Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitization of trigeminal brainstem pathways in a model for tear deficient dry eye

Abstract Chronic dry eye disease (DE) is associated with an unstable tear film and symptoms of ocular discomfort. The characteristics of symptoms suggest a key role for central neural processing; however, little is known about central neuroplasticity and DE. We used a model for tear deficient DE and assessed effects on eye blink behavior, orbicularis oculi muscle activity (OOemg), and trigeminal brainstem neural activity in male rats. Ocular-responsive neurons were recorded at the interpolaris/caudalis transition (Vi/Vc) and Vc/upper cervical cord (Vc/C1) regions under isoflurane, whereas OOemg activity was recorded under urethane. Spontaneous tear volume was reduced by ∼50% at 14 days after exorbital gland removal. Hypertonic saline–evoked eye blink behavior in awake rats was enhanced throughout the 14 days after surgery. Saline-evoked neural activity at the Vi/Vc transition and in superficial and deep laminae at the Vc/C1 region was greatly enhanced in DE rats. Neurons from DE rats classified as wide dynamic range displayed enlarged convergent periorbital receptive fields consistent with central sensitization. Saline-evoked OOemg activity was markedly enhanced in DE rats compared with controls. Synaptic blockade at the Vi/Vc transition or the Vc/C1 region greatly reduced hypertonic saline–evoked OOemg activity in DE and sham rats. These results indicated that persistent tear deficiency caused sensitization of ocular-responsive neurons at multiple regions of the caudal trigeminal brainstem and enhanced OOemg activity. Central sensitization of ocular-related brainstem circuits is a significant factor in DE and likely contributes to the apparent weak correlation between peripheral signs of tear dysfunction and symptoms of irritation.
Resources for Teaching the Gifted Reader

Designing a reading curriculum which will effectively motivate all children in an elementary classroom, from the slowest reader to the ablest, involves individualizing reading instruction, providing a rich environment for critical and creative reading, and differentiating teaching strategies. This list of resources has been complied to assist teachers in planning reading programs which will stimulate the gifted reader to achieve according to his abilities. The entries are grouped in seven categories: (1) Creative Reading Activities, (2) Critical Reading Activities, (3) Identifying the Gifted . Reader, (4) Individualizing Reading Instruction, (5) Learning Centers, (6) Questioning, and (7) Teaching Strategies (Affective Dimension, Organization, and Self-Direction).
Activist and Citizen Political Repertoire in Spain: A Reflection Based on Civil Society Theory and Different Logics of Political Participation

Abstract Citizen participation in Spain has significantly increased, and its repertoire has broadened as a result of the 15M Movement. From assemblies and acampadas (occupations) to the current proliferation of new political parties, there has been constant movement through a wide range of techno-political actions and experimentation with means and political tools used by civil society and activists. This article aims to reflect on this complex and novel political repertoire from a theoretical framework of civil society. This framework is complemented with the differentiation of (horizontal versus vertical) political logics used in social movement studies.
The perceived effects of elite athletes' experiences of emotional abuse in the coach–athlete relationship

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived effects of elite athletes' experiences of emotional abuse in the coach–athlete relationship. Methods were established in congruence with the methodology of grounded theory. Data were gleaned from open-ended interviews with 14 retired elite athletes, 6 males and 8 females, from a variety of sports. Recorded interview sessions were transcribed verbatim and themes were coded from the transcripts using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Athletes discussed perceived psychological effects (low mood, anger, low self-efficacy, low self-esteem, anxiety, sense of accomplishment), training effects (increased motivation, decreased motivation, reduced enjoyment, impaired focus, difficulty with skill acquisition), and performance effects (performance decrements, enhanced performance) of their experiences of emotional abuse. Given that the current findings represent perceptions only, future prospective work is needed to further our understanding of the effects of experiencing emotional abuse. However, the findings raise questions about the ethics of condoning or justifying emotionally abusive coaching practices and support the need for athlete protection measures in sport. Limitations of the study are discussed and recommendations are made for future research.
The media construction of an adult literacy agenda in Canada

This paper explores the role of media in shaping adult literacy discourse and policy in Canada. The authors show how journalists, newspapers and other media personalities have directly and indirectly influenced (1) government and public perception of adult literacy and (2) the creation of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Overall, the paper points to the crucial role of the media in the transnationalisation of government agendas and policy discourse.
Real time musical events streaming over Internet

We present a novel protocol to transmit time ordered events in real-time over the Internet and to operate a correct time rendering on the receiver side. This protocol provides solutions to compensate for the network latency, to optimize the bandwidth use and to take account of the clock drift of the different stations involved in a transmission. It is particularly suitable to transmit musical events such as MIDI events. The implementation is based on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), however, the proposed solution is independent of the underlying network layers.
Concurrent Elections, Discordant Results: Presidentialism, Federalism, and Governance in Brazil: Presidentialism, federalism, and governance in Brazil

