Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression in Internet and face-to-face cancer support groups: a pilot study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine depression in Internet cancer support groups as compared to traditional (face-to-face) cancer support groups and to explore the relationship between Internet use and levels of depression. DESIGN Exploratory, descriptive. SETTING Traditional (face-to-face) and Internet cancer support groups. SAMPLE Convenience sample of 40 patients with cancer, 14 from traditional face-to-face groups and 26 from an Internet support group, with different cancer diagnoses. METHODS Traditional paper or Internet surveys consisting of an investigator-developed questionnaire including demographic information, brief medical history, support group history, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLE Depression scores on the CES-D. FINDINGS Participants in the face-to-face groups were 100% male. The online group was 56% male and 44% female. Groups did not differ significantly by income, health insurance status, or days since initial diagnosis. Groups differed significantly on level of depression. The traditional (face-to-face) group had a CES-D mean score of 1.86 (SD = 2.69), and the online group had a mean score of 29.27 (SD = 11.89, p less than 0.000). A comparison of CES-D scores of men in the face-to-face and Internet groups revealed that they differed significantly on level of depression. Men in the traditional group had a mean score of 1.86 (SD = 2.69), and men in the online group had a mean score of 27.42 (SD = 112.69, p less than 0.000). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that more depressed patients with cancer use Internet support groups instead of face-to-face support. Before online interventions can be implemented effectively, their efficacy needs to be evaluated. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Patients with cancer are at increased risk for developing depression. This should be a consideration during nursing assessments. Traditional cancer support groups can help people cope with their cancer, but the efficacy of Internet cancer support groups in providing psychoeducation and psychotherapeutic intervention remains to be proven.
Trabecular alveolar bone in the human mandible: a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry study.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential use of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry for the assessment of bone mineral content and bone mineral density before implant placement. MATERIALS AND METHODS The material examined consisted of 63 mandibular bone specimens cut from 21 fresh cadavers (11 men; 10 women). Three specimens were cut per cadaver in the incisal, premolar, and molar regions. Three regions of interest (G, R1, and R2) were delineated. The global bone specimen (G) consisted of the whole specimen (ie, both cortical and trabecular bone). R1 and R2 were delineated in the trabecular bone of the alveolar process. RESULTS In all subjects, the combined bone mineral content of the whole mandible specimens (global bone mineral content) was significantly correlated with age. The difference between the mean bone mineral densities of the male and female mandibles was found to be significant for G (P = .009). The mean bone mineral densities of dentate and edentulous specimens were also found to be significantly different for G and R1, respectively (P = .001 and P = .02), but not for R2. A positive correlation could be detected among the mean bone mineral density of G and R1, G and R2, and R1 and R2 of (1) male and female specimens, (2) dentate and edentulous specimens, and (3) incisal, premolar, and molar specimens. CONCLUSIONS The intra-alveolar trabecular bone of these 21 mandibles is affected by the same local and systemic influences as cortical bone, whereas the infra-alveolar trabecular bone is mostly sensitive to dental status. The cortical and trabecular bone of the 10 mandibles from women is more sensitive to systemic influences, whereas that from men is more sensitive to local influences. This is somewhat in agreement with some studies that found an association between osteoporosis and oral bone loss, which is a metric measure.
Insulin- and leptin-mediated control of aquaglyceroporins in human adipocytes and hepatocytes is mediated via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling cascade.

OBJECTIVE Glycerol constitutes an important metabolite for the control of lipid accumulation and glucose homeostasis. The impact of obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes as well as the potential regulatory role of insulin and leptin on aquaglyceroporins (AQP) 3, 7, and 9 were analyzed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The tissue distribution and expression of AQP in biopsies of omental and sc adipose tissue as well as liver were analyzed in lean and obese Caucasian volunteers (n = 63). The effect of insulin (1, 10, and 100 nmol/liter) and leptin (0.1, 1, and 10 nmol/liter) on the expression of the glycerol channels was determined in vitro in human omental adipocytes and HepG2 hepatocytes. The translocation of AQP in response to insulin and isoproterenol was analyzed by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS In addition to the well-known expression of AQP7 in adipose tissue, AQP3 and AQP9 were also expressed in both omental and sc adipose tissue. Obese type 2 diabetes patients showed higher expression of AQP in visceral adipose tissue and lower expression of AQP7 in sc adipose tissue and hepatic AQP9. The staining of AQP9 in the plasma membrane of adipocytes was reinforced by insulin, whereas isoproterenol induced the translocation of AQP3 and AQP7 from the lipid droplets to the plasma membrane. Insulin up-regulated all AQP, whereas leptin up-regulated AQP3 and down-regulated AQP7 and AQP9 in adipocytes and hepatocytes. These effects were abrogated by both the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin and the mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor rapamycin. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show, for the first time, that insulin and leptin regulate the AQP through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in human visceral adipocytes and hepatocytes. AQP3 and AQP7 may facilitate glycerol efflux from adipose tissue while reducing the glycerol influx into hepatocytes via AQP9 to prevent the excessive lipid accumulation and the subsequent aggravation of hyperglycemia in human obesity.
Low-grade inflammation and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents

Purpose of review The prevalence of overweight and the metabolic syndrome is increasing in young people. This review aims to summarize current research in children and adolescents on inflammatory markers related to components of the metabolic syndrome. Recent findings Obesity is characterized by a state of low-grade inflammation at all ages. Body fat has been shown to correlate with the various components of the metabolic syndrome. There is evidence to show that chronic subclinical inflammation in childhood and adolescence is associated with metabolic dysfunction, which can lead to insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Summary The results presented in this review highlight the underlying inflammatory mechanisms of the early stages of metabolic disorders related to obesity. The preclinical phases of diabetes and cardiovascular disease last many decades, and this feature of the diseases provides an opportunity for the early identification of target groups and the use of appropriate prevention strategies while the pathological processes are still completely reversible.
Frame error model in rural Wi-Fi networks

Commonly used frame loss models for simulations over Wi-Fi channels assume a simple double regression model with threshold. This model is widely accepted, but few measurements are available in the literature that try to validate it. As far as we know, none of them is based on field trials at the frame level. We present a series of measurements for relating transmission distance and packet loss on a Wi-Fi network in rural areas and propose a model that relates distance with packet loss probability. We show that a simple double regression propagation model like the one used in the ns-2 simulator can miss important transmission impairments that are apparent even at short transmitter-receiver distances. Measurements also show that packet loss at the frame level is a Bernoullian process for time spans of few seconds. We relate the packet loss probability to the received signal level using standard models for additive white Gaussian noise channels. The resulting model is much more similar to the measured channels than the simple models where all packets are received when the distance is below a given threshold and all are lost when the threshold is exceeded.
Gasdynamics and starbursts in major mergers

Using numerical simulation, we study the development of gaseous inflows and triggering of starburst activity in mergers of comparable-mass disk galaxies. In all encounters studied, the galaxies experience strong gaseous inflows and moderate to intense starburst activity. We find that galaxy structure plays a dominant role in regulating activity. The gaseous inflows are strongest when galaxies with dense central bulges are in the final stages of merging, while inflows in bulgeless galaxies are weaker and occur earlier in the interaction. Orbital geometry plays only a relatively modest role in the onset of collisionally-induced activity. Through an analysis of the torques acting on the gas, we show that these inflows are generally driven by gravitational torques from the host galaxy (rather than the companion), and that dense bulges act to stabilize galaxies against bar modes and inflow until the galaxies merge, at which point rapidly varying gravitational torques drive strong dissipation and inflow of gas in the merging pair. The strongest inflows (and associated starburst activity) develop in co-planar encounters, while the activity in inclined mergers is somewhat less intense and occurs slightly later during the merger. The starbursts which develop in mergers of galaxies with central bulges represent an increase in the star formation rate of two orders of magnitude over that in isolated galaxies. We find that the gaseous and stellar morphology and star-forming properties of these systems provide a good match to those of observed ultraluminous infrared galaxies. Our results imply that the internal structure of the merging galaxies, rather than orbital geometry, may be the key factor in producing ultraluminous infrared galaxies.
Introducing the Algerian Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome Profiles into the North African Landscape

North Africa is considered a distinct geographic and ethnic entity within Africa. Although modern humans originated in this Continent, studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome genealogical markers provide evidence that the North African gene pool has been shaped by the back-migration of several Eurasian lineages in Paleolithic and Neolithic times. More recent influences from sub-Saharan Africa and Mediterranean Europe are also evident. The presence of East-West and North-South haplogroup frequency gradients strongly reinforces the genetic complexity of this region. However, this genetic scenario is beset with a notable gap, which is the lack of consistent information for Algeria, the largest country in the Maghreb. To fill this gap, we analyzed a sample of 240 unrelated subjects from a northwest Algeria cosmopolitan population using mtDNA sequences and Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms, focusing on the fine dissection of haplogroups E and R, which are the most prevalent in North Africa and Europe respectively. The Eurasian component in Algeria reached 80% for mtDNA and 90% for Y-chromosome. However, within them, the North African genetic component for mtDNA (U6 and M1; 20%) is significantly smaller than the paternal (E-M81 and E-V65; 70%). The unexpected presence of the European-derived Y-chromosome lineages R-M412, R-S116, R-U152 and R-M529 in Algeria and the rest of the Maghreb could be the counterparts of the mtDNA H1, H3 and V subgroups, pointing to direct maritime contacts between the European and North African sides of the western Mediterranean. Female influx of sub-Saharan Africans into Algeria (20%) is also significantly greater than the male (10%). In spite of these sexual asymmetries, the Algerian uniparental profiles faithfully correlate between each other and with the geography.
Query oriented subspace shifting for near-duplicate image detection

