Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apparent Weak Efficacy of Ivermectin for Treatment of Human Toxocariasis

Toxocariasis is a worldwide helminthic zoonosis due to the infection of humans by larvae of Toxocara canis, the common roundworm of dogs, or T. cati, a parasite of cats. Regarding treatment, only diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and mebendazole (MBZ), given daily orally (p.o.) for 21 days at 4 mg kg of body weight (bw)−1 and 25 mg kg bw−1, respectively, have to date demonstrated good efficacy (4). Ivermectin has become the drug of choice for the treatment of onchocerciasis (1). This drug is also excellent for treating strongyloidiasis (5). In 17 hypereosinophilic outpatients who attended the parasitology clinic at the University Hospital Purpan, Toulouse, France, the diagnosis of toxocariasis was based on the results from a Western blotting procedure using T. canis excretory-secretory antigens (3). Other helminthic diseases were ruled out by stool examination along with Baermann’s method and by appropriate immunodiagnostic tests. Two patients with a history of chronic hypereosinophilia were asymptomatic. The others presented with a clinical syndrome consistent with toxocariasis (2), namely chronic weakness (three cases), intermittent abdominal pain (six cases), intermittent diarrhea (three cases), and/or various allergy signs (seven cases). The duration of clinical picture and/or hypereosinophilia prior to the consultation was on average 18 months (standard error of the mean [SEM], 4.3; range, 3 to 72). The mean blood eosinophil count was 1.13 × 109 cells liter−1 (SEM, 0.257; range, 0.44 to 4.5). After informed consent was obtained, every patient was given p.o. a single 12-mg dose of ivermectin, corresponding on average to a rate of 193 μg kg bw−1 (range, 130 to 286). The mean time gap between drug intake and the checkup consultation was 7.9 weeks (SEM, 1.3; range, 4 to 24). Of the 15 symptomatic patients, 2 did not exhibit any clinical sign but still had an unchanging hypereosinophilia, 4 showed clinical improvement, and no effect was found for the remaining nine. Posttreatment mean blood eosinophil count was 1.0 × 109 cells liter−1 (SEM, 0.15; range, 0.5 to 2.9). No significant difference (Wilcoxon’s rank test) was noticed between pre- and posttreatment mean values of eosinophilia. No significant correlation (Spearman’s correlation test) was observed between the rate (micrograms per kilogram bw) of absorbed ivermectin or the posttreatment time gap on the one hand and the effect on clinical symptoms or the posttreatment mean eosinophil count on the other hand. These results contrast with those for DEC and MBZ, both of which elicited in toxocariasis patients, on average 4 weeks after the treatment had ended, significant decreases in clinical signs and blood eosinophilia (4). Larger-scale controlled studies with placebo groups, therefore, have to be carried out to assess the real efficacy of ivermectin for the treatment of human toxocariasis. This zoonosis is indeed endemic in rural areas of Europe, and physicians could be tempted to use ivermectin, which has just been registered in the European Union, for the treatment of strongyloidiasis.
[Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease: relation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to carotid atherosclerosis].

BACKGROUND/AIMS Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, which are all features of the metabolic syndrome. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether NAFLD is associated with carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS The study population comprised 659 subjects without hepatitis B and C infections and who did not consume alcohol. Fatty infiltrations of liver were detected by abdominal ultrasonography, and intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque prevalence were estimated by carotid ultrasonography. RESULTS The mean values of systolic and diastolic pressures, body mass index (BMI), aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, uric acid, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model of assessment (HOMA) index, hemoglobin A1c, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 differed significantly between patients with NAFLD (n=314) and normal controls (n=345). The carotid IMT was 0.817+/-0.212 (mean+/-SD) mm in patients with NAFLD and 0.757+/-0.198 mm in normal controls (p<0.001). The prevalence of carotid plaques was higher in patients with NAFLD (26.4%) than in normal controls (15.9%) (p<0.001). This association persisted significantly after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, HOMA index and individual factors of metabolic syndrome by multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS Patients with NAFLD are at a high risk of carotid atherosclerosis regardless of metabolic syndrome and classical cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, the detection of NAFLD should alert to the existence of an increased cardiovascular risk. Moreover, NAFLD might be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Robust principal component analysis?

