Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the use of computational intelligence techniques in medical claim processes of a health insurance company

Brazil has one of the largest private healthcare markets in the world. However, it appears that many indicators of our health insurance companies (including consultations, tests, hospitalizations, etc.) are well above the established international standards. This indicates that many appointments and tests are being carried out without need, generating unnecessary costs on businesses and making the service offered more expensive. In this paper, computational intelligence techniques were used to model the behavior of medical reviewers - professionals who assess whether medical requests should be allowed or not. For the generation of knowledge, a database from a nonprofitable health insurance company containing more than one million records collected since the year 2007 was used. Promising experimental results are presented, indicating that the techniques used can support medical reviewers.
Analysis of overlaps in meetings by dialog factors, hot spots, speakers, and collection site: insights for automatic speech recognition

In previous work we found that automatic speech recognition (ASR) results on meetings show interesting patterns with respect to speaker overlaps, including a robust asymmetry in word error rates (WERs) before and after overlaps. The paradigm used allowed us to infer that these correlations are not due to crosstalk itself but to changes in how a person speaks around overlap regions. To better understand these ASR and perplexity results, we analyze speaker overlaps with respect to various factors, including collection site, speakers, dialog acts, and hot spots. We examine a total of 101 meetings from the ICSI meeting corpus and the NIST meeting transcription evaluations of the last four years. We find that overlaps tend to occur at high-perplexity regions in the foreground talker’s speech. We also find that overlap regions tend to have higher perplexity than those in nonoverlaps, if trigrams or 4-grams are used, but unigram perplexity within overlaps is considerably lower than that of nonoverlaps. These appear to be robust findings, because they hold in general across meetings from different collection sites, even though meeting style and absolute rates of overlap vary by site. Further analyses of overlap with respect to speakers and meeting content reveal interesting relationships between overlap and dialog acts, as well as between overlap and “hot spots” (points of increased participant involvement). Finally, results from the ICSI meeting corpus show that individual speakers have widely varying rates of being overlapped.
T-type Ca2+ channel lowers the threshold of spike generation in the newt olfactory receptor cell

Mechanisms underlying action potential generation in the newt olfactory receptor cell were investigated by using the whole-cell version of the patch-clamp technique. Isolated olfactory cells had a resting membrane potential of -70 +/- 9 mV. Injection of a depolarizing current step triggered action potentials under current clamp condition. The amplitude of the action potential was reduced by lowering external Na+ concentration. After a complete removal of Na+, however, cells still showed action potentials which was abolished either by Ca2+ removal or by an application of Ca2+ channel blocker (Co2+ or Ni2+), indicating an involvement of Ca2+ current in spike generation of newt olfactory receptor cells. Under the voltage clamp condition, depolarization of the cell to -40 mV from the holding voltage of -100 mV induced a fast transient inward current, which consisted of Na+ (INa) and T-type Ca2+ (ICa.T) currents. The amplitude of ICa,T was about one fourth of that of INa. Depolarization to more positive voltages also induced L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L). ICa,L was as small as a few pA in normal Ringer solution. The activating voltage of ICa,T was approximately 10 mV more negative than that of INa. Under current clamp, action potentials generated by a least effective depolarization was almost completely blocked by 0.1 mM Ni2+ (a specific T-type Ca2+ channel blocker) even in the presence of Na+. These results suggest that ICa,T contributes to action potential in the newt olfactory receptor cell and lowers the threshold of spike generation.
Sleep and Its Effects on Synaptic Strength

