Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of three methods of using the DermaPIK with the standard prick method for epicutaneous skin testing.

BACKGROUND The Greer DermaPIK is a plastic disposable device used for epicutaneous allergy skin testing. Various methods have been proposed for applying this device. The recommended methods are to use it as either a punch or scratch device. A third method- the prick, uses the device similarly to standard prick testing with the bifurcated needle. OBJECTIVE To compare three methods of using the DermaPIK for epicutaneous skin testing with the bifurcated needle. METHODS Twenty volunteers with a mean age of 30 years (range 6 to 45) were skin tested using saline and histamine. Each test was done in triplicate on the back. Discomfort for each technique was rated on a scale from 0 to 100. Wheal and erythema were measured at 15 minutes and a photograph was taken. RESULTS The scratch method was rated highest in discomfort. The mean coefficient of variation for the punch method was 39.2% for erythema which was significantly higher than for the other methods (P < .0001). The scratch method had a mean wheal and erythema to saline of 3.85 +/- 1.3 and 6.23 +/- 2.2 that was significantly larger than the other methods (P < .001). There was no difference between the prick method and the bifurcated needle for discomfort or size of wheal/erythema to saline or histamine. CONCLUSIONS The punch method is too imprecise and the scratch method produces considerable dermatographism. The prick method was comparable to the bifurcated needle in discomfort, sensitivity and precision.
Desarrollo de lenguaje comprensivo en niños de 3, 4 y 5 años de diferente nivel socioeconómico

La presente investigacion titulada, “Desarrollo del lenguaje comprensivo en ninos de 3, 4 y 5 anos de diferente nivel socioeconomico” tiene por objeto probar la diferencia existente entre el desarrollo de lenguaje comprensivo en ninos de 3 a 5 anos 11 meses, de ambos sexos, provenientes de una Institucion educativa estatal de la zona urbano marginal de Villa Maria del triunfo, una institucion educativa estatal del Distrito de Surco y una institucion educativa particular del distrito de Surco. Para esta investigacion se utilizo el Test para la Comprension Auditiva del Lenguaje de E. Carrow (1976), el cual consta de 101 items; que analizan vocabulario, morfologia y sintaxis. Al termino de esta investigacion se pudo comprobar que existen diferencias altamente significativas en el desarrollo del lenguaje comprensivo, ya que los ninos y ninas provenientes de la institucion educativa particular de Surco (Nivel socioeconomico A), obtuvo mejores resultados que aquellos pertenecientes a la institucion educativa estatal de Surco (Nivel socioeconomico C) y estos obtuvieron mejores resultados que aquellos pertenecientes a la institucion educativa estatal de Villa Maria del Triunfo (Nivel socioeconomico E); asi tambien, se pudo encontrar que las ninas cuentan con mejor desempeno en el lenguaje comprensivo en comparacion a los ninos, esta diferencia se dio en las instituciones educativas estatales del Distrito de Surco y de Villa Maria del Triunfo; en cambio, en la institucion educativa privada de Surco no se encontro diferencia. Palabras claves: Lenguaje comprensivo y nivel socioeconomico.
Nonadopters of Online Social Network Services: Is It Easy to Have Fun Yet?

Although online social network services (OSNS), e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, are enjoying rampant popularity, a subsection of the population (i.e., nonadopters) continues to forgo using them. Our study is one of the first to focus exclusively on what might motivate nonadopters to accept a widely adopted IT. By considering nonadopters’ inertia within the context of early stages of innovation diffusion and incorporating status quo bias theory into well-established technology acceptance model (TAM) relationships, this study uncovers the finding that people who report that they do not use OSNS would use them if they thought OSNS were easier and more enjoyable to use, and if they were persuaded by others to use them. Our findings suggest these nonadopters do not see the usefulness of OSNS, risks of sharing personal information publically, or the perceived amount of effort in using OSNS as factors that influence potential acceptance and use of the technology. This study contributes to research by offering an integrated theoretical framework that updates TAM with status quo bias theory to study nonadopters and offers IS practice guidelines for OSNS providers to attract nonadopters to accept and use the technology.
Osteogenic and Ewing sarcomas: estimation of necrotic fraction during induction chemotherapy with dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging.

