Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Halothane, Enflurane, and Isoflurane on Coronary Vascular Tone, Myocardial Performance, and Oxygen Consumption during Controlled Changes in Aortic and Left Atrial Pressure: Studies on Isolated Working Rat Hearts In Vitro

The effects of equi-anesthetic concentrations of halothane (HAL, n = 11), enflurane (ENF, n = 11), and isoflurane (ISO, n = 10) on cardiac function were studied and compared with a control group (n = 12) in isolated paced rat hearts by means of an antegrade heart perfusion technique. Left atrial pressure (LAP) and mean aortic pressure (MAP) could be altered independently of each other, and aortic flow, coronary flow (CF), and p02, in venous coronary effluent were continuously recorded. Stroke volume (SV), myocardial oxygen consumption (MV02), and myocardial oxygen extraction were calculated: 1) MAP was altered from 60 to 120 mmHg at a constant LAP (7.5 mmHg), and 2) LAP was varied from 4 to 12.5 mmHg at a constant MAP (80 mmHg). Left ventricular function curves (LVFC) were constructed and the maximal SV (SVmax) was obtained. The LAP needed to perform 75% of the maximal SV (LAP0.75) was estimated to assess the effect of the anesthetics on diastolic function. HAL ENF and ISO decreased SVmax significantly compared to control. This decrease was more pronounced for HAL (41%) compared to both ENF (26%) and ISO (26%). Accordingly, SV, at various levels of MAP, at a constant LAP, was significantly lower for HAL than for both ENF and ISO, while there was no significant difference between the latter two. None of the anesthetics shifted the LVFC to the right, i.e., did not affect diastolic properties. HAL induced the most pronounced decrease in MVO2, while there was no significant difference between ENF and ISO in this respect. Coronary flow (CF), at controlled perfusion pressures, decreased significantly with HAL but not with ENF or ISO compared to control. CF was significantly higher with ISO compared to both ENF and HAL. HAL and ISO, but not ENF, decreased myocardial oxygen extraction significantly compared to control and, thus, increased the myocardial oxygen supply-to-demand ratio.
Towards a unified understanding of relative age effects

Abstract When athletes are placed into annual age groups to organize and coordinate sport participation, certain (dis)advantages occur as a result of the subtle age differences within these groups. These differences, termed “relative age effects”, have been consistently related to youth and adult sport attainment. However, there has been a lack of consistency in the terminology used in this area of research. In this paper, we consider the operational terms used in relative age research, discuss appropriate applications of terminology, and suggest directions for future research. Importantly, we argue for a unified understanding of what “relative age” means, stressing the need for clarity in directing future advances in the field.
Stress Variation in British and American English.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of lexical-stress variation in British and American English. A comparison of the pronunciations of all 75,000 entries in Wells's dictionary yields 932 stress-divergent words. This set is found to differ from the entire lexicon in three respects of which the first appears to be more important than the others. The average frequency of the words is lower and their average length is higher. Furthermore, proper nouns are overrepresented. Generally, main stress falls further to the left in British than in American English, with the latter variety accommodating stress more in the word edges than the former. Lexical type (proper vs. common nouns) and origin (French vs. non-French) form categories which are differentially treated in the two dialects. Stress variation occurs in monomorphemic as well as polymorphemic words. Endings which play a variable role in the stress-assignment process include 〈-ate〉, 〈-ess〉, 〈-ist〉, 〈-ive〉, 〈-ly〉 and 〈-ory〉. Variation can also be observed in compounds and zero-derived items. In all these lexical sets, stress-identical words outnumber stress-divergent ones. With some reservation, a case is made for regarding British English as the more rhythmical of the two varieties. It is argued that frequency, or rather the lack thereof, weakens the memory trace for lexical items. This destabilization paves the way for variation by allowing different forces to act on the same words.
A Comparative Study of PI and Fuzzy Controllers for Solar Powered DC-DC Boost Converter

In this paper a fuzzy logic controller for Solar powered DC -DC boost converter is planned. Here for simplification, the PV system is taken as a constant DC Voltage source. The output response of the boost converter, is controlled by changing its duty cycle and the controller is planned to change the duty cycle. The simulation is formulated by MATLAB simulation program and PSIM software. Using fuzzy logic controller duty cycle of PWM signal is yielded. Taking into account the value of duty cycle simulation results demonstrate that the output voltage of the boost converter can be controlled. With the help of fuzzy logic tool box, fuzzy logic controller has been applied to the system. The assessing of output has been accomplished and equated by software simulation among PI controller and fuzzy logic controller. The simulation results shows that by using this technique output response of step-up Switching converter is regulated.
Evidence for the Late MMN as a Neurophysiological Endophenotype for Dyslexia

