Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contributions of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex to rapid visuomotor learning in rhesus monkeys

The hippocampus and adjacent structures in the medial temporal lobe are essential for establishing new associative memories. Despite this knowledge, it is not known whether the hippocampus proper is essential for establishing such memories, nor is it known whether adjacent regions like the entorhinal cortex might contribute. To test the contributions of these regions to the formation of new associative memories, we trained rhesus monkeys to rapidly acquire arbitrary visuomotor associations, i.e., associations between visual stimuli and spatially directed actions. We then assessed the effects of reversible inactivations of either the hippocampus (Experiment 1) or entorhinal cortex (Experiment 2) on the within‐session rate of learning. For comparison, we also evaluated the effects of the inactivations on performance of problems of the same type that had been well learned prior to any inactivations. We found that inactivation of the entorhinal cortex but not hippocampus produced impairments in acquiring novel arbitrary associations. The impairment did not extend to the familiar, previously established associations. These data indicate that the entorhinal cortex is causally involved in establishing new associations, as opposed to retrieving previously learned associations. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Biomarkers Predicting Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVES Recent studies have shown strong correlation of pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with survival and prognosis in breast cancers. METHODS Clinical data from 237 breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2012 and 2014 were reviewed. Correlations were sought between pCR and estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 status; Nottingham and nuclear grades; tumor tubule formation; mitotic score; Ki67 index; and tumoral and stromal lymphocytic infiltration (TLI and SLI, respectively). RESULTS Of the 237 cases, 104 (43.9%) achieved pCR. The HER2+ and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes had higher pCR rates compared with the luminal subtype (ER+ or PR+ and HER2-). ER and PR negativity, HER2 positivity, Nottingham grade 3, increased TLI and SLI, high mitotic count and Ki67 score correlated significantly with pCR in the overall cohort. TLI and SLI correlated significantly with pCR in the HER2+ and TNBC subtypes in multivariate analysis, whereas no biomarkers correlated with pCR in the luminal subtype. CONCLUSIONS In addition to the pathologic parameters and biomarkers already routinely assessed, evaluation of TLI and SLI may help to better select patients with HER2+ and TNBC for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Peningkatan Aktivitas Belajar Dengan Pembelajaran Investigasi Kelompok Dalam Kuliah Metode Penelitian PLB II

This classroom action research focuses on improving the instruction quality of Research Method course at a special educational-need teacher education. The improvement is deemed necessary because the course is not positively responded by the students of this teacher education. Group investigation model is then implemented in this research method course for two cycles. The results of the study indicate that group investigation Model improves students’ active participation in the course, students’ responding skills, and students’ achievement.
Molecular evolution of the murine tspy genes

Molecular aspects of murine evolution were studied by sequencing, and subsequently comparing, introns of the Y-chromosomal tspy genes from Apodemus agrarius, A. sylvaticus, A. flavicollis, Mus platythrix (subgenus Pyromys), M. booduga (subgenus Leggada), and from species of the subgenus Mus, including M. cervicolor, M. macedonicus and M.spretus. Estimates of nucleotide substitution rates in these lineages were in perfect agreement with phylogenetic data previously published by She et al. (1990), Catzeflis et al. (1992; 1993), and Lyon et al. (1996). The only exception was provided by a comparatively late divergence of M. spretus and M. macedonicus. Our data also suggest that M.booduga diverged from the subgenus Mus about 3 Myr ago.
Left Ventricular Pressure–Volume and Frank‐Starling Relations in Endurance Athletes: Implications for Orthostatic Tolerance and Exercise Performance

