Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impaired glucose metabolism slows executive function independent of cerebral ischemic lesions in Japanese elderly: the Takahata study.

OBJECTIVE Age is known to influence the risk of both cerebral ischemic lesions and impaired cognitive function. Diabetes mellitus (DM) can also be associated with cognitive impairment. However, there has been no study of neuropsychological performance in association with glucose metabolism status and cerebral ischemic lesions in same-aged, community-dwelling elderly persons. The present study was performed to clarify which cognitive domains are associated with impaired glucose metabolism/DM and whether the association is independent of cerebral ischemic lesions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A total of 172 residents in Takahata, Japan, all of whom were 78 years old, were evaluated in multiple domains through neuropsychological tests and brain MR images, as well as a medical check-up including tests for glucose metabolism status and conventional vascular risk factors. Glucose metabolism status was determined by analysis of HbA1c level. RESULTS In multiple regression analyses, performance on a verbal fluency (VF) test and the Trail Making Test-Part B, both of which represent executive function, was associated with HbA1c level, even after adjustment for sex, education, cerebral ischemic lesions, and conventional vascular risk factors. The subjects with DM also showed lower VF scores than did those without DM. CONCLUSION The results of the present study demonstrate that impaired glucose metabolism, independent of the conventional vascular risk factors and cerebral ischemic lesions, may be associated with a decline in executive function in community-dwelling elderly.
Domestic Violence Among AFDC Recipients: Implications for Welfare-to-Work Programs

This article reports on a 1996 prevalence study of domestic violence and other partne and family-related problems among 404 female aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) recipients in the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area. Almost one third of the women had been abused sometime in their lives, and 10% had been abused in the past year. The women stated that abuse or lack of support reduced their ability to work, but not as often as did lack of child care and transportation. Thus, domestic violence may affect women's success in finding and keeping jobs.
Novel gcm‐dependent lineages in the postembryonic nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster

glial cells missing genes (gcm and gcm2) act as the glial fate determinants in the Drosophila embryo. However, their requirement in the adult central nervous system (CNS) is at present not known, except for their role in lamina glia. This is particularly important with respect to two recent sets of data. Adult glial subpopulations differentiate through embryonic glia proliferation. Also, gcm‐gcm2 are required for the differentiation of specific adult neurons. We here show that gcm is expressed in precursors and postmitotic, migrating, cells of the medulla neuropile glia (mng) lineage. It is also expressed in a thoracic glial lineage and in neurons of the ventral nerve cord (VNC). Finally, while gcm is required for gliogenesis in medulla and VNC, it does not seem to be required for the generation of VNC neurons. Developmental Dynamics 236:2101–2108, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gray Matters: Fetal Pollution Exposure and Human Capital Formation

This paper examines the impact of fetal exposure to air pollution on fourth-grade test scores in Santiago, Chile. We rely on comparisons across siblings which address concerns about locational sorting (for nonmovers) and all other time-invariant family characteristics that can lead to endogenous exposure to poor environmental quality. We also exploit data on air quality alerts to help address concerns related to short-run time-varying avoidance behavior, which has been shown to be important in a number of other contexts. We find a strong negative effect from fetal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) and correlated pollutants (like PM10) on math and language skills measured in fourth grade. These effects are economically significant, and our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the 50% reduction in CO in Santiago between 1990 and 2005 increased lifetime earnings by approximately US$100 million per birth cohort.
Carotenoid availability affects the development of a colour-based mate preference and the sensory bias to which it is genetically linked

Regardless of their origins, mate preferences should, in theory, be shaped by their benefits in a mating context. Here we show that the female preference for carotenoid colouration in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, confirming a key prediction of sexual selection theory. Earlier work indicated that this mate preference is genetically linked to, and may be derived from, a sensory bias that occurs in both sexes: attraction to orange objects. The original function of this sensory bias is unknown, but it may help guppies find orange-coloured fruits in the rainforest streams of Trinidad. We show that the sensory bias also exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, but only in females. The sex-specificity of this reaction norm argues against the hypothesis that it evolved in a foraging context. We infer instead that the sensory bias has been modified as a correlated effect of selection on the mate preference. These results provide a new type of support for the hypothesis that mate preferences for sexual characters evolve in response to the benefits of mate choice—the alternatives being that such preferences evolve entirely in a non-mating context or in response to the costs of mating.
Clinical and surgical recurrence of Crohn's disease after ileocolonic resection in a specialist unit

