Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum folate and risk of fatal coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between serum folate level and the risk of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) among men and women. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study with serum folate levels measured from September 1970 to December 1972, with follow-up through 1985. SETTING Participants in the Nutrition Canada Survey. PARTICIPANTS A total of 5056 Canadian men and women aged 35 to 79 years with no history of self-reported CHD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Fifteen-year CHD mortality. RESULTS A total of 165 CHD deaths were observed. We found a statistically significant association between serum folate level and risk of fatal CHD, with rate ratios for individuals in the lowest serum folate level category (<6.8 nmol/L [3 ng/mL]) compared with the highest category (>13.6 nmol/L [6 ng/mL]) of 1.69 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.61). CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that low serum folate levels are associated with an increased risk of fatal CHD.
Clinical presentation and pharmacological therapy in corticobasal degeneration.

BACKGROUND To date, to our knowledge, there is no systematic presentation of treatment outcome in large series of patients clinically diagnosed as having corticobasal degeneration. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical presentation and treatment outcome of patients clinically diagnosed as having corticobasal degeneration. SUBJECTS We gathered case patients seen in 8 major movement disorder clinics during the last 5 years who were diagnosed as having corticobasal ganglionic degeneration. METHODS Using a chart review method, we recorded the clinical presentation, medications used, response to medications, and adverse effects. RESULTS A total of 147 case patients were reviewed, 7 were autopsy proven. Parkinsonian features were present in all, other movement disorders in 89%, and higher cortical dysfunction in 93%. The most common parkinsonian sign was rigidity (92%), followed by bradykinesia (80%), gait disorder (80%), and tremor (55%). Other movement disorders were dystonia in 71% and myoclonus in 55%. Higher cortical dysfunction included dyspraxia (82%), alien limb (42%), cortical sensory loss (33%), and dementia (25%). Ninety-two percent of the case patients received dopaminergic drugs, which resulted in a beneficial effect for 24%. Parkinsonian signs were the elements improving the most and levodopa was the most effective drug. Benzodiazepines, primarily clonazepam, were administered to 47 case patients, which resulted in improvement of myoclonus in 23% and dystonia in 9%. The most frequent disabling adverse effects of drug trials in these case patients were somnolence (n = 24), gastrointestinal complaints (n = 23), confusion (n = 16), dizziness (n =12), hallucinations (n = 5), and dry mouth (n = 5). CONCLUSIONS Pharmacological intervention was largely ineffective in the management of corticobasal degeneration, and new treatments are needed for ameliorating the symptoms of this syndrome.
Shattering Silence: Exploring Barriers to Disclosure for African American Sexual Assault Survivors

National-, community-, and college-based studies have documented the high prevalence of sexual assault among African American women. Although African American women experience sexual assault at alarming rates, they are less likely to disclose or seek help in the aftermath of sexual assault. The purpose of this literature review is to provide a critique of the current literature examining the barriers to disclosure for African American women, such as intrapsychic factors, the damaging effect of an unsupportive response to initial disclosure, stigmatization of African American female sexuality, apprehension regarding racism, and racial loyalty. The authors provide a summary of the literature, gaps in current empirical studies, and needs for future study. Culturally relevant intervention recommendations are described. Finally, implications for sexual assault policy are provided.
Effect of microtubule network disturbance by nocodazole and docetaxel (Taxotere) on protein secretion in rat extraorbital lacrimal and parotid glands.

The role of microtubules in the exocrine secretory process is not yet well established. Contradictory effects of anti-microtubule drugs on intracellular transit and protein secretion have been reported. In this work we used microscopic techniques and pulse-chase experiments to compare the involvement of microtubules in the regulated secretory process of two rat exocrine glands: parotid and extraorbital lacrimal glands. In our experiments microtubules were either disrupted by nocodazole or stabilized by a taxoid, docetaxel (Taxotere). We show that the effect of nocodazole and docetaxel on the release of newly synthesized proteins is radically different in the two tissues; in parotid gland they only weakly affect protein release, triggered by stimulation of either muscarinic or beta-adrenergic receptors, but in lacrimal gland, they strongly inhibit protein secretion. This effect or lack of effect of the drug is independent of the signal transduction pathways involved by the different secretagogues used to trigger exocytosis. Furthermore, in lacrimal glands, studies on protein galactosylation (which occurs in the trans-Golgi compartment) indicate that postgalactosylation events are more sensitive to both drugs than pregalactosylation events. On the other hand, we show that the effect of nocodazole and docetaxel on the microtubule network is comparable on the two tissues. Finally, in lacrimal cells, we observed a scattering of the Golgi apparatus concomitant with the disruption of microtubules by nocodazole. We conclude from this study that microtubule network integrity is essential for protein secretion in lacrimal glands but not in parotid glands. This result implies that for the same physiological function, i.e. protein secretion, different mechanisms may be involved.
Religiosity and female labour market attainment in Canada: the Protestant exception

