Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Colorectal carcinoma in children and young adults in Ilorin, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Colorectal carcinoma is thought to be rare among children and young adults among whom presentation is usually at a late stage with poor prognosis. OBJECTIVE To review the demography, clinical presentation, morphology, and pathological stage of cases of colorectal carcinomas diagnosed in the children and adults. METHODS This was a retrospective review of cases of histologically diagnosed colorectal carcinoma of patients aged 40 years and below, between 1979 and 2008, using the request cards and hematoxylin and eosin stained slides. RESULTS Seventy-six (31.5%) of all cases of colorectal carcinoma were seen in patients aged 40 years and below. The mean age at presentation was 31 years and the youngest aged 16 years. The male : female ratio was 1.6 : 1. The dominant clinical presentations were bloody diarrhea and rectal bleeding. Fifty-one (67.1%) cases were localized to the rectum, nine (16.1%) cases in the sigmoid colon, and eight (10.5%) cases in the caecum. Adenocarcinoma was the most common histological variant. Mucin-producing tumours were seen in 25 (32.9%) cases. Almost all the patients presented at advanced pathological stage. CONCLUSION Colorectal carcinoma is not rare among young Nigerians and it should be suspected when young patients present with chronic bloody diarrhoea. Digital rectal examination should be encouraged as part of clinical examination in this age group too since a large percentage of colorectal carcinomas is within the reach of the examining finger.
Factors associated with the pain catastrophizing scale and validation in a sample of the Turkish population.

AIM The aim of this study was to validate the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in the Turkish population and to investigate its correlation with the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Volunteer patients, who were scheduled for elective surgery and who applied to the Outpatient Clinic of Anesthesiology for preoperative evaluation, were asked to complete a PCS form. The patient's age, sex, educational level, marital status, presence of chronic pain, and American Society of Anesthesiologists score were recorded, and PCS scores and demographic variables were compared statistically. RESULTS Of the 257 patients enrolled in the study, 136 were male, 121 female, and the median age was 40. The 3 subscales in the Turkish version of the PCS consisted of rumination, magnification, and helplessness. Internal consistency of PCS was found to be congruent with Cronbach's alpha = 0.90. Significantly higher PCS scores were found in women with chronic pain. In addition, patients who graduated from primary school had statistically higher scores compared to those who graduated from high school. CONCLUSION In accordance with the original scale, demographic specifications of the Turkish version of the PCS were found congruent. PCS scores in our population were found compatible with the literature review.
The Swarm Initial Field Model for the 2014 geomagnetic field

Data from the first year of ESA's Swarm constellation mission are used to derive the Swarm Initial Field Model (SIFM), a new model of the Earth's magnetic field and its time variation. In addition to the conventional magnetic field observations provided by each of the three Swarm satellites, explicit advantage is taken of the constellation aspect by including east‐west magnetic intensity gradient information from the lower satellite pair. Along‐track differences in magnetic intensity provide further information concerning the north‐south gradient. The SIFM static field shows excellent agreement (up to at least degree 60) with recent field models derived from CHAMP data, providing an initial validation of the quality of the Swarm magnetic measurements. Use of gradient data improves the determination of both the static field and its secular variation, with the mean misfit for east‐west intensity differences between the lower satellite pair being only 0.12 nT.
Familiarity and the Determination of Yields for Regional Office Property Investments in the UK

Henneberry J. and Mouzakis F. Familiarity and the determination of yields for regional office property investments in the UK, Regional Studies. This paper examines how effectively investment yields incorporate spatial variations in risks and returns into property prices. It is hypothesized that the pricing of property investments in non-core UK regions is affected by a pure familiarity heuristic adopted by investors based in London. Consequently, the determination of office yields is based not on the intrinsic investment characteristics of regional markets, but on a core market benchmark combined with a regional premium. This results in very long-term mispricing patterns with implications not just for the office property investment market, but also for the regions, especially those outside the core.
The Impact of Aggregate Vulnerability on the Relationship between Trade Openness and Growth: Analysis of Middle Income Developing Countries During the Global Economic Crisis

