Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends in national surveillance for rabies among bats in the United States (1993-2000).

OBJECTIVE To describe surveillance trends and epidemiologic features of rabies in bats in the United States, focusing on 3 bat species primarily associated with variants of the rabies virus that affect humans. DESIGN Retrospective study. ANIMALS 31,380 bats. PROCEDURE Data on rabies for bats identified to species and reported by state laboratories from 1993 to 2000 were analyzed, focusing on silver-haired, eastern pipistrelle, and Brazilian free-tailed bats. Categoric variables were derived from other provided information. RESULTS Data were reported from 37 states during the study interval; complete species-specific data were not reported by any state for the entire interval. Bats primarily associated with rabies virus variants affecting humans were more likely to yield positive test results for rabies (22.7%), compared with all other bats (5.5%) in most seasons and from most regions of the United States. However, certain other bat species had higher percentages of positive results. Risk of positive results was highest in the fall and highest among bats originating in the southwestern United States. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Increased risk of rabies among certain groups of bat species was consistently found across seasons and most geographic regions of the United States. Results were in general agreement with those of previous studies conducted within smaller geographic regions. There are ongoing efforts to improve surveillance of rabies in bats, although surveillance is incomplete in some regions.
Three- Dimensional Finite Element Analysis of Dynamic Pile Behavior in Liquefied Ground

liquefaction and associated deformation is a major cause of earthquake-related damage to piles and pile-supported structures. Computational procedures for nonlinear soil-pile interaction response commonly employ a 1D pile-soil system, and simplify the effect of soil pressure by linear or nonlinear p-y springs. This paper presents a pilot 3D Finite Element study of dynamic pile response in liquefied ground. The numerical model is formulated using CYCLIC, a geomechanics nonlinear finite element program developed to analyze cyclic mobility and liquefaction problems. In the current analysis, the pile and soil domains are discretized using 3D brick elements. The soil stress-strain behavior is represented by a plasticity-based, effective-stress constitutive model. This constitutive model is capable of simulating the essential response characteristics of saturated cohesionless soils, including shear-induced pore-pressure generation (dilatancy) and cyclic mobility. The computed results are compared to related centrifuge testing results. Special attention is given to the change in pile response characteristics due to liquefaction and lateral spreading of the surrounding soil.
Effect of recall rate on earlier screen detection of breast cancers based on the Dutch performance indicators.

BACKGROUND The recall rate (i.e., the rate at which mammographically screened women are recalled for additional assessment) in the Dutch breast screening program (0.89% in 2000 for subsequent examinations) is the lowest worldwide, with possible consequences including higher rates of late-detected (i.e., "missed") interval and screen-detected cancers. To estimate the effect of changes in recall rate on earlier detection of cancers, we carried out a blinded review of interval and screen-detected cancers in the Dutch screening program. METHODS A total of 495 sets of screen-negative mammograms (prediagnostic mammogram and the immediate previous mammogram) were collected from women participating in the biennial Dutch screening program. Of these, 250 were from control subjects, and 245 were from women who were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer (123 interval and 122 screen-detected cancers). These mammograms were read by 15 radiologists who specialize in screening mammography and were blinded to outcome. Mean detection sensitivities for different false-positive rates were calculated using a linear mixed model. These results were used to calculate the effect of recall rate adjustment on earlier detection of cancers and numbers of false-positives. RESULTS Increasing the recall rate to 2.0% would increase the detection rate from 4.20 per thousand to 4.52 per thousand due to the earlier detection of interval cancers. Moreover, 0.54 per thousand of the screen-detected cancers would be detected 2 years earlier (late screen-detected cancers). At recall rates of 3.0% and 4.0% the detection rate would increase to 4.58 per thousand and 4.63 per thousand, respectively, and 0.64 per thousand and 0.72 per thousand, respectively, of the screen-detected cancers would be detected 2 years earlier. For each 1.0% incremental increase in recall rate above 5.0%, the detection rate would increase by approximately 0.03 per thousand, with positive predictive values decreasing to below 10%. CONCLUSION Breast cancer can be detected earlier by lowering the threshold for recall, especially for recall rates of 1%-4%. With further recall rate increases, cancer detection levels off with a disproportionate increase of false-positive rates.
The Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale: Initial Development and Validation

