Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Systemic Amyloidosis in England: an epidemiological study

Epidemiological studies of systemic amyloidosis are scarce and the burden of disease in England has not previously been estimated. In 1999, the National Health Service commissioned the National Amyloidosis Centre (NAC) to provide a national clinical service for all patients with amyloidosis. Data for all individuals referred to the NAC is held on a comprehensive central database, and these were compared with English death certificate data for amyloidosis from 2000 to 2008, obtained from the Office of National Statistics. Amyloidosis was stated on death certificates of 2543 individuals, representing 0·58/1000 recorded deaths. During the same period, 1143 amyloidosis patients followed at the NAC died, 903 (79%) of whom had amyloidosis recorded on their death certificates. The estimated minimum incidence of systemic amyloidosis in the English population in 2008, based on new referrals to the NAC, was 0·4/100 000 population. The incidence peaked at age 60–79 years. Systemic AL amyloidosis was the most common type with an estimated minimum incidence of 0·3/100 000 population. Although there are various limitations to this study, the available data suggest the incidence of systemic amyloidosis in England exceeds 0·8/100 000 of the population.
Neuronal Assemblies Evidence Distributed Interactions within a Tactile Discrimination Task in Rats

Accumulating evidence suggests that neural interactions are distributed and relate to animal behavior, but many open questions remain. The neural assembly hypothesis, formulated by Hebb, states that synchronously active single neurons may transiently organize into functional neural circuits—neuronal assemblies (NAs)—and that would constitute the fundamental unit of information processing in the brain. However, the formation, vanishing, and temporal evolution of NAs are not fully understood. In particular, characterizing NAs in multiple brain regions over the course of behavioral tasks is relevant to assess the highly distributed nature of brain processing. In the context of NA characterization, active tactile discrimination tasks with rats are elucidative because they engage several cortical areas in the processing of information that are otherwise masked in passive or anesthetized scenarios. In this work, we investigate the dynamic formation of NAs within and among four different cortical regions in long-range fronto-parieto-occipital networks (primary somatosensory, primary visual, prefrontal, and posterior parietal cortices), simultaneously recorded from seven rats engaged in an active tactile discrimination task. Our results first confirm that task-related neuronal firing rate dynamics in all four regions is significantly modulated. Notably, a support vector machine decoder reveals that neural populations contain more information about the tactile stimulus than the majority of single neurons alone. Then, over the course of the task, we identify the emergence and vanishing of NAs whose participating neurons are shown to contain more information about animal behavior than randomly chosen neurons. Taken together, our results further support the role of multiple and distributed neurons as the functional unit of information processing in the brain (NA hypothesis) and their link to active animal behavior.
Power Reduction in BIST by Exploiting Don’t Cares in Test Patterns

For a significant number of electronic systems used in safety-critical applications circuit testing is performed periodically. For these systems, power dissipation due to Built-In Self Test (BIST) can represent a significant percentage of the overall power dissipation. One possible solution to address this problem consists of test pattern reordering with the purpose of reducing the amount of power dissipated during circuit testing. By reordering test patterns one is able to find test sequences for which power dissipation is minimized. Moreover, a key observation is that test patterns are in general expected to exhibit don’t cares, which can naturally be exploited during test pattern reordering. In this paper we describe efficient algorithms for test pattern reordering in the presence of don’t cares. Preliminary experimental results amply confirm that the power savings due to test pattern reordering using don’t cares can be significant.
Measuring convergence in language model estimation using relative entropy

Language models are generally estimated using smoothed counting techniques. These counting schemes can be viewed as non linear functions operating on a Bernoulli process which converge asymptotically to the true density. The rate at which these counting schemes converge to the true density is constrained by the training data set available and the nature of the language model (LM) being estimated. In this paper we look at language model estimates as random variables and present an efficient relative entropy (R.E) based approach to study their convergence with increasing training data size. We present experimental results for language modeling in a generic LVCSR system and a medical domain dialogue task. We also present an efficient recursive R.E computation method which can be used as a LM distance measure for a number of tasks including LM clustering.
Chemiluminescence detection in HPLC and CE for pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis.

