Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are auditory P300 and duration MMN heritable and putative endophenotypes of psychotic bipolar disorder? A Maudsley Bipolar Twin and Family Study

Background Impaired P300 auditory response has been reported in patients with psychotic bipolar disorder (BPD) and unaffected relatives of psychotic bipolar patients. Deficits in mismatch negativity (MMN), however, have not been observed in bipolar patients. To our knowledge, no family study of MMN in BPD has been reported. The current study combined the Maudsley twin and bipolar family samples using genetic model fitting analyses to: (1) assess the relationship between BPD and MMN, (2) substantiate the association between psychotic BPD and P300 variables, (3) verify the genetic overlap of BPD with P300 amplitude previously reported in the twin sample, and (4) examine the shared genetic influences between BPD and bilateral temporal scalp locations of P300 components. Method A total of 301 subjects were included in this study, including 94 twin pairs, 31 bipolar families, and 39 unrelated healthy controls. Statistical analyses were based on structural equation modelling. Results Both P300 and MMN are heritable, with heritability estimates of 0.58 for MMN, 0.68–0.80 for P300 amplitude, and 0.21–0.56 for P300 latency. The bipolar patients and their relatives showed normal MMN. No significant association, either genetic or environmental, was found with BPD. BPD was significantly associated with reduced P300 amplitude and prolonged latency on midline and bilateral temporal-posterior scalp areas. Shared genetic factors were the main source of these associations. Conclusions The results confirm that MMN is not an endophenotype for psychotic BPD whereas P300 amplitude and latency components are valid endophenotypes for psychotic BPD.
Voice Without a Subject

In this article, I deterritorialize the subject by thinking with concepts in the new empiricisms. Thinking first with Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the Body without Organs, and then with Deleuze and his reading of Bergson’s concept duration, I attempt a reimagining of voice that starts with an ontological unit no longer that of the individual human being. Given this rupture, I pose the following questions: What might it mean to think voice in its many forms as not linked to an “I” of the humanist subject? What does a rethinking of the “I” portend for thinking voice? Is there an “I” of the inquirer or narrator that can be burdened with voice in the new empiricisms? What kind of voice can be thought once voice no longer has to be present, emanating from a unique, essentialist subject, (“I”) conscious to itself? In other words, if there is no subject in the humanist sense, what form does research or thought take in the new?
Ethanol disrupts fear conditioning in C57BL/6 mice

Ethanol has been demonstrated to disrupt numerous forms of learning. For example, ethanol disrupts fear conditioning in rats. Surprisingly, the opposite result was reported for mice. Because of the importance of mouse models in ethanol research and the predominance of transgenic mice generated on a C57BL/6 background, the present study examined the effects of acute ethanol administration on fear conditioning in C57BL/6 mice. Fear conditioning was chosen because of the apparent contradiction in results between mice and rats, because of its popularity in assessing forebrain-dependent learning and because the task examines two types of learning: (i) the hippocampus-dependent contextual learning and (ii) the hippocampus-independent conditioned stimulus–unconditioned stimulus learning. Dose–response curves were generated for ethanol (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg) given on either training day, testing day, or both days. Ethanol, in a dose-dependent manner, disrupted fear conditioning when given on training day or given on both training and testing days. Ethanol given on testing day only did not disrupt fear conditioning. The present results demonstrate that ethanol disrupts fear conditioning in C57BL/6 mice.
Harry M. Vars award. Glutamine or fiber supplementation of a defined formula diet: impact on bacterial translocation, tissue composition, and response to endotoxin.