Parent engagement in schools is often precipitated by a thorough and genuine assessment of parents’ needs, priorities, and perceptions of their children’s schools. This study reports on the development and validation of the Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) examined the factorial validity of the measure using cross-sectional survey data from 2,643 parents. In addition, a series of CFAs was conducted to explore the language invariance of the measurement model across Spanish and English versions of the scale. Predictive validity also was determined using correlational analyses. Results revealed that the five-item Parent Perceptions of Overall School Experiences Scale is a brief, universal measure of parents’ perceptions of their overall experiences with their children’s schools. Schools, parents, and community members may use this measure to assess parents’ needs and to advocate for necessary programmatic changes that serve parents and their children.
The relationship between fluorescent, agglutinating, and precipitating antibodies to Candida albicans and their immunoglobin classes

A parallel study of fluorescent, agglutinating, and precipitating antibodies to Candida albicans revealed that precipitating antibodies belong to the IgG class, whereas agglutinating antibodies reside in the IgG, IgM, and IgA classes. The three types as well as the three classes of antibodies were found in Candida endocarditis and mucocutaneous candidiasis. Immuno-absorption studies suggest that the three serological tests estimate antibodies to mannan determinants of Candida albicans.
Shocking the Crowd: The Effect of Censorship Shocks on Chinese Wikipedia

Collaborative crowdsourcing has become a popular approach to organizing work across the globe. Being global also means being vulnerable to shocks — unforeseen events that disrupt crowds — that originate from any country. In this study, we examine changes in collaborative behavior of editors of Chinese Wikipedia that arise due to the 2005 government censorship in mainland China. Using the exogenous variation in the fraction of editors blocked across different articles due to the censorship, we examine the impact of reduction in group size, which we denote as the shock level, on three collaborative behavior measures: volume of activity, centralization, and conflict. We find that activity and conflict drop on articles that face a shock, whereas centralization increases. The impact of a shock on activity increases with shock level, whereas the impact on centralization and conflict is higher for moderate shock levels than for very small or very high shock levels. These findings provide support for threat rigidity theory — originally introduced in the organizational theory literature — in the context of large-scale collaborative crowds.
Results of Noncontrast Brain Computed Tomography Scans of 1-18 Year Old Epileptic Children

Objective The advent of computed tomography (CT) scan revolutionized the diagnostic evaluation of neurologic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate brain CT results of epileptic children. Materials & Methods In a descriptive cross-sectional study, noncontrast brain CT scan of 150 consecutive 1-18 year old epileptic children whom were referred to pediatric neurology clinic of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, from May 2008 to October 2010 in Yazd-Iran, evaluated. Results Sixty two girls and 88 boys with mean age of 6.6 ± 4.3 years were evaluated. In 38 (25.3 %) children, seizure onset age was under one year and 38 others had abnormal mental / developmental status. Fifty three children (35.3 %) and 97 (64.7%) had partial and generalized seizures, respectively. Partial seizures were more prevalent in children with seizure onset in < 1 year [41.5% (22/53) vs. 16.5% (16/97)] Result of CT was normal in 74 % (n=111). Among the patients with abnormal results, 18(46%) had brain atrophy, 10 (25.6%) structural CNS dysgenesia, six (15.4%) intracranial calcification, three (7.8%) hydrocephaly and two had (5.2%) brain tumor. Abnormal brain CT was more prevalent in patients with seizure onset in less than one year of age [60.5% (23 of 38) vs. 14.3% (16 of 112), p = 0.003], partial epilepsy [51% (27 of 53) vs. 12% (12/97)], and abnormal developmental status [ 81.5% (31 of 38) vs.7% (8 of 112]. Mean age of seizure onset in epileptic children with abnormal brain CT scan was less (M ± SD:1/17 ± 0.6 years versus 4.02±1.9 years). Conclusion Brain CT scan might be considered in evaluation of epileptic children with partial seizures, seizure onset in less than one year of age or neurodevelopmental delay.
Human Perception of Lip Synchronization in Mobile Environment

