LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Embryonic Alcohol Exposure Impairs the Dopaminergic System and Social Behavioral Responses in Adult Zebrafish

BACKGROUND
The zebrafish is a powerful neurobehavioral genetics tool with which complex human brain disorders including alcohol abuse and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may be modeled and investigated. Zebrafish innately form social groups called shoals. Previously, it has been demonstrated that a single bath exposure (24 hours postfertilization) to low doses of alcohol (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1% vol/vol) for a short duration (2 hours) leads to impaired group forming, or shoaling, in adult zebrafish.


METHODS
In the current study, we immersed zebrafish eggs in a low concentration of alcohol (0.5% or 1% vol/vol) for 2 hours at 24 hours postfertilization and let the fish grow and reach adulthood. In addition to quantifying the behavioral response of the adult fish to an animated shoal, we also measured the amount of dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid from whole brain extracts of these fish using high-pressure liquid chromatograph.


RESULTS
Here we confirm that embryonic alcohol exposure makes adult zebrafish increase their distance from the shoal stimulus in a dose-dependent manner. We also show that the shoal stimulus increases the amount of dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the brain of control zebrafish but not in fish previously exposed to alcohol during their embryonic development.


CONCLUSIONS
We speculate that one of the mechanisms that may explain the embryonic alcohol-induced impaired shoaling response in zebrafish is dysfunction of reward mechanisms subserved by the dopaminergic system.
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study assessing the efficacy and tolerability of desvenlafaxine 10 and 50 mg/day in adult outpatients with major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND
In an effort to establish the lowest effective dose of desvenlafaxine (administered as desvenlafaxine succinate), we assessed the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of 10- and 50-mg/day desvenlafaxine vs placebo for the treatment of major depressive disorder.


METHODS
Adult outpatients with DSM-IV-defined major depressive disorder and a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D(17)) total score ≥20 were randomly assigned to receive placebo or desvenlafaxine (10 or 50 mg/day) after a 6- to 14-day single-blind placebo lead-in period in an 8-week, phase 3, fixed-dose trial. The primary efficacy measure was change from baseline in the HAM-D(17) score analyzed using analysis of covariance. Efficacy analyses were conducted with the intent-to-treat population, using the last observation carried forward.


RESULTS
The intent-to-treat population included 673 patients. Change from baseline to final evaluation in adjusted HAM-D(17) total scores was not significantly different comparing desvenlafaxine 10 mg/day (-9.28) and desvenlafaxine 50 mg/day (-8.92) with placebo (-8.42). There were no differences among treatment groups in the rates of treatment response or remission. Discontinuations due to adverse events occurred in 1.8%, 0.9%, and 1.8% of patients in the placebo and desvenlafaxine 10- and 50-mg/day groups, respectively. Overall rates of treatment-emergent adverse events with both doses were similar to placebo.


CONCLUSIONS
Both doses of desvenlafaxine failed to separate from placebo. However, in a companion study reported separately, desvenlafaxine 50 mg, but not 25 mg, separated from placebo. Taken together, these studies suggest that 50 mg is the minimum effective dose of desvenlafaxine for the treatment of major depressive disorder. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00863798 http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00863798?term=00863798&rank=1.
On approximate-inverse preconditioners 1 by

We investigate the use of sparse approximate-inverse preconditioners for the iterative solution of unsymmetric linear systems of equations. Such methods are of particular interest because of the considerable scope for parallelization. We propose a number of enhancements which may improve their performance. When run in a sequential environment, these methods can perform unfavourably when compared with other techniques. However, they can be successful when other methods fail and simulations indicate that they can be competitive when considered in a parallel environment. 1 Current reports available by anonymous ftp from joyous-gard.cc.rl.ac.uk (internet 130.246.9.91) in the directory “pub/reports”. Computing and Information Systems Department, Atlas Centre, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, England.
[Erythema annulare centrifugum responding to natural ultraviolet light].

