Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroendocrine predictors of the evolution of depression

Depression is both clinically and biologically a heterogeneous entity Despite advances in psychopharmacology a significant proportion of depressed patients either continue to have residual symptoms or do not respond to antidepressants, It has therefore become essential to determine parameters (or predictors) that would rationalize the therapeutic choice, taking into account not only the clinical features, but also the “biological state, ” which is a major determinant in the antidepressant response. Such predictors can derive from bioclinical correlates and, in this context, the neuroendocrine strategy appears particularly suited. Numerous studies have investigated neuroendocrine parameters - derived mainly from dynamic challenge tests - in order to (i) determine the predictive profiles of good clinical responders to given anti-depressants; (ii) monitor the progression of markers in parallel with the clinical outcome; and (Hi) evaluate “in vivo” in humans the mechanisms of action of antidepressant compounds (before, during, and after treatment). This article does not attempt to be exhaustive, but rather uses selected examples to illustrate the usefulness of the investigation of the adrenal and thyroid axes and the assessment of central serotonergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic systems by means of neuroendocrine tests. Given methodological constraints, most of these investigations - except for baseline hormone values and the dexamethasone suppression test - cannot be used routinely in psychiatry Despite these limitations, the neuroendocrine strategy still offers new insights in biology and the treatment of depression. Its possible expansion depends mainly on the development of specific agonists or antagonists for better investigation of the receptors supposedly involved in the pathophysiology of depression. These investigations will help define more homogeneous subgroups from a bioclinical and therapeutic viewpoint.
Incidence, Clinical Features and Estimated Costs of Congenital Rubella Syndrome After a Large Rubella Outbreak in Recife, Brazil, 1999-2000

Background: During 1998–2000, a large rubella outbreak was reported from Recife, the capital municipality of Pernambuco State, in northeastern Brazil. In 2002, a study was conducted to assess the burden of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) after this outbreak. Methods: To describe the rubella outbreak, we analyzed data available from the National Notifiable Disease System. A retrospective record review for CRS was conducted at 6 maternity hospitals where 53% of Recife's resident live births occurred during 1999–2000 and 1 tertiary health care center. Suspected CRS cases were infants with any manifestation of CRS or maternal infection during pregnancy. Standard international definitions for compatible and confirmed CRS cases were used. Direct CRS costs were based on reimbursements by the National Health System. Results: From October 1998 to July 2000, Recife reported 681 confirmed rubella cases. The highest incidence of rubella was among children 5–11 years of age (5.4 per 1000 population). Forty-five suspected CRS cases were identified; 29 were clinically compatible and 2 were laboratory-confirmed. The average annual incidence of CRS was 0.9 per 1000 live births during 1999–2000. Overall costs for the first year follow-up were estimated at US $61,824 in this cohort. Conclusions: High rubella vaccination coverage is required to prevent the severe congenital disabilities and high economic costs of CRS. Increased clinician awareness is critical for early CRS detection. Complete reporting is essential to evaluate the impact of vaccination programs and to document progress toward the goal of CRS elimination in the Americas by the year 2010.
Perirhinal and hippocampal contributions to visual recognition memory can be distinguished from those of occipito‐temporal structures based on conscious awareness of prior occurrence

The ability of humans to distinguish consciously between new and previously encountered objects can be probed with visual recognition memory tasks that require explicit old–new discriminations. Medial temporal‐lobe (MTL) lesions impair performance on such tasks. Within the MTL, both perirhinal cortex and the hippocampus have been implicated. Cognitive processes can also be affected by past object encounters in the absence of conscious recognition, as in repetition priming tasks. Past functional neuroimaging findings in healthy individuals suggest that even in tasks that require conscious recognition decisions for visual stimuli, posterior cortical structures in the ventral visual pathway distinguish between old and new objects at a nonconscious level. Conclusive evidence that differentiates the neural underpinnings of conscious from nonconscious processes in recognition memory, however, is still missing. In particular, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) findings for the MTL have been inconsistent towards this end. In the present fMRI study, we tested whether perirhinal and hippocampal contributions to recognition memory can be distinguished from those of occipito‐temporal structures in the ventral visual pathway based on the participants' reported conscious awareness of prior occurrence. Images of objects with a large degree of feature overlap served as stimuli; they were selected to ensure an involvement of perirhinal cortex in the present recognition task, based on evidence from past lesion‐based research. We found that both perirhinal cortex and occipito‐temporal cortex showed a differential old–new response that reflected a repetition‐related decrease in activity (i.e., new > old). Whereas in perirhinal cortex this decrease was observed with respect to whether subjects reported objects to be old or new, irrespective of the true item status, in occipito‐temporal cortex it occurred in relation to whether objects were truly old or new, irrespective of the participants' conscious reports. Hippocampal responses differed in their exact pattern from those of perirhinal cortex, but were also related to the conscious recognition reports. These results indicate that both perirhinal and hippocampal contributions can be distinguished from those of occipito‐temporal structures in the ventral visual pathway based on the participants' reported conscious awareness of prior occurrence. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Grandparental investment: The influence of reproductive timing and family size

