Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular epidemiology identifies only a single rabies virus variant circulating in complex carnivore communities of the Serengeti

Understanding the transmission dynamics of generalist pathogens that infect multiple host species is essential for their effective control. Only by identifying those host populations that are critical to the permanent maintenance of the pathogen, as opposed to populations in which outbreaks are the result of ‘spillover’ infections, can control measures be appropriately directed. Rabies virus is capable of infecting a wide range of host species, but in many ecosystems, particular variants circulate among only a limited range of potential host populations. The Serengeti ecosystem (in northwestern Tanzania) supports a complex community of wild carnivores that are threatened by generalist pathogens that also circulate in domestic dog populations surrounding the park boundaries. While the combined assemblage of host species appears capable of permanently maintaining rabies in the ecosystem, little is known about the patterns of circulation within and between these host populations. Here we use molecular phylogenetics to test whether distinct virus–host associations occur in this species-rich carnivore community. Our analysis identifies a single major variant belonging to the group of southern Africa canid-associated viruses (Africa 1b) to be circulating within this ecosystem, and no evidence for species-specific grouping. A statistical parsimony analysis of nucleoprotein and glycoprotein gene sequence data is consistent with both within- and between-species transmission events. While likely differential sampling effort between host species precludes a definitive inference, the results are most consistent with dogs comprising the reservoir of rabies and emphasize the importance of applying control efforts in dog populations.
Contemporary Outcome Measures in Acute Stroke Research: Choice of Primary Outcome Measure

Background and Purpose— The diversity of available outcome measures for acute stroke trials is challenging and implies that the scales may be imperfect. To assist researchers planning trials and to aid interpretation, this article reviews and makes recommendations on the available choices of scales. The aim is to identify an approach that will be universally accepted and that should be included in most acute trials, without seeking to restrict options for special circumstances. Methods— The article considers outcome measures that have been widely used or are currently advised. It examines desirable properties for outcome measures such as validity, relevance, responsiveness, statistical properties, availability of training, cultural and language issues, resistance to comorbidity, as well as potential weaknesses. Tracking and agreement among outcomes are covered. Results— Typical ranges of scores for the common scales are described, along with their statistical properties, which in turn influence optimal analytic techniques. The timing of recovery on scores and usual practice in trial design are considered. Conclusions— The preferred outcome measure for acute trials is the modified Rankin Scale, assessed at 3 months after stroke onset or later. The interview should be conducted by a certified rater and should involve both the patient and any relevant caregiver. Incremental benefits at any level of the modified Rankin Scale may be acceptable. The modified Rankin Scale is imperfect but should be retained in its present form for comparability with existing treatment comparisons. No second measure should be required, but correlations with supporting scales may be used to confirm consistency in direction of effects on other measures.
Association Between Internet Use and Body Dissatisfaction Among Young Females: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey

Background Recent research suggests Internet exposure, including Facebook use, is positively correlated with body dissatisfaction, especially among girls and young women. Canada has one of the highest Internet access rates in the world, yet no previous study has examined this relationship using nationally representative data. Objective Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between Internet use and body dissatisfaction among a national, population-based sample of Canadian females 12-29 years of age. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2011-2012. Body dissatisfaction was measured using a 5-point Likert scale and defined as “very dissatisfied/dissatisfied” with one’s body. The explanatory variable was time spent using the Internet per week in the past 3 months, ranging from none/<1 hour to >20 hours. We used multinomial logistic regression to investigate whether greater Internet use was associated with increasing odds of being very dissatisfied/dissatisfied, neutral, or satisfied with one’s body, using very satisfied as the referent. Probability survey sampling weights were applied to all analyses. Results Of 2983 included participants, sampled to represent 940,786 young Canadian females, most were 20-29 years old (61.98%) and living in households with an annual income Can $80,000 or more (44.61%). The prevalence of body dissatisfaction was 14.70%, and 25- to 29-year-olds were more likely than 12- to 14-year-olds to be very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with their body (20.76% vs 6.34%). Few (5.01%) reported none/<1 hour of Internet use, over half (56.93%) reported 1-10 hours, and one-fifth (19.52%) reported spending >20 hours online per week. Adjusting for age and income, the odds of being very dissatisfied/dissatisfied, relative to very satisfied, were greater in the highest versus lowest Internet use group (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.03, 95% CI 1.19-7.70). The AORs for this level of body dissatisfaction increased across increasing levels of Internet use, ranging from 0.88 (95% CI 0.35-2.21) to 3.03 (95% CI 1.19-7.70). Additionally, those who spent 11-14 hours online were more likely to be neutral (AOR 3.66, 95% CI 1.17-11.45) and those who spent 15-20 hours online were more likely to be neutral (AOR 4.36, 95% CI 1.18-16.13) or satisfied (AOR 2.82, 95% CI 1.14-7.01) with their bodies, relative to very satisfied, compared with those spending no time or <1 hour online. Conclusions A substantial proportion of Canadian females 12-29 years of age spent large amounts of time (>20 hours) on the Internet each week, and body dissatisfaction was significantly more likely among this group. Those who spent 11-20 hours online were also more likely to be less satisfied with their bodies. Efforts are needed to support girls and young women to achieve and maintain a positive body image in today’s digital age.
The Effects of Resveratrol in Rats with Simultaneous Type 2 Diabetes and Renal Hypertension: a Study of Antihypertensive Mechanisms

