Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychological Considerations of the Child with a Progressive Terminal Condition in a Residential Setting

Psychosocial aspects of dealing with the child with a progressive terminal disease are discussed, particularly in relation to areas of concern for the psychologist or counselor in a residential program for visually impaired children. Areas of concern include parental and sibling attitudes and ways of coping with the fact that the child is dying, as well as the roles of teachers, houseparents, and other professionals. It is suggested that the psychologist help the family to accept the child's condition without withdrawing emotionally from the child, help the professional staff by acting as coordinator of the treatment team and aiding them in dealing with their own negative feelings toward the child, and act as a “professional friend” to the child, who must have someone with whom to discuss his fears and questions about what is happening to him.
Endometriosis: A Disease That Remains Enigmatic

Endometriosis, a gynecologic pathology, is defined by the presence of a tissue similar to uterine endometrium, which is located in places other than physiologically appropriate. These endometrial heterotopic islets contain glands and stroma and are functionally capable of responding to exogenous, endogenous, or local hormonal stimuli. Endometriosis affects 8%–10% of women of reproductive age; in 30% of the women, the condition is associated with primary or secondary infertility. In several instances, endometriosis persists as a minimal or mild disease, or it can resolve on its own. Other cases of endometriosis show severe symptomatology that ends when menopause occurs. Endometriosis can, however, reactivate in several postmenopausal women when iatrogenic or endogenous hormones are present. Endometriosis is occasionally accompanied by malignant ovarian tumors, especially endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas. Its pathogenesis is widely debated, and its variable morphology appears to represent a continuum of individual presentations and progressions. Endometriosis has no pathognomonic signs or symptoms; it is therefore difficult to diagnose. Because of its enigmatic etiopathogenesis, there is currently no satisfactory therapy for all patients with endometriosis. Treatments include medications, surgery, or combined therapies; currently, the only procedures that seem to cure endometriosis are hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. In this paper, we review the most controversial and enigmatic aspects of this disease.
Hepcidin and iron disorders: new biology and clinical approaches

Hepatic hormone hepcidin is a principal regulator of iron homeostasis and a pathogenic factor in common iron disorders. Hepcidin deficiency causes iron overload in hereditary hemochromatosis and iron‐loading anemias, whereas hepcidin excess causes or contributes to the development of iron‐restricted anemia in inflammatory diseases, infections, some cancers, and chronic kidney disease. Because of this, hepcidin may become a useful tool for diagnosis and management of iron disorders. Furthermore, a number of strategies that target hepcidin, its receptor, and its regulators are under development as novel therapeutic approaches for diseases associated with iron dysregulation.
Increase in kinins on post-exercise hypotension in normotensive and hypertensive volunteers

Abstract Post-exercise hypotension is an important event for blood pressure regulation, especially in hypertensive individuals. Although post-exercise hypotension is a well-known phenomenon, the mechanism responsible is still unclear. The kallikrein-kinin system is involved in blood pressure control, but its role in post-exercise hypotension has not yet been investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement of the vasodilators bradykinin and des-Arg9-BK and kallikrein activity in post-exercise hypotension promoted by 35 min of cycle ergometer (CE) or circuit weight-training (CWT) bouts in normotensive and hypertensive individuals. A significant decrease in mean arterial pressure at 45 and 60 min after CE and 45 min after CWT was observed in normotensive individuals. Hypertensive values of mean arterial pressure were significantly reduced at 45 and 60 min after CE and at 60 min after CWT. Before exercise, plasma bradykinin concentrations and kallikrein activity were higher in hypertensive compared to normotensive volunteers. Kinin levels increased in the groups evaluated at the end of the training period and 60 min post-exercise. These data suggest that the kallikrein-kinin system may be involved in post-exercise hypotension in normotensive and hypertensive individuals subjected to CE and CWT bouts.
Clock Distribution Networks in 3-D Integrated Systems

