Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interferon-gamma depresses binding of ligand by C3b and C3bi receptors on cultured human monocytes, an effect reversed by fibronectin

Cultivation of human monocytes with recombinant IFN-gamma causes a 5-10- fold depression in their binding of EC3b or EC3bi. This effect is observed within 18 h and is expressed for 5 d in the presence of 100 U/ml IFN-gamma. The capacity of IFN-gamma-treated phagocytes to bind EC3b and EC3bi is fully restored if the phagocytes are allowed to spread for 45 min on surfaces coated with Fn. IFN-gamma-treated cells express normal levels of cell surface C3b and C3bi receptors as measured with monoclonal anti-receptor antibodies, and spreading on Fn does not alter receptor number. We conclude that cultivation with IFN- gamma causes a change in the nature of these receptors that prevents them from interacting with ligand. Immunoelectron microscopy shows that C3bi receptors are expressed on the apical surface of the IFN-gamma- treated MO and that these receptors exhibit normal capacity to migrate in the plane of the membrane. Thus, the nature of the change caused by IFN-gamma is not related to changes in receptor number, location, or mobility. While spreading of IFN-gamma-treated cells on Fn enables C3 receptors to bind ligand, it does not enable them to promote phagocytosis. Treatment of cells with PMA alone does not affect binding or phagocytosis, but treatment of cells with both Fn and PMA enables cells to phagocytose EC3b and EC3bi. These data indicate that the binding and signaling activities of C3 receptors are separately regulated. Fn enables receptors to bind ligand and PMA enables them to signal phagocytosis.
Impacts of a farmers’ market incentive programme on fruit and vegetable access, purchase and consumption

Abstract Objective The present study examines the impact of Health Bucks, a farmers’ market incentive programme, on awareness of and access to farmers’ markets, and fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption in low-income New York City neighbourhoods. Design The evaluation used two primary data collection methods: (i) an on-site point-of-purchase survey of farmers’ market shoppers; and (ii) a random-digit-dial telephone survey of residents in neighbourhoods where the programme operates. Additionally, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis examining differential time trends in consumption before and after programme introduction using secondary Community Health Survey (CHS) data. Setting New York City farmers’ markets and communities. Subjects Farmers’ market shoppers (n 2287) completing point-of-purchase surveys in a representative sample of New York City farmers’ markets in 2010; residents (n 1025) completing random-digit-dial telephone survey interviews in 2010; and respondents (n 35 606) completing CHS interviews in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009. Results Greater Health Bucks exposure was associated with: (i) greater awareness of farmers’ markets; (ii) increased frequency and amount of farmers’ market purchases; and (iii) greater likelihood of a self-reported year-over-year increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. However, our CHS analysis did not detect impacts on consumption. Conclusions While our study provides promising evidence that use of farmers’ market incentives is associated with increased awareness and use of farmers’ markets, additional research is needed to better understand impacts on fruit and vegetable consumption.
Practicum assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse early childhood pre-service teachers

The practicum is an integral component of teacher education courses, but culturally and linguistically diverse pre-service teachers can face particular struggles in meeting assessment requirements on the practicum in early childhood settings. This paper reports from a small, exploratory study of early childhood practicum handbooks from four Australian universities, interviews with early childhood pre-service teachers whose home language is not English, and interviews with early childhood educators who had supervised pre-service teachers from diverse backgrounds. Analysis of the data suggests that, while the universities aim to produce graduates who are sensitive to the diversity of the children they teach, similar considerations are not evident in the experiences of some diverse pre-service teachers. We illustrate this claim by describing the case of Sue, a Singaporean Chinese student, who struggled to pass a final-year practicum.
Costs and clinical outcomes after coronary multidetector CT angiography in patients without known coronary artery disease: comparison to myocardial perfusion SPECT.

