes occurred. Conclusion Ranolazine was helpful in maintaining sinus rhythm in the majority of patients in which more established measures had failed. A controlled prospective trial is warranted to further investigate the efficacy of ranolazine in AF.
Excretion and Metabolism of Milnacipran in Humans after Oral Administration of Milnacipran Hydrochloride

The pharmacokinetics, excretion, and metabolism of milnacipran were evaluated after oral administration of a 100-mg dose of [14C]milnacipran hydrochloride to healthy male subjects. The peak plasma concentration of unchanged milnacipran (∼240 ng/ml) was attained at 3.5 h and was lower than the peak plasma concentration of radioactivity (∼679 ng Eq of milnacipran/ml) observed at 4.3 h, indicating substantial metabolism of milnacipran upon oral administration. Milnacipran has two chiral centers and is a racemic mixture of cis isomers: d-milnacipran (1S, 2R) and l-milnacipran (1R, 2S). After oral administration, the radioactivity of almost the entire dose was excreted rapidly in urine (approximately 93% of the dose). Approximately 55% of the dose was excreted in urine as unchanged milnacipran, which contained a slightly higher proportion of d-milnacipran (∼31% of the dose). In addition to the excretion of milnacipran carbamoyl O-glucuronide metabolite in urine (∼19% of the dose), predominantly as the l-milnacipran carbamoyl O-glucuronide metabolite (∼17% of the dose), approximately 8% of the dose was excreted in urine as the N-desethyl milnacipran metabolite. No additional metabolites of significant quantity were excreted in urine. Similar plasma concentrations of milnacipran and the l-milnacipran carbamoyl O-glucuronide metabolite were observed after dosing, and the maximum plasma concentration of l-milnacipran carbamoyl O-glucuronide metabolite at 4 h after dosing was 234 ng Eq of milnacipran/ml. Lower plasma concentrations (<25 ng Eq of milnacipran/ml) of N-desethyl milnacipran and d-milnacipran carbamoyl O-glucuronide metabolites were observed.
Differential Involvement of Toll-Like Receptors 2 and 4 in the Host Response to Acute Respiratory Infections with Wild-Type and Mutant Haemophilus influenzae Strains

ABSTRACT We used a mouse model of acute respiratory infections to investigate the role of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 in the host response to Haemophilus influenzae. Acute aerosol exposures to wild-type strains of H. influenzae showed that TLR4 function was essential for TNF-α induction, neutrophil influx, and bacterial clearance. To determine how lipooligosaccharide (LOS) modifications would affect the role of TLR4 in inducing the host response, we used acute infections with an H. influenzae strain expressing a mutation in the htrB gene. This mutant strain expresses an LOS subunit with decreased acylation. In response to H. influenzae htrB infection, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secretion remained TLR4 dependent. But the decrease in LOS acylation made the neutrophil influx and the bacterial clearance also dependent on TLR2, as shown by the decreased host response elicited in TLR2 knockout mice compared to C57BL/6 mice. A subsequent analysis of TLR2 and TLR4 gene expression by quantitative PCR indicated that TLR4 function induces TLR2 expression and vice versa. These results indicate that some changes in the LOS subunit of H. influenzae can favor signaling through non-TLR4 receptors, such as TLR2. The results also indicate a close interaction between TLR4 and TLR2 that tightly regulates the expression of both receptors.
The Environment and Urban Adolescents' Use of Recreational Facilities for Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study

Purpose. Investigate environmental factors influencing the use of recreational facilities for physical activity by urban African-American adolescents. Design. Qualitative in-depth interviews and direct observation. Setting. Two public high schools and 24 public recreational facilities in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants. Forty-eight African-American adolescents aged 14 to 18 years. Methods. Data from 48 in-depth interviews and 26 observations were coded using NVivo software and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results. Facility use is influenced by characteristics of the physical, social, organizational, and economic environments. Adolescents are attracted to low-cost, well-maintained facilities that offer preferred activities and that are within close proximity to home. Adolescents with limited access to facilities use alternative play spaces, like the streets or vacant lots, where they risk injury from falling or being hit by a car. They are drawn to facilities where they find active adolescents, and they avoid those where young people are engaged in drug or gang activity. Concerns about facility safety largely determine use, particularly for adolescent girls. Conclusion. Previous research points to the importance of increasing facility availability as a means of promoting physical activity, particularly in minority communities in which availability is disproportionately limited. This study shows that, while availability is important, additional facility characteristics should be considered when using environmental change to promote facility use for physical activity.
Technology-Assisted-Reflection: A Study of Pre-service Teacher Education in Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies and Secondary English Education and Social Studies

