Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
T1 difficulty and the attentional blink: Expectancy versus backward masking

According to bottleneck models of the attentional blink (AB), first-target (T1) processing difficulty should be related to AB magnitude. Tests of this prediction that have varied T1 difficulty in the context of a standard AB paradigm, however, have yielded mixed results. The present work examines two factors that may mediate the relationship between T1 difficulty and the AB: observer expectancy and backward masking of T1. In two experiments, omission of the backward mask consistently yielded the predicted relationship between T1 difficulty and the AB. In contrast, observer expectancy influenced target identification accuracy but did not mediate the relationship between T1 difficulty and the AB.
Glycemic Variability: Can We Bridge the Divide Between Controversies?

What does it take to put glucose variability into or out the heart of glycemic disorders in type 2 diabetes? By analyzing the database of the Hyperglycemia and Its Effect After Acute Myocardial Infarction on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) HEART2D trial, a premonitory acronym, Siegelaar et al. (1) have reported in this issue of Diabetes Care that glycemic variability cannot be placed at the heart of the risk factors implicated in the progression of cardiovascular diseases in people with type 2 diabetes. The HEART2D trial (2) was initially designed to know whether control of basal hyperglycemia or postprandial hyperglycemia is best for reducing cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes who had a history of myocardial infarction. In order to answer this question, the investigators of the HEART2D trial have enrolled poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients who had experienced acute myocardial infarction. Patients were further assigned to either a basal insulin strategy that targeted fasting and interprandial glycemia or an insulin regimen with three daily injections of a rapid insulin analog at premeal times in order to target postprandial glucose excursions. A similar lowering effect on ambient (sustained chronic) hyperglycemia assessed by HbA1c levels was observed with the two insulin regimens. No difference in the incidence of cardiovascular events was detected between the two regimens despite that the prandial group had lower postprandial glycemia compared with the basal group at interim analysis, when the study was halted after a mean follow-up of 2.7 years. Even though the authors of the HEART2D trial did not perform any specific assessment of glycemic variability, a rapid glance at the 7-point glycemic profile seems to indicate that the range of glycemic variability was different between the prandial and basal insulin regimens at study end. The analysis …
Creatinine clearance and kidney size in Balkan endemic nephropathy patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Symmetrically shrunken kidneys have been considered as one of the characteristics of Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), but there is no agreement when the shrinking does occur in the course of the disease. In the present study, the relation between creatinine clearance (Ccr) and kidney length was compared between the patients in the early phase of BEN and other renal diseases. METHODS The study included 84 patients with BEN (39 males, aged 54 +/- 12 years), 31 patients with other renal diseases (15 males, aged 54 +/- 14 years) and 15 healthy subjects as controls. Only the patients with Ccr above 90 ml/min were included into the study. The kidney length was measured by sonography using sector sound of 3.5 MHz. RESULTS In healthy controls and patients with renal disease other than BEN, Ccr varied between 90 and 177 ml/min, and only 3 patients had Ccr above 150 ml/min. On the contrary, 15 (18%) BEN patients had Ccr between 90 and 120 ml/min, and 37 (44%) BEN patients had Ccr above 150 ml/min. Sonographically measured kidney length of all healthy subjects and patients with renal diseases other than BEN was above 10.5 cm. Out of 84 BEN patients, 21 (25%) patients had kidney length less than 10.5 cm. CONCLUSION BEN patients in the early phase of the disease had significantly higher Ccr and smaller kidney in comparison to the patients with other renal diseases.
Trust Us, We're Experts! How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future

