Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of human chemokine (C‐X3‐C) receptor 1 (CX3CR1) gene polymorphisms and haplotypes of the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) promoter in Chinese people, and the effects of CCR5 haplotypes on CCR5 expression

Two chemokine (C‐X3‐C) receptor 1 (CX3CR1) gene polymorphisms, V249I and T280M, and 10 CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) promoter haplotypes, P1–P10, have recently been reported to influence the progression of acquired immune‐deficiency syndrome (AIDS). As these studies were performed mainly with Caucasian and African‐American subjects, we determined the distribution of these alleles in Chinese people for the purpose of predicting possible clinical responses to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) epidemics in countries with significant Chinese populations, as well as to establish their effects on the expression of surface CCR5. Ninety‐six HIV‐negative Chinese individuals in Taiwan were subjected to genotyping, and we thus determined that the allelic frequencies of CX3CR1V249I and T280M changes were 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively, which were lower than found in Caucasians (25.5% and 14.0%, respectively). Unlike the previous reports, we only detected CCR5P1 and P4 haplotypes in Taiwanese people, and the P1/P1, P1/P4 and P4/P4 genotype frequencies were 21.0%, 41.1% and 37.9%, respectively. The sequencing data confirmed the results of previous studies, showing that CCR5P1 exhibited a complete linkage disequilibrium with a polymorphic allele 59029A present in the CCR5 promoter. Furthermore, fluorescence‐activated cell sorter analysis revealed that, in the absence of the CCR2–64I mutation, individuals carrying CCR5P1 tended to express more surface CCR5 on monocytes and CD4+ cells. Therefore, this study not only reports the frequencies for the CX3CR1 and CCR5 promoter haplotypes in a Chinese population living in Taiwan, but also identifies a statistical link between the P1/P1 haplotype and the elevated CCR5 expression levels in the study group.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Gambling: Results From a National Survey

Pathological gambling disorder and problem gambling are addictive disorders with severe consequences for individuals, families, and society. Knowledge about associations between childhood adverse experiences (i.e., physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) and gambling pathology in adulthood is limited. Using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), associations between adverse childhood experiences and lifetime gambling status were tested. Strong bivariate associations between adverse childhood experiences and gambling status were found, which were attenuated with the inclusion of clinical covariates. Adverse childhood experiences might be related to pathological gambling in adulthood, but this relationship might not be gambling-specific.
Day healthcare services for family caregivers of older people with stroke: needs and satisfaction.

AIM This paper is a report of a study to identify family caregivers' needs and satisfaction levels in adult day healthcare services for older adults with stroke. BACKGROUND With a growing number of older people suffering from chronic illnesses, the demand for adult day care is growing worldwide. However, in Asia, caregivers face unique challenges in selecting and using culturally acceptable models of care for older people with stroke, and there are still unmet needs in adult day healthcare services. METHOD A cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out in 2006 with a convenience sample of 119 family caregivers from nine centres in Korea. The questionnaire included the Modified Caregiver Satisfaction Scale. FINDINGS Korean family caregivers of older people with stroke were moderately satisfied with the adult day healthcare services. In particular, health management was an area with a high level of needs but with a low level of satisfaction. Respondents also had unmet needs such as speech therapy, patient-tailored exercise and physical therapy. There was a statistically significant difference in degree of satisfaction according to whether or not Registered Nurses delivered care at the centres. CONCLUSION It is important to reflect family caregivers' needs by providing quality care, which is culture-specific adult day healthcare services and focuses on health management and skilled nursing care.
THINKING AND DEPRESSION. I. IDIOSYNCRATIC CONTENT AND COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS.

