Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic hepatitis: Correlation of early patchy and late linear enhancement patterns on gadolinium‐enhanced MR images with histopathology initial experience

The purposes of our study were to describe the early and late enhancement patterns of the liver on gadolinium‐enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) images in patients with chronic hepatitis and to correlate these findings with histopathology. Patients were entered into the study based on the presence of chronic hepatitis, imaging evaluation with MR imaging (MRI), including early and late postgadolinium images, and histopathologic correlation. Early and late dynamic postgadolinium MR images of 29 consecutive patients with a pathologically proven diagnosis of chronic hepatitis were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of three types of enhancement, i.e., homogeneous, linear, and patchy. Correlation was made between the enhancement patterns on MR images and blinded retrospective interpretation of the histopathologic specimens, which were obtained within 3 months of the MR examination. Of the 29 patients, 16 (55.2%) patients showed patchy enhancement on the early gadolinium‐enhanced MR images. In 11 (68.8%) of these 16 patients, histopathology demonstrated numerous macrophages, variable hepatocyte necrosis, and increased steatosis. The remaining 13 (44.8%) patients showed homogeneous enhancement on the early gadolinium‐enhanced MR images. In 11 (84.6%) of these 13 patients, histopathology demonstrated few or no macrophages, little or no hepatocellular necrosis, and little or no steatosis. The correlation between patchy enhancement and acute liver inflammation was significant (P = 0.005). On the late gadolinium‐enhanced MR images, 20 (69.0%) of 29 patients showed prominent linear enhancement. In 19 (95.0%) of these 20 patients, histopathology revealed hepatic fibrosis. We concluded that in patients with chronic hepatitis, the presence of early patchy enhancement indicates either concurrent or recent hepatocellular damage, whereas the presence of late linear enhancement indicates the presence of fibrosis, with a high degree of correlation with histopathologic findings. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;13:385–391. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
C1 anterior arch preservation in transnasal odontoidectomy using three-dimensional endoscope: A case report

Background: The transoral ventral corridor is the most common approach used to reach the craniovertebral junction (CVJ). Over the last decade, many case reports have demonstrated the transnasal corridor to the odontoid peg represents a practicable route to remove the tip of the odontoid process. The biomechanical consequences of the traditional odontoidectomy led to the necessity of a cervical spine stabilization. Preserving the inferior portion of the C1 anterior arch should prevent instability. Case Description: This is the first report in which the technique to remove the tip of the odontoid while preserving the C1 anterior arch is described by means of a three-dimensional (3D) endoscope. A 53-year-old man underwent a transnasal 3D endoscopic approach because of a complex CVJ malformation. The upper-medial portion of the C1 anterior arch was removed preserving its continuity, and the odontoidectomy was performed. After surgery, a dynamic X-ray scan showed no difference in CVJ motility in comparison with the preoperative one. Conclusions: The stereoscopic perception augmented the precision of the surgical gesture in the deep field. The importance of a 3D view relates to the depth of field, which a two-dimensional endoscopy cannot provide. This affects the preservation of the C1 anterior arch because of the presence of critical structures that are exposed to potential damage if not displayed.
Impaired Generation of CD 8 Thymocytes in Ets-1-Deficient Mice 1

