Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive dysfunction in first-episode psychosis: the processing speed hypothesis.

BACKGROUND Speed of processing is a cognitive process underlying cognitive dysfunction in people with chronic schizophrenia. AIMS To investigate the contribution of speed of processing to the cognitive deficits observed in a representative large sample with first-episode schizophrenia. METHOD People with a diagnosis of first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (n=26) and healthy controls (n=28) were compared on several cognitive measures before and after controlling for speed of processing. RESULTS Before controlling for speed of processing, patients and controls differed significantly on all cognitive measures. All significant differences in cognitive functioning disappeared when the result of the Digital Symbol Substitution Test was included as an additional covariate. CONCLUSIONS Speed of information processing may be considered a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and might be mediating a broader diversity of cognitive disturbances.
Communicating and visualising multicriterial trustworthiness under uncertainty

Visualisations are often used to communicate trust-worthiness to end users. Showing a number of stars, for example, is a well-known practice in e-commerce applications to communicate the quality of a product or service. Many products or services also have their quality - in terms of trustworthiness - described along more than one dimension, so that not only an overall trust score has to be communicated, but multiple scores, one for each dimension. Current visualisations of such a multicriterial trustworthiness are often based on the display of multiple individual star-like interfaces - a practice that offers room for improvement with regard to intuitive understanding of the displayed trust information. In this paper, we present T-Viz, a trust visualisation based on radar plots and pie charts. T-Viz concurrently shows multiple trust scores, one for each dimension, along with an aggregated trust score. Moreover, T-Viz also shows a reliability measure for every trust score graphically, in the form of a certainty score. The evaluation results from a pilot study with eleven participants indicate that T-Viz is an intuitive, comprehensible and clear interface. It succeeds at visualising and communicating multicriterial trust scores under uncertainty in one, easy to understand, graphical representation.
Myocardial injury and long-term mortality following moderate to severe carbon monoxide poisoning.

CONTEXT Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a common cause of toxicological morbidity and mortality. Myocardial injury is a frequent consequence of moderate to severe CO poisoning. While the in-hospital mortality for these patients is low, the long-term outcome of myocardial injury in this setting is unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between myocardial injury and long-term mortality in patients following moderate to severe CO poisoning. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study of 230 consecutive adult patients treated for moderate to severe CO poisoning with hyperbaric oxygen and admitted to the Hennepin County Medical Center, a regional center for treatment of CO poisoning, between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 2002. Follow-up was through November 11, 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE All-cause mortality. RESULTS Myocardial injury (cardiac troponin I level > or =0.7 ng/mL or creatine kinase-MB level > or =5.0 ng/mL and/or diagnostic electrocardiogram changes) occurred in 85 (37%) of 230 patients. At a median follow-up of 7.6 years (range: in-hospital only to 11.8 years), there were 54 deaths (24%). Twelve of those deaths (5%) occurred in the hospital as a result of a combination of burn injury and anoxic brain injury (n = 8) or cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury (n = 4). Among the 85 patients who sustained myocardial injury from CO poisoning, 32 (38%) eventually died compared with 22 (15%) of 145 patients who did not sustain myocardial injury (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.7; P = .009). CONCLUSION Myocardial injury occurs frequently in patients hospitalized for moderate to severe CO poisoning and is a significant predictor of mortality.
Thermal conductivity of a polyethylene filled with disoriented short‐cut carbon fibers

Thermal conductivity of polyethylene composites, filled with randomly dispersed and disoriented (oriented at random) carbon fibers with various aspect ratios, were investigated. Orientation of fibers was quantitatively evaluated by Hermans' parameter. In specimens of isotropic composites, i.e., filled with randomly dispersed and disoriented fibers, thermal conductivity increased with an increase in the fiber length. The result is discussed in comparison with electric conductivity of the composites and explained by the contact probability of filled fibers. Further, it was confirmed that our model previously proposed could be adopted to predict thermal conductivity of the isotropic composite filled with carbon fibers. Also, the effect of fiber length of the C2 parameter included in the model is discussed and C2 was found to have a linear relation with the aspect ratio of fibers at a sufficiently large value. In this study, a shape factor of a filler (aspect ratio) could be directly introduced into the equation, which was shown in our previous paper.
Leaf photosynthetic function duration during yield formation of large-spike wheat in rainfed cropping systems