This article is about a curious phenomenon. Suppose we have a data matrix, which is the superposition of a low-rank component and a sparse component. Can we recover each component individually? We prove that under some suitable assumptions, it is possible to recover both the low-rank and the sparse components exactly by solving a very convenient convex program called Principal Component Pursuit; among all feasible decompositions, simply minimize a weighted combination of the nuclear norm and of the ℓ1 norm. This suggests the possibility of a principled approach to robust principal component analysis since our methodology and results assert that one can recover the principal components of a data matrix even though a positive fraction of its entries are arbitrarily corrupted. This extends to the situation where a fraction of the entries are missing as well. We discuss an algorithm for solving this optimization problem, and present applications in the area of video surveillance, where our methodology allows for the detection of objects in a cluttered background, and in the area of face recognition, where it offers a principled way of removing shadows and specularities in images of faces.
Unloading reflex in patients with hemiparesis

WHEN A MUSCLE is contracted against an external load, and the load is suddenly removed, the electromyogram (EMG) shows a biphasic response. During the initial phase, the EMG potentials are reduced in size or absent altogether.1 During the second phase, they are greatly increased, often becoming larger than the potentials seen before unloading.2 This pattern is remarkably constant under normal conditions, and it provides a useful technique for studying motor function in human beings.3-9 In the present investigation, the unloading test was applied to patients with hemiparesis due to cerebrovascular disease. For every patient, the paretic limb was compared with the unaffected limb on the opposite side and significant abnormalities were observed.
Pathophysiology of the human locus coeruleus complex in fetal/neonatal sudden unexplained death

Abstract Objectives: We investigated the locus coeruleus complex in the brainstems of 78 subjects aged from 24 gestational weeks to 8 postnatal months, who died of unknown (sudden unexplained fetal and infant deaths) and known causes (controls). The goals of this study were: (1) to obtain basic information about the morphology of the locus coeruleus complex and the expression of different biological parameters (tyrosine hydroxylase, neuromelanin and apoptosis) during the first phases of human nervous system development; (2) to evaluate possible alterations of this structure in victims of sudden death; and (3) to verify any correlation with risk factors. Methods: All the victims were subjected to a complete autopsy, including an in-depth histological examination of the autonomic nervous system and in particular of the locus coeruleus complex, the target of this study. Adrenergic neurons were identified by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry and neuromelanin-containing neurons were specifically visualized by the application of Lillie’s method. In addition, the activation of programmed cell death (apoptosis) was studied by investigating DNA fragmentation (TUNEL-positive cells). Results: Alterations of the noradrenaline system, decreased neuromelanin, hypoplasia, in addition to a high neuronal death rate, were observed almost exclusively in the locus coeruleus complex of fetal and infant sudden deaths, and were significantly correlated to maternal smoking. Discussion: The developmental defects found in the locus coeruleus complex in victims of sudden unexplained fetal and infant death imply alterations of the vital activities related to the widespread brain connections arising from this neuronal center, including coordination of the sleep–waking cycle and control of the cardio-respiratory system.
On a Leray–α model of turbulence

In this paper we introduce and study a new model for three–dimensional turbulence, the Leray–α model. This model is inspired by the Lagrangian averaged Navier–Stokes–α model of turbulence (also known Navier–Stokes–α model or the viscous Camassa–Holm equations). As in the case of the Lagrangian averaged Navier–Stokes–α model, the Leray–α model compares successfully with empirical data from turbulent channel and pipe flows, for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. We establish here an upper bound for the dimension of the global attractor (the number of degrees of freedom) of the Leray–α model of the order of (L/ld)12/7, where L is the size of the domain and ld is the dissipation length–scale. This upper bound is much smaller than what one would expect for three–dimensional models, i.e. (L/ld)3. This remarkable result suggests that the Leray–α model has a great potential to become a good sub–grid–scale large–eddy simulation model of turbulence. We support this observation by studying, analytically and computationally, the energy spectrum and show that in addition to the usual k−5/3 Kolmogorov power law the inertial range has a steeper power–law spectrum for wavenumbers larger than 1/α. Finally, we propose a Prandtl–like boundary–layer model, induced by the Leray–α model, and show a very good agreement of this model with empirical data for turbulent boundary layers.
CMTM3 Inhibits Human Testicular Cancer Cell Growth through Inducing Cell-Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis

Human CMTM3 has been proposed as a putative tumor suppressor gene. The loss of CMTM3 has been found in several carcinomas. However, the regulation of CMTM3 expression and its function in tumor progression remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the regulation of CMTM3 expression, function and molecular mechanism in human testicular cancer cells. CMTM3 was frequently downregulated or silenced in testicular cancer cell lines and tumor tissues but highly expressed in normal testis tissues. The re-expression of CMTM3 significantly suppressed the colony formation, proliferation, and migration capacity of testicular cancer cells by inducing a G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Moreover, the re-expression of CMTM3 activated the transcription of p53, induced p53 accumulation, up-regulated the expression of p21, and increased the cleavage of caspase 9, 8, 3, and PARP. The downregulation of CMTM3 in clinical tumor tissues was associated with the methylation of a single CpG site located within the Sp1/Sp3-responsive region of the core promoter. These results indicate that CMTM3 can function as tumor suppressor through the induction of a G2 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. CMTM3 is thus involved in testicular cancer pathogenesis, and it is frequently at least partially silenced by the methylation of a single, specific CpG site in tumor tissues.
Interactions between the Real Economy and the Stock Market: A Simple Agent-Based Approach

