Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical investigations in patients with Parkinson's disease treated with L‐dopa

MANY REPORTS ATTEST to the therapeutic effectiveness of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Ldopa) in parkinsonism.1-6 It has also been observed, however, that about 20 to 30% of patients do not respond appreciably to the therapy.1-6 It is not known whether differences in the metabolic fate of the drug account for variations in response. The present work is an attempt to demonstrate biochemical differences in L-dopa metabolism between patients who improved with therapy and those who failed to respond to the treatment. The major pathway of L-dopa metabolism in man involves decarboxylation to dopamine (DA) ,7 which is presumed to be the central mediator of the therapeutic effect. This amine is either beta-hydroxylated to noradrenaline (NA) or inactivated by two alternative routes involving two enzymes, catechol-0-methyl transferase and monoamine oxidase. The major endogenous metabolite of DA is homovanillic acid (HVA) which results from the action of both enzymes. The same enzymes are involved in the inactivation of NA, the major metabolite being vanilmandelic acid (VMA) . In the present work, two different studies were done in patients with idiopathic parkinsonism treated with L-dopa. In the first study, the daily urinary excretion of L-dopa, DA, HVA, and VMA was measured and the results were correlated with the degree of clinical response. Since it has been suggested8 that the concentration of DA metabolite in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be a better mirror of dopa metabolism in brain than urinary levels, a second study consisted of measuring HVA concentration in CSF before and during dopa administration in a total of 21 patients. Again, the results were correlated with the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug.
Association of Sedentary Time with Mortality Independent of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity

Background Sedentary behavior has emerged as a novel health risk factor independent of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Previous studies have shown self-reported sedentary time to be associated with mortality; however, no studies have investigated the effect of objectively measured sedentary time on mortality independent of MVPA. The objective our study was to examine the association between objectively measured sedentary time and all-cause mortality. Methods 7-day accelerometry data of 1906 participants aged 50 and over from the U.S. nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 were analyzed. All-cause mortality was assessed from the date of examination through December 31, 2006. Results Over an average follow-up of 2.8 years, there were 145 deaths reported. In a model adjusted for sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, multiple morbidities, mobility limitation, and MVPA, participants in third quartile (hazard ratio (HR):4.05; 95%CI:1.55–10.60) and fourth quartile (HR:5.94; 95%CI: 2.49–14.15) of having higher percent sedentary time had a significantly increased risk of death compared to those in the lowest quartile. Conclusions Our study suggests that sedentary behavior is a risk factor for mortality independent of MVPA. Further investigation, including studies with longer follow-up, is needed to address the health consequences of sedentary behavior.
Genetic poverty of an extremely specialized wetland species, Nehalennia speciosa: implications for conservation (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Abstract Oligo- and mesotrophic wetlands, such as bogs, fens and swamps, have become more and more restricted in Europe, and wetland species related to them have increasingly been threatened. Due to increasing habitat fragmentation, the exchange of individuals of these species among sites and, as a consequence, gene flow has been reduced or even eliminated. Therefore, we analysed the genetic structure of 11 populations of an endangered stenotopic damselfly, Nehalennia speciosa (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), in Poland and Lithuania by means of allozyme electrophoresis of 14 gene loci. The overall genetic diversity of all populations was low (A: 1.32; H: 2.6%; Ptot: 29.2%), and no significant differences were observed among the different groupings of populations (degree of fragmentation, habitat type and size, population size). The genetic differentiation among populations was also low (FST: 2.0%) and no regional groups were detected. A low degree of isolation by distance was observed for genetic distances. Taking into account these results, the conservation effort for this species should be focused on large local populations and not necessarily on metapopulation structures. Furthermore, N. speciosa could be (re-)introduced in extinct patches and seemingly suitable localities. Genetically, such relocations should be feasible due to the generally high genetic homogeneity of populations.
Rapid typing of herpes simplex virus isolates by deoxyribonucleic acid:deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization

A method for typing clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus was developed. It utilizes hybridization between unlabeled deoxyribonucleic acid from infected cultures and tritium-labeled virus deoxyribonucleic acid, and it can be completed within a day using a single roller-tube culture of the clinical isolated. The data obtained are inherently quantitative, and the method yields unequivocal identification and typing. Thirty-nine coded clinical isolates were all correctly typed by this method.
Two Myristoylated Alanine‐Rich C‐Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) Paralogs are Required for Normal Development in Zebrafish