Background Postoperative clinical and endoscopic recurrence is common in Crohn's disease. Aim We aimed to assess postoperative recurrence and management in a cross-sectional patient cohort in one specialist unit, before the introduction of a uniform postoperative preventive strategy. Methods Review of patients who had an ileocolonic resection for Crohn's disease between 2002 and 2005 in a secondary and tertiary care specialist centre. Results Ninety-nine patients (42 male; 57 female; mean age, 37 years) with a median disease duration of 10 years, were reviewed. Indications for surgery were obstruction (n=61), failed medical therapy (n=31) and internal fistula(e) (n=7). Thirty patients (30%) were active smokers at the time of resection. Fifty patients (51%) had at least one previous Crohn's resection. Clinical and surgical recurrence rates were 28 and 5%, respectively, at 1 year. All five patients had the same indication for their further surgery as for their index operation (four fistulizing or stricturing). Median time to clinical recurrence was 10 months in those with recurrence. Nineteen percent of patients had an ileocolonoscopy at a median of 6 months after surgery, and 60% had been reviewed by a gastroenterologist, after surgery. Clinical recurrence occurred in nine of 28 (32%) without and 19 of 71 with (26%) postoperative medical therapy (P=NS). Conclusion Postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease was high in the short term. The indication for repeat surgery stayed true within patients. Prospective treatment strategies, based on recent trial evidence, are needed to diminish postoperative recurrence.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibition reduces degeneration of dopaminergic substantia nigra neurons and projections in 6‐OHDA treated adult rats

The survival of injured adult dopaminergic substantia nigra pars compacta neurons can be promoted by various neurotrophic factors. Most neurotrophic factor receptors are activated by intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation upon ligand binding and are subsequently inactivated or dephosphorylated by protein tyrosine phosphatases. This raised the possibility that tyrosine phosphatase inhibition might improve neuronal survival. Here, we infused the stable water‐soluble tyrosine phosphatase‐specific inhibitor, peroxovanadium [potassium bisperoxo(1,10‐phenanthroline)oxovanadate (V) (bpV(phen))], for 14 days close to the substantia nigra starting immediately after a unilateral moderate injury by injection of the neurotoxin 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) into the midbrain of adult Sprague–Dawley rats. The dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons were identified by retrograde tracing with fluorogold 7 days prior to the injury. With infusion of 3 or 10 µm peroxovanadium, 75% of these neurons survived compared to 45% in vehicle‐infused rats. Degeneration of the dopaminergic projections to the neostriatum was also reduced by 10 µm peroxovanadium. Twenty minutes after an acute injection of peroxovanadium into the substantia nigra, increased tyrosine phosphorylation in Western blots of nigral extracts was seen in the same protein bands as after injections of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or NT‐4. This suggests that peroxovanadium enhances endogenous neurotrophic signalling resulting in improved neuronal survival. The neuroprotective effects of this small molecule protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor represent a proof‐of‐principle for a novel treatment strategy in a model for Parkinson's disease.
SYMPATHETIC SKIN RESPONSE AND R-R INTERVAL VARIATION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: Two Simple Tests for the Assessment of Autonomic Function

Autonomic nervous system involvement with peripheral neuropathy is a well known complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the assessment of autonomic function of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we performed sympathetic skin response (SSR) and R-R interval variation (RRIV) tests in 30 patients and in 30 normal controls. Of 30 patients, 5 had complaints of clinical dysautonomic symptoms. SSRs were abnormal in 6 of 30 patients, whereas 8 showed abnormal RRIVs during deep breathing. Nine of 30 patients also showed electrophysiologic evidence of peripheral neuropathy. All 5 of the patients with clinical dysautonomic symptoms showed abnormal SSR and RRIV test results. No patient with normal results on both tests had clinical dysautonomia. This study showed that there are frequent abnormalities in SSR and RRIV tests in patients with rheumatoid arthritis whether there is a clinical symptom of autonomic dysfunction or not.
Use of an IC Recorder as a voice output memory aid for patients with prospective memory impairment

This study evaluated the use of an IC Recorder as a voice output memory aid for patients with prospective memory impairment. The IC Recorder can output about 300 previously recorded messages at programmed times. The spoken messages prompted various daily tasks for eight patients with acquired memory impairments. One of these tasks, such as diary writing, or a letter-writing exercise was selected for each patient as a main task, and its completion was logged. These completion data demonstrated that the messages output by the IC Recorder were highly effective in prompting the main tasks for five of the eight patients. This study suggests that the IC Recorder has great potential as a voice output memory aid to assist patients with prospective memory impairment.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN JAPANESE AND EGYPTIAN STUDENTS