Improving photosynthetic capacity significantly affects the yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in rainfed regions. In this study, the physiological characteristics of eight large-spike wheat lines were compared with a multiple-spike cultivar as a control (CK) in a field over two consecutive seasons: 2010–2012. The tillering peak was 7–21 d after returning green for line 2040, the average rate of decline of relative water content was slower, and the average duration time of photosynthetic rate was longer than CK in vitro. There was a strong linear and positive correlation between photosynthetic rate and root activity at jointing, flowering, and grain-filling stages. In addition, average yields were higher in large-spike lines than CK (multiple-spike cultivar). The results suggest that large-spike lines might have greater water retaining capacity during yield formation under rainfed conditions.
Early prognosis of severe traumatic brain injury in an urban argentinian trauma center.

BACKGROUND : Previous studies indicate that age, Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS), arterial hypotension, computed tomography (CT) findings, and pupillary reactivity are strong predictors of outcome for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the predictive validity of these variables has never been rigorously tested in patients from the developing world. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of these variables in a resource-limited setting and to test their predictive power by using them to create an outcome model. METHODS : The study was conducted at Hospital Emergencias "Dr. Clemente Alvarez" in Rosario, Argentina. All patients with severe TBI meeting criteria between August 2000 and February 2003 were included. Outcome at 6 months postinjury was measured by mortality and by the Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale score. Two logistic regression models were created for predicting mortality and outcome. RESULTS : Outcome measures were acquired for 100% of the sample (N = 148). There was 58% mortality; 30% had moderate to good recovery, and 12% were severely disabled. The model accurately predicted 83.9% of mortality, and 81.1% of outcome. Because of variation in timing of CT scans, the models were recalculated without the CT variable. The accuracy of prediction was 79.7% and 79% for mortality and Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale, respectively. CONCLUSIONS : This study provides rigorous, prospective data that (1) validates the generalizability of the five World Health Organization/Organization Mondiale de la Santé TBI prognostic predictors outside of the developed world, and (2) provides outcome benchmarks for mortality and morbidity from severe TBI in developing countries.
In Vivo Cannabidiol Treatment Improves Endothelium-Dependent Vasorelaxation in Mesenteric Arteries of Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

Background and purpose: We have shown that in vitro treatment with cannabidiol (CBD, 2 h) enhances endothelial function in arteries from Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, partly due to a cyclooxygenase (COX)-mediated mechanism. The aim of the present study was to determine whether treatment with CBD in vivo would also enhance endothelial function. Experimental approach: Male ZDF rats, or ZDF Lean rats, were treated for 7 days (daily i.p. injection) with either 10mg/kg CBD or vehicle (n = 6 per group). Sections of mesenteric resistance arteries, femoral arteries and thoracic aortae were mounted on a wire myograph, and cumulative concentration-response curves to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine, ACh, 1 nM–100 μM) or endothelium-independent (sodium nitroprusside, SNP, 1 nM–100 μM) agents were constructed. Multiplex analysis was used to measure serum metabolic and cardiovascular biomarkers. Key results: Vasorelaxation to ACh was significantly enhanced in mesenteric arteries from CBD-treated ZDF rats, but not ZDF Lean rats. The enhanced vasorelaxation in ZDF mesenteric arteries was no longer observed after COX inhibition using indomethacin or nitric oxide (NO) inhibition using L-NAME. Increased levels of serum c-peptide, insulin and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 observed in the ZDF compared to ZDF Lean rats were no longer significant after 7 days CBD treatment. Conclusion and implications: Short-term in vivo treatment with CBD improves ex vivo endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in mesenteric arteries from ZDF rats due to COX- or NO-mediated mechanisms, and leads to improvements in serum biomarkers.
Heterogeneous basal expression of nitric oxide synthase and superoxide dismutase isoforms in mammalian heart : implications for mechanisms governing indirect and direct nitric oxide-related effects.

