Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relation between abnormal patterns of muscle activation and response to common peroneal nerve stimulation in hemiplegia

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between response to common peroneal nerve stimulation, timed to the swing phase of walking, and abnormal ankle movement and muscle activation patterns. METHOD Eighteen patients who took part had a drop foot and had had a stroke at least 6 months before the study Twelve age matched normal subjects were also studied. Response to stimulation was measured by changes in the speed and effort of walking when the stimulator was used. Speed was measured over 10 m and effort by the physiological cost index. Abnormal ankle movement and muscle activation were measured in a rig by ability to follow a tracking signal moving sinusoidally at either 1 or 2 Hz, resistance to passive movement, and EMG activity during both passive and active movements. Indices were derived to define EMG response to passive stretch, coactivation, and ability to activate muscles appropriately during active movement RESULTS Different mechanisms underlying the drop foot were seen. Results showed that patients who had poor control of ankle movement and spasticity, demonstrated by stretch reflex and coactivation, were more likely to respond well to stimulation. Those with mechanical resistance to passive movement and with normal muscle activation responded less well. CONCLUSIONS The results support the hypothesis that stimulation of the common peroneal nerve to elicit a contraction of the anterior tibial muscles also inhibits the antagonist calf muscles. The technique used may be useful in directing physiotherapy by indicating the underlying cause of the drop foot.
Agent-based computational models and generative social science

This article argues that the agent-based computational model permits a distinctive approach to social science for which the term “generative” is suitable. In defending this terminology, features distinguishing the approach from both “inductive” and “deductive” science are given. Then, the following specific contributions to social science are discussed: The agent-based computational model is a new tool for empirical research. It offers a natural environment for the study of connectionist phenomena in social science. Agent-based modeling provides a powerful way to address certain enduring—and especially interdisciplinary—questions. It allows one to subject certain core theories—such as neoclassical microeconomics—to important types of stress (e.g., the effect of evolving preferences). It permits one to study how rules of individual behavior give rise—or “map up”—to macroscopic regularities and organizations. In turn, one can employ laboratory behavioral research findings to select among competing agent-based (“bottom up”) models. The agent-based approach may well have the important effect of decoupling individual rationality from macroscopic equilibrium and of separating decision science from social science more generally. Agent-based modeling offers powerful new forms of hybrid theoretical-computational work; these are particularly relevant to the study of non-equilibrium systems. The agentbased approach invites the interpretation of society as a distributed computational device, and in turn the interpretation of social dynamics as a type of computation. This interpretation raises important foundational issues in social science—some related to intractability, and some to undecidability proper. Finally, since “emergence” figures prominently in this literature, I take up the connection between agent-based modeling and classical emergentism, criticizing the latter and arguing that the two are incompatible. 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bridging the Gap between Evidence and Practice: A Systematic Review—When Is the Best Time to Clamp the Infant’s Umbilical Cord in Term Low-Risk Women?

Historically, in midwifery and obstetric care, the umbilical cord was not usually clamped until all pulsation of the cord had ceased. This is now referred to as delayed cord clamping or DCC (not clamping umbilical cord before two minutes of life). During the last one hundred years with changes in the ways women give birth, especially the shift toward hospital based birth in the Western world, it became commonplace for the cord to be clamped within 20 - 30 seconds of birth (immediate cord clamping or ICC). Authors have postulated various reasons for this shift in timing of umbilical cord clamping to include a possible decreased risk of postpartum hemorrhage, the need for resuscitation of the newborn and sampling of cord blood for stem cells and cord blood analysis. Recent evidence suggests that newborns (particularly in low-resourced settings) would benefit greatly from a policy of DCC with decreased risks of childhood anemia, subsequent sequelae and the need for supplementation. This systematic review examined recent literature from the last eight years using commonly used academic search engines with associated keywords. The results were carefully collated into a table of findings and outcomes.
Toxic and essential elements in Nigerian rice and estimation of dietary intake through rice consumption