The present study aimed to identify the differences between Japanese and Egyptian university students in psychological well-being (PWB). Japanese students (n = 138; 87 females and 51 males) and Egyptian students (n = 150; 84 females and 66 males) responded to a psychological well-being inventory. The results indicated that there are significant differences between Japanese and Egyptian students, with Japanese students scoring higher levels in autonomy and personal growth, and Egyptian students scoring higher levels in environmental control, self-acceptance, purpose in life, and positive relationships with others. No significant differences were observed for total psychological well-being score. We conclude that sex has a significant effect on self-acceptance only among the Egyptian samples, but has no significant effect in the Japanese student group. The findings are discussed in relation to psycho-social perspective and other cross-cultural studies.
Path Analysis: An Introduction and Analysis of a Decade of Research

The authors review the use and interpretations of path analyses in articles published in The Journal of Educational Research from 1992 to 2002 and discuss related issues. This article provides (a) a brief introduction to path analysis, (b) suggested guidelines and recommendations for reporting results, (c) a sample of a model path analysis, (d) evaluation of the JER path analysis articles, and (e) concluding remarks.
Ex vivo evaluation of the accuracy of two electronic apex locators during root canal length determination in primary teeth.

AIM To evaluate ex vivo the accuracy of two electronic apex locators during root canal length determination in primary incisor and molar teeth with different stages of physiological root resorption. METHODOLOGY One calibrated examiner determined the root canal length in 17 primary incisors and 16 primary molars (total of 57 root canals) with different stages of root resorption based on the actual canal length and using two electronic apex locators. Root canal length was measured both visually, with the placement of a K-file 1 mm short of the apical foramen or the apical resorption bevel, and electronically using two electronic apex locators (Root ZX II--J. Morita Corp. and Mini Apex Locator--SybronEndo) according to the manufacturers' instructions. Data were analysed statistically using the intraclass correlation (ICC) test. RESULTS Comparison of the actual root canal length and the electronic root canal length measurements revealed high correlation (ICC = 0.99), regardless of the tooth type (single-rooted and multi-rooted teeth) or the presence/absence of physiological root resorption. CONCLUSIONS Root ZX II and Mini Apex Locator proved useful and accurate for apex foramen location during root canal length measurement in primary incisors and molars.
Open Access Research Article Comparison and Calibration of Transcriptome Data from Rna-seq and Tiling Arrays

Background: Tiling arrays have been the tool of choice for probing an organism's transcriptome without prior assumptions about the transcribed regions, but RNA-Seq is becoming a viable alternative as the costs of sequencing continue to decrease. Understanding the relative merits of these technologies will help researchers select the appropriate technology for their needs. Results: Here, we compare these two platforms using a matched sample of poly(A)-enriched RNA isolated from the second larval stage of C. elegans. We find that the raw signals from these two technologies are reasonably well correlated but that RNA-Seq outperforms tiling arrays in several respects, notably in exon boundary detection and dynamic range of expression. By exploring the accuracy of sequencing as a function of depth of coverage, we found that about 4 million reads are required to match the sensitivity of two tiling array replicates. The effects of cross-hybridization were analyzed using a "nearest neighbor" classifier applied to array probes; we describe a method for determining potential "black list" regions whose signals are unreliable. Finally, we propose a strategy for using RNA-Seq data as a gold standard set to calibrate tiling array data. All tiling array and RNA-Seq data sets have been submitted to the modENCODE Data Coordinating Center. Conclusions: Tiling arrays effectively detect transcript expression levels at a low cost for many species while RNA-Seq provides greater accuracy in several regards. Researchers will need to carefully select the technology appropriate to the biological investigations they are undertaking. It will also be important to reconsider a comparison such as ours as sequencing technologies continue to evolve. Background Unbiased, high-throughput analytical methods are essential tools for identifying novel RNAs, discerning alternative splicing isoforms, and determining gene expression levels. Tiling arrays have been the investigative tool of choice and continue to lead to novel discoveries. They effectively identify novel transcribed regions [1-4] and quantify expression levels [5]. They were recently employed in the discovery of ubiquitous bidirectional promoters in yeast [6], and microarrays tiling certain regions of the human genome were used to find new sets of conserved lincRNAs [7].
Antibiotic resistant infections with antibiotic-impregnated Bactiseal catheters for ventriculoperitoneal shunts