The basal expression patterns of NO synthase (NOS; endothelial [eNOS], neuronal [nNOS], and cytokine-inducible [iNOS]) and superoxide dismutase (SOD; extracellular membrane bound [ECSOD], MnSOD, and CuZnSOD) isoforms in ferret heart (tissue sections and isolated myocytes) were determined by immunofluorescent localization. We demonstrate the following for the first time in the mammalian heart: (1) heterogeneous expression patterns of the 3 NOS and 3 SOD isoforms among different tissue and myocyte types; (2) colocalization of eNOS and ECSOD at both the tissue and myocyte levels; (3) a significant gradient of eNOS and ECSOD expression across the left ventricular (LV) wall, with both enzymes being highly expressed and colocalized in LV epicardial myocytes but markedly reduced in LV endocardial myocytes; and (4) specific subcellular localization patterns of eNOS and the 3 SOD isoforms. In particular, eNOS and ECSOD are demonstrated (electron and confocal microscopy) to be specifically localized to the sarcolemma of ventricular myocytes. Similar heterogeneous eNOS and ECSOD expression patterns were also obtained in human LV tissue sections, underscoring the general importance of these novel findings. Our data suggest a strong functional correlation between the activities of sarcolemmally localized myocyte eNOS and ECSOD in governing NO*/O(2-) interactions and suggest that NO-related modulatory effects on cardiac myocyte protein and/or ion channel function may be significantly more complex than is presently believed.
Generative model-based metasearch for data fusion in information retrieval

"Data fusion" refers to the problem in information retrieval (IR) where several lists of documents ranked against a query are to be merged into a single ranked list for presentation to a user. Data fusion is also known as "metasearch. " In a digital library setting data fusion may support operations such as federated search based on multiple repository representations. This paper presents a novel approach to the fusion problem: generative model-based Metasearch (GeM). We suggest viewing the appearance of documents in a return set as the outcome of a probabilistic process; some documents are likely to occur in the model, while others are unlikely. Using Bayesian parameter estimation to fit a multinomial distribution based on the return sets to be merged, GeM achieves a final ranking by listing documents in decreasing probability of generation under the induced model. We also introduce what we call "the impatient reader" approach to normalizing document ranks in service to the fusion operation. We report results from several experiments on TREC data suggesting that GeM, informed with impatient reader document scores, operates at state-of-the-art levels of effectiveness.
Mutant Fusion Proteins with Enhanced Fusion Activity Promote Measles Virus Spread in Human Neuronal Cells and Brains of Suckling Hamsters

ABSTRACT Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a fatal degenerative disease caused by persistent measles virus (MV) infection in the central nervous system (CNS). From the genetic study of MV isolates obtained from SSPE patients, it is thought that defects of the matrix (M) protein play a crucial role in MV pathogenicity in the CNS. In this study, we report several notable mutations in the extracellular domain of the MV fusion (F) protein, including those found in multiple SSPE strains. The F proteins with these mutations induced syncytium formation in cells lacking SLAM and nectin 4 (receptors used by wild-type MV), including human neuronal cell lines, when expressed together with the attachment protein hemagglutinin. Moreover, recombinant viruses with these mutations exhibited neurovirulence in suckling hamsters, unlike the parental wild-type MV, and the mortality correlated with their fusion activity. In contrast, the recombinant MV lacking the M protein did not induce syncytia in cells lacking SLAM and nectin 4, although it formed larger syncytia in cells with either of the receptors. Since human neuronal cells are mainly SLAM and nectin 4 negative, fusion-enhancing mutations in the extracellular domain of the F protein may greatly contribute to MV spread via cell-to-cell fusion in the CNS, regardless of defects of the M protein.
Parallel Data Mining on Graphics Processors