The present paper reviews the developments and applications of chemiluminescence detection with HPLC and CE in pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis. The chemiluminescence systems, chemiluminogenic reagents and derivatization reagents, improvements in instrumental design as well as their contributions to the practical applications, are all presented. The advantages and limitations of current detection methodology and future prospects for improvement are briefly discussed.
The Integrin-linked Kinase Regulates Cell Morphology and Motility in a Rho-associated Kinase-dependent Manner*

The integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a multidomain focal adhesion protein implicated in signal transmission from integrin and growth factor receptors. We have determined that ILK regulates U2OS osteosarcoma cell spreading and motility in a manner requiring both kinase activity and localization. Overexpression of wild-type (WT) ILK resulted in suppression of cell spreading, polarization, and motility to fibronectin. Cell lines overexpressing kinase-dead (S343A) or paxillin binding site mutant ILK proteins display inhibited haptotaxis to fibronectin. Conversely, spreading and motility was potentiated in cells expressing the “dominant negative,” non-targeting, kinase-deficient E359K ILK protein. Suppression of cell spreading and motility of WT ILK U2OS cells could be rescued by treatment with the Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632 or introduction of dominant negative ROCK or RhoA, suggesting these cells have increased RhoA signaling. Activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a negative regulator of RhoA, was reduced in WT ILK cells, whereas overexpression of FAK rescued the observed defects in spreading and cell polarity. Thus, ILK-dependent effects on ROCK and/or RhoA signaling may be mediated through FAK.
Effect of human immunodeficiency virus infection on episodes of diarrhea among children in South Africa

Background. Infection with HIV is increasing among children in South Africa. Diarrhea is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa, and some studies have shown that HIV-infected children have episodes of severe diarrhea with higher mortality than HIV-uninfected children. Objectives. To compare the severity, pathogens and outcome of diarrhea in HIV-infected and uninfected children. Methods. We studied 181 children ages 3 months to 4 years admitted for gastroenteritis to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Demographic details of the children were recorded, as were the details of the episode of diarrhea. Stools specimens were collected and sent for microbiologic evaluation. The clinical course of the child’s admission was recorded. Children were diagnosed as being infected with HIV if they tested positive by HIV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and were >15 months of age, or if they were ELISA-positive, were <15 months of age and had clinical signs of HIV infection. Results. Of the 176 children with an HIV ELISA result, 31 (17.6%) were classified as HIV-infected. More HIV-infected children were malnourished (80.6%vs. 39.5%, P < 0.001) and more likely to have had prolonged diarrhea (16.1%vs. 5.9%, P = 0.07) compared with HIV-uninfected children. HIV-infected children had a higher rate of a codiagnosis of pneumonia (43.3%vs. 9.2%, P < 0.0001) and were more likely to require a hospital stay of >4 days (prevalence odds ratio, 5.11; 95% confidence interval, CI 1.49 to 17.52). There were no significant differences in stool pathogens or in the level of dehydration on admission between the HIV-infected and uninfected children. Conclusion. HIV-infected children have the same spectrum of enteric pathogens as uninfected children but require more attention because of malnutrition and comorbidity.
Effects of Contact Time and Location of Practicum Experiences on Attitudes of Physical Education Majors

Attitude change of physical education majors was studied in relation to number of weeks in an introductory adapted physical education (APE) course and type of practicum location (on- or off-campus). Data were collected using the Physical Educators’ Attitude Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities-III (PEATID-III) (Rizzo, 1993b) and a practicum information questionnaire (PIQ). Participants completing the PEATID-III during Weeks 1, 10, and 15 of their course were 292 males and 182 females in 22 institutions of higher education (IHEs) representing 17 states. Participants completing the PIQ were 17 faculty members. A nonequivalent comparison group, pretest-posttest experimental design was used with factorial ANOVA, post-hoc measures, ANCOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Findings indicated that off- and on-campus practicum both promoted positive attitude change between Weeks 1 and 10 and Weeks 1 and 15. On-campus practicum experiences improved attitudes significantly more than off-campus ones.
Distinguishing Comorbidity and Successful Management of Adult ADHD

Objective: Given high rates of comorbidity, lack of awareness and global acceptance, and varying guidelines for its management, adult ADHD may be an especially difficult condition to diagnose and treat. The objective of this review was to explore and characterize similarities and differences among comorbidities associated with adult ADHD. Method: A review of the literature over the past 10 years was performed using Ovid. Results: A myriad of comorbid conditions such as impulse-control/personality, anxiety, mood, substance use, learning, and sleep disorders overlap with adult ADHD. Furthermore, a number of such conditions have symptoms that can mimic those of ADHD, including hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention, and disruption of circadian rhythms, adding to the complexity of recognition and diagnosis of ADHD in adults. Extensive research shows that adults with ADHD appear to benefit from treatment with stimulant medications in similar ways as children, including significant improvements on driving performance. However, fear surrounding the abuse of stimulants is an important issue. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that children with ADHD who are treated with stimulant medication are less likely to develop a substance use disorder in adolescence and adulthood. Conclusion: There are a wide range of comorbidities with adult ADHD with many having overlapping symptoms. The benefits observed with ADHD treatment, however, emphasize the importance of recognition and treatment of adult ADHD.
“They Have Already Thrown Away Their Chicken”: barriers affecting participation by HIV-infected women in care and treatment programs for their infants in Blantyre, Malawi