Dyslexia affects 5–10% of school-aged children and is therefore one of the most common learning disorders. Research on auditory event related potentials (AERP), particularly the mismatch negativity (MMN) component, has revealed anomalies in individuals with dyslexia to speech stimuli. Furthermore, candidate genes for this disorder were found through molecular genetic studies. A current challenge for dyslexia research is to understand the interaction between molecular genetics and brain function, and to promote the identification of relevant endophenotypes for dyslexia. The present study examines MMN, a neurophysiological correlate of speech perception, and its potential as an endophenotype for dyslexia in three groups of children. The first group of children was clinically diagnosed with dyslexia, whereas the second group of children was comprised of their siblings who had average reading and spelling skills and were therefore “unaffected” despite having a genetic risk for dyslexia. The third group consisted of control children who were not related to the other groups and were also unaffected. In total, 225 children were included in the study. All children showed clear MMN activity to/da/−/ba/contrasts that could be separated into three distinct MMN components. Whilst the first two MMN components did not differentiate the groups, the late MMN component (300–700 ms) revealed significant group differences. The mean area of the late MMN was attenuated in both the dyslexic children and their unaffected siblings in comparison to the control children. This finding is indicative of analogous alterations of neurophysiological processes in children with dyslexia and those with a genetic risk for dyslexia, without a manifestation of the disorder. The present results therefore further suggest that the late MMN might be a potential endophenotype for dyslexia.
How Are Family-Responsive Workplace Arrangements Family Friendly? Employer Accommodations, Parenting, and Children's Socioemotional Well-Being

Family-responsive workplace arrangements, including schedule flexibility, reduced hours, and workplace social support, are often touted as important to employed parents' abilities to balance the simultaneous demands involved in work and childrearing. Empirical evidence regarding this supposition has most often focused on employed parents' perceptions of work-family incompatibility, leaving little understanding of (1) which arrangements are associated with parenting and children's well-being and (2) the process through which these arrangements may be related to these aspects of family life. A stress perspective on the work-family interface suggests that work-family arrangements might be related to parenting and children through the mechanisms of parents' psychological well-being. I use data from a regional sample of employed mothers to investigate this proposition. Findings from path models show that most relationships between arrangements and parenting are direct and unmediated by mothers' well-being and that work-family arrangements are only indirectly associated with children's socioemotional well-being.
Identification of novel functional organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B3 polymorphisms and assessment of substrate specificity

Objective The uptake carrier organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B3 (OATP1B3, gene SLCO1B3) is involved in the hepatic clearance of xenobiotics including statins, taxanes, and mycophenolic acid. We thought to assess the SLCO1B3 coding region for yet unidentified polymorphisms and to analyze their functional relevance. Methods We used DNA of ethnically diverse individuals for polymerase chain reaction, and determined polymorphisms by sequencing or temperature-dependent capillary electrophoresis. We then created variant OATP1B3 expression plasmids by site-directed mutagenesis, which were transiently expressed and functionally characterized in human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells using radiolabeled substrates. Results We identified six nonsynonymous polymorphisms including novel variants such as 439A>G (Thr147Ala), 767G>C (Gly256Ala), 1559A>C (His520Pro), and 1679T>C (Val560Ala). Allelic frequencies occurred to be ethnicity-dependent, with the latter observed only in African–Americans (3.6%). After expression in HeLa cells, His520Pro, Val560Ala, and Met233Ile or Met233Ile_Ser112Ala haplotype variants showed decreased uptake activity compared with wild type for cholecystokinin-8 and rosuvastatin, but not for atorvastatin. Kinetic cholecystokinin-8 analysis showed reduced Vmax without altering Km. His520Pro and Val560Ala exhibited decreased total and plasma membrane protein expressions. Val560 mapped onto a structural model of OATP1B3 showed that this is a key region for substrate–transporter interaction. His520 resides in a predicted extracellular region thought to be critical to the pH-dependent component of OATP1B3 activity. Loss of activity at pH 7.4 and 8.0 relative to pH 6.5 was significantly greater for the Pro520 variant. Conclusion OATP1B3 polymorphisms that result in altered expression, substrate specificity, and pH-dependent activity may be of potential relevance to hepatic clearance of substrate drugs in vivo.
Alternating d(G‐A) sequences form a parallel‐stranded DNA homoduplex.