Throughout the history of sleep research, many theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the function of the state of sleep. The most popular and well-accepted theory among sleep researchers today is that sleep plays an important role in learning and memory by affecting mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. At the present time, there are two main competing views regarding how sleep affects memory – the active system consolidation model and the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY). The former proposes that sleep is a time for the reactivation and redistribution of memory traces, while the latter emphasizes the role of sleep in improving signal-to-noise ratios and learning by down-regulating synaptic strength. In recent years, SHY has been widely discussed by sleep researchers. It has also been criticized for, for example, being too vague, ignoring contradictory evidence and misrepresenting available evidence. The aim of this review is to critically analyze SHY by considering recently published empirical evidence as well as criticism raised against the theory. The conclusion drawn from the analysis is that although SHY seemingly hold up well against recent contradictory empirical evidence, it faces serious problems with the criticism raised against it.
Seminiferous epithelium of rats with food restriction and carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVE Analyze the changes in the seminiferous epithelium in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis (CCl4). MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight male Wistar rats aged 45-50 days, weighing 150-180 grams were used. Twenty-two rats underwent CCl4-induced cirrhosis with CCl4 0.25 mL/Kg weekly intragastrically once a week, during 10 weeks. Additionally, they had a 44% food restriction diet (Group 1). The control group was divided in two subgroups: 13 rats had a 44% food restriction diet and no CCl4 (Group 2) and 10 rats were not submitted to CCl4 or food restriction (Group 3). After 10 weeks, the rats were sacrificed and liver sections were collected for histological analysis. The testicular analysis was carried out to evaluate the frequency of tubules in stages VIII and XIV. RESULTS The mean rates of stage VIII in animals with food restriction plus CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction without CCl4 were significantly different from animals without either food restriction or CCl4 (18.1 +/- 5.5%, 20.5 +/- 2.5% and 13.4 +/- 3.5%, respectively, p = 0.002). The mean rate of stage VIII in rats with cirrhosis was not significantly different from rats without cirrhosis (18.1 +/- 5.5% and 17.4 +/- 4.6% respectively). The mean frequency of stage XIV in rats with cirrhosis was significantly greater than rats without cirrhosis (4.7 +/- 2.3% and 6.8 +/- 1.9% respectively, p = 0.027). CONCLUSION Animals with CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction have shown alterations in spermatogenic cycle that were not seen in rats without CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction.
Stressing Memory: Long-Term Relations Among Children's Stress, Recall and Psychological Outcome Following Hurricane Andrew

We examined relations among stress, children's recall, and psychological functioning following Hurricane Andrew. Thirty-five children from mixed socioeconomic backgrounds were divided into low-, moderate-, and high-stress groups and were interviewed about the hurricane immediately after the storm and 6 years later. Our primary interest, stemming from previous work, was in the emotional and cognitive content of their recall. At the initial interviews, children who were more stressed included less positive emotion and fewer cognitive processing words and provided less free recall and less information overall. In contrast, children who initially recalled more information showed better psychological outcome immediately following the hurricane. Six years later, children who had been more stressed initially included more negative emotion and more cognitive processing words, but provided less information during free recall. Children who had initially used more positive emotion words and recalled more information showed better psychological outcome 6 years later. Implications for children's remembering and coping with traumatic events are discussed.
Gene panel sequencing improves the diagnostic work-up of patients with idiopathic erythrocytosis and identifies new mutations

Erythrocytosis is a rare disorder characterized by increased red cell mass and elevated hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit. Several genetic variants have been identified as causes for erythrocytosis in genes belonging to different pathways including oxygen sensing, erythropoiesis and oxygen transport. However, despite clinical investigation and screening for these mutations, the cause of disease cannot be found in a considerable number of patients, who are classified as having idiopathic erythrocytosis. In this study, we developed a targeted next-generation sequencing panel encompassing the exonic regions of 21 genes from relevant pathways (~79 Kb) and sequenced 125 patients with idiopathic erythrocytosis. The panel effectively screened 97% of coding regions of these genes, with an average coverage of 450×. It identified 51 different rare variants, all leading to alterations of protein sequence, with 57 out of 125 cases (45.6%) having at least one of these variants. Ten of these were known erythrocytosis-causing variants, which had been missed following existing diagnostic algorithms. Twenty-two were novel variants in erythrocytosis-associated genes (EGLN1, EPAS1, VHL, BPGM, JAK2, SH2B3) and in novel genes included in the panel (e.g. EPO, EGLN2, HIF3A, OS9), some with a high likelihood of functionality, for which future segregation, functional and replication studies will be useful to provide further evidence for causality. The rest were classified as polymorphisms. Overall, these results demonstrate the benefits of using a gene panel rather than existing methods in which focused genetic screening is performed depending on biochemical measurements: the gene panel improves diagnostic accuracy and provides the opportunity for discovery of novel variants.
Use of MAG1 Recombinant Antigen for Diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Humans

ABSTRACT This paper describes the cloning, purification, and serological applications of matrix antigen MAG1 of Toxoplasma gondii. The expression system used allows the production of a large amount of T. gondii recombinant protein, which was assessed for its potential use in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of T. gondii infection in humans. Serum samples from 117 patients with different stages of infection, along with 10 serum samples from seronegative patients obtained for routine diagnostic tests, were used. The results were compared with those of an ELISA that uses a native T. gondii antigen extract. The MAG1 antigen detected antibodies more frequently from the acute stage (97.3%) than from the chronic stage (7.5%) of toxoplasmosis. Hence, this antigen may be used as a tool for detection of T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies in persons with acute toxoplasmosis.
Women's opinions on the home management of early medical abortion in the UK