Myristoylated alanine‐rich C‐kinase substrate (MARCKS) is an actin binding protein substrate of protein kinase C (PKC) and critical for mouse and Xenopus development. Herein two MARCKS paralogs, marcksa and marcksb, are identified in zebrafish and the role of these genes in zebrafish development is evaluated. Morpholino‐based targeting of either MARCKS protein resulted in increased mortality and a range of gross phenotypic abnormalities. Phenotypic abnormalities were classified as mild, moderate or severe, which is characterized by a slight curve of a full‐length tail, a severe curve or twist of a full‐length tail and a truncated tail, respectively. All three phenotypes displayed abnormal neural architecture. Histopathology of Marcks targeted embryos revealed abnormalities in retinal layering, gill formation and skeletal muscle morphology. These results demonstrate that Marcksa and Marcksb are required for normal zebrafish development and suggest that zebrafish are a suitable model to further study MARCKS function. Anat Rec, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Renal and retinal effects of enalapril and losartan in type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND Nephropathy and retinopathy remain important complications of type 1 diabetes. It is unclear whether their progression is slowed by early administration of drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system. METHODS We conducted a multicenter, controlled trial involving 285 normotensive patients with type 1 diabetes and normoalbuminuria and who were randomly assigned to receive losartan (100 mg daily), enalapril (20 mg daily), or placebo and followed for 5 years. The primary end point was a change in the fraction of glomerular volume occupied by mesangium in kidney-biopsy specimens. The retinopathy end point was a progression on a retinopathy severity scale of two steps or more. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed with the use of linear regression and logistic-regression models. RESULTS A total of 90% and 82% of patients had complete renal-biopsy and retinopathy data, respectively. Change in mesangial fractional volume per glomerulus over the 5-year period did not differ significantly between the placebo group (0.016 units) and the enalapril group (0.005, P=0.38) or the losartan group (0.026, P=0.26), nor were there significant treatment benefits for other biopsy-assessed renal structural variables. The 5-year cumulative incidence of microalbuminuria was 6% in the placebo group; the incidence was higher with losartan (17%, P=0.01 by the log-rank test) but not with enalapril (4%, P=0.96 by the log-rank test). As compared with placebo, the odds of retinopathy progression by two steps or more was reduced by 65% with enalapril (odds ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.14 to 0.85) and by 70% with losartan (odds ratio, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.73), independently of changes in blood pressure. There were three biopsy-related serious adverse events that completely resolved. Chronic cough occurred in 12 patients receiving enalapril, 6 receiving losartan, and 4 receiving placebo. CONCLUSIONS Early blockade of the renin-angiotensin system in patients with type 1 diabetes did not slow nephropathy progression but slowed the progression of retinopathy. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00143949.)
Connectionism, Phonology, Reading, and Regularity in Developmental Dyslexia

Tests of the "phonological deficit" account of developmental dyslexia have produced apparently inconsistent results. We show how a connectionist approach to dyslexic reading development can resolve the paradox. A "dyslexic" model of reading was created by reducing the quality of the phonological representations available to the model during learning. The model behaved similarly to dyslexic children in that it had a selectively reduced ability to process nonwords, but showed normal effects of words' spelling-to-sound regularity. An experimental test of the model's predictions confirmed that dyslexic children perform similarly, in that they are impaired on irregular words to the same extent as nondyslexic children. It is concluded that developmentally dyslexic reading can indeed be understood in terms of impaired phonological representations and that the adoption of a modeling approach resolves an apparent paradox in the experimental literature.
DNA Condensation by Partially Acetylated Poly(amido amine) Dendrimers: Effects of Dendrimer Charge Density on Complex Formation

The ability of poly(amido amine) (or PAMAM) dendrimers to condense semiflexible dsDNA and penetrate cell membranes gives them great potential in gene therapy and drug delivery but their high positive surface charge makes them cytotoxic. Here, we describe the effects of partial neutralization by acetylation on DNA condensation using light scattering, circular dichroism, and single molecule imaging of dendrimer-DNA complexes combed onto surfaces and tethered to those surfaces under flow. We find that DNA can be condensed by generation-five (G5) dendrimers even when the surface charges are more than 65% neutralized, but that such dendrimers bind negligibly when an end-tethered DNA is stretched in flow. We also find that when fully charged dendrimers are introduced by flow to end-tethered DNA, all DNA molecules become equally highly coated with dendrimers at a rate that becomes very fast at high dendrimer concentration, and that dendrimers remain bound during subsequent flow of dendrimer-free buffer. These results suggest that the presence of dendrimer-free DNA coexisting with dendrimer-bound DNA after bulk mixing of the two in solution may result from diffusion-limited irreversible dendrimer-DNA binding, rather than, or in addition to, the previously proposed cooperative binding mechanism of dendrimers to DNA.
Emerging phenomena in neural networks with dynamic synapses and their computational implications

