Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LOCALIZATION, BY THE BRAIN SLICING METHOD, OF THE LEVEL OR LEVELS OF THE CEPHALIC BRAINSTEM UPON WHICH EFFECTIVE HEAT DISSIPATION IS DEPENDENT

The neural integration of heat dissipation is wholly dependent upon the anatomical integrity of the subthalamic and cephalic midbrain level of the brainstem. Except for a possible permissive function, heat dissipation is quite independent of the hypothalamus. Presumptively, it is concluded that tissues within or near the anterior hypothalamus play a permissive role concerned with determining the core temperature level (39°C.) at which the heat-dissipation outflow is activated. Afferent impingements originating from non-thermal peripheral receptors exert a modulating influence on the central integration of responses to both heat and cold. The neural integration of resistance-to-hypothermia is wholly dependent upon the anatomical integrity of the hypothalamic grey and is completely independent of tissues lying cephalad to the hypothalamus. The resistance-to-hypothermia outflow is more susceptible to impairment than is the heat-dissipation outflow following trauma to the cephalic portion of the diencephalon.
Improvement of schizophrenic patients with primary negative symptoms treated with amisulpride. Amisulpride Study Group.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low doses of amisulpride, an atypical antipsychotic of the benzamide class with high affinity for D2 and D3 dopamine receptors, in the treatment of schizophrenic patients with predominantly primary negative symptoms. METHOD After completion of a 4-week washout period, schizophrenic patients with primary negative symptoms participated in a 12-week, multicenter double-blind trial of placebo (N = 83), amisulpride, 50 mg/day (N = 84), or amisulpride, 100 mg/day (N = 75). They were evaluated with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. RESULTS Both amisulpride treatment groups showed significantly greater improvement in negative symptoms than the placebo group. Positive symptom scores were low at baseline and changed minimally during the study, suggesting that the improvement in negative symptoms was independent of improvement in positive symptoms. The safety of amisulpride was comparable to that of placebo, and extrapyramidal symptoms were infrequent. Comparable efficacy and safety results were observed with either dose of amisulpride. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm and extend those of earlier placebo-controlled studies of low-dose amisulpride in the treatment of patients with predominantly negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Contextual effects on the sexual behavior of adolescent women.

The impact of social context on female adolescents sexual behavior subsequent to first intercourse was investigated through use of data on females 15-19 years of age from Cycle III of the 1982 US National Survey of Family Growth. Logistic regression was selected to estimate models for the two dependent variables--experiencing premarital intercourse and coital frequency--for the 566 Black and 1286 White subjects. Community factors such as social disorganization socioeconomic status religiosity female labor force participation population composition and family planning service availability were found to be significant influences on premarital sexual behavior but more so for Black adolescents. The contextual determinants were most operable in terms of ever having premarital intercourse. Census tract variables that increased the likelihood of premarital coitus among Whites included increased percentages of separated or divorced women greater female labor force participation a higher ratio of unmarried males aged 15 years and older to same aged females and lower percentages of Black and foreign-born; at the county level of analysis a high crime rate and low church attendance were significant. Among non-Whites the premarital coitus risk increased with the tract-level variables of increased female employment lower percentage of unmarried adult women and higher numbers of adolescents not in school and with the county-level factors of a high sex ratio and lower levels of urbanization. Among whites increased coital frequency was increased by the percentage of adolescents in the community who are unemployed or school drop-outs low membership in conservative religious groups a high proportion of males to females and a higher percentage of adolescent family planning clinic attendance the sex ratio and the percentage of out-of-school adolescents. These contextual factors tended to influence sexual behavior directly even when individual-level factors were included in the model.
A curricular frame for physics education: Development, comparison with students' interests, and impact on students' achievement and self‐concept

This article presents three interlinked studies aimed at: (1) developing a curricular frame for physics education; (2) assessing the students' interest in the contents, contexts, and activities that are suggested by that curricular frame; and (3) developing a curriculum that is in line with that frame and measuring its cognitive and emotional effects on students. The curricular frame was developed by adopting the Delphi technique and drawing on the expertise of 73 persons selected according to specified selection criteria. Interest data of some 8000 students and information of the presently taught physics curriculum were sampled longitudinally as well as cross-sectionally in various German Lander (states) by questionnaire. The third study comprised 23 experimental and 7 control classes. As a result of the comparison between the features of the curricular frame, the interest structure of students, and the current physics curriculum, there is a remarkable congruency between students' interest in physics and the kind of physics education identified in the Delphi study as being relevant. However, there is a considerable discrepancy between students' interest and the kind of physics instruction practiced in the physics classroom. Regression analysis revealed that students' interest in physics as a school subject is hardly related to their interest in physics, but mainly to the students' self-esteem of being good achievers. The data strongly suggest physics be taught so that students have a chance to develop a positive physics-related self-concept and to link physics with situations they encounter outside the classroom. A curriculum based on these principles proved superior compared to a traditional curriculum. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed84:689–705, 2000.
Transnational partisanship: idea and practice

That parties might successfully organize transnationally is an idea often met with scepticism. This article argues that while certain favourable conditions are indeed absent in the transnational domain, this implies not that partisanship is impossible but that it is likely to be marked by certain traits. Specifically, it will tend to be episodic, structured as a low-density network and delocalized in its ideational content. These tendencies affect the normative expectations one can attach to it. Transnational partisanship should be valued as a transitional phenomenon, e.g. as a pathway to transnational democracy, more than as a desirable thing in itself.
The Neurological Bases of Emotional Dys-Regulation Arising From Brain Injury in Childhood: A ‘When and Where’ Heuristic

Abstract Lasting emotional and social communication deficits are common among children who have suffered brain injury. Concerns have been raised that current assessment and treatment methods are inadequate in addressing the needs of such children in rehabilitation. We advocate that a proportion of reported deficits occur as a result of compromise to emotion processing systems in the brain. In this article we review adult brain injury research, which indicates that dissociable subsystems are involved in distinguishing the nuances of emotional expression. Findings previously reported in the literature have been integrated into a dissociable heuristic framework, which offers a novel representation of subcomponents of the emotion processing system. In considering the development of the subcomponents of emotion processing, evidence indicates that intrinsic arousal systems are operational from birth, systems associated with sensory/spatial skills that are essential in reading emotional expression develop rapidly from birth, and systems utilised in executive system synthesis become increasingly sophisticated with development, stemming across childhood and into adulthood. In conclusion, it is proposed that the heuristic is a useful tool on which assessment measures may be based when considering the primary effects of brain injury in children.
Total oxidant scavenging capacities of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Açaí) fruits

The antioxidant capacities of 11 commercial and non-commercial samples of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) fruit pulp were studied with the total oxidant scavenging capacity assay in a modified and automated version against three reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant capacities of all purple açaí samples were found to be excellent against peroxyl radicals, good against peroxynitrite and poor against hydroxyl radicals compared with common European fruit and vegetable juices recently analysed. In all cases the correlation between sample concentration and antioxidant capacities was non-linear. The antioxidant capacities against all three reactive oxygen species of the fruit pulp from one white açaí variety were very low. The phenolic compounds in purple açaí fruit pulp were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, and the two major anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside, were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography–visible spectrometry. The contributions of the anthocyanins to the overall antioxidant capacities of the fruit were estimated to be only approximately 10%. Obviously, compounds not yet identified are responsible for the major part of the antioxidant capacities of the açaí fruit pulp.
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT APPROACHES FOR REDUCING WILDLIFE-AIRCRAFT COLLISIONS

Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose safety risks to aircraft and cost civil aviation over $390 million annually in the USA. We reviewed the results of prior studies to summarize the vegetation management techniques that have proven effective for wildlife strike reduction or have shown potential for achieving the same goal. Habitat components that may affect wildlife use of airports include food, cover, water, and loafing areas. Improperly managed natural and ornamental vegetation on airports can be important attractants for wildlife that pose strike hazards. However, effective vegetation management can reduce these hazards. Maintaining tall herbaceous vegetation may reduce the availability or attractiveness of loafing and feeding sites for some species of birds such as gulls. However, this management strategy may also increase cover and food resources for other hazardous species. Thus, optimum vegetation height management strategies require further research and may be site-specific. Food availability may be reduced by replacing attractive vegetation such as palatable forage with less attractive vegetation. Vegetation management may also include removal of vegetative cover for deer and small mammals and nesting sites for birds such as woody vegetation. Removal of ornamental trees and shrubs may also be used to reduce availability of perches for flocking birds and large predatory birds. Despite more than 30 years of substantive discussion on the importance of these habitat management techniques, few reliable studies of the effectiveness of these techniques have been conducted. Specific needs for reliable data include definitive studies of the response of entire bird communities to vegetation height management in the USA, and field evaluations of vegetation types thought to be unattractive to wildlife under operational airport conditions.
Evidence of duplicated Hox genes in the most recent common ancestor of extant scorpions