Background Resveratrol has beneficial effects on cardiovascular system. This study aimed at examining antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects of resveratrol in rats with simultaneous type 2 diabetes and renal hypertension. Methods Eight groups (8-10 each) of male Spargue-Dawley rats, including a control, a diabetic (induced by streptozotocin and nicotinamide), a renal hypertensive (induced by placing plexiglas clips on the left renal arteries), a sham, a simultaneously hypertensive-diabetic receiving vehicle, and 3 simultaneous hypertensive-diabetic receiving resveratrol at 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg/day were used. Four weeks after the induction of diabetes, renal hypertension was induced and animals were given vehicle or resveratrol for the next four weeks. Afterwards, blood pressure and glucose, serum markers of oxidative stress were measured and animal’s aortic rings were used for isolated studies. Results Serum malondialdehyde, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, fasting blood glucose, maximal response and effective concentration 50 of phenylephrine, and inhibitory concentration 50 of acetylcholine of hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle were significantly higher than those of the control group, and treatment with resveratrol caused significant reduction of these variables. Moreover, serum superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and maximal response to acetylcholine of hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle were significantly lower than those of the control group, and treatment with resveratrol caused significant increase of these variables. Conclusion The findings indicate that resveratrol has antidiabetic and antihypertensive effects, which may be partly due to antioxidant mechanism. They also show that antihypertensive effect of resveratrol may be additionally mediated by improving the release of nitric oxide and sympathoplegic activities.
The Effects of Heated Humidified Gases on Body Temperature and Shivering in Patients under General Anesthesia

Purpose: This study was performed to determine the effects of heated humidified anesthetic gases, via a heated and humidified circuit (HHC), on body temperature and shivering. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. Data was collected from 71 patients who underwent musculoskeletal surgery for clavicle or upper arm fractures under general anesthesia from June 4 to September 31, 2009. The experimental group consisted of 34 patients who received heated and humidified gas through a HHC, which was set at 40 ˚C, and continued to be warm during the period from the endotracheal tube intubation to extubation. The control group was made up of 37 patients who were provided with gas through a standard breathing circuit system with no added heat and humidity. The collected data was analyzed by chi-square test and t-test. Results: The esophageal temperature was significantly higher in the experimental group at 20, 30 and 40 minutes after intubation compared with those of the control group. However, there were no differences in the tympanic membrane temperature and in the level of shivering between the two groups. Conclusion: The finding partially supports evidence for applying HHC in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia to prevent hypothermia. However, further studies are required to measure the effects of HHC on body temperature and shivering over time considering different results among researches.
Our Children, Our Hope: Voices of African American Mothers Living with HIV and Rearing Uninfected Children

ABSTRACT Parenting school-aged children while living with HIV has been associated with significant consequences for African American mothers. This article presents and discusses the results of a qualitative study that examined the parenting experiences of HIV-infected African American mothers rearing young children. A sample of 8 inner-city, African American mothers of uninfected preschool-aged children were interviewed individually. Interview guide questions explored day-to-day childcare activities from the mothers’ perspective. Five themes emerged: role of mothering, doing it all, less time for self, fear, and hope. Findings can be used to guide the development of programs to support HIV-infected mothers rearing young children.
Racial Differences in Expression Levels of miRNA Machinery-Related Genes, Dicer, Drosha, DGCR8, and AGO2, in Asian Korean Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Comparative Validation Using the Cancer Genome Atlas