In this study, levels and estimated daily intake (EDI) of two toxic elements, Cd and Pb, and eight essential elements: Ca, P, Zn, Mn, Co, Cu, Se and Mo, were determined in Nigerian rice samples. The mean levels of Cd, Pb and Co were 5.43 ± 0.88, 38.66 ± 5.42, 25.8 ± 3.18 ng/g. The mean levels of Ca, P, Zn, Mn, Cu, Se and Mo were 71.5 ± 7.31, 951 ± 52.0, 10.2 ± 0.63, 8.5 ± 0.47, 3.07 ± 0.18, 40.1 ± 9.2 and 0.39 ± 0.05 µg/g, respectively. The percentage contribution to the reference values for each element was 0.54, 7.71, 0.38, 9.51, 8.97, 31.3, 30.7, 5.1 and 60.7% for Cd, Pb, Ca, P, Zn, Mn, Cu, Se and Mo, respectively. The elemental nutrient levels in Nigerian rice samples are comparable to those obtained from other regions and their consumption does not pose any serious health risk to consumers.
Risk factors for developing metastatic infection from pyogenic liver abscesses.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for developing extra-hepatic metastases from pyogenic liver abscesses. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study and reviewed 225 patients (age, 19-93 years) with a discharge diagnosis of pyogenic liver abscess from a large medical centre in Taiwan, between January 1995 and June 2000. Clinical data were collected from medical records. Of the 225 patients with a pyogenic liver abscess, 24 had extrahepatic metastases and were classified into the metastatic infection group; the remaining 201 were classified into the non-metastatic infection group and served as the control group. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by exact logistic regression. RESULTS After adjustment for age, sex, and the duration of symptoms before admission, diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR, 12; 95% CI, 3.3-67), alcoholism (adjusted OR, 5.2; 95% CI, 1.4-20), the time interval >7 days from the onset of symptoms to the time appropriate antibiotics were administered (adjusted OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.2-13), bacteraemia (adjusted OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.4-30), and infection (adjusted OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.1-47) were associated with the development of extra-hepatic metastases from pyogenic liver abscesses. On the other hand, fever (adjusted OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.089-0.92) and right upper quadrant pain/tenderness (adjusted OR, 0.091; 95% CI, 0.0020-0.50) were associated with the non-metastatic abscesses. We performed a multivariate analysis and found that diabetes mellitus (multivariate OR, 7.7; 95% CI, 2.1-29) and alcoholism (multivariate OR, 8.9; 95% CI, 2.6-30) were the independent risk factors for developing metastatic infections; yet right upper quadrant pain/tenderness (multivariate OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.014-0.87) was the predictor of no metastatic abscesses. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that diabetes mellitus and alcoholism are significant risk factors for developing metastatic infections from pyogenic liver abscesses. These findings seem to imply that underlying conditions of the host influence the development of extra-hepatic metastases from pyogenic liver abscesses.
Cofilin cooperates with fascin to disassemble filopodial actin filaments

Cells use a large repertoire of proteins to remodel the actin cytoskeleton. Depending on the proteins involved, F-actin is organized in specialized protrusions such as lamellipodia or filopodia, which serve diverse functions in cell migration and sensing. Although factors responsible for directed filament assembly in filopodia have been extensively characterized, the mechanisms of filament disassembly in these structures are mostly unknown. We investigated how the actin-depolymerizing factor cofilin-1 affects the dynamics of fascincrosslinked actin filaments in vitro and in live cells. By multicolor total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and fluorimetric assays, we found that cofilin-mediated severing is enhanced in fascin-crosslinked bundles compared with isolated filaments, and that fascin and cofilin act synergistically in filament severing. Immunolabeling experiments demonstrated for the first time that besides its known localization in lamellipodia and membrane ruffles, endogenous cofilin can also accumulate in the tips and shafts of filopodia. Live-cell imaging of fluorescently tagged proteins revealed that cofilin is specifically targeted to filopodia upon stalling of protrusion and during their retraction. Subsequent electron tomography established filopodial actin filament and/or bundle fragmentation to precisely correlate with cofilin accumulation. These results identify a new mechanism of filopodium disassembly involving both fascin and cofilin.
The Role of Interventional Radiology in Trauma

Since the development of angiography and transcatheter techniques, interventional radiology has played an important role in the management of trauma patients. The ability to treat life-threatening hemorrhage with transcatheter embolization has spared countless patients the morbidity of surgery. Advances in cross-sectional imaging and increases in understanding of which patients will best benefit from embolization promise to further refine the interventional radiologist's role. As the applications of transcatheter therapy broaden to include embolization of unstable patients with solid organ injuries and endovascular repair of major arterial injuries, the interventional radiologist must be increasingly prepared to provide prompt, efficient, and high-quality service.
Effects of Working Memory Span on Processing of Lexical Associations and Congruence in Spoken Discourse

The goal of this study was to determine whether variability in working memory (WM) capacity and cognitive control affects the processing of global discourse congruence and local associations among words when participants listened to short discourse passages. The final, critical word of each passage was either associated or unassociated with a preceding prime word (e.g., “He was not prepared for the fame and fortune/praise”). These critical words were also either congruent or incongruent with respect to the preceding discourse context [e.g., a context in which a prestigious prize was won (congruent) or in which the protagonist had been arrested (incongruent)]. We used multiple regression to assess the unique contribution of suppression ability (our measure of cognitive control) and WM capacity on the amplitude of individual N400 effects of congruence and association. Our measure of suppression ability did not predict the size of the N400 effects of association or congruence. However, as expected, the results showed that high WM capacity individuals were less sensitive to the presence of lexical associations (showed smaller N400 association effects). Furthermore, differences in WM capacity were related to differences in the topographic distribution of the N400 effects of discourse congruence. The topographic differences in the global congruence effects indicate differences in the underlying neural generators of the N400 effects, as a function of WM. This suggests additional, or at a minimum, distinct, processing on the part of higher capacity individuals when tasked with integrating incoming words into the developing discourse representation.
Why Consider Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Older Women?