We introduce GPUMiner, a novel parallel data mining system that utilizes new-generation graphics processing units (GPUs). Our system relies on the massively multi-threaded SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple-Data) architecture provided by GPUs. As specialpurpose co-processors, these processors are highly optimized for graphics rendering and rely on the CPU for data input/output as well as complex program control. Therefore, we design GPUMiner to consist of the following three components: (1) a CPU-based storage and buffer manager to handle I/O and data transfer between the CPU and the GPU, (2) a GPU-CPU co-processing parallel mining module, and (3) a GPU-based mining visualization module. We design the GPU-CPU co-processing scheme in mining depending on the complexity and inherent parallelism of individual mining algorithms. We provide the visualization module to facilitate users to observe and interact with the mining process online. We have implemented the k-means clustering and the Apriori frequent pattern mining algorithms in GPUMiner. Our preliminary results have shown significant speedups over state-of-the-art CPU implementations on a PC with a G80 GPU and a quad-core CPU. We will demonstrate the mining process through our visualization module. Code and documentation of GPUMiner are available at http://code.google. com/p/gpuminer/.
Outcome of Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy in Obese Patients.

OBJECTIVES To compare early morbidity of obese and nonobese patients with minimally invasive adrenalectomies. METHOD Retrospective study of a prospectively maintained database, between June 2003 - December 2012, in a universitary affiliated tertiary hospital. Selection criteria: Minimally invasive adrenalectomy. Obese patients were defined as BMI over 30 kg/m2. RESULTS From 205 patient with laparoscopic adrenalectomies we counted 30 obese patients (OG), 25 of them female and only 5 men with a median age of 54,20 years versus 47,94 years for nonobese group (NOG) (p=0.008). In OG were 15 right sided tumor, 11 on the left side and 4 bilateral all treated with transperitoneal antero-lateral approach. Median operating time was 92.20 minutes for OG versus 91.13 minutes for NOG (p=0.924). In OG, 5 patients had previous abdominal surgeries and we counted 4 conversion to open surgery, 2 postoperative complications (6.6%) and no mortality. All OG patients have diverse comorbidities, 50% of them more then 3. Median specimen size was 5.92 cm for OG versus 4.85 cm for NOG (p=0.057). The histology of OG was: adenoma 11 cases, hiperplasia 13 cases and pheochromocytoma 6. In NOG we had: postoperative hospital stay was 6.57 days in OG versus 4.11 days in NOG (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS Although obese patients had a higher rate for early morbidities, the minimally invasive approach has particular benefits for them. Although postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer, we believe that advantages of minimal invasive surgery for obese patients remains valid even in a BMI over 30.
Viral proteomics: A promising approach for understanding JC virus tropism

The human polyomavirus JC virus (JCV) is responsible for the CNS demyelination observed in cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. The JCV regulatory region (promoter) is a hypervariable, noncoding, nucleotide sequence positioned between the early and late protein‐coding regions in the viral genome. Selective binding of cellular transcription factors to this promoter region participates in the control of viral tropism. Hence, further study of these proteins might provide new insights into JCV tropism and associated pathogenesis. This review gives an overview of viral proteomics – the study of all proteins expressed from the viral gene transcripts, and all the cellular proteins that play a role in JCV tropism. It also describes a new biochemical approach for studying relevant JCV promoter‐binding proteins, which is an anchored‐JCV transcriptional promoter (ATP) assay. An ATP assay utilizes the product of PCR‐amplified JCV promoter sequences coupled with Sepharose beads in order to capture and isolate cellular nuclear proteins with specific promoter‐binding affinity for analysis. Proteins that bind to JCV‐ATPs can be eluted and subjected to proteomic analysis. Insights from this approach may improve the understanding of viral and cellular parameters that control JCV tropism.
Regulatory modules function in a non-autonomous manner to control transcription of the mbp gene

