Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polyp detection with CT colonography: primary 3D endoluminal analysis versus primary 2D transverse analysis with computer-assisted reader software.

PURPOSE To retrospectively compare primary three-dimensional (3D) endoluminal analysis with primary two-dimensional (2D) transverse analysis supplemented by computer-assisted reader (CAR) software for computed tomographic (CT) polyp detection and reader reporting times. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ethical permission and patient consent were obtained from all donor institutions for use of CT colonography data sets. Twenty CT colonography data sets from 14 men (median age, 61 years; age range, 52-78 years) with 48 endoscopically proved polyps were selected. Polyp coordinates were documented in consensus by three unblinded radiologists to create a reference standard. Two radiologists read the data sets, which were randomized between primary 3D endoluminal views with 2D problem solving and 2D views supplemented by CAR software. Reading times and diagnostic confidence were documented. The CAR software highlighted possible polyps by superimposing circles on the 2D transverse images. Data sets were reread after 1 month by using the opposing analysis method. Detection rates were compared by using the McNemar test. Reporting times and diagnostic confidence were compared by using the paired t test and Mann-Whitney U test, respectively. RESULTS Mean sensitivity values for polyps measuring 1-5, 6-9, and 10 mm or larger were 14%, 53%, and 83%, respectively, for 2D CAR analysis and 16%, 53%, and 67%, respectively, for primary 3D analysis. Overall sensitivity values were 41% for 2D CAR analysis and 39% for primary 3D analysis (P=.77). Reader 1 detected more polyps than reader 2, particularly when using the 3D fly-through method (P=.002). Mean reading times were significantly longer with the 3D method (P=.001). Mean false-positive findings were 1.5 for 2D analysis and 5.5 for 3D analysis. Reader confidence was not significantly different between analysis methods (P=.42). CONCLUSION Two-dimensional CAR analysis is quicker and at least matches the sensitivity of primary 3D endoluminal analysis, with fewer false-positive findings.
VITAMIN B12 IN HUMAN COLOSTRUM AND MILK

Abstract. Samson, R. R. and McClelland, D. B. L. (University Department of Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, Edinburgh, Scotland). Vitamin B12 in human colostrum and milk. Quantitation of the vitamin and its binder and the uptake of bound vitamin B12 by intestinal bacteria. Acta Paediatr Scand, 69:93, 1980. —The concentration of vitamin B12 was measured by microbiological assay in 229 samples of normal human colostrum and milk taken at various stages of lactation. Colostrum obtained within 48 hours of delivery contains high concentrations of vitamin B12 (mean 2431 pg/ml), but within a few days the levels fall to a range similar to the levels in normal serum. The vitamin B12 binding capacity of 111 samples of colostrum and milk was estimated by gel filtration or charcoal binding. Colostrum samples have a mean binding capacity of 72 ng/ml, while the binding capacity in milk is only one third of this value. The ability of a range of intestinal bacteria to take up colostrum‐bound vitamin B12, was assessed. All the organisms took up free vitamin B12, but when the vitamin was bound in colostrum, there was little or no uptake even after 24 hours incubation
Getting off the "gold standard": randomized controlled trials and education research.

While useful in some situations, randomization is not the “gold standard” for medical education research. More important is that decisions regarding methodology precede the intervention, that adequate numbers of subjects and iterations are used, that a comparison group is included, and that limitations are addressed in a thoughtful, thorough manner. In addition, the literature demonstrates quite definitively that medical learners will learn whatever we teach and also may supplement any teaching deficits to meet certification requirements.18 Thus, to increase our understanding of effective educational interventions, a new educational intervention should be compared to another effective intervention. Unlike clinical research, a placebo arm is rarely helpful. Comparing the new educational intervention to “usual” practices is productive as long as students are not “cued” to the novelty of the research arm—which may enhance (or negatively bias) their learning—and the usual practices are well described. Whether randomized or nonrandomized, medical education studies must carefully analyze sources of bias—unforeseen confounding variables—to explain the observed results and ensure that subsequent researchers will find these results reproducible. Rather than an obligatory listing of these potential sources of error in the discussion, researchers will enhance existing knowledge through a careful and detailed analysis of sources of bias that may have affected the results.3 Equally important, research designs must include a control group, concurrent if possible, to ensure equal likelihood of exposure to nonintervention events that could bias the results. If educators begin to work together, more collaborative, multi-institutional projects, perhaps akin to “pragmatic trials,”12 may be produced in the future. This is likely to add substantially to our understanding of effective resident education.
Targeting with scFv: immune modulation by complement receptor specific constructs