Erythema annulare centrifugum (EAC) is a disease of unknown etiology, although it has been variously associated with hypersensitivity reactions, infections, hormonal disorders, rheumatological and liver diseases, dysproteinemias, drugs, and occult tumors. García-Muret et al described a subtype of EAC with annual relapses that occurred in the summer.1 Nonetheless, in our hospital we have observed how 2 patients with longstanding EAC presented a clear clinical improvement in response to natural exposure to sunlight during the summer months. The first patient was a woman aged 22 years, with no known diseases, who presented an 8-year history of lesions on the trunk and upper and lower limbs. The asymptomatic and sometimes slightly pruritic lesions underwent episodes of centrifugal spread in winter. Examination revealed several erythematous plaques varying in size between 2 cm and 8 cm. The larger lesions were annular, with erythematous borders that were slightly more raised and trailing scale (Figure 1). A culture of scales from the lesions was negative on 2 occasions. The Spanish Contact Dermatitis and Skin Allergy Research Group (GEIDAC) standard battery of patch tests were all negative. Complete blood count, basic blood chemistry, antibody test, chest x-ray, and abdominal ultrasound results were normal. Superficial perivascular dermatitis was reported on the 2 occasions biopsies were performed. The patient had failed to respond to treatment with topical corticosteroids and antifungal agents. To prevent possible postinflammatory hyperpigmentation the patient had avoided sunbathing during the summer months. However, her last revision revealed that the lesions had completely disappeared following continuous sun exposure during her holidays (Figure 2). The second patient was a man aged 27 years. Since the age of 16 years he had presented with occasional flare-ups, on the trunk and limbs, of erythematous lesions with centrifugal spread and a scaly border. Routine blood tests and antinuclear antibodies were normal or negative, cultures were negative, and a histopathology study merely showed nonspecific chronic dermatitis. Flare-ups were not associated with any triggering factor, and the lesions had not responded to treatment with antifungal agents or topical corticosteroids. Nonetheless, the patient’s condition had improved during the summer, coinciding with exposure to sunlight. EAC, which was originally described by Darier in 1916, presents as annular plaques with clear central areas and slightly raised erythematous borders with trailing scale. Centrifugal growth gives rise to polycyclic patterns in the plaques. The disease follows a chronic course marked by exacerbations and remissions. The most frequent lesion
On the Role of Auditory Feedback in Robot-Assisted Movement Training after Stroke: Review of the Literature

The goal of this paper is to address a topic that is rarely investigated in the literature of technology-assisted motor rehabilitation, that is, the integration of auditory feedback in the rehabilitation device. After a brief introduction on rehabilitation robotics, the main concepts of auditory feedback are presented, together with relevant approaches, techniques, and technologies available in this domain. Current uses of auditory feedback in the context of technology-assisted rehabilitation are then reviewed. In particular, a comparative quantitative analysis over a large corpus of the recent literature suggests that the potential of auditory feedback in rehabilitation systems is currently and largely underexploited. Finally, several scenarios are proposed in which the use of auditory feedback may contribute to overcome some of the main limitations of current rehabilitation systems, in terms of user engagement, development of acute-phase and home rehabilitation devices, learning of more complex motor tasks, and improving activities of daily living.
Scalable Surveillance Software Architecture

Video surveillance is a key technology for enhanced protection of facilities such as airports and power stations from various types of threat. Networks of thousands of IP-based cameras are now possible, but current surveillance methodologies become increasingly ineffective as the number of cameras grows. Constructing software that efficiently and reliably deals with networks of this size is a distributed information processing problem as much as it is a video interpretation challenge. This paper demonstrates a software architecture approach to the construction of large scale surveillance network software and explores the implications for instantiating surveillance algorithms at such a scale. A novel architecture for video surveillance is presented, and its efficacy demonstrated through application to an important class of surveillance algorithms.
Combined spectral karyotyping, multicolor banding, and microarray comparative genomic hybridization analysis provides a detailed characterization of complex structural chromosomal rearrangements associated with gene amplification in the osteosarcoma cell line MG-63.

The advancement of fluorescence in situ hybridization-based assays has permitted more refined delineation of chromosomal loci involved in complex chromosomal rearrangements (CCRs) and gene amplification. In this detailed molecular cytogenetic analysis, spectral karyotyping (SKY), multicolor banding (mBAND) analysis, and microarray comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) were used to refine the analysis of chromosomes with amplifications and small intrachromosomal rearrangements such as inverted duplications and interstitial deletions present in the osteosarcoma cell line MG-63. SKY analysis has limited resolving power to delineate cryptic chromosomal rearrangements, so mBAND assays were performed for a subset of chromosomes (i.e., 6, 8, 17, and 20). Of the 10 clonal CCRs analyzed in detail with mBAND, 5 were found to have rearrangements between 8q24 and either 6p23 approximately pter or 6p21, with multiple copies of this translocation inserted at various sites in the different chromosomes. In two CCRs, 6p21 and 8q24 generated an alternating pattern of mBAND probe hybridization, indicating the presence of a large coamplified repeat unit within homogeneously staining regions. Microarray CGH analysis demonstrated focal high-level amplification of 8q23 approximately q24, 6p22 approximately pter, and 6p21, in agreement with the pattern of chromosome subband gains identified with mBAND. Thus, sequential SKY, mBAND, and microarray CGH provided a comprehensive description of some of the intricate chromosomal aberrations present in the complex MG-63 karyotype and permitted reconstruction of the fine structure of the genomic rearrangements, thus providing some important mechanistic clues concerning the details of the amplification process in tumors.
The synthesis of planar parallel manipulators with prismatic joints for an optimal, singularity-free workspace

