Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relation between Major and Minor Depression and Heart Rate, Heart-Rate Variability, and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

This study examined the prevalence of major and minor depression in patients with acute coronary syndrome and their relation with heart rate and heart-rate variability, and clinical characteristics. The study group included 297 patients, 200 men and 97 women, between ages of 21 and 70 years (M age = 57.5 ± 9.6), who were admitted to a coronary care unit with acute coronary syndrome and survived to discharge from the hospital. Major and minor depression were diagnosed using DSM-IV. There were 44.1% patients with acute coronary syndrome without depression, 29.3% with minor depression, and 26.6% with major depression. The prevalence of minor and major depression was more elevated in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and unstable angina than in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation were more common in patients with major and minor depression than in patients without depression. The 24-hr. duration of heart-beat intervals and heart-rate variability were significantly lower in patients with major and minor depression than in patients without depression. This study implies that clinical depression was significantly comorbid with the acute coronary syndrome and was related to hypertension, diabetes mellitus, age, sex, type of acute coronary syndrome, left ventricular failure, higher heart rate, and lower heart-rate variability.
Transplanted Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Bone Marrow Differentiate into Neural Lineage Cells and Promote Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Recovery in central nervous system disorders is hindered by the limited ability of the vertebrate central nervous system to regenerate lost cells, replace damaged myelin, and re-establish functional neural connections. Cell transplantation to repair central nervous system disorders is an active area of research, with the goal of reducing functional deficits. Recent animal studies showed that cells of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fraction of bone marrow transdifferentiated into various nonhematopoietic cell lineages. We employed a mouse model of spinal cord injury and directly transplanted HSCs into the spinal cord 1 week after injury. We evaluated functional recovery using the hindlimb motor function score weekly for 5 weeks after transplantation. The data demonstrated a significant improvement in the functional outcome of mice transplanted with hematopoietic stem cells compared with control mice in which only medium was injected. Fluorescent in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome and double immunohistochemistry showed that transplanted cells survived 5 weeks after transplantation and expressed specific markers for astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neural precursors, but not for neurons. These results suggest that transplantation of HSCs from bone marrow is an effective strategy for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
Blood flow in the ovaries and ovarian follicles of Romanov and Préalpes-du-Sud ewes.

Radioactive microspheres (15 microns diameter) were used to measure capillary blood flow rates in the ovaries and ovarian follicles (Qf) in high fecund Romanov and low fecund Préalpes-du-Sud ewes at the preovulatory stage of the oestrous cycle. Additionally, assessments of the percentage of arterial blood passing through ovarian arterio-venous anastomoses were obtained. The mean +/- s.e. m. Qf per unit volume of theca [ml/min) x 10(4)/mm3) for non-atretic follicles in Romanov ewes was significantly greater (P less than 0.05) than that in Préalpes ewes (365.8 +/- 42.4, n = 19, compared with 241.3 +/- 30.1, n = 14). For each breed, the mean Qf value for non-atretic follicles was 8-10 times greater than that for atretic follicles. In Romanov ewes, total Qf [ml/min) x 10(4) and Qf per unit volume of theca was greatest in small-sized follicles (3.1-5.0 mm) while in Préalpes ewes, maximum flow was attained in larger-sized follicles (5.1-7.0 mm). The elevated Qf in small-sized follicles in Romanov ewes may be conducive to more follicles achieving maturation at a smaller diameter in this breed than occurs in the Préalpes ewes. The absence of flow through ovarian arterio-venous anastomoses in the Romanov, but not in the Préalpes, ewes suggests different mechanisms for controlling the distribution of the total ovarian blood supply in the 2 breeds.
The Making of UNITE the Union: The Dynamics of Amalgamation

In 2007, UNITE the Union became Britain’s largest trade union with 2.1 million members, following the amalgamation of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and AMICUS. Given their similar size and status, UNITE can be defined as a ‘balanced-partner’ amalgamation. The initial plan had included the GMB but it had withdrawn from the talks in 2006. Since 1979, in response to the adverse industrial relations context and loss of members all three potential partners had competed for new members by launching rival bids for mergers. An amalgamation offered a way to replace such competition with institutionalized co-operation, and resources could then be committed to regenerate union membership. The article analyses unions’ strategies and policies in relation to Mintzberg and Waters’s categories of ‘deliberate’ and ‘emergent’ strategies. However, such strategies may not be realized or only partially so, as a result of unintended consequences and unknown or misunderstood factors. Union mergers are beset with such examples because unions embody complex, political processes in which discrete groups – lay members and full-time officers – interact and compete to promote and negotiate distinctive visions as to the role and future of the union. Hence to analyse mergers in and between distinctive trade unions, a longitudinal, processional analysis, which explores the role of key personnel and their power resources, was required.
Communication growth in minimally verbal children with ASD: The importance of interaction