The influence that grandparents have on the life history traits of their descendants has been studied extensively. However, no attention has been paid to the potential influence a grandparent's own reproductive history has on the investment they make in their grandchildren. We use data from 658 Swiss grandchildren and 591 of their grandparents to investigate whether grandparents' reproductive scheduling and family size influence the amount of investment grandparents make in a focal grandchild (shared contacts, occasions to meet, activities, discussions, interests, and important roles the grandparent plays). Grandparents who were younger when they had their first child had more children and grandchildren; this relationship strengthened after controlling for grandparental age, sex, lineage, and education (all P < 0.001). Generally, having more children or grandchildren was associated with reduced levels of grandparental investment. After adjustment for a wide range of factors known to influence investment, having more children or grandchildren and having a first child or grandchild at a younger age were associated with reduced investment in 14 of 24 analyses (all P < 0.09). The association between reproductive scheduling and investment was partially mediated by the grandparent's family size. Interestingly, these relationships were only present in data reported from the grandchild's point of view, not the grandparent's. This analysis provides preliminary evidence that grandparents' reproductive strategies have consequences for the amount of investment they make in their grandchildren. These results are examined in terms of the trade‐offs between current and future reproduction and offspring quality and quantity. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Avoiding horror autotoxicus: The importance of dendritic cells in peripheral T cell tolerance

The immune system generally avoids horror autotoxicus or autoimmunity, an attack against the body's own constituents. This avoidance requires that self-reactive T cells be actively silenced or tolerized. We propose that dendritic cells (DCs) play a critical role in establishing tolerance, especially in the periphery, after functioning T cells have been produced in the thymus. In the steady state, meaning in the absence of acute infection and inflammation, DCs are in an immature state and not fully differentiated to carry out their known roles as inducers of immunity. Nevertheless, immature DCs continuously circulate through tissues and into lymphoid organs, capturing self antigens as well as innocuous environmental proteins. Recent experiments have provided direct evidence that antigen-loaded immature DCs silence T cells either by deleting them or by expanding regulatory T cells. This capacity of DCs to induce peripheral tolerance can work in two opposing ways in the context of infection. In acute infection, a beneficial effect should occur. The immune system would overcome the risk of developing autoimmunity and chronic inflammation if, before infection, tolerance were induced to innocuous environmental proteins as well as self antigens captured from dying infected cells. For chronic or persistent pathogens, a second but dire potential could take place. Continuous presentation of a pathogen by immature DCs, HIV-1 for example, may lead to tolerance and active evasion of protective immunity. The function of DCs in defining immunologic self provides a new focus for the study of autoimmunity and chronic immune-based diseases.
TrInc: Small Trusted Hardware for Large Distributed Systems

A simple yet remarkably powerful tool of selfish and malicious participants in a distributed system is "equivocation": making conflicting statements to others. We present TrInc, a small, trusted component that combats equivocation in large, distributed systems. Consisting fundamentally of only a non-decreasing counter and a key, TrInc provides a new primitive: unique, once-in-a-lifetime attestations. We show that TrInc is practical, versatile, and easily applicable to a wide range of distributed systems. Its deployment is viable because it is simple and because its fundamental components--a trusted counter and a key--are already deployed in many new personal computers today. We demonstrate TrInc's versatility with three detailed case studies: attested append-only memory (A2M), PeerReview, and BitTorrent. We have implemented TrInc and our three case studies using real, currently available trusted hardware. Our evaluation shows that TrInc eliminates most of the trusted storage needed to implement A2M, significantly reduces communication overhead in PeerReview, and solves an open incentives issue in BitTorrent. Microbenchmarks of our TrInc implementation indicate directions for the design of future trusted hardware.
Headache as a risk factor for dementia: A prospective population-based study

Background Headache has not been established as a risk factor for dementia. The aim of this study was to determine whether any headache was associated with subsequent development of vascular dementia (VaD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other types of dementia. Methods This prospective population-based cohort study used baseline data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT 2) performed during 1995–1997 and, from the same Norwegian county, a register of cases diagnosed with dementia during 1997–2010. Participants aged ≥20 years who responded to headache questions in HUNT 2 were categorized (headache free; with any headache; with migraine; with nonmigrainous headache). Hazard ratios (HRs) for later inclusion in the dementia register were estimated using Cox regression analysis. Results Of 51,383 participants providing headache data in HUNT 2, 378 appeared in the dementia register during the follow-up period. Compared to those who were headache free, participants with any headache had increased risk of VaD (n = 63) (multivariate-adjusted HR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–3.8, p = 0.002) and of mixed dementia (VaD and AD (n = 52)) (adjusted HR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.5, p = 0.018). There was no association between any headache and later development of AD (n = 180). Conclusion In this prospective population-based cohort study, any headache was a risk factor for development of VaD.
Local and State School-Based Substance Use Surveys