"Stumping for candidates is a thing of the past, it's a figure of speech. These days, if you advertise that you're going to vote for this or that candidate, it doesn't change anything. " So Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso expressed his belief that his support would not help elect candidates for other offices in O Estado de Sao Paulo, August 3, 1998. In January 1999 Cardoso became the first Brazilian president to pass the presidential sash to himself. He won a smashing first-round reelection victory in October 1998, defeating his nearest rival by over 20 percent. The parties in his alliance also won sizable majorities in both houses of congress. By all rights, Cardoso's reelection ought to have rejuvenated his efforts to maintain Brazil's economic stabilization program (the Piano Real) and to pass extensive political reforms. On top of the prestige from his relatively easy victory, the International Monetary Fund agreed soon after the election to provide Brazil with U.S.$42 billion to give Cardoso extra political and economic breathing room to maneuver for reform. Superficially, Cardoso appeared to possess significant political capital at the start of his second term. However, Cardoso experienced no second honeymoon. To the contrary, his second term began as a nightmare. Within weeks of his inauguration, the real collapsed, losing half its value and raising fears of a return to Brazil's infamous days of hyperinflation; the country's foreign currency reserves were drained; two central bank presidents resigned in succession; the Brazilian stock markets went into a free-fall; and former president Itamar Franco, elected governor of the important state of Minas Gerais, effectively defaulted on the debts his state owed to domestic and international creditors. This last straw forced the central government to cover the debts in order to stave off the perception of a generalized government default. The New York Times soon concluded that despite Cardoso's victory "Brazil is struggling against its worst financial crisis in years. "' Moreover, as the largest economy in Latin America and the eighth largest in the world, Brazil's troubles reverberated throughout the region. Leery investors feared that Brazil's problems could unleash "new global turmoil" or even precipitate a "global financial meltdown. "2 Brazil's economic crisis generated a political crisis, and after his inauguration Cardoso's political prestige quickly slipped with both voters and congress.3 Why was Cardoso's second honeymoon cut short so abruptly? While many fac-
A two-path model on the effects of positivity and empathy reflected by online reviews: a choice mechanism perspective

This research uses the three choice mechanisms, i.e., cognitive, normative, and affective processes, to examine the impacts of two interrelated aspects regarding online reviews, i.e., positivity of online reviews and empathy reflected by online reviews, on online purchase intentions through two studies. Results reveal that positivity of online reviews is more strongly related to both cognitive and normative processing, whereas empathy reflected in response to searchers' problems is found to influence consumers' affective decision making, thus leading to the development of a two-path model regarding the psychological mechanisms about online reviews. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
O uso da psicoeducação no tratamento do transtorno bipolar

Bipolar disorder shows significant chronicity and severity of symptoms usually causing psychosocial damage. Pharmacological treatment is considered essential for bipolar patients. However, in the psychosocial field, an association between stressors and precipitation of bipolar episodes has been clearly documented, highlighting the need for intervention in this field. As for psychoeducation, this consists of a psychosocial intervention model. The present study aimed to investigate scientific literature in respect of the outcomes of psychoeducation as a part of the treatment for bipolar disorder. Psychoeducation is seen to be a successful model in the adherence to psychopharmacological treatment, in the greater awareness and understanding of this disorder, by decreasing the number of maniac episodes as well the number of relapses and hospitalizations, improving coping and social skills. In the same way, psychoeducation offers an important alternative for the relatives of bipolar patients. It may be concluded that psychoeducation is not a substitute for pharmacological treatment, but, it has been effective in a significant optimization of the effects of pharmacological treatment.
Standard operating procedures for describing and performing metabolic tests of glucose homeostasis in mice

The Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC) Consortium was established to address the need to characterize the growing number of mouse models of metabolic diseases, particularly diabetes and obesity. A goal of the MMPC Consortium is to propose standard methods for assessing metabolic phenotypes in mice. In this article, we discuss issues pertaining to the design and performance of various tests of glucose metabolism. We also propose guidelines for the description of methods, presentation of data and interpretation of results. The recommendations presented in this article are based on the experience of the MMPC Consortium and other investigators.
Interbody, Posterior, and Combined Lumbar Fusions