Little is known about language development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who remain minimally verbal past age 5. While there is evidence that children can develop language after age 5, we lack detailed information. Studies of this population generally focus on discrete language skills without addressing broader social‐communication abilities. As communication and social deficits are both inherent to ASD, an examination of not only what language skills are acquired, but how those skills are used in interactions is relevant. Research in typical development has examined how communication interchanges (unbroken back‐and‐forth exchanges around a unified purpose) develop, which can be used as a framework for studying minimally verbal children. This study examined the interchange use by 55 children with ASD over the course of a 6‐month play and engagement‐based communication intervention. Half of the children received intervention sessions that also incorporated a speech‐generating device (SGD). Interchanges were coded by: frequency, length, function, and initiator (child or adult). Results indicated that children initiated a large proportion of interchanges and this proportion increased over time. The average length and number of interchanges increased over time, with children in the SGD group showing even greater growth. Finally, children's total number of interchanges at baseline was positively associated with their spoken language gains over the course of intervention. This study supports the crucial relationship between social engagement and expressive language development, and highlights the need to include sustained communication interchanges as a target for intervention with this population. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1093–1102. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sensory nerve endings in rhesus monkey sinus hairs

The sensory innervation of primate sinus hairs has been studied by light and electron microscopy. For light microscopy paraffin sections as well as thick frozen sections were impregnated with silver and compared with serial semi‐thin sections of tissue prepared for electron microscopy. One type of sensory terminal is present in the epidermis surrounding the hair follicle, and four specific nerve terminals have been identified within the blood sinus. An epidermal rete ridge collar encircles the hair shaft and contains ∽200 Merkel cellneurite complexes. Numerous other Merkel cell‐neurite complexes are present in the external root sheath of the hair follicle beneath a thick glassy membrane innervated by ∽65 nerve fibers. At this level 10–15 lanceolate or palisade terminals are situated in the connective tissue. Up to 10 simple encapsulated corpuscles can be identified above the level of lanceolate endings and Merkel cell terminals. Ruffini corpuscles are closely applied to the glassy membrane below the lanceolate and Merkel terminals at the level where nerve fibers penetrate the capsule of the sinus. All of these terminals are supplied by 80–100 large diameter myelinated fibers distributed approximately as follows: 65 innervate Merkel cell‐neurite complexes, 15 to lanceolate, 10 to simple corpuscles, and 10 to Ruffini corpuscles. The innervation of the rete ridge collar is independent of that of the sinus consisting of 10–12 fibers derived from the superficial dermal network. Each of these sensory terminals can be correlated with specific functional parameters as described in numerous neurophysiologic studies. Merkel cell‐neurite complexes and Ruffini corpuscles are slowly adapting receptors; lanceolate terminals and simple corpuscles are rapidly adapting receptors.
Differential cell counts in sputum in respiratory epidemiology: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether measuring sputum differential cell counts, particularly eosinophils, could be a useful method of validating self-reported symptoms suggesting asthma in epidemiologic studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we selected four groups of adult subjects by reported symptoms and diagnoses from among those previously randomly identified in a population study. Subjects were selected with no respiratory symptoms ever (normal group), or reporting a diagnosis of asthma (asthma group), or reporting recurrent wheezing not diagnosed as asthma (wheeze group), or reporting exposure to industrial irritants, but not asthma or wheezing (exposed group). Current respiratory symptoms, airway responsiveness to methacholine challenge, and sputum cell counts were determined. The study was completed by 107 subjects aged 20 to 44 years. RESULTS There were no significant differences in FEV(1) percent predicted, total cell count, and sputum eosinophil count among the four groups. Subjects with reported asthma had greater airway responsiveness as reflected in a lower bronchial reactivity (BR) index. There was a weak correlation between BR index and sputum eosinophils. CONCLUSION In a community setting, induced sputum eosinophil cell counts in subjects reporting asthma or wheezing were most often within the normal range and not sufficiently often abnormal to be useful in validating a diagnosis of asthma in epidemiologic studies.
Ultrasound-guided biopsy of osteolytic metastasis - could be less than three cores enough?