School-based substance use surveys are an important data source for prevention and evaluation researchers, but access to students has become progressively restricted by schools. Because almost all states and many districts conduct their own regular surveys, archived data are a potential resource for informed policy and practice decisions. In this study, substance use survey data were successfully collected from 69 of 105 targeted school districts located in 12 states. Results indicate the availability and quality of extant data currently limit their usefulness. Recommendations are made regarding how schools could be assisted to improve the value of their substance use surveys.
Vaspin Is an Adipokine Ameliorating ER Stress in Obesity as a Ligand for Cell-Surface GRP78/MTJ-1 Complex

It is unknown whether adipokines derived from adipose tissues modulate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced in obesity. Here, we show that visceral adipose tissue–derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) binds to cell-surface 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78), which is recruited from ER to plasma membrane under ER stress. Vaspin transgenic mice were protected from diet-induced obesity, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis, while vaspin-deficient mice developed glucose intolerance associated with upregulation of ER stress markers. With tandem affinity tag purification using HepG2 cells, we identified GRP78 as an interacting molecule. The complex formation of vaspin, GRP78, and murine tumor cell DnaJ-like protein 1 (MTJ-1) (DnaJ homolog, subfamily C, member 1) on plasma membrane was confirmed by cell-surface labeling with biotin and immunoprecipitation in liver tissues and H-4-II-E-C3 cells. The addition of recombinant human vaspin in the cultured H-4-II-E-C3 cells also increased the phosphorylation of Akt and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a dose-dependent manner, and anti-GRP78 antibodies completely abrogated the vaspin-induced upregulation of pAkt and pAMPK. Vaspin is a novel ligand for cell-surface GRP78/MTJ-1 complex, and its subsequent signals exert beneficial effects on ER stress–induced metabolic dysfunctions.
Distributed computation in dynamic networks

In this paper we investigate distributed computation in dynamic networks in which the network topology changes from round to round. We consider a worst-case model in which the communication links for each round are chosen by an adversary, and nodes do not know who their neighbors for the current round are before they broadcast their messages. The model captures mobile networks and wireless networks, in which mobility and interference render communication unpredictable. In contrast to much of the existing work on dynamic networks, we do not assume that the network eventually stops changing; we require correctness and termination even in networks that change continually. We introduce a stability property called T -interval connectivity (for T >= 1), which stipulates that for every T consecutive rounds there exists a stable connected spanning subgraph. For T = 1 this means that the graph is connected in every round, but changes arbitrarily between rounds. We show that in 1-interval connected graphs it is possible for nodes to determine the size of the network and compute any com- putable function of their initial inputs in O(n2) rounds using messages of size O(log n + d), where d is the size of the input to a single node. Further, if the graph is T-interval connected for T > 1, the computation can be sped up by a factor of T, and any function can be computed in O(n + n2/T) rounds using messages of size O(log n + d). We also give two lower bounds on the token dissemination problem, which requires the nodes to disseminate k pieces of information to all the nodes in the network. The T-interval connected dynamic graph model is a novel model, which we believe opens new avenues for research in the theory of distributed computing in wireless, mobile and dynamic networks.
DSSPcont: continuous secondary structure assignments for proteins

The DSSP program automatically assigns the secondary structure for each residue from the three-dimensional co-ordinates of a protein structure to one of eight states. However, discrete assignments are incomplete in that they cannot capture the continuum of thermal fluctuations. Therefore, DSSPcont (http://cubic.bioc.columbia.edu/services/DSSPcont) introduces a continuous assignment of secondary structure that replaces 'static' by 'dynamic' states. Technically, the continuum results from calculating weighted averages over 10 discrete DSSP assignments with different hydrogen bond thresholds. A DSSPcont assignment for a particular residue is a percentage likelihood of eight secondary structure states, derived from a weighted average of the ten DSSP assignments. The continuous assignments have two important features: (i) they reflect the structural variations due to thermal fluctuations as detected by NMR spectroscopy; and (ii) they reproduce the structural variation between many NMR models from one single model. Therefore, functionally important variation can be extracted from a single X-ray structure using the continuous assignment procedure.
The nucleus of the solitary tract and the coordination of respiratory and sympathetic activities