The synthesis of three-degree-of-freedom planar parallel manipulators is performed using a genetic algorithm. The architecture of a manipulator and its position and orientation with respect to a prescribed workspace are determined. The architectural parameters are optimized so that the manipulator’s constantorientation workspace is as close as possible to a prescribed workspace. The manipulator’s workspace is discretized and its dexterity is computed as a global property of the manipulator. An analytical expression of the singularity loci (local null dexterity) can be obtained from the Jacobian matrix determinant, and its intersection with the manipulator’s workspace may be verified and avoided. Results are shown for different conditions. First, the manipulators’ workspaces are optimized for a prescribed workspace, without considering whether the singularity loci intersect it or not. Then the same type of optimization is performed, taking intersections with the singularity loci into account. In the following results, the optimization of the manipulator’s dexterity is also included in an objective function, along with the workspace optimization and the avoidance of singularity loci. Results show that the end-effector’s location has a significant effect on the manipulator’s dexterity. ©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Story and Narrative Structures in Computer Games

Computer games can involve narrative and story elements integrating different forms of interactivity and using different strategies for combining interaction with non-interactive story and narrative elements. While some forms of interactive narrative involve simple selection between fixed narrative sequences, computer games more typically involve the integration of narrative with game play based upon a simulation substrate. These three forms, simulation, game play and narrative, involve pre-authored time structures at different levels of time scale. Simulation involves the lowest levels of time structure, with authored principles specifying how time develops from frame to frame based upon physics, the representation of game objects and their behaviour, and discrete event simulation. Games involve pre-designed game moves, types of actions that may be realized as abstractions over patterns of low level changes at the frame level. Linear and interactive narratives form the highest level of predesigned time structure, framing low-level simulation processes and intermediate level game moves within a high level structure typically based upon classic models of narrative form. Computer games may emphasise one or more of these primary forms as the focus of meaning in the play experience. Story construction within computer games is a function of how these different levels of time structure interact in the play experience, being the result of pre-designed narrative content, story potential and the actual unfolding story created by the actions of the player. There are many strategies for integrating these forms. However, a crucial issue in the design of story content is the relationship between how the resulting game experience relates to user play preferences. In particular, categories of play style can be extended to include preferences for how story content is experienced, based upon audience, performance and immersionist orientations to story. Perceived tensions within computer game form, such as the tension between game play and narrative, are explained, not as fundamental formal issues, but issues of player preferences and how these are satisfied or not by different strategies for story content within a game system.
Does stage of illness impact treatment response in bipolar disorder? Empirical treatment data and their implication for the staging model and early intervention.

OBJECTIVE
The staging model suggests that early stages of bipolar disorder respond better to treatments and have a more favourable prognosis. This study aims to provide empirical support for the model, and the allied construct of early intervention.


METHODS
Pooled data from mania, depression, and maintenance studies of olanzapine were analyzed. Individuals were categorized as having had 0, 1-5, 6-10, or >10 prior episodes of illness, and data were analyzed across these groups.


RESULTS
Response rates for the mania and maintenance studies ranged from 52-69% and 10-50%, respectively, for individuals with 1-5 previous episodes, and from 29-59% and 11-40% for individuals with >5 previous episodes. These rates were significantly higher for the 1-5 group on most measures of response with up to a twofold increase in the chance of responding for those with fewer previous episodes. For the depression studies, response rates were significantly higher for the 1-5 group for two measures only. In the maintenance studies, the chance of relapse to either mania or depression was reduced by 40-60% for those who had experienced 1-5 episodes or 6-10 episodes compared to the >10 episode group, respectively. This trend was statistically significant only for relapse into mania for the 1-5 episode group (p=0.005).


CONCLUSION
Those individuals at the earliest stages of illness consistently had a more favourable response to treatment. This is consistent with the staging model and underscores the need to support a policy of early intervention.
Pediatric palliative care in childhood cancer nursing: from diagnosis to cure or end of life.

OBJECTIVES
To describe selected components of pediatric palliative care from diagnosis to cure or end of life that combine to help nurses and other clinicians achieve goals of care for children with cancer and their families.


