Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION IN MUROID RODENTS I. CONSERVATIVE PATTERNS OF CRANIOMETRIC COVARIANCE AND THEIR ONTOGENETIC BASIS IN THE NEOTROPICAL GENUS ZYGODONTOMYS

Analyses of craniodental measurement data from 15 wild‐collected population samples of the Neotropical muroid rodent genus Zygodontomys reveal consistent patterns of relative variability and correlation that suggest a common latent structure. Eigenanalysis of each sample covariance matrix of logarithms yields a first principal component that accounts for a large fraction of the total variance. Variances of subsequent sample principal components are much smaller, and the results of bootstrap resampling together with asymptotic statistics suggest that characteristic roots of the covariance matrix after the first are seldom distinct. The coefficients of normalized first principal components are strikingly similar from sample to sample: inner products of these vectors reveal an average between‐sample correlation of 0.989, and the mean angle of divergence is only about eight degrees. Since first principal component coefficients identify the same contrasts among variables as comparisons of relative variability and correlation, we conclude that a single factor accounts for most of the common latent determination of these sample dispersions. Analyses of variance based on toothwear (a coarse index of age) and sex in the wild‐collected samples, and on known age and sex in a captive‐bred population, reveal that specimen scores on sample first principal components are age‐ and sex‐dependent; residual sample dispersion, however, is essentially unaffected by age, sex, or age × sex interaction. The sample first principal component therefore reflects the covariance among measured dimensions induced by general growth, and its coefficients are interpretable as exponents of postnatal growth allometry. Path‐analytic models that incorporate prior knowledge of the equivalent allometric effects of general growth within these samples can be used to decompose the between‐sample variance by factors corresponding to other ontogenetic mechanisms of form change. The genetic or environmental determinants of differences in sample mean phenotypes induced by such mechanisms, however, can be demonstrated only by experiment.
Critical Success Factors Analysis on Effective Information Security Management : A Literature Review Completed Research Paper

Information security has been a crucial strategic issue in organizational management. Information security management is a systematic process of effectively coping with information security threats and risks in an organization. With the pressure of high implementation and maintenance cost, organizations need to distinguish between controls they need and those that are less critical. Applying critical success factors approach, this study proposes a theoretical model to investigate main factors that contribute to successful information security management. By reviewing the information security standards and literature in IS field, six critical success factors are identified and the relationship among these factors are proposed. The results reveal that with business alignment, organizational support, IT competences, and organizational awareness of security risks and controls, information security controls can be effectively developed, resulting in success of information security management.
Nicotinic receptors of rat lymphocytes during adjuvant polyarthritis

Resting rat lymphocytes and thymocytes express specific [3H]nicotine binding sites with Kd values 7.5 and 10 nM, respectively. Resting T lymphocytes express 5–7 times as many binding sites (1,500/cell) as do unfractionated thymocytes (250/cell), suggesting that only a subset of thymocytes express nicotinic binding sites. Neither macrophages nor B cells bear nicotinic receptors. [3H]nicotine binding to lymphocytes is competitively inhibited in the presence of the cholinergic agonist carbamylcholine with IC50=100 μM. The number of receptors expressed on draining lymph node lymphocytes is upregulated during the course of adjuvant induced polyarthritis: maximum of [3H]nicotine binding is observed at day 21 of the disease with a subsequent decline reaching basal level at day 36. These results show the presence of [3H]nicotine binding sites on T lymphocytes and suggest their involvement in the later immune phase of adjuvant induced polyarthritis.
The moderating impact of self-esteem on self-affirmation effects.

OBJECTIVES This study explored whether self-esteem would moderate the effectiveness of a self-affirmation manipulation at increasing openness to personally relevant health-risk information. DESIGN The study employed a prospective experimental design. METHOD Participants (N = 328) completed either a self-affirmation manipulation or a control task, prior to reading information detailing the health-related consequences of taking insufficient exercise. They then completed a series of measures assessing their cognitions towards exercise and their derogation of the information. Exercise behaviour was assessed at 1-week follow-up. RESULTS Self-esteem moderated the impact of self-affirmation on the majority of outcomes. For participants with low self-esteem, the self-affirmation manipulation resulted in more positive attitudes and intentions towards exercise, together with lower levels of derogation of the health-risk information. By contrast, there was no effect of the self-affirmation manipulation on outcomes for participants with high self-esteem. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that self-affirmation manipulations might be of particular benefit for those with low self-esteem in terms of promoting openness towards health-risk information. This is promising from a health promotion perspective, as individuals with low self-esteem often represent those most in need of intervention. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Self-affirmation has been shown to result in more open processing of personally relevant health-risk information. Individuals low in self-esteem tend to process such information more defensively than those high in self-esteem. What does this study add? It explores whether self-esteem moderates the impact of self-affirmation on responses to health-risk information. Findings suggest that individuals with low self-esteem benefit most from the self-affirmation manipulation. This has important applied implications, as individuals with low self-esteem may be most in need of intervention.
Depressive Disorder in Primary Care