Trust Us, We're Experts! How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future. Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2001. 360 pp. $24.95 hbk. $14.95 pbk. WARNING: THIS BOOK MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. Well, okay. That may be a little over the top, but not by much. Journalism and mass communication teachers may become clinically depressed after devouring this meticulous, thoroughly researched account of the ways in which journalists-many of whom we teach-are duped by corporations that threaten public health and welfare. To make matters worse, many public relations practitioners-whom we also teach-participate in or invent schemes to ensure that dangerous corporate actions are not recognized, regulated, or curtailed. The depression is likely to deepen as teachers discover how devious-and successful-the corporate disinformation campaigns really are. This well-written, well-organized book is a project of the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy, which is "dedicated to investigative reporting on the hidden PR manipulations of government and industry. " Those of us who want the media to perform well will not find much comfort in this book. Investigative journalists Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber acknowledge that "there are also enterprising, committed journalists who take seriously their responsibility to serve as the public's eyes and ears," but little of that committed journalism is on display here. Some of the case studies cause one to wonder whether democracy really works. The Global Climate Coalition, for example, was formed in 1989 solely to help corporations and trade associations wage war against those who would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The energy, transportation, and chemical companies that created the Coalition could lose billions if governments ever got serious about regulating emissions. Few reputable scientists denied the reality of global warming, so the Coalition's goal was "simply to stop people from mobilizing to do anything about the problem, to create sufficient doubt in their minds about the seriousness of global warming that they will remain locked in debate and indecision. " The Coalition and similar groups have enjoyed remarkable success in deferring emission regulation. It is disheartening to read how journalists are used to protect narrow self-interests, and how public relations practitioners are part of the plot. The success of the hugely expensive attacks against "junk science" also is disconcerting. "Junk science," in the view of many in industry and government, is any science that threatens profits or the status quo. …
Involvement of Rho GAP GRAF1 in maintenance of epithelial phenotype

ABSTRACT Adhesion of epithelial cell to each other and to extracellular matrix, as well as cell migration ability and cytoskeleton organization undergo significant alterations in the course of neoplastic transformation, but regulatory mechanisms involved in these processes are not fully understood. Here, we studied the role of a Rho GAP protein GRAF1 (GTPase Regulator Associated with Focal adhesion kinase-1) in the regulation of the epithelial phenotype in cells of breast derived, non-malignant, MCF10A cell line. GRAF1 was shown to be localized to cell-cell junctions, and its depletion resulted in accelerated cell migration velocity, elongation of the cells and cell colonies, impaired monolayer integrity and significant disruption of desmosomes with a loss of associated keratin filaments. These processes were accompanied by formation of larger focal adhesions, an increased number of contractile actin stress fibers, reduction in epithelial markers and increase in mesenchymal markers such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-specific transcription factors Snail-1 and Snail-2, as well as N-cadherin, and vimentin. Moreover, unlike control cells, GRAF1 knocked-down cells demonstrated anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. GRAF1 expression in several highly invasive breast cancer cell lines was low, as compared to the non-malignant MCF10A cells, while overexpressing of GRAF1 in the malignant BT-549 cell line led to a decrease of mesenchymal markers, especially the Snail-1 and 2. Altogether, our analysis suggests that GRAF1 plays a role in the maintenance of normal epithelial phenotype and its depletion leads to an EMT-like process that might be involved in neoplastic transformation.
Defining Neurocognitive Impairment in HIV: Deficit Scores Versus Clinical Ratings

Because HIV-related neurocognitive impairment is usually mild and variable, clinical ratings (CR) and global deficit scores (GDS) are recommended for detecting HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The CR approach requires impairment in at least two ability domains while the GDS considers number and severity of impairments across all measures. We examined classification agreement and clinical correlates of the two methods. Neurocognitive functioning of 1574 HIV-infected participants was assessed via a comprehensive, seven-domain neuropsychological battery. Global neurocognitive impairment was defined for each participant independently by CR and GDS. Participants were classified into four categories (Dually-normal, [impaired by] CR-only, [impaired by] GDS-only, or Dually-impaired). There was 83% concordance between CR and GDS classifications; in total, 56% of participants were deemed impaired by CR and 41% were classified as impaired by GDS. Impairment by GDS virtually guaranteed CR impairment, but 16% of participants were additionally classified as impaired only by CR. As compared to Dually-normal participants, those classified as Dually and CR-only impaired were more likely to have AIDS, have more severe co-occurring conditions, have more severe depressive symptoms, be unemployed, and have more everyday functioning complaints (ps < .05). Impairment classifications of the two methods were in high agreement; however, more people were classified as impaired using the CR approach compared to the GDS approach. Those impaired according to CR-only showed fewer neurocognitive and functional deficits than the Dually-impaired participants, but more of these deficits than Dually-normal participants. The CR approach may be most appropriate for detecting more subtle forms of neurocognitive impairment. Clinicians and researchers should recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each method when evaluating neurocognitive complications in HIV.
Computational fluid dynamic characterization of carotid bifurcation stenosis in patient-based geometries