Purpose - – The relationship between religiosity and female labour market attainment has been widely investigated for the USA; however, no comparable study has been undertaken for the Canadian context. The purpose of this paper is to redress this critical oversight of the literature by examining the impact of religiosity on Canadian female labour supply, both at extensive and intensive margins. Design/methodology/approach - – Using data from the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey, the authors consider all the measurable dimensions of religiosity, for the pooled sample, as well as by religious group. A wide array of control variables is included in the regressions to insure the reliability of the estimates. Findings - – The authors find that overall religiosity inversely relates to female labour supply in Canada. When the impact of religiosity is assessed on a by religion basis, it is revealed that Protestant females are penalized, by far the most. Practical implications - – The result is comparable with the pattern uncovered in the USA for Conservative Protestant females. Unlike what can be expected, no statistically significant difference is detected between religious-nones and Catholics, suggesting a convergence of gender ideologies. Originality/value - – The investigation reveals interesting patterns that not only contribute to the current state of literature, but also motivate future research. Fairlie and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition techniques are also used to further explore attainment gaps among the religious groups.
Mental Health Screening in Young Children

The numbers of young children who display mental health problems are on the rise. Recent surveys suggest that anywhere from 10% to 25% of young children may have mild to serious social-emotional disorders. In populations of children with disabilities and children at risk the probability of having significant mental health problems is even greater. Accumulating evidence suggests that when left untreated, mental health problems in very young children can grow in severity and require costly, long-term intervention that may or may not be successful. Evidence also suggests that a more effective and less costly approach is prevention and early identification and intervention. The development and establishment of prevention and early identification strategies has been inhibited by a number of serious barriers. However, the advent of family friendly first-level screening measures now permits the establishment of effective and economical early screening programs. Early screening programs are enhanced if they are linked directly to other critical services such as eligibility determination, intervention, and evaluation.
Changing the assessment paradigm in Slovenian schools

Changes in assessment with the tendency to improve these important processes is not something specific for the Slovenian school system, it is a phenomenon, which can be observed in many countries (Broadfoot, 1995, Gipps, 1994, Harlen et al., 1995, Marhuenda, 1997, Mavrommatis, 1997). It is possible to explain this phenomenon from at least two interrelated origins: the so-called "new paradigm" (Gipps, 1994, Henning-Stout, 1994), with cognitive psychology as a methodological paradigm and as an information processing approach (Pučko, 1997) and a constructive perspective on the process of learning and teaching as the main theoretical initiatives; educational reforms, curriculum changes, international comparisons and the need for raising educational standards (Broadfoot, 1995, Eckstein, 1996). As stressed also by Kellaghan (1996, p. 156) ". international comparative studies are considered to have an important role to play in raising educational standards. ".
The Mgb-σ relation of elliptical galaxies at z ≈ 0.37

We derive absorption line indices of elliptical galaxies in clusters at intermediate redshift (z ~ 0.37) from medium-resolution spectroscopy together with kinematical parameters. These galaxies exhibit a relationship between the line strength of Mg b p.o ~ 5170 A) and their internal velocity dispersion (1, similar to local dynamically hot galaxies. For any given (1, however, the Mg b line strength ofthe distant ellipticals is significantly lower than the mean value of the nearby samRle. The difference in Mg b between the two samples is small «.:1Mgb ) ~ - 0.4 A) and can be fully attributed to the lower age of the distant stellar populations in accordance with the passive evolution model for elliptical galaxies. The low reduction of Mgb at a look­ back time of about 5 Gyr requires that the bulk of the stars in cluster ellipticals have formed at very high redshifts of zf> 2. For the most massive galaxies, where the reduction is even lower, zf probably exceeds 4. Unlike most methods used to measure the evolution of elliptical galaxies using luminosities, surface brightnesses or colours, the Mgb -(1 test does not depend on corrections for extinction and cosmic expansion (k-correction) and depends only slightly on the slope of the initial mass function (IMF). The combination of a kinematical parameter with a stellar population indicator allows us to study the evolution of very similar objects. In addition, the good mass estimate provided by (1 means that the selection criteria for the galaxy sample as a whole are wellcontrolled. In quantitative agreement with the reduction of the Mgb absorption, we find an increase of the B magnitude of (.:1MB ) ~ -0.5 mag at fixed (1 from the Faber­ Jackson relation. The brightening of the ellipticals at Z = 0.37 arises solely from the evolution of their stellar populations and is of the same order as the change in magnitudes observed when varying the deceleration parameter qo from - 0.5 to + 0.5 at this redshift. Studying the evolution of the Mgb-(1 relation in combination with that of the Faber-Jackson relation allows us to constrain both the slope of the IMF and the value of the deceleration parameter. Our current data (including measurement errors) are compatible with the standard Salpeter IMF and qo=0.5 ± 0.5.
Familiarity affects social network structure and discovery of prey patch locations in foraging stickleback shoals