3-D integration is an important technology that addresses fundamental limitations in on-chip interconnects. Several design issues related to 3-D circuits, such as multiplane synchronization, however, need to be addressed. A comparison of three 3-D clock distribution network topologies is presented in this paper. Good agreement is shown between the modeled and experimental results of a 3-D test circuit composed of three device planes. Successful operation of the 3-D test circuit at 1.4 GHz is demonstrated. Clock skew, clock delay, signal slew, and power dissipation measurements for the different clock topologies are also provided. The measurements suggest that each topology provides certain advantages and disadvantages in terms of different performance criteria. The proper choice, consequently, of a clock distribution network is not dictated by a single design objective but rather by the overall 3-D system design requirements including availability of resources and number of bonded planes.
Wild pollination services to California almond rely on semi‐natural habitat

Summary 1. Global declines in honeybees have led to concerns about negative impacts on food production because of low levels of pollination. This is exemplified in California where the demand for honeybees Apis mellifera to pollinate almond Prunus dulcis is increasing, but problems with honeybee health suggest it may not be sustainable to rely solely on the pollination service of a single species. 2. We investigated the effect of the quantity of surrounding natural habitat, organic management and strips of semi-natural vegetation on flower visitation frequency of wild and managed pollinators and fruit set in 23 California almond orchards (15 conventional, 8 organic). Five conventional and four organic orchards were surrounded by a low percentage ( 30%). A further five conventional orchards with a low percentage of surrounding natural habitat had an adjacent strip of semi-natural vegetation and were included in the study to represent a realistic option for orchard management in intensive agricultural landscapes. 3. Wild bee species visited almond flowers but only in orchards with adjacent semi-natural habitat or vegetation strips. Organic management increased the flower visitation frequencies of hover flies and wild bees. The presence of a strip of semi-natural vegetation in orchards with a low percentage of surrounding natural habitat increased the number of species and the flower visitation frequency by wild pollinators but only at orchard edges and not to the degree seen when natural habitat was abundant. 4. Wild bee species richness and flower visitation frequency, but not honeybee frequency, were related to fruit set. Fruit set increased with increasing percentage of natural habitat surrounding the orchards. Organic farming or the presence of a vegetation strip did not increase fruit set. 5. Synthesis and applications. The restoration of high quality habitat strips along the edges of crop fields in highly intensified agricultural landscapes should be encouraged and monitored to conserve pollinators and to determine whether benefits for agriculture can be realized. Although honeybees are the main and most important pollinating insects for many plants, wild pollinators may be necessary to ensure high fruit set. Organic farming alone will not sustain wild pollination services for almond in California.
A model of protection of earthed structures by means of lightning rod conductors

Lightning protection air terminals are placed on structures and other grounded objects with the purpose of capturing the lightning stroke. A well estimation of the lateral protection distance is crucial in predicting the protection area of the lightning rod. This paper focus on a 3-D numerical modelling of lightning attachment based on physical phenomena leading to the formation and the development of the positive upward discharges. The application of our physical model was made for rods on earthed structures. Our model takes into account the real nature of the protected area. The influence of the edges and the corners of the structure on the LPS is investigated. The purpose of our 3D model is to present numerical predictions in order to ensure an efficient lightning protection system.
NGN, QCD 2 and chiral phase transition from string theory

We construct a D2-D8-8 configuration in string theory, it can be described at low energy by two dimensional field theory. In the weak coupling region, the low energy theory is a nonlocal generalization of Gross-Neveu(GN) model which dynamically breaks the chiral flavor symmetry U(Nf)L × U(Nf)R at large Nc and finite Nf. However, in the strong coupling region, we can use the SUGRA/Born-Infeld approximation to describe the low energy dynamics of the system. Also, we analyze the low energy dynamics about the configuration of wrapping the one direction of D2 brane on a circle with anti-periodic boundary condition of fermions. The fermions and scalars on D2 branes get mass and decouple from the low energy theory. The IR dynamics is described by the QCD2 at weak coupling. In the opposite region, the dynamics has a holographic dual description. And we have discussed the phase transition of chiral symmetry breaking at finite temperature. Finally, after performing T-duality, this configuration is related to some other brane configurations.
NOTCH2 Is Neither Rearranged nor Mutated in t(1;19) Positive Oligodendrogliomas