Study Design This is a review article on the different approaches used to obtain fusion of the lumbar spine. Objective To describe certain conceptual and technical aspects related to the various fusion techniques that are used commonly for lumbar spine disorders and. to discuss the expected clinical results. Summary of Background Data There are differences of opinion among surgeons concerning the preferred method for lumbar spine fusion, whether done for deformity, disease, trauma, or degeneration. Methods A review of the literature combined with personal experience formed the basis of this article. Results At the present time, analysis of the literature does not indicate that one form of fusion is significantly better then another for degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine, There is recent evidence suggesting better outcomes (as distinct from subjective opinion alone) are obtained after anterior interbody fusion than after posterolateral fusion with internal fixation, despite a higher fusion rate in the latter group. There is evidence that suggests late spinal stenosis adjacent to a fusion is more likely to occur with posterior fusion procedures than with anterior fusion alone. Conclusions Significant potential complications are associated with all techniques, particularly neurologic damage with posterior interbody fusion, and vascular injury with anterior interbody fusion. Spinal fusion pro-cedures should only be done by surgeons with the necessary training and expertise.
Negative priming effect after inhibition of number/length interference in a Piaget-like task

According to Dempster, Piagetian tasks have more to do with the child’s ability to resist (inhibit) interference than they do with the ability to grasp their underlying logic. Here we used a chronometric paradigm with 9-year-olds, who succeed in Piaget’s conservation of number task, to test the role of cognitive inhibition in a priming version of this classical task. The experimental design was such that the misleading strategy ‘length-equals-number’ to inhibit on the prime (a Piaget-like item with number/length interference) became a congruent strategy to activate on the probe (a subsequent item where number and length covaried). A negative priming effect of 158 ms was observed for the prime–probe sequence. This result confirms that success on Piaget-like tasks (the prime) requires an inhibition process.
Help-seeking and paranormal beliefs in adherents of mainstream religion, alternative religion, and no religion

This study explored the relationship between help-seeking and adherence to mainstream religion (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), alternative religion (for example, New Age spiritual belief and Paganism) and no religion (including agnosticism and atheism). Four-hundred and fourteen participants completed an online survey which included questions on demographics, help-seeking beliefs and paranormal beliefs (a modified form of the Paranormal Beliefs Scale was used). Previous research had explored adherence to various religions and compared aspects of help-seeking and paranormal beliefs separately. Comparisons were made between basic theoretical differences in belief (e.g., monotheism vs. polytheism vs. rationalism) and help-seeking beliefs. Implications of this research for therapeutic practice are discussed.
Comment on Nick Crossley/4

xThe article by Nick Crossley is a brilliant exposition of both advantages and difficulties of using network analysis in social research. It is hard not to agree with him in his account about what a quantitative approach is, what social network analysis (SNA) does well and what are the advantages of incorporating qualitative methods in the research design. Through three case examples based on his previous research, the author points out the fallacies of using a single approach (SNA alone in this case) and how qualitative methods are needed for getting a more reliable understanding of the social world under study.
Autoantibodies to Amphiphysin I and Amphiphysin II in a Patient with Sensory-Motor Neuropathy

A proportion of patients with peripheral neuropathies has circulating autoantibodies directed against neural antigens. In some cases, autoantibodies may play a pathogenic role. We studied a patient with a progressive sensory-motor axonal neuropathy of unknown etiology, looking for circulating autoantibodies against neural antigens and we showed that the patient’s serum contained anti-amphiphysin I (AMP I) and amphiphysin II (AMP II) autoantibodies. A sural nerve biopsy revealed an axonal neuropathy. Indirect immunofluorescence experiments with the patient’s serum showed a staining of rat axons due to α-AMP I autoantibodies and a specific labelling of cytoplasm and Schmidt-Lanterman incisures of Schwann cells due to α-AMP II autoantibodies. In conclusion we identified a patient affected by a sensory-motor neuropathy with autoantibodies against both AMP I and AMP II.
Evolving concepts of the renin-angiotensin system: Highlights from the pre-ISH 2012 satellite meeting

Despite its long history, the renin-angiotensin system remains an active area of research. New components and interactions between novel and established components continue to be discovered. These developments are providing fresh insight into the role of the renin-angiotensin system in cardiovascular health and disease and new therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The pre-ISH 2012 satellite ‘Evolving concepts of the renin-angiotensin system’ provided a timely opportunity to review progress and to discuss the future of this exciting and productive area of research.
Literacy and the Pendulum of Change: Lessons for the 21st Century.

The history of literacy education closely parallels other "histories" of education. One needs only to recall how "innovative" trends of the past few decades found a ready market for their claims of classroom success, such as team teaching, open-concept classrooms, "new" or "modem" mathematics, and self-paced instruction. Each innovation was touted as a panacea for problems facing the schools of the day. Literacy education is no different in its seemingly endless sequence of innovations, all offered as answers to various philosophical and pedagogical questions. This sequence, when viewed over an extended period, reflects a distinct pattern of repeated, almost circular emphasis on varying philosophies, teaching techniques, and instructional materials. Terms such as language experience (e.g., Allen, 1964; Hall, 1981; Stauffer, 1980; Veatch, 1959), phonics (e.g., Adams, 1990; Erickson & Juliebo, 1998; Gray, 1960), basal readers (e.g., Artley,
CD137 is expressed on blood vessel walls at sites of inflammation and enhances monocyte migratory activity