؉ CD8 ؉ double-positive thymocytes is markedly inhibited in mice expressing a hypomorphic allele of Ets-1. This effect is thymocyte intrinsic, as Ets-1 mutant thymocytes fail to efficiently generate CD8 ؉ single-positive thymocytes in mixed bone marrow chimeric backgrounds. Although peripheral CD8 ؉ T cells are present in Ets-1 mutant mice, both CD4 ؉ and CD8 ؉ subsets contain an elevated proportion of cells with an effector memory (CD62L ؊ CD44 ؉) phenotype. In addition, while thymic expression of Thy1 is relatively normal, peripheral T cells isolated from Ets-1 mutant mice display a striking loss of Thy1 expression. These data identify Ets-1 as a key transcription factor regulating thymocyte positive selection and lineage commitment of MHC class I-restricted thymocytes. M embers of the Ets family of transcription factors are important regulators of hemopoietic development and immune cell function, and typically bind to DNA as monomers via an ϳ85 aa winged-helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif (Ets domain) (1). Ets-1 is expressed in multiple hemopoietic tissues, including the thymus, suggesting that this protein may play an important role in the development or function of lymphoid cells (2– 4). In support of this idea, the numbers of thymocytes and lymph node (LN) 3 resident T cells is markedly decreased in the absence of Ets-1, and Ets-1-deficient T cells undergo apoptosis more readily than wild-type counterparts (5, 6). More recently, Ets-1 has been shown to be important for optimal transition through early pre-TCR-dependent stages of thymocyte development and allelic exclusion at the TCR␤ locus (7). In the B cell compartment, Ets-1 deficiency results in impaired B cell development , an elevated frequency of IgM ϩ plasma cells in vivo and enhanced in vitro differentiation responses to CpG-containing oli-gonucleotide (a TLR9 ligand) (5, 6, 8, 9). Ets-1-deficient mice produce both IgM and IgG autoantibodies leading to immune complex deposition in the kidney (5, 8, 9). The numbers of splenic NK cells is also substantially reduced in Ets-1-deficient mice (10). Collectively , these studies demonstrate that Ets-1 plays an important role in both early stages of lymphocyte development and lympho-cyte homeostasis in the periphery. Despite expression at all stages of thymocyte development, a potential role for Ets-1 in regulating thymocyte selection and lineage commitment has not been explored. Thymocyte development is characterized by multiple pheno-typic changes and maturational checkpoints that ultimately contribute to the generation of a self-tolerant peripheral T cell repertoire (11). The most immature thymocytes are …
Uncertainty Management in Dialogue Systems

Dialogue systems find more and more applications but the scientific im- provements face difficulties to be trans- ferred into the dialog technologies. France Telecom R&D is designing a new architecture based on uncertainty management in dialogue. Dialogue con- straints lead to define a Logical Framework for Probabilistic Reasoning (LFPR) which results are close to the ones of the Evidence Theory and the Assumption-based Truth Maintenance System (ATMS). The paper eventually compares it to the Theory of Hints of Kohlas and Monney.
Bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors both have protective roles in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury

To explore the role of the kallikrein–kinin system in relation to ischemia/reperfusion injury in the kidney, we generated mice lacking both the bradykinin B1 and B2 receptor genes (B1RB2R-null, Bdkrb1−/−/Bdkrb2−/−) by deleting the genomic region encoding the two receptors. In 4-month-old mice, blood pressures were not significantly different among B1RB2R-null, B2R-null (Bdkrb2−/−), and WT mice. After 30 min of bilateral renal artery occlusion and 24 h of reperfusion, mortality rates, renal histological and functional changes, 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine levels in total DNA, mtDNA deletions, and the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the kidneys increased progressively in the following order (from lowest to highest): WT, B2R-null, and B1RB2R-null mice. Increases in mRNA levels of TGF-β1, connective tissue growth factor, and endothelin-1 after ischemia/reperfusion injury were also exaggerated in the same order (from lowest to highest): WT, B2R-null, and B1RB2R-null. Thus, both the B1 and B2 bradykinin receptors play an important role in reducing DNA damage, apoptosis, morphological and functional kidney changes, and mortality during renal ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Specific impact of stimulant, alcohol and cannabis use disorders on first-episode psychosis: 2-year functional and symptomatic outcomes

