Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurophysiological Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Healthy Adults, a Pilot Study

Total sleep deprivation (TSD) may induce fatigue, neurocognitive slowing and mood changes, which are partly compensated by stress regulating brain systems, resulting in altered dopamine and cortisol levels in order to stay awake if needed. These systems, however, have never been studied in concert. At baseline, after a regular night of sleep, and the next morning after TSD, 12 healthy subjects performed a semantic affective classification functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task, followed by a [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Saliva cortisol levels were acquired at 7 time points during both days. Affective symptoms were measured using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Index (STAI) and visual analogue scales. After TSD, perceived energy levels, concentration, and speed of thought decreased significantly, whereas mood did not. During fMRI, response speed decreased for neutral words and positive targets, and accuracy decreased trendwise for neutral words and for positive targets with a negative distracter. Following TSD, processing of positive words was associated with increased left dorsolateral prefrontal activation. Processing of emotional words in general was associated with increased insular activity, whereas contrasting positive vs. negative words showed subthreshold increased activation in the (para)hippocampal area. Cortisol secretion was significantly lower after TSD. Decreased voxel-by-voxel [11C]raclopride binding potential (BPND) was observed in left caudate. TSD induces widespread cognitive, neurophysiologic and endocrine changes in healthy adults, characterized by reduced cognitive functioning, despite increased regional brain activity. The blunted HPA-axis response together with altered [11C]raclopride binding in the basal ganglia indicate that sustained wakefulness requires involvement of additional adaptive biological systems.
Workplace tobacco cessation program in India: A success story

Context: This paper describes the follow-up interventions and results of the work place tobacco cessation study. Aims: To assess the tobacco quit rates among employees, through self report history, and validate it with rapid urine cotinine test; compare post-intervention KAP regarding tobacco consumption with the pre-intervention responses and assess the tobacco consumption pattern among contract employees and provide assistance to encourage quitting. Settings and Design: This is a cohort study implemented in a chemical industry in rural Maharashtra, India. Materials and Methods: All employees (104) were interviewed and screened for oral neoplasia. Active intervention in the form of awareness lectures, focus group discussions and if needed, pharmacotherapy was offered. Medical staff from the industrial medical unit and from a local referral hospital was trained. Awareness programs were arranged for the family members and contract employees. Statistical Analysis Used: Non-parametric statistical techniques and kappa. Results: Forty eight per cent employees consumed tobacco. The tobacco quit rates increased with each follow-up intervention session and reached 40% at the end of one year. There was 96% agreement between self report tobacco history and results of rapid urine cotinine test. The post-intervention KAP showed considerable improvement over the pre-intervention KAP. 56% of contract employees used tobacco and 55% among them had oral pre-cancerous lesions. Conclusions: A positive atmosphere towards tobacco quitting and positive peer pressure assisting each other in tobacco cessation was remarkably noted on the entire industrial campus. A comprehensive model workplace tobacco cessation program has been established, which can be replicated elsewhere.
CD4+ T cell‐mediated rejection of major histocompatibility complex class I‐disparate grafts: A role for alloantibody

Experimental studies of the T cell requirement for rejection of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐disparate grafts have generated controversy over both the autonomy of CD8+ T cells and the mechanism whereby CD4+ T cells are able to independently mediate rejection. In this study of rejection of RT1Aa class I MHC‐disparate rat cardiac and skin allografts by high‐responder PVG RT1u recipients, we show that elimination of CD8+ T cells [by anti‐CD8 monoclonal antibody (mAb) administration in vivo] fails to prolong graft survival, whereas partial depletion of CD4+ T cells (by anti‐CD4 mAb treatment) markedly delays rejection of class I‐disparate heart grafts, and marginally prolongs survival of skin grafts. Anti‐CD4‐treated PVG‐RT1u athymic nude rats reconstituted with CD8+ T cells failed to reject class I‐disparate skin grafts for several weeks and eventual rejection correlated with re‐emergence of a small number of donor derived CD4+ T cells. Conversely, anti‐CD8‐treated nude rats reconstituted with CD4+ T cells alone rapidly rejected class I‐disparate skin grafts. Passive transfer of anti‐class I immune serum to anti‐CD4‐treated euthymic recipients promptly restored their ability to specifically reject a class I‐disparate heart graft. Similarly, passive transfer of immune serum to PVG‐RT1u nude rats bearing skin allografts caused destruction of class I‐disparate but not third‐party grafts. These results demonstrate that CD4+ T cells are both necessary and sufficient to cause rejection of class I‐disparate heart and skin grafts in this model and that CD4+ T cell‐dependent alloantibody plays a decisive role in effecting rejection.
Switching off PAE wet strength