Near-duplicate image detection is a critical task in copyright protection. More challenging than the common similarity search, this task requires not only the retrieval of the top similar images but also the detection of the entire near-duplicates collection from the Internet. The common similarity search algorithms are not capable to undertake the latter demand. This paper proposes the query oriented subspace shifting algorithm. The algorithm measures the similarity in various subspaces, which are dynamically generated based on the correlation between samples and the query image. An adaptive threshold is generated automatically to filter the near-duplicates in each subspace. As these subspaces are query oriented, the near-duplicates are less likely to be missed. Experiments shows that this method can effectively improve the detection recall while keeps the similar precision, comparing with the common similarity search algorithm.
The Formation of Massive Star Systems by Accretion

Massive stars produce so much light that the radiation pressure they exert on the gas and dust around them is stronger than their gravitational attraction, a condition that has long been expected to prevent them from growing by accretion. We present three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the collapse of a massive prestellar core and find that radiation pressure does not halt accretion. Instead, gravitational and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities channel gas onto the star system through nonaxisymmetric disks and filaments that self-shield against radiation while allowing radiation to escape through optically thin bubbles. Gravitational instabilities cause the disk to fragment and form a massive companion to the primary star. Radiation pressure does not limit stellar masses, but the instabilities that allow accretion to continue lead to small multiple systems.
Contemporary management of the appendiceal mass

An appendiceal mass is the end result of a walled‐off appendiceal perforation and represents a pathological spectrum ranging from phlegmon to abscess. Over the past decade, improved imaging and interventional radiological techniques have allowed a more accurate definition of pathology and thus a more specific and less invasive management than was previously possible. A management policy should be possible that allows over 80 per cent of patients presenting with an appendiceal mass to be safely spared an open operation.
Immunotherapy for Patients with Follicular Lymphoma: The Contribution of Systematic Reviews

The course of follicular lymphoma has changed considerably with the introduction of immunotherapy. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are reliable, efficient and well-established methods to summarize the vast amount of data acquired in recent years on the role of immunotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, radio-labeled monoclonal antibodies and interferon-α in the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma. We aimed to summarize the data from systematic reviews assessing immunotherapy for these patients. A search through Medline and the Cochrane Library for systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials of different types of immunotherapy for patients with follicular lymphoma yielded 17 reviews. Eleven of them were eligible for this review and are described herein. These systematic reviews have dramatically influenced the approach to patients with follicular lymphoma.
A computer program for the estimation of protein and nucleic acid sequence diversity in random point mutagenesis libraries

A computer program for the generation and analysis of in silico random point mutagenesis libraries is described. The program operates by mutagenizing an input nucleic acid sequence according to mutation parameters specified by the user for each sequence position and type of point mutation. The program can mimic almost any type of random mutagenesis library, including those produced via error-prone PCR (ep-PCR), mutator Escherichia coli strains, chemical mutagenesis, and doped or random oligonucleotide synthesis. The program analyzes the generated nucleic acid sequences and/or the associated protein library to produce several estimates of library diversity (number of unique sequences, point mutations, and single point mutants) and the rate of saturation of these diversities during experimental screening or selection of clones. This information allows one to select the optimal screen size for a given mutagenesis library, necessary to efficiently obtain a certain coverage of the sequence-space. The program also reports the abundance of each specific protein mutation at each sequence position, which is useful as a measure of the level and type of mutation bias in the library. Alternatively, one can use the program to evaluate the relative merits of preexisting libraries, or to examine various hypothetical mutation schemes to determine the optimal method for creating a library that serves the screen/selection of interest. Simulated libraries of at least 109 sequences are accessible by the numerical algorithm with currently available personal computers; an analytical algorithm is also available which can rapidly calculate a subset of the numerical statistics in libraries of arbitrarily large size. A multi-type double-strand stochastic model of ep-PCR is developed in an appendix to demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm to amplifying mutagenesis procedures. Estimators of DNA polymerase mutation-type-specific error rates are derived using the model. Analyses of an alpha-synuclein ep-PCR library and NNS synthetic oligonucleotide libraries are given as examples.
Spatial Uncoupling of Mitosis and Cytokinesis during Appressorium-Mediated Plant Infection by the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae[W]