The oligonucleotides d[(G‐A)7G] and d[(G‐A)12G] self‐associate under physiological conditions (10 mM MgCl2, neutral pH) into a stable double‐helical structure (psRR‐DNA) in which the two polypurine strands are in a parallel orientation in contrast to the antiparallel disposition of conventional B‐DNA. We have characterized psRR‐DNA by gel electrophoresis, UV absorption, vacuum UV circular dichroism, monomer‐excimer fluorescence of oligonucleotides end‐labelled with pyrene, and chemical probing with diethyl pyrocarbonate and dimethyl sulfate. The duplex is stable at pH 4–9, suggesting that the structure is compatible with, but does not require, protonation of the A residues. The data support a model derived from force‐field analysis in which the parallel‐stranded d(G‐A)n helix is right‐handed and constituted of alternating, symmetrical Gsyn.Gsyn and Aanti.Aanti base pairs with N1H…O6 and N6H…N7 hydrogen bonds, respectively. This dinucleotide structure may be the source of a negative peak observed at 190 nm in the vacuum UV CD spectrum, a feature previously reported only for left‐handed Z‐DNA. The related sequence d[(GAAGGA)4G] also forms a parallel‐stranded duplex but one that is less stable and probably involves a slightly different secondary structure. We discuss the potential intervention of psRR‐DNA in recombination, gene expression and the stabilization of genomic structure.
Smoking cessation and weight gain

Cigarette smoking is the single most important preventable cause of death and illness. Smoking cessation is associated with substantial health benefits. Weight gain is cited as a primary reason for not trying to quit smoking. There is a great variability in the amount of weight gain but younger ages, lower socio‐economic status and heavier smoking are predictors of higher weight gain. Weight change after smoking cessation appears to be influenced by underlying genetic factors. Besides, weight gain after smoking cessation is largely because of increased body fat and some studies suggest that it mostly occurs in the subcutaneous region of the body. The mechanism of weight gain includes increased energy intake, decreased resting metabolic rate, decreased physical activity and increased lipoprotein lipase activity. Although there is convincing evidence for the association between smoking cessation and weight gain, the molecular mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. This review summarizes current information of the effects of nicotine on peptides involved in feeding behaviour. Smoking was shown to impair glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and cross‐sectional studies have demonstrated that smokers are insulin‐resistant and hyperinsulinaemic, as compared with non‐smokers. Smoking cessation seems to improve insulin sensitivity in spite of the weight gain. Nicotine replacement – in particular nicotine gum – appears to be effective in delaying post‐cessation weight gain. In a group of women who failed to quit smoking because of weight gain, a dietary intervention (intermittent very‐low‐calorie diet) plus nicotine gum showed to both increase success rate in terms of smoking cessation and prevent weight gain. On the other hand, body weight gain at the end of treatment was significantly lower in the patients receiving bupropion or bupropion plus nicotine patch, compared with placebo. Studies with new drugs available for the treatment of obesity – sibutramine and orlistat – are warranted.
Lexical writing can be non-semantic and it can be fluent without practice

Abstract We report a stroke patient who cannot write novel nonwords to dictation but who can write many familiar words. We tested her writing to dictation of 15 nonwords that had no distinctive meanings but which she was learning to read aloud. She wrote them fluently at the first attempt. She can also copy nonwords from memory more accurately if they are familiar. Her writing of function words to dictation is poor but better than that of novel nonwords. Function words are copied better than they are read or written to dictation, and better than novel nonwords. Aural comprehension is good and better than in reading. She can report semantic associations that are evoked by concrete nouns and by nonwords that are given a concrete meaning, but not by function words nor by the familiar nonwords used here. These results are evidence for processes that are lexical but not semantic in both writing to dictation and in copying from memory, and for both familiar nonwords and for function words. They also show that l.
A Review of Functional Imaging Studies on Category Specificity

A review of 20 functional imaging studies that compared visual processing of natural objects and artifacts in normal subjects is presented. The studies included fulfilled three criteria: (i) they used pictures as stimuli, (ii) they were based on direct contrasts between categories, and (iii) they reported findings in Talairach space. Not a single area is consistently activated for a given category across all studies. In contrast, 11 out of 29 regions are reported activated by both artifacts and natural objects. It is argued that the inconsistency is unlikely to reflect differences between studies in task requirements alone. Rather, the most likely causes of the inconsistency are: (i) adoption of liberal statistical thresholds that may yield false-positive activations, (ii) limited sensitivity due to few observations, and (iii) failure to match categories on confounding variables such as familiarity and visual complexity. Of the most consistent activations found, none appear to be selective for natural objects or artifacts. The findings reviewed are compatible with theories of category specificity that assume a widely distributed conceptual system not organized by category.
Shame: an emotional response to doing mathematics as an adult and a teacher