Dynamic contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) images of primary osteogenic sarcoma (n = 19) and Ewing sarcoma (n = 10) were reviewed in 29 patients undergoing induction chemotherapy before surgery. Histogram distributions containing the initial slope and pharmacokinetic model parameters from individual voxels within each tumor were fitted for each patient. The histogram analysis of initial slope from the tumor correlated well with percentage necrosis as determined at pathologic examination (r = 0.60, P <.001), as did a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model (r = 0.64, P <.001). Both methods predicted tumors with clinically important degrees of necrosis (ie, > or =90%) in a large majority of cases. The ability to determine response to induction chemotherapy by means of noninvasive monitoring of necrotic fraction with perfusion MR imaging methods may provide useful prognostic information and help surgical planning.
Information fusion for estimation of summer MIZ ice concentration from SAR imagery

The authors define the concept of information fusion and show how they used it to estimate summer sea ice concentration in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) from single-channel SAR satellite imagery. They used data about melt stage, wind speed, and surface temperature to generate temporally-accumulated information, and fused this information with the SAR image, resulting in an interpretation of summer MIZ imagery. They also used the results of previous classifications of the same area to guide and correct future interpretations, thus fusing historical information with imagery and nonimagery data. They chose to study the summer MIZ since summer melt conditions cause classification based upon backscatter intensity to fail, as the backscatter of open water, thin ice, first-year ice, and multiyear ice overlap to a large degree. This makes it necessary to fuse various information and data to achieve proper segmentation and automated classification of the image. Their results were evaluated qualitatively and showed that their approach produces very good ice concentration estimates in the summer MIZ.
Constitutive formulation and numerical analysis of the biomechanical behaviour of forefoot plantar soft tissue

The aim of this work is to provide a numerical approach for the investigation of the mechanical behaviour of the forefoot soft tissues. The development of reliable numerical models of biological structures requires the definition of constitutive formulations that actually interpret the mechanical response of the constituent biological tissues and their structural arrangement. A specific visco-hyperelastic constitutive model is provided to account for the typical features of soft plantar tissue mechanics, as geometric and material non-linearity, almost-incompressible behaviour and time-dependent phenomena. Constitutive parameters are evaluated by the analysis of experimental data from compression and stress relaxation tests on tissue samples. A three-dimensional finite element model of the forefoot region is developed starting from the analysis of biomedical images, leading to the evaluation of overall structural response. The reliability of model and analyses is assessed by the comparison of experimental and numerical results pertaining to indentation tests. The numerical model developed allows to evaluate the mechanical response of plantar soft tissue in terms of stress and strain distribution.
Effects of Self-Paced Encoding and Practice on Age-Related Deficits in Binding Three Features

Although much literature suggests that the age-related decline in episodic memory could be due to difficulties in binding features of information, previous studies focused mainly on memory of paired associations rather than memory of multiple bound features. In reality, however, there are many situations that require binding multiple features together simultaneously. Thus, this three-part experimental study using a working memory task examined two fundamental questions: whether and how well older adults perform a working memory task that requires them to bind three features together (Experiment 1), and whether and how much older adults' memory of units of three bound features could be improved by self-paced encoding and 3 weeks practice (Experiments 2 & 3). The results indicated that although older adults performed as well as young adults in remembering one unit of three features, they showed a deficit in remembering two units, making more severe errors than young adults, and the difference between the two age groups increased when remembering three units. However, older adults improved their memory performance substantially by two means: self-paced encoding and practice. The former primarily shortened reaction times while the latter primarily improved memory accuracy. With self-paced encoding, older adults were also capable of binding at least three units during encoding. Thus, it is possible to assume that under an optimal encoding period, the age-related deficits occur probably not at encoding but at retention and/or retrieval.
The effect of metabolic syndrome on recurrence in patients who had undergone surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome.