In literature, many studies about human perception of lip synchronization refer to experiences based on TV sets. In these cases, researchers give some hints on how easily humans percept lip synchronization problems. The in-sync region is typically known to be in the range -80ms to +80ms. Within this range most of the test candidates does not detect any lip synchronization skew. The out-of-synch region typically falls outside the range between -160ms and +160ms, where nearly everybody detects the lip synchronization error. Between those boundaries there is a transient area, where the detection of any lip synchronization problem depends on speaker size (head, shoulder or body view). These earlier assumptions based on TV environment do not hold for mobile environment, where the viewing characteristics and of the device itself are different. Therefore, further research is needed. The purpose of this paper is to find new results for human perception of lip synchronization in mobile environment. Results will show that new lip synchronization thresholds apply when using mobile phones and mobile media concepts.
The Observed Growth of Massive Galaxy Clusters I: Statistical Methods and Cosmological Constraints

This is the first of a series of papers in which we derive simultaneous constraints on cosmological parameters and X-ray scaling relations using observations of the growth of massive, X-ray flux-selected galaxy clusters. Our data set consists of 238 cluster detections from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, and incorporates follow-up observations of 94 of those clusters using the Chandra X-ray Observatory or ROSAT. Here we describe and implement a new statistical framework required to self-consistently produce simultaneous constraints on cosmology and scaling relations from such data, and present results on models of dark energy. In spatially flat models with a constant dark energy equation of state, w, the cluster data yield Ω m = 0.23 ± 0.04, σ 8 = 0.82 ± 0.05 and w = - 1.01 ± 0.20, incorporating standard priors on the Hubble parameter and mean baryon density of the Universe, and marginalizing over conservative allowances for systematic uncertainties. These constraints agree well and are competitive with independent data in the form of cosmic microwave background anisotropies, type Ia supernovae, cluster gas mass fractions, baryon acoustic oscillations, galaxy redshift surveys and cosmic shear. The combination of our data with current microwave background, supernova, gas mass fraction and baryon acoustic oscillation data yields Ω m , = 0.27 ± 0.02, σ 8 = 0.79 ± 0.03 and w = -0.96 ± 0.06 for flat, constant w models. The combined data also allow us to investigate evolving w models. Marginalizing over transition redshifts in the range 0.05-1, we constrain the equation of state at late and early times to be respectively w 0 = -0.88 ± 0.21 and w et = -1.05 +0.20 -0.36 , again including conservative systematic allowances. The combined data provide constraints equivalent to a Dark Energy Task Force figure of merit of 15.5. Our results highlight the power of X-ray studies, which enable the straightforward production of large, complete and pure cluster samples and admit tight scaling relations, to constrain cosmology. However, the new statistical framework we apply to this task is equally applicable to cluster studies at other wavelengths.
Evidence of mast cell activation and leukotriene release after mannitol inhalation