It is well known that breathing introduces rhythmical oscillations in the heart rate and arterial pressure levels. Sympathetic oscillations coupled to the respiratory activity have been suggested as an important homeostatic mechanism optimizing tissue perfusion and blood gas uptake/delivery. This respiratory-sympathetic coupling is strengthened in conditions of blood gas challenges (hypoxia and hypercapnia) as a result of the synchronized activation of brainstem respiratory and sympathetic neurons, culminating with the emergence of entrained cardiovascular and respiratory reflex responses. Studies have proposed that the ventrolateral region of the medulla oblongata is a major site of synaptic interaction between respiratory and sympathetic neurons. However, other brainstem regions also play a relevant role in the patterning of respiratory and sympathetic motor outputs. Recent findings suggest that the neurons of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), in the dorsal medulla, are essential for the processing and coordination of respiratory and sympathetic responses to hypoxia. The NTS is the first synaptic station of the cardiorespiratory afferent inputs, including peripheral chemoreceptors, baroreceptors and pulmonary stretch receptors. The synaptic profile of the NTS neurons receiving the excitatory drive from afferent inputs is complex and involves distinct neurotransmitters, including glutamate, ATP and acetylcholine. In the present review we discuss the role of the NTS circuitry in coordinating sympathetic and respiratory reflex responses. We also analyze the neuroplasticity of NTS neurons and their contribution for the development of cardiorespiratory dysfunctions, as observed in neurogenic hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic disorders.
Analysis of Delays in a Peer-to-Peer Session Initiation Protocol Overlay Network

Peer-to-Peer Session Initiation Protocol (P2PJSIP) is a new decentralized person-to-person communication system that is currently being standardized in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). P2PSIP uses the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to enable real-time communication in a peer-to-peer environment. The underlying lookup mechanism is implemented using a Distributed Hash Table (DHT). In this paper, we study delays associated with joining, leaving, and initiating calls in a P2PSIP system through experiments in PlanetLab. We also compare the performance of P2PSIP and traditional client-server SIP.
Presence of Differentiating Neuroblasts in Bone Marrow is a Favorable Prognostic Factor for Bone Marrow Metastatic Neuroblastoma at Diagnosis

Background The prognostic impact of the presence of differentiating neuroblasts in bone marrow (BM) remains unclear in BM metastatic neuroblastoma (NB). We aimed to identify the prognostic impact of differentiating neuroblasts in BM at diagnosis and after chemotherapy. Methods A total of 51 patients diagnosed with BM metastatic NB at Asan Medical Center between January 1990 and July 2005 were enrolled. BM histology and laboratory data along with overall survival (OS) were compared with regard to the differentiation status of neuroblasts in BM at diagnosis and after chemotherapy. Results Among the 51 patients, 13 (25.5%) exhibited differentiating neuroblasts in BM at diagnosis and 17/51 (33.3%) exhibited them after chemotherapy. The only significant difference among patient groups was the improved OS in patients with differentiated neuroblasts in BM at diagnosis (P=0.021). In contrast, the differentiation status of neuroblasts in BM after chemotherapy did not affect OS (P=0.852). Conclusions Our study is the first report describing the presence of differentiating neuroblasts in BM. The presence of differentiating neuroblasts in BM at diagnosis may be a favorable prognostic factor for patients with BM metastatic NB; however, the same phenomenon after chemotherapy is irrelevant to prognosis.
Is There a Relationship Between the Severity of Metopic Synostosis and Speech and Language Impairments?

The occurrence of cognitive impairment and behavioral problems in patients with metopic synostosis has been described. The relationship between the severity of metopic synostosis and the incidence of speech and language delays has not been established. Twenty patients with nonsyndromic isolated metopic synostosis were evaluated. Five different preoperative measurements (metopic angle at the roof of the orbit, angle of lateral orbital wall at the sella, cranial indices, and distances between medial orbital walls and lateral orbital walls) were taken from computed tomography and compared with results from postoperative speech and language assessments. Frontal orbital advancement and remodeling were carried out by the same surgical team at a mean age of 1 year 4 months. Speech and language were assessed at 3 and 5 years. Six of the 20 patients had delayed speech and language developments. No consistent trend was observed linking the severity of frontal stenosis using the measured parameters with speech and language delays. Speech and language impairments in these patients cannot be explained by a physical concept, causing mechanical compression of the frontal lobes.
The evolution of the mixing rate of a simple random walk on the giant component of a random graph

In this article we present a study of the mixing time of a random walk on the largest component of a supercritical random graph, also known as the giant component. We identify local obstructions that slow down the random walk, when the average degree d is at most O($ \sqrt{\ln n} $), proving that the mixing time in this case is Θ((n/d)2) asymptotically almost surely. As the average degree grows these become negligible and it is the diameter of the largest component that takes over, yielding mixing time Θ(n/d) a.a. s. We proved these results during the 2003–04 academic year. Similar results but for constant d were later proved independently by Benjamini et al. in 3 . © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 2008