BackgroundEndurance athletes have a high incidence of orthostatic intolerance. We hypothesized that this is related to an abnormally large decrease in left ventricular enddiastolic volume (LVEDV) and stroke volume (SV) for any given decrease in filling pressure. Methods and ResultsWe measured pulmonary capillary wedge (PCW) pressure (Swan-Ganz catheter), LVEDV (two-dimensional echocardiography), and cardiac output (C2H2 rebreathing) during lower body negative pressure (LBNP, −15 and −30 mm Hg) and rapid saline infusion (15 and 30 ml/kg) in seven athletes and six controls (V˙o2max, 68 ± 7 and 41 ± 4 ml/kg/min). Orthostatic tolerance was determined by progressive LBNP to presyncope. Athletes had steeper slopes of their SV/PCW pressure curves than nonathletes (5.5 + 2.7 versus 2.7 + 1.5 mI/mm Hg, p < 0.05). The slope of the steep, linear portion of this curve correlated significantly with the duration of LBNP tolerance (r = 0.58, p = 0.04). The athletes also had reduced chamber stiffness (increased chamber compliance) expressed as the slope (k) of the dP/dV versus P relation (chamber stiffness, k = 0.008 ± 0.004 versus 0.031 ± 0.004, p < 0.005; chamber compliance, l/k = 449.8 + 283.8 versus 35.3 ± 4.3). This resulted in larger absolute and relative changes in end-diastolic volume over an equivalent range of filling pressures. ConclusionsEndurance athletes have greater ventricular diastolic chamber compliance and distensibility than nonathletes and thus operate on the steep portion of their Starling curve. This may be a mechanical, nonautonomic cause of orthostatic intolerance.
Early Life Circumstances and Their Impact on Menarche and Menopause

Ages at menarche and menopause have been shown to be associated with adverse health outcomes in later life. For example, earlier menarche and later menopause have been independently linked to higher risk of breast cancer. Earlier menarche may also be associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer, menstrual problems and adult obesity. Given the associations of ages at menarche and menopause with future health outcomes, it is important to establish what factors across life, and generations, may influence these. This article examines the associations of early life factors, namely birthweight, bodyweight and growth during childhood, childhood socioeconomic circumstances and psychosocial factors with ages at menarche and menopause. It examines possible explanations of the associations found, including life history theory, and discusses areas for future research.
Leukemic transformation by the v‐ErbA oncoprotein entails constitutive binding to and repression of an erythroid enhancer in vivo

v‐ErbA, a mutated thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TRα), is thought to contribute to avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV)‐induced leukemic transformation by constitutively repressing transcription of target genes. However, the binding of v‐ErbA or any unliganded nuclear receptor to a chromatin‐embedded response element as well as the role of the N‐CoR–SMRT–HDAC co‐repressor complex in mediating repression remain hypothetical. Here we identify a v‐ErbA‐response element, VRE, in an intronic DNase I hypersensitive site (HS2) of the chicken erythroid carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) gene. In vivo footprinting shows that v‐ErbA is constitutively bound to this HS2‐VRE in transformed, undifferentiated erythroblasts along with other transcription factors like GATA‐1. Transfection assays show that the repressed HS2 region can be turned into a potent enhancer in v‐ErbA‐expressing cells by mutation of the VRE. Differentiation of transformed cells alleviates v‐ErbA binding concomitant with activation of CAII transcription. Co‐expression of a gag–TRα fusion protein in AEV‐transformed cells and addition of ligand derepresses CAII transcription. Treatment of transformed cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, derepresses the endogenous, chromatin‐embedded CAII gene, while a transfected HS2‐enhancer construct remains repressed. Taken together, our data suggest that v‐ErbA prevents CAII activation by ‘neutralizing’ in cis the activity of erythroid transcription factors.
Child abuse, intimate partner violence, divorce/separation and adult mental health problems

