Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anomia as a marker of distinct semantic memory impairments in Alzheimer's disease and semantic dementia.

OBJECTIVE Many neurologically constrained models of semantic memory have been informed by two primary temporal lobe pathologies: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Semantic Dementia (SD). However, controversy persists regarding the nature of the semantic impairment associated with these patient populations. Some argue that AD presents as a disconnection syndrome in which linguistic impairment reflects difficulties in lexical or perceptual means of semantic access. In contrast, there is a wider consensus that SD reflects loss of core knowledge that underlies word and object meaning. Object naming provides a window into the integrity of semantic knowledge in these two populations. METHOD We examined naming accuracy, errors and the correlation of naming ability with neuropsychological measures (semantic ability, executive functioning, and working memory) in a large sample of patients with AD (n = 36) and SD (n = 21). RESULTS Naming ability and naming errors differed between groups, as did neuropsychological predictors of naming ability. Despite a similar extent of baseline cognitive impairment, SD patients were more anomic than AD patients. CONCLUSIONS These results add to a growing body of literature supporting a dual impairment to semantic content and active semantic processing in AD, and confirm the fundamental deficit in semantic content in SD. We interpret these findings as supporting of a model of semantic memory premised upon dynamic interactivity between the process and content of conceptual knowledge.
Analyst Dividend Forecasts and Their Usefulness to Investors: International Evidence

In contrast to the disappearing dividends view prevalent in the literature, we document extensive dividend payments by firms and significant variability within firms and across 16 countries during 2000-2013. We predict that within-firm variability in dividends increases investor demand for forward-looking dividend information, and analysts respond by producing informative dividend forecasts. We find that analyst dividend forecasts are available for most dividend-paying firms and are more prevalent for firms with higher variability of dividends. Analyst dividend forecasts are more accurate than alternative proxies based on extrapolations of past dividends. Finally, dividend forecasts (i) are incrementally useful to investors beyond information in other fundamentals such as earnings and cash flow forecasts, (ii) help investors interpret earnings quality, and (iii) are associated with investors' portfolio allocation decisions.
Parkinson's disease and periodontitis - the missing link? A review.

OBJECTIVE In this article an attempt has been made to postulate a possible link between Parkinson's disease and periodontal disease. BACKGROUND Various systemic diseases such as cardiac disease, diabetes, renal diseases, low birth weight and Alzheimer's disease have been proposed to be linked with periodontal disease on the basis of systemic inflammation. Parkinson's disease is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disorder with multifactorial aetiology. Until now, periodontal disease and Parkinson's disease has been linked only on the basis of poor motor and cognitive control in Parkinson's patient which leads to poor oral health maintenance. Evidence now suggests that chronic neuroinflammation is consistently associated with the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Also, recently, systemic inflammation has been suggested as one of the contributing factors for neurodegeneration. MATERIAL AND METHODS Dental and medical literature especially those dealing with neurosciences were selected which highlighted the link between systemic inflammation and infection. RESULTS So far there is no direct evidence implicating an effect of periodontitis in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. To clarify this link, studies on population based case-control or cohort design are needed. This would be especially significant in the present era where there is paucity for preventive measures as far as a cognitive disorder such as Parkinson's disease is concerned. CONCLUSION We cannot cure Parkinson's disease, but if in future this missing link is established, an attempt can be made to prevent it by tackling one of its possible contributors (periodontitis) for systemic inflammation by simple preventive oral hygiene measures.
Subcellular Distribution and Turnover of Presenilins in Transfected Cells*

The mechanisms by which mutations in presenilin-1 (PS1) and presenilin-2 (PS2) result in the Alzheimer’s disease phenotype are unclear. Full-length PS1 and PS2 are each processed into stable proteolytic fragments after their biosynthesis in transfected cells. PS1 and PS2 have been localized by immunocytochemistry to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi compartments, but previous studies could not differentiate between the full-length presenilin proteins and their fragments. We carried out subcellular fractionation of cells stably transfected with PS1 or PS2 to determine the localization of full-length presenilins and their fragments. Full-length PS1 and PS2 were principally distributed in ER fractions, whereas the N- and C-terminal fragments were localized predominantly to the Golgi fractions. In cells expressing the PS1 mutant lacking exon 9 (ΔE9), we observed only full-length molecules that were present in the ER and Golgi fractions. The turnover rate was considerably slower for the ΔE9 holoprotein, apparently due to decreased degradation within the ER. Our results suggest that that full-length presenilin proteins are primarily ER resident molecules and undergo endoproteolysis within the ER. The fragments are subsequently transported to the Golgi compartment, where their turnover rate is much slower than that of the full-length presenilin in the ER.
General Well-Being and Academic Performance

