Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local Intrahepatic CD8+ T Cell Activation by a Non-Self- Antigen Results in Full Functional Differentiation1

The response of T cells to liver Ags sometimes results in immune tolerance. This has been proposed to result from local, intrahepatic priming, while the expression of the same Ag in liver-draining lymph nodes is believed to result in effective immunity. We tested this model, using an exogenous model Ag expressed only in hepatocytes, due to infection with an adeno-associated virus vector. T cell activation was exclusively intrahepatic, yet in contrast to the predictions of the current model, this resulted in clonal expansion, IFN-γ synthesis, and cytotoxic effector function. Local activation of naive CD8+ T cells can therefore cause full CD8+ T cell activation, and hepatocellular presentation cannot be used to explain the failure of CTL effector function against some liver pathogens such as hepatitis C.
A non-destructive approach for extracting the complex dielectric constant of the walls in building

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in indoor environments is strongly influenced by reflectivity and transmissibility of building construction materials. This paper describes a free-space measurement technique for determining the complex dielectric constant and loss tangent of existing walls in building. The measurement setup was consisted of Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and two horn antennas. The data obtained by measurement were compared with the data estimated by reflection model. The overall trend reflection coefficients obtained by reflection model agree rather well with the trend of the measurements. The dielectric constant and tangent loss were estimated by implementing algorithm which minimizes appropriate objective function. The measurements were made for vertical and horizontal polarization of incidence waves.
Sleep and Health Resilience Metrics in a Large Military Cohort.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Examine the relationship between self-reported sleep parameters and indicators of resilience in a US military population (n = 55,021). METHODS Longitudinal analyses (2001-2008) were conducted using subjective data collected from Millennium Cohort Study questionnaires and objective data from military records that included demographics, military health, and deployment information. Subjective sleep duration and insomnia symptoms were collected on the study questionnaire. Resilience metrics included lost work days, self-rated health, deployment, frequency and duration of health care utilization, and early discharge from the military. Generalized estimating equations and survival analyses were adjusted for demographic, military, behavioral, and health covariates in all models. RESULTS The presence of insomnia symptoms was significantly associated with lower self-rated health, more lost work days, lower odds of deployment, higher odds of early discharge from military service early, and more health care utilization. Those self-reporting < 6 h (short sleepers) or > 8 h (long sleepers) of sleep per night had similar findings, except for the deployment outcome in which those with the shortest sleep were more likely to deploy. CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep is a detriment to service members' health and readiness. Leadership should redouble efforts to emphasize the importance of healthy sleep among military service members, and future research should focus on the efficacy of interventions to promote healthy sleep and resilience in this population. COMMENTARY A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 963.
Development, Administration and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of a Secondary School Test Based on the Theory of Successful Intelligence

The present study attempted to investigate an application of the theory of Successful Intelligence (Sternberg, 1997) in lower Greek secondary schools, through a school tests believing that school assessments should be based on solid, empirically investigated theoretical foundations. The test was administered to 2663 students with a mean age of 13.39 years, all studying at the 2nd year of the lower secondary school in 49 schools from different geographical areas in Greece. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated the validity of the theory. The findings suggested that Greek pupils have a relatively developed analytical ability; however, the cultivation of their creative and practical skills should be at the focus of Greek schooling.
Quality of life in individuals with anxiety disorders.

OBJECTIVE Quality-of-life indices have been used in medical practice to estimate the impact of different diseases on functioning and well-being and to compare outcomes between different treatment modalities. An integrated view of the issue of quality of life in patients with anxiety disorders can provide important information regarding the nature and extent of the burden associated with these disorders and may be useful in the development of strategies to deal with it. METHOD A review of epidemiological and clinical studies that have investigated quality of life (broadly conceptualized) in patients with panic disorder, social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder was conducted by searching MEDLINE and PsycLIT citations from 1984 to 1999. A summary of the key articles published in this area is presented. RESULTS The studies reviewed portray an almost uniform picture of anxiety disorders as illnesses that markedly compromise quality of life and psychosocial functioning. Significant impairment can also be found in individuals with subthreshold forms of anxiety disorders. Effective pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment has been shown to improve the quality of life for patients with panic disorder, social phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Limitations in current knowledge in this area are identified, and suggestions for needed future research are provided. CONCLUSIONS It is expected that a more thorough understanding of the impact on quality of life will lead to increased public awareness of anxiety disorders as serious mental disorders worthy of further investment in research, prevention, and treatment.
Teachers' attitudes towards a learning management system, MC Online: An exploratory study in a Singapore secondary school