PURPOSE To assess costs and clinical outcomes in individuals without known coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent multidetector computed tomographic (CT) angiography compared with those in matched patients who underwent myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were captured from a deidentified, HIPAA-compliant data warehouse. We examined 1-year CAD costs (additional diagnostic coronary testing, CAD hospitalization, and coronary procedural and revascularization costs) and clinical outcomes in individuals without known CAD who underwent multidetector CT (n = 1647) compared with those in a matched cohort of patients who underwent myocardial perfusion SPECT (n = 6588). Cox proportional hazards models were employed for clinical outcome measures, including CAD hospitalization, myocardial infarction, and angina. RESULTS Adjusted CAD costs in the multidetector CT group were 25.9% lower than in the myocardial perfusion SPECT group, by an average of $1075 (95% confidence interval [CI]: $243, $2570) per patient. Those in the multidetector CT group were more likely to undergo downstream testing with myocardial perfusion SPECT (odds ratio, 6.65; 95% CI: 5.05, 8.75; P < .001), while those in the myocardial perfusion SPECT group were more likely to undergo downstream testing with invasive angiography (odds ratio, 6.25; 95% CI: 4.35, 9.09; P < .001). The multidetector CT group was less likely to undergo coronary revascularization (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.77; P < .001) than the myocardial perfusion SPECT group. There was no significant difference between multidetector CT and myocardial perfusion SPECT groups for rates of myocardial infarction (0.4% for both) or CAD hospitalization (0.7% vs 1.1%, respectively), while rates of angina were significantly lower in the multidetector CT group (4.3% vs 6.4%, P < .001). CONCLUSION Individuals without known CAD who underwent multidetector CT as an initial diagnostic test, compared with those who underwent myocardial perfusion SPECT, incurred lower health care costs with similar rates of myocardial infarction and CAD-related hospitalization.
PROTECTIVE FACTORS AGAINST SUBSTANCE USE AMONG ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH: A TEST OF THE PEER CLUSTER THEORY

Few viable theoretical models of risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use have been empirically tested on diverse populations. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the cross-cultural validity of Oetting and Beauvais' (1987) peer cluster theory was tested on a sample of Asian American youth. Second, the effect of youths' immigration experience on the relationship among the protective factors was examined. Results showed partial support for the validity of the peer cluster model for this sample. As hypothesized, the peer domain variable was significantly related to substance use, while the family domain variable served as a protective factor against substance use. However, the school domain variable did not have any direct or indirect effects on substance use. There were no significant differences in the path model when the sample was split according to youth immigrant status. Implications for substance use prevention are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lentiviral Neuropathogenesis: Comparative Neuroinvasion, Neurotropism, Neurovirulence, and Host Neurosusceptibility

Despite extensive genetic diversity among lentiviruses, they share many biological properties, including similar structural and genomic organizations, Mg2+-dependent reverse transcriptase activity, and broad cellular tropisms involving both proliferating and nonproliferating cells within and outside the nervous system (30). Lentiviruses can also be subdivided on the basis of pathogenesis into peripheral immune deficiency-inducing viruses, such as human (HIV), simian (SIV), feline (FIV), bovine (BIV), and chimeric simian-human (SHIV) immunodeficiency viruses, and those that are immune activators, including caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV), maedi-visna virus (MVV), and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) (Table ​(Table1). 1). Systemically, most lentiviruses exhibit a distinct disease pattern in which primary infection induces acute disease and an intense immune response, followed by a lengthy period of subclinical infection (lenti = slow) and a terminal phase resulting in death (22). Immunodeficiency-associated lentiviral infections usually trigger a robust host immune response that is diminished over time, permitting opportunistic infections. In contrast, infections by the immune-activating lentiviruses are characterized by a terminal phase of host immune activation. CAEV and MVV infections are manifested as systemic inflammation with chronic arthritis, pneumonia, and mastitis, while EIAV induces recurrent episodes of an autoimmune-mediated acute hemolytic disease (17, 57, 89).
Psychological Studies on Effects of Chemosurgery of the Basal Ganglia in Parkinsonism: I. Intellectual Functioning

It is the purpose of this report to present findings on the immediate and longe-range postoperative intellectual functioning of a large series of patients who underwent chemopallidectomy and Chemothalamectomy 1-6 for the relief of Parkinsonian symptoms. The findings are based on the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, Form I. Background The following review of the literature on the intellectual effects of brain injury, disease, and surgery will emphasize, particularly, those utilizing the Wechsler-Bellevue Scale. Allen, in a series of studies on both the brain-injured and the brain-diseased, 7-10 concludes that both groups demonstrate “a depressed level of efficiency” in intellectual functioning, faring more poorly on performance items than on verbal ones. Their primary handicap is in the area of motor manipulation. Most resistant to organic inroads were the subtests of information, comprehension, and vocabulary. Other Wechsler studies on the organically impaired report like findings. Goldman et al.
Resting tremor in Parkinson disease: a negative predictor of levodopa-induced dyskinesia.