Preventive human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 vaccines are safe and efficient to prevent infection and lesions of vaccine- specific HPV types in women from 15 to 26 years, but also in older age groups. Clearly, public health funds are to be spent to organize programs for vaccination of young adolescents. Immunobridging studies and clinical trials have shown that HPV vaccines generate significantly higher plasma antibodies than following natural infections in women up to 55 years and prevent up to 90.5% (95% CI 73.7–97.5) vaccine-specific HPV infections and lesions in women aged 24–45 years who are HPV DNA-negative at the time of vaccination. However, data from clinical trials with HPV L1 vaccines in older women (older than 25 years) are still scarce compared to the amount of evidence from trials in women younger than 26 years. Information from large population-based studies indicates that older women remain at risk of infection by high-risk HPV and the risk of persistent high-risk HPV infection is significantly higher than in young women, leading to a higher risk of progressing disease and carcinoma. The natural history of HPV infection remains enigmatic as we do not know if the immune mechanisms that clear the HPV infection offer prolonged protection. On the contrary, some data indicate that seroconversion after a natural infection only partially protects against re-infection. Given the large proportions of adult men and women that change sexual partners, the protective effects of HPV L1 vaccines may offer an extra benefit against HPV-related genital diseases within a much shorter time period than after vaccination of prepubertal adolescents.
THE ASSESSMENT OF GRIEF AMONG HONG KONG CHINESE: A PRELIMINARY REPORT

This is a preliminary report of a study that examined the clinical usefulness of the Chinese Grief Reaction Assessment Form (GRAF). The validity, reliability, and factor structure of the form were also explored. We administered the GRAF to 180 bereaved individuals during intake interview for bereavement counseling. The GRAF has obtained good internal Cronbach's f reliability of . 89 and showed its validity in being able to discriminate between the grief reactions of bereaved individuals experiencing anticipated and unanticipated death in the predicted direction. Bereaved women had stronger grief reaction than men. The item "I do not want to abandon him/her" obtained the highest mean ranked scores among both bereaved men and bereaved women. Our findings support the use of the GRAF as a clinical tool to assess psychological symptoms associated with bereavement among Hong Kong Chinese, which also holds promise for research and program evaluation.
4‐Fluoroproline derivative peptides: effect on PPII conformation and SH3 affinity

Eukaryotic signal transduction involves the assembly of transient protein–protein complexes mediated by modular interaction domains. Specific Pro‐rich sequences with the consensus core motif PxxP adopt the PPII helix conformation upon binding to SH3 domains. For short Pro‐rich peptides, little or no ordered secondary structure is usually observed before binding interactions. The association of a Pro‐rich peptide with the SH3 domain involves unfavorable binding entropy due to the loss of rotational freedom on forming the PPII helix. With the aim of stabilizing the PPII helix conformation in the Pro‐rich HPK1 decapeptide PPPLPPKPKF (P2), a series of P2 analogues was prepared, in which specific Pro positions were alternatively occupied by 4(S)‐ or 4(R)‐4‐fluoro‐L‐proline. The interactions of these peptides with the SH3 domain of the HPK1‐binding partner HS1 were quantitatively analyzed by the NILIA‐CD approach. A CD thermal analysis of the P2 analogues was performed to assess their propensity to adopt the PPII helix conformation. Contrary to our expectations, the Kd values of the analogues were lower than that of the parent peptide P2. These results clearly show that the induction of a stable PPII helix conformation in short Pro‐rich peptides is not sufficient to increase their affinity toward the SH3 domain and that the effect of 4‐fluoroproline strongly depends on the position of this residue in the sequence and the chirality of the substituent in the pyrrolidine ring. Copyright © 2006 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mediterranean diet for breast cancer prevention and treatment in postmenopausal women