Aberrant regulation of microRNA (miRNA) machinery components is associated with various human cancers, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which is the most common type of thyroid cancer, and a higher prevalent female malignancy. The purpose of this study is to investigate racial differences in mRNA expression levels of four miRNA machinery components, Dicer, Drosha, DGCR8, and AGO2, and their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics. Forty PTC samples from female Asian Korean PTC patients were enrolled. Using qPCR, we examined mRNA expression levels of the components and next validated our results by comparison with results of female white American in the TCGA PTC project. Interestingly, mRNA expression levels of the selected factors were altered in the TCGA PTC samples. However, only Drosha showed a significantly lower expression level in Asian Korean PTC samples. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of the four components showed no association with clinicopathological characteristics in both groups. On the other hand, positive correlations were observed between altered mRNA expression levels of Dicer and Drosha and DGCR8 and Drosha in TCGA PTC samples. These findings collectively revealed that altered mRNA expression levels of miRNA machinery components might be responsible for racial differences in the carcinogenesis of PTC.
Drooling in Parkinson's disease: a novel speech and language therapy intervention.

Drooling and difficulty swallowing saliva are commonly reported in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Drooling in PD is the result of swallowing difficulties rather than excessive saliva production. Currently, there is little research into the effectiveness of treatments to reduce drooling. The aims of the study were to develop objective measures of saliva volume and drooling for PD and to assess the efficacy of two therapeutic strategies to control drooling, i.e. specific speech and language therapy (SLT) including a portable metronome brooch to cue swallowing and injections of botulinum toxin into both parotid glands to reduce the amount of saliva produced. This paper will describe the assessments used, including the measurement of saliva, swallowing and drooling. The main focus will be the strategies used in the SLT intervention. The preliminary results are presented.
Retinal complications and plasma C5a levels during interferon alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis C

Objective:The pathogenesis of retinal complications, such as retinal hemorrhage and cotton-wool spots formation, during interferon (IFN) therapy is unclear. We studied the relationship between the presence of retinal complications and levels of plasma-activated complement 5 (C5a), a known potent intravascular aggregator of granulocytes, during IFN-α therapy.Methods:Forty-five patients with chronic hepatitis C but without diabetes mellitus and hypertension were studied. IFN-α was used 10 MU per day for 2 wk and 3 times weekly for an additional 22 wk. In 25 patients with IFN therapy, the optic fundi were examined before therapy began, every 4 wk thereafter, and whenever patients complained of visual symptoms. C5a levels were measured before, and during the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 24th wk, and at any time that a retinal complication was discovered. Twenty patients served as IFN-untreated controls. They had six optic fundi examinations, each 4 wk apart. C5a levels were measured three times, 4 wk apart, in 10 controls.Results:No retinal hemorrhage or cotton-wool spots were detected before IFN-α therapy or in any of the controls. However, retinal hemorrhage occurred in six patients (24%) during IFN-α therapy. Five of six episodes occurred within the first 8 wk. Only three patients with retinal hemorrhage had visual symptoms. Cotton-wool spots developed in four patients with retinal hemorrhage. Retinal hemorrhage and cotton-wool spots resolved gradually despite continuous administration of IFN-α. Before IFN therapy and in controls, all C5a levels were <7 ng/ml. When retinal hemorrhage occurred, C5a was significantly increased (27.3 ± 15.6 ng/ml, p < 0.01) relative to levels from the same patients before and after the hemorrhage (5.7 ± 1.1 ng/ml), and also relative to levels in IFN-α–treated patients without retinal hemorrhage (5.7 ± 1.1 ng/ml) and compared with levels in IFN-untreated controls (5.4 ± 0.7 ng/ml). Conclusion:Retinal hemorrhage or cotton-wool spots often occur during IFN-α therapy for chronic hepatitis C. This study suggests that a high C5a level may be an important step in the pathogenesis of retinal capillary infarction, hemorrhage, and cotton-wool spots formation.
Ependymal enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging for the identification of high-grade gliomas

Background: High-grade gliomas have high infiltrative potential and spread along white matter and blood vessels. Enhancement of ependymal lining on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered as a marker of parenchymal spread of disease. In this study, we aimed to assess the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of ependymal enhancement (EE) for identification of high-grade glial tumors. Methods: We reviewed preoperative MRI scans of 94 consecutive patients surgically treated for space occupying lesions of the brain for EE. Assessment for EE was blind to the final histopathological diagnosis of the patient. An enhancement of more than 2 mm was considered positive. Pathologies of these patients were reviewed and matched to the radiological findings. Percentage and proportion of EE in glial and non-glial pathology groups was then calculated and a sensitivity and specificity analysis was performed. Results: The population included 94 cases (64 males and 30 females) with population mean age 45 ± 15.5 years. Sensitivity of EE in differentiating glioma from total number of cases was 82.61% specificity 35.42% (P value = 0.048). EE had a sensitivity of 67.39% and specificity of 64.58% (P value = 0.002) in identifying high-grade glioma within the glioma group with a positive predictive value of 64.58% (95% CI: 49.46% to 77.83%), negative predictive value of 67.39% (95% CI: 51.98% to 80.46%). Conclusion: EE has moderate sensitivity and specificity for high-grade gliomas. However, larger sample studies are required for further validation of this observations.
Discovery of β-Arrestin–Biased Dopamine D2 Ligands for Probing Signal Transduction Pathways Essential for Antipsychotic Efficacy

