Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multislice human organ extraction based on GVF

Segmentation techniques based on active contours algorithm are widely used in medical imaging. Unfortunately, they require a lot of parameters to be used and this can represent an issue for those physicians with not much informatics skills. This paper proposes a software tool which allows to segment multiple slice can differ organ extraction setting a small number of parameters. Moreover, the tool offers the functionality to perform a multiple segmentation the same time, so that an entire volume composed by hundreds slices can be segmented.
Task-oriented quality measures for dextrous grasping

We propose a new and efficient approach to compute task oriented quality measures for dextrous grasps. Tasks can be specified as a single wrench to be applied, as a rough direction in form of a wrench cone, or as a complex wrench polytope. Based on the linear matrix inequality formalism to treat the friction cone constraints we formulate respective convex optimization problems, whose solutions give the maximal applicable wrench in the task direction together with the needed contact forces. Numerical experiments show that application to complex grasps with many contacts is possible.
Gene Recruitment of the Activated INO1 Locus to the Nuclear Membrane

The spatial arrangement of chromatin within the nucleus can affect reactions that occur on the DNA and is likely to be regulated. Here we show that activation of INO1 occurs at the nuclear membrane and requires the integral membrane protein Scs2. Scs2 antagonizes the action of the transcriptional repressor Opi1 under conditions that induce the unfolded protein response (UPR) and, in turn, activate INO1. Whereas repressed INO1 localizes throughout the nucleoplasm, the gene is recruited to the nuclear periphery upon transcriptional activation. Recruitment requires the transcriptional activator Hac1, which is produced upon induction of the UPR, and is constitutive in a strain lacking Opi1. Artificial recruitment of INO1 to the nuclear membrane permits activation in the absence of Scs2, indicating that the intranuclear localization of a gene can profoundly influence its mechanism of activation. Gene recruitment to the nuclear periphery, therefore, is a dynamic process and appears to play an important regulatory role.
Prior intention can locally tune inhibitory processes in the primary motor cortex: direct evidence from combined TMS‐EEG

Human subjects are able to prepare cognitively to resist an involuntary movement evoked by a suprathreshold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) by anticipatory selective modulation of corticospinal excitability. Uncovering how the sensorimotor cortical network is involved in this process could reveal directly how a prior intention can tune the intrinsic dynamics of M1 before any peripheral intervention. Here, we used combined TMS‐EEG to study the cortical integrative processes that are engaged both in the preparation to react to TMS (Resist vs. Assist) and in the subsequent response to it. During the preparatory period, the contingent negative variation (CNV) amplitude was found to be smaller over central electrodes (FC1, C1, Cz) when preparing to resist compared with preparing to assist the evoked movement whereas α‐oscillation power was similar in the two conditions. Following TMS, the amplitude of the TMS evoked‐N100 component was higher in the Resist than in the Assist condition for some central electrodes (FCz, C1, Cz, CP1, CP3). Moreover, for six out of eight subjects, a single‐trial‐based analysis revealed a negative correlation between CNV amplitude and N100 amplitude. In conclusion, prior intention can tune the excitability of M1. When subjects prepare to resist a TMS‐evoked movement, the anticipatory processes cause a decreased cortical excitability by locally increasing the inhibitory processes.
Effect of selective cyclooxygenase‐2 inhibitor meloxicam on liver fibrosis in rats with ligated common bile ducts

Aim: Cholestasis triggers fibrogenesis in the liver. Hepatic cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) expression increases in various chronic liver diseases caused either by viruses or toxins. We hypothesized that selective COX‐2 inhibitor meloxicam could suppress inflammation and fibrogenesis in a rat model of cholestasis induced by bile duct ligation (BDL).
Methodological quality of systematic reviews and clinical trials on women's health published in a Brazilian evidence-based health journal