The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes towards the use of an online learning management system (LMS) by Marshall Cavendish, MC Online among secondary school teachers for teaching purposes. A sample of 78 teachers in a Singapore secondary school was assessed for the MC Online attitude using a Likert type questionnaire with four factors: affect (liking), perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and behavioural intention. The findings showed that gender and subject domain did not have strong relationship with teachers' MC Online attitudes. However, there were significant correlation between MC Online confidence level and the teachers' MC Online attitude. Implications for the improvement of the learning management system and further research are provided.
First Person Trolley Problem: Evaluation of Drivers' Ethical Decisions in a Driving Simulator

No matter how safe automated driving will be in the future, there will remain situations where an accident is unavoidable and vehicles will have to decide between options that all potentially result in lethal outcome. Empirical ethics is one method that can provide decisions that are socially acceptable. To gain knowledge on attitudes towards ethical decision making in hazardous situations, we ran a driving simulator study with personalized abstractions of a classical ethical dilemma (cf., "Trolley Problem"). Our results indicate that drivers, who are confronted with the decision of sacrificing the life of others, want vehicles to decide utilitarian, even when the probability of their own survival is substantially low and provoking an accident could result in their own death. Interviews with subjects after the study revealed that such ethical decisions polarize: some could not live with possessing a vehicle that might harm others for their own good, others would demand exactly such a behavior.
Social status and adult heights in the two Germanies

Background : Lack of evidence prevented hitherto the systematic comparison of physical stature across East and West Germany. Aim : The aim of this study is to compare heights by social status in the two Germanies with very different socio-economic and political systems prior to unification. Data : The German Federal Health Survey of 1998 (Public Use File BGS98), a cross-sectional random sample of 7124 adult males and females between ages 18 and 79 (birth cohorts of 1919-1980) is used in the analysis. Results : There are considerable and persistent differences by social status in both East and West Germany over time. The West German height advantage among men increases with social status, whereas among women the opposite is the case. East German men born after the Berlin Wall was built became significantly shorter, but East Germans regained equality with West Germans after unification. In contrast, East German females were markedly shorter than their West German counterparts throughout the period considered. Conclusions : The West German capitalistic welfare state provided a more propitious environment for the physical growth of the human organism than did the socialist East German government. There were substantial social differences in height in the officially classless German Democratic Republic.
Antibacterial Analysis In Vitro of Ethyl-cyanoacrylate Against Ocular Pathogens

Purpose: To analyze the antimicrobial properties of ethyl-cyanoacrylate (Superbonder, Loctite, Brazil) in vitro in different microorganisms related to corneal infections. Methods: We analyzed the following microorganisms: (1) Staphylococcus aureus (multiresistant); (2) S. aureus (ATCC 25923); (3) coagulase-negative Staphylococcus; (4) Streptococcus pyogenes; (5) Streptococcus pneumoniae; (6) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (multiresistant); (7) P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853); (8) Escherichia coli (ATCC25922); and (9) Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212). One drop of the glue was dropped directly into the nutrient broth. The plates were incubated at 35 ± 2°C and its growth examined after 24 hours. Bactericidal activity of the glue was verified by sampling inhibition zones when present. The samples were plated in blood agar an analyzed after 24 and 48 hours. Results: The ethyl-cyanoacrylate inhibited the growth of every gram-positive microorganism tested and showed bactericidal effect over 70% for all of them. Among the gram-negative microorganisms, only the E. coli and the E. faecalis had its growth inhibited, and the bactericidal effect was 60% and 40%, respectively. Conclusion: The ethyl-cyanoacrylate has bacteriostatic and bactericidal action in vitro, mainly against gram-positive microorganisms.
Spiral density waves in a young protoplanetary disk

Gravitational forces are expected to excite spiral density waves in protoplanetary disks, disks of gas and dust orbiting young stars. However, previous observations that showed spiral structure were not able to probe disk midplanes, where most of the mass is concentrated and where planet formation takes place. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, we detected a pair of trailing symmetric spiral arms in the protoplanetary disk surrounding the young star Elias 2-27. The arms extend to the disk outer regions and can be traced down to the midplane. These millimeter-wave observations also reveal an emission gap closer to the star than the spiral arms. We argue that the observed spirals trace shocks of spiral density waves in the midplane of this young disk.
Effect of massage of the hamstring muscle group on performance of the sit and reach test