Despite provision of adequate calories, defined formula diets in rats lead to bacterial translocation (BT), fatty infiltration of the liver, and an increased susceptibility to endotoxin. These deleterious effects may be due in part to a loss of intestinal barrier integrity resulting from bowel atrophy. Defined formula diets lack both glutamine and fiber, substances which may help maintain intestinal mass. To determine whether supplementation of defined formula diets with either glutamine or fiber might prevent bowel atrophy and, thus, BT, hepatic steatosis, and the altered response to endotoxin, Wistar rats were fed (1) defined formula diet ad libitum (DFD), (2) (DFD + 2% (w/v) glutamine, (GLUT), or (3) DFD + 2% (w/v) psyllium (FIBER). Rats given standard food isocalorically pair-fed to DFD were used as controls. Nutritional status was assessed by daily weight gain, as well as the ability to maintain serum albumin, hematocrit and white blood counts. After 2 weeks of these feeding regimens, animals were sacrificed, and organ weights and composition were determined, with rates of bacterial translocation determined by mesenteric lymph node, abdominal viscera, and cecal cultures. Additional animals receiving the same experimental diets were subsequently challenged with endotoxin and observed for mortality with rates of post-endotoxin BT and the responses of acute phase proteins and cytokines measured. All dietary regimens resulted in equivalent weight gain and other nutritional parameters. Both glutamine and fiber supplementation maintained small bowel mass, but only GLUT preserved normal jejunal mucosal architecture. Neither fiber nor glutamine supplementation prevented cecal bacterial overgrowth or BT, resulting from the DFD. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Fostering Self-Regulation Skills in Youth: Examining the Effects of a Mentoring Curriculum in a Summer Recreation Program

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of a mentoring curriculum embedded within a recreation program on youth's self-regulation. Self-regulation scores were collected on 64 youth participants: 29 in the comparison group and 35 in the treatment group. Using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (Guy, Isquith, & Gioia, 2004) as a measure of self-regulation, scores were collected pre-, middle, and postrecreation program. Results indicated significant (p <. 008) differences among the treatment and comparison conditions with the treatment site exhibiting greater increases in self-regulation over time compared with the comparison site. Implications from the study suggest that recreation programs are well positioned to incorporate formalized mentoring that supports the development of self-regulation in youth.
CSF biomarker changes precede symptom onset of mild cognitive impairment

Objective: This study evaluated longitudinal CSF biomarker measures collected when participants were cognitively normal to determine the magnitude and time course of biomarker changes before the onset of clinical symptoms in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Longitudinal CSF collection and cognitive assessments were performed on a cohort of 265 participants who were cognitively normal at their baseline assessment and subsequently developed MCI or dementia. CSF β-amyloid 1–42 (Aβ1–42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were determined longitudinally. Consensus diagnoses were completed annually. Cox regression analyses were performed, with baseline CSF values and time-dependent rate of change in CSF values as covariates (adjusted by baseline age, race, and education), in relation to time to onset of mild cognitive symptoms. Results: The mean time from baseline to onset of mild cognitive symptoms was 5.41 years. Increased risk of progressing from normal cognition to onset of clinical symptoms was associated with baseline values of Aβ1–42, p-tau, and the ratios of p-tau/Aβ1–42 and t-tau/Aβ1–42 (p < 0.002). Additionally, the rate of change in the ratios of t-tau/Aβ1–42 (p < 0.004) and p-tau/Aβ1–42 (p < 0.02) was greater among participants who were subsequently diagnosed with MCI. Conclusions: Baseline differences in CSF values were predictive of clinical symptoms that were a harbinger of a diagnosis of MCI more than 5 years before symptom onset, and continue to show longitudinal changes as cognitive symptoms develop, demonstrating that baseline and longitudinal changes in CSF biomarkers are evident during the preclinical phase of Alzheimer disease.
A Systematic Review to Investigate Whether Angiotensin-(1-7) Is a Promising Therapeutic Target in Human Heart Failure

Context. Heart failure (HF) is a common condition causing much morbidity and mortality despite major advances in pharmacological and device therapies. Preclinical data suggest a cardioprotective role of Angiotensin-(1-7) in animal models of HF. Objective. Perform a systematic review on the effects of Angiotensin-(1-7) on humans, focusing on HF. Results. 39 studies were included in the review (4 in human HF and (35) in non-HF patients). There is only one intervention study on 8 patients with human HF, using Angiotensin-(1-7), with forearm blood flow (FBF) as the endpoint. Angiotensin-(1-7) caused no significant effect on FBF in this HF study but caused vasodilation in 3 out of 4 non-HF studies. In one other non-HF study, Angiotensin-(1-7) infusion led to a significant increase in blood pressure in normal men; however, effects were <0.03% that of angiotensin II. Cardioprotective effects seen in non-HF studies include for instance beneficial actions against atherosclerosis and myocardial fibrosis. Conclusions. The main finding of our systematic review is that Angiotensin-(1-7) plays an important cardioprotective role in HF in animals and in patients without heart failure. More research is required to test the hypothesis that Angiotensin-(1-7) benefits patients with heart failure.
Neuronal Vacuolation and Spinocerebellar Degeneration in Young Rottweiler Dogs