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether patients with different clinical subtypes of Parkinson disease (PD) differ in their risk of developing levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) and whether resting tremor is negatively correlated with this risk. OBJECTIVES To determine whether resting tremor as an initial manifestation of PD negatively correlated with subsequent occurrence and severity of LID and to study the correlations between LID and other epidemiological factors (eg, age at onset of PD and duration of PD). DESIGN Logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictive factors of LID. Spearman rank correlations between LID and epidemiological factors and motor signs (including tremor) were calculated. SETTING Institutional tertiary referral center for movement disorders. PATIENTS Cohort of 85 patients with PD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Occurrence of LID according to the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale part IV. RESULTS Resting tremor as an initial manifestation of PD was associated with reduced risk of developing LID independent of other predictors of LID (duration of PD, axial signs, and levodopa dose). CONCLUSION Resting tremor as an initial manifestation of PD predicts lower probability of developing LID under levodopa treatment.
Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms after Exposure to Two Fire Disasters: Comparative Study

This study investigated traumatic stress symptoms in severely burned survivors of two fire disasters and two comparison groups of patients with “non-disaster” burn injuries, as well as risk factors associated with acute and chronic stress symptoms. Patients were admitted to one out of eight burn centers in the Netherlands or Belgium. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was administered to 61 and 33 survivors respectively of two fire disasters and 54 and 57 patients with “non-disaster” burn etiologies at 2 weeks, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after the event. We used latent growth modeling (LGM) analyses to investigate the stress trajectories and predictors in the two disaster and two comparison groups. The results showed that initial traumatic stress reactions in disaster survivors with severe burns are more intense and prolonged during several months relative to survivors of “non-disaster” burn injuries. Excluding the industrial fire group, all participants’ symptoms on average decreased over the two year period. Burn severity, peritraumatic anxiety and dissociation predicted the long-term negative outcomes only in the industrial fire group. In conclusion, fire disaster survivors appear to experience higher levels of traumatic stress symptoms on the short term, but the long-term outcome appears dependent on factors different from the first response. Likely, the younger age, and several beneficial post-disaster factors such as psychosocial aftercare and social support, along with swift judicial procedures, contributed to the positive outcome in one disaster cohort.
Countertransference and the reputedly excellent therapist.

STEVEN L. VAN WAGONER CHARLES J. GELSOJEFFREY A. HAYES ROBERTA A. DIEMERUniversity of MarylandThe extent to which therapists whowere reputed to be excellent differ fromthe therapists in general is examined,with respect to five qualities theorizedto be important in the management ofcountertransference feelings—self-insight, integration, empathy, anxietymanagement, and conceptualizingability. A sample of experiencedpsychotherapists (n = 122) evaluatedtherapists they selected as excellentsignificantly more positively thantherapists in general on all five of thetheorized qualities. Contrary toexpectation, reputedly excellentpsychodynamic, learning, andhumanistic therapists were generallyrated as equivalent on these theorizedqualities. Reputedly excellentpsychodynamic therapists, however,were rated more favorably thanexcellent humanistic therapists onconceptualizing ability.
Care Transitions From Inpatient to Outpatient Settings: Ongoing Challenges and Emerging Best Practices

Abstract Care transitions occur every time a patient changes levels of service, location, or with each shift change or transfer of care. The complexities involved in transitions of care make these time periods particularly susceptible to medical errors, placing patients at risk. Improving care transitions affects all patients in all settings, and has the potential to reduce adverse events, improve quality of care, and produce medical cost savings. This article is a focused review of transitions in care from the inpatient to ambulatory care settings. Underlying challenges and sources of errors are identified, and possible solutions and interventions are explored. Specific challenges to the pediatric population are also examined in detail.
A hierarchical neural network model based on a C/V segmentation algorithm for isolated Mandarin speech recognition

A novel algorithm simultaneously performing consonant/vowel (C/V) segmentation and pitch detection is proposed. Based on this algorithm, a consonant enhancement method and a hierarchical neural network scheme are explored for Mandarin speech recognition. As a result, an improvement of 12% in consonant recognition rate is obtained and the number of recognition candidates is reduced from 1300 to 63. A series of experiments over all Mandarin syllables (about 1300) is demonstrated in the speaker-dependent mode. Comparisons with the decoder timer waveform algorithm are evaluated to show that the performance is satisfactory. An overall recognition rate of 90.14% is obtained. >
A Viable Localization Scheme for Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor network (WSN), the sensor location is crucial to many applications. So far, most of existing localization schemes assume that sensor nodes are static. But we can also find the dynamic wireless sensor network (DWSN) have great application foreground in dynamic situation. In this paper, we analyze characteristics of the DWSN and reason that existing localization schemes are unsuitable for DWSN, then present a novel dynamic localization schemes (DSL) for DWSN, In additional, we prove that DSL have good performances compare with other existing localization schemes in DWSN
Symptomatic Nerve Root Changes on Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging after Surgery for Lumbar Disk Herniation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The significance of postoperative nerve root changes (enhancement, thickening, and displacement) is still a topic of debate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between nerve root changes and residual or recurrent symptoms after lumbar surgery with contrast-enhanced MR imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 120 patients with 140 postoperative lumbar disk lesions causing residual or recurrent pain underwent contrast-enhanced MR imaging. The levels at which diskectomies had been performed were retrospectively evaluated for nerve root enhancement (NRE), thickening, and displacement. Association between nerve root changes and corresponding clinical presentations were statistically assessed. Nerve root changes in recurrent disk herniation (RDH) and postoperative epidural fibrosis (PEF) were also evaluated with clinical symptoms. RESULTS: Ninety-two (65.7%) of the 140 disks demonstrated NRE. Regarding the association with clinical symptoms, the sensitivity was 91.7%, the specificity was 73.2%, the positive predictive value (PPV) was 83.7%, and the negative predictive value was 85.4% (P = .000). Nerve root thickening and displacement were significantly associated with the clinical symptoms, especially when NRE was combined (PPV, 87.7% and 87.2%, respectively). When RDH was combined with all 3 nerve root changes, the PPV was increased up to 94.1%. However, in PEF, the association between nerve root changes and clinical symptoms was not significant unless all 3 nerve root changes were combined. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with residual or recurrent pain after surgery for lumbar disk herniation, nerve root changes on contrast-enhanced MR imaging were well associated with clinical symptoms, of which NRE was the most significant finding.
An Improved Algorithm for the Solution of the Regularization Path of Support Vector Machine