DATA SOURCES
Published articles.


CONCLUSION
Pediatric palliative care is characterized by diversity of care delivery models; effect of cancer on the family as the central focus of care; and consideration of culture, spirituality, communication, and ethical standards. End-of-life issues that can be anticipated by nurses and other clinicians include symptoms of cancer or its treatment, the importance of hopefulness, the relevance of trying to be a good parent in decision making, the meaning of legacy making of ill children, and family bereavement.


IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
Direct nursing care strategies to achieve pediatric palliative care goals are vital to reduce child and family suffering from cancer.
All Speech is Not Free: The Ethics of "Affirmative Action Pedagogy"

All speech is not free. Power inequities institutionalized through economies, gender roles, social class, and corporate-owned media ensure that all voices do not carry the same weight. As part of Western democracies, different voices pay different prices for the words one chooses to utter. Some speech results in the speaker being assaulted, or even killed. Other speech is not free in the sense that it is foreclosed: our social and political culture predetermines certain voices and articulations as unrecognizable, illegitimate, unspeakable. 1 Similarly, neither are all expressions of hostility equal. Some hostile voices are penalized while others are tolerated. 2 Hostility that targets a marginalized person on the basis of her or his assumed inferiority carries more weight than hostility expressed by a marginalized person towards a member of the dominant class. Efforts to legislate against “hate speech” within public spaces cannot, in principle, recognize the differential weight and significance of hate speech directed at different individuals or groups.
Effect of size on cohesive energy, melting temperature and Deb ye temperature of nanomaterials

A simple model has been used to study the size dependence of cohesive energy, melting temperature and Debye temperature. We have considered W, Ag, Al, Co and Au for the study of size dependence of cohesive energy and Al, Au, Ag, Zn, Bi for size dependence of melting temperature. The results obtained are compared with the available experimental data. A good agreement between theory and experiment encouraged the authors to extend the model to study the size dependence of Debye temperature. The results obtained for the size dependence of the Debye temperature are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. This supports the validity of the model developed.
Connected component labeling on a 2D grid using CUDA

Connected component labeling is an important but computationally expensive operation required in many fields of research. The goal in the present work is to label connected components on a 2D binary map. Two different iterative algorithms for doing this task are presented. The first algorithm (Row–Col Unify) is based upon the directional propagation labeling, whereas the second algorithm uses the Label Equivalence technique. The Row–Col Unify algorithm uses a local array of references and the reduction technique intrinsically. The usage of shared memory extensively makes the code efficient. The Label Equivalence algorithm is an extended version of the one presented by Hawick et al. (2010) [3]. At the end the comparison depending on the performances of both of the algorithms is presented. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The influence of some alkylating agents on the structure of DNA in vitro.

Abstract The influence of the industrially used mutagenic agents β-propiolactone (BPL), propylene oxide (PO) and butylene oxide (BO) on the structure of DNA in vitro was studied. The heat denaturation of DNA and its reversibility were used as a criterion of the structural change in the DNA molecule. The rate constants for the reaction of the different compounds with DNA were determined. The effects were correlated with the degree of alkylation. Butylene oxide and propylene oxide caused a decrease of the reversibility of the heat denaturation at a degree of alkylation at which the melting temperature was only slightly decreased. β-propiolactone had no influence on the reversibility, but decreased the melting temperature of DNA as a function of the degree of alkylation.
Prevalence of poor self-rated health and associated risk factors among older adults in Cali, Colombia


INTRODUCTION
Self-rated health (SRH) has beeen considered an important marker of quality of life and an independent predictor of mortality in older adults.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of poor SRH and identify risk factors associated with poor SRH among older adults residing in the Commune 18 of the city of Cali, Colombia, in 2009.


METHODS
A population-based cross-sectional study with a single-stage cluster sampling design. Sample included 314 persons aged 60 and older. The dependent variable, SRH was dichotomized into good (excellent, very good, good) and poor (fair, poor). Independent variables were sociodemographic, biological, mental, functional and geriatric syndromes. Logistic regression was used for multivariate statistical modeling.


RESULTS
Overall, 40.1% reported poor SRH (women 42.9%, men 35.0%). Factors independently associated with poor SRH were diabetes mellitus, depression, fear of falling and frailty syndrome (frail and pre-frail vs. non-frail). Widowed men reported poorer health than married men while other marital status (single/separated/divorced) was associated with better self-rated health in women.


CONCLUSION
Potential modifiable factors such as depression and frailty syndrome are important determinants for poor SRH in Colombian older adults.