In this paper we review our research on the effect and computational role of dynamical synapses on feed-forward and recurrent neural networks. Among others, we report on the appearance of a new class of dynamical memories which result from the destabilization of learned memory attractors. This has important consequences for dynamic information processing allowing the system to sequentially access the information stored in the memories under changing stimuli. Although storage capacity of stable memories also decreases, our study demonstrated the positive effect of synaptic facilitation to recover maximum storage capacity and to enlarge the capacity of the system for memory recall in noisy conditions. Possibly, the new dynamical behavior can be associated with the voltage transitions between up and down states observed in cortical areas in the brain. We investigated the conditions for which the permanence times in the up state are power-law distributed, which is a sign for criticality, and concluded that the experimentally observed large variability of permanence times could be explained as the result of noisy dynamic synapses with large recovery times. Finally, we report how short-term synaptic processes can transmit weak signals throughout more than one frequency range in noisy neural networks, displaying a kind of stochastic multi-resonance. This effect is due to competition between activity-dependent synaptic fluctuations (due to dynamic synapses) and the existence of neuron firing threshold which adapts to the incoming mean synaptic input.
Prevalence of High Risk Oncogenic Human Papillomavirus Types in Cervical Smears of Women Attending Well Woman Clinic in Ile Ife, Nigeria

This study is aimed at estimating the prevalence of cervical infection with High risk Human Papillomavirus (HRHPV) in cervical smears of women attending the Well Woman Clinic of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife. This is a community based clinic where women are screened for cervical, breast and other female related diseases. This is a prospective cross-sectional observational study. Information was obtained through personal interviews using structured questionnaire. Cervical samples were collected from 118 consenting women visiting the clinic during the study period. Conventional Pap smear was obtained and smear results were classified using Bethesda classification, 2001. HPV DNA was detected using the hybribio 21 HPV Geno array test kit which uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), amplification and flow through hybridization. The data obtained were analyzed using simple and inferential statistics. The mean age of the participants was 42.9 years (SD ± 10.9). A total of nine different HR-HPV types were identified with an HPV prevalence of 21.6% overall and 22.7% among women with cervical lesions. The predominant HR-HPV types were HPV 16, 53, 18 and 52. In all, 41.7% of the infections involved more than one HPV type. Unlike in most populations studied so far, HPV prevalence was high not only among young women, but also in middle and old age. It was also observed that the prevalence of HR-HPV increases with parity. This study shows that HPV 53 is the second most common type after HPV 16 in our environment. High prevalence of HR-HPV in all age group may be a distinctive feature of our population of women where HPV transmission continues into the middle age and cervical cancer incidence is very high.
Constructive Formulations of Resonant Maxwell's Equations

In this article we propose new constructive weak formulations for resonant time-harmonic wave equations with singular solutions. Our approach follows the limiting absorption principle and combines standard weak formulations of PDEs with properties of elementary special functions adapted to the singularity of the solutions, called manufactured solutions. We show the well-posedness of several formulations obtained by these means for the limit problem in dimension one, and propose a generalization in dimension two.
Systematic inequality and hierarchy in faculty hiring networks

An analysis of networks of graduate-to-faculty hires reveals systematic hiring biases and patterns. The faculty job market plays a fundamental role in shaping research priorities, educational outcomes, and career trajectories among scientists and institutions. However, a quantitative understanding of faculty hiring as a system is lacking. Using a simple technique to extract the institutional prestige ranking that best explains an observed faculty hiring network—who hires whose graduates as faculty—we present and analyze comprehensive placement data on nearly 19,000 regular faculty in three disparate disciplines. Across disciplines, we find that faculty hiring follows a common and steeply hierarchical structure that reflects profound social inequality. Furthermore, doctoral prestige alone better predicts ultimate placement than a U.S. News & World Report rank, women generally place worse than men, and increased institutional prestige leads to increased faculty production, better faculty placement, and a more influential position within the discipline. These results advance our ability to quantify the influence of prestige in academia and shed new light on the academic system.
Thrombospondin-1/CD47 Blockade following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Is Tissue Protective

Background: Nitric oxide has prosurvival effects that can limit ischemia-reperfusion injuries. However, the matrix glycoprotein thrombospondin-1 is induced following ischemia-reperfusion injury and limits nitric oxide signaling by engaging its cell surface receptor CD47. In this article, the authors examine whether postinjury blocking of this inhibitory signal can protect from ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat flap model. Methods: A total of 40 tissue flaps were created in rats based solely on the deep inferior epigastric vessels. Microvascular clamps were used to create 45 minutes of ischemia time to the flaps. The flaps were then treated using a monoclonal antibody to CD47 or an isotype-matched control immunoglobulin G1 5 or 30 minutes after clamp removal. Twenty-four or 72 hours postoperatively, the necrotic area of the flap was determined, and serum, deep inferior epigastric vessels, and flaps were harvested for analysis from five rats in each respective group. Results: Treatment with a CD47 antibody 5 minutes after reperfusion significantly reduces flap necrosis compared with immunoglobulin G1 control (9 percent versus 43 percent; p < 0.01). The protective effect is even more dramatic when treatment is delayed until 30 minutes after reperfusion (10 percent versus 88 percent for control; p < 0.01). Markers of neutrophil and endothelial cell activation along with total leukocytes are reduced in CD47 antibody–treated flaps, as are tissue malondialdehyde levels. Levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate are elevated 72 hours postoperatively in the CD47 antibody–treated deep inferior epigastric vessels versus the control flaps. Conclusions: Therapies targeting the thrombospondin-1 receptor CD47 offer potential for increasing tissue survival in ischemia-reperfusion injuries. The ability to protect when given after ischemia-reperfusion injury enables a broader clinical applicability.
Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor –308G/A Promoter Polymorphism with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Affective Disorder in a Polish Population