Abstract HIV-infected infants and young children are at high risk of serious illness and death. Morbidity and mortality can be greatly reduced through early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV and timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Despite global efforts to scale-up of EID and infant ART, uptake of these services in resource poor, high HIV burden countries remain low. We conducted a qualitative study of 59 HIV-infected women to identify and explore barriers women face in accessing HIV testing and care for their infants. To capture different perspectives, we included mothers whose infants were known positive (n=9) or known negative (n=14), mothers of infants with unknown HIV status (n=13), and pregnant HIV-infected women (n=20). Five important themes emerged: lack of knowledge regarding EID and infant ART, the perception of health care workers as authority figures, fear of disclosure of own and/or child's HIV status, lack of psychosocial support, and intent to shorten the life of the child. A complex array of cultural, economic, and psychosocial factors creates barriers for HIV-infected women to participate in early infant HIV testing and care programs. For optimal impact of EID and infant ART, reasons for poor uptake should be better understood and addressed in a culturally sensitive manner.
Association of Oral Health Indicators with Quality-of-Life Related to Oral Health among Iranian Adolescent

Background: There has been an increase in the development and use of oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) measures in the past two decades. This study aimed to assess the association between OHRQoL and clinical oral health measures, among mid-level school children in Southeast of Iran. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a random cluster sample of 11-13 year-old student population. Consented participants interviewed for OHRQoL measurements using Persian version of child-oral impacts on daily performances (OIDP). Oral examination was done by a trained dentist using WHO oral health assessment form, version 2011. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 20 using Mann–Whitney and correlation tests. Results: A total of 400 school children participated. The overall mean of decayed missing filled teeth (DMFT) was 1.76 ± 2.4. A total of 82% of the school children presented the impact of oral problems in at least one of the eight daily performances. As DMFT increased, the OIDP score tended to increase or quality-of-life of children tended to be worse (r = 0.397, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The results showed a positive relation between some oral health status and quality-of-life score.
Paradoxical Strength Conditions in Harmony Systems

Many harmony systems impose conditions on the triggers and targets of harmony that involve prosodic features such as stress, length, or peripherality in the prosodic word domain. Such conditions serve to distinguish a `strong' anchor (SA) from a `weak' anchor (WA) for a given feature, and are responsible for asymmetries in the class of segments that may trigger or undergo harmony. Yet, languages employ prosodic conditions on the strength of an anchor in di erent ways, deriving what appears to be a paradoxical typology of harmony systems, as in (1).
Patterns of Distribution and Spatial Indicators of Ecosystem Change Based on Key Species in the Southern Benguela

Several commercially and ecologically important species in the southern Benguela have undergone southward and eastward shifts in their distributions over previous decades, most notably the small pelagic fish sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus. Understanding these changes and their implications is essential in implementing an ecosystem approach to fisheries in the southern Benguela and attempting to appreciate the potential impacts of future environmental change. To investigate possible impacts of these shifts at an ecosystem level, distribution maps for before (1985–1991), during (1997–2000) and after (2003–2008) the shift in small pelagic fish were constructed for 14 key species from catch and survey data, and used to calculate spatial indicators including proportion east and west of Cape Agulhas, relative overlap in biomass and area, index of diversity, connectivity. Potential interactions on the south and west coasts were also compared. For several species (redeye; chub mackerel; kingklip; chokka squid; yellowtail), previously unidentified increases in the proportion of biomass east of Cape Agulhas were shown to have occurred over the same period as that of small pelagic fish, although none to the same degree. On average, overlap with small pelagic fish increased over time and overall system connectivity was lowest in the intermediate period, possibly indicating a system under transition. Connectivity declined over time on the west coast while increasing on the east coast. Distributions of other species have changed over time, with the region east of Cape Agulhas becoming increasingly important in terms of potential trophic interaction. Variations in distribution of biomass and structural complexity affect the trophic structure and hence functioning of the system, and implications should be considered when attempting to identify the possible ecosystem impacts of current and future system-level change.
Two Types of Functionally Distinct NAD(P)H Dehydrogenases inSynechocystis sp. Strain PCC6803*