Hemodynamic forces play a role in determining endothelial cell (EC) phenotype and influence vascular remodeling. We present a lesion‐based computational fluid dynamic (CFD) pilot analysis to understand the complex spatial and temporal hemodynamic changes that prevail in patients with high‐grade carotid artery stenosis (CS). High‐resolution three‐dimensional (3D) rotational angiography datasets were acquired in eight patients, and used to generate computational meshes. CFD analysis was carried out implementing realistic shear‐dependent viscosity for blood. The mean wall shear stress (WSS) within the stenosis region was 107 ± 73 dyn/cm2 rapidly followed by direction reversal and lower oscillating values in the recirculation zone at a mean of 19 ± 14 dyn/cm2. WSS vectors exhibited complex dynamic directional and amplitude oscillations not seen in healthy segments, along with time‐dependent convergence and divergence strips during the cardiac cycle. The spatial gradient of WSS revealed an elevated average magnitude at the throat of the stenosis of 1425 ± 1012 dyn/cm3. In conclusion, patient‐based CFD analysis of CS predicts a complex hemodynamic environment with large spatial WSS variations that occur very rapidly over short distances. Our results improve estimates of the flow changes and forces at the vessel wall in CS and the link between hemodynamic changes and stenosis pathophysiology.
Evaluation of accuracy of Euroscore risk model in prediction of perioperative mortality after coronary bypass graft surgery in Isfahan*

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of Euroscore (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation) in predicting perioperative mortality after cardiac surgery in Iranian patient population. METHODS: Data on 1362 patients undergoing coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG) from 2007 to 2009 were collected. Calibration was assessed by Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit. Area under the curve (AUC) was used to assess score validity. Odds ratios were measured to evaluate the predictive value of each risk factor on mortality rate. RESULTS: The overall perioperative in hospital mortality was 3.6% whereas the Euroscore predicted a mortality of 3.96%. Euroscore model fitted well in the validation databases. The mean AUC was 66%. Mean length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was 2.5 ± 2.5 days. Among risk factors, only left ventricular dysfunction, age and neurologic dysfunction were found to be related to mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Euroscore did not have acceptable discriminatory ability in perioperative in hospital mortality in Iranian patients. It seems that development of a local mortality risk scores corresponding to our patients epidemiologic characteristics may improve prediction of outcome.
Sequence of Shiga Toxin 2 Phage 933W fromEscherichia coli O157:H7: Shiga Toxin as a Phage Late-Gene Product

ABSTRACT Lysogenic bacteriophages are major vehicles for the transfer of genetic information between bacteria, including pathogenicity and/or virulence determinants. In the enteric pathogenEscherichia coli O157:H7, which causes hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome, Shiga toxins 1 and 2 (Stx1 and Stx2) are phage encoded. The sequence and analysis of the Stx2 phage 933W is presented here. We find evidence that the toxin genes are part of a late-phage transcript, suggesting that toxin production may be coupled with, if not dependent upon, phage release during lytic growth. Another phage gene, stk, encodes a product resembling eukaryotic serine/threonine protein kinases. Based on its position in the sequence, Stk may be produced by the prophage in the lysogenic state, and, like the YpkA protein of Yersinia species, it may interfere with the signal transduction pathway of the mammalian host. Three novel tRNA genes present in the phage genome may serve to increase the availability of rare tRNA species associated with efficient expression of pathogenicity determinants: both the Shiga toxin and serine/threonine kinase genes contain rare isoleucine and arginine codons. 933W also has homology to lom, encoding a member of a family of outer membrane proteins associated with virulence by conferring the ability to survive in macrophages, andbor, implicated in serum resistance.
Improvement of the Oral Drug Absorption of Topotecan through the Inhibition of Intestinal Xenobiotic Efflux Transporter, Breast Cancer Resistance Protein, by Excipients