This study examines the relationship between nuclear division and cytokinesis during formation of appressoria by a plant pathogenic fungus. It also identifies a key spatial regulator of cytokinesis and nuclear division and shows that it is required for the fungus to cause disease. To infect plants, many pathogenic fungi develop specialized infection structures called appressoria. Here, we report that appressorium development in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae involves an unusual cell division, in which nuclear division is spatially uncoupled from the site of cytokinesis and septum formation. The position of the appressorium septum is defined prior to mitosis by formation of a heteromeric septin ring complex, which was visualized by spatial localization of Septin4:green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Septin5:GFP fusion proteins. Mitosis in the fungal germ tube is followed by long-distance nuclear migration and rapid formation of an actomyosin contractile ring in the neck of the developing appressorium, at a position previously marked by the septin complex. By contrast, mutants impaired in appressorium development, such as Δpmk1 and ΔcpkA regulatory mutants, undergo coupled mitosis and cytokinesis within the germ tube. Perturbation of the spatial control of septation, by conditional mutation of the SEPTATION-ASSOCIATED1 gene of M. oryzae, prevented the fungus from causing rice blast disease. Overexpression of SEP1 did not affect septation during appressorium formation, but instead led to decoupling of nuclear division and cytokinesis in nongerminated conidial cells. When considered together, these results indicate that SEP1 is essential for determining the position and frequency of cell division sites in M. oryzae and demonstrate that differentiation of appressoria requires a cytokinetic event that is distinct from cell divisions within hyphae.
Preemptive wound infiltration in lumbar laminectomy for postoperative pain: comparison of bupivacaine and levobupivacaine.

AIM Patients usually suffer significant pain after lumbar laminectomy. Wound infiltration with local anesthetics is a useful method for postoperative pain control. Our aim was to compare the efficacies of preemptive wound infiltration with bupivacaine and levobupivacaine. MATERIAL AND METHODS 60 patients were randomized three groups as follows: Group L wound infiltration with 20 mL 0.25% levobupivacaine and 40 mg methylprednisolone just before wound closure; Group B wound infiltration with 20 mL 0.25% bupivacaine and 40 mg methylprednisolone before closure; Group C had this region infiltrated with 20 ml physiological saline. Demographic data, vital signs, postoperative pain scores and morphine usage were recorded. RESULTS First analgesic requirement time was significantly shorter in the control group compared to other two groups (p < 0.001). Group B had the lowest cumulative morphine consumption at the end of 24 hours within 0-4, 4-12 and 12-24 hours time intervals and the values were not significant when compared with Group L, however the consumption of both groups was significantly lower compared to the control group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that preoperative infiltration of the wound site with bupivacaine or levobupivacaine provides similarly effective pain control with reduced opiate dose after unilateral lumbar laminectomy.
Behavioral/systems/cognitive Selective Attention to Visual Stimuli Reduces Cochlear Sensitivity in Chinchillas

It is generally accepted that during periods of attention to specific stimuli there are changes in the neural activity of central auditory structures; however, it is controversial whether attention can modulate auditory responses at the cochlear level. Several studies performed in animals as well as in humans have attempted to find a modulation of cochlear responses during visual attention with contradictory results. Here, we have appraised cochlear sensitivity in behaving chinchillas by measuring, with a chronically implanted round-window electrode, sound-evoked auditory-nerve compound action potentials and cochlear microphonics, a measure of outer hair cell function, during selective attention to visual stimuli. Chinchillas were trained in a visual discrimination or in an auditory frequency discrimination two-choice task. We found a significant decrease of cochlear sensitivity during the period of attention to visual stimuli in the animals performing the visual discrimination task, but not in those performing the auditory task, demonstrating that this physiological effect is related to selective attention to visual stimuli rather than to an increment in arousal level. Furthermore, the magnitude of the cochlear-sensitivity reductions increased in sessions performed with shorter target-light durations (4 – 0.5 s), suggesting that this effect is stronger for higher attentional demands of the task. These results demonstrate that afferent auditory activity is modulated by selective attention as early as at sensory transduction, possibly through activation of olivocochlear efferent fibers.