Hsiang, Yung-Lai Michelle. Technology-Assisted-Reflection: A Study of Pre-service Teacher Education in Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies and Secondary English Education and Social Studies, (Under the direction of Dr. Ellen Storey Vasu and Dr. Alan J. Reiman) The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to examine a new approach to information delivery and communication within Teacher Education courses. Advanced technologies in the Internet, Listserv, E-mail, NetForum and electronic forms were integrated, and the learning was guided by the clinical analysis/reflection and structured self-evaluation in a differentiated environment to promote individual development in both cognition and ethics. A cluster sample of sixty-eight pre-service teachers enrolled in the Introduction to Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences course in the Spring of 1999 at the North Carolina State University. Both pretest and posttest were conducted using Defining Issues Test by James Rest for the evaluation of moral growth of the students and Computing Concerns Questionnaire by Jean Martin for the concerns of the students in computing. The qualitative conclusion reached by the researcher suggested students have improved in both quantity and quality of their work more than previous semesters. The quantitative data showed a trend of decrease in students' concerns with regard to computing through TechnologyAssisted-Reflection. Despite the statistically insignificant result, study indicated moral development of our pre-service teachers at the Stage 4 of moral development, which is within the norm of the national standard for undergraduate students. Technology-Assisted-Reflection: ii
Influencing Segmental Balance in Isthmic Spondylolisthesis Using Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze segmental balance in patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis undergoing single-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Summary of Background Data: Sagittal malalignment of the fused segment was suggested to be associated with degeneration of the adjacent segment. Meticulous surgical technique and particular attention to hardware positioning with the aim to restore segmental balance at the fusion level have been recommended to achieve better long-term clinical outcomes, but no single study addressed all proposed factors. Methods: Standard lateral radiographs of the lumbosacral spine in the neutral standing position were retrospectively obtained for 32 patients undergoing single-level TLIF. Preoperative versus postoperative versus final follow-up (12 to 60 mo) values of translational slip (TS), posterior disc space height (PDSH), and segmental lordosis (SL) were compared using paired samples t test. Change in SL postoperatively between groups of next grouping variables: type and position of the interbody device, and rod contouring, was compared using 2-tailed independent samples t test. Association between position of the interbody device and immediate PDSH was addressed with regression analysis postoperatively and at final follow-up. Results: Mean TS decreased (P<0.001) and mean PDSH increased (P=0.002), but no significant change in SL occurred postoperatively (P=0.811). Increase in SL was observed with ventral positioning of the interbody device (P=0.009) and with bending of connecting rods (P=0.023). During follow-up, there was increase in TS (P=0.002) and decrease in PDSH (P<0.001) and SL (P<0.001) compared with postoperative values. Lower PDSH was found to be associated with more ventral positioning of the interbody device, both postoperatively (P=0.035) and at final follow-up (P=0.029). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that reduction of TS and restoration of disc space height are readily achieved with single-level TLIF. However, to establish an increase in SL consistent rod contouring and meticulous anterior placement of the interbody device should be applied. Excessive ventral positioning of the cages might result in insufficient disc space height restoration.
Preventing dysfunctional conflict: examining the relationship between different types of managerial conflict in venture capital-backed firms

Abstract Prior literature reports mixed results relative to the performance outcomes of different types of conflict in top management teams. These conflicting results may stem from the complex interactions between different types of conflict. To address this gap in existing knowledge, we set out to explore the interactions between task, process, and affective conflict in entrepreneurial teams of venture-backed firms. Our data are based on a survey among 240 firms that received investment from Norwegian venture capital funds with a response rate of 25% (59 firms). Our results show that task conflict is positively related to affective conflict and that this relationship is partially mediated by process conflict. Furthermore, we find that team size moderates the relationship between task and process conflict. Our results provide a potential explanation for the previously reported inconsistent results on the outcomes of different types of conflict and suggest that especially nascent entrepreneurs with small management teams should be wary of all types of conflict – also those labeled as ‘functional’ by the prior literature.
Implicit and Explicit Learning in Aged and Young Adults