Breast cancer has become a big oncological concern both in Poland and most countries around the world. Epidemiological studies show that women who are directly in danger of suffering from breast cancer are mainly postmenopausal women. Due to the seriousness of the problem more attention is devoted to preventative measures that should be undertaken. That is why, Mediterranean diet and its beneficial effects on health started to be discussed. This diet contains antioxidants and shows anti-inflammatory properties which are crucial in breast cancer prevention. Its components are fish, olive oil, unrefined cereals, herbs, fruits and vegetables. In 1960s there was research done on the influence of low fat diet, as a preventative measure, on coronary artery disease. In 1980s, an interest in this diet grew and there was a great come-back to the origins of the diet. It led to estimation of its influence on cardiological and cancer diseases. Many positive effects were observed among people living in the Mediterranean area as far as health qualities of the diet are concerned. Mediterranean diet was compared with high fat diet of people living in Northern Europe and the USA. It seems to create new dietary recommendations as a preventative measure in breast cancer disease. The following article presents most recent data on the importance of Mediterranean diet as a prevention against breast cancer.
Effect of human serum and some of its components on neutrophil adherence and migration across an epithelium

The effect of human serum and some of its components on the process of transepithelial migration of human neutrophils was investigated in an in vitro system. 10% autologous serum caused an increase in neutrophil adherence to and migration across canine kidney epithelial cells. This increase in neutrophil binding also occurred if the epithelium but not the neutrophils had been preincubated with serum. The binding was lost if the serum was either preabsorbed over the kidney epithelium before use or heat inactivated. Indirect immunofluorescence studies indicated that IgG, IgM, and a component of C3 bound to the epithelial surface, whereas IgA, IgE, or C5a were not detectable. The majority of epithelial cells were immunofluorescent, however epithelial cells with varying degrees of reactivity were also apparent and approximately 5% of the epithelial cells did not bind IgG, IgM, and C3. When epithelia were simultaneously tested for the presence of either IgG, IgM, or C3, and bound neutrophils the few epithelial cells which did not bind IgG or IgM also did not bind C3 or neutrophils. Studies with monoclonal antibodies against Fc and C3 receptors indicate that neutrophil adherence to the epithelial surface was mediated predominately by the receptors for C3b and C3bi. In response to a chemotactic gradient, bound neutrophils were able to detach and migrate across the epithelium. A separate heat-stable factor(s) in serum was able to increase neutrophil migration across the epithelial monolayer. This factor acted independently of the factors which caused the increase in neutrophil binding as the increase in neutrophil migration also occurred under conditions (preabsorption over the kidney epithelium or heat inactivation) that prevented the increase in neutrophil binding. The increase in neutrophil migration may be caused by the permeability- increasing properties of this factor as both serum and heat-inactivated serum lowered the transepithelial electrical resistance an average of 38 and 35%, respectively, in 40 min. Upon removal of serum or heat- inactivated serum, the resistance returned 100 and 81%, respectively, in 5 h.
Development of Glomerulus-, Tubule-, and Collecting Duct-Specific mRNA Assay in Human Urinary Exosomes and Microvesicles

Urinary exosomes and microvesicles (EMV) are promising biomarkers for renal diseases. Although the density of EMV is very low in urine, large quantity of urine can be easily obtained. In order to analyze urinary EMV mRNA, a unique filter device to adsorb urinary EMV from 10 mL urine was developed, which is far more convenient than the standard ultracentrifugation protocol. The filter part of the device is detachable and aligned to a 96-well microplate format, therefore multiple samples can be processed simultaneously in a high throughput manner following the isolation step. For EMV mRNA quantification, the EMV on the filter is lysed directly by adding lysis buffer and transferred to an oligo(dT)-immobilized microplate for mRNA isolation followed by cDNA synthesis and real-time PCR. Under the optimized assay condition, our method provided comparable or even superior results to the standard ultracentrifugation method in terms of mRNA assay sensitivity, linearity, intra-assay reproducibility, and ease of use. The assay system was applied to quantification of kidney-specific mRNAs such as NPHN and PDCN (glomerular filtration), SLC12A1 (tubular absorption), UMOD and ALB (tubular secretion), and AQP2 (collecting duct water absorption). 12-hour urine samples were collected from four healthy subjects for two weeks, and day-to-day and individual-to-individual variations were investigated. Kidney-specific genes as well as control genes (GAPDH, ACTB, etc.) were successfully detected and confirmed their stable expressions through the two-week study period. In conclusion, this method is readily available to clinical studies of kidney diseases.
Rates of First Episode of Psychosis in a Defined Catchment Area in Greece

This is the first Greek study presenting epidemiologic data on first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients in a defined catchment area. Data for first episode psychotic patients during a two-year period (2008 and 2009) were obtained by all the mental health providers in the area, public or private. A total of 132 FEP patients were examined in the 2-year period in the catchment area. Most of the patients (61.4%) were diagnosed and treated by private practicing psychiatrists. Statistical analysis showed no differences between the two sectors in terms of patients’ age, gender, family and social status, profession and duration of untreated psychosis (median duration 6 months). Patients who were abusing substances and had no family psychiatric history were less likely been treated in the public sector. Immigrants comprised only a small proportion of the patients, probably because they have difficulties in accessing the mental health system.