A self-scoring version of the General Well-being Questionnaire, a measure of a comprehensive set of 32 factors that contribute to healthfulness, was used as a class exercise in discussing subtopics in health psychology. Scores for 37 women and 25 men were analyzed to estimate their relative association with final course grade. Six factors had significant correlations with grade, and three of the six significantly predicted final course grade with a multiple R of . 522. The three predictors were Growth Environment, Effectence, and Medical Condition.
Characterization of nivolumab-associated skin reactions in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

ABSTRACT Immune checkpoint inhibitors have led to considerable therapy improvement in cancer patients. Autoimmune side effects including skin reactions are frequently observed. In melanoma, those include rash and vitiligo and were shown to be associated with a prolonged overall survival. Little is known about skin reactions in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients during immunotherapy. Here, we retrospectively investigated immune-related adverse skin reactions (irAEs) in 40 patients with metastatic NSCLC treated with the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab. 7 out of 40 patients (17%) developed an irAEs. Skin irAEs correlated with tumor responses in 5 of 12 responders (42%) as compared to 2 of 27 non-responders (7%). Histologically, scaly plaques showed dermatitis consisting mainly of lymphocytes. We observed a positive correlation between skin irAEs and tumor responses in patients with NSCLC treated with nivolumab. Patterns of lymphocytic skin infiltration differed depending on the histological tumor subtype (adenocarcinoma versus squamous cell carcinoma NSCLC).
MUC4: A novel prognostic factor of oral squamous cell carcinoma

MUC4 mucin is now known to be expressed in various normal and cancer tissues. We have previously reported that MUC4 expression is a novel prognostic factor in several malignant tumors; however, it has not been investigated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aim of our study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of MUC4 expression in OSCC. We examined the expression profile of MUC4 in OSCC tissues from 150 patients using immunohistochemistry. Its prognostic significance in OSCC was statistically analyzed. MUC4 was expressed in 61 of the 150 patients with OSCC. MUC4 expression was significantly correlated with higher T classification (p = 0.0004), positive nodal metastasis (p = 0.049), advanced tumor stage (p = 0.002), diffuse invasion of cancer cells (p = 0.004) and patient's death (p = 0.004) in OSCC. Multivariate analysis showed that MUC4 expression (p = 0.011), tumor location (p = 0.032) and diffuse invasion (p = 0.009) were statistically significant risk factors. Backward stepwise multivariate analysis demonstrated MUC4 expression (p = 0.0015) and diffuse invasion (p = 0.018) to be statistically significant independent risk factors of poor survival in OSCC. The disease‐free and overall survival of patients with MUC4 expression was significantly worse than those without MUC4 expression (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0001). In addition, the MUC4 expression was a significant risk factor for local recurrence and subsequent nodal metastasis in OSCC (p = 0.017 and p = 0.0001). We first report MUC4 overexpression is an independent factor for poor prognosis of patients with OSCC; therefore, patients with OSCC showing positive MUC4 expression should be followed up carefully.
Reproductive Behaviour Evolves Rapidly When Intralocus Sexual Conflict Is Removed

Background Intralocus sexual conflict can inhibit the evolution of each sex towards its own fitness optimum. In a previous study, we confirmed this prediction through the experimental removal of female selection pressures in Drosophila melanogaster, achieved by limiting the expression of all major chromosomes to males. Compared to the control populations (C1-4) where the genomes are exposed to selection in both sexes, the populations with male-limited genomes (ML1-4) showed rapid increases in male fitness, whereas the fitness of females expressing ML-evolved chromosomes decreased [1]. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we examine the behavioural phenotype underlying this sexual antagonism. We show that males expressing the ML genomes have a reduced courtship level but acquire the same number of matings. On the other hand, our data suggest that females expressing the ML genomes had reduced attractiveness, stimulating a lower rate of courtship from males. Moreover, females expressing ML genomes tend to display reduced yeast-feeding behaviour, which is probably linked to the reduction of their fecundity. Conclusion/Significance These results suggest that reproductive behaviour is shaped by opposing selection on males and females, and that loci influencing attractiveness and foraging were polymorphic for alleles with sexually antagonistic expression patterns prior to ML selection. Hence, intralocus sexual conflict appears to play a role in the evolution of a wide range of fitness-related traits and may be a powerful mechanism for the maintenance of genetic variation in fitness.
Effects of Dietary Methionine Levels on Choline Requirements of Starter White Pekin Ducks

