Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Right Hemisphere Processing Superiority During Sustained Visual Attention

Normal subjects showed a right hemisphere processing superiority in reaction times to visual stimuli under conditions of sustained visual attention. This asymmetry was predicted based on findings in studies of blood flow, clinical populations, and physiology on lateralization of the noradrenergic system. The asymmetry was eliminated when an auditory event was delivered simultaneously with the visual target suggesting a common pathway between voluntary sustained alerting and more automatic alerting effects of external stimuli. The act of sustaining alertness also interacted with covert orienting of attention as would be expected if alerting influenced the efficiency of covert shifts of attention.
A self‐consistent model of melting, magma migration and buoyancy‐driven circulation beneath mid‐ocean ridges

Numerical modeling and analysis are used to investigate the processes leading to the eruption of mantle-derived magma at mid-ocean ridges. Our model includes the following effects: melting due to decompression, magma migration by percolation, and circulation of the mantle driven by both the oceanic plates and the distribution of buoyancy beneath the ridge. The distribution of buoyancy is due to both the low density of the liquid and the difference in the density of the residual solids relative to unmelted mantle material. The calculation of densities is based on a simple petrological model in which garnet-spinel lherzolite melts to form a basaltic liquid and a harzburgite residue. We find that the system spontaneously evolves to a state in which a rapid upwelling beneath the ridge axis, faster than the plate velocity, is confined laterally by stably stratified residual material beneath the newly formed plates. This effect is exaggerated if a modest decrease in the shear viscosity of the solid upon melting is included. Our results provide a simple explanation for the narrowness of the zone of crustal formation at mid-ocean ridges. The model also predicts a transition from steady state to episodic crustal formation as the spreading velocity is reduced, perhaps giving rise to along-axis variations in the character of seafloor spreading. The narrow, rapid upwelling gives rise to substantial porosities at depths that are a large fraction of the depth to the solidus. This may allow the liquid at depth to segregate into macroscopic channels, which would account for the consensus from experimental petrology that the liquids parental to MORB are derived from well below the base of the crust.
Jaw Clenching: Muscle and Joint Forces, Optimization Strategies

Realistic masticatory muscle and temporomandibular joint forces generated during bilateral jaw clenching are largely unknown. To determine which clenching directions load masticatory muscles and temporomandibular joints most heavily, we investigated muscle and joint forces based on feedback-controlled electromyograms of all jaw muscles, lines of action, geometrical data from the skull, and physiological cross-sectional areas acquired from the same individuals. To identify possible motor control strategies, we applied objective functions. The medial pterygoid turned out to be the most heavily loaded muscle for all bite directions. Biting with accentuated horizontal force components provoked the highest loading within the medial and lateral pterygoids. The largest joint forces were also found for these bite directions. Conversely, the lowest joint forces were detected during vertical biting. Additionally, joint forces with a clear posterior orientation were found. Optimization strategies with the elastic energy as objective function revealed the best fit with the calculated results.
Degradation of low-density polyethylene and cross-linked polyethylene by partial discharge

To study the degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) by partial discharge (PD), experiments were conducted in a nitrogen (N2) and (N2+O2) gas atmosphere. After being subjected to the PD, samples were examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and FTIR. The AFM images clearly revealed the creation of pits on the surface of degraded samples. A large difference in the pit pattern was observed between samples subjected to the PD in N2 and those subjected to the PD in (N2+O2). The FTIR spectra detected in samples subjected to the PD in (N2+O2) showed that carbonyl compounds were produced on the surface of degraded LDPE. Experiments were performed using an experimental system incorporating GC-MS to measure the gas components produced during degradation. Results of experiments showed that carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced when LDPE and XLPE are subjected to the PD in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. The amount of CO2 was found to increase concomitantly with the period of voltage application and oxygen concentration in the area where PD occurs. Based on experimental results, the processes of LDPE and XLPE degradation by PD were examined along with the antioxidant effect on degradation.
Are Better Eye Movements An Advantage in Ball Games? A Study of Prosaccadic and Antisaccadic Eye Movements

The aim of this study was to compare prosaccadic and antisaccadic eye movements of experts in ball sports and controls. In the prosaccadic and antisaccadic task, subjects made saccades respectively towards and away from a suddenly appearing stimulus. By means of infrared-oculography, we compared horizontal eye movements of experts (n = 18) and controls (n = 20). Experts had shorter overall saccadic latencies, but significantly shorter latencies occurred only on the antisaccade task, not on the prosaccade task. Our findings seem to support the concept that prosaccades and antisaccades have different underlying mechanisms and that expertise in ball games mainly improves antisaccadic performance in terms of latency and variability.
Volunteers' experiences of becoming arthritis self-management lay leaders: "It's almost as if I've stopped aging and started to get younger!".