OBJECTIVES This study aims to investigate whether or not metabolic syndrome (MS) affects recurrence in patients who had undergone surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 86 hands of 78 patients (19 males, 59 females; mean age 52.0±8.2 years; range 36 to 78 years) who underwent CTS surgery. Patients were examined clinically and demographically for the presence of MS. Patients were also evaluated using a visual analog scale and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire. Diagnoses of recurrence were established using electromyography in patients with clinical CTS and Tinel and/or Phalen test positivity. The effect of MS on recurrent CTS was examined statistically by independent t-test. RESULTS At the end of a mean follow-up period of 36.2±19.2 months (range 12 to 60 months), recurrence was identified in 31 (36%) of the 86 hands. Of these 31 hands, MS was present in 23 (74.2%). In the 55 hands (64%) without recurrence, MS was present in 10 (18.2%). According to these differences, the effect of MS on recurrent CTS was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Our study indicated that MS affected recurrence in patients who had undergone CTS surgery.
Nitrogen cycling dynamics in the carnivorous northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea

Summary 1In nutrient-poor environments, plants employ many strategies to acquire and recycle scarce nutrients. Predictable relationships among a variety of leaf traits, including leaf nitrogen (N) suggest that how plants obtain, use, store and re-use N is a major component of plant fitness. The northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, receives nitrogen from multiple sources: NH4 and NO3 dissolved in precipitation; N mineralized from captured prey; the scant N in saturated peat; and N remobilized from storage. In two greenhouse experiments, we examined N cycling in S. purpurea and consider how these dynamics relate to prior observations that this carnivorous plant has an unusually low photosynthetic rate for its tissue N content. 2In the first experiment we assessed assimilation, translocation, storage and remobilization of 15N supplied to pitchers and roots. In the second experiment, we examined how 15N assimilated by the first pitcher produced at the start of the growing season contributed to the production and maintenance of subsequent pitchers, roots and rhizomes. 3Patterns of N cycling were similar at the individual-leaf and whole-plant level. Pitchers assimilated 55%–69% of available 15N and served as both the largest sink for newly assimilated N (> 90% of the 15N assimilated during 2004) and the largest source of N remobilization the following spring. In contrast, N assimilated by roots was low and accounted for < 2·5% of the overall S. purpurea N budget. Sarracenia purpurea used both stored N and newly-acquired N throughout the growing season. The importance of stored N decreased throughout the growing season as newly assimilated N contributed more to later pitcher production. 4Our detailed mechanistic analysis of nitrogen cycling dynamics of S. purpurea suggests why this plant has a low photosynthetic rate for its tissue N content. Excess nitrogen is stored for future use, and production of new pitchers is primarily aimed at enhancing prey capture rather than increasing photosynthetic tissue.
Jugular bulb temperature compared with non‐invasive temperatures and cerebral arteriovenous oxygen saturation differences during open heart surgery

Limited information is available about the correlation between cerebral temperature and routine temperature measurements during cardiopulmonary bypass in infants. Nasopharyngeal, tympanic membrane and rectal temperatures were compared with jugular bulb temperature in ten infants operated on with moderate or deep hypothermia. The cerebral arteriovenous saturation differences were correlated with the temperatures at the four measurement sites. The jugular bulb and nasopharyngeal temperatures showed the most rapid response during cooling and rewarming. The tympanic temperature response varied in an unpredictable way. Rectal temperature, which was the target for rewarming, lagged behind during both cooling and rewarming. Overwarming at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass, seen as jugular bulb and nasopharyngeal temperatures exceeding 38? C, was common after deep hypothermia. A high correlation was found between the cerebral arteriovenous oxygen saturation differences and the jugular bulb temperature (r=0.81) and the nasopharyngeal and the tympanic temperature (r=0.79), whereas the correlation with rectal temperature was weaker (0.66).
Perceived Average Orientation Reflects Effective Gist of the Surface