A 2×5 factorial experiment, using 2 dietary methionine levels (0.28% and 0.48%) and 5 dietary choline levels (0, 394, 823, 1,239, and 1,743 mg/kg), was conducted to study the effects of dietary methionine status on choline requirements of starter white Pekin ducks from 7 to 28 days of age. Four hundred eighty 7-d-old male White Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to ten dietary treatments, each containing 6 replicate pens with 8 birds per pen. At 28 d of age, weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain were measured and the legs of all ducks from each pen were examined for incidence of perosis. Perosis and growth depression were observed in choline-deficient ducks and supplementation of choline reduced perosis and significantly increased weight gain and feed intake regardless of dietary methionine levels (p<0.05). In addition, significant positive effects of dietary methionine supplementation on weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain were observed at any choline level (p<0.05). Supplementation of 1,743 mg/kg choline in diets alleviated the depression of weight gain and feed intake caused by methionine deficiency at 0.28% methionine level. The interaction between choline and methionine influenced weight gain and feed intake of ducks (p<0.05). At 0.28% methionine level, 1,743 mg/kg choline group caused 4.92% and 3.23% amount of improvement in weight gain and feed intake compared with 1,239 mg/kg choline group, respectively. According to the broken-line regression, the choline requirements of starter Pekin ducks for weight gain and feed intake were 1,472 and 1,424 mg/kg at 0.28% methionine level and 946 and 907 mg/kg at 0.48% methionine level, respectively. It suggested the choline recommendations of starter Pekin ducks on a semi-purified diet were 1448 mg/kg at 0.28% methionine level and 927 mg/kg at 0.48% methionine level, respectively. Compared with the adequate methionine level, menthionine deficiency markedly increased the choline requirements of ducks.
New results on multidimensional Chinese remainder theorem

The Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) [McClellan and Rader 1979] has been well known for applications in fast DFT computations and computer arithmetic. Guessoum and Mersereau [1986] first made headway in extending the CRT to multidimensional (MD) nonseparable systems and showing its usefulness. The present letter generalize the result and present a more general form. This more general MDCRT is an exact counterpart of 1DCRT. <<ETX>>
Effects of a humor-centered activity on disruptive behavior in patients in a general hospital psychiatric ward

The aim of this quasi-experimental study is to investigate the effects of a humor-based activity on disruptive behaviors in patients hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. It be compared two homogeneous samples of patients hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital (acute ward) during two 83-day-long periods designated baseline (period 1) and activity (period 2). Ten behaviors considered disruptive (DB) 1 This study was made possible by funding from the Fundacion Virgen de las Nieves in Granada (Spain), which allowed us to obtain equipment and other key material. This study would not have been possible without the professional collaboration and enthusiasm of the Titiritas Clown group, who were the stars of the humor-based activities on the ward. We offer special thanks to the members of this group: Jose Perez de la Blanca, Francisco Parera, and Fernando Perez de la Blanca. We also thank Dr Antonio Roman de la Rosa for his valuable help with the incidence cards and data quality control, and K. Shashok for translating the original manuscript into English. The authors declare that none of us has and financial or other close relationship with any organization whose interests, financial or otherwise, may be affected by
The BioGRID interaction database: 2013 update

The Biological General Repository for Interaction Datasets (BioGRID: http//thebiogrid.org) is an open access archive of genetic and protein interactions that are curated from the primary biomedical literature for all major model organism species. As of September 2012, BioGRID houses more than 500 000 manually annotated interactions from more than 30 model organisms. BioGRID maintains complete curation coverage of the literature for the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. A number of themed curation projects in areas of biomedical importance are also supported. BioGRID has established collaborations and/or shares data records for the annotation of interactions and phenotypes with most major model organism databases, including Saccharomyces Genome Database, PomBase, WormBase, FlyBase and The Arabidopsis Information Resource. BioGRID also actively engages with the text-mining community to benchmark and deploy automated tools to expedite curation workflows. BioGRID data are freely accessible through both a user-defined interactive interface and in batch downloads in a wide variety of formats, including PSI-MI2.5 and tab-delimited files. BioGRID records can also be interrogated and analyzed with a series of new bioinformatics tools, which include a post-translational modification viewer, a graphical viewer, a REST service and a Cytoscape plugin.
Trunk Extensor and Flexor Strength Capacity in Healthy Young Elite Athletes Aged 11–15 Years