Scorpions (order Scorpiones) are unusual among arthropods, both for the extreme heteronomy of their bauplan and for the high gene family turnover exhibited in their genomes. These phenomena appear to be correlated, as two scorpion species have been shown to possess nearly twice the number of Hox genes present in most arthropods. Segmentally offset anterior expression boundaries of a subset of Hox paralogs have been shown to correspond to transitions in segmental identities in the scorpion posterior tagmata, suggesting that posterior heteronomy in scorpions may have been achieved by neofunctionalization of Hox paralogs. However, both the first scorpion genome sequenced and the developmental genetic data are based on exemplars of Buthidae, one of 19 families of scorpions. It is therefore not known whether Hox paralogy is limited to Buthidae or widespread among scorpions. We surveyed 24 high throughput transcriptomes and the single whole genome available for scorpions, in order to test the prediction that Hox gene duplications are common to the order. We used gene tree parsimony to infer whether the paralogy was consistent with a duplication event in the scorpion common ancestor. Here we show that duplicated Hox genes in non‐buthid scorpions occur in six of the ten Hox classes. Gene tree topologies and parsimony‐based reconciliation of the gene trees are consistent with a duplication event in the most recent common ancestor of scorpions. These results suggest that a Hox paralogy, and by extension the model of posterior patterning established in a buthid, can be extended to non‐Buthidae scorpions.
A new perspective on recommender systems: A class path information model

Recommender systems perform suggestions for items that might interest the users. The recommendation process is usually performed at the level of a single item, i.e., for each item not evaluated by a user, classic approaches look for the rating given by similar users for that item, or for an item with similar content. This leads to the so-called overspecialization/serendipity problem, in which the recommended items are trivial and users do not come across surprising items. In this paper we first show that the preferences of the users are actually distributed over a small set of classes of items, leading the recommended items to be too similar to the ones already evaluated. We also present a novel representation model, named Class Path Information (CPI), able to express the current and future preferences of the users in terms of a ranked set of classes of items. Our approach to user preferences modeling is based on a semantic analysis of the items evaluated by the users, in order to extend the ground truth and predict where the future preferences of the users will go. Experimental results show that our approach, by including in the CPI model the same classes predicted by a state-of-the-art recommender system, is able to accurately model the preferences of the users in terms of classes and not in terms of single items, allowing recommender systems to suggest non trivial items.
Exposure to welding fumes is associated with acute systemic inflammatory responses

Aims: To investigate the acute systemic inflammatory response to welding fume exposure. Methods: Twenty four welders (42% smokers) and 13 non-exposed controls (23% smokers) were monitored at a welding school. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was assessed using cyclone samplers. Markers of systemic inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and white blood cell (WBC) levels, were determined in peripheral blood samples collected at baseline and after 5.3 (SD 1.0) hours of exposure. Results: The median PM2.5 concentration for welders was 1.66 mg/m3, which was significantly greater than that for controls (0.04 mg/m3). Compared to non-smokers, smokers had a significantly higher baseline WBC count, but comparable levels of CRP and fibrinogen. In non-smokers, welding fume exposure was associated with a significant increase in WBC and neutrophil counts immediately following exposure (+0.8×103/μl, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.6, and +1.0×103/μl, 95% CI 0.4 to 1.7, respectively). A significant decrease in fibrinogen levels was observed in non-smokers (−32 mg/dl, 95% CI −63 to −1). No significant changes in WBC, neutrophil, and fibrinogen levels were found in smokers. Sixteen hours after welding exposure, CRP levels were found to be significantly increased in both non-smokers and smokers (0.90 mg/l, 95% CI 0.17 to 1.64). PM2.5 concentrations were found to be significantly associated with absolute neutrophil counts in non-smokers, and CRP levels in both non-smokers and smokers. Conclusions: High levels of welding fume exposure induce acute systemic inflammation in a relatively young, healthy working population. These results also suggest that smoking may modify the effect of welding fume exposure on specific inflammatory markers.
Differences in the Speaking Styles of a Japanese Male According to Interlocutor; Showing the Effects of Affect in Conversational Speech

There has been considerable interest recently in the processing of affect in spoken interactions. This paper presents an analysis of some conversational speech corpus data showing that the four prosodic characteristics, duration, pitch, power, and voicing all vary significantly according to both interlocutor differences and differences in familiarity over a fixed period of time with the same interlocutor.
Voting algorithm in the play Julius Caesar

This paper suggests a voting algorithm for predicting people's choices. Usually, once a new algorithm is offered, one needs to prove the soundness of the algorithm, i.e., showing that the algorithm does the thing it is set up to do. But in the case of election prediction algorithms it's not clear how to prove their soundness. This paper offers a way to deal with this problem by analysing the social networks of plays, following Shakespeare dictum: "all the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players", As you like it, act I scene VII. The advantage of this approach is clear. The story of Julius Caesar is part of our collective memory. We learn the leading characters views and opinions throughout the play. For example, we know that Brutus was against Caesar, while Antony supported Caesar, and opposed Brutus. By generating the social graph from a play, the problems of soundness is solved, which makes the process more scientific. The voting algorithm needs anchors for each party. The anchors are the characters/nodes whose opinions are clear and known. In the case of the play Julius Caesar, the anchors are Brutus and Cassius for the conspirators and Antony and Octavius for the supporters of Caesar. After the anchors were identified the voting algorithm uses simple random walks, to divide the network of characters into two parties. Now it is possible to examine the output of the voting algorithm and see that indeed the algorithm works correctly.
Energetics of Shaker K channels block by inactivation peptides