The fate of a microbe in the host is determined by various molecules of the innate immune system, which recognize the microbe and enhance its interaction with antigen presenting cells. This ‘natural targeting’ phenomenon, however, does not function when antigens with limited immunogenicity enter the host. Peptide vaccines, for instance, require adjuvants to induce immune responses. As a surrogate for the natural targeting mechanisms, antibodies against selected receptors of antigen presenting cells, conjugated with the peptides, could be used as targeting devices. Here we review various antibody‐mediated antigen‐targeting strategies, paying special attention to complement receptor‐mediated targeting. We also describe and summarize our method of single‐chain antibody‐mediated targeting of viral epitopes to complement receptor type two and discuss the perspectives of single‐chain antibody‐mediated antigen targeting. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
STIM 1 is required for attenuation of PMCA-mediated Ca 2 þ clearance during T-cell activation

T-cell activation involves a complex signalling cascade uniquely dependent on elevated cytosolic Ca levels. Further, the spatiotemporal characteristics of this Ca signal play a critical role in this process via selective activation of transcription factors. In T cells, store-operated Ca entry (SOCe) is the primary Ca influx pathway; however, cytosolic Ca concentration depends upon the balance between Ca influx and extrusion. The plasma membrane Ca ATPase (PMCA) has previously been identified as a critical player in Ca clearance in T cells. Here, we provide data revealing both functional and physical links between the activation of stromal interacting molecule 1 (STIM1) and PMCA-mediated Ca clearance. Due to the ubiquitous expression of both STIM1 and PMCA, these findings have wide-ranging implications for Ca signalling in multiple cell types. The EMBO Journal (2012) 31, 1123–1133. doi:10.1038/ emboj.2011. 495; Published online 13 January 2012 Subject Categories: membranes & transport; immunology
UMTS900 Co-Existence with GSM900

UMTS was initially deployed in Europe and in Asia using new spectrum at around 2 GHz. The deployment at 2 GHz frequency requires fairly high site density making it challenging to match existing GSM900 coverage with the same sites. Now also UMTS can take benefit of the better signal propagation at 900 MHz since 3GPP has defined UMTS specifications for 900 MHz and UMTS900 products are entering the market during 2007. The target of UMTS900 is to bring UMTS coverage to new areas with less base station sites and to improve the indoor coverage in the existing UMTS coverage area. This paper shows that UMTS900 can reduce the required number of base station sites by 60% and improve the indoor data rates by more than 50% compared to UMTS2100. When UMTS900 is deployed with co-sited GSM900, the required spectrum for UMTS carrier is 4.2 MHz or equivalently 21 GSM carriers. This 4.2 MHz spectrum corresponds to the carrier spacing of 2.2 MHz between UMTS carrier and closest GSM carrier. The feasibility of 2.2-MHz carrier spacing is verified by GSM power level measurements in a live network combined with the commercial UMTS base station blocking measurements.
Speech Production Errors in Adults With and Without Down Syndrome Following Verbal, Written, and Pictorial Cues

Adults with Down syndrome and adults with developmental delays not related to Down syndrome were asked to read, repeat, and formulate speech from a picture following the presentation of 2- and 4-word and picture sequences. The speech sequences were produced either immediately after stimulus presentation or following a 5-sec response delay. Overall, participants with Down syndrome produced more memory errors than persons without Down syndrome. Participants with Down syndrome also committed more speech production errors than the other participants, but only when they were required to repeat what they had heard, or to formulate speech from pictures. The speech production performance of the two groups was equivalent in the read condition. These results are discussed with reference to Elliott, Weeks, and Elliott's (1987) model of cerebral specialization, and to verbal short-term memory in persons with Down syndrome.
Do respiratory limitations affect metabolism of insect larvae before moulting? An empirical test at the individual level

ABSTRACT Recent data suggest that oxygen limitation may induce moulting in larval insects. This oxygen-dependent induction of moulting (ODIM) hypothesis stems from the fact that the tracheal respiratory system of insects grows primarily at moults, whereas tissue mass increases massively between moults. This may result in a mismatch between oxygen supply and demand at the end of each larval instar because oxygen demand of growing tissues exceeds the relatively fixed supply capacity of the respiratory system. The ODIM hypothesis predicts that, within larval instars, respiration and metabolic rates of an individual larva first increase with increasing body mass but eventually level off once the supply capacity of the tracheal system starts to constrain metabolism. Here, we provide the first individual-level test of this key prediction of the ODIM hypothesis. We use a novel methodology where we repeatedly measure respiration and metabolic rates throughout the penultimate- and final-instar larvae in the butterfly Pieris napi. In the penultimate instar, respiration and metabolic rates gradually decelerated along with growth, supporting the ODIM hypothesis. However, respiration and metabolic rates increased linearly during growth in the final instar, contradicting the prediction. Moreover, our data suggest considerable variation among individuals in the association between respiration rate and mass in the final instar. Overall, the results provide partial support for the ODIM hypothesis and suggest that oxygen limitation may emerge gradually within a larval instar. The results also suggest that there may be different moult induction mechanisms in larva-to-larva moults compared with the final metamorphic moult. Summary: Respiratory limitations for metabolism appear in the penultimate larval instar but not in the last instar in growing butterfly larvae, supporting oxygen-dependent moult induction in larva-to-larva moults.
Recognition and development of hope for South African organizational leaders