Background and methodology This survey was undertaken to obtain the opinions of women in the UK about their home management of early medical abortion (EMA) with mifepristone and misoprostol. All eligible women undergoing EMA at any BPAS clinic during a 2-week period were invited to participate. Women were contacted by telephone 1 week after the EMA and a five-item structured questionnaire was administered. One open-ended question gave women the opportunity to freely comment. Demographics and responses were tabulated using descriptive statistics. Mulitivariable logistic regression was used to assess the influence of demographic characteristics on responses. Results Of 249 enrolled participants, 162 were successfully surveyed (a 65% response rate). Most respondents (86%) would rather go home to complete an EMA than remain in a clinical setting. The majority (96%) found home management very or somewhat acceptable and 96% felt they could have obtained medical help easily if necessary. Most respondents (62%) would prefer home use of misoprostol as opposed to returning to the clinic to obtain and use the medication. Women were less likely to prefer home management if they were Asian (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05–0.87) or had a gestational age >49 days (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.10–0.71). Discussion and conclusions Home management of EMA is acceptable to most women in the UK who have experienced it and is, for many, preferable to a clinical setting. Consideration should be given to updating the interpretation of the UK's 1967 Abortion Act to allow home administration of misoprostol.
Blockade of Renin Angiotensin System Increased Resistance to STZ-Induced Diabetes in Rats with Long-Term High-Fat Diet

This study aimed to investigate whether rennin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade through telmisartan would increase the resistance to streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetes in insulin resistance rats. There were sixty Wistar rats that were divided into four groups: normal control (NC), high-fat diet (HF), high-fat diet plus STZ injection (HF+S), and high-fat diet plus STZ injection and telmisartan intervention (HF+S+T). Five rats were chosen randomly and respectively from groups NC and HF to undergo a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp. Another five rats were selected randomly from the four groups, respectively, for intravenous injection insulin releasing test (IVIRT), and the other five rats for pancreas specimens used in islet cell immunohistochemistry staining (stained for insulin, NF-κB, and caspase-3), islet cell apoptosis staining, and reverse transcription PCR (AT1R and IL-1 beta). There was a significant difference of overt diabetes incidence between groups HF+S+T and HF+S (P < 0.05). Furthermore, inflammatory markers and islet cell apoptosis were found to be significantly reduced in group HF+S+T compared with group HF+S (all P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Overall, telmisartan-treated rats were found to have reduced RAS activity, increased resistance to STZ-induced diabetes, reduced inflammatory markers, and improvement of islet cell function and morphology.
CTRP2 Overexpression Improves Insulin and Lipid Tolerance in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

CTRP2 is a secreted plasma protein of the C1q family that enhances glycogen deposition and fat oxidation in cultured myotubes. Its in vivo metabolic function, however, has not been established. We show here that acute and chronic metabolic perturbations induced by fasting or high-fat feeding up-regulated the mRNA expression of Ctrp2 in white adipose tissue without affecting its circulating plasma levels. We generated a transgenic mouse model with elevated circulating levels of CTRP2 to determine its metabolic function in vivo. When fed a low-fat diet, wild-type and CTRP2 transgenic mice exhibited no metabolic phenotypes. When challenged with a high-fat diet to induce obesity, wild-type and CTRP2 transgenic mice had similar weight gain, adiposity, food intake, metabolic rate, and energy expenditure. Fasting serum lipid and adipokine profiles were also similar between the two groups of mice. However, while glucose and insulin levels in the fasted state were comparable between wild-type and CTRP2 transgenic mice, insulin levels in the fed state were consistently lower in transgenic mice. Notably, CTRP2 transgenic mice had improved insulin tolerance and a greater capacity to handle acute lipid challenge relative to littermate controls. Our results highlight, for the first time, the in vivo role of CTRP2 in modulating whole-body metabolism.
Finite element assessment of moving coil actuator for HVDC breaker applications

This paper assesses the suitability of the moving coil actuator for use as an ultra-fast, long stroke linear drive for HVDC breaker applications. With the help of FEA, a sensitivity analysis of the actuator is conducted in order to better understand how the different design parameters affect the actuator performance. Based on this assessment a high performance actuator design has been implemented using FEA software. Simulation results show the suitability of the moving coil design as an ultra-fast linear driver. Efficiency of the proposed moving-coil design has been calculated and shows a remarkable advantage over other high speed actuator designs.
Impact of HPV detection in colorectal adenocarcinoma: HPV protein and chromogenic in situ hybridization analysis based on tissue microarrays.