The human ability to represent ensemble visual information, such as average orientation and size, has been suggested as the foundation of gist perception. To effectively summarize different groups of objects into the gist of a scene, observers should form ensembles separately for different groups, even when objects have similar visual features across groups. We hypothesized that the visual system utilizes perceptual groups characterized by spatial configuration and represents separate ensembles for different groups. Therefore, participants could not integrate ensembles of different perceptual groups on a task basis. We asked participants to determine the average orientation of visual elements comprising a surface with a contour situated inside. Although participants were asked to estimate the average orientation of all the elements, they ignored orientation signals embedded in the contour. This constraint may help the visual system to keep the visual features of occluding objects separate from those of the occluded objects.
Alzheimer's disease skin fibroblasts selectively express a bradykinin signaling pathway mediating tau protein Ser phosphorylation

Increased Ser phosphorylation of tau microtubule‐associated protein in the brain is an early feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that precedes progression of the disease to frank neuronal disruption. We demonstrate that bradykinin (BK) B2 receptor activation leads to selective Ser phosphorylation of tau in skin fibroblasts from persons who have or will develop AD due to Presenilin 1 mutations or Trisomy 21, but not in skin fibroblasts from normal individuals at any age. The increased signal transduction in AD fibroblasts that culminates in tau Ser phosphorylation reflects modification of the G protein‐coupled BK B2 receptors themselves. Both the BK B2 receptor modification and BK‐mediated tau Ser phosphorylation are dependent on activation of protein kinase C and can be detected in fibroblasts from persons with Trisomy 21 two decades before the characteristic onset of AD. This dysregulated signaling cascade in AD may thus be expressed throughout life as an aberrant pathway in peripheral tissues more accessible than brain for molecular analysis. The sites of greatest BK B2 receptor expression in brain overlap with those areas displaying the earliest pathology in the course of AD, suggesting that BK receptor pathway dysfunction may be a molecular signature yielding information about the pathogenesis of AD.
For the Sake of the Eternal Group

We introduce the distinction between perceiving the group as Intra-Generational (IG; including only the present generation of group members) and Trans-Generational (TG; including all past, present, and future generations of the group). In four studies (N = 1,265) administered to Jewish Israeli, Palestinian Israeli, American, and Swedish samples, we demonstrate that a tendency to perceive the group as TG is related to willingness to endure ingroup suffering and that this relationship is mediated by the degree to which the interest of the group as a whole is given primacy over the interest of the group as a collection of group members (Primacy of Interest). Furthermore, experimentally raising the salience of the group as TG leads to increased willingness to endure ingroup suffering as compared with raising the salience of the group as IG, and the effect of the TG salience manipulation is mediated by Primacy of Interest.
Proximate Landscapes of Economic Inclusion in Southeastern Pennsylvania*

Although mainstream banking institutions offer a suite of benefits to patrons, the proportion of U.S. households that are unbanked and underbanked remains persistently high. This study examines the spatial relationship between alternative financial service providers (AFSPs) and banks and neighborhood demographics in southeastern Pennsylvania. Results from spatial regression analyses reveal that AFSPs are disproportionately located in close proximity to neighborhoods with comparatively lower levels of educational attainment and higher rates of subprime mortgage lending, whereas banks are disproportionately located in close proximity to neighborhoods with comparatively higher levels of income and educational attainment and a lower percentage of minority residents.
Active maintenance of nuclear actin by importin 9 supports transcription