Numerous factors affect the fine-scale social structure of animal groups, but it is unclear how important such factors are in determining how individuals encounter resources. Familiarity affects shoal choice and structure in many social fishes. Here, we show that familiarity between shoal members of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) affects both fine-scale social organization and the discovery of resources. Social network analysis revealed that sticklebacks remained closer to familiar than to unfamiliar individuals within the same shoal. Network-based diffusion analysis revealed that there was a strong untransmitted social effect on patch discovery, with individuals tending to discover a task sooner if a familiar individual from their group had previously done so than if an unfamiliar fish had done so. However, in contrast to the effect of familiarity, the frequency with which individuals had previously associated with one another had no effect upon the likelihood of prey patch discovery. This may have been due to the influence of fish on one another's movements; the effect of familiarity on discovery of an empty ‘control’ patch was as strong as for discovery of an actual prey patch. Our results demonstrate that factors affecting fine-scale social interactions can also influence how individuals encounter and exploit resources.
Data Stream Model-Issues, Challenges and Clustering Techniques

Applications such as satellite networks, telecommunication systems etc., are generating massive amount of continuous data streams every day. It is not possible to manage and analyze the streams with conventional database techniques and architectures. Hence, data streams require efficient database storage, retrieve, processing ability, and effective analysis methods to discover knowledge which is implicit in streams. Data stream mining which is one of the steps of Knowledge discovery process (KDD), is the extraction of useful knowledge structures from continuous chunks of data with high data rate. Since, incoming data is continuous; it is not possible to scan the record more than once. Stream mining is a hot research area unveils number of challenges unsolved by traditional systems. In this paper, we explore data streams showing how the Data stream management system (DSMS) is different from traditional Data base management system (DBMS), the issues and challenges in data stream mining, and tools for data stream mining.
Correlated z-Values and the Accuracy of Large-Scale Statistical Estimates

We consider large-scale studies in which there are hundreds or thousands of correlated cases to investigate, each represented by its own normal variate, typically a z-value. A familiar example is provided by a microarray experiment comparing healthy with sick subjects’ expression levels for thousands of genes. This paper concerns the accuracy of summary statistics for the collection of normal variates, such as their empirical cdf or a false discovery rate statistic. It seems like we must estimate an N by N correlation matrix, N the number of cases, but our main result shows that this is not necessary: good accuracy approximations can be based on the root mean square correlation over all N ⋅ (N − 1)/2 pairs, a quantity often easily estimated. A second result shows that z-values closely follow normal distributions even under nonnull conditions, supporting application of the main theorem. Practical application of the theory is illustrated for a large leukemia microarray study.
Effect of spatial separation on speech-in-noise comprehension in dyslexic adults

This study tested the use of binaural cues in adult dyslexic listeners during speech-in-noise comprehension. Participants listened to words presented in three different noise-types (Babble-, Fluctuating- and Stationary-noise) in three different listening configurations: dichotic, monaural and binaural. In controls, we obtained an important informational masking in the monaural configuration mostly attributable to linguistic interferences. This was not observed with binaural noise, suggesting that this interference was suppressed by spatial separation. Dyslexic listeners showed a monaural deficit in Babble, but no deficit of the binaural processing, suggesting compensation based on the use of spatial cues.
At your service: The meanings and practices of contemporary bartenders

Focusing on the differences between the devices and dispositions of cocktail and neighborhood bartenders, this article examines how service industry jobs become cultural intermediaries. Unlike other types of bartenders, cocktail bartenders engage in forms of professionalization to make legitimacy claims and use interactive service work to add value to their products. They possess autonomy and exclusivity over their work in the sense that they control the conditions of entry and legitimacy for a niche within the drinks industry. The conditions that construct this niche are the same that allow bartenders to emerge as cultural intermediaries. They simultaneously bridge and extend the divide between production and consumption. A comparison between the attitudes (dispositions) and practices (devices) that bartenders use to add value to their products and services illuminates the distinctions between positions in this service profession and reveals the selective manner in which cultural intermediaries emerge in contemporary service industries.
Adhesion of vesicles in two dimensions.