Since the pioneering study of psychiatric morbidity in primary care by Shepherd et al in 1966, it has become increasingly apparent that a substantial proportion (between 20% and 25%) of patients consulting their GP are suffering from some form of psychiatric disturbance (Goldberg & Blackwell, 1970; Hoeper et al, 1979). The composition of this psychiatric morbidity has been shown to be almost wholly affective in nature and largely mild in degree. In their important review Jenkins & Shepherd (1983) recently summarised the now extensive findings relating to overall minor psychiatric morbidity in primary care. However, recent collaborative studies between psychiatrists and GPs have identified that within this dilute pool of minor disorders, lurks a significant but poorly served population of patients suffering from depressive disorders which are by no means minor in degree. A number of crucial issues regarding this depression in primary care emerge which the present paper aims to review. In particular, how common is it, and how severe? How does it present and what, if any, are its special characteristics? What is the precise relationship between depressive symptoms and depressive illness presenting to the GP and what is the relationship between physical illness and depression? And finally, what is the course and outcome of depression in this setting and what are the indications for and effect of treatment?
Grid synchronization for advanced power processing and FACTS in wind power systems

The high penetration of wind power systems in the electrical network has introduced new issues in the stability and transient operation of the grid. By means of providing advanced functionalities to the existing power converters of such power plants it is possible to enhance their performance and also to support the grid operation, as the new grid codes demand. The connection of FACTS based on power converters, such as STATCOMs, are also contributing to the integration of renewable energies improving their behavior under contingencies. However, in both cases it is needed to have a grid voltage synchronization system, able to work under unbalanced and distorted conditions. This paper presents the discrete representation and performance of three PLL's structures, designed to work in that kind of situations. Their synchronization capability will be tested in different scenarios and their performance constraints will be established according to the Grid Code Requirements (GCRs)
Couples coping with cancer: exploration of theoretical frameworks from dyadic studies

A diagnosis of cancer and subsequent treatment are distressing not only for the person directly affected, but also for their intimate partner. The aim of this review is to (a) identify the main theoretical frameworks underpinning research addressing dyadic coping among couples affected by cancer, (b) summarise the evidence supporting the concepts described in these theoretical frameworks, and (c) examine the similarities and differences between these theoretical perspectives.
Hemolymph Melanization in the Silkmoth Bombyx mori Involves Formation of a High Molecular Mass Complex That Metabolizes Tyrosine*

Background: The phenoloxidase (PO) cascade regulates the melanization of blood in insects and other arthropods. Results: Hemolymph from Bombyx mori rapidly melanizes after wounding and forms a complex that uses tyrosine as the substrate. Conclusion: Tyrosine usage requires formation of a phenoloxidase-containing complex. Significance: Processing of prophenoloxidase is an intermediate step in the phenoloxidase cascade. The phenoloxidase (PO) cascade regulates the melanization of blood (hemolymph) in insects and other arthropods. Most studies indicate that microbial elicitors activate the PO cascade, which results in processing of the zymogen PPO to PO. PO is then thought to oxidize tyrosine and o-diphenols to quinones, which leads to melanin. However, different lines of investigation raise questions as to whether these views are fully correct. Here we report that hemolymph from the silkmoth, Bombyx mori, rapidly melanizes after collection from a wound site. Prior studies indicated that in vitro activated PPO hydroxylates Tyr inefficiently. Measurement of in vivo substrate titers, however, suggested that Tyr was the only PO substrate initially present in B. mori plasma and that it is rapidly metabolized by PO. Fractionation of plasma by gel filtration chromatography followed by bioassays indicated that melanization activity was primarily associated with a high mass complex (∼670 kDa) that contained PO. The prophenoloxidase-activating protease inhibitor Egf1.0 blocked formation of this complex and Tyr metabolism, but the addition of phenylthiourea to plasma before fractionation enhanced complex formation and Tyr metabolism. Mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the complex contained PO plus other proteins. Taken together, our results indicate that wounding alone activates the PO cascade in B. mori. They also suggest that complex formation is required for efficient use of Tyr as a substrate.
Effect of rhPDGF-BB on bone turnover during periodontal repair.