OBJECTIVES: To assess the quality of systematic reviews and clinical trials on women's health recently published in a Brazilian evidence-based health journal. METHOD: All systematic reviews and clinical trials on women's health published in the last five years in the Brazilian Journal of Evidence-based Health were retrieved. Two independent reviewers critically assessed the methodological quality of reviews and trials using AMSTAR and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Table, respectively. RESULTS: Systematic reviews and clinical trials accounted for less than 10% of the 61 original studies on women's health published in the São Paulo Medical Journal over the last five years. All five reviews were considered to be of moderate quality; the worst domains were publication bias and the appropriate use of study quality in formulating conclusions. All three clinical trials were judged to have a high risk of bias. The participant blinding, personnel and outcome assessors and allocation concealment domains had the worst scores. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the systematic reviews and clinical trials on women's health recently published in a Brazilian evidence-based journal are of low to moderate quality. The quality of these types of studies needs improvement.
Auditory Temporal Processing and Working Memory: Two Independent Deficits for Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a neuro-cognitive disorder with a strong genetic basis, characterized by a difficulty in acquiring reading skills. Several hypotheses have been suggested in an attempt to explain the origin of dyslexia, among which some have suggested that dyslexic readers might have a deficit in auditory temporal processing, while others hypothesized that dyslexia origins from a deficit in working memory. The current study was designed to test whether working memory and/or auditory temporal processing can predict reading ability in normal and dyslexic readers. Fifty-three adults were diagnosed with phonological dyslexia and 46 normal reading adults were tested on reading regular words, auditory temporal order judgment, and backward digit span. The results are that: For dyslexic readers, both auditory temporal processing and working memory are correlated with reading, even after controlling for their covariance. However, no correlation between reading measures, temporal processing and working memory are found for normal readers. The conclusions are that: (1) Both auditory temporal processing and working memory are significantly involved in reading among dyslexic readers; and (2) Dyslexic readers might use more different reading strategies than normal readers do, who apparently are not involved in auditory temporal processing and working memory while reading.
Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice Process: Prosecutors, Judges, and the Effects of United States v. Booker

Current empirical estimates of racial and other unwarranted disparities in sentencing suffer from two pervasive flaws. The first is a focus on the sentencing stage in isolation. Studies control for the “presumptive sentence” or closely related measures that are themselves the product of discretionary charging, plea-bargaining, and fact-finding processes. Any disparities in these earlier processes are built into the control variable, which leads to misleading sentencing-disparity estimates. The second problem is specific to studies of sentencing reforms: they use loose methods of causal inference that do not disentangle the effects of reform from surrounding events and trends. This Article explains these problems and presents an analysis that corrects them and reaches very different results from the existing literature. We address the first problem by using a dataset that traces cases from arrest to sentencing and by examining disparities across all post-arrest stages. We find that most of the otherwise-unexplained racial disparities in sentencing can be explained by prosecutors’ choices to bring mandatory minimum charges. We address the problem of disentangling trends using a rigorous method called regression discontinuity design. We apply it to assess the effects of the loosening of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines in United States v. Booker. Contrary to prominent recent studies, we find that Booker did not increase disparity, and may have reduced it.
Infective spondylodiscitis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a case series

Abstract Infective spondylodiscitis is a rare disease. This case review describes the clinical course, risk factors, and outcomes of adult patients on maintenance hemodialysis who presented with infective spondylodiscitis at a single medical center in Taiwan. There were 18 cases (mean age: 64.9 ± 10.8 years) over more than 10 years. Analysis of underlying diseases indicated that 50% of patients had diabetes, 55.6% had hypertension, 55.6% had coronary artery disease, 22.2% had congestive heart failure, 22.2% had a cerebral vascular accident, 16.7% had liver cirrhosis, and 11.1% had malignancies. Sixty-one percent of patients had a degenerative spinal disease and the most common symptom was back pain (83.3%). A total of 38.9% of patients had leukocytosis, 99.4% had elevated levels of C-reactive protein, 78.6% had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and 55.6% had elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase. The average hemodialysis duration was 72.8 ± 87.5 months, and 8 patients (44.4%) started hemodialysis within 1 year prior to infective spondylodiscitis. Four patients (22.2%) had vascular access infection-associated spondylodiscitis. The lumbar region was the most common location of infection (77.8%), 44.4% of patients developed abscesses, and Staphylococci were the most common pathogen (38.9%). The mortality rate was 16.7%, all due to sepsis. Thirty-three percent of the survivors had recurrent infective spondylodiscitis within 1 year. Infective spondylodiscitis should be considered in hemodialysis patients who present with prolonged back pain with or without fever. Non-contrast MRI is an appropriate diagnostic tool for this condition. Vascular access infection increases the risk for infective spondylodiscitis in hemodialysis patients.
DRAFT : Preliminary and Incomplete Comments Welcome Competing with Free : The Impact of Movie Broadcasts on DVD Sales and Internet Piracy