The combined deletion of 1p and 19q chromosomal arms is frequent in oligodendrogliomas (OD) and has recently been shown to be mediated by an unbalanced t(1;19) translocation. Recent studies of 1p/19q co-deleted OD suggest that the NOTCH2 gene is implicated in oligodendrocyte differentiation and may be involved in this rearrangement. The objective of the present study was to analyze the NOTCH2 locus either as a chromosomal translocation locus that may be altered by the 1p/19q recurrent rearrangement or as a gene that may be inactivated by a two hit process. We performed an array-CGH analysis of 15 ODs presenting 1p/19q co-deletion using a high-density oligonucleotide microarray spanning 1p and 19q pericentromeric regions with 377 bp average probe spacing. We showed that the 1p deletion extends to the centromere of chromosome 1 and includes the entire NOTCH2 gene. No internal rearrangement of this gene was observed. This strongly suggests that the t(1;19) translocation does not lead to an abnormal NOTCH2 structure. The analysis of the entire NOTCH2 coding sequence was performed in four cases and did not reveal any mutation therefore indicating that NOTCH2 does not harbor genetic characteristics of a tumor suppressor gene. Finally, the detailed analysis of chromosome 19 pericentromeric region led to the identification of two breakpoint clusters at 19p12 and 19q11–12. Interestingly, these two regions share a large stretch of homology. Together with previous observations of similarities between chromosome 1 and 19 alphoid sequences, this suggests that the t(1;19) translocation arises from complex intra and interchromosomal rearrangements. This is the first comprehensive deletion mapping by high density oligo-array of the 1p/19q co-deletion in oligodendroglioma tumors using a methodological approach superior to others previously applied. As such this paper provides clear evidence that the NOTCH2 gene is not physically rearranged by t(1;19) translocation of oligodendroglioma tumors.
Testing the dynamic field theory: working memory for locations becomes more spatially precise over development.

The dynamic field theory predicts that biases toward remembered locations depend on the separation between targets, and the spatial precision of interactions in working memory that become enhanced over development. This was tested by varying the separation between A and B locations in a sandbox. Children searched for an object 6 times at an A location, followed by 3 trials at a B location. Two- and 4-year-olds', but not 6-year-olds', responses were biased toward A when A and B were 9-in. and 6-in. apart. When A and B were separated by 2 in. , however, 4- and 6-year-olds' responses were biased toward A. Thus, the separation at which responses were biased toward A decreased across age groups, supporting the predictions of the theory.
Audiological Follow-Up of Children with the m.1555A>G Mutation in Mitochondrial DNA

The age at onset and the severity of hearing impairment (HI) varies widely among subjects and within families with the m.1555A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA. We examined prospectively the hearing of 19 children in three nuclear families of a pedigree with m.1555A>G during a period of 7.8 years. The children underwent an audiological examination annually. At the end of the follow-up, the children were 2–13 years old. The parents were asked about the exposure of the children to risk factors of HI. We found that the 19 children with m.1555A>G were born with normal hearing and that 10 of them had developed HI by the end of the follow-up. High frequencies were affected first. The median age at the onset of HI was 3.7 years. Both the severity of HI and the age of onset varied within and between families. Most commonly, audiograms revealed a sensorineural, progressive HI sloping towards high frequencies. We could not identify environmental factors which could modify the development of HI. In conclusion, we were able to pinpoint the time of onset of HI and to follow the progression of HI in childhood. Our results show that there are distinct phenotypes, but at present there are no means to predict which phenotype will develop. It is important to follow up the hearing of children in families with the m.1555A>G mutation, because these children generally pass the newborn hearing screening, and the age at onset or the phenotype of HI cannot be predicted.
Analysis of Syntax of Six-, Seven-, and Eight-Year-Old Children.