OBJECTIVE To determine whether undergoing training to become a lay leader and conducting an arthritis self-management course is associated with improvements in physical and psychological health status, arthritis self-efficacy, use of self-management techniques, and visits to the general practitioner. In addition, we aimed to describe the experiences of training and course delivery from the older volunteers' perspective. METHODS 21 participants completed all assessments and had a median age of 58, median disease duration of 10 years, and either osteoarthritis (n = 13) or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 8). The study was a pretest-posttest design with qualitative data collected at 3 points in time: before training, 6 weeks after training, and 6 months after training. Quantitative data were collected through self-administered postal questionnaires at baseline and 6-month followup. RESULT Six months after training, participants reported small, significant increases in arthritis self-efficacy for pain (P = 0.002), cognitive symptom management (P = 0.004), and communication with their physician (P = 0.024) and a small, significant decrease in depressed mood (P = 0.04). Qualitative data supported these findings, with participants reporting more confidence, happiness, and a changed outlook on life in general. Volunteerism was associated with altruistic behavior and with filling the vocational void caused by retirement. CONCLUSION Findings support the value of volunteerism and training to become lay leaders in arthritis self-management programs. Volunteers reported positive changes both in themselves and in course participants. They enjoyed helping similar others and being involved in a worthwhile activity, and they valued their newly acquired status as lay leaders. Many had begun to apply their newfound knowledge about self-management to their own situation, reporting less pain and more willingness "to get on with life. "
Heterogeneity in risk factors for cognitive impairment, no dementia: population-based longitudinal study from the Kungsholmen Project.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to investigate the relation of vascular, neuropsychiatric, social, and frailty-related factors with "Cognitive impairment, no dementia" (CIND) and to verify their effect independently of future progression to Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS Seven hundred eighteen subjects aged 75+ years who attended baseline, 3- and 6-year follow-up examinations of the Kungsholmen Project, a Swedish prospective cohort study, were studied. CIND was defined according to the performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination. Potential risk factors were collected at baseline and clustered according to four research hypotheses (frailty, vascular, neuropsychiatric, and social hypothesis), each representing a possible pathophysiological mechanism of CIND independently of subsequent development of AD. RESULTS Over a mean 3.4 years of follow up, 82 participants (11.4%) developed CIND. When the population was subsequently followed for a mean of 2.7 years, subjects with CIND had a threefold increased risk to progress to AD. After multiple adjustments, including adjustment for the development of AD at the 6-year follow up, risk factors for CIND were hip fracture, polypharmacy, and psychoses. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that not only the AD-type neurodegenerative process, but also neuropsychiatric- and frailty-related factors may induce cognitive impairment in nondemented elderly. These findings may have relevant preventive and therapeutic implications.
A portrait of pediatric radiologists in the United States.

OBJECTIVE In recognition of the importance of pediatric radiology and the apparent shortage of radiologists in the field, the purpose of this study was to provide an extensive and detailed portrait of pediatric radiologists, their professional activities, and the practices in which they work. MATERIALS AND METHODS We tabulated data from the American College of Radiology's 2003 Survey of Radiologists, a stratified random sample survey that achieved a 63% response rate with a total of 1,924 responses. Responses were weighted to make them representative of all radiologists in the United States. We compare information about pediatric radiologists with that for other radiologists. RESULTS Approximately 3% of radiologists, some 800-900 physicians, are pediatric radiologists. Depending on how pediatric radiologist is defined, two thirds to three quarters of them spend 70% or more of their clinical work time doing pediatric radiology. Unlike other radiologists, a greater percentage of pediatric radiologists desire a reduction in workload (with a corresponding reduction in income) than desire an increase in workload. Pediatric radiologists who spend 70% or more of their clinical work time in their field are older than radiologists in general (average age, 55 vs 51 years), and the fraction of pediatric radiologists younger than 45 years is lower than for other subspecialists ( approximately 20% vs 37%). Pediatric radiologists are disproportionately women (one third or more, depending on definition, are women, vs 19% for other subspecialists and 15% for nonsubspecialists), hospital-based, in academic practices (approximately half vs one fifth for other subspecialists), and in the main cities of large metropolitan areas. CONCLUSION A shortage of pediatric radiologists exists and is likely to intensify. Access to pediatric radiologists is probably a problem except for children in large metropolitan areas who connect readily to academic hospitals. Means to overcome these problems need to be actively sought.
Plasmid-borne cadmium resistance genes in Listeria monocytogenes are present on Tn5422, a novel transposon closely related to Tn917

The complete (6,449-bp) nucleotide sequence of the first-described natural transposon of Listeria monocytogenes, designated Tn5422, was determined. Tn5422 is a transposon of the Tn3 family delineated by imperfect inverted repeats (IRs) of 40 bp. It contains two genes which confer cadmium resistance (M. Lebrun, A. Audurier, and P. Cossart, J. Bacteriol. 176:3040-3048, 1994) and two open reading frames that encode a transposase (TnpA) and a resolvase (TnpR) of 971 and 184 amino acids, respectively. The cadmium resistance genes and the transposition genes are transcribed in opposite directions and are separated by a putative recombination site (res). The structural elements presumed to be involved in transposition of Tn5422 (IRs, transposase, resolvase, and res) are very similar to those of Tn917, suggesting a common origin. The transposition genes were not induced by cadmium. Analysis of sequences surrounding Tn5422 in nine different plasmids of L. monocytogenes indicated that Tn5422 is a functional transposon, capable of intramolecular replicative transposition, generating deletions. This transposition process is probably the reason for the size diversity of the L. monocytogenes plasmids. Restriction analysis and Southern hybridization revealed the presence of Tn5422 in all the plasmid-mediated cadmium-resistant L. monocytogenes strains tested but not in strains encoding cadmium resistance on the chromosome.
Prevalence of celiac disease in an urban area of Brazil with predominantly European ancestry.

AIM To determine the prevalence of celiac disease in a group of volunteer blood donors at a blood bank in the city of Curitiba, Brazil through detection of the serum marker immunoglobulin A (IgA) antitransglutaminase antibody. METHODS Blood samples collected from 2086 healthy subjects at the Paraná State Center for Hematology and Hemotherapy in Curitiba were submitted to ELISA testing for the IgA antitransglutaminase antibody. Positive samples received IgA antiendomysium antibody test through indirect immunofluorescence using human umbilical cord as substrate. Subsequently, patients who were positive on both tests underwent small bowel (distal duodenum) biopsy. RESULTS Six subjects, four males and two females, tested positive for the two serum markers. Five of the six were submitted to intestinal biopsy (one declined the procedure). Biopsy results revealed changes in the distal duodenum mucosa (three classified as Marsh IIIb lesions and two as Marsh II lesions). Most donors diagnosed having celiac disease presented multiple symptoms (gastrointestinal tract complaints). One donor reported having a family history of celiac disease (in a niece). CONCLUSION Among apparently healthy blood donors, the prevalence of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease was approximately 1:417, similar to that seen in European countries.
Effects of oat hulls and wood shavings on digestion in broilers and layers fed diets based on whole or ground wheat

1. An experiment was conducted to study the effects of inclusion of oat hulls in diets based on whole or ground wheat for broilers. Effects of wood shavings on layers were investigated in a further experiment. 2. Inclusion of oat hulls in wheat-based broiler diets did not affect weight gain. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE), corrected for insoluble fibre contents, was improved by oat hull inclusion. 3. Gizzard size increased with inclusion of oat hulls, whole wheat, wood shavings and grit. 4. Starch digestibility was significantly increased by inclusion of oat hulls for broilers, and by wood shavings for layers. 5. Wood shavings and whole wheat did not affect bile acid concentration of gizzard contents. However, the total amount of bile acids in gizzard increased with access to wood shavings due to an increase in the weight of gizzard contents, indicating an increased gastroduodenal reflux. 6. Fibre concentration was considerably higher in the gizzard contents than in the feed. 7. Duodenal particle size decreased with access to grit. No effect of hulls or whole wheat inclusion was found, indicating that all particles are ground to a certain critical size before leaving the gizzard.
Development of regulatory T cells in the human thymus