This study investigates whether trade openness has a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on economic growth for 88 middle income countries during the global economic crisis of 2007 to 2008. Vulnerability, the exposure to financial risk caused by a financial crisis and resilience referring to how countries coped with the risk were important contexts that were discussed in the trade openness – growth debate. Moreover, the following research questions were answered: Does trade openness always increase economic growth for trading countries? Does trade openness have destabilizing effects to growth? What were the factors that contribute to growth? What mitigating strategies can be applied to countries that may fall back into poverty in the future due to an economic crisis? Graphical representation and regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between variables using a quantitative longitudinal design. Trade openness had neither a stabilizing nor a destabilizing effect to growth consistent with findings of other studies including (Prasad, Rogoff, Wei & Kose, 2003); (Leelavathi, 2012). Forward- looking factors that show a positive correlation to growth were Good governance, Infrastructural development, low population growth rate and skilled labor. Middle –income countries were urged to develop these forward looking factors in order to be resilient to financial crises. Moreover, countries should shift from being reactive to risk but rather adopt a proactive stance in responding to risk at the household, country and international levels.
Mitochondria--the Death Signal Integrators

Many of the intricate pathways of apoptosis that instruct a cell to kill itself involve the convergence of key proteins on the membranes of mitochondria. Such proteins induce the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes and the release of caspase enzymes and nuclease activators that set in motion the final stages of programmed cell death. Now, as Brenner and Kroemer discuss in their Perspective, a proapoptotic transcription factor called TR3 has been found to move from its normal location in the nucleus to the mitochondria and to promote release of cytochrome c, a key event in apoptosis (Li et al.)
It Takes Two to Forgive

Previous research demonstrated that perceived relationship value is a strong predictor of forgiveness. Here we suggest that relationship value may not be sufficient. Given that executive control is an important facilitator of forgiveness, we predicted that relationship value and executive control should interact toward promoting forgiveness. Using different indicators of executive control, including adults and children samples, measured or experimentally varied relationship value, and both self-report and behavioral forgiveness measures, across four studies we found support for our main prediction: Relationship value was positively associated with forgiveness; however, this association was mostly pronounced among individuals high (vs. low) in executive control. In addition, executive control was positively associated with forgiveness, but particularly in relationships of high (vs. low) relationship value. These findings suggest that relationship value and executive control in combination are associated with higher interpersonal forgiveness. Implications for the extant literature on forgiveness, and interpersonal relationships more broadly, are discussed.
Carbon Flux of an Urban System in México

We estimated vertical and lateral fluxes of carbon for the isolated coastal city of Ensenada (Baja California, México). In 2005, the city had a resident population of about 261,000, with tourism adding about 1.5%; it occupied an area of roughly 68 square kilometers (km2). Carbon (C) export was estimated at 400 gigagrams of carbon per year (Gg C/yr); notable sources to the atmosphere were combustion engines (42%), cement production (38%), water heating and cooking (7%), and human respiration (6%). Solid waste (6%) was exported for burial, but efflux to the bay was minor (about 0.1 Gg C/yr). Local deposition was limited to sewage sludge (about 2 Gg C/yr), asphalt, and extremely low primary production. Remote fluxes driven by local demand could be estimated only for electricity (61 Gg C/yr), but local flux from cement and other industrial production might be attributed largely to external demand. The urban system output to the atmosphere was about 6.4 kilograms of carbon per square meter per year (kg C/m2/yr), or roughly 23.6 kg/m2/yr in CO2 equivalence. By comparison, net ecosystem productivity in the surrounding watershed has been estimated at 0.04 kg C/m2/yr, so the city's atmospheric output of C might be balanced by productivity over about 11,000 km2 of the surrounding ecosystems. Between 2000 and 2005, C output increased faster than population growth, particularly from engine fuels.
The attributes of residence/workplace areas and transit commuting