Abstract The wet strength of cellulose-cellulose joints, reinforced with PAE-loaded microgels, was decreased by nearly a factor of two when the labile disulfide crosslinks on the supporting microgels were exposed to a reducing agent. The supporting microgels were temperature and pH sensitive poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) microgels, prepared with a disulfide crosslinker. The level of PAE loading increased with the microgel carboxyl content. This work illustrates a new approach to increasing the recyclability and compostability of wet-strength papers made with PAE wet-strength resin.
Consumer satisfaction with internet shopping: a research framework and propositions for future research

Consumer satisfaction with Internet shopping has been conceptualized in a variety of ways. Studies in this area remain broad and appear relatively fragmented. In view of this, the purpose of this study is to propose a research framework that integrates both end-user computing satisfaction literature and service quality literature. This framework explicitly considers information quality, system quality, and service quality as the key dimensions of consumer satisfaction with Internet shopping. We believe the research framework and propositions serve as salient guidelines for researchers.
Sunitinib, a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, increases blood pressure in rats without associated changes in cardiac structure and function.

BACKGROUND Sunitinib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor has demonstrated clinical activity in advanced renal cell carcinoma and imatinib-resistant/intolerant gastrointestinal stromal tumor. It has been associated with manageable hypertension and other unique toxicities. AIMS Two nonclinical studies were conducted to determine if sunitinib has direct/indirect effects on cardiac structure/function that may be related to hypertension at clinically relevant exposures. MATERIALS & METHODS Rats received once-daily vehicle or sunitinib 1 or 10 mg/kg/day (n = 10/group) orally for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks off treatment then a 2-week rechallenge. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were continuously acquired and echocardiograms were obtained weekly. Effects of sunitinib and its metabolite (0.003-0.3 μM) were also evaluated in guinea pig isolated Langendorff-perfused hearts (n = 4-6 hearts/group). RESULTS Sunitinib 10 mg/kg/day produced significant (P < 0.05) hemodynamic changes: 24 h average BP increased during initial dosing/rechallenge, with rebound hypotension during the off-treatment period; 24 h average HR increased during the off-treatment period, and decreased during rechallenge; no changes in cardiac structure/function were observed. In guinea pig isolated hearts, neither sunitinib nor its metabolite had direct effects on contractility, HR or left ventricular pressure. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION These studies demonstrate that sunitinib/metabolite had no direct effects on cardiac function ex vivo, and that therapeutically relevant concentrations of sunitinib dosed on a "clinical schedule" increased BP in rats without adverse changes in cardiac structure/function.
Amisulpride Reexposure and Tardive Dyskinesia

To highlight the association between amisulpride and onset of tardive dyskinesia (TD) in patient suffering with psychosis not otherwise specified (NOS), who has already been treated with amisulpride for many years. A 40-year-old female suffering with psychosis NOS since 19 years presented with recurrence of positive symptoms in the form of delusion of persecution, ideas of grandiosity since last 3 months. She was treated with amisulpride up to 400 mg/day and developed involuntary oro-buccal-lingual movement within 2 months of amisulpride therapy. Amisulpride an atypical antipsychotic can lead to the development of TD in patient who already received amisulpride for many years in the past. Reexposure with amisulpride can lead to early onset of TD due to blockade of already unregulated postsynaptic supersensitive dopamine receptors.
Family history, body mass index and survival in Japanese patients with stomach cancer: a prospective study

Family history and nutritional status may affect the long‐term prognosis of stomach cancer, but evidence is insufficient and inconsistent. To clarify the prognostic factors of stomach cancer, we conducted a prospective study of 1,033 Japanese patients with histologically confirmed stomach cancer who were admitted to a single hospital between 1997 and 2005. Family history of stomach cancer and pretreatment body mass index (BMI) were assessed using a self‐administered questionnaire. Clinical data were retrieved from a hospital‐based cancer registry. All patients were completely followed up until December, 2008. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated according to family history in parents and siblings and BMI category. During a median follow‐up of 5.3 years, 403 all‐cause and 279 stomach cancer deaths were documented. Although no association with family history was observed in the patients overall, analysis according to age group found an increased risk of all‐cause death associated with a history in first degree relatives (HR = 1.61, 95% CI: 0.93–2.78, p = 0.09) and with a parental history (HR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.06–3.26) among patients aged under 60 years at diagnosis. BMI was related to all‐cause and stomach cancer death among patients aged 60 and over, showing a J‐shaped pattern (HR of all‐cause death = 2.28 for BMI < 18.5; HR = 1.61 for 25 ≤ vs. ≥ 23.0 to < 25.0 kg/m2). A family history of stomach cancer, especially parental history, may affect mortality among younger stomach cancer patients, whereas nutritional status may be a prognostic factor in older patients.
Plastic buckling of thin and moderately thin plates and shells: classic problems and new perspectives