The ndhD gene encodes a membrane protein component of NAD(P)H dehydrogenase. The genome ofSynechocystis sp. PCC6803 contains 6 ndhDgenes. Three mutants were constructed by disrupting highly homologousndhD genes in pairs. Only theΔndhD1/ΔndhD2(ΔndhD1/D2) mutant was unable to grow under photoheterotrophic conditions and exhibited low respiration rate, although the mutant grew normally under photoautotrophic conditions in air. The ΔndhD3/ΔndhD4(ΔndhD3/D4) mutant grew very slowly in air and did not take up CO2. The results demonstrated the presence of two types of functionally distinct NAD(P)H dehydrogenases in Synechocystis PCC6803 cells. TheΔndhD5/ΔndhD6(ΔndhD5/D6) mutant grew like the wild-type strain. Under far-red light (>710 nm), the level of P700+was high in ΔndhD1/D2 and M55 (ndhB-less mutant) at low intensities. The capacity ofQ A (tightly bound plastoquinone) reduction by plastoquinone pool, as measured by the fluorescence increase in darkness upon addition of KCN, was much less inΔndhD1/D2 and M55 than inΔndhD3/D4 andΔndhD5/D6. We conclude that electrons from NADPH are transferred to the plastoquinone pool mainly by the NdhD1·NdhD2 type of NAD(P)H dehydrogenases.
A Caenorhabditis elegans TGF‐β, DBL‐1, controls the expression of LON‐1, a PR‐related protein, that regulates polyploidization and body length

Using cDNA‐based array analysis combined with double‐stranded RNA interference (dsRNAi), we have identified yk298h6 as a target gene of Caenorhabditis elegans TGF‐β signaling. Worms overexpressing dbl‐1, a TGF‐β ligand, are 16% longer than wild type. Array analysis shows yk298h6 to be one of several genes suppressed in such worms. Disruption of yk298h6 function by dsRNAi also resulted in long worms, suggesting that it is a negative regulator of body length. yk298h6 was then mapped to, and shown to be identical to, lon‐1, a known gene that affects body length. lon‐1 encodes a 312 amino acid protein with a motif sequence that is conserved from plants to humans. Expression studies confirm that LON‐1 is repressed by DBL‐1, suggesting that LON‐1 is a novel downstream component of the C.elegans TGF‐β growth regulation pathway. Consistent with this, LON‐1 is expressed mainly in the larval and adult hypodermis and has dose‐dependent effects on body length associated with changes in hypodermal ploidy, but not hypodermal cell proliferation.
Uterine growth-promoting effects of relaxin: a morphometric and histological analysis.

The hormone relaxin has been implicated in the regulation of several processes in the reproductive tract during pregnancy and parturition. This study investigated the uterine effects of relaxin in immature and mature ovariectomized, estrogen-primed rats using morphometric and histochemical analysis. Rats were sprayed at 30 or 70 days of age and given estrogen (5 micrograms) 7 days later. After a week, they received an injection of porcine relaxin (100 micrograms) and were killed 6 h later; controls received vehicle alone. Histological sections were obtained from 7 levels of each uterine horn, and the volumes of endometrium and myometrium were calculated by use of a Zeiss Videoplan Computer Image Analyzer. In immature animals, relaxin treatment doubled uterine weights during the treatment period, and cross sections from relaxin-treated animals exhibited significant increases in the areas of both the myometrium and endometrium, 150% and 130% respectively. Mature animals were less responsive to relaxin although they also exhibited significant increases in uterine weight (31%), myometrial volume (29%), and endometrial volume (22%). With the use of Masson's Trichrome stain for collagen, we observed that relaxin alters the connective tissue framework of both endometrium and myometrium; control uterine collagen appears highly organized and dense with compact collagen fibers, whereas the collagen of relaxin-treated uteri is loosely arranged and disorganized with widely separated collagen fibers. Relaxin-stimulated uteri exhibited significantly greater vascularization, as evidenced by the size of arteries and veins in the vascular region between the circular and longitudinal muscle layers. Increased vascularization and uterine blood flow may be one mechanism involved in relaxin's uterotropic effect and is being investigated further. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Participación social en contextos virtuales

Online social participation. This paper analyzes the effect of community and online participation on psychological distress (stress and depression) in a sample of 350 adult Internet users. Analyses show that both community and online participation have a similar positive influence on social self-esteem, which at the same time has a negative influence on levels of stress and depression. Community and online participation are not statistically related. These results were obtained after controlling for sociodemographic (gender, age, number of inhabitants and length of time in the community) and the use of Internet (years of use of Internet and frequency of use) variables. According to our data, online participation could have the same beneficial consequences as its community counterpart, which offers a wide range of possibilities for prevention and intervention.