The clinical and theoretical papers dealing with the psychological correlates of depression have predominantly utilized a motivational-affective model for categorizing and interpreting the verbal behavior of the patients. The cognitive processes as such have received little attention except insofar as they were related to variables such as hostility, orality, or guilt. 1 The relative lack of emphasis on the thought processes in depression may be a reflection of—or possibly a contributing factor to—the widely held view that depression is an affective disorder, pure and simple, and that any impairment of thinking is the result of the affective disturbance. 2 This opinion has been buttressed by the failure to demonstrate any consistent evidence of abnormalities in the formal thought processes in the responses to the standard battery of psychological tests. 3 Furthermore, the few experimental studies of thinking in depression have revealed
Baseline Neuropsychological Profile and Cognitive Response to Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunting for Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Objective: To evaluate neurocognitive changes and predict neurocognitive outcome after ventriculoperitoneal shunting for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH). Background: Reports of neurocognitive response to shunting have been variable and studies that predict cognitive outcomes after shunting are limited. We reviewed our experience with cognitive outcomes for INPH patients who were selected for shunting based on abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure monitoring and positive response in any of the NPH symptoms following large volume CSF drainage. Methods: Forty-two INPH patients underwent neurocognitive testing and Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) prior to shunting. Neurocognitive testing or MMSEwere performed at least 3 months after shunt insertion. Significant improvement in a neurocognitive subtest was defined as improvement by one standard deviation (1 SD) for the patient’s age, sex and education level. Significant improvement in overall neurocognitive outcome was defined as a 4-point improvement in MMSE or improvement by 1 SD in 50% of the administered neurocognitive subtests. Nonparametric tests were used to assess changes. Predictors of outcome were assessed via logistic regression analysis. Results: Twenty-two patients (52.3%) showed overall neurocognitive improvement, and significant improvement was seen in tests of verbal memory and psychomotor speed. Predictive analysis showed that patients scoring more than 1 SD below mean at baseline on verbal memory immediate recall were fourfold less likely to show overall cognitive improvement, and sixfold less likely if also associated with visuoconstructional deficit or executive dysfunction. Verbal memory scores at baseline were higher in patients who showed overall cognitive improvement. Conclusions: Shunting INPH patients on the basis of CSF pressure monitoring and drainage response shows a significant rate of cognitive improvement, and baseline neurocognitive test scores may distinguish patients likely to respond to shunt surgery from those who will not.
Acute severe thrombocytopenia after c7E3 Fab (abciximab) therapy in a patient with unstable angina and stenting of the right coronary artery. Occurrence of subacute stent thrombosis and safe readministration of the GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor tirofiban

This paper reports a case of acute severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count: 1 2 10 9 /liter) occurring within minutes of an initial abciximab bolus during coronary angioplasty and stenting in a patient with unstable angina. After six days with platelets again in the normal range the patient developed stent thrombosis. The stent was reopened and the glycoprotein receptor inhibitor tirofiban (Aggrastat) was administered without any adverse effects on platelet count. Antibodies against heparin-platelet factor 4 complexes could be excluded. Allo- and autoantibodies (IgG, IgA, IgM) directed against platelets with and without binding of abciximab could not be detected by indirect and direct platelet fluorescence antiglobulintest. A possible activation or lysis of the platelets by abciximab could also be excluded by an in vitro bleeding test investigating the effect of abciximab on heparin and citrate blood of the patient and two healthy donors. The mechanisms of abciximab-induced thrombocytopenia in this case remain unclear. The possible mechanisms are discussed. (Int J Cardiovasc Intervent 2000; 3: 185-188)
Caregiving Representations at Work and the Moderating Role of Job Self-Efficacy

This study measured the effect of job self-efficacy and caregiving dimensions (hyperactivation and deactivation) on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) in a sample of 160 customer service workers. While job self-efficacy and caregiving deactivation independently had moderate main effects on OCB–Individual and OCB–Organizational, the effect of caregiving hyperactivation was smaller and significantly contributed solely to OCB–Organizational. When caregiving dimensions were examined in interaction with job self-efficacy, the effect of deactivated caregiving on OCB–Organizational was stronger for workers who scored high on job self-efficacy.
Attitudinal Ambivalence: A Test of Three Key Hypotheses

This article reports two studies designed to test the hypotheses that lower levels of attitudinal ambivalence are associated with attitudes that are more predictive of behavior, more stable over time, and less pliable. Study 1 (n = 346) employed a prospective design to test the effects of ambivalence on attitude-intention-behavior relationships. Findings indicated that less ambivalent attitudes were more predictive of subsequent behavioral intentions and behavior but were unrelated to attitude stability. Study 2 (n = 344) used a simple pre-post experimental design and showed that ambivalent attitudes were more pliable in the face of a persuasive communication. The findings are discussed in relation to future research into the bidimensional conceptualization of attitudes.
Comment gérer une crise politique interne ? : Façonnage organisationnel du militantisme, maintien de l'engagement et trajectoires de défection

L’etude du « faconnage organisationnel » du militantisme et l’observation des interactions entre l’institution et les individus engages puis desengages gagnent a se fonder sur les trajectoires militantes. Ainsi, a partir de l’analyse de quatre trajectoires biographiques de militants s’etant engages au sein du Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK), l’objectif de cet article est d’observer les processus qui conduisent au desengagement, et les dynamiques qui permettent au contraire le maintien de l’engagement dans une organisation radicale quand celle-ci entre en crise. Apres analyse de la diversite des attitudes qui ont suivi l’arrestation du chef du PKK Ocalan, l’article propose de lier ces attitudes aux conditions sociales de possibilite de l’engagement, puis aux modalites de l’engagement et a la construction sociale de l’attachement a l’institution. Il est alors possible de voir, en creux, quelles negociations lient l’individu et l’institution, et dans quelle mesure les desengagements sont aussi une consequence des effets differencies des dispositifs disciplinaires sur certains groupes ou individus.
Dynamic connectivity states estimated from resting fMRI Identify differences among Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and healthy control subjects

Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) share significant overlap in clinical symptoms, brain characteristics, and risk genes, and both are associated with dysconnectivity among large-scale brain networks. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data facilitates studying macroscopic connectivity among distant brain regions. Standard approaches to identifying such connectivity include seed-based correlation and data-driven clustering methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) but typically focus on average connectivity. In this study, we utilize ICA on rsfMRI data to obtain intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) in cohorts of healthy controls (HCs) and age matched SZ and BP patients. Subsequently, we investigated difference in functional network connectivity, defined as pairwise correlations among the timecourses of ICNs, between HCs and patients. We quantified differences in both static (average) and dynamic (windowed) connectivity during the entire scan duration. Disease-specific differences were identified in connectivity within different dynamic states. Notably, results suggest that patients make fewer transitions to some states (states 1, 2, and 4) compared to HCs, with most such differences confined to a single state. SZ patients showed more differences from healthy subjects than did bipolars, including both hyper and hypo connectivity in one common connectivity state (dynamic state 3). Also group differences between SZ and bipolar patients were identified in patterns (states) of connectivity involving the frontal (dynamic state 1) and frontal-parietal regions (dynamic state 3). Our results provide new information about these illnesses and strongly suggest that state-based analyses are critical to avoid averaging together important factors that can help distinguish these clinical groups.
Anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with stiff-person syndrome: correlation with clinical severity.

BACKGROUND Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is an immune-mediated central nervous system disorder characterized by fluctuating muscle stiffness, disabling spasms, and heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. Up to 80% of patients with SPS have anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies in the serum or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Whether these antibodies are clinically relevant and correlate with disease severity is unknown. OBJECTIVE To correlate anti-GAD antibody titers in the serum and CSF of patients with SPS with the degree of clinical severity. DESIGN Patients studied the last 6 years. SETTING The Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. PATIENTS Sixteen patients with typical SPS and elevated serum anti-GAD antibody titers. INTERVENTIONS Antibody titers in serum and CSF were measured by radioimmunoassay, and the intrathecal anti-GAD-specific IgG production was calculated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Comparison of antibody titers with stiffness index and heightened sensitivity scores based on scales that reliably measure disease severity. RESULTS The mean disease duration was 11 years (range, 5-30 years). The mean anti-GAD antibody titer in the serum was 51 500 U/mL (range, 24 000-200 000 U/mL); and in the CSF, 181 U/mL (range, 30-400 U/mL). A 10-fold increased intrathecal production of GAD-specific IgG antibodies was noted. No correlation was found between antibody titers in serum or CSF with disease severity. In 4 patients, the anti-GAD antibody titers measured serially during a 2-year period did not correlate with clinical fluctuations. CONCLUSIONS In patients with SPS, the anti-GAD antibody titers in serum and CSF do not correlate with disease severity or duration. Anti-GAD antibodies are an excellent marker for SPS, but monitoring their titers during the course of the disease may not be of practical value.
Aneurysmal Bone Cyst of the Spine: Management and Outcome

Study Design. The clinical records, radiographs, histologic sections, and operative reports of 52 consecutive patients with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine were reviewed to evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic options and to correlate treatment and outcome. Objectives. To define the incidence, clinical presentation, diagnostic and therapeutic options, and prognosis of patients with aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine. Summary of Background Data. There are special considerations in the management of spinal lesions: relative inaccessibility of the lesions, associated intraoperative bleeding, necessity of removing the entire lesion to avoid the possibility of recurrence, proximity of the lesion to the spinal cord and nerve roots, and potential postoperative bony spinal instability. Methods. Fifty‐two consecutive patients with an aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine were treated from 1910 to 1993. Forty patients initially treated for a primary lesion had operative treatment (19 intralesional excision and bone grafting and 21 intralesional excision); four also had adjuvant radiation therapy. Preoperative arterial embolization was performed in two. Results. There was a recurrence rate of 10% within 10 years. All recurrences were noted less than 6 months after surgery. Of 12 patients treated for a recurrent lesion, two had a subsequent recurrence (16.7%) within 9 years. At last follow‐up examination, 50 patients (96%) were free of the disease. One patient died of postradiation osteosarcoma, and one died of intraoperative bleeding. Conclusions. Current treatment recommendations involve preoperative selective arterial embolization, intralesional excision curettage, bone grafting, and fusion of the affected area if instability is present.
Effect of Access to Business Information on the Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya

The objective of this paper was to assess the effect of access to business information on the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. The response rate for the survey was 92.96%. Primary data was collected using interview guides, structured and Semi structured questionnaires which were administered to the owners and managers of SMEs. Quantitative data obtained from the questionnaires was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The findings from the study were presented in graphs, percentages and tables. The study found that out access to business information had a significant effect on the growth of SMEs. The study recommends that the government needs to come up with a policy on small and medium enterprises information transfer to facilitate information flow. The policy should emphasize the need for businesses to develop information departments to capture business information locally and internationally.
Study on the Effect of Stress Concentration on Cutout Orientation of Plates with Various Cutouts and Bluntness