Abstract Mueller, J, Mueller, S, Stoll, J, Baur, H, and Mayer, F. Trunk extensor and flexor strength capacity in healthy young elite athletes aged 11–15 years. J Strength Cond Res 28(5): 1328–1334, 2014—Differences in trunk strength capacity because of gender and sports are well documented in adults. In contrast, data concerning young athletes are sparse. The purpose of this study was to assess the maximum trunk strength of adolescent athletes and to investigate differences between genders and age groups. A total of 520 young athletes were recruited. Finally, 377 (n = 233/144 M/F; 13 ± 1 years; 1.62 ± 0.11 m height; 51 ± 12 kg mass; training: 4.5 ± 2.6 years; training sessions/week: 4.3 ± 3.0; various sports) young athletes were included in the final data analysis. Furthermore, 5 age groups were differentiated (age groups: 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 years; n = 90, 150, 42, 43, and 52, respectively). Maximum strength of trunk flexors (Flex) and extensors (Ext) was assessed in all subjects during isokinetic concentric measurements (60°·s−1; 5 repetitions; range of motion: 55°). Maximum strength was characterized by absolute peak torque (Flexabs, Extabs; N·m), peak torque normalized to body weight (Flexnorm, Extnorm; N·m·kg−1 BW), and Flexabs/Extabs ratio (RKquot). Descriptive data analysis (mean ± SD) was completed, followed by analysis of variance (&agr; = 0.05; post hoc test [Tukey-Kramer]). Mean maximum strength for all athletes was 97 ± 34 N·m in Flexabs and 140 ± 50 N·m in Extabs (Flexnorm = 1.9 ± 0.3 N·m·kg−1 BW, Extnorm = 2.8 ± 0.6 N·m·kg−1 BW). Males showed statistically significant higher absolute and normalized values compared with females (p < 0.001). Flexabs and Extabs rose with increasing age almost 2-fold for males and females (Flexabs, Extabs: p < 0.001). Flexnorm and Extnorm increased with age for males (p < 0.001), however, not for females (Flexnorm: p = 0.26; Extnorm: p = 0.20). RKquot (mean ± SD: 0.71 ± 0.16) did not reveal any differences regarding age (p = 0.87) or gender (p = 0.43). In adolescent athletes, maximum trunk strength must be discussed in a gender- and age-specific context. The Flexabs/Extabs ratio revealed extensor dominance, which seems to be independent of age and gender. The values assessed may serve as a basis to evaluate and discuss trunk strength in athletes.
Achieving Shannon Capacity in a Wiretap Channel via Previous Messages

In this paper we consider a wiretap channel with a secret key buffer. We use the coding scheme of [1] to enhance the secrecy rate to the capacity of the main channel, while storing each securely transmitted message in the secret key buffer. We use the oldest secret bits from the buffer to be used as a secret key to transmit a message in a slot and then remove those bits. With this scheme we are able to prove stronger results than those in [1]. i.e., not only the message which is being transmitted currently, but all the messages transmitted in last $N_1$ slots are secure with respect to all the information that the eavesdropper possesses, where $N_1$ can be chosen arbitrarily large.
Perceptions by Patients and Therapists of Therapeutic Factors in Group Psychotherapy

Summary The comparative value of possible therapeutic factors in group psychotherapy was studied by submitting questionnaires regularly to patients and therapists of six long-term out-patient groups. Both patients and therapists attached most importance to self-understanding, self-disclosure and learning from interpersonal actions. They diverged, however, in their overall perception of which factors were important in therapy.
Cross Regulation Between cGMP-dependent Protein Kinase and Akt in Vasodilatation of Porcine Pulmonary Artery

Abstract: cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) plays a crucial role in vasodilatation induced by cGMP-elevating agents. Akt has been demonstrated to be involved in modulating vasoreactivity. The present study was to determine the interaction between PKG and Akt and their influences on nitric oxