Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Understanding at the End of the First Year of Life

Abstract Social behaviors, such as joint attention, social referencing, and protocommunicative acts, which emerge toward the end of the first year of life, have commonly been taken as evidence of considerable social understanding, even an "implicit" theory of mind. We identify the theoretical assumptions that this "commonsense view" entails and argue against this view of these behaviors by suggesting that the phenomena are entirely compatible with an account which does not attribute to the infant an understanding that others have psychological relations to objects or that self and others are equivalent in their potential for such psychological relations. We end by arguing that the account we propose potentially provides a developmental solution to the problem of how the child develops a theory of mind that is equally applicable to self and other without postulating the existence of considerable innate knowledge.
Elucidating the Molecular Basis of Action of a Classic Drug: Guanidine Compounds As Inhibitors of Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels

Guanidine and its alkyl analogs stimulate the neuromuscular junction presynaptically by inhibiting voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels, leading to enhanced release of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft. This stimulatory effect of guanidine underlies its use in the therapy for the neuromuscular diseases myasthenic syndrome of Lambert-Eaton and botulism. The therapeutic use of guanidine is limited, however, because of side effects that accompany its administration. Therefore, the design of guanidine analogs with improved therapeutic indices is desirable. Progress toward this goal is hindered by the lack of knowledge of the mechanism by which these molecules inhibit Kv channels. Here we examine an array of possible mechanisms, including charge screening, disruption of the protein-lipid interfaces, direct interaction with the voltage sensors, and pore-binding. Our results demonstrate that guanidines bind within the intracellular pore of the channel and perturb a hydrophobic subunit interface to stabilize a closed state of the channel. This mechanism provides a foundation for the design of guanidine analogs for the therapeutic intervention of neuromuscular diseases.
Playing the ‘Race’ card? Black and minority ethnic students' experiences of physical education teacher education

This paper reports on a study that explored black and minority ethnic (BME) students' experiences of physical education teacher education (PETE) in England. Widening the ethnic diversity of those choosing to enter the teaching profession has been a key policy objective of the Training and Development Agency—the government agency responsible for teacher education—for some years. However PETE programmes, designed to produce specialist physical education (PE) teachers to work with secondary age (11–18 years) pupils, reveal significant and enduring levels of under-representation of BME candidates, compared to other subject specialisms. The study reported here used semi-structured interviews and questionnaires with 25 BME participants from five universities involved in PETE in England. The findings show that BME PETE students share many of the characteristics with their White counterparts, being young, sporty and with a desire to improve PE experiences for future generations. However, in other ways, their experiences reveal the significance of ‘race’ ethnicity, and religion and how these are interwoven with gender to position them as ‘other’ in PETE spaces and within schools. Skin colour and religious dress were significant to stereotyping and everyday interactions that served to position them as ‘out of place’, particularly evident in practical activity sessions and on teaching placements. ‘Race’ and ethnicity as part of their professional education was at best a marginalised discourse, at worse, reproduced a deficit perspective of BME pupils’ and their schooling. The paper concludes by arguing for a critical analysis of the construction of Whiteness through PETE.
Progressive reduction in body weight after treatment with the amylin analog pramlintide in obese subjects: a phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study.

CONTEXT In previous 1-yr trials, treatment with pramlintide (120 microg), an analog of the beta-cell hormone amylin, induced sustained reductions in A1C and body weight in insulin-using subjects with type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE To assess the potential of pramlintide as an antiobesity agent, we assessed the weight effect, safety, and tolerability of pramlintide in non-insulin-treated obese subjects with and without type 2 diabetes at doses greater than previously studied. DESIGN/SETTING We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. PATIENTS A total of 204 obese subjects [80/20% female/male, age 48 +/- 10 yr, and body mass index 37.8 +/- 5.6 kg/m(2) (mean +/- SD)] participated in the study. INTERVENTION For 16 wk, without concomitant lifestyle intervention, subjects self-administered pramlintide (nonforced dose escalation < or = 240 microg) or placebo via sc injection three times a day before meals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Weight, waist circumference, tolerability, and safety were the main outcome measures. RESULTS Pramlintide was generally well tolerated, with 88% of subjects able to escalate to the maximum dose of 240 microg. Withdrawal rates were similar between placebo (25%) and pramlintide-treated subjects (29%). Subjects completing 16 wk of pramlintide treatment experienced placebo-corrected reductions in body weight of 3.7 +/- 0.5% (3.6 +/- 0.6 kg; P < 0.001) and waist circumference (3.6 +/- 1.1 cm; P < 0.01). Approximately 31% of pramlintide-treated subjects achieved > or =5% weight loss (vs. 2% placebo; P < 0.001). More pramlintide than placebo-treated subjects reported improvements in appetite control (72% vs. 31%), weight control (63% vs. 24%), and overall well-being (52% vs. 17%). No unexpected safety signals were observed. The most common adverse event reported was mild, transient nausea. Pramlintide-treated subjects not reporting nausea experienced weight loss similar to those who did (3.6 +/- 0.5% and 3.9 +/- 0.5%, respectively). CONCLUSION These results support continued evaluation of pramlintide as a potential treatment for obesity.
A systematic approach to the design of distributed wearable systems