Plates with variously shaped cut-out are often used in engineering structures. The understanding of the effect of cut-out on the load bearing capacity and stress concentration of panels is very important in designing of structures. Different cut-out shapes in structural elements are needed to reduce the weight of the structure or provide access to other parts of the structure. Extensive studies have been carried out on stress concentration in perforated panels which consider cut-out shapes, boundary conditions and bluntness of cut-outs. This study focuses on the stress concentration analysis of perforated panels with not only various cut-outs and bluntness but also different cut-out orientations. Therefore, at the design stage, once the direction of a major tensile force is known, the cut-outs can be aligned properly based on the findings of the work to reduce the stress concentration at the cut-outs thereby increasing the load bearing capacity of the panel
Comparison of Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms for Operations Scheduling under Machine Availability Constraints

Many of the problems that arise in production systems can be handled with multiobjective techniques. One of those problems is that of scheduling operations subject to constraints on the availability of machines and buffer capacity. In this paper we analyze different Evolutionary multiobjective Algorithms (MOEAs) for this kind of problems. We consider an experimental framework in which we schedule production operations for four real world Job-Shop contexts using three algorithms, NSGAII, SPEA2, and IBEA. Using two performance indexes, Hypervolume and R2, we found that SPEA2 and IBEA are the most efficient for the tasks at hand. On the other hand IBEA seems to be a better choice of tool since it yields more solutions in the approximate Pareto frontier.
Memory Networks in Tinnitus: A Functional Brain Image Study

Tinnitus is characterized by the perception of sound in the absence of an external auditory stimulus. The network connectivity of auditory and non-auditory brain structures associated with emotion, memory and attention are functionally altered in debilitating tinnitus. Current studies suggest that tinnitus results from neuroplastic changes in the frontal and limbic temporal regions. The objective of this study was to use Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) to evaluate changes in the cerebral blood flow in tinnitus patients with normal hearing compared with healthy controls. Methods: Twenty tinnitus patients with normal hearing and 17 healthy controls, matched for sex, age and years of education, were subjected to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography using the radiotracer ethylenedicysteine diethyl ester, labeled with Technetium 99 m (99 mTc-ECD SPECT). The severity of tinnitus was assessed using the “Tinnitus Handicap Inventory” (THI). The images were processed and analyzed using “Statistical Parametric Mapping” (SPM8). Results: A significant increase in cerebral perfusion in the left parahippocampal gyrus (pFWE <0.05) was observed in patients with tinnitus compared with healthy controls. The average total THI score was 50.8+18.24, classified as moderate tinnitus. Conclusion: It was possible to identify significant changes in the limbic system of the brain perfusion in tinnitus patients with normal hearing, suggesting that central mechanisms, not specific to the auditory pathway, are involved in the pathophysiology of symptoms, even in the absence of clinically diagnosed peripheral changes.
A Conserved Arginine Residue in the Pore Region of an Inward Rectifier K Channel (IRK1) as an External Barrier for Cationic Blockers

The number, sign, and distribution of charged residues in the pore-forming H5 domain for inward-rectifying K channels (IRK1) are different from the otherwise homologous H5 domains of other voltage-gated K channels. We have mutated Arg148, which is perfectly conserved in all inward rectifiers, to His in the H5 of IRK1 (Kir2.1). Channel activity was lost by the mutation, but coexpression of the mutant (R148H) along with the wild-type (WT) mRNA revealed populations of channels with reduced single-channel conductances. Long-lasting and flickery sublevels were detected exclusively for the coexpressed channels. These findings indicated that the mutant subunit formed hetero-oligomers with the WT subunit. The permeability ratio was altered by the mutation, while the selectivity sequence (K+ > Rb+ > NH4 + >> Na+) was preserved. The coexpression made the IRK1 channel more sensitive to extracellular block by Mg2+ and Ca2+, and turned this blockade from a voltage-independent to a -dependent process. The sensitivity of the mutant channels to Mg2+ was enhanced at higher pH and by an increased ratio of mutant:WT mRNA, suggesting that the charge on the Arg site controlled the sensitivity. The blocking rate of open channel blockers, such as Cs+ and Ba2+, was facilitated by coexpression without significant change in the steady state block. Evaluation of the electrical distance to the binding site for Mg2+ or Ca2+ and that to the barrier peak for block by Cs+ or Ba2+ suggest that Arg148 is located between the external blocking site for Mg2+ or Ca2+ and the deeper blocking site for Cs+ or Ba2+ in the IRK1 channel. It is concluded that Arg148 serves as a barrier to cationic blockers, keeping Mg2+ and Ca2+ out from the electric field of the membrane.