The significant challenges faced by South Africa at present are well known. How to deal with the problems from a political and economic perspective abound, but taking a psychological approach has been neglected. This paper proposes a positive approach to South African organizational leadership based on the psychological capacity of hope. After giving a brief background on the context surrounding South African organizations, the theory, research, and application of hope relevant to organizational leadership in the “Rainbow Nation” are presented and analyzed. Such an overlooked positive approach represented by hopeful organizational leaders seems needed at this juncture of South Africa's present and future.
Evaluation of ELISA and dot blots for the serodiagnosis of neurocysticercosis, in children found to have single or multiple enhancing lesions in computerized tomographic scans of the brain

Abstract Although human neurocysticercosis (NCC) is being increasingly recognized in children, diagnosis of the disease can be difficult, and the 'gold standard' criteria that indicate an unambiguous case have still to be established. In the present study, the performances of an ELISA and dot-blot assay, for the detection of antibodies against antigens from larval Taenia solium, were investigated and compared, using sera, from children aged 5–12 years, that were diluted to at least 1:400. Eighty of the subjects (20 aged 5–<8 years and 60 older children) each had the signs and symptoms of NCC, including one brain lesion (N=69) or multiple brain lesions (N=11) that were visible by computed tomography. Another 100 sera, from children who had tubercular meningitis (N=20) or a parasitic disease other than taeniasis/cysticercosis (N=20) or, apart from a minor respiratory-tract infection, appeared healthy (N=60), were also investigated. Most (86%) of the cases of NCC had presented with focal seizures. Analysis of antibody response indicated that the optimum threshold titres for seropositivity were 1:800 for the ELISA and 1:6400 for the dot-blot assays. When used with these thresholds, the ELISA gave a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and diagnostic efficacy of 89%, 81%, 79%, 90%, 85%, respectively. The corresponding values for the dot-blot assay were similar, at 89%, 73%, 72.5%, 89%, 82%, respectively. Both assays were more sensitive, in the detection of the specific antibody response, when used among the paediatric cases of NCC who had multiple brain lesions (100%) than when used among the single-lesion cases (87%). As the ELISA gave higher specificity and diagnostic efficacy than the dot-blot assay, it should be considered the better method for the serological confirmation of NCC in children.
EFFECTIVENESS OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN IMPROVING STUDENTS ’ GENERIC SKILLS

Mismatch of skills, in particular generic skills, has been suggested as one of the potential causes of the graduate unemployment problem in Malaysia. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of industrial training (also known as practicum or internship) in solving this problem. Results of descriptive statistics show that industrial training is effective in increasing a student’s generic skills and English language proficiency. In particular, industrial training improves the communication skills and spoken English proficiency. Relatively, industrial training at GLC is more effective in improving communication, creative and analytical, time and group management skills. On the other hand, industrial training at the government department and private company are more effective in improving one’s English language proficiency. The estimated regression models suggest that the determinants of effectiveness of industrial training are level of the related generic skills before attending industrial training, English language proficiency, academic achievement and gender.
Enhancing cross-agency collaboration through the use of a universal discovery instrument: Introducing the Life and Career Assessment Matrix

Background: When it comes to discovery - learning all we can about a career seeker's passions, aspirations, talents, and support needs - approaches and instruments abound. While there are many excellent resources available to the field, there is an ongoing challenge: often multiple entities (schools, service providers, and vocational rehabilitation agencies) are supporting the same person and using tools that may be duplicating their efforts to gather useful information, or worse, providing conflicting information. Objective: In an era where collaboration and communication across agencies are vital, this article introduces an instrument for consideration. The instrument described is referred to as the Life and Career Assessment Matrix (LCAM), which is an expanded version of the positive personal profile. Conclusion: This tool provides a common framework that can be used by self-advocates, their personal supporters, educators, vocational rehabilitation counselors and adult service providers alike to help all partners discuss and develop plans and activities leading to excellent work experiences, paid employment, and community inclusion.
Original Papers

Several studies (Keysar et al., 2012; Lazar et al., 2014) suggest that decisions made in a foreign language are more rational. The authors imply that when thinking in a language which is not our native tongue, analytical, slow, deepthinking is activated. The question that underlies the present article is whether this is a characteristic of every mental operation in the foreign medium. Studies carried out by Costa et al. (2014), Geipel et al. (2015) and Hadjichristidis et al. (2015) suggest the issue is much more complex than it may seem. The answer to the question above was sought through a study in which 84 Polish advanced users of English as a foreign language were asked to solve mathematical problems from the Cognitive Reflection Test (Frederick, 2005). Initially the subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, who subsequently solved the problems in Polish (native tongue) and in English (foreign language). The article presents the results, discusses them and arrives at a number of conclusions as well as implications for further research.
Oxytocin and arginine vasopressin receptor evolution: implications for adaptive novelties in placental mammals