With the recent epizootic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Europe, the differential diagnosis of neuronal vacuolation and spongiform change in other species has become critically important. Four Rottweiler puppies of both sexes, presented at 3-8 months of age, had clinical signs of generalized weakness and ataxia that started at 6 weeks of age. In all pups, neurologic examination detected an ataxia and tetraparesis, most severe in the pelvic limbs, and slowed proprioceptive placing reactions. Subsequently, there was rapid progressive neurologic deterioration, with severe placing deficits, knuckling, severe ataxia, and quadraparesis by 8 months of age. At necropsy, no gross lesions were observed. Microscopic lesions were restricted to the nervous system. The major lesion in all dogs was an intracytoplasmic neuronal vacuolation that was most prominent in the cerebellar roof nuclei and in nuclei of the extrapyramidal system. Similar vacuolation was found in neurons in both dorsal nerve root ganglia, myenteric plexus, and other ganglia of the autonomic nervous system. The single or multiple empty vacuoles were between 1 and 45 μm in diameter. A mild spongiform change was seen in the adjacent neuropil. Purkinje cell vacuolation and degeneration with segmental cell loss was seen in the oldest dog. In ventromedial and dorsolateral areas of the spinal cord white matter, there was mild bilaterally symmetrical axonal degeneration. Immunoblotting and immunocytochemical staining of the brain for protease-resistant scrapie prion protein was negative. All forms of vacuoles were negative for immunohistochemical staining with a variety of lectins. Ultrastructurally, the vacuoles were bound by a single membrane and contained granular material and sometimes membranous profiles. There was mild distension of the cytocavitary network but no unequivocal connection with the vacuoles was found. Axosomatic and axodendritic synapses in affected neurons were intact both ultrastructurally and with synaptophysin immunostaining. The clinicopathologic findings were different from those seen in the other neurologic diseases of Rottweilers. The age of the dogs, distribution and type of the lesions, ultrastructural findings, and negative immunoblotting most likely rule out the possibility of a scrapie agent-associated spongiform encephalopathy. However, the etiology of this new disease was not determined.
Lack of (anti-) androgenic or estrogenic effects of three pyrethroids (esfenvalerate, fenvalerate, and permethrin) in the Hershberger and uterotrophic assays.