Background Many studies have concluded that cannabis use disorder (CUD) negatively influences outcomes in first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, few have taken into account the impact of concurrent misuse of other substances. Methods This 2-year, prospective, longitudinal study of FEP patients, aged between 18 and 30 years, admitted to early intervention programs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, examined the specific influence of different substance use disorders (SUD) (alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines) on service utilization, symptomatic and functional outcomes in FEP. Results Drugs and alcohol were associated with lower functioning, but drugs had a greater negative impact on most measures at 2-year follow-up. Half of CUD patients and more than 65% of cocaine or amphetamine abusers presented polysubstance use disorder (poly-SUD). The only group that deteriorated from years 1 to 2 (symptoms and functioning) were patients with persistent CUD alone. Outcome was worse in CUD than in the no-SUD group at 2 years. Cocaine, amphetamines and poly-SUD were associated with worse symptomatic and functional outcomes from the 1st year of treatment, persisting over time with higher service utilization (hospitalization). Conclusion The negative impact attributed to CUD in previous studies could be partly attributed to methodological flaws, like including polysubstance abusers among cannabis misusers. However, our investigation confirmed the negative effect of CUD on outcome. Attention should be paid to persistent cannabis misusers, since their condition seems to worsen over time, and to cocaine and amphetamine misusers, in view of their poorer outcome early during follow-up and high service utilization.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches for Pediatric Pain: A Review of the State-of-the-science

In recent years, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in pediatric populations has increased considerably, especially for chronic conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and cystic fibrosis in which pain may be a significant problem. Despite the growing popularity of CAM approaches for pediatric pain, questions regarding the efficacy of these interventions remain. This review critically evaluates the existing empirical evidence for the efficacy of CAM interventions for pain symptoms in children. CAM modalities that possess a published literature, including controlled trials and/or multiple baseline studies, that focused on either chronic or acute, procedural pain were included in this review. The efficacy of the CAM interventions was evaluated according to the framework developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 12 Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. According to these criteria, only one CAM approach reviewed herein (self-hypnosis/guided imagery/relaxation for recurrent pediatric headache) qualified as an empirically supported therapy (EST), although many may be considered possibly efficacious or promising treatments for pediatric pain. Several methodological limitations of the existing literature on CAM interventions for pain problems in children are highlighted and future avenues for research are outlined.
Altered State Dependence of C-Type Inactivation in the Long and Short Forms of Human Kv1.5

Evidence from both human and murine cardiomyocytes suggests that truncated isoforms of Kv1.5 can be expressed in vivo. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, we have characterized the activation and inactivation properties of Kv1.5ΔN209, a naturally occurring short form of human Kv1.5 that lacks roughly 75% of the T1 domain. When expressed in HEK 293 cells, this truncated channel exhibited a V1/2 of −19.5 ± 0.9 mV for activation and −35.7 ± 0.7 mV for inactivation, compared with a V1/2 of −11.2 ± 0.3 mV for activation and −0.9 ± 1.6 mV for inactivation in full-length Kv.15. Kv1.5ΔN209 channels exhibited several features rarely observed in voltage-gated K+ channels and absent in full-length Kv1.5, including a U-shaped voltage dependence of inactivation and “excessive cumulative inactivation,” in which a train of repetitive depolarizations resulted in greater inactivation than a continuous pulse. Kv1.5ΔN209 also exhibited a stronger voltage dependence to recovery from inactivation, with the time to half-recovery changing e-fold over 30 mV compared with 66 mV in full-length Kv1.5. During trains of human action potential voltage clamps, Kv1.5ΔN209 showed 30–35% greater accumulated inactivation than full-length Kv1.5. These results can be explained with a model based on an allosteric model of inactivation in Kv2.1 (Klemic, K.G., C.-C. Shieh, G.E. Kirsch, and S.W. Jones. 1998. Biophys. J. 74:1779–1789) in which an absence of the NH2 terminus results in accelerated inactivation from closed states relative to full-length Kv1.5. We suggest that differential expression of isoforms of Kv1.5 may contribute to K+ current diversity in human heart and many other tissues.
The moderator role of intuitive versus deliberative decision making for the predictive validity of implicit and explicit measures