ABSTRACT There is a wealth of evidence that learning ability declines with age. In almost all of the studies however, the performance measures employed are explicit, even though research has consistently indicated that aged adults have well preserved implicit learning ability. This suggests that under certain circumstances aged adults should be at no great learning disadvantage in comparison to young adults. This experiment used the artificial grammar-learning paradigm, developed by Reber, in a 2 X 2 factorial design that involved systematic manipulation of grammatical complexity and rule provision. The study explored how each combination of conditions influenced explicit or implicit learning and the relationship between learning style and performance by aged and young adults. Learning was assessed primarily by recognition accuracy, involving correct and incorrect grammar exemplars. However, reaction time, error pattern, reliability, and verbal report data was also collected as a way of confirming and providing added detail on learning performance patterns. Aged adults, irrespective of experimental learning conditions, evidenced a remarkably consistent reaction time deficit. In contrast, the accuracy differential between age groups varied markedly across the four treatments. The most salient contrast occurred between complex grammar, without rules, where there was no difference in accuracy between the two age groups and simple grammar, with rules, where the difference was greatest. This change in learning performance between these two conditions indicates that aged adults will learn as well as young adults in situations where the knowledge domain is conducive to implicit learning.
Angiotensin II stimulates increased protein synthesis, not increased DNA synthesis, in intact rat aortic segments, in vitro.

There is considerable controversy regarding whether angiotensin II (AngII) stimulates hypertrophy or hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether stretch of the vessel wall or AngII treatment increased protein or DNA synthesis in intact aortic rings in vitro and whether stretch of the vessel wall altered the growth responses to AngII. Rat aortic rings were mounted on steel supports in serum-free medium for 16 h and subjected to 0 or 1.5 g of preload (i.e. passive stretch). Fetal bovine serum (13%, FBS) or AngII [1 microM, in the presence or absence of angiotensin receptor antagonist, losartan (DuP753) 10 microM] was administered and isometric tension development was measured. 35S-methionine (3 microCi/ml) was added to the baths at 14-16 h for measurement of protein synthesis. Passive stretch did not increase protein synthesis as compared to vessels mounted under no-preload conditions. AngII and FBS elicited similar increases in isometric tension development, but tension development in FBS-treated rings was sustained 4 times longer than in rings treated with AngII. AngII and FBS increased protein synthesis by 35 and 121%, respectively, but there was no difference in the extent of contractile agonist-induced protein synthesis between rings subjected to 0 or 1.5 g of passive stretch. Losartan totally abolished AngII-induced tension development and protein synthesis. AngII and FBS did not stimulate increased DNA synthesis in aortic rings, as measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation. These results suggest that AngII stimulates hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia of fully contractile SMC in an intact vessel.
Health status of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at 1 and 5 years after diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE To describe the health and functional status of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) diagnosed in the early 1990s. METHODS Patients were obtained from the Pediatric Rheumatology Disease Registry, a database of patients seen in pediatric rheumatology centers across the United States. Questionnaires designed to be filled out after retrospective chart review were sent to pediatric rheumatologists caring for children diagnosed with JRA between 1992 and 1997. RESULTS We studied 703 patients -- 376 with pauciarticular onset (pauci), 232 with polyarticular onset (poly), and 95 with systemic onset JRA (systemic). At 1 year after diagnosis, half of the pauci and systemic patients no longer required medication, compared to 78% of the poly patients; 98% of the patients functioned in Steinbrocker classes I and II. Six percent of pauci, 27% of poly, and 11% of systemic patients had limitations in school function. Nearly 1/3 of poly patients already had joint space narrowing on radiograph. By 5 years after diagnosis, all pauci, 88% of poly, and 70% of systemic patients were in Steinbrocker classes I and II; but 6% of pauci, 28% of poly, and 44% of systemic patients had limitations in school function. Nearly 2/3 of poly and systemic patients had joint space narrowing. CONCLUSION In these children treated prior to the era of biologic therapy, at 5 years after onset, > 25% of poly and nearly half of systemic patients had functional limitations that required modifications in their school schedule. Radiographically evident joint space damage was seen within a year of onset in poly patients, and by 5 years 2/3 of poly and systemic patients had damage.
The Inconvenient Truth of the Downside Beta

In this thesis, we perform a robustness test of the interesting findings by in particular Artavanis (2013), but also Ang et al. (2006) and others, who find evidence that a downside beta outperforms the CAPM beta in its ability to explain excess stock returns in a test developed by Fama and French (1992). Stating that the CAPM beta is outperformed by the less known downside beta is a bold statement, and could indicate that information of a downside beta can be used to achieve abnormal excess returns on the stock market. These findings deserve robustness tests to either strengthen their case or show that the results are inconsistent across different markets or time periods, which is the motivation for writing this thesis. Our main findings show that there is no difference in the ability of the CAPM beta and the downside beta to explain excess returns in a Fama and French (1992) test during the years 2000-2014 on the Frankfurt, London and Stockholm stock exchanges. Thus, the results of the robustness test are demotivating, weakening the case for the downside beta rather than accepting its superiority.