This paper describes an improved algorithm for the numerical solution to the support vector machine (SVM) classification problem for all values of the regularization parameter C . The algorithm is motivated by the work of Hastie and follows the main idea of tracking the optimality conditions of the SVM solution for ascending value of C . It differs from Hastie's approach in that the tracked path is not assumed to be 1-D. Instead, a multidimensional feasible space for the optimality condition is used to solve the tracking problem. Such a treatment allows the algorithm to properly handle data sets which Hastie's approach fails. These data sets are characterized by the presence of linearly dependent points (in the kernel space), duplicate points, or nearly duplicate points. Such data sets are quite common among many real-world data, especially those with nominal features. Other contributions of this paper include a unifying formulation of the tracking process in the form of a linear programming problem, update formula for the linear programs, considerations that guard against accumulation of errors resulting from the use of incremental updates, and routines to speed up the algorithm. The algorithm is implemented under the Matlab environment and is available for download. Experiments with several data sets including data set having up to several thousand data points are reported.
Simpson's Paradox Can Emerge from the N-Player Prisoner's Dilemma: Implications for the Evolution of Altruistic Behavior

Simulations of the n-player Prisoner’s Dilemma in multiple populations reveal that Simpson’s paradox can emerge in such game-theoretic situations. The relative proportion of cooperators can decrease in each separate sub-population, while the proportion of cooperators in the total population can nonetheless increase, at least transiently. Factors that determine the longevity of this effect are under investigation. The increase of altruistic behavior exhibited in these simulations is not based on reciprocal altruism, as there are no strategies conditional on other players’ past actions, nor does it depend on kin selection via inclusive fitness, as there are no genes. This model is very general in that it can represent both biological and social non-zero sum situations in which utility (fitness) depends upon conditions at different hierarchical levels. The two parameters of the prisoner’s dilemma in this model, which determine the gain in individual utility for defection and the dependence of utility on collective cooperation, are respectively analogous to within-group and between-group selective forces in multilevel selection theory.
Pattern of infection, therapy, outcome and risk stratification of patients with febrile neutropenia in a tertiary care oncology hospital in India.

CONTEXT Indian febrile neutropenia (FN) data are limited, especially in adult solid tumor patients. AIMS The aim was to study patterns of presentation, source of infection, management and outcome and to evaluate the factors which may correlate with outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective analysis of prospective data of FN patients at a tertiary care oncology teaching hospital in India between 2007 and 2012. A standardized form was filled for each patient. Patient management was at the discretion of the treating physician. Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) score was retrospectively calculated. Failure of therapy was defined as death, organ failure, shifting from outpatient to inpatient or requirement of intensive care support. SPSS version 16 was used for analysis. RESULTS A total of 388 FN episodes were included: 256 in hematolymphoid and 132 in solid tumor patients. 156 episodes were high-risk by MASCC score. Focus of infection was clinical in 45% and radiologic in 16%. Blood cultures were positive in 18% cases, most commonly Gram-negative organisms (72%). 93% patients were treated with an antibiotic combination of third-generation cephalosporin/beta-lactamase inhibitor, with aminoglycoside or fluoroquinolone. Antibiotic sensitivity to ceftriaxone was low at 38% while sensitivity to cefoperazone/sulbactam and piperacillin/tazobactam ranged between 50% and 55% and for carbapenems 75%. Failure of therapy occurred in 156 episodes, most commonly due to the need for second line antibiotics. Mortality was 5.5%. On univariate analysis, MASCC score, age, type of malignancy, prophylactic growth factors, presence of focus of infection, hemoglobin and nadir platelet count correlated with FN complications. CONCLUSION Gram-negative bacteremia continues to be the predominant cause of FN in our setup.