Background/Aims: Schizophrenia (SCH) and bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) are complex disorders with significant participation of genetic risk factors. Several lines of evidence point to the role of shared neurobiological mechanisms and common genetic background in SCH and BPAD. Immune disturbances have been suggested as contributing factor in the pathogenesis of both SCH and BPAD. The gene coding cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been the object of a number of association studies in SCH, with ambiguous results. Only 3 such studies were performed in BPAD. The aim of our study was to perform a case-control association analysis of the TNF –308G/A polymorphism in a Polish sample of patients with SCH, BPAD and healthy controls. Methods: We genotyped the TNF –308G/A polymorphism (rs1800629) by PCR-RFLP in 348 patients with SCH, 361 patients with BPAD and in 351 controls. Results: We observed an association of the –308G allele with both SCH (p = 0.008) and BPAD (p = 0.039), and also with a positive family history in patients with SCH (p = 0.048) and BPAD (p = 0.027). For TNF genotypes, the association was only seen in SCH (p = 0.018). Conclusions: Our results may point to an association of the TNF –308G allele and –308G/G genotype with both SCH and BPAD, and to a relationship of the –308G allele with the risk of SCH and BPAD in patients with a positive family history. TNF could be potentially a susceptibility gene, shared between SCH and BPAD. Complex TNF gene studies – based on multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms and involving haplotype analysis – are necessary for the clarification of currently contradictory findings.
LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY AND REDISTRIBUTION

This paper investigates the effect of linguistic diversity on redistribution in a broad cross-section of countries. We use the notion of "linguistic distances" and show that the commonly used fractionalization index, which ignores linguistic distances, yields insignificant results. However, once distances between languages are accounted for, linguistic diversity has both a statistically and economically significant effect on redistribution. With an average level of redistribution of 9.5% of GDP in our data set, an increase by one standard deviation in the degree of diversity lowers redistribution by approximately one percentage point. We also demonstrate that other measures, such as polarization and peripheral heterogeneity, provide similar results when linguistic distances are incorporated. (JEL: D6, D74, H5, Z10) (c) 2009 by the European Economic Association.
When Do Spinouts Enhance Parent Firm Performance? Evidence from the U.S. Automobile Industry, 1890-1986

Spinouts-entrepreneurial ventures founded by ex-employees of incumbent firms within the same industry-have emerged in numerous industries. Some existing literature argues that they typically have a negative association with their parents' performance because of the loss of human capital, the disruption of organizational routines, and subsequent adverse competitive effects. More recent work, however, suggests that such negative effects may have been overstated and argues that there are conditions under which spinouts may be linked to enhanced performance of the parent. I contribute to this literature by theorizing about and empirically testing for such conditions. In particular, using data from the U.S. automobile industry spanning 1890 to 1986, I find evidence that spinouts are associated with enhanced parent performance when they increase the parent's corporate coherence either through a the core competencies and capabilities domain by refocusing the parent's resources on the core or b the cognitive path by resolving a conflict at the top level of the parent's hierarchy. I discuss implications for both research and practice.
On General Laws and the Meaning of Measurement in Psychology

Abstract : Lately the statistical methods of psychometrics have been severely criticized in psychological quarters. Thus Skinner [1] maintains that if order is to be found in human and animal behavior, then it should be extracted from investigations into individuals, and that psychometric methods are inadequate for such purposes since they deal with groups of individuals. And as regards abnormal psychology Zubin [2] states: Recourse must be had to individual statistics, treating each patient as a separate universe. Unfortunately, present day statistical methods are entirely group-centered, so that there is a real need for developing individual-centered statistics. In a recently published book [3] I have developed three models for reactions to certain attainment tests and intelligence tests.
Hymenoptera ultra‐rush venom immunotherapy (210 min): a safety study and risk factors

Background In this study, which summarizes our last 5 years of experience, we evaluated the side‐effects of ultra‐rush venom immunotherapy and the possibility to define some risk factors for side‐effects as age, Hymenoptera venom used for treatment, treatment phase, severity of prior insect sting reaction, concentration of skin test positivity, and level of specific IgE.