Objective: To investigate if a single massage of the hamstring muscle group would alter the performance of the sit and reach test. Methods: Before treatment, each of 11 male subjects performed the sit and reach test. The treatment consisted of either massage of the hamstring muscle group (both legs, total time about 15 minutes) or supine rest with no massage. Performance of the sit and reach test was repeated after treatment. Each subject returned the subsequent week to perform the tests again, receiving the alternative treatment relative to their initial visit. Mean percentage changes in sit and reach scores after treatment were calculated for the massage and no massage treatments, and analysed using Student’s t tests. Results: Mean (SD) percentage changes in sit and reach scores after massage and no massage were small (6.0 (4.3)% and 4.6 (4.8)% respectively) and not significantly different for subjects with relatively high (15 cm and above) values before treatment. Mean percentage changes in sit and reach scores for subjects with relatively low values before treatment (below 15 cm) were large (18.2 (8.2)% and 15.5 (16.2)% respectively), but no significant differences were found between the massage and no massage groups. Conclusions: A single massage of the hamstring muscle group was not associated with any significant increase in sit and reach performance immediately after treatment in physically active young men.
Implementation of high‐resolution SNP arrays in the investigation of fetuses with ultrasound malformations: 5 years of clinical experience

Chromosome microarray analysis (CMA) has proven to be a powerful tool in postnatal patients with intellectual disabilities, and it is increasingly used in prenatal diagnosis. However, its diagnostic capabilities in prenatal diagnosis vary, and clinical experiences have failed to establish a consensus regarding CMA indications, the design and resolution of microarrays, and the notification and interpretation of copy number variations (CNVs). We present our 5 years of clinical experience using whole‐genome high‐resolution single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to investigate 446 fetuses that had structural malformations detected with ultrasound but for which standard karyotyping analysis showed normal karyotypes. CMA revealed genomic CNVs in 323 (72.4%) cases and clinically significant CNVs in 11.4% of the fetuses (51/446), including 2 cases of uniparental disomy (UPD) as well as 1 case of cryptic mosaic monosomy of chromosome X. Variants of unknown significance (VOUS) existed in 2.0% of the tested fetuses (9/446). Our results demonstrate the value of whole‐genome high‐resolution SNP arrays in fetuses with congenital malformations and give a higher detection rate of clinically significant genomic imbalance, especially for detecting UPD. Sufficient communication between technicians and genetic counselors, along with parental testing and comparison with data from in‐house or international sources, can significantly reduce VOUS.
Therapeutic potential of octyl gallate isolated from fruits of Terminalia bellerica in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Context: Medicinal plants are a potential source of antidiabetic drugs. Terminalia bellerica Roxb. (Combretaceae) is used in Indian traditional systems of medicine to treat diabetes mellitus. Objective: The aim of this study was to isolate and identify antihyperglycemic principle(s) from the fruits of T. bellerica and assess the bioactivity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Materials and methods: Bioassay-guided fractionation was followed to isolate the active compound(s), structure was elucidated using 1H and 13C NMR, IR and mass spectrometry and administered intragastrically to diabetic Wistar rats at different doses (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, body weight) for 28 d. Plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide and other biochemical parameters were studied. Results: Octyl gallate (OG) isolated first time from the fruit rind of T. bellerica significantly (p < 0.05) reduced plasma glucose to near normal values (108.47 ± 6.9 mg/dl) after 14 d at the dose of 20 mg/kg. In addition, OG significantly increased plasma insulin, C-peptide, total protein, albumin, tissue glycogen, body weight and markedly decreased serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, urea, uric acid and creatinine in diabetic rats. Also OG restored the altered regulatory enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism. Discussion and conclusion: OG might have augmented the secretion of insulin by the modulation of cAMP and intracellular calcium levels in the β cells of the pancreas. Our findings indicate that OG isolated first time from the fruit rind of T. bellerica has potential antidiabetic effect as it augments insulin secretion and normalizes the altered biochemical parameters in experimental diabetic rat models.
Ambivalence of primary health care professionals towards the South African guidelines for hypertension and diabetes.

BACKGROUND Consensus-derived guidelines for hypertension and diabetes management were introduced by the National Department of Health to improve quality of care. However, the incorporation of guidelines into clinical practice is largely dependent on the attitudes of health professionals. OBJECTIVE To audit the responses and examine the attitudes of health professionals in primary care towards the diabetes and hypertension care guidelines. DESIGN Qualitative focus group, in-depth discussions and clinic observations. SETTING Four community health centres (CHCs) in the Western Cape. SUBJECTS Fifteen doctors and 10 professional nurses. METHODS The responses of health professionals to the guidelines were audited. Their attitudes were evaluated at a single pilot CHC using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Semi-structured interviews based on these themes were conducted at 3 other CHCs. Clinic consultations were observed to validate the responses. RESULTS The guidelines were not systematically implemented at local CHCs and individual doctors consulted the guidelines infrequently. Several themes were identified as barriers to the application of the guidelines, including the consultation process by which the guidelines were developed, time constraints, scepticism about durability of the guidelines, conflict with local practices, health system problems, and patient beliefs. CONCLUSION The usefulness of passive dissemination of guidelines to health professionals in primary care should be reviewed as several attitudinal barriers to implementation may exist. Guidelines may be adopted more readily if these barriers are addressed.
Repercussion of physiotherapy intradialytic protocol for respiratory muscle function, grip strength and quality of life of patients with chronic renal diseases.