Elastic-plastic instability of structures is an extensive field which encompasses a broad category of civil and mechanical engineering problems and involves several topics such as the physical and mechanical characterization of materials, yield criteria, different theories of plasticity and phenomena related to geometric nonlinearities, especially for thin and moderately thin plates and shells. The aim of this work is to investigate the plastic buckling of plates and shells subjected to different loading conditions with respect to the phenomenon of the plastic buckling paradox. Following the proposal of a new analytical approach to the problem, which throws light on the fundamental differences in the use of the flow theory and of the deformation theory of plasticity, by means of an extensive numerical investigation on cylindrical shells with different geometrical and material properties, some fundamental limitations of the modern numerical nonlinear analyses conducted by the use of the Finite Elements are highlighted and discussed in detail.
Frequency-domain synthesis of a filter using Viete root functions

This paper proposes a noniterative method to fit a rational transfer function to a specified frequency response. A method using a smoothing of width-modulated pulses of the phase asymptotic-diagram is modified to provide an exact algebraic method. This is then used to synthesize a robust controller and a nonrational transfer function with a fractional differentiation order.
Equal Treatment as a Means of Evaluating Public School Assignment Mechanisms

A critical element in the sustainability of any public policy is the fair treatment of ‘similar’ individuals. This paper introduces a new dimension of merit to evaluate public school assignment mechanisms based on this notion of horizontal equity. The findings reveal that all of the prominent assignment mechanisms discussed in the literature fail to satisfy this ‘equal treatment’ criterion. I also show that there exists no student-optimal stable mechanism that also satisfies equal treatment, illustrating the tradeoff between constrained efficiency and horizontal equity. These findings surface a serious cause for concern about the public school assignment procedures used in major school districts.
Evaluation of anti-ulcer effect of amlodipine in gastric ulcer models in rats

Aims: To study anti-ulcer effect of Amlodipine and compared it with ranitidine in indomethacin, alcohol and pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcers in wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Gastric ulcers were induced in Wistar albino rats by oral administration of indomethacin (200 mg/kg), alcohol (80%, 1 ml/100 gm) and by pyloric ligation. Antiulcer activity of amlodipine (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) was observed either alone or in combination with ranitidine (15 mg/kg, i.p.), on ulcer index, gastric pH and gastric volume. Statistical analysis was done by ANOVA and unpaired one tailed ‘t‘ test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Amlodipine produced significant (P<0.05) decrease in ulcer index and gastric pH as compared to control. It also produced significant (P<0.05) increase in gastric volume as compared to ranitidine. The anti-ulcer effects of ranitidine were significantly higher than that of amlodipine. Combination of amlodipine and ranitidine did not show significant increase in anti-ulcer activity as compared with ranitidine alone. Conclusions: Amlodipine produced significant anti-ulcer effects in all 3 experimental models. Amlodipine increased the volume of gastric secretions as compared to ranitidine.
Terminal diversification of the myocyte lineage generates Purkinje fibers of the cardiac conduction system.

The rhythmic contraction of the vertebrate heart is dependent on organized propagation of electrical excitation through the cardiac conduction system. Because both muscle- and neuron-specific genes are co-expressed in cells forming myocardial conduction tissues, two origins, myogenic and neural, have been suggested for this specialized tissue. Using replication-defective retroviruses, encoding recombinant beta-galactosidase (beta-gal), we have analyzed cell lineage for Purkinje fibers (i.e., the peripheral elements of the conduction system) in the chick heart. Functioning myocyte progenitors were virally tagged at embryonic day 3 of incubation (E3). Clonal beta-gal+ populations of cells, derived from myocytes infected at E3 were examined at 14 (E14) and 18 (E18) days of embryonic incubation. Here, we report that a subset of clonally related myocytes differentiates into conductile Purkinje fibers, invariably in close spatial association with forming coronary arterial blood vessels. These beta-gal+ myogenic clones, containing both working myocytes and Purkinje fibers, did not incorporate cells contributing to tissues of the central conduction system (e.g. atrioventricular ring and bundles). In quantitative analyses, we found that whereas the number of beta-gal+ myocyte nuclei per clone more than doubled between E14 and E18, the number of beta-gal+ Purkinje fiber nuclei remained constant. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Which elements of improvement collaboratives are most effective? A cluster-randomized trial.