AIMS The purpose of this study was to analyze the diagnostic yield and accuracy of the ultrasound (US) guided core biopsy in a population of patients with osteolytic metastasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of 16 consecutive cases of US-guided core biopsies of osteolytic lesions performed in our Ultrasound Unit, from January 2006 to May 2017. We used 18G or 16G Tru-cut needles coupled with automated biopsy guns. We procured a maximum number of two tissue specimens per patient. RESULTS We obtained a diagnostic yield and accuracy of 93.75% (15 of 16 patients) for US-guided core biopsy of osteolytic metastasis. Most of our cases were metastasis of adenocarcinomas (8 patients), squamous cell carcinomas (3 patients) followed by multiple myelomas (2 patients). Other pathologic lesions recorded were undifferentiated carcinoma (1 patient) and mesenchimal undifferentiated tumor (1 patient). The pathologic result was inconclusive in one patient. CONCLUSIONS Our study supports the important diagnostic role of US-guided core biopsy for osteolytic bone metastasis. Two US-guided passages may be sufficient to procure a diagnostic tissue samples from osteolytic bone metastasis, if theirlength is at least 10 mm.
A framework for managing spreadsheet based end user applications

As spreadsheets are a ubiquitous tool used in most organisations, often for management support as well, managing them is more than indispensable but very often inadequate. The aim of the study is therefore to improve the management of spreadsheet-based end user applications. Starting from the existing frameworks for building and managing spreadsheets developed by end users, and guidelines of good practices, an initial version of spreadsheet framework for managing spreadsheet-based end user applications was developed (consisting of three parts: steps, skill categories and user categories). Fifteen spreadsheet experts were subsequently identified, who overviewed the framework, and the latter was modified and improved based on their suggestions. The final version of the framework was evaluated positively by four (additional) experts, based on which it can be concluded that the set framework can be applied in organisations using spreadsheet programs and, at the same time, reduce the possibility of occurrence of errors and other spreadsheet risks.
Just Like Putting Scissors to a Market - Investigating Supply and Demand Relations of Farmed Atlantic Salmon

Two of the articles in the thesis might be subjects to some publication restrictions. The articles in question are: The Importance of Temperature in Farmed Salmon Growth: Regional Growth Functions for Norwegian Farmed Salmon, published in Aquaculture Economics & Management in May 2014. The other article are: The Bumpy Road of Demand Growth - An Application to Atlantic Salmon, published in Marine Resource Economics in December 2014.
Analysis of social capital and political development in Iran under the Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad governments

Cohesion and solidarity in the trust relationship network play an important role in determining the identity and legitimacy of a political system. In a society where people have relations based on trust and solidarity, the possibility of public participation in decision-making, its beginnings, and consolidation of democracy is perhaps the most important characteristic of the greater political development. In this article, we seek to answer the question of the role of social capital in the political development of the Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad governments in Iran. Following in-depth assessments, it is concluded that not only have the Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad governments failed to strengthen social capital in society, but also a decline of social capital in society can be discerned.
Guaranteed Employment or Guaranteed Income?

The paper critically reviews the arguments for and against both employment guarantees and income guarantees when viewed as rights-based policy instruments for poverty reduction in a developing economy, with special reference to India. Evidence on India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act does not suggest that the potential for either providing work when needed or reducing current poverty is being realized, despite pro-poor targeting. Instead, work is often rationed by local leaders in poor areas, and the poverty impact is small when all the costs are considered. Decentralized implementation of the right-to-work poses serious challenges in poor places. The option of income support using cash transfers also has both pros and cons. Widely-used methods for finely targeting cash transfers tend to miss many poor people, and discourage those reached from earning extra income. Yet it cannot be presumed that switching to a universal basic income will reduce poverty more than workfare or finely-targeted transfers; that is an empirical question and the answer will undoubtedly vary across settings, belying the generalizations often heard from advocates. Nonetheless, more incentive-neutral, universal and/or state-contingent transfer schemes merit consideration in settings in which existing public spending is skewed against poor people and/or there is scope for raising taxes on the rich.
Anger rumination and aggressive behaviour in borderline personality disorder.

BACKGROUND Emotional instability and dyscontrolled behaviours are central features in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Recently, some cognitive dysfunctional mechanisms, such as anger rumination, have been found to increase negative emotions and promote dyscontrolled behaviours. Even though rumination has consistently been linked to BPD traits in non-clinical samples, its relationship with problematic behaviour has yet to be established in a clinical population. AIM The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between emotional dysregulation, anger rumination and aggression proneness in a clinical sample of patients with BPD. METHODS Enrolled patients with personality disorders (93 with BPD) completed a comprehensive assessment for personality disorder symptoms, anger rumination, emotional dysregulation and aggression proneness. RESULTS Anger rumination was found to significantly predict aggression proneness, over and above emotional dysregulation. Furthermore, both BPD diagnosis and anger rumination were significant predictors of aggression proneness. CONCLUSION Future research should examine whether clinical techniques aimed at reducing rumination are helpful for reducing aggressive and other dyscontrolled behaviours in treating patients with BPD.
Rapid local rectangular views and magnifications: Reduced phase encoding of orthogonally excited spin echoes

A method is described for rapid, artifact‐free imaging and magnification of small regions within a larger sample. This combines a rectangular window, reconstructed from a reduced number of phase‐encoding steps, and confinement of spin echoes to a similar rectangular strip by orthogonal π/2 and π excitations. Phase encoding is along the width of the strip (along Y). Off‐center strips are excited by offsetting the Y slice‐selecting gradient, and the reconstruction window is kept coincident with excitation by similarly offsetting the Y phase‐encoding gradient. The excited strip is centered in the reconstruction window by setting the radiofrequency transmitter on resonance. The method is shown to be useful for long narrow structures such as the spine where the acquisition time is reduced by over a factor of 5 determined by the image aspect ratio. © 1988 Academic Press, Inc.
From the Construction of Hegemony to State Crisis: Political Power and Social Media in Turkey

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power promising democratization and economic prosperity. It successfully gained support from different fractions of capital, including religious groups. After a relatively democratic period, the party started a hegemonic project based on an authoritarian populism and conservative identity. As the government control over traditional media increased, social media became a tool for political debates. When the government passed a law restricting internet access to a degree we might call "the moralization of the digital public sphere", tens of thousands of young protesters marched through the streets of Istanbul. The same crowd showed up at the Gezi Protests again pushing the government into taking more radical measures. This study aims to analyze different stages of the government’s intervention with social media, based around the concept of hegemony. In this regard, we examined the cases which the government criminalizes and punishes opponents through the opinions expressed.
Arterial elasticity is associated with endothelial vasodilatory function and asymmetric dimethylarginine level in healthy subjects

Arterial stiffening may be linked to the reduced bioactivity of nitric oxide (NO) and increased plasma concentrations of the endogenous NO synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). The aim of this study was to investigate whether large (C1) and small artery (C2) elasticity is associated with endothelial function index (EFI) and plasma concentration of ADMA. We included 63 healthy subjects, aged 19 to 70 years, in the study. EFI, C1 and C2 were assessed by pulse wave analysis (PWA) and ADMA level was measured using an enzyme‐linked immunoassay. Linear regression analysis revealed significant positive correlation between EFI and both C1 and C2 (R = 0.29, p = 0.02; R = 0.38, p = 0.002, respectively). A significant inverse association occurred between ADMA and C1 as well as C2 (R = −0.32, p = 0.03; R = −0.37, p = 0.009, respectively). In multiple regression analysis, C2 was determined by EFI, ADMA, age and BMI, and C1 was correlated with EFI, age and BMI. These findings suggest that endothelial vasodilatory dysfunction and accumulation of ADMA may be important mechanisms underlying reduced arterial elasticity in healthy subjects.
Calculation of operational domain of virtual maintenance based on convex hull algorithm

Virtual maintenance based on virtual reality has been developed recent years, yet the relation between qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis has not been built. In this paper, a calculation method of operational domain of virtual maintenance based on convex hull algorithm is proposed. First, a hierarchical skeleton mathematical model based on the physiological characteristics of human skeletal structure is given to digitalize the virtual human body. Second, the motion equation of human posture is built based on the model of skeleton joint chain and the offset matrix of default skeleton posture. Finally, convex hull algorithm is used to calculate the operational domain of virtual maintenance. The proposed method is validated using realtime data collected by the Noitom's motion-capturing device. The experiment result has testified the method can provide an effectively quantitative analysis for operational domain of virtual maintenance.
Changing first-year medical students' attitudes toward primary care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an additional 34 million people will gain access to health care. Combined with population growth and aging adults, expanded insurance coverage will dramatically increase the demand for primary care services. To encourage medical students to pursue primary care, medical schools are integrating courses that will expose students to primary care medicine early in their education. METHODS We used a descriptive, cross-sectional study design to evaluate the impact of a week-long intensive course in primary care on first-year medical students' attitudes toward primary care. We developed a 25-item survey to assess medical students' knowledge, perception, and attitudes about primary care; the survey was administered before and after the course. RESULTS A total of 125 first-year medical students (mean age=23.7 ± 2.9 years, 52.4% female, 75.8% Non-Hispanic white, 11.2% rural) completed the pre-course survey, and 117 completed the post-course survey. We observed positive improvements in attitudes toward primary care in 20 of the 25 survey questions (with effect sizes ranging from 0.16--0.33). Further, students stated that the course improved their understanding of the scope of primary care and emphasized the importance and complexity of primary care medicine. CONCLUSIONS A week-long intensive course in primary care can influence medical students' attitudes toward primary care; however, the long-term impact on students' decision to pursue primary care is not known and needs to be evaluated. These findings provide empirical support for the integration of primary care courses into medical school curricula.