The aim of this study was to investigate if mannitol inhalation, as a model of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), causes mast cell activation and release of mediators of bronchoconstriction. Urinary excretion of previously identified mediators of EIB was investigated in association with mannitol-induced bronchoconstriction. Twelve asthmatic and nine nonasthmatic subjects inhaled mannitol and urine was collected 60 min before andfor90 min after challenge. The urinary concentrations of leukotriene (LT)E4, the prostaglandin (PG)D2 metabolite and the mast cell marker 9α,11β‐PGF2 weremeasured by enzyme immunoassay. Nτ‐methylhistamine was measured by radioimmunoassay. In asthmatic subjects, inhalation of a mean±sem dose of 272±56 mg mannitol induced a reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of 34.5±2.1%. This was associated with increases in urinary 9α,11β‐PGF2 (91.9±8.2 versus 66.9±6.6 ng·mmol creatinine−1, peak versus baseline) and LTE4 (51.3±7.5 versus 32.9±4.7). In nonasthmatic subjects, the reduction in FEV1 was 1.0±0.5% after inhaling 635 mg of mannitol. Although smaller than in the asthmatics, significant increases of urinary 9α,11β‐PGF2 (68.4±6.9 versus 56.0±5.8 ng·mmol creatinine−1) and LTE4 (58.5±5.3 versus 43.0±3.3 ng·mmol creatinine−1) were observed in the nonasthmatic subjects. There was also a small increase in urinary excretion of Nτ‐methylhistamine in the nonasthmatics, but not in the asthmatics. The increased urinary levels of 9α,11β‐prostaglandin F2 support mast cell activation with release of mediators following inhalation of mannitol. Increased bronchial responsiveness to the released mediators could explain the exclusive bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects.
Chondroitinase Combined with Rehabilitation Promotes Recovery of Forelimb Function in Rats with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) in combination with rehabilitation has been shown to promote functional recovery in acute spinal cord injury. For clinical use, the optimal treatment window is concurrent with the beginning of rehabilitation, usually 2–4 weeks after injury. We show that ChABC is effective when given 4 weeks after injury combined with rehabilitation. After C4 dorsal spinal cord injury, rats received no treatment for 4 weeks. They then received either ChABC or penicillinase control treatment followed by hour-long daily rehabilitation specific for skilled paw reaching. Animals that received both ChABC and task-specific rehabilitation showed the greatest recovery in skilled paw reaching, approaching similar levels to animals that were treated at the time of injury. There was also a modest increase in skilled paw reaching ability in animals receiving task-specific rehabilitation alone. Animals treated with ChABC and task-specific rehabilitation also showed improvement in ladder and beam walking. ChABC increased sprouting of the corticospinal tract, and these sprouts had more vGlut1+ve presynaptic boutons than controls. Animals that received rehabilitation showed an increase in perineuronal net number and staining intensity. Our results indicate that ChABC treatment opens a window of opportunity in chronic spinal cord lesions, allowing rehabilitation to improve functional recovery.
Microparticles from apoptotic RAW 264.7 macrophage cells carry tumour necrosis factor-α functionally active on cardiomyocytes from adult mice

After ischaemic injury and in patients with atherosclerosis, the pool of inflammatory macrophages is enlarged in the heart and in atherosclerotic plaques. Monocyte/macrophage-derived microparticles (MPs) are part of the pathological process of unstable atherosclerotic plaques. The present study focused on effects of MPs, produced by apoptotic murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line, in adult murine cardiomyocytes. Flow cytometry and western blot analysis showed that these MPs contained the soluble form of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Cardiomyocyte sarcomere shortening amplitudes and kinetics were reduced within 5 min of exposure to these MPs. Conversely, Ca2+ transient amplitude and kinetics were not modified. The contractile effects of MPs were completely prevented after pretreatment with nitric oxide synthase, guanylate cyclase or TNF-α inhibitors as well as blocking TNF-α receptor 1 with neutralizing antibody. Microscopy showed that, after 1 h, MPs were clearly surrounding rod-shaped cardiomyocytes, and after 2 h they were internalized into cardiomyocytes undergoing apoptosis. After 4 h of treatment with MPs, cardiomyocytes expressed increased caspase-3, caspase-8, Bax and cytochrome C. Thus, MPs from apoptotic macrophages induced a negative inotropic effect and slowing of both contraction and relaxation, similar to that observed in the presence of TNF-α. The use of specific inhibitors strongly suggests that TNF-α receptors and the guanylate cyclase/cGMP/PKG pathway were involved in the functional responses to these MPs and that the mitochondrial intrinsic pathway was implicated in their proapoptotic effects. These data suggest that MPs issued from activated macrophages carrying TNF-α could contribute to propagation of inflammatory signals leading to myocardial infarction.
Applied Adenovirus Vectors Improves the Toxicity Profile of Systemically Interference with the IL-1-Signaling Pathway