7 TIIVISTELMÄ. 9 ABBREVIATIONS . 11 ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS . 14 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 15 1 T CELL SUBSETS . 15 1.1 CD8 T cells + . 15 1.2 CD4 T cells + . 16 1.2.1 Th1 Cells . 16 1.2.2 Th2 cells.16 1.2.3 Th17 cells.17 1.2.4 Natural Treg cells.17 1.3 Other regulatory T cells . 17 2 ANTIGEN RECOGNITION AND T CELL ACTIVATION . 18 2.1 T cell receptor complex.18 2.2 Antigen recognition by T cells.19 2.3 Co-receptors.20 2.4 T cell activation.21 2.4.1 First signal.21 2.4.2 Second signal . 21 2.4.3 Third signal . 21 2.4.4 Consequences of activation.21 3 T CELL DEVELOPMENT AND CENTRAL TOLERANCE . 22 3.1 Thymus structure . 22 3.2 Entry into thymus and early stages of T cell development . 24 3.3 -rearrangements . 24 3.4 -rearrangements . 25 3.5 Allelic exclusion . 27 3.6 Dual-specific T cells . 27 3.7 Positive selection . 28 3.8 Negative selection.29 3.9 AIRE and central tolerance . 29 4 DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL REGULATORY T CELLS . 30 4.1 Identification of natural regulatory T cells.30 4.2 FOXP3 gene.31 4.2.1 Significance of FOXP3 to Treg cells.31 4.2.2 Control of FOXP3 expression . 31 4.2.3 Functions of transcription factor FOXP3 . 32 4.3 Surface markers of Treg cells . 33 4.4 Commitment to Treg cell lineage.33 4.4.1 FoxP3 thymocyte subsets + . 33 4.4.2 Evidence for commitment in SP stage.34 4.4.3 Evidence for commitment in DP stage . 34 4.4.4 Evidence for commitment in DN stage . 35 4.5 Selection and TCR specificities of Treg cells . 35 4.6 Cytokines and additional signals.36 5 PERIPHERAL TOLERANCE.37 5.1 Natural Treg cell function . 37 5.1.1 Cellular contacts.38 5.1.2 Cytokines . 38 5.1.3 Suppressive role of Treg cells in immune responses.39 5.1. 4 Activating role of Treg cells in immune responses . 39 5.2 Peripheral conversion of Treg cells.39 5.2.1 Peripheral induction of FOXP3 Treg cells + . 39 5.2.2 Nonregulatory induction of FOXP3 . 40 5.3 Other mechanisms of peripheral tolerance.40 6 FAILURE OF TOLERANCE: APECED AS A MODEL.41 6.1 Human disease . 41 6.2 Aire knock-out mouse and ectopic transcription.42 6.3 Other functions of AIRE.43 AIMS OF THE STUDY . 44 SUMMARY OF MATERIALS AND METHODS . 45 1 SAMPLES.45 1.1 Healthy donors (I-IV) . 45 1.2 APECED patients (IV). 45 1.3 Mice (IV) . 45 2 CELL SEPARATION AND FLOW CYTOMETRY (I-IV) . 46 2.1 Immunomagnetic sorting . 46 2.2 Flow cytometry . 46 2.3 Control staining.46 3 CELL CULTURE (III, IV) . 46 4 PCR.47 4.1 RNA/DNA isolation and cDNA synthesis (I-IV) . 47 4.
Corticosteroids and the Control of Function in the Hypothalamo‐Pituitary‐Adrenal (HPA) Axis a