ADULT MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS: A COMPARISON OF TWO MODELS by RENEE A. SCHNEIDER (Under the Direction of Steven R.H. Beach) ABSTRACT Thousands of children are the victims of sexual, physical or emotional abuse each year, resulting in significant psychological and financial cost to the victims, their families and society. Although previous research suggests that adult revictimization may play an important role in the etiology of depression and PTSD among women abused in childhood, relations among these variables have yet to be fully explicated. The present study involves a comparison of two models designed to account for mental health problems and PTSD symptoms among women with a history child abuse. Results support an additive model for White participants and a moderation model for Latina participants. Findings underscore the role of child abuse in adult mental health problems and further suggest that cultural variables shape women’s responses to family violence.
Combinatorial Bounds for List Decoding of Subspace Codes ( Extended Version )

Codes constructed as subsets of the projective geometry of a vector space over a finite field have recently been shown to have applications as unconditionally secure authentication codes and random network error correcting codes. If the dimension of each codeword is restricted to a fixed integer, the code forms a subset of a finite-field Grassmannian, or equivalently, a subset of the vertices of the corresponding Grassmannian graph. In this paper, we initiate the study of decoding subspace codes beyond half the minimum distance bound. Using random coding arguments, we derive lower and upper bounds on size of subspace codes for the first relaxation of bounded minimum distance decoding, i.e., when the worst-case list size is restricted to two. An important ingredient in establishing our results is generalization of sphere-packing (sphere-covering) conditions to volume-packing (volume-covering) conditions, which can be of independent interest.
The Impact of Pituitary Blockage with GnRH Antagonist and Gonadotrophin Stimulation Length on The Outcome of ICSI Cycles in Women Older than 36 Years

Background The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate whether the length of pituitary blockage with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists or the stimulation period influence intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in patients older than 36 years of age. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, a total of 138 couples with maternal age >36 years undergoing ICSI with an antagonist protocol were included. The influences of stimulation and suppression length on the response to ovarian stimulation and ICSI outcomes were investigated. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the predictive value of the stimulation period for achievement of implantation and pregnancy. Results The gonadotrophin stimulation length negatively influenced the implantation rate (RC: -4.200; p=0.023). The area under ROC curve (AUC) could distinguish between women with positive and negative implantation (AUC: 0.611; CI: 0.546-0.673) and pregnancy (AUC: 0.593; CI: 0.528-0.656). The threshold value demonstrated a high negative predictive value on likelihood of implantation (p=0.0032, 90% sensitivity) and pregnancy (p=0.0147, 87.1% sensitivity) when patients underwent more than 10 days of stimulation. Conclusion The stimulation period negatively influences the implantation rate in women older than 36 years. A stimulation interval greater than 10 days is associated with a negative predictive value for the chance of implantation and pregnancy.
Influence of initial hand and target position on reach errors in optic ataxic and normal subjects.

Recent neurophysiological studies suggest that reach planning areas in the posterior parietal cortex encode both target and initial hand position in gaze-centered coordinates, which could be used to calculate a desired movement vector. We tested how varying gaze, target position, and initial hand position affected reach errors in two left unilateral optic ataxia patients with right PPC damage and seven neurologically intact controls. Both controls' and patients' reaching errors revealed an influence of target position in gaze-centered coordinates; however, both patients' mean errors were offset toward the left, with greater errors when the target was in their left visual field, consistent with the damage to the right PPC. Control subjects also showed a large quasi-independent shoulder-centered influence of target position. This effect was much less present in patient C.F. , who had more medial damage to the PPC. In contrast, for patient O.K. , who had more lateral PPC damage, the shoulder-centered effect was larger and interacted with the gaze-centered influence of target position. All subjects' errors also revealed a shoulder-centered influence of the initial hand position, with larger influences on the patients' reaching errors. Both patients also showed an interactive influence of the shoulder-centered and gaze-centered initial hand positions. These results suggest that the target and the hand are compared at more than one level in the visuomotor pathway in multiple reference frames, and these comparisons are then integrated. Depending on the location of the damage within the PPC, these comparisons are disrupted, changing the relative influence of hand and target position in different reference frames on the final reaching movement.
Transcatheter patent foramen ovale closure using the premere PFO occlusion system