PURPOSE Growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) exert potent effects on wound healing including the regeneration of periodontia. Pyridinoline cross-linked carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) is a well-known biomarker of bone turnover, and as such is a potential indicator of osseous metabolic activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the release of the ICTP into the periodontal wound fluid (WF) following periodontal reconstructive surgery using local delivery of highly purified recombinant human PDGF (rhPDGF)-BB. METHODS Forty-seven human subjects at five treatment centres possessing chronic severe periodontal disease were monitored longitudinally for 24 weeks following PDGF regenerative surgical treatment. Severe periodontal osseous defects were divided into one of three groups and treated at the time of surgery with either: beta-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) osteoconductive scaffold alone (active control), beta-TCP+0.3 mg/ml of rhPDGF-BB, or beta-TCP+1.0 mg/ml of rhPDGF-BB. WF was harvested and analysed for local ICTP levels by radioimmunoassay. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance and an area under the curve analysis (AUC). RESULTS The 0.3 and 1.0 mg/ml PDGF-BB treatment groups demonstrated increases in the amount of ICTP released locally for up to 6 weeks. There were statistically significant differences at the week 6 time point between beta-TCP carrier alone group versus 0.3 mg/ml PDGF-BB group (p<0.05) and between beta-TCP alone versus the 1.0 mg/ml PDGF-BB-treated lesions (p<0.03). The AUC analysis revealed no statistical differences amongst groups. CONCLUSION This study corroborates the release of ICTP as a measure of active bone turnover following local delivery of PDGF-BB to periodontal osseous defects. The amount of ICTP released from the WF revealed an early increase for all treatment groups. Data from this study suggests that when PDGF-BB is delivered to promote periodontal tissue engineering of tooth-supporting osseous defects, there is a direct effect on ICTP released from the wound.
Review of Emmanuel Amiot, Music through Fourier Space: Discrete Fourier Transform in Music Theory (Springer, 2016)

[2] Amiot’s book amply demonstrates that the DFT is relevant to a wide variety of musical questions—about rhythm, about pitch-class sets and interval content, and about tonality and nontonality—so many theorists will find something in the book relevant to questions in their own research. Within each of these topics, Amiot’s discourse varies between questions of primarily mathematical interest and those of more direct musical interest. Yet for a book that generally proceeds in the manner of mathematical writing, from definition to proposition and lemma to theorem, it laudably never strays far from immediately appreciable musical relevance.
Motivations for Anabolic Steroid use Among Bodybuilders

Steroid use is increasing, in parallel with rising concerns about body image. This study aimed to uncover bodybuilders’ motivations for using steroids using 135 questionnaires completed by readers of two bodybuilding magazines. The analyses reveal a polarization of beliefs about steroids between users and non-users. Steroid users were less likely to be concerned about the physical side effects, and many believed that steroids are not harmful in moderation, and that only ‘ignorant people’ criticize steroid use. Their main motivations for using steroids were: wanting to excel at competitive bodybuilding; wanting to be more muscular; and feelings of enhanced confidence. The fact that steroid users in the sample were ‘stacking’ dangerously high levels of steroids (up to 15 steroids at a time) reveals the need for a detailed understanding of the motivations for steroid use in order to inform the development of effective harm minimization messages.
The structure of hair, muscle, and related proteins.

It is thirty years since x-ray photographs were first made of hair, muscle, nerve, and sinew, by Herzog and Jancke. (1) During this period, despite the efforts of many investigators, the photographs have eluded detailed interpretation, and the molecular structures of the proteins have remained undetermined. In the present paper we propose structures for hair, muscle, and related proteins in the extended state (β keratin and β myosin) and the contracted state (α keratin and α myosin), and discuss the extent to which the diffraction data are accounted for by the proposed structures.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: US-based acoustic radiation force impulse elastography.

PURPOSE To investigate the clinical usefulness of ultrasonography-based acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography (ie, ARFI sonoelastography) in patients with a diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and compare ARFI sonoelastography results with transient sonoelastography and serum fibrosis marker test results. MATERIALS AND METHODS Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and the local ethics committee approved the study. Fifty-four patients with a liver biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of NAFLD (mean age, 50.6 years +/- 13.7) were examined. All patients with NAFLD and healthy volunteers underwent ARFI sonoelastography, transient sonoelastography, and serum liver fibrosis marker testing (hyaluronic acids, type IV collagen 7 S domain). Ten healthy volunteers underwent ARFI sonoelastography. ARFI sonoelastography results were compared with liver biopsy findings, the reference standard. ARFI sonoelastography findings were compared with liver biopsy, transient sonoelastography, and serum fibrosis marker test results. Student t testing was used for univariate comparisons; Kruskal-Wallis testing, for assessments involving more than two independent groups; and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (A(z)), to assess the sensitivity and specificity of ARFI sonoelastography for detection of stage 3 and stage 4 fibrosis. RESULTS Median velocities in the patients with NAFLD were 1.040 m/sec for those with stage 0 fibrosis, 1.120 m/sec for those with stage 1, 1.130 m/sec for those with stage 2, 1.780 m/sec for those with stage 3, and 2.180 m/sec for those with stage 4. The A(z) for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis stages 3 or higher was 0.973 (optimal cutoff value, 1.77 m/sec; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 91%), while that for the diagnosis of stage 4 fibrosis was 0.976 (optimal cutoff value, 1.90 m/sec; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 96%). Significant correlations between median velocity measured by using ARFI sonoelastography and the following parameters were observed: liver stiffness measured with transient sonoelastography (r = 0.75, P < .0001), serum level of hyaluronic acid(r = 0.459, P = .0009), and serum level of type IV collagen 7 S domain (r = 0.445, P = .0015). CONCLUSION There is a significant positive correlation between median velocity measured by using ARFI sonoelastography and severity of liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD. The results of ARFI sonoelastography were similar to those of transient sonoelastography.
Convolutional Coding for SEU mitigation