Elucidating the key signal transduction pathways essential for both antipsychotic efficacy and side-effect profiles is essential for developing safer and more effective therapies. Recent work has highlighted noncanonical modes of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) signaling via β-arrestins as being important for the therapeutic actions of both antipsychotic and antimanic agents. We thus sought to create unique D2R agonists that display signaling bias via β-arrestin–ergic signaling. Through a robust diversity-oriented modification of the scaffold represented by aripiprazole (1), we discovered UNC9975 (2), UNC0006 (3), and UNC9994 (4) as unprecedented β-arrestin–biased D2R ligands. These compounds also represent unprecedented β-arrestin–biased ligands for a Gi-coupled G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR). Significantly, UNC9975, UNC0006, and UNC9994 are simultaneously antagonists of Gi-regulated cAMP production and partial agonists for D2R/β-arrestin-2 interactions. Importantly, UNC9975 displayed potent antipsychotic-like activity without inducing motoric side effects in inbred C57BL/6 mice in vivo. Genetic deletion of β-arrestin-2 simultaneously attenuated the antipsychotic actions of UNC9975 and transformed it into a typical antipsychotic drug with a high propensity to induce catalepsy. Similarly, the antipsychotic-like activity displayed by UNC9994, an extremely β-arrestin–biased D2R agonist, in wild-type mice was completely abolished in β-arrestin-2 knockout mice. Taken together, our results suggest that β-arrestin signaling and recruitment can be simultaneously a significant contributor to antipsychotic efficacy and protective against motoric side effects. These functionally selective, β-arrestin–biased D2R ligands represent valuable chemical probes for further investigations of D2R signaling in health and disease.
TESTING OF 24 POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS WASTES USING 6 ECOTOXICOLOGICAL TESTS

The ecotoxicological characterization of wastes according to the European Waste List (EWL) is part of their assessment as hazardous or non-hazardous. Despite inclusion in national laws no methodological details have been fixed concerning the hazard property HP 14 (“ecotoxic”). This paper intends to discuss the classification of wastes by ecotoxicological testing, using 24 representative samples of solid wastes (identified by their EWL number) with different properties. They were sampled according to standard methods, and, with one exception (galvanic sludge), ecotoxicologically tested. No chemical investigation of the samples was performed but they were characterized according to their properties in the ABANDA data base. Nearly all of these wastes were “mirror entries” in the EWL (i.e., they can be hazardous or not depending on the concentration of hazardous substances). For the ecotoxicological characterization three aquatic tests with eluates (genotoxicity, Algae, Daphnia) as well as three terrestrial tests with solid wastes (bacteria, plants, earthworms) were conducted. All investigations were performed as limit tests with three dilution steps. Algae, plants and terrestrial bacteria were the most sensitive organisms. Since no waste eluate showed any indication of genotoxicity, the genotoxicity test should be replaced by the luminescent bacteria test (ISO 11348-3). Proposals for toxicity criteria as well as hazard classifications were taken from the literature but they were modified according to own experiences. Using these concentration limits for the classification whether these wastes are ecotoxic or not, and using different versions of the hazard classification approach, 15-19 waste samples out of 23 waste samples were classified as ecotoxic (64-83%). It is proposed to perform a plausibility check of the respective HP 14-classification. The procedure used in this contribution (i.e. sampling of the wastes, their ecotoxicological testing as well as their hazard classification) could form the basis of a standardized hazard classification approach as proposed recently in the literature. In summary, this works confirms that ecotoxicological tests are practical and sensitive in order to be used for the ecotoxicological hazard classification of very different wastes.
Serial Collecting as Leisure, and Coin Collecting in Particular

The collecting of things for pleasure is an almost universal human experience. Psychological studies tell us that it is deeply connected to the development of the self and of relations with the world and other people. This article explores collecting as serious leisure, reviews explanations of collecting behavior, and focuses on coin collectors as one example. The types and organization of numismatic literature are explored. A participant observation study of coin collectors in both face-to-face and electronic meeting places finds that they are motivated by the potential for self-development, social interactions with other collectors, and financial gains, and at times by compulsive collecting.