INTRODUCTION Chronic kidney disease consists in the slow, progressive and irreversible loss in renal function and it is considered a social and economic problem worldwide, since it is linked to numerous diseases, as well as to higher public health spending. It is known that dialysis patients undergo a long period of restricted physical activity reflects in dysfunctions in various organical systems and in the quality of their lives. OBJECTIVE To verify the results of physical therapy intervention in patients on hemodialysis, for respiratory muscle function, grip strength and quality of life. METHODOLOGY Experimental, nonrandomized, quantitative and qualitative of a sample of 13 patients, 43.69 ± 9.28 years, on hemodialysis in the hospital Santa Casa de Diamantina/MG, selected by convenience. All patients were evaluated for maximal respiratory pressures (PI(max) e PE(max) ) and peak expiratory flow (PFE), before and after physiotherapy, which consisted of 3 sessions per week for a period of 2 months weeks: exercises for upper limbs, with technique PNF and breathing diaphragmatic; strengthening exercises for lower limbs and use of exerciser ball. Statistical analysis was performed using the student-t test and significance value at p < 0.05. RESULTS Respective means for the variables before and after intervention were: PImáx (97.69 ± 28.3 cmH2O e 98.46 ± 23.39 cmH2O) p = 0.93; PEmáx (83.07 ± 31.19 cmH(2)O e 88.46 ± 14.0 cmH(2)O) p = 0.46 e PF (375.38 ± 75.23 L/min e 416.15 ± 57.37 L/min) p = 0.02. The dynamometer average pre intervention was: 57.23 ± 17.39 kgf and post intervention: 56.61 ± 16.09 kgf. In the SF-36, which evaluates the quality of life, improvement was observed in the eight domains, except the item 'vitality'. Of all the variables measured only the PFE was statistically significant. CONCLUSION The proposed physical therapy protocol did not promote significant improvements in those variables, the statistical point, explaining in part the small sample size, time of protocol and proposed interventions.
Haemato-Biochemical Aspects of Parturient Haemoglobinuria in Buffalo

This study aimed to determine the haematological and biochemical changes that occur in buffaloes with parturient haemoglobinuria (PHU). For this purpose, serum samples from 60 PHU-affected and 60 apparently healthy buffaloes were collected and analysed. Mean erythrocyte count (3.6 ± 1.0 1012/l), haemoglobin concentration (5.8 ± 1.4 g/dl), and haematocrit (16.9 ± 2.8 %) of the PHU-affected buffaloes were lower (P < 0.001), while their erythrocyte sedimentation rate (104.1 ± 36.2 mm/h) was higher (P < 0.001) in comparison to the healthy buffaloes. Neutrophils (43.0 ± 4.5%), urea (49.7 ± 7.8 mg/dl) and creatinine (2.1 ± 0.4 mg/dl) concentrations were significantly higher in the PHU-affected buffaloes, while lymphocytes (48.7 ± 2.9%) and erythrocytic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) (92.3 ± 13.2 mU/109 TECs) were lower than in the healthy buffaloes. Serum phosphorus (1.9 ± 0.6 mg/dl) and copper (65.4 ± 6.0 m g/dl) were lower (P < 0.001), while molybdenum (171.5 ± 56.7 m g/dl) was higher in the PHU-affected buffaloes as compared to those values in the healthy buffaloes. It was concluded that PHU-affected buffaloes usually suffer from severe anaemia and hypophosphataemia, and erythrocytes with significantly reduced G6PD are prone to haemolysis, leading to haemoglobinuria in buffaloes.
Learning in the Recurrent Random Neural Network

The capacity to learn from examples is one of the most desirable features of neural network models. We present a learning algorithm for the recurrent random network model (Gelenbe 1989, 1990) using gradient descent of a quadratic error function. The analytical properties of the model lead to a "backpropagation" type algorithm that requires the solution of a system of n linear and n nonlinear equations each time the n-neuron network "learns" a new input-output pair.