Synthetic pyrethroids are among the most common pesticides and insecticides currently in use worldwide. Recently, chemicals classified as synthetic pyrethroids are suspected as being endocrine disrupting chemicals. However, no study has been conducted to assess their potential hormonal activities using in vivo test specifically focused on endocrine disruption. In the present study, we evaluated the interaction of three pyrethroids (esfenvalerate, fenvalerate, and permethrin) with androgen receptor (AR)- and estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated mechanisms using in vivo short-term assays. While internationally standardized protocols for the Hershberger and uterotrophic assays have not yet been fully developed, both are widely used and are being considered by OECD as short-term screening assays for hormonal activity. A 5-day Hershberger assay using castrated male rats measures agonistic and androgenic ability of the test chemicals to AR of several accessory glands/tissues (the ventral prostate, dorsolateral prostate, seminal vesicles with coagulating glands, and levator ani plus bulbocavernosus muscles). Esfenvalerate (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg/day), fenvalerate (20, 40, or 80 mg/kg/day), or permethrin (25, 50, or 75 mg/kg/day) was administered by oral gavage for 5 days to castrated male Crj:CD(SD)IGS rats (1 week after the castration, 11 weeks of age) with or without coadministration of 0.25 mg/kg/day testosterone propionate (subcutaneous injection on the dorsal surface). The highest dose levels tested for each chemical were considered the maximum level that could be used without causing excessive systemic toxicity. None of esfenvalerate, fenvalerate, and permethrin showed any androgenic or antiandrogenic effects. Reference control of p,p'-DDE and methyltestosterone (100 mg/kg/day) provided significant effects in this assay protocol. Potential effects of these pyrethroids mediated through the ER were evaluated by means of 3-day uterotrophic assay using ovariectomized Crj:CD(SD)IGS rats (2 weeks after the ovariectomy, 8 weeks of age). No increase in weight of uterus (wet or blotted) was observed following oral exposure to esfenvalerate (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg/day), fenvalerate (20, 40, or 80 mg/kg/day), or permethrin (37.5, 75, or 150 mg/kg/day), respectively. Again, the highest dose levels tested for each chemical were considered the maximum level that could be used without causing excessive systemic toxicity. Reference controls consisting of ethynyl estradiol (0.03 mg/kg/day) and methoxychlor (125 mg/kg/day) both showed a significant effect in this assay protocol. It is concluded that, based on the results of these two reliable in vivo assays, none of esfenvalerate, fenvalerate, or permethrin exhibit any potential to cause adverse (anti-) androgenic or estrogenic effects at dose levels below that of those causing excessive systemic toxicity.
Thin glomerular basement membrane disease: clinical significance of a morphological diagnosis--a collaborative study of the Italian Renal Immunopathology Group.

BACKGROUND Thin glomerular basement membrane disease (TBMD) is a nephropathy defined by diffuse thinning of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) at electron microscopy examination, without the alterations of Alport's syndrome (ATS). It is known that many patients with TBMD have a type IV collagen disorder and that the disease occasionally may be progressive. This study investigated 51 patients with the morphological diagnosis of TBMD lacking any sign of ATS, with the aim of defining the prevalence of type IV collagen mutations and the course of the disease. METHODS Patients were investigated as follows: (a) clinical picture and family investigation; (b) renal biopsy findings; (c) immunohistochemical study of renal tissue for collagen IV alpha-chains; (d) pedigree reconstruction and molecular investigations in genes encoding type IV collagen chains, when DNA samples were available; and (e) follow-up data. RESULTS Renal biopsy analysis revealed no light microscopy changes in 27 patients and minimal abnormalities in the remainder. Global glomerular sclerosis was found in seven cases and superimposed mesangial immunoglobulin-A deposits in four. Normal staining of GBM for alpha(IV) chains was observed in all but one patient, where alpha5(IV) was absent and molecular investigation revealed a COL4A5 mutation. Five out of 25 cases had a mutation in the COL4A3/COL4A4 genes. Eight out of 38 patients followed up for 12-240 months (21%) showed signs of disease progression or hypertension. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that a considerable proportion of patients with TBMD have a type IV collagen disorder and that this lesion is not always benign. Thus, families should be investigated carefully whenever possible and patients and affected relatives should be examined periodically for signs of disease progression.
Influence on Strength and Flexibility of a Swing Phase–Specific Hamstring Eccentric Program in Sprinters' General Preparation