Area type matters when we try to explain variations in public transit commuting; workplace (commuting destination) type matters more than residence (origin) type. We found this statistical link over a sample of all census tracts in the four largest California metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento. In this research, we used a statistical cluster analysis to identify twenty generic residence neighborhood types and fourteen workplace neighborhood types. The variables used in the analysis included broad indicators of location and density, street design, transit access, and highway access. Once identified, the denser neighborhoods had higher transit commuting, other things equal. Yet what distinguishes this research is that we did not use a simple density measure to differentiate neighborhoods. Rather, density was an important ingredient of our neighborhood-type definition, which surpassed simple density in explanatory power.
Landing Technique and Performance in Youth Athletes After a Single Injury-Prevention Program Session.

CONTEXT Injury-prevention programs (IPPs) performed as season-long warm-ups improve injury rates, performance outcomes, and jump-landing technique. However, concerns regarding program adoption exist. Identifying the acute benefits of using an IPP compared with other warm-ups may encourage IPP adoption. OBJECTIVE To examine the immediate effects of 3 warm-up protocols (IPP, static warm-up [SWU], or dynamic warm-up [DWU]) on jump-landing technique and performance measures in youth athletes. DESIGN Randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING Gymnasiums. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Sixty male and 29 female athletes (age = 13 ± 2 years, height = 162.8 ± 12.6 cm, mass = 37.1 ± 13.5 kg) volunteered to participate in a single session. INTERVENTION(S) Participants were stratified by age, sex, and sport and then were randomized into 1 protocol: IPP, SWU, or DWU. The IPP consisted of dynamic flexibility, strengthening, plyometric, and balance exercises and emphasized proper technique. The SWU consisted of jogging and lower extremity static stretching. The DWU consisted of dynamic lower extremity flexibility exercises. Participants were assessed for landing technique and performance measures immediately before (PRE) and after (POST) completing their warm-ups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) One rater graded each jump-landing trial using the Landing Error Scoring System. Participants performed a vertical jump, long jump, shuttle run, and jump-landing task in randomized order. The averages of all jump-landing trials and performance variables were used to calculate 1 composite score for each variable at PRE and POST. Change scores were calculated (POST - PRE) for all measures. Separate 1-way (group) analyses of variance were conducted for each dependent variable (α < .05). RESULTS No differences were observed among groups for any performance measures (P > .05). The Landing Error Scoring System scores improved after the IPP (change = -0.40 ± 1.24 errors) compared with the DWU (0.27 ± 1.09 errors) and SWU (0.43 ± 1.35 errors; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS An IPP did not impair sport performance and may have reduced injury risk, which supports the use of these programs before sport activity.
Changes in Pancreatic Islet Glucokinase and Hexokinase Activities With Increasing Age, Obesity, and the Onset of Diabetes