The adhesion of vesicles in two dimensions is studied by solving the shape equations that determine the state of lowest energy. Two ensembles are considered where for a fixed circumference of the vesicle either a pressure difference between the exterior and the interior is applied or the enclosed area is prescribed. First, a short discussion of the shape of free vesicles is given. Then, vesicles confined to a wall by an attractive potential are considered for two cases: (i) For a contact potential, a universal boundary condition determines the contact curvature as a function of the potential strength and the bending rigidity. Bound shapes are calculated, and an adhesion transition between bound and free states is found, which arises from the competition between bending and adhesion energy. (ii) For adhesion in a potential with finite range, the crossover from the long-ranged to the short-ranged case is studied. For a short-ranged potential, a decrease in the strength of the potential can lead to a shape transition between a bound state and a ``pinned'' state, where the vesicle acquires its free shape but remains pinned by the potential. In such a potential, fluctuations lead to unbinding for which two different cases are found. Small vesicles unbind via fluctuations of their position, while large vesicles unbind via shape fluctuations.
The importance of calling song and courtship song in female mate choice in the variable field cricket

Male field crickets produce calling songs, courtship songs, tactile signals and chemical signals. Although calling songs are known to play an important role in female mate choice, the importance of the other signals in mate choice is poorly understood. In the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, females select mates, in part, based on variation in male calling song. Females prefer higher chirp rates, a trait which is partially dependent on male nutrient intake, and females prefer longer chirp durations, a trait which appears to be independent of male nutrient intake. We tested whether females also have preferences based on variation in male courtship song, and whether the structure of male courtship song varies with nutrient intake. First, we reexamined female preference for calling song chirp rate. Then, we examined: (1) female preference based on courtship song chirp rate; (2) the relative importance of calling song and courtship song chirp rate; (3) the nutrition dependence of courtship song chirp rate; and (4) the correlation between calling song and courtship song chirp rate. As reported previously, females preferred higher calling song chirp rates, and in addition, preferred higher courtship song chirp rates. Females were more likely to switch from a speaker broadcasting more attractive calling song to a speaker broadcasting less attractive calling song when the attractive calling song was associated with an unattractive courtship song than when it was associated with an attractive courtship song. Preferences based on courtship song may thus cause females to alter the choices that they made based on calling song. Males that received greater nutrients did not produce higher courtship song chirp rates. There was no correlation between calling song and courtship song chirp rate. As a result, the two traits may provide information to females about different aspects of male quality. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Motoneuron Activity Patterns Related to the Earliest Behavior of the Zebrafish Embryo

As a first step in the study of the developing motor circuitry of the embryonic zebrafish spinal cord, we obtained patch-clamp recordingsin vivo from identified motoneurons in curarized embryos from the onset of the first motor behavior. At an early developmental stage in which embryos showed slow and repetitive spontaneous contractions of the trunk, motoneurons showed periodic depolarizations that triggered rhythmic bursts of action potentials with a frequency and duration that were consistent with those of the spontaneous contractions. The periodic depolarizations were blocked by tetrodotoxin or Cd2+. Surprisingly, the contractions and periodic depolarizations were insensitive to general blockade of synaptic transmission (by elevated Mg2+ and reduced Ca2+, or by Co2+) and to selective blockade of the major neurotransmitter receptors of the mature spinal cord (acetylcholine, GABAA, NMDA, AMPA/kainate, and glycine). The periodic depolarizations were suppressed by heptanol or by intracellular acidification, treatments that are known to uncouple gap junctions, indicating that electrotonic synapses could underlie the earliest motor behavior. A few hours later, most motoneurons already showed a new pattern of repetitive activity consisting of bursts of glycinergic synaptic events, but these were not necessary for the spontaneous contractions. Transecting the spinal cord at the hindbrain border did not affect the rhythmic activity patterns of the motoneurons. We suggest that spontaneous contractions of the zebrafish embryo are mediated by an early spinal circuit that is independent of the main neurotransmitter systems and descending hindbrain projections that are required for locomotion in the mature vertebrate spinal cord.