Convolutional coding is usually exploited to protect data transmitted over channels, where they are more susceptible to errors. However in recent years, an increasing interest has been drawn to the problem of radiation-induced temporary faults, also called soft errors, which corrupt memory content even during the normal functioning of a system. In this paper, a mitigation technique for the protection of critical data in electronic devices from transient errors that manifest themselves as bit-flips in memory is proposed. In order to cope with this problem we take advantage of convolutional codes and we introduce two architectures to protect memory content with little area and performance overheads. A coding-decoding scheme implemented using sequential logic. The encoding is performed as in classical convolutional encoding, processing the input stream with a shift-register based architecture. The decoder, however, differs from classical decoding schemes in terms of complexity.
Physical Treatments in Psychiatry: Current and Historical Use in the Southern United States

Several surveys during the 1970s showed a decline in the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Psychosurgery, insulin coma, and continuous sleep treatment are widely assumed to be in total disuse. This is the first comprehensive survey on the use of physical treatments in psychiatry in the southern United States. Seventy-five percent of 315 surveys sent to psychiatric medical directors and chief residents were returned. ECT was used in 89% of training hospitals, 57% of Veterans Administration hospitals, and 44% of private hospitals, but only 19% of state hospitals within the last year. None of the 19 state hospitals begun since 1970 had started ECT services. Moreover, state hospitals abandoned ECT at a higher rate than private hospitals. The lack of this service in the public sector is a result of sociolegal pressure rather than lack of confidence or enthusiasm for ECT. The other physical treatments were reported to be in almost total disuse.
A Case Study in Defining Colored Petri Nets Based Model Driven Development of Enterprise Service Oriented Architectures

Many businesses as well as government enterprises are moving towards Service Oriented Architectures for their operation. The level of complexity, interaction and interdependence among various components make it difficult to design, develop, and analyze such systems as a whole. In particular it is difficult to foretell the effect of proposed changes and to evaluate alternative architectures. Adoption of a model-driven approach, coupled with sound Verification and Validation (V and V) techniques can provide a key solution for making qualitative and quantitative predictions about the possible system behaviors. This paper details a case study in Verification and Validation of a Service Oriented Architecture called MCSOA (Multi Channel Service Oriented Architecture). It is part of a larger exercise to integrate a model-driven approach into MCSOA Software Development for the US Department of Defense. We show how support for hierarchical and abstraction features, concurrency, and both synchronous and asynchronous communications in Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) enable modeling real-world SOA implementations to perform V and V and quality assurance required for DoD deployments.
Lymphocyte subsets, cardiovascular measures and anxiety state before and after a professional examination

Controversies exist regarding the impact of psychological stress on the functioning of the immune system in humans. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to evaluate whether the condition of a pre-exam stress may or not modify resting lymphocyte subsets, as well as blood pressure and heart rate. About 22 medical residents of both sexes not suffering from any medical or psychiatric disorder were included in the study. Anxiety levels were measured by means of the Hamilton rating scale for anxiety (HRSA) and anxiety traits by means of the panic-agoraphobic spectrum self-report (PAS-SR) version and the obsessive-compulsive spectrum self-report (OBS-SR) version. The results showed that systolic blood pressure and heart rate increased significantly just before sitting an examination (t1) in all subjects, as compared with a calm situation (t2), in parallel with the increase in the HRSA total score, while no significant difference was observed in lymphocyte subsets at the two assessment times. However, men had a higher number of CD4+ cells than women at t1 and t2, while women showed a higher heart rate at t1. In addition, significant correlations between CD4+ lymphocyte count and heart rate at t1 or HRSA at t2 were detected. These findings indicate that the acute stress determined by sitting for examination provokes changes in autonomic nervous system parameters, such as blood pressure and heart rate, as well as in the subjective feeling of anxiety, as shown by the increased HRSA total scores, which were not paralleled by modifications of lymphocyte subsets. However, individual differences, related to both sex and personality traits yet to be identified, seem to have an impact in shaping the stress response.