Interest in the syntactic development of children's language has attracted the attention of linguists and educators during the last two decades. In his evaluation of this growing interest, Loban (1963) urged that the scientific study of language use new approaches for analysis and measurement. Endicott (1973) has stated that describing language for the purpose of research and curriculum design is essential. Information obtained from language research about the acquisition of syntactic patterns has important implications for curriculum design. The use of this information in the development of curriculum materials may effect change upon the oral language, written composition, and reading comprehension of school children. Among groups of educators most interested in the language processes of children are those involved in the teaching of reading. Researchers have begun to study children's language to determine its relationship to the reading process. Results of this research indicate that much written material is too complex syntactically for the persons for whom it was written (Bormuth, 1969; Granowsky, 1971; Glazer, 1973). Many researchers believe that information concerning the acquisition of syntactic patterns in children's language is critical in the development of reading materials. Research by Strickland (1962), Loban (1963), Hocker (1963),Ruddell (1965), Templin (1966), Robertson (1968), and Tatham (1970) confirms the importance of the relationship between children's familiarity with syntactic patterning and their level of comprehension in reading.
In AtT20 and HeLa cells brefeldin A induces the fusion of tubular endosomes and changes their distribution and some of their endocytic properties

We have studied the effects of brefeldin A (BFA) on the tubular endosomes in AtT20 and HeLa cells (Tooze, J., and M. Hollinshead. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 115:635-653) by electron microscopy of cells labeled with three endocytic tracers, HRP, BSA-gold, and transferrin conjugated to HRP, and by immunofluorescence microscopy. For the latter we used antibodies specific for transferrin receptor, and, in the case of AtT20 cells, also antibodies specific for synaptophysin. In HeLa cells BFA at concentrations ranging from 1 micrograms to 10 micrograms/ml causes the dispersed patches of network of preexisting tubular early endosomes to be incorporated within 5 min into tubules approximately 50 nm in diameter but up to 40-50 microns long. These long, straight tubular endosomes are aligned along microtubules; they branch relatively infrequently to form an open network or reticulum extending from the cell periphery to the microtubule organizing center (MTOC). As the incubation with BFA is prolonged beyond 5 min, a steady state is reached in which many tubules are located in a dense network enclosing the centrioles, with branches extending in a more open network to the periphery. This effect of BFA, which is fully reversed within 15-30 min of washing out, is inhibited by pre-incubating the cells with sodium azide and 2-deoxy-D-glucose. In AtT20 cells BFA at 5 micrograms/ml or above causes the same sorts of changes, preexisting tubular endosomes are recruited into a more continuous endosomal network, and there is a massive accumulation of this network around the MTOC. Maintenance of the BFA-induced endosomal reticulum in both cell types is dependent upon the integrity of microtubules. In AtT20 cells BFA at 1 microgram/ml has no detectable effect on the early endosomal system but the Golgi stacks are converted to clusters of tubules and vesicles that remain in the region of the MTOC during prolonged incubations. Therefore, the Golgi apparatus in these cells is more sensitive to BFA than the early endosomes. The morphological evidence suggests that all the tubular early endosomes in BFA-treated HeLa and AtT20 cells are linked together in a single reticulum. Consistent with this, incubations as short as 1-3 min with 10 or 20 mg/ml HRP in the medium result in the entire endosomal reticulum in most of the BFA-treated cells being filled with HRP reaction product. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Interacting in time and space: Investigating human-human and human-robot joint action