PURPOSE Human papillomaviruses (HPV)-mediated cervical carcinogenesis represents a well analyzed model of viral implication in epithelial malignant transformation. Concerning colorectal cancer, HPV infection seems to be a significant genetic event in squamous colon epithelia carcinogenesis, but with an unclear role in colon adenocarcinomas (CACs). In the current study, we analyzed 60 CACs based on tissue microarray (TMA) blocks. METHODS Cancerous tissues were cored, embedded on a tissue microarray block and analyzed by immunohistochemistry (HPV IHC) and also by chromogenic in situ hybridization (HPV 16/18 DNA CISH) in repetitive serial sections for protein and DNA specific typing detection, respectively. RESULTS Based on HPV IHC and CISH simultaneous analysis, 16 (26.6%) cases expressed HPV protein. In 7 (11.6%) cores HPV 16/18 DNA signals were detected. Overall HPV protein expression and stage of the examined cases were significantly correlated with HPV CISH results (p=0.0001, p=0.022, respectively). CONCLUSION A subset of CACs demonstrated HPV infection associated with stage. In particular, detection of 16/18 HPV DNA types seemed to be a molecular parameter in analyzing genetically CACs, in contrast to HPV protein expression which did not offer significant and specific molecular information.
Individual differences in response conflict adaptations

Conflict-monitoring theory argues for a general cognitive mechanism that monitors for conflicts in information-processing. If that mechanism detects conflict, it engages cognitive control to resolve it. A slow-down in response to incongruent trials (conflict effect), and a modulation of the conflict effect by the congruence of the preceding trial (Gratton or context effect) have been taken as indicators of such a monitoring system. The present study (N = 157) investigated individual differences in the conflict and the context effect in a horizontal and a vertical Simon task, and their correlation with working memory capacity (WMC). Strength of conflict was varied by proportion of congruent trials. Coherent factors could be formed representing individual differences in speeded performance, conflict adaptation, and context adaptation. Conflict and context factors were not associated with each other. Contrary to theories assuming a close relation between working memory and cognitive control, WMC showed no relation with any factors representing adaptation to conflict.
Circadian Regulation of Glutathione Levels and Biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster

Circadian clocks generate daily rhythms in neuronal, physiological, and metabolic functions. Previous studies in mammals reported daily fluctuations in levels of the major endogenous antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), but the molecular mechanisms that govern such fluctuations remained unknown. To address this question, we used the model species Drosophila, which has a rich arsenal of genetic tools. Previously, we showed that loss of the circadian clock increased oxidative damage and caused neurodegenerative changes in the brain, while enhanced GSH production in neuronal tissue conferred beneficial effects on fly survivorship under normal and stress conditions. In the current study we report that the GSH concentrations in fly heads fluctuate in a circadian clock-dependent manner. We further demonstrate a rhythm in activity of glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL), the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis. Significant rhythms were also observed for mRNA levels of genes encoding the catalytic (Gclc) and modulatory (Gclm) subunits comprising the GCL holoenzyme. Furthermore, we found that the expression of a glutathione S-transferase, GstD1, which utilizes GSH in cellular detoxification, significantly fluctuated during the circadian day. To directly address the role of the clock in regulating GSH-related rhythms, the expression levels of the GCL subunits and GstD1, as well as GCL activity and GSH production were evaluated in flies with a null mutation in the clock genes cycle and period. The rhythms observed in control flies were not evident in the clock mutants, thus linking glutathione production and utilization to the circadian system. Together, these data suggest that the circadian system modulates pathways involved in production and utilization of glutathione.
Rats Fail to Discriminate Quinine from Denatonium: Implications for the Neural Coding of Bitter-Tasting Compounds

Recent molecular findings indicate that many different G-protein-coupled taste receptors that bind with “bitter-tasting” ligands are coexpressed in single taste receptor cells in taste buds, leading to the prediction that mammals can respond behaviorally to structurally diverse “bitter” tastants but cannot discriminate among them. However, recent in situ calcium-imaging findings imply that rat taste receptor cells are more narrowly tuned to respond to bitter-tasting compounds than had been predicted from molecular findings, suggesting that these animals can discriminate among these chemicals. Using an operant conditioning paradigm, we demonstrated that rats cannot discriminate between two structurally dissimilar bitter compounds, quinine hydrochloride and denatonium benzoate, despite the fact that these tastants are thought to stimulate different taste receptor cells. These rats were nonetheless able to show concentration-dependent avoidance responses to both compounds in brief-access tests and to discriminate among other taste stimuli, including quinine versus KCl, denatonium versus KCl, and NaCl versus KCl. Importantly, the concentrations were varied in the discrimination tests to render intensity an irrelevant cue. We conclude that denatonium and quinine produce a unitary taste sensation, leaving open the likely possibility that other compounds fall into this class. Although a broader array of compounds needs to be tested, our findings lend support to the hypothesis that there is only one qualitative type of bitterness. These results also highlight the need to confirm predictions about the downstream properties of the gustatory system, or any sensory system, based on upstream molecular and biophysical events.