Abstract Guex, KJ, Lugrin, V, Borloz, S, and Millet, GP. Influence on strength and flexibility of a swing phase–specific hamstring eccentric program in sprinters' general preparation. J Strength Cond Res 30(2): 525–532, 2016—Hamstring injuries are common in sprinters and mainly occur during the terminal swing phase. Eccentric training has been shown to reduce hamstring injury rate by improving several risk factors. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that an additional swing phase–specific hamstring eccentric training in well-trained sprinters performed at the commencement of the winter preparation is more efficient to improve strength, ratio, optimum angle, and flexibility than a similar program without hamstring eccentric exercises. Twenty sprinters were randomly allocated to an eccentric (n = 10) or a control group (n = 10). Both groups performed their usual track and field training throughout the study period. Sprinters in the eccentric group performed an additional 6-week hamstring eccentric program, which was specific to the swing phase of the running cycle (eccentric high-load open-chain kinetic movements covering the whole hamstring length-tension relationship preformed at slow to moderate velocity). Isokinetic and flexibility measurements were performed before and after the intervention. The eccentric group increased hamstring peak torques in concentric at 60°·s−1 by 16% (p < 0.001) and at 240°·s−1 by 10% (p < 0.01), in eccentric at 30°·s−1 by 20% (p < 0.001) and at 120°·s−1 by 22% (p < 0.001), conventional and functional ratios by 12% (p < 0.001), and flexibility by 4° (p < 0.01), whereas the control group increased hamstring peak torques only in eccentric at 30°·s−1 by 6% (p ⩽ 0.05) and at 120°·s−1 by 6% (p < 0.01). It was concluded that an additional swing phase–specific hamstring eccentric training in sprinters seems to be crucial to address different risk factors for hamstring strain injuries, such as eccentric and concentric strength, hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio ratio, and flexibility.
Epidemiology of bladder cancer in Alexandria, Egypt: Tobacco smoking

The relationship between smoking and bladder cancer risk was investigated using data from a case‐control study conducted between January 1994 and July 1996 in Alexandria, Egypt. Cases were 151 males with incident, histologically confirmed invasive cancer of the bladder, and controls were 157 males admitted to hospital for acute, non‐neoplastic, non‐urinary tract, non‐smoking‐related conditions. With reference to never smokers, ex‐smokers had a multivariate odds ratio (OR) of 4.4 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–11.7] and current smokers of 6.6 (95% CI 3.1–13.9). The ORs were 5.4 for <20 and 7.6 for ≥20 cigarettes per day. After adjustment for cigarette smoking, the ORs were 0.8 for waterpipe and 0.4 for hashish smokers. The risk was significantly related to duration of smoking (OR of 16.5 for >40 years), and inversely related to age at starting (OR of 8.8 for starting <20 years), and inversely related to time since quitting smoking. Compared with never smokers who did not report a clinical history of schistosomiasis, the OR was 9.4 for smokers with a history of schistosomiasis, and 10.7 for smokers ever employed in high‐risk occupations compared with non‐smokers not reporting such a history. Thus, our results, while not giving indications of an increased bladder cancer risk with habits other than cigarette smoking, found a remarkably strong association with various measures of cigarette smoking that could explain 75% of bladder cancer cases among males from Alexandria. The prevalence of smoking was very low among women, and consequently tobacco was not a relevant risk factor for female bladder cancer. Int. J. Cancer 73:64–67, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Detection of Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Agent and Borrelia Burgdorferi in Ticks by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Adult ixodid ticks were collected from Westchester County, New York, and Ipswich, Massachusetts, to determine the presence of infection with a human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks collected from New York was also determined by PCR. Of the 229 ticks from New York and 47 ticks from Massachusetts, 9% (22/229) and 25% (12/47) of ticks contained HGE agent, respectively. Fifty-four percent (123/229) of the ticks collected from New York were B. burgdorferi positive; 4% (9/229) of these ticks contained both HGE agent and B. burgdorferi. This finding indicates that animals with Lyme borreliosis may be also exposed to the etiologic agent of HGE. More extensive laboratory diagnosis may be necessary when multiple tick-borne diseases are suspected in animals.
A Two-Stage Approach to Retrieving Answers for How-To Questions

This paper addresses the problem of automatically retrieving answers for how-to questions, focusing on those that inquire about the procedure for achieving a specific goal. For such questions, typical information retrieval methods, based on key word matching, are better suited to detecting the content of the goal (e.g., 'installing a Windows XP server') than the general nature of the desired information (i.e., procedural, a series of steps for achieving this goal). We suggest dividing the process of retrieving answers for such questions into two stages, with each stage focusing on modeling one aspect of a how-to question. We compare the two-stage approach with two alternative approaches: a baseline approach that only uses the content of the goal to retrieve relevant documents and another approach that explores the potential of automatic query expansion. The result of the experiment shows that the two-stage approach significantly outperforms the baseline but achieves similar result with the systems using automatic query expansion techniques. We analyze the reason and also present some future work.