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy profile of the new Premere patent foramen ovale (PFO) occlusion system. Background: Several different devices have been used so far for transcatheter PFO closure but no data has been published so far on the efficacy and safety of the Premere PFO occlusion system. Methods: Since September 2005, 15 patients (seven males, eight females; mean age 51.2 ± 10.8 years) at our institution underwent transcatheter PFO closure because of cryptogenic stroke, using the Premere PFO occlusion system. The procedure was performed under fluoroscopic and transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) guidance in all patients. Seven patients (47%) had an associated atrial septal aneurysm and two patients had had >1 stroke. Five patients (33%) had an associated thrombophilia, whereas three patients (20%) had a diagnosis of migraine headache with aura, by the referring neurologist. Residual shunt was assessed immediately after and 1 month (only in 11 patients) after the procedure by both transcranial Doppler and TEE. Results: Premere PFO devices could be implanted in all patients (20 mm size in seven patients, 25 mm size in eight). Fluoroscopy time was 7.3 ± 1.9 and procedural time was 11 ± 3 min (range 7–17 min), reflecting our initial learning curve with this device. No complication occurred during the procedure or at follow‐up. A residual shunt was noted immediately after the procedure in eight patients (53%) and at 1 month in 4/11 patients (36%). Residual shunt was mild in all patients. After a median follow‐up of 4.2 months (0.2–5.8 months), no patient had a recurrent stroke. All patients with migraine headache with aura had resolution of symptoms. Conclusions: Our preliminary experience with the Premere PFO occlusion system shows that this device is safe and effective. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phytomedicines and Nutraceuticals: Alternative Therapeutics for Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is a genetically inherited disease in which the “SS” individual possesses an abnormal beta globin gene. A single base substitution in the gene encoding the human β-globin subunit results in replacement of β6 glutamic acid by valine, leading to the devastating clinical manifestations of sickle cell disease. This substitution causes drastic reduction in the solubility of sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) when deoxygenated. Under these conditions, the HbS molecules polymerize to form long crystalline intracellular mass of fibers which are responsible for the deformation of the biconcave disc shaped erythrocyte into a sickle shape. First-line clinical management of sickle cell anemia include, use of hydroxyurea, folic acid, amino acids supplementation, penicillinprophylaxis, and antimalarial prophylaxis to manage the condition and blood transfusions to stabilize the patient's hemoglobin level. These are quite expensive and have attendant risk factors. However, a bright ray of hope involving research into antisickling properties of medicinal plants has been rewarding. This alternative therapy using phytomedicines has proven to not only reduce crisis but also reverse sickling (in vitro). The immense benefits of phytomedicines and nutraceuticals used in the management of sickle cell anemia are discussed in this paper.
An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis Study of Simple Motor Movements in Older and Young Adults

The functional neuroanatomy of finger movements has been characterized with neuroimaging in young adults. However, less is known about the aging motor system. Several studies have contrasted movement-related activity in older versus young adults, but there is inconsistency among their findings. To address this, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on within-group data from older adults and young adults performing regularly paced right-hand finger movement tasks in response to external stimuli. We hypothesized that older adults would show a greater likelihood of activation in right cortical motor areas (i.e., ipsilateral to the side of movement) compared to young adults. ALE maps were examined for conjunction and between-group differences. Older adults showed overlapping likelihoods of activation with young adults in left primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1), bilateral supplementary motor area, bilateral insula, left thalamus, and right anterior cerebellum. Their ALE map differed from that of the young adults in right SM1 (extending into dorsal premotor cortex), right supramarginal gyrus, medial premotor cortex, and right posterior cerebellum. The finding that older adults uniquely use ipsilateral regions for right-hand finger movements and show age-dependent modulations in regions recruited by both age groups provides a foundation by which to understand age-related motor decline and motor disorders.
Extrapyramidal features in Parkinson's disease with and without dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies: A cross‐sectional comparative study