The Preference for Intuition and Deliberation (PID) scale aims at capturing stable general individual differences in terms of intuitive versus deliberative preferences in decision making. A study examined the psychometric properties of the English version of the PID, investigated whether the two subscales moderate the validity of implicit and explicit measures for incidental and deliberative evaluations and behaviours concerning fizzy soft drinks, and compared the predictive validity of two new implicit measures (ST‐IAT and ID‐EAST) and an explicit measure. Results showed an asymmetric weak double dissociation pattern only for behaviours. Additionally, a moderation effect suggested that the ST‐IAT better predicted sensory evaluation for people high in intuition and explicit attitudes better predicted benefit evaluation for people high in deliberation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Analyst Coverage Network

We study the problem of aggregating biased analyst stock recommendations whose only informational content are relative valuations. In a Bayesian framework, we obtain closed-form expressions for the posterior mean and variance of excess returns and we derive the optimal portfolio policy for a utility maximizing mean-variance investor. We show that the optimal Bayesian portfolio is intricately linked to the analyst coverage network the graph where the vertices are the rms and the edges are all the pairs of distinct rms that are covered by at least one common analyst. The connectedness of the analyst coverage network determines how wealth is reallocated among components (e.g. industries) of stocks. Moreover, changes in portfolio depend not only on the value of relative stock recommendations, but also the strength of the connections between stocks in the network. Our model also admits a novel estimator for the consensus stock recommendation measure commonly used in the empirical evaluation of analyst forecasts. How should investors incorporate sell-side analyst recommendations into their asset allocation decisions? While prior research demonstrates that sell-side recommendations carry investment value (Stickel (1995), Womack (1996), Barber et al. (2001,2006,2010), Jegadeesh et ∗Armando and David are at Washington University at St. Louis. Alan is at Yale University. We thank seminar participants at Olin nance Brownbag for comments. Comments are welcome at gomes@wustl.edu.
Young People Envision the Future of Their Local Area: An Explorative Study From the Wet Tropics, Australia

In this article we present the results from an exploratory study conducted in the Wet Tropics in Australia. The study was initiated as part of a larger research program to support the development of a water quality improvement plan. Seven schools were invited to participate in this study. Students were asked to develop visions for the future of their local area. Results suggest that integrating a futures perspective into formal educational programs provides a mechanism to connect students with their local community and their local environment, and at the same time, encourages critical thinking and environmental citizenship beyond the classroom.
Isolated WDDL: A Hiding Countermeasure for Differential Power Analysis on FPGAs

Security protocols are frequently accelerated by implementing the underlying cryptographic functions in reconfigurable hardware. However, unprotected hardware implementations are susceptible to side-channel attacks, and Differential Power Analysis (DPA) has been shown to be especially powerful. In this work, we evaluate and compare the effectiveness of common hiding countermeasures against DPA in FPGA-based designs, using the Whirlpool hash function as a case study. In particular, we develop a new design flow called Isolated WDDL (IWDDL). In contrast with previous works, IWDDL isolates the direct and complementary circuit paths, and also provides DPA resistance in the Hamming distance power model. The analysis is supported using actual implementation results.
Institute for International Integration Studies Does Cultural Distance Matter in International Stock Market Comovement? Evidence from Emerging Economies around the World Does Cultural Distance Matter in International Stock Market Comovement? Evidence from Emerging Economies around the World Does Cul

Disclaimer Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the IIIS. All works posted here are owned and copyrighted by the author(s). Papers may only be downloaded for personal use only. Abstract Prior research suggests an inverse relationship between geographic distance and financial market linkages. In this paper, we examine whether and how cultural distance between countries mitigates this finding. We find that country-pairs exhibit higher linkages if they have smaller cultural distance. The result remains significant to alternative measures of linkage. Finally, the cultural effect seems to be more pronounced for active trading country-pairs than thin-trading country-pairs.
A Qualitative Study of Consumers’ Views on Public Reporting of Health Care–Associated Infections