Recently, breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) has been shown to limit the oral absorption of its substrates in the intestine. The purpose of this study was to examine whether excipients can be used as inhibitors of BCRP, to improve the oral drug absorption of BCRP substrates. In wild-type mice, Pluronic P85 and Tween 20, given orally 15 min before topotecan administration, increased the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of topotecan after oral administration (2.0- and 1.8-fold, respectively). In contrast, Pluronic P85 and Tween 20 were less effective (no significant difference) on the AUC of topotecan after oral administration in Bcrp (–/–) mice (1.2- and 1.2-fold, respectively). Pluronic P85 and Tween 20 given orally did not affect significantly the AUC of topotecan after intravenous administration in wild-type and Bcrp (–/–) mice. Moreover, we determined the mucosal-to-serosal absorptive transport of topotecan using everted mouse ileum. Pluronic P85 and Tween 20 significantly increased the intestinal absorption rate of topotecan in everted sacs from wild-type mice whereas, in everted sacs from Bcrp (–/–) mice, the absorption rate was 2.1-fold greater than that in wild-type mice, and these excipients were not significantly effective. There was no significant difference in the intestinal P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression and serosal-to-mucosal secretory transport of rhodamine 123, a typical P-gp substrate. Taken together, these results suggest that Pluronic P85 and Tween 20 can improve the oral bioavailability of BCRP substrates by inhibiting BCRP function in the small intestine.
Coelectrodeposition of Ternary Mn-Oxide/Polypyrrole Composites for ORR Electrocatalysts: A Study Based on Micro-X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence Mapping

Low energy X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and soft X-ray absorption (XAS) microspectroscopies at high space-resolution are employed for the investigation of the coelectrodeposition of composites consisting of a polypyrrole(PPy)-matrix and Mn-based ternary dispersoids, that have been proposed as promising electrocatalysts for oxygen-reduction electrodes. Specifically, we studied Mn–Co–Cu/PP, Mn–Co–Mg/PPy and Mn–Ni–Mg/PPy co-electrodeposits. The Mn–Co–Cu system features the best ORR electrocatalytic activity in terms of electron transfer number, onset potential, half-wave potential and current density. XRF maps and micro-XAS spectra yield compositional and chemical state distributions, contributing unique molecular-level information on the pulse-plating processes. Mn, Ni, Co and Mg exhibit a bimodal distribution consisting of mesoscopic aggregates of micrometric globuli, separated by polymer-rich ridges. Within this common qualitative scenario, the individual systems exhibit quantitatively different chemical distribution patterns, resulting from specific electrokinetic and electrosorption properties of the single components. The electrodeposits consist of Mn 3+,4+ -oxide particles, accompanied by combinations of Co 0 /Co 2+ , Ni 0 /Ni 2+ and Cu 0,+ /Cu 2+ resulting from the alternance of cathodic and anodic pulses. The formation of highly electroactive Mn 3+,4+ in the as-fabricated material is a specific feature of the ternary systems, deriving from synergistic stabilisation brought about by two types of bivalent dopants as well as by galvanic contact to elemental metal; this result represents a considerable improvement in material quality with respect to previously studied Mn/PPy and Mn-based/PPy binaries.
Increased Cortical Thickness in Male-to-Female Transsexualism.