We develop a simple behavioral macromodel to study interactions between the real economy and the stock market. The real economy is represented by a Keynesian-type goods market approach while the setup for the stock market includes heterogeneous speculators. Using a mixture of analytical and numerical tools we find, for instance, that speculators may create endogenous boom-bust dynamics in the stock market which, by spilling over into the real economy, can cause lasting fluctuations in economic activity. However, fluctuations in economic activity may, by shaping the firms' fundamental values, also have an impact on the dynamics of the stock market.
TAPHS: thermal-aware unified physical-level and high-level synthesis

Thermal effects are becoming increasingly important during integrated circuit design. Thermal characteristics influence reliability, power consumption, cooling costs, and performance. It is necessary to consider thermal effects during all levels of the design process, from the architectural level to the physical level. However, design-time temperature prediction requires access to block placement, wire models, power profile, and a chip-package thermal model. Thermal-aware design and synthesis necessarily couple architectural-level design decisions (e.g., scheduling) with physical design (e.g., floorplanning) and modeling (e.g., wire and thermal modeling). This article proposes an efficient and accurate thermal-aware floor-planning high-level synthesis system that makes use of integrated high-level and physical-level thermal optimization techniques. Voltage islands are automatically generated via novel slack distribution and voltage partitioning algorithms in order to reduce the design's power consumption and peak temperature. A new thermal-aware floorplanning technique is proposed to balance chip thermal profile, thereby further reducing peak temperature. The proposed system was used to synthesize a number of benchmarks, yielding numerous designs that trade off peak temperature, integrated circuit area, and power consumption. The proposed techniques reduces peak temperature by 12.5degC on average. When used to minimize peak temperature with a fixed area, peak temperature reductions are common. Under a constraint on peak temperature, integrated circuit area is reduced by 9.9% on average
Studies in neonatal hepatitis and biliary atresia. 3. Progression and regression of cirrhosis in biliary atresia.

SUCCESSFUL repair of atresia of the bile ducts continues to be a rare occurrence. 1,2 On the other hand, abdominal surgery increases the mortality and morbidity of neonatal hepatitis, and appears to be an adverse factor in long-term prognosis. 3 The desire to restore function early in the course of biliary obstruction and the difficulty in distinguishing biliary atresia from neonatal hepatitis have led to exploratory laparotomy in undiagnosed cases of obstructive jaundice during the earliest months of life. In this report, the effects of persistent biliary obstruction on the development of hepatic fibrosis and liver function are investigated, and the possibility of restoration of liver structure and function following successful surgical repair of atretic ducts is considered. Materials and Methods Biopsy and autopsy materials from patients with biliary atresia admitted during a ten-year period (June 1954 to July 1964) to the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and the Children's
Listeria monocytogenes activation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes: induction of non-major histocompatibility complex-restricted cytotoxic activity and cytokine production

Gram-negative bacteria have been shown to activate human natural killer (NK) cells. In this report, we show that the gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can also activate human NK cells with regard to non-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted killing and the production of cytokines. Overnight incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cells or enriched NK cell populations with live or Formalin-fixed L. monocytogenes resulted in high levels of non-MHC-restricted cytotoxic activity. Listeria-stimulated non-MHC-restricted cytotoxic activity could be achieved with pathogenic as well as nonpathogenic Listeria strains. PBM cells also produced tumor necrosis factor alpha and different interferons (IFNs) after incubation with Listeria strains. Optimal cytokine production appeared to be dependent on nylon wool- and plastic-adherent cells. Different IFNs were produced by Listeria-stimulated PBM cells obtained from different donors. IFN-gamma was always produced but was sometimes associated with IFN-alpha and/or IFN-beta. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) activity was never detected in culture supernatants obtained from Listeria-stimulated PBM cell cultures. However, IL-2 appeared to be produced by Listeria-stimulated PBM cells, since antibody to IL-2 inhibited Listeria-stimulated NK cell cytotoxic activity. Listeria activation of NK cell cytotoxic activity was also dependent on tumor necrosis factor alpha production. Antibody to IFN-gamma, IFN-beta, or IFN-alpha had no effect on Listeria-stimulated NK cell cytotoxic activity. These results demonstrate that NK cells can be activated by Listeria strains and add further evidence that NK cells may play an important role in host defense against bacterial infections.
The relationship between parent involvement and preschool children's social competence and learning behaviors