The safety of gene therapy vectors is a major concern when novel viral or nonviral therapeutics are proposed for applications in humans. Adenovirus (Ad) vectors have been extensively used as efﬁcient gene delivery vehicles in vitro over the last two decades. However, upon i.v. application, they elicit robust innate and inﬂammatory responses that may be fatal for the host. To date, the primary cytokines and chemokines involved in the initiation of these host responses remain illusive. In this study, we demonstrate that IL-1 is a major mediator involved in the initiation of immediate host responses toward i.v. applied Ad vectors. Using mice in which IL-1 signaling was genetically eliminated (IL-1RI-KO), or wild-type animals for which signaling was blocked by anti-IL-1 Abs, we found that i.v. applied Ad vectors elicited dramatically reduced acute inﬂammatory responses when compared with control animals. Importantly, the efﬁciency of Ad gene transfer in vivo was not signiﬁcantly affected by interfering with IL-1 signaling. Using an in situ hybridization technique, we found that hepatocytes and Kupffer cells trigger IL-1 transcription in liver tissue after i.v. Ad vector administration. We also found that expression of the MIP-2 chemokine gene (which is responsible for recruitment of neutrophils to the liver) depends on IL-1 activation. Our data indicate that immediate innate and inﬂammatory host responses toward i.v. applied Ad vectors can be pharmacologically controlled through interference with IL-1 signaling pathways. The Journal of Immunology, 2005, 174: 7310–7319. Acid Detection kit (Roche). To obtain an IL-1-speciﬁc probe, the mouse IL-1 (cid:1) encoding sequence was cut out of pCAmsIL-1 (cid:1) (catalog no. RDB1516; RIKEN Gene Bank, Tsukuba, Japan) and subcloned into pGEM7Z (Promega) in sense or antisense orientation with regards to the T7 promoter. To synthesize DIG-labeled IL-1 (cid:1) -speciﬁc probes, a DIG RNA labeling kit (Roche) was used.
Maximum Likelihood Detection and Optimal Code Design for Differential Unitary Space-Time Modulation with Carrier Frequency Offset

In this paper, we answer the question that "Can conventional differential unitary space time modulation (DUSTM) be applied when there is an unknown carrier frequency offset (CFO)? " and present a maximum likelihood (ML) detection rule for this scenario. We analyze the asymptotical performance of our ML detection and provide the code design criterion by using the modified diversity product. The analysis also brings the insight that our proposed decision rule is a new differential modulation scheme in both temporal and spatial domains. Various simulations are conducted, and the proposed algorithm is shown to be more robust to the CFO drifting than the existing double temporal differential modulation.
Fingolimod for the treatment of neurological diseases—state of play and future perspectives

Sphingolipids are a fascinating class of signaling molecules derived from the membrane lipid sphingomyelin. They show abundant expression in the brain. Complex sphingolipids such as glycosphingolipids (gangliosides and cerebrosides) regulate vesicular transport and lysosomal degradation and their dysregulation can lead to storage diseases with a neurological phenotype. More recently, simple sphingolipids such ceramide, sphingosine and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) were discovered to signal in response to many extracellular stimuli. Forming an intricate signaling network, the balance of these readily interchangeable mediators is decisive for cell fate under stressful conditions. The immunomodulator fingolimod is the prodrug of an S1P receptor agonist. Following receptor activation, the drug leads to downregulation of the S1P1 receptor inducing functional antagonism. As the first drug to modulate the sphingolipid signaling pathway, it was marketed in 2010 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). At that time, immunomodulation was widely accepted as the key mechanism of fingolimod’s efficacy in MS. But given the excellent passage of this lipophilic compound into the brain and its massive brain accumulation as well as the abundant expression of S1P receptors on brain cells, it is conceivable that fingolimod also affects brain cells directly. Indeed, a seminal study showed that the protective effect of fingolimod in experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE), a murine MS model, is lost in mice lacking the S1P1 receptor on astrocytes, arguing for a specific role of astrocytic S1P signaling in MS. In this review, we discuss the role of sphingolipid mediators and their metabolizing enzymes in neurologic diseases and putative therapeutic strategies arising thereof.