Increasingly, the mathematical subject knowledge required of teachers is described as lists of facts, skills and competencies. This listing appears unproblematic given the apparently rational nature of the subject. However, mathematics is often experienced as an intensely emotional subject. The focus of this article is shame: a reaction to other people's criticisms and an emotional response to knowing and doing mathematics. It is used as an analytical tool to explore the ways in which mathematics is known by primary school teachers. It is suggested that absolutist/product conceptions of mathematics provide ideal opportunities for experiencing shame and that, while shame can act as a positive motivational force, accessing it in this way is far from easy.
Feature Integration of Children during Exercise

The influence of exercise-induced arousal on the processing of visual information by three age groups was tested. Subjects were required to perform the Treisman visual detection task both at rest and during a steady-state walk at 75% of their maximum heart rate. The expected age differences in perceptual performance were apparent. The detection performance of 8-year-olds was poorer than that of 11-year-olds and adults. Detection of conjoined feature targets, with increases in the array size, showed a decrement in comparison to single feature targets. Subjects responded more quickly at all levels of distraction when a target was present while they were exercising. The results supported certain elements of Treisman's feature integration theory. This study has provided evidence that an exercise stress equivalent to 75 % of maximum heart rate had a positive effect on the visual perceptual performance of all groups tested. Both array size and feature conditions interacted with age. This suggests that children .
Estimating the impact of stroke unit care in a whole population: an epidemiological study using routine data

Background and purpose Randomised trials indicate that organised inpatient (stroke unit) care has an important impact on patient outcomes with an absolute risk difference (ARD) of 3% for survival and 5% for returning home. However, it is unclear what impact this complex intervention actually has in routine practice. A comprehensive national dataset was used to study the impact of stroke unit implementation. Methods The Scottish linked discharge database was used to identify all patients admitted to hospital with an incident stroke. Analyses compared case fatality and discharge home (adjusted for age, sex, deprivation and comorbidity) for hospitals with or without a stroke unit during four consecutive study periods: 1986–1990, 1991–1995, 1996–2000 and 2001–2005. Results During the study period, the percentage of admissions to hospitals that had a stroke unit increased from 0% to 87%, the 6 month case fatality decreased from 45% to 29% and discharges home increased from 46% to 59%. Adjusted ORs (95% CI) for case fatality (stroke unit versus no unit) in each study period were as follows: not calculable (no units before 1991), 0.83 (0.78–0.89), 0.90 (0.86–0.94) and 0.87 (0.82–0.91). These equate to an ARD of 3.0% over the whole study period. Equivalent data for discharge home indicated an increased odds of discharge home: not calculable, 1.23 (1.15–1.31), 1.15 (1.10–1.21) and 1.17 (1.11–1.23) with an overall ARD of 5%. Conclusions These results indicate a positive impact of a policy of stroke unit care on case fatality and discharge home. The estimated impact, after adjusting for case mix, appears very similar to that calculated using clinical trial data.
Inhibition of T-cell responsiveness during experimental infections with Trypanosoma brucei: active involvement of endogenous gamma interferon

Lymph node cells (LNC) from mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei contain macrophage-like cells that inhibit interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) expression (M. Sileghem, A. Darji, R. Hamers, M. Van De Winkel, and P. De Baetselier, Eur. J. Immunol. 19:829-835, 1989). Evidence that gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) is actively involved in (i) the inhibition of IL-2R expression and (ii) the generation of suppressive cells during infections with T. brucei is presented. First, despite an impaired T-cell mitogenic response, LNC from infected mice are hyperresponsive for IFN-gamma production. Second, addition of neutralizing anti-IFN-gamma antibodies to cocultures of normal LNC and suppressive LNC populations reduces the level of suppression and restores the level of IL-2R expression. Third, administration of anti-IFN-gamma to T. brucei-infected animals increases the blastogenic response and reduces the suppressive activity of LNC.
Attention Performance in an Epidemiological Sample of Urban Children: The Role of Gender and Verbal Intelligence

Abstract We administered a comprehensive attentional battery to an epidemiologically defined sample of 435 first-and second-grade children to assess the influence of gender and verbal intelligence on attention. The battery included three versions of the continuous performance test (CPT), two digit cancellation tasks, three subtests from the WISC-R, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results indicated that both gender and intelligence had an impact on attentional performance. Girls performed better than boys; they made fewer errors on the CPT and obtained higher scores on the digit cancellation task and the Coding subtest of the WISC-R. Children with higher verbal intelligence also performed better on the attentional tests, but this advantage was not observed across measures or levels of performance. For example, children with limited verbal skills performed significantly worse than their peers only in measures with high processing demands (the degraded CPT and the distraction version of the digit ca.