Besides its essential and well established role as a component of the cytoskeleton, actin is also present in the cell nucleus, where it has been linked to many processes that control gene expression. For example, nuclear actin regulates the activity of specific transcription factors, associates with all three RNA polymerases, and is a component of many chromatin remodelling complexes. Despite the fact that two export receptors, Crm1 and exportin 6, have been linked to nuclear export of actin, the mechanism by which actin enters the nucleus to elicit these essential functions has not been determined. It is also unclear whether actin is actively exchanged between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, and whether this connection has any functional significance for the cell. By applying a variety of live-cell imaging techniques we revealed that actin constantly shuttles in and out of the nucleus. The fast transport rates, which depend on the availability of actin monomers, suggest an active transport mechanism in both directions. Importantly, we identified importin 9 as the nuclear import factor for actin. Furthermore, our RNAi experiments showed that the active maintenance of nuclear actin levels by importin 9 is required for maximal transcriptional activity. Measurements of nuclear export rates and depletion studies also clarified that nuclear export of actin is mediated by exportin 6, and not by Crm1. These results demonstrate that cytoplasmic and nuclear actin pools are dynamically connected and identify the nuclear import and export mechanisms of actin.
Anger Management Training in Prison Inmates

Inflicting harm on others after a perceived wrong is called revenge and has been implicated in a wide range of criminal and antisocial behaviors. Revenge is defined as a retaliatory act and may be ruled out when antecedent to instrumental aggression if hurting someone is secondary to the primary goal of acquisition. Revenge is considered the Impetus for reactive aggression, however, if the primary goal is to hurt someone. 26 male inmates were chosen for training in anger management using cognitive behavioral methods. Selection of inmates was based on their history of reactive aggression. As predicted, inmates showed a significant reduction in posttest scores on the Vengeance scale.
Potassium transport by rabbit descending colon.

Unidirectional mucosal-to-serosal (Jm leads to s) and serosal-to-mucosal (Js leads to m) fluxes of potassium and sodium were determined simultaneously on paired sections of descending colon from the same rabbit under short-circuit conditions. In 13-16 pairs of tissues, net potassium secretion and sodium absorption averaged 0.49 +/- 0.08 and 4.0 +/- 0.8 mueq.cm-2.h-1, respectively. Short-circuit current (Jsc) averaged 3.7 +/- 0.4 mueq.cm-2.h-1 and was approximately equal to the algebraic sum of net potassium and sodium fluxes. Treatment of both sides of the colon with 10(-4) M ouabain reduced the Jsc and transmural potential difference to near zero. Ouabain abolished net potassium secretion by reducing JKs leads to m and abolished net sodium absorption by inhibiting JNam leads to s. In the presence of ouabain, net potassium absorption averaging 0.15 +/- 0.07 mueq.cm-2.h-1 (n = 11) was observed. In the presence of 10(-3) M 2,4-dinitrophenol, both net potassium and net sodium fluxes were abolished, primarily as a result of a reduction in JKs leads to m and JNam leads to s without altering JKm leads to s and JNas leads to m. These results suggest that the rabbit descending colon has the capacity to secrete and possibly to absorb potassium by active mechanisms requiring metabolic energy. Comparison of potassium and sodium fluxes suggest that the paracellular pathway in the rabbit colon is not potassium selective.
Electrophysiological Characteristics of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome with Insomnia: Polysomnography and Cardiopulmonary Coupling Analysis

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) and insomnia are two of most common sleep disorders encountered in the sleep clinic population, and substantial overlap between these two disorders was reported in previous studies. Considering a common concurrence of two disorders, understanding about characteristics of OSA with insomnia patients is important in order to optimize detection and treatment. However, little is known about OSA with insomnia patients’ unique characteristics, and clinicians tend to focus only on their respiratory symptoms in diagnosis and treatment. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is the most commonly used test to diagnose sleep disorders, and especially it is gold standard for diagnosis of OSA. On the while, standard PSG is expensive and subjects feel inconvenience due to many electrodes and wires. Cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) analysis is more convenient and less expensive because it uses a single channel electrocardiography (ECG) recording, and the association between the CPC indices and the sleep quality were proven in both OSA and insomnia in previous studies. The aim of this study is to characterize sleep and sleep quality of subjects with OSA with insomnia compared to OSA without insomnia in terms of PSG and CPC analysis.