Background. Shunts remain the commonest means by which hydrocephalus is treated. Despite the changes in valve and catheter technology, shunt infection and blockage are still a cause of great headache for the patient as well as the neurosurgeon. Antibiotic-laced catheters were proposed as a means by which to reduce shunt colonization and infection. Methods. We present our experience of 52 months of Bactiseal catheters in all consecutive patients who underwent a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt from July 2004 to November 2008, under the care of one neurosurgeon. This was a prospective study with outcome measures of infection, blockage, intra and postoperative complications and revision surgery. Results. One hundred and twenty-five patients underwent VP shunting with Bactiseal catheters, with a combination of NSC, Strata and Burr Hole valves. The age range of the patients was from 1 week premature to 64-years old. Forty-two of the patients were paediatric. The aetiology for hydrocephalus included posterior fossa tumoursto intra-ventricular haemorrhage, post-meningitic hydrocephalus and aqueduct stenosis. The overall complication rate was 12%. The following complications occurred: blockage in two cases; haemorrhage and blockage in two cases; CSF leak in one case; infection in four cases; other in three cases (peritoneal adhesions, wound erosion and postoperative peritonitis). There were four infections in total (3.2%). All of these occurred within six months of implantation. All infections were caused by rifampicin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. Conclusion. In an era of increasing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) resistance and ‘superbugs’, is the use of antibiotic-laced catheters adding to the pool of resistant bacteria which may be harder to treat? Vigilance is required, as rare and resistant staphylococci strains occasionally can emerge as causative agents for VP shunt infections, in both adults and children, and their treatment can be difficult.
Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and associated risk factors among adults in Xi’an, China

AbstractTo investigate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, and the associated risk factors among adults in Xi’an, China.From October to December 2013, participants in Xi’an, China were recruited for the study by using a multiple-stage sampling method. A self-developed questionnaire with an additional health examination was used to collect data on the history of hypertension diagnosis and antihypertensive medication. The status on prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were analyzed and related risk factors were identified by using logistic regression analysis.A total of 8193 participants were included with an overall prevalence of hypertension of 20.4%. Among the hypertensive participants, 63.7% were aware of their conditions, 47.3% took antihypertensive medication, and 17.8% had their blood pressure (BP) controlled within 140/90 mm Hg. More complications and less frequent BP measurements were associated with hypertension. Older participants, non-drinkers, and those with more complications and more frequent BP measurements were more aware of their hypertension. Being older, living in an urban area, and having more frequent BP measurements were all factors for better treatment. Participants who were women, living in an urban area, with a higher educational level and who were not obese were more likely to have their hypertension controlled.The prevalence of hypertension among adults in Xi’an is high with suboptimal low awareness, treatment, and control rates. Further comprehensive integrated strategies based on these risk factors should be taken into account in order to improve the prevention, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension.
Solving job shop layout problem using ant colony optimization technique

In this paper the facility layout problem is being solved for a job shop type layout. The objective may be stated as the formulation of an algorithmic approach, which will allow plant layout problems to be solved for multiple factors, handle qualitative and quantitative factors similarly, and a meta-heuristic, which will generate a good plant layout quickly, A new optimization technique known as ant colony optimization technique is gaining momentum, it is a multiagent approach, and is found effective in solving combinatorial optimization problem.
A query language and optimization techniques for unstructured data

A new kind of data model has recently emerged in which the database is not constrained by a conventional schema. Systems like ACeDB, which has become very popular with biologists, and the recent Tsimmis proposal for data integration organize data in tree-like structures whose components can be used equally well to represent sets and tuples. Such structures allow great flexibility y in data representation.What query language is appropriate for such structures? Here we propose a simple language UnQL for querying data organized as a rooted, edge-labeled graph. In this model, relational data may be represented as fixed-depth trees, and on such trees UnQL is equivalent to the relational algebra. The novelty of UnQL consists in its programming constructs for arbitrarily deep data and for cyclic structures. While strictly more powerful than query languages with path expressions like XSQL, UnQL can still be efficiently evaluated. We describe new optimization techniques for the deep or "vertical" dimension of UnQL queries. Furthermore, we show that known optimization techniques for operators on flat relations apply to the "horizontal" dimension of UnQL.
Against a high-risk strategy in the prevention of suicide

Standard approaches to the prevention of suicide have concentrated on the rigorous assessment and management of suicidal risk. Using deliberate self-harm as a specific example, we discuss the relative merits of this ‘high-risk’ strategy and compare it with a population-based preventive strategy. We conclude that a combined approach offers the best hope for reducing the rate of suicide, although it may not fit easily with medical models of care.