Wearable computing has recently gained much popularity as an ambitious vision for future personalized mobile systems. Its aim is intelligent, environment aware systems unobtrusively embedded into the mobile environments of their users. With the combination of complex processing requirements, the necessity of placing sensors and input/output modules at different locations on the user's body, and stringent limits on size, weight, and battery capacity, the design of such systems is an inherently challenging problem. We demonstrate how systematic design and quantitative analysis can be applied to wearable architectures. We first present a model that allows various factors influencing the design of a wearable system to be incorporated into formal cost metrics. In particular, we show how to consistently incorporate specific wearable factors such as device placement requirements, ergonomics, and dynamic workload profiles into the model. We then discuss how efficient estimation algorithms can be extended and applied to the evaluation of different architectures with respect to our cost metrics. Finally, we discuss quantitative results from a proof-of-concept case study showing the trade offs between different architectures for a given wearable scenario. Summarized, we demonstrate how the description and the design of wearable systems can be put on a systematic, formal basis allowing us to treat them similar as conventional embedded systems.
Effectiveness of an Incomplete RotaTeq (RV5) Vaccination Regimen in Preventing Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in the United States

Background: Effectiveness of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) after administration of the complete (3 dose) regimen has been demonstrated in a real-world setting. This study assessed the effectiveness of RV5 following partial completion of the 3-dose regimen. Methods: Using a large national health insurance claims database, 2 cohorts of infants (those who received RV5 and a concurrent group who received diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis, but not RV5) were followed through the 2007 and 2008 rotavirus seasons (January 1 to May 31) to identify cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis and all-cause gastroenteritis resulting in medical care encounters. Vaccine effectiveness following the first and the second RV5 doses was estimated by quantifying reductions in hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) and physician office visits. Results: A first RV5 dose was received by 42,306 infants whereas 28,417 infants in the concurrent comparison group received a first diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis dose; 43,704 infants received a second RV5 dose, and 31,810 infants received a second diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis dose. One dose of RV5 was associated with 88% effectiveness against rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations and ED visits and 44% effectiveness against all-cause gastroenteritis hospitalizations and ED visits. A 2-dose regimen of RV5 was associated with 94% effectiveness against rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations and ED visits and 40% effectiveness against all-cause gastroenteritis hospitalizations and ED visits. Conclusion: The RV5 vaccine exhibits effectiveness against rotavirus gastroenteritis even before completing the full 3-dose regimen. These results are of particular relevance when considering the benefits of a partially completed rotavirus vaccine series.
Deviant Behavior and Victimization Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents

This study used a high-risk population of runaway and homeless adolescents to investigate the effects of a history of caretaker abuse and deviant subsistence strategies on victimization among adolescents. Based on a multisite sample of 974 homeless and runaway adolescents, logistic regression models were used first to examine factors predicting involvement in sexual and nonsexual deviant subsistence strategies and then to investigate the effects of deviant subsistence strategies on physical and sexual victimization when adolescents were on the streets. Results indicated that when controlling for all other factors, including histories of physical and sexual maltreatment in families of origin, street behaviors, sexual orientation, and informal support systems, engaging in nonsexual deviant subsistence strategies increased the likelihood of physical victimization more than two times. Engaging in sexual deviant subsistence strategies increased the likelihood of sexual victimization almost four times. The results are interpreted in terms of life course developmental theory and lifestyle exposure theories.
Recruiting and Retaining "Highly Qualified Teachers" for Hard-to-Staff Schools

What is known about recruiting and retaining teachers for hard-to-staff-schools runs counter to many of the assumptions undergirding the teacher quality provisions of No Child Left Behind. Evidence regarding incentives, recruitment pathways, new teacher induction programs, and alternative routes shed considerable light on what needs to be done to ensure a "highly qualified" teacher for every student. Educators, armed with the right knowledge, can play an important role in getting both the funding and politics in place to create and support the policies and programs that can make a difference.
Electronic Mail and Listservs: Effective Journalistic Ethical Fora?