Risk factors predicting an increased risk of dementia in Parkinson's disease (PD) are not fully established. The dementia associated with PD (PDD) closely resembles dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Based upon a high frequency of non‐dopaminergic mediated clinical features in DLB, we predicted that a motor subtype comprising postural instability and balance problems would be more common in PDD. We examined extrapyramidal, cognitive, and affective features in 38 PD, 43 PDD, and 26 DLB patients in a cross‐sectional study design. Motor subtype was subdivided into postural‐instability gait difficulty (PIGD) or tremor (TD) dominant. The PIGD‐subtype was more common in PDD (88% of cases) and DLB (69% of cases) groups compared with the PD group (38% of cases), in which TD and PIGD sub‐types were more equally represented (P < 0.001). Although the mean depression scores overall were modest, PDD patients scored significantly higher than PD, but not DLB patients (Cornell; P = 0.006, and Geriatric Depression scale, GDS‐15; P = 0.001), while within the PD group, those patients with a PIGD subtype had greater depression scores than the TD subtype (GDS‐15; P < 0.05). We conclude that non‐dopaminergic motor features are frequent in PDD. Neurodegeneration within the cholinergic system is likely to mediate many of these motor problems, as well as playing a significant role in determining the neuropsychiatric symptomatology of both PDD and DLB. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society
Chemical and physiological aspects of isomers of conjugated fatty acids

Conjugated fatty acid (CFA) is the general term to describe the positional and geometric isomers of polyunsaturated fatty acids with conjugated double bonds. The CFAs of linoleic acid (CLAs) are found naturally in foods derived from ruminant animals, meat, or dairy products. The CFAs of α-linolenic acid (CLNAs) are found exclusively in various types of seed oils of plants. There are many investigations to assess the effects to health from CFAs consumption, which have been associated with physiological processes that are involved with non transmissible chronic diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and obesity. Conclusive studies about the CFAs effects in the body are still scarce and further research about their participation in physiological processes are necessary. This review aimed to discuss the influence of conjugated fatty acids on physiological processes in animal organism.
Cold polypectomy for duodenal adenomas: a prospective clinical trial

Abstract Background and study aims Endoscopic resection is effective in treating nonampullary duodenal adenomas but has a high incidence of complications. Cold polypectomy, including cold forceps polypectomy (CFP) and cold snare polypectomy (CSP), is safe and effective in treating colorectal polyps. However, its utility in sporadic nonampullary duodenal adenomas has not been investigated. The purpose of this prospective study was to examine the safety and efficacy of cold polypectomy for sporadic nonampullary duodenal adenomas. Patients and methods Between March 2015 and June 2016, patients who were endoscopically diagnosed with sporadic nonampullary duodenal adenomas up to 6 mm underwent cold polypectomy. Patients with pathologically confirmed adenomas underwent endoscopic biopsy 3 months after resection. The main outcomes of interest were incomplete resection and complications. Results Overall, 39 lesions in 30 patients were removed via cold polypectomy (CFP, 9 lesions in 8 patients; CSP, 30 lesions in 22 patients). Seven of 9 (77.8 %) and 29 of 30 (96.7 %) lesions were removed en bloc via CFP and CSP, respectively. Pathologically, 34 of the 39 lesions (87.2 %) were confirmed as adenomas, and their mean size was 3.9 ± 1.2 mm (range 2 – 6 mm). Of the 34 adenomas, 20 (58.8 %) were R0 resection lesions, of which 3 of 9 (33.3 %) and 17 of 25 (68.0 %) had undergone CFP and CSP, respectively. No delayed bleeding or intraprocedural/delayed perforation was observed. All 30 patients with the 34 pathologically confirmed adenomas underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy 3 months after cold polypectomy, and no morphological or pathological recurrence was identified. Conclusions In this small study, cold polypectomy appeared to be safe and effective in treating diminutive and small sporadic nonampullary duodenal adenomas. (Clinical trial registration number: UMIN000016829)