We examined changes in high- and low-Km glucose phos-phorylating activity in pancreatic islet extracts from the prediabetic Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat between 5–6 weeks and 12 weeks of age (after the onset of diabetes). Comparisons were made between the activity observed in the ZDF rat and that seen in the ZDF lean control (ZLC) rat and the obese nondiabetic Zucker fatty (ZF) rat. At 5–6 weeks of age, insulin resistant ZDF and ZF rats were hyperinsulinemic, compared with the ZLC rat, but had normal plasma glucose levels. Kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km for glucose) of hex-okinase (HK) and Km of glucokinase (GCK) did not differ between groups. Islet GCK activity for ZDF and ZF rats was 1.7-fold greater than in ZLC rats (P < 0.02 and P < 0.001, respectively). By 12 weeks of age, hyper-secretion of insulin at 5.0 mmol/1 glucose was observed in perifused islets from both obese groups relative to the ZLC rat. Islets from ZDF rats failed to increase insulin secretion in response to increased glucose concentration. Group differences in the kinetic parameters for GCK or in the Km values for HK were not significant. Islet HK activity for ZDF and ZF rats was 1.9-fold (P < 0.05) and 1.7-fold (P < 0.05) greater, respectively, than for ZLC rats. Compared with the 5- to 6-week-old animals, HK activity increased 3.1-fold (P < 0.001), 2.5-fold (P < 0.002), and 2.0-fold (P < 0.05) for ZDF, ZF, and ZLC rats, respectively. Differences in GCK activity between 5- to 6- and 12-week-old rats were not significant for any of the groups. We conclude: 1) increased islet glucose phosphorylating activity is present in insulin resistant and hyperinsulinemic ZF and ZDF rats, relative to the ZLC rat; 2) at 12 weeks of age, hyperinsulinemic ZDF and ZF rats demonstrated significant increases in HK activity, compared with lean controls; and 3) deficiency in GCK activity does not explain failure of diabetic ZDF islets to respond to glucose, since differences between diabetic ZDF and non-diabetic ZF rats were not statistically significant. Increases in pancreatic islet phosphorylating activity seem to be important in maintaining basal hyperinsulinemia in insulin-resistant animals, but do not appear to play a role in the progression to glucose intolerance and diabetes.
Smart grid communication comparison: Distributed control middleware and serialization comparison for the Internet of Things

To solve the problems caused by intermittent renewable energy production, communication between Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and system operators is necessary. The communication middleware and serialization used for communication are essential to ensure delivery of the messages within the required timeframe, to provide the necessary ancillary services to the power grid. This paper shows that there are better alternatives to using Web Services and XMPP as middleware and that there are better alternatives than using XML for serialization. The paper also gives guidance at choosing the best communication middleware and serialization format/library, aided by the authors' earlier work, which investigates the performance and characteristics of communication middleware and serialization independently. Given the performance criteria of the paper, ZeroMQ, YAMI4, and ICE are the middleware that performs the best, and ProtoBuf (ProtoStuff), and ProtoStuff are the serialization that performs the best.
Evocation Processes by Novice and Expert Designers: Towards Stimulating Analogical Thinking

Design activity occurs in many professions, ranging from technical to more artistic domains. Whatever the domain, it is a constant challenge for designers to introduce creativity in each design project they work on and minimize the tendency to repeat familiar design features. The goal of this paper is to present a cognitive approach to design problem solving as well as an experimental study. This study aims at determining whether creative ideas can be enhanced by the presentation of external sources of inspiration. In particular, we analyse the effect of the presentation of different kinds of sources (intra- versus interdomain sources, which are presented as graphical representations or as verbal labels) according to the designers' level of expertise (lay-designers versus professionals). Results show that it is possible to enhance evocation processes in design, but that it is dependent on both the nature of sources of inspiration and the designers' level of expertise. Based on these results, we suggest ways for enhancing creative ideas in design tasks.
Glycosylation Modulates Melanoma Cell α2β1 and α3β1 Integrin Interactions with Type IV Collagen*

Background: The influence of collagen glycosylation on integrin binding has not been studied previously. Results: Glycosylation affected α3β1 integrin binding more strongly than α2β1 integrin binding. Conclusion: Glycosylation modulated integrin/collagen interactions. Significance: If changes in collagen glycosylation occur in malignancy, then metastasis may be altered by these changes. Although type IV collagen is heavily glycosylated, the influence of this post-translational modification on integrin binding has not been investigated. In the present study, galactosylated and nongalactosylated triple-helical peptides have been constructed containing the α1(IV)382–393 and α1(IV)531–543 sequences, which are binding sites for the α2β1 and α3β1 integrins, respectively. All peptides had triple-helical stabilities of 37 °C or greater. The galactosylation of Hyl393 in α1(IV)382–393 and Hyl540 and Hyl543 in α1(IV)531–543 had a dose-dependent influence on melanoma cell adhesion that was much more pronounced in the case of α3β1 integrin binding. Molecular modeling indicated that galactosylation occurred on the periphery of α2β1 integrin interaction with α1(IV)382–393 but right in the middle of α3β1 integrin interaction with α1(IV)531–543. The possibility of extracellular deglycosylation of type IV collagen was investigated, but no β-galactosidase-like activity capable of collagen modification was found. Thus, glycosylation of collagen can modulate integrin binding, and levels of glycosylation could be altered by reduction in expression of glycosylation enzymes but most likely not by extracellular deglycosylation activity.
AN EXTREME STARBURST IN THE CORE OF A RICH GALAXY CLUSTER AT z = 1.7