Recent interest in publicly reporting health care–associated infections (HAIs) makes it important to develop reports that consumers can understand and evaluate. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 59 consumers. Interviews focused on responses to existing and prototypical reports and on recommendations for improvements. Many interviewees were unfamiliar with HAIs and were distressed to learn HAIs occur and can result in death. Public reporting was seen as unlikely to affect hospital choice; other factors were considered more influential. Interviewees recommended that reports be brief and include information on prevention as well as performance data. Additional recommendations on format and content were identified. For public reporting of HAIs to be successful, attention to report content and format are necessary. Consumer involvement can help to identify potential sources of confusion and methods of improving reporting.
Chronic Recurrent Anterior Sternoclavicular Joint Instability: Results of Surgical Management

Chronic anterior sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) instability may cause pain and persistent functional limitation in active patients. Although SCJ reconstruction and medial clavicular resection have been advocated in these situations, the results of surgical treatment are not well characterized. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the functional outcome of surgical treatment in adolescent and young adult patients with chronic recurrent anterior SCJ instability. Fifteen patients with chronic recurrent anterior SCJ instability refractory to nonoperative therapy who underwent joint reconstruction or medial clavicular resection were evaluated for pain and function using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Standard Shoulder Assessment Form and the Simple Shoulder Test (SST). At average follow-up of 55 months, the mean ASES score was 85 and the mean SST score was 10.9. Sixty percent of patients reported stable, pain-free joints, although 87% (n = 13) reported some limitations of athletic or recreational activity. There were no surgical complications, and no patient underwent subsequent revision procedures. Although subsequent activity modification is often required, surgical treatment of chronic anterior SCJ instability in adolescents and young adults can provide near-complete pain relief and return of shoulder and upper extremity function.
The Arabidopsis Plastidial Thioredoxins

The sequencing of the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that this plant contained numerous isoforms of thioredoxin (Trx), a protein involved in thiol-disulfide exchanges. On the basis of sequence comparison, seven putative chloroplastic Trxs have been identified, four belonging to the m-type, two belonging to the f-type, and one belonging to a new x-type. In the present work, these isoforms were produced and purified as recombinant proteins without their putative transit peptides. Their activities were tested with two known chloroplast thioredoxin targets: NADP-malate dehydrogenase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and also with a chloroplastic 2-Cys peroxiredoxin. The study confirms the strict specificity of fructose-bisphosphatase for Trx f, reveals that some Trxs are unable to activate NADP-malate dehydrogenase, and shows that the new x-type is the most efficient substrate for peroxiredoxin while being inactive toward the two other targets. This suggests that this isoform might be specifically involved in resistance against oxidative stress. Three-dimensional modeling shows that one of the m-type Trxs, Trx m3, which has no activity with any of the three targets, exhibits a negatively charged surface surrounding the active site. A green fluorescent protein approach confirms the plastidial localization of these Trxs.
Different duration of crowding and noise exposure effects on exploratory behavior, cellular immunity and HSP70 expression in rats

This study examined the effects of different duration of stress exposure on cellular immunity and heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression in rats. The different durations of crowding and noise were used as different stress modes. Observation of exploratory behavior in an open-field test was used to indicate stress level. The expression of HSP70 and T-cell subsets in blood samples were measured in the different groups of stressed rats. The results showed that there were significant reductions in the percentages of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells in the stressed groups. The lowest point was at 2 weeks from stress. There were significant increases in the percentage of CD8+ in 2 day, 1 week and 2 week stress groups compared with the control group. The CD4+/CD8+ ratio was also remarkably lower in rats of the 2 day, 1 week and 2 week stress groups compared with the control group. HSP70 expression rose significantly after stress and reached a maximum after 2 weeks of stress. Open field test activity showed higher vertical movement scores at 2 weeks stress compared with the control group. Grooming scores at 2 days stress was obviously more than that of the control and there were higher grooming scores at 2 weeks and 3 weeks stress compared to the 2 day stress group. Those results showed that the different duration stress exposure affects both exploratory behavior and immune function. The results also showed that not only immune function but also HSP70 expression was mainly dependent on the duration of stress. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.