Abstract Oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and arginine vasopressin receptors (AVPR1a, AVPR1b, and AVPR2) are paralogous genes that emerged through duplication events; along the evolutionary timeline, owing to speciation, numerous orthologues emerged as well. In order to elucidate the evolutionary forces that shaped these four genes in placental mammals and to reveal specific aspects of their protein structures, 35 species were selected. Specifically, we investigated their molecular evolutionary history and intrinsic protein disorder content, and identified the presence of short linear interaction motifs. OXTR seems to be under evolutionary constraint in placental mammals, whereas AVPR1a, AVPR1b, and AVPR2 exhibit higher evolutionary rates, suggesting that they have been under relaxed or experienced positive selection. In addition, we describe here, for the first time, that the OXTR, AVPR1a, AVPR1b, and AVPR2 mammalian orthologues preserve their disorder content, while this condition varies among the paralogues. Finally, our results reveal the presence of short linear interaction motifs, indicating possible functional adaptations related to physiological and/or behavioral taxa-specific traits.
Effects of melatonin and zinc on glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients poorly controlled with metformin.

OBJECTIVE This project was designed to evaluate the effects of melatonin and zinc on the glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with inadequate response to the oral hypoglycemic agent metformin. METHODS A placebo controlled, double-blind clinical trial was performed at the Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes, Al-Rusafa Directorate of Health, Baghdad, Iraq during the period from February to July 2005, in which 46 type 2 diabetic patients were selected and allocated into 3 groups, these groups were treated with single daily oral doses of both 10 mg melatonin and 50 mg zinc acetate alone; 10 mg melatonin and 50 mg zinc acetate in addition to the regularly used metformin or placebo, given at bed time for 90 days. We measured the fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and serum C-peptide before starting the treatment (zero time) and after 30 and 90 days of treatment. We also performed post-prandial glucose excursion test (PPGE) for selected patients from the second and third groups before starting the treatment and after 90 days. RESULTS Daily administration of melatonin and zinc improved the impaired fasting and post-prandial glycemic control and decreased the level of glycated hemoglobin; addition of this treatment regimen in combination with metformin improved the tissue responses to this oral hypoglycemic agent. CONCLUSION The combination of melatonin and zinc acetate, when used alone or in combination with metformin improves fasting and post-prandial glycemic control in T2DM patients.
Plasmalemmal repair of severed neurites of PC12 cells requires Ca2+ and synaptotagmin

Ca2+ and synaptotagmin (a Ca2+‐binding protein that regulates axolemmal fusion of synaptic vesicles) play essential roles in the repair of axolemmal damage in invertebrate giant axons. We now report that neurites of a rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell line transected and maintained in a serum medium form a dye barrier (exclude an external hydrophilic fluorescent dye) and survive for 24‐hr posttransection (based on morphology and retention of another hydrophilic dye internally loaded at 6‐hr posttransection). Some (25%) transected neurites that form a dye barrier regrow. Most (83%) neurites transected in a saline solution containing divalent cations (PBS++) also exclude entry of an externally placed hydrophilic fluorescent dye at 15‐min posttransection. In contrast, only 14 or 17% of neurites maintained in a divalent cation‐free solution (PBS=) or in PBS= + Mg2+, respectively, form a dye barrier. Neurites that do not form a dye barrier do not survive for 24 hr. When PC12 neurites are loaded with an antibody to squid synaptotagmin, most (81%) antibody‐loaded neurites do not form a dye barrier, whereas most (≥81%) neurites loaded with heat‐inactivated antibody or preimmune IgG do form a barrier. These data show that: 1) transected neurites of PC12 cells have mechanism(s) for plasmalemmal repair (dye barrier formation and survival); 2) Ca2+ is necessary for dye barrier formation, which occurs minutes after transection and is necessary for survival and regrowth; and 3) synaptotagmin is an essential mediator of barrier formation. The similarity in the requirements for plasmalemmal repair in this mammalian cell preparation with those reported previously for invertebrate axons suggests that mechanisms necessary for plasmalemmal repair have been conserved phylogenetically. J. Neurosci. Res. 62:566–573, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Absence of the Kosterlitz-Thouless fixed points in the Migdal-Kadanoff recursion formulas.

It is shown that the Migdal approximate-renormalization recursion formulas always bring the initial state into the high-temperature region for the U(1)-invariant models at the critical dimensions. This means that the Migdal recursion formulas fail to exhibit the Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions. This is also the case for the recursion formulas of Kadanoff type. The method developed here is extended to non-Abelian systems by some additional tricks.