We have discovered an optically rich galaxy cluster at z = 1.7089 with star formation occurring in close proximity to the central galaxy. The system, SpARCS104922.6+564032.5, was detected within the Spitzer Adaptation of the red-sequence Cluster Survey, and confirmed through Keck-MOSFIRE spectroscopy. The rest-frame optical richness of Ngal (500 kpc) = 30 ± 8 implies a total halo mass, within 500 kpc, of ∼3.8 ± 1.2 × 1014 M⊙, comparable to other clusters at or above this redshift. There is a wealth of ancillary data available, including Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope optical, UKIRT-K, Spitzer-IRAC/MIPS, and Herschel-SPIRE. This work adds submillimeter imaging with the SCUBA2 camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and near-infrared imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope. The mid/far-infrared (M/FIR) data detect an Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxy spatially coincident with the central galaxy, with LIR = 6.2 ± 0.9 × 1012 L⊙. The detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at z = 1.7 in a Spitzer-IRS spectrum of the source implies the FIR luminosity is dominated by star formation (an Active Galactic Nucleus contribution of 20%) with a rate of ∼860 ± 130 M⊙ yr−1. The optical source corresponding to the IR emission is likely a chain of >10 individual clumps arranged as “beads on a string” over a linear scale of 66 kpc. Its morphology and proximity to the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) imply a gas-rich interaction at the center of the cluster triggered the star formation. This system indicates that wet mergers may be an important process in forming the stellar mass of BCGs at early times.
Chronic Hydronephrosis: Observations on the Mechanism of the Defect in Urine Concentration 1

Summary The renal concentrating and diluting mechanism was examined in dogs with unilateral chronic hydronephrosis and compared to the contralateral normal side. Urine concentrating ability and concentrating capacity were markedly impaired in the chronically hydronephrotic kidney. However, as previously reported, fractional free water clearance over a large range of distal delivery was identical in both kidneys. Significant reductions in papillary and medullary nonurea solute concentration were present in the hydronephrotic kidneys as compared to controls during both hydropenia and hydration. It is postulated that reduction in the number of functioning nephrons in the medulla results in a decrease in sodium transport into the interstitium and, therefore, in reduced medullary hyper tonicity. This, by decreasing free water back diffusion out of the collecting duct, would result in the impaired urinary concentrating ability and capacity observed in chronic hydronephrosis.
Childless or childfree? Paths to voluntary childlessness in Italy

This article investigates childlessness in Italy. Trends in childlessness are presented and compared with trends elsewhere in Europe. Different paths to childlessness are outlined, using data from a survey carried out among childless women aged 40-44 in five Italian cities in 2002. Individual characteristics of the childless and reasons for childlessness are investigated. As many as one-third of the interviewees who live with a partner and do not suffer from any physical impediment are voluntarily childless. These women, in contrast to mothers, appear to be less religious and to have partners who are less religious; they tend to come from smaller families; to have been in a nonmarital cohabitation at least once in life; to have entered their first union later; and to have had, in the initial period of their union, temporary work and flexible work schedules and limited leisure time. In other cases, childlessness is the unintended outcome of a decision to delay having a child or the result of adverse external circumstances, particularly dissolution of partnership. Copyright (c) 2008 The Population Council, Inc.