Multiple regulatory modules contribute to the complex expression programs realized by many loci. Although long thought of as isolated components, recent studies demonstrate that such regulatory sequences can physically associate with promoters and with each other and may localize to specific sub-nuclear transcription factories. These associations provide a substrate for putative interactions and have led to the suggested existence of a transcriptional interactome. Here, using a controlled strategy of transgenesis, we analyzed the functional consequences of regulatory sequence interaction within the myelin basic protein (mbp) locus. Interactions were revealed through comparisons of the qualitative and quantitative expression programs conferred by an allelic series of 11 different enhancer/inter-enhancer combinations ligated to a common promoter/reporter gene. In a developmentally contextual manner, the regulatory output of all modules changed markedly in the presence of other sequences. Predicted by transgene expression programs, deletion of one such module from the endogenous locus reduced oligodendrocyte expression levels but unexpectedly, also attenuated expression of the overlapping golli transcriptional unit. These observations support a regulatory architecture that extends beyond a combinatorial model to include frequent interactions capable of significantly modulating the functions conferred through regulatory modules in isolation.
Urinary pharmacokinetic methodology to determine the relative lung bioavailability of inhaled beclometasone dipropionate.

AIM Urinary pharmacokinetic methods have been identified to determine the relative lung and systemic bioavailability after an inhalation. We have extended this methodology to inhaled beclometasone dipropionate (BDP). METHOD Ethics Committee approval was obtained and all subjects gave consent. Twelve healthy volunteers received randomized doses, separated by >7 days, of 2000 µg BDP solution with (OralC) and without (Oral) 5 g oral charcoal, 10,100 µg inhalations from a Qvar(®) Easibreathe metered dose inhaler (pMDI) with (QvarC) and without (Qvar) oral charcoal and eight 250 µg inhalations from a Clenil(®) pMDI (Clenil). Subjects provided urine samples at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12 and 24 h post study dose. Urinary concentrations of BDP and its metabolites, beclometasone-17-monopropionate (17-BMP) and beclometasone (BOH) were measured. RESULTS No BDP, 17-BMP or BOH were detected in any samples post OralC dosing. Post oral dosing no BDP was detected in all urine samples and no 17-BMP or BOH was excreted in the first 30 min. Significantly more (P < 0.001) BDP, 17-BMP and BOH were excreted in the first 30 min and the cumulative 24 h urinary excretions post Qvar and Clenil compared with Oral. The mean ratio (90% confidence interval) of the 30 min urinary excretions for Qvar compared with Clenil was 231.4 (209.6, 255.7) %. CONCLUSION The urinary pharmacokinetic methodology to determine the relative lung and systemic bioavailability post inhalation, using 30 min and cumulative 24 h post inhalation samples, applies to BDP. The ratio between Qvar and Clenil is consistent with related clinical and lung deposition studies.
Effects of Midline Crossing on Reaction Time and Movement Time with Adolescents Classified as Mildly Mentally Retarded

Students with mild mental retardation (MMR) often demonstrate reluctance, confusion, or performance deterioration when required to perform tasks that require looking, reaching, or stepping across the body’s midline. Sensory integration theorists contend that midline crossing is a predictor of bilateral integration. However, in factor analysis studies, very little variance is accounted for by midline crossing data. The present study viewed midline crossing as a function of information processing and utilized a temporal assessment process rather than the usual spatial assessment process. Results indicated that subjects classified as MMR experienced slower choice reaction time (CRT) and movement time (MT) for stimuli placed across the body’s midline. However, higher functioning subjects with MMR performed equally well on CRT for ipsilateral and crosslateral tasks. The data provide evidence for a developmental hypothesis as an explanation for midline crossing problems.