When we have to physically interact with a robot, the benchmark for natural and efficient performance is our experience of daily interactions with other humans. This goal is still far despite significant advances in human-robot interaction. While considerable progress is made in various areas ranging from improving the hardware over safety measures to better sensor systems, the research on basic mechanisms of interaction and its technical implementation is still in its infancy. In the following, we give an overview of our own work aiming at improving human-robot interaction and joint action. When humans jointly collaborate to achieve a common goal, the actions of each partner need to be properly coordinated to assure a smooth and efficient workflow. This includes timing of the actions, but also, in the case of physical interaction, the spatial coordination. We thus first investigated how a simple physical interaction, a hand-over task between two humans without verbal communication, is achieved. Our results with a human as receiver and both humans and robots as delivering agent show that both the position and the kinematics of the partner's movement are used to increase the confidence in predicting hand-over in time and space. These results underline that for successful joint action the robot must act predictably for the human partner. However, in a more realistic scenario, robot and human constitute a dynamic system with each agent predicting and reacting to the actions and intentions of the other. We therefore investigated and implemented an assembly task where the robot acts as assistant for the human. Using a Bayesian estimation framework, the robot predicts assembly duration in order to deliver the next part just in time.
Lateralized Cerebellar Contributions to Word Generation: A Phonemic and Semantic Fluency Study

Impairment on verbal fluency tasks has been one of the more consistently reported neuropsychological findings after cerebellar lesions, but it has not been uniformly observed and the possible underlying cognitive basis has not been investigated. We tested twenty-two patients with chronic, unilateral cerebellar lesions (12 Left, 10 Right) and thirty controls on phonemic and semantic fluency tasks. We measured total words produced, words produced in the initial 15 seconds, errors and strategy switches. In the phonemic fluency task, the right cerebellar lesion (RC) group produced significantly fewer words compared to the left cerebellar lesion (LC) group and healthy controls, particularly over the first 15 seconds of the task with no increase in errors and significantly fewer switches over the entire task. In the semantic fluency task there was only a modest decrease in total words in the RC group compared to controls. RC lesions impair fluency with many of the same performance characteristics as left prefrontal lesions. This supports the hypotheses of a prefrontal-lateral cerebellar system for modulation of attention/executive or strategy demanding tasks.
Overexpressing of OsAMT1-3, a High Affinity Ammonium Transporter Gene, Modifies Rice Growth and Carbon-Nitrogen Metabolic Status

AMT1-3 encodes the high affinity NH4+ transporter in rice roots and is predominantly expressed under nitrogen starvation. In order to evaluate the effect of AMT1-3 gene on rice growth, nitrogen absorption and metabolism, we generated AMT1-3-overexpressing plants and analyzed the growth phenotype, yield, carbon and nitrogen metabolic status, and gene expression profiles. Although AMT1-3 mRNA accumulated in transgenic plants, these plants displayed significant decreases in growth when compared to the wild-type plants. The nitrogen uptake assay using a 15N tracer revealed poor nitrogen uptake ability in AMT1-3-overexpressing plants. We found significant decreases in AMT1-3-overexpressing plant leaf carbon and nitrogen content accompanied with a higher leaf C/N ratio. Significant changes in soluble proteins and carbohydrates were also observed in AMT1-3-overexpressing plants. In addition, metabolite profile analysis demonstrated significant changes in individual sugars, organic acids and free amino acids. Gene expression analysis revealed distinct expression patterns of genes that participate in carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Additionally, the correlation between the metabolites and gene expression patterns was consistent in AMT1-3-overexpressing plants under both low and high nitrogen growth conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that the carbon and nitrogen metabolic imbalance caused by AMT1-3 overexpressing attributed to the poor growth and yield of transgenic plants.
Optical tracking using projective invariant marker pattern properties

We describe a novel optical tracker algorithm for the tracking of interaction devices in virtual and augmented reality. The tracker uses invariant properties of marker patterns to efficiently identify and reconstruct the pose of these interaction devices. Since invariant properties are sensitive to noise in the 2D marker positions, an offline training session is used to determine deviations in these properties. These deviations are taken into account when searching for the patterns once the tracker is used.