A synthetic peptide of the NH2-terminal inactivation domain of the ShB channel blocks Shaker channels which have an NH2-terminal deletion and mimics many of the characteristics of the intramolecular inactivation reaction. To investigate the role of electrostatic interactions in both peptide block and the inactivation process we measured the kinetics of block of macroscopic currents recorded from the intact ShB channel, and from ShB delta 6-46 channels in the presence of peptides, at different ionic strengths. The rate of inactivation and the association rate constants (k(on)) for the ShB peptides decreased with increasing ionic strength. k(on) for a more positively charged peptide was more steeply dependent on ionic strength consistent with a simple electrostatic mechanism of enhanced diffusion. This suggests that a rate limiting step in the inactivation process is the diffusion of the NH2-terminal domain towards the pore. The dissociation rates (k(off)) were insensitive to ionic strength. The temperature dependence of k(on) for the ShB peptide was very high, (Q10 = 5.0 +/- 0.58), whereas k(off) was relatively temperature insensitive (Q10 approximately 1.1). The results suggest that at higher temperatures the proportion of time either the peptide or channel spends in the correct conformation for binding is increased. There were two components to the time course of recovery from block by the ShB peptide, indicating two distinct blocked states, one of which has similar kinetics and dependence on external K+ concentration as the inactivated state of ShB. The other is voltage- dependent and at -120 mV is very unstable. Increasing the net charge on the peptide did not increase sensitivity to knock-off by external K+. We propose that the free peptide, having fewer constraints than the tethered NH2-terminal domain binds to a similar site on the channel in at least two different conformations.
Development of a bioartificial liver: Properties and function of a hollow‐fiber module inoculated with liver cells

We have developed a bioartificial liver support system utilizing hollow‐fiber bioreactor, plasmapheresis and microcarrier cell culture technologies. Liver cells were obtained through portal vein perfusion with ethylenediaminetetraacetate or ethylenediaminetetraacetate/collagenase. A mathematical model of mass transport in a hollow‐fiber module, at various plasma flow velocities and system configurations, was developed. The bioartificial liver's ability to carry out specific differentiated metabolic liver functions was tested in vitro and in vivo. A reproducible large‐animal model of acute ischemic liver failure was developed. Most major first‐generation cyclosporine and 19‐norterstosterone metabolites were isolated after substrate addition to the bioartificial liver in vitro. After bioartificial liver treatment for 6 hr (with dog or pig liver cells), dogs with acute liver failure had significantly lower serum ammonia and lactate levels and significantly higher serum glucose levels than did control animals treated with a bioartificial liver system inoculated with microcarriers alone. In addition, bioartificial liver–treated animals had significantly higher mean systolic blood pressures than did controls. Liver cell viability at the end of the 6‐hr in vivo experiment was greater than 90%. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;17:258–265.)
Oral antibiotics increase blood neutrophil maturation and reduce bacteremia and necrotizing enterocolitis in the immediate postnatal period of preterm pigs

Immature immunity may predispose preterm neonates to infections and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Intravenous antibiotics are frequently given to prevent and treat sepsis, while oral antibiotics are seldom used. We hypothesized that oral antibiotics promote maturation of systemic immunity and delay gut bacterial colonization and thereby protect preterm neonates against both NEC and bacteremia in the immediate postnatal period. Preterm pigs were given formula and administered saline (CON) or broad-spectrum antibiotics orally (ORA) or systemically (SYS) for 5 d after birth. Temporal changes in blood parameters and bacterial composition in the intestine, blood and immune organs were analyzed. Newborn preterm pigs had few blood neutrophils and a high frequency of progenitor cells. Neutrophils gradually matured after preterm birth with increasing CD14 and decreasing CD172a expressions. Preterm neutrophil and monocyte TLR2 expression and TLR2-mediated blood cytokine responses were low relative to adults. ORA pigs showed enhanced blood neutrophil maturation with reduced cell size and CD172a expression. Only ORA pigs, but not SYS pigs, were protected from a high density of gut Gram-positive bacteria, high gut permeability, Gram-positive bacteremia and NEC. Neonatal oral antibiotics may benefit mucosal and systemic immunity via delayed gut colonization and enhanced blood neutrophil maturation just after preterm birth.