Movie studios have long believed that the presence of home recording technology significantly damages the marketability of movies broadcast on free television. This issue has gained renewed importance recently with the advent of high-definition digital television, causing the movie studios to argue that unless copy protection is included in digital television standards, it will no longer be profitable for them to show movies through unprotected over-the-air broadcast channels. Their concern is that digital transmission standards and personal video recorders will allow consumers and pirates to make perfect digital copies of movie broadcasts, resulting in increased piracy and reduced demand for DVDs. We empirically analyze these concerns and find that the dominant impact of movie broadcasts is to stimulate DVD sales. DVD sales increase by an average of 345-399% immediately after a movie is shown on broadcast TV. These sales gains are approximately four times larger than sales gains from copy protected cable broadcasts. However, we also find evidence that movie broadcasts stimulate piracy and that movies with pirated copies available through BitTorrent experience a lower DVD sales gain after broadcast than movies that do not have pirated copies available through BitTorrent do. These findings should be should be encouraging to movie studios exploring new ways to monetize their content. These findings should also provide new empirical evidence in the Congressional debate over the broadcast flag and other copy protection technologies in over-the-air TV broadcasts.
Epigenetic Programming of the rRNA Promoter by MBD3

Within the human genome there are hundreds of copies of the rRNA gene, but only a fraction of these genes are active. Silencing through epigenetics has been extensively studied; however, it is essential to understand how active rRNA genes are maintained. Here, we propose a role for the methyl-CpG binding domain protein MBD3 in epigenetically maintaining active rRNA promoters. We show that MBD3 is localized to the nucleolus, colocalizes with upstream binding factor, and binds to unmethylated rRNA promoters. Knockdown of MBD3 by small interfering RNA results in increased methylation of the rRNA promoter coupled with a decrease in RNA polymerase I binding and pre-rRNA transcription. Conversely, overexpression of MBD3 results in decreased methylation of the rRNA promoter. Additionally, overexpression of MBD3 induces demethylation of nonreplicating plasmids containing the rRNA promoter. We demonstrate that this demethylation occurs following the overexpression of MBD3 and its increased interaction with the methylated rRNA promoter. This is the first demonstration that MBD3 is involved in inducing and maintaining the demethylated state of a specific promoter.
Repeated transfusions of autologous cytokine‐induced killer cells for treatment of haematological malignancies in elderly patients: a pilot clinical trial

The elderly population is susceptible to haematological malignancies, and these elderly patients are intolerant to cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, the exploration of a safe and reliable strategy exclusive of chemotherapy is critical in improving the prognosis of elderly patients with haematological malignancies. We evaluated the safety and the efficacy of autologous cytokine‐induced killer (CIK) cells combined with recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL‐2) in the treatment of haematological malignancies in elderly patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 20 elderly patients with haematological malignancies, then augmented by priming with interferon gamma, rhIL‐2 and CD3 monoclonal antibody. The autologous CIK cells (2–3 × 109) were transfused back to patients, followed by a subcutaneous injection of IL‐2 (1 mU/day) for 10 consecutive days. The regimen was repeated every 4 weeks. The host cellular immune function, tumour‐related biological parameters, imaging characteristics, disease condition, quality of life and survival time were assessed. Fourteen patients received 8 cycles of transfusion and 6 received 4 cycles. No adverse effects were observed. The percentages of CD3+, CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD56+ cells were significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the levels of serum β2 microglobulin and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were markedly decreased (p < 0.05) after autologous CIK cell transfusion. Cancer‐related symptoms were profoundly alleviated, as demonstrated by the improved quality of life (p < 0.01). Complete remission was observed in 11 patients, persistent partial remission in 7 patients and stable disease in 2 patients. At the end of follow‐up, the mean survival time was 20 months. Transfusion with autologous CIK cells plus rhIL‐2 treatment is safe and effective for treating haematological malignancies in elderly patients. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Parkinson Disease Mutant E46K Enhances α-Synuclein Phosphorylation in Mammalian Cell Lines, in Yeast, and in Vivo*

Background: Little is known about the effect of PD-linked mutations on α-synuclein (α-syn) phosphorylation. Results: The E46K mutation increases α-syn phosphorylation at Ser-129 and influences its subcellular localization in vivo. Conclusion: The E46K mutation alters α-syn localization and post-translational modifications. Significance: PD-linked α-syn mutations may contribute to PD via different mechanisms. Although α-synuclein (α-syn) phosphorylation has been considered as a hallmark of sporadic and familial Parkinson disease (PD), little is known about the effect of PD-linked mutations on α-syn phosphorylation. In this study, we investigated the effects of the A30P, E46K, and A53T PD-linked mutations on α-syn phosphorylation at residues Ser-87 and Ser-129. Although the A30P and A53T mutants slightly affected Ser(P)-129 levels compared with WT α-syn, the E46K mutation significantly enhanced Ser-129 phosphorylation in yeast and mammalian cell lines. This effect was not due to the E46K mutant being a better kinase substrate nor due to alterations in endogenous kinase levels, but was mostly linked with enhanced nuclear and endoplasmic reticulum accumulation. Importantly, lentivirus-mediated overexpression in mice also showed enhanced Ser-129 phosphorylation of the E46K mutant compared to WT α-syn, thus providing in vivo validation of our findings. Altogether, our findings suggest that the different PD-linked mutations may contribute to PD pathogenesis via different mechanisms.
Is there a greater maternal than paternal influence on offspring adiposity in India?