DeWar, Amanda Lee. The Relationship Between Parent Involvement and Preschool Children’s Social Competence and Learning Behaviors. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2011. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between parent involvement and preschool children’s social competence and learning behaviors. Research is emerging to suggest a positive relationship between parent involvement and preschool children’s social competence and learning behaviors among Head Start populations. The participants in this study were a volunteer sample of parents and teachers of 130 preschool students. These preschool students attended preschool as tuition-paying students, students who attended preschool in order to receive special education, or students who attended preschool at no cost through a program that identified them as being at-risk. Parent involvement was measured using the Family Involvement Questionnaire. Social competence was measured using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale and learning behaviors were measured using the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale. The results of the current study did not support a relationship between parent involvement and preschool children’s social competence and learning behaviors. Implications for future research are discussed.
What Does Individual Option Volatility Smirk Tell Us About Future Equity Returns?

The shape of the volatility smirk has significant cross-sectional predictive power for future equity returns. Stocks exhibiting the steepest smirks in their traded options underperform stocks with the least pronounced volatility smirks in their options by 10.9% per year on a risk-adjusted basis. This predictability persists for at least 6 months, and firms with the steepest volatility smirks are those experiencing the worst earnings shocks in the following quarter. The results are consistent with the notion that informed traders with negative news prefer to trade out-of-the-money put options, and that the equity market is slow in incorporating the information embedded in volatility smirks.
Candidate genes on chromosome 9q33-34 involved in the progression of childhood ependymomas.

PURPOSE The molecular pathogenesis of pediatric ependymoma remains unclear. Our study was designed to identify genetic changes implicated in ependymoma progression. PATIENTS AND METHODS We characterized 59 ependymoma samples (33 at diagnosis and 26 at relapse) using array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). Specific chromosomal imbalances were confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization, and candidate genes were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), immunohistochemistry, sequencing, and in vitro functional studies. RESULTS aCGH analysis revealed a significant increase in genomic imbalances on relapse compared with diagnosis, such as gain of 9qter and 1q (54% v 21% and 12% v 0%, respectively) and loss of 6q (27% v 6%). Supervised tumor classification showed that gain of 9qter was associated with tumor recurrence, age older than 3 years, and posterior fossa location. Using a candidate-gene strategy, we found an overexpression of two potential oncogenes at the locus 9qter: Tenascin-C and Notch1. Moreover, Notch pathway analysis (qPCR) revealed overexpression of Notch ligands, receptors, and target genes (Hes-1, Hey2, and c-Myc), and downregulation of Notch repressor Fbxw7. We confirmed by immunohistochemistry the overexpression of Tenascin-C and Hes-1. We detected Notch1 missense mutations in 8.3% of the tumors (only in the posterior fossa location and in case of 9q33-34 gain). Furthermore, inhibition of Notch pathway with a gamma-secretase inhibitor impaired the growth of ependymoma stem cell cultures. CONCLUSION The activation of the Notch pathway and Tenascin-C seem to be important events in ependymoma progression and may represent future targets for therapy. We report, to our knowledge for the first time, recurrent oncogenic mutations in pediatric posterior fossa ependymomas.
Ambulatory blood pressure profile and left ventricular geometry in Nigerian hypertensives

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent cardiac risk factor in hypertensives and the structural classification of left ventricular (LV) geometry provides additional prognostic information. Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring has been shown to be superior to office blood pressure (BP) in relation to hypertension LVH. We investigated ambulatory BP variables in relation to LV geometric patterns in Nigerian hypertensives. Materials and Methods: A total of 130 patients (males = 96, females = 34) with hypertension had their 24-hours ambulatory BP and trans-thoracic 2D/M- mode echocardiography. Data were analyzed with SPSS 13.0. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the patients was 54.08±11.88 years. The prevalence rate of abnormal LV geometry was 48.4%. Mean ambulatory Systolic BP (day time, night time and 24-hour-average) was significantly higher in patients with LVH compared with those without LVH. Day-night systolic and diastolic BP decay (i.e. percentage nocturnal decline in BP) was also significantly lower in LVH group than in the group without LVH. Patients with eccentric LVH had abnormal day time mean ambulatory systolic BP, night time mean ambulatory systolic BP, elevated day time and night time systolic BP loads, as well as non-dipping diastolic BP pattern. Significant correlates of LV mass index in this study population were mean ambulatory systolic BP (day time: r = 0.355, P = 0.004; night time: r = 0.343, P = 0.005; 24- hour average: r = 0.358, P = 0.004) and day-night decay (systolic: r = -0.388, P = 0.007; diastolic: r = -0.290, P = 0.022) as well as 24-hour systolic BP variability. Conclusion: The presence of LVH in hypertension was associated with higher mean ambulatory systolic BP and lower percentage nocturnal decline in systolic and diastolic BP than its absence which appeared to be worse in patients with eccentric LV geometry when compared with other geometric patterns.