This exploratory study investigated the ramifications of e-mail and listservs as modes of journalistic ethical discussion. Results of the e-mail questionnaire to online newspaper journalists indicated that, although American online journalists overwhelmingly use e-mail to conduct both professional and personal business, it is unlikely that many are logging on to electronic discussion groups to discuss ethical issues. Moreover, this study suggests that the "informality" of listservs may reflect their perceived ineffectiveness and consequent underutilization by journalists. Journalists who do participate in listservs may view the "ethical" component as a minor element of their overall Web activities.
Television Image of a Large Upward Electrical Discharge Above a Thunderstorm System

An image of an unusual luminous electrical discharge over a thunderstorm 250 kilometers from the observing site has been obtained with a low-light-level television camera. The discharge began at the cloud tops at 14 kilometers and extended into the clear air 20 kilometers higher. The image, which had a duration of less than 30 milliseconds,resembled two jets or fountains and was probably caused by two localizd electric charge concentrations at the cloud tops. Large upward discharges may create a hazard for aircraft and rocket launches and, by penetrating into the ionosphere, may initiate whistler waves and other effects on a magnetospheric scale. Such upward electrical discharges may account for unexplained photometric observations of distant lightning events that showed a low rise rate of the luminous pulse and no electromagnetic sferic pulse of the type that accompanies cloud-to-earth lightning strokes. An unusually high rate of such photometric events was recorded during the night of 22 to 23 September 1989 during a storm associated with hurricane Hugo.
Light-weight Acceleration for Streaming XML Document Filtering

We present a light-weight streaming XML document filtering tool named XAXEN, which is scalable with respect to the number of queries. XAXEN consists of (1) an XML file transformer on data-sending server, which transforms an XML file into a trie representing the tag-name sequences of the root-to-leaf paths in XML tree and the binary XML file where every start- and end-tag is replaced with a special symbol followed by the corresponding path trie node ID and with another symbol, and (2) a query processor on receivers. Computational experiments show that XAXEN is 2 ~ 6 times faster and 6 times space-efficient in comparison with XMLTK, a well-known scalable streaming XML document filter.
Prevalence of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency in men and women in the general population: Edinburgh Vein Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in the general population. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: City of Edinburgh. PARTICIPANTS: Men and women aged 18-64 years selected randomly from age-sex registers of 12 general practices. MAIN RESULTS: In 1566 subjects examined, the age adjusted prevalence of trunk varices was 40% in men and 32% in women (p < or = 0.01). This sex difference was mostly a result of higher prevalence of mild trunk varices in men. More than 80% of all subjects had mild hyphenweb and reticular varices. The age adjusted prevalence of CVI was 9% in men and 7% in women (p < or = 0.05). The prevalence of all categories of varices and of CVI increased with age (p < or = 0.001). No relation was found with social class. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one third of men and women aged 18-64 years had trunk varices. In contrast with the findings in most previous studies, mainly conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, chronic venous insufficiency and mild varicose veins were more common in men than women. No evidence of bias in the study was found to account for this sex difference. Changes in lifestyle or other factors might be contributing to an alteration in the epidemiology of venous disease.
Analysing the language therapy process: The implicit role of learning and memory

Background : Analysis of language recovery has focused primarily on the linguistic aspects of language therapy provided to people with aphasia. The preservation and influence of cognitive skills has been taken for granted, although factors such as memory, attention, and learning are fundamental to an understanding of the language rehabilitation process. Aims : The goals of this paper are to elucidate the ELA-syntax treatment protocol, which aims at ameliorating oral sentence production, and to demonstrate how significant gains in performance might be attributed to aspects of its structure and content, in particular, its use of verbal recall in the therapy procedure. Methods & Procedures : A qualitative analysis of the structure of a single ELA therapy session and data from a single-case study, TH, will be presented in support of the issues being addressed. Transcriptions of single therapy sessions from the beginning, middle, and end of the three protocols are analysed with particular emphasis on sentence recall. Outcomes & Results : From early on in language therapy, TH demonstrated a relatively good ability to recall, i.e., convey the content of the sentences worked on in therapy sessions. This performance contrasted with his poor initial spontaneous production of each sentence. TH's severe verb retrieval difficulties improved and the length of the sentences produced in therapy increased from an average of 5.25 to 10.0 words. A carryover to discourse and pragmatic-level tasks and to written sentence production is also observed. Conclusions : The use of “delay” and a form of personalised cueing appear to play a crucial role in facilitating the retrieval of information from memory for oral sentence production. Incorporating the task of recalling the content of a therapy session at the beginning of the next session and at the end of each session provides an immediate and repeated measure of a participant's learning abilities and his/her response to the ongoing therapy programme. It is postulated that this distinct feature of the treatment programme facilitates the use of language in everyday life.
Lorentz invariant and supersymmetric interpretation of noncommutative quantum field theory

In this paper, using a Hopf-algebraic method, we construct deformed Poincare SUSY algebra in terms of twisted (Hopf) algebra. By adapting this twist deformed super-Poincare algebra as our fundamental symmetry, we can see the consistency between the algebra and non(anti)commutative relation among (super)coordinates and interpret that symmetry of non(anti)commutative QFT is in fact twisted one. The key point is validity of our new twist element that guarantees non(anti)commutativity of space. It is checked in this paper for case. We also comment on the possibility of noncommutative central charge coordinate. Finally, because our twist operation does not break the original algebra, we can claim that (twisted) SUSY is not broken in contrast to the string inspired SUSY in non(anti)commutative superspace.
Topology optimization design for two- material micro compliant mechanism with stress constraint

In this paper, the topology optimization design of two-material micro compliant mechanism that allows for treating local stress constraint is investigated. A mathematical model is constructed in which the mechanical advantage of the mechanism is posed as objective function while displacement constraint, material constraint and stress constraint are considered simultaneously. The element free Galerkin (EFG) method based on the moving least squares (MLS) approximation is used as a tool for numerical analysis and the thickness of each material phase at the gauss point in the integration cells is taken as design variable, which well describes the local characteristic of the mechanism and improves the computing precision. The topological design of compliant mechanism is then solved as a problem of material distribution using SIMP model with sensitivity filtering technique. The solution of this problem is obtained by using the method of moving asymptotes (MMA). The effectiveness of the mechanism is verified by a numerical example for design of a micro gripper mechanism.
Long-term fish intake is associated with better lipid profile, arterial blood pressure, and blood glucose levels in elderly people from Mediterranean islands (MEDIS epidemiological study).

BACKGROUND A study to evaluate the link between long-term fish intake and health status in a sample of elderly adults was undertaken. MATERIAL/METHODS Three hundred men and women from Cyprus, 142 from Mitilini, and 100 from Samothraki islands (aged 65 to 100 years) were enrolled in this study during 2005-2006. Dietary habits (including fish consumption) were assessed through a food frequency questionnaire. Among various factors, fasting blood glucose, arterial blood pressures, and blood lipids were measured. RESULTS Sixty-one percent of the participants reported that they had consumed fish approximately once a week (mean intake: 1.9+/-1.2 servings/week) for a mean period of 30 years. After adjusting for various confounders, fish intake was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure (p=0.026), fasting glucose (p<0.001), total serum cholesterol (p=0.012), and triglyceride levels (p=0.024). Multinomial logistic regression revealed that a decrease of 100 g per week in fish intake was associated with a 19% (95%CI: 1-41) higher likelihood of having one additional cardiovascular risk factor (i.e. hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity). CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that long-term fish intake is associated with reduced levels of the most common cardiovascular disease risk markers in a cohort of elderly people.
The Pathology of an Autoimmune Astrocytopathy: Lessons Learned from Neuromyelitis Optica

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a disabling autoimmune astrocytopathy characterized by typically severe and recurrent attacks of optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive myelitis. Until recently, NMO was considered an acute aggressive variant of multiple sclerosis (MS), despite the fact that early studies postulated that NMO and MS may be two distinct diseases with a common clinical picture. With the discovery of a highly specific serum autoantibody (NMO‐IgG), Lennon and colleagues provided the first unequivocal evidence distinguishing NMO from MS and other central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory demyelinating disorders. The target antigen of NMO‐IgG was confirmed to be aquaporin‐4 (AQP4), the most abundant water channel protein in the CNS, mainly expressed on astrocytic foot processes at the blood–brain barrier, subpial and subependymal regions. Pathological studies demonstrated that astrocytes were selectively targeted in NMO as evidenced by the extensive loss of immunoreactivities for the astrocytic proteins, AQP4 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), as well as perivascular deposition of immunoglobulins and activation of complement even within lesions with a relative preservation of myelin. In support of these pathological findings, GFAP levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during acute NMO exacerbations were found to be remarkably elevated in contrast to MS where CSF‐GFAP levels did not substantially differ from controls. Additionally, recent experimental studies showed that AQP4 antibody is pathogenic, resulting in selective astrocyte destruction and dysfunction in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. These findings strongly suggest that NMO is an autoimmune astrocytopathy where damage to astrocytes exceeds both myelin and neuronal damage. This chapter will review recent neuropathological studies that have provided novel insights into the pathogenic mechanisms, cellular targets, as well as the spectrum of tissue damage in NMO.