BACKGROUND The degree to which one identifies as male or female has a profound impact on one's life. Yet, there is a limited understanding of what contributes to this important characteristic termed gender identity. In order to reveal factors influencing gender identity, studies have focused on people who report strong feelings of being the opposite sex, such as male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals. METHOD To investigate potential neuroanatomical variations associated with transsexualism, we compared the regional thickness of the cerebral cortex between 24 MTF transsexuals who had not yet been treated with cross-sex hormones and 24 age-matched control males. RESULTS Results revealed thicker cortices in MTF transsexuals, both within regions of the left hemisphere (i.e., frontal and orbito-frontal cortex, central sulcus, perisylvian regions, paracentral gyrus) and right hemisphere (i.e., pre-/post-central gyrus, parietal cortex, temporal cortex, precuneus, fusiform, lingual, and orbito-frontal gyrus). CONCLUSION These findings provide further evidence that brain anatomy is associated with gender identity, where measures in MTF transsexuals appear to be shifted away from gender-congruent men.
Alteration of cyclin D1 in gastric carcinoma and its clinicopathologic significance.

AIM To detect the genetic alteration and abnormal expression of cyclin D1 in gastric carcinoma and investigate its clinicopathologic significance in advanced gastric carcinoma. METHODS Proteins of cyclin D1 were detected by immunohistochemistry in 42 cases of advanced gastric carcinoma with their follow-up data available, 27 cases of early stage carcinoma, 21 cases of gastric adenoma, 22 cases of hyperplastic polyp and 20 cases of normal mucosa adjacent to adenocarcinomas. Genetic alteration of cyclin D1 was detected by Southern blot and expression of cyclin D1 mRNA was detected by PT-PCR in 42 cases of advanced gastric carcinoma. RESULTS Cyclin D1 protein was not expressed in normal mucosa, hyperplastic polyp and gastric adenoma, while it was only positively expressed in gastric carcinoma. The expression rate of cyclin D1 protein in early stage gastric carcinoma, advanced gastric carcinoma and lymph node metastasis was 48.1%, 47.4% and 50.0%, respectively. The amplification of cyclin D1 gene was detected in 16.6% of advanced gastric carcinomas. The overexpression of cyclin D1 mRNA was detected in 40.5% of the samples. There was no significant correlation between cyclin D1 protein expression and age, lymph-node metastasis and histological grading in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma (chi2 = 0.038, 0.059, 0.241, P>0.05). Significant correlation was observed between the expression of cyclin D1 protein and the 5-year survival rate (chi2 = 3.92, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Detection of cyclin D1 protein by immunohistochemistry may be useful in the diagnosis of early gastric carcinomas. Patients with positive expression of cyclin D1 protein tend to have a worse prognosis.
Permeation and Gating Properties of the Novel Epithelial Ca2+ Channel*

The recently cloned epithelial Ca2+ channel (ECaC) constitutes the Ca2+influx pathway in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-responsive epithelia. We have combined patch-clamp analysis and fura-2 fluorescence microscopy to functionally characterize ECaC heterologously expressed in HEK293 cells. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration in ECaC-expressing cells was closely correlated with the applied electrochemical Ca2+ gradient, demonstrating the distinctive Ca2+ permeability and constitutive activation of ECaC. Cells dialyzed with 10 mm1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid displayed large inward currents through ECaC in response to voltage ramps. The corresponding current-voltage relationship showed pronounced inward rectification. Currents evoked by voltage steps to potentials below −40 mV partially inactivated with a biexponential time course. This inactivation was less pronounced if Ba2+or Sr2+ replaced Ca2+ and was absent in Ca2+-free solutions. ECaC showed an anomalous mole fraction behavior. The permeability ratioP Ca:P Na calculated from the reversal potential at 30 mm[Ca2+] o was larger than 100. The divalent cation selectivity profile is Ca2+ > Mn2+ > Ba2+ ∼ Sr2+. Repetitive stimulation of ECaC-expressing cells induced a decay of the current response, which was greatly reduced if Ca2+ was replaced by Ba2+ and was virtually abolished if [Ca2+] o was lowered to 1 nm. In conclusion, ECaC is a Ca2+ selective channel, exhibiting Ca2+-dependent autoregulatory mechanisms, including fast inactivation and slow down-regulation.