AIMS Improvement collaboratives consisting of various components are used throughout health care to improve quality, but no study has identified which components work best. This study tested the effectiveness of different components in addiction treatment services, hypothesizing that a combination of all components would be most effective. DESIGN An unblinded cluster-randomized trial assigned clinics to one of four groups: interest circle calls (group teleconferences), clinic-level coaching, learning sessions (large face-to-face meetings) and a combination of all three. Interest circle calls functioned as a minimal intervention comparison group. SETTING Out-patient addiction treatment clinics in the United States. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred and one clinics in five states. MEASUREMENTS Clinic data managers submitted data on three primary outcomes: waiting-time (mean days between first contact and first treatment), retention (percentage of patients retained from first to fourth treatment session) and annual number of new patients. State and group costs were collected for a cost-effectiveness analysis. FINDINGS Waiting-time declined significantly for three groups: coaching (an average of 4.6 days/clinic, P = 0.001), learning sessions (3.5 days/clinic, P = 0.012) and the combination (4.7 days/clinic, P = 0.001). The coaching and combination groups increased significantly the number of new patients (19.5%, P = 0.028; 8.9%, P = 0.029; respectively). Interest circle calls showed no significant effect on outcomes. None of the groups improved retention significantly. The estimated cost per clinic was $2878 for coaching versus $7930 for the combination. Coaching and the combination of collaborative components were about equally effective in achieving study aims, but coaching was substantially more cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS When trying to improve the effectiveness of addiction treatment services, clinic-level coaching appears to help improve waiting-time and number of new patients while other components of improvement collaboratives (interest circles calls and learning sessions) do not seem to add further value.
Estimation of work capacity and work ability among plantation workers in South India

Background: Work capacity is the ability to perform real physical work, and work ability is a result of interaction of worker to his or her work that is how good a worker is at present, in near future, and how able is he or she to do his or her work with respect to work demands and health and mental resources. Objective: To assess the work capacity and work ability and to study the factors associated with work capacity and work ability of workers at a tea plantation in South India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tea plantation in Annamalai, South India, from March to May 2015. Data were collected using a structured interview schedule comprising of three parts as follows: sociodemographic data, work ability questionnaire, and work capacity assessment. Results: Of the 199 subjects participated in the study, majority [90 (45.3%)] were in the age group of 46-55 years, and 128 (64.3%) were females. Of the 199 workers, 12.6% had poor aerobic capacity (by Harvard Step test), 88.4% had an endurance of more than 1 h, 70.9% had better work productivity and energetic efficiency, and the voluntary activity workers spent most time on household chores. Of the 199 workers assessed, only 9.6% had good work ability. There is negative correlation between work ability and body mass index (BMI). Conclusion: Our study found 12.6% workers with poor aerobic capacity and 9.6% of workers with good work ability. Periodic health examinations and other screening procedures should be made as routine in workplace to improve work ability and capacity.
Developing Guidelines and Ensuring Consistency for Chinese Text Annotation

With growing interest in Chinese Language Processing, numerous NLP tools (e.g. word segmenters, part-of-speech taggers, and parsers) for Chinese have been developed all over the world. However, since no large-scale bracketed corpora are available to the public, these tools are trained on the corpora with different segmentation criteria, part-of-speech tagsets and bracketing guidelines, and therefore, comparisons are difficult. As a first step towards addressing this issue, we have been preparing a 100-thousand-word bracketed corpus since late 1998 and plan to release it to the public summer 2000. In this paper, we will address several challenges in building the corpus, namely, creating annotation guidelines, ensuring annotation accuracy and maintaining a high level of community involvement.
Safranin O as a rapid nuclear stain for fungi.

oidia in all liquid media (TABLE III) except for biotin-thiamine. Maximum germination of both basidiospores and oidia was obtained on agar media containing cornmeal and malt extract with malt-extract-liquid medium. Malt extract yielded similar germination percentages for solid and liquid media. Malt-extract media apparently provide a stimulatory substance in sufficient quantity to yield maximum percent germination.
Inhibition of Tissue Factor Expression in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells by Nanoparticles Loading NF-κB Decoy Oligonucleotides

To investigate a nuclear factor-kappa B decoy oligonucleotides strategy on the inhibition of tissue factor (TF) expression in cultured rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) by polylactic acid (PLA) nanoparticles delivery system and to evaluate this new vector for in vitro gene therapy. Nanoparticles were formulated using poly D,L-polylactic acid with surface modifying by polysorbates 80. 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assays showed that PLA nanoparticles were not toxic to the cultured BMECs.The decoy oligonuceotides (ODNs) loaded within nanoparticles was 6 μg/mg, encapsulation efficacy was (60.5±1.5)%. It was observed by flow cytometry that the cellular uptake of nanoparticles depended on the time of incubation and the concentration of nanoparticles in the medium. And confocal microscopy demonstrated that nanoparticles localized mostly in the BMECs cytoplasm. The released decoy oligonuceotides (ODNs) uptaked by BMECs retained their biologic activity and led to reduced level of tissue factor expression as compared to control cultures. These findings offer a potential therapeutic strategy in the control of TF expression in BMECs in vitro and suggest that PLA nanoparticles may be appropriate as delivery vehicles for decoy strategy in the gene therapy of cerebral thrombosis.