Previous research has provided conflicting evidence regarding fetal roots of adiposity in India. To compare the strength of association between maternal and paternal body mass indexes (BMIs) corrected for height with offspring BMI in India to examine the potential for intrauterine mechanisms to influence offspring adiposity in India, we analysed a sample of 16 528 mother-father-offspring trios from the 2005 to 2006 Indian National Family Health Survey. Children were aged 0–59 months with parents aged 15–49 years (mothers) and 15–54 years (fathers). Linear and logistic regression models, specified in multiple ways, were used to estimate associations between parental BMI* (BMI redefined by power term x (kg/mx) to be independent from height), and child BMI/top decile of child BMI. Higher values of maternal BMI and paternal BMI were associated with higher values of offspring BMI. In comparing the effects of maternal BMI and paternal BMI, however, no consistent differences were found in the strength of these parental influences on offspring BMI. In the fully adjusted linear model, the standardised coefficient was 0.131 (95% CI 0.110 to 0.154) for maternal BMI* and 0.079 (95% CI 0.056 to 0.103) for paternal BMI*; with evidence of heterogeneity between maternal-offspring and paternal-offspring associations (p=0.005). This was not robust in the unstandardised regression (β=0.056, 95% CI 0.044 to 0.067 for maternal BMI and β=0.039, 95% CI 0.025 to 0.053 for paternal BMI, p=0.093). Mixed results indicate that compared with paternal BMI, maternal BMI did not have a consistently stronger influence on offspring BMI in India.
Employee perceptions of high involvement work practices and burnout in health care: a conservation of resources theory perspective

The impact of high involvement work practices (HIWPs) on employee well-being outcomes is unclear as the research evidence records both positive and negative effects. However, the majority of research studies have examined the impact of HIWPs on positive well-being outcomes with scant research dedicated to examining their influence on employees health related outcomes such as burnout. Another major research gap concerns the lack of theorising and empirical work dedicated to understanding the relationship between HIWPs and well-being. This thesis introduces the very relevant and timely Conservation of Resources (COR) theory from the occupational health psychology literature to the research on HIWPs in order to explain the underlying mechanisms through which HIWPs influences a critical well-being outcome i.e. burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation). Specifically, using data from Canadian hospitals, the author tested the HIWPs-burnout link and possible mediators in three research studies. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional design in a Canadian hospital and showed that perceived HIWPs are directly and indirectly associated with lower burnout via job demands (role conflict and role overload). Study 2 employed a time lagged research design and demonstrated that perceived HIWPs do not directly impact burnout three years later. Rather, the effect of HIWPs on burnout is fully mediated by person-organisation fit. Finally, Study 3 which sampled nurses, investigated and found support for the simultaneous mediating role of a job resource (procedural justice) and job demand (role overload) in the HIWPs-burnout relationship. Further, colleague support moderated the effects of these mediators on emotional exhaustion but not depersonalisation. Overall, the three presented studies demonstrate support for the positive effects of HIWPs in the health care context while theoretically and empirically depicting the underlying mechanisms for this relationship. The implications for research and practice are illustrated by highlighting the importance of HIWPs as a critical resource for employees.
Do “helpers at the nest” increase their parents' reproductive success?

“Helpers at the nest,” usually offspring of a preceding litter who contribute by feeding the young to increase the reproductive success of a breeding pair, are known in many species of birds and mammals. Although similar behaviors were described by ethnological observations in several human societies, there is a lack of data on their existence and role. This study of 794 reproductive life histories of post‐menopausal Berber women of Southern Morocco aims to provide such information. Results show that the presence of “probable helpers” in the household is related to higher fertility scores and is associated with improved survival of offspring to sexual maturity. In contrast to sparse observations from other human societies, there is no indication that child caretaking would be specific to eldest daughters. Although the association between offspring survival and helping patterns seems highly probable, there is no confirmation that child caretaking per se is the relevant variable. Contrary to nonhuman helpers at the nest, workloads of children range from housekeeping to light agricultural tasks, and are not focused on assisting younger siblings. The improvement of reproductive success is probably the result of multiple interactions, among which the network of kinship would play a role at both the levels of economy and reciprocal assistance. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:365–373, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.