The central nervous system (CNS) through its control of secretion of releasing and inhibiting factors from the neuroendocrine hypothalamus into the hypothalamohypophysial portal system regulates hormonal synthesis and secretion from the anterior pituitary, and, via its control of the pituitary hormones, regulates activity of peripheral target endocrine glands. In order to control activity of the peripheral endocrine glands, the CNS must receive information about their function. This information is conveyed by neurons in the CNS that contain receptors for a specific target hormone. The degree to which hormone receptors are occupied by the appropriate target hormone determines input to, and/or the activity of the hypothalamic neuroendocrine cells. Occupancy of the receptors is determined primarily by the concentration of free, unbound hormone in the circulation which is free to diffuse or be transported across the blood-brain barrier to receptor sites in the CNS. The characteristics of function in the HPA axis pose severe demands if there is to be tight feedback regulation by adrenal corticosteroids. There is a challenging range of circulating corticosteroid levels that is associated with the normal physiology of the adrenocortical system. The circadian rhythm in basal activity of the HPA axis results in total circulating corticosteroid concentrations that may be <lo nM at the nadir of the rhythm and about 700 nM at the peak of the rhythm in both man and rats. Of the total corticosteroid concentration, 99-95% is tightly bound in the circulation to transcortin and is unavailable for diffusion to brain sites. The amount of steroid bound depends on the concentrations of both steroid and transcortin in the circulation. Furthermore, at all times of day, the system can be stimulated by stressors to cause corticosteroid values that may exceed 1 pM. Nonetheless, the secretion of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin (AVP), the major hypothalamic neuropeptides that regulate ACTH synthesis in and secretion from the corticotropes of the anterior pituitary, appears to be under tight corticosteroid feedback control during the basal circadian trough and peak as well as during CRF/AVP responses to stressors. Although ACTH-secreting cells in the anterior pituitary respond to corticosteroids in vitro, with inhibition of ACTH synthesis and secretion, it seems likely that this effect is primarily a coarse gain feedback that is involved during high level corticosteroid secretion. ’” The tight feedback control exerted on activity of the HPA system by the CNS appears to occur because of two corticosteroid receptors of different affinities that C-D. WALKEiR, MARGARET J. BRADBURY, S. SUEMARU,
Standard blood parameters in anemic patients with cancer and with other diseases

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to retrospectively investigate the relationship of the clinical and hematological parameters with malignancies in patients with anemia. Patients and Methods: Between January 2012 and February 2014, 54385 patients admitted to our emergency clinic. Of this population 1047 had anemia and were eligible for inclusion criterion to the study. Hematologic parameters of patients counted in an analyzer device (CELL-DYN 3700, Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL, USA). Results: According to the final diagnoses made in the admission clinics, the patients were grouped into malign and benign. One hundred and sixty-six (15.8%) patients were grouped as malign and 881 (84.2%) as benign. Malign group was older and had a greater male percentage than benign group. MPV and sedimentation rate were significantly higher in the malign group. Hemoglobin, hemotocrit, erythrocyte and platelet count were significantly lower in the malign group. In logistic regression analysis the independent predictors of malignancies were MPV (odds ratio (OR)=1.206; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.050-1.386; p=0.008), age (OR=1.028; 95% CI=1.018-1.037; p<0.001), male gender (OR=1.835; 95% CI=1.197-2.814; p=0.005), and hemotocrit (OR=0.837; 95% CI=0.712-0.962; p=0.004). Conclusion: Our study showed that age, male sex, hematocrit, and MPV were the on the population level statistically significant independent predictors of malignancies in patients diagnosed with anemia in emergency department.
The comparative ototoxicities of gentamicin, tobramycin and dibekacin in the guinea pig. A functional and morphological cochlear and vestibular study.

The cochleo- and vestibulotoxicities of a new aminoglyco-sidic antibiotic, dibekacin, have been compared, in the guinea pig, with those of gentamicin and tobramycin. Besides an untreated control group, three groups of pigmented guinea pigs have been treated with 20 consecutive daily subcutaneous injections of one of these antibiotics respectively, with a dosage of 90 mg/kg/day (30 times the recommended human therapeutic dose which is the same for the three aminosides studied: 3 mg/kg/day). The auditory and vestibular functions in the awake animal were studied respectively by the measurement of thresholds of click-evoked responses at the auditory cortex and by the recording of eye movements (electronystagmography) during damped sinusoidal rotatory stimulation. These functions were monitored before, during and after the treatments in a few guinea pigs in each group, chronically implanted with auditory cortex and periocular electrodes. These functions were assessed only at the end of the experiments in the o.