The cytokine receptor CD137 is a member of the TNF receptor family and a potent T cell costimulatory molecule. Its ligand is expressed on antigen presenting cells as a transmembrane protein and it too can deliver signals into the cells it is expressed on (reverse signaling). In monocytes, immobilized CD137 protein induces activation, prolongation of survival and proliferation. Here we show that recombinant immobilized CD137 protein enhances migration of monocytes in vitro. Further, CD137 expression on spheroids leads to a significantly enhanced infiltration by monocytes. The migration‐inducing activity of CD137 could be confirmed in vivo. Matrigel, which was coated with recombinant CD137 protein and was inserted into the flanks of mice attracted large numbers of monocytes and was heavily infiltrated by these cells. In vivo, expression of CD137 by blood vessel walls at sites of inflammation was detectable by immunohistochemistry. CD137 expression is inducible by proinflammatory cytokines in endothelial cells, suggesting that a physiological function of CD137 may be the facilitation of monocyte extravasation in inflammatory tissues. —Drenkard D. , Becke F. M. , Langstein J., Spruss T. , Kunz‐Schughart L.A. , Tan T.E. , Lim Y.C. , Schwarz H. CD137 is expressed on blood vessel walls at sites of inflammation and enhances monocyte migratory activity. FASEB J. 21, 456–463 (2007)
Individual Differences in Performance on Elementary Cognitive Tasks (ECTs): Lawful vs. Problematic Parameters

Abstract Over the past 2 decades, the cognitive-correlates approach has dominated investigations into the nature of intelligence. This research program relies on a number of processing speed parameters (apart from “average performance”). These measures include the slope, intercept, and intraindividual variability of both decision time and movement time. By correlating these measures with established markers of intelligence, researchers postulate theoretical models underlying these information-processing constructs. However, there is a lack of substantive evidence that these phenomena are as robust within the individual as has been proposed. The authors tested the properties of intraindividual parameters by asking participants (N = 179) to perform 10 elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs). Detailed analyses revealed that average performance parameters, extracted from these ECTs, behaved lawfully. However, up to 40% of participants failed to provide acceptable indices of intraindividual model fit. Similarly, intraindividual variability measures appeared less valid than previously suggested. The implications of these findings for cognitive and biological models of intelligence are discussed.
Medium Access Control Protocols in Cognitive Radio Networks: Overview and General Classification

The Cognitive Radio and the Cognitive Radio Networks have recently become one of the most intensively studied paradigms in wireless communications. The main distinctive characteristic with respect to the radio environmental conditions in which the Cognitive Radio Network operates is the time/frequency/space-dependent availability of the spectral resources, a phenomenon commonly referred as spectrum hete-rogeneity. This phenomenon imposes redefinition of the protocol stack by introducing new communication protocols for the Cognitive Radio Network including new Medium Access Control protocols. The Cognitive MAC (C-MAC) protocols employ number of mechanisms that address spectrum heterogeneity and provide technical strategies for smart exploitation of spectrum's current underutilized time/space/frequency regions that enables large spectrum efficiency gains while maximizing the transparency of the Cognitive Radio Networks to the primary system. The classification and systematization of the existing C-MAC proposals is a complex task due to many C-MAC related aspects. This survey introduces and develops generic, modular and easily extensible layout for classification and systematization of C-MAC protocols referred as C-MAC cycle. Each C-MAC protocol can be easily fragmented, mapped and visualized using the C-MAC cycle, regardless of the operational scenario and settings. The survey offers extensive overview on the state-of-the-art advances in C-MAC protocol engineering by reviewing existing and up-to-date technical solutions, identifies their basic characteristics and maps them into the C-MAC cycle. The survey also highlights the role of regulative and standardization activities on C-MAC cycle.
Continuous irradiation of P388F lymphoma in vitro sensitization by 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine.

SummaryP388F lymphoma cells in vitro were exposed to non-cytotoxic concentrations of IUdR (5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine), either as a 30 min pulse, or continuously for 20 days. Both treatments caused an increase in sensitivity (increase in doubling time) to continuous irradiation.Sensitization, reduction in extrapolation number, to acute doses of 300 kvp x-rays was demonstrated after 16 days growth in low IUdR concentrations (up to 0·28 µM). Populations given 30 min treatments (5·6 µM IUdR) and subsequently grown in normal medium were also more sensitive to acute doses of x-rays. There was again a decrease in extrapolation number with no change in the D0 value. This increased sensitivity was still demonstrable in two of the treated populations after 20 days' growth and in a third after 30 days' growth in normal medium.Sensitization, after 30 min treatments, was not due to a change in the relative proportions of the stages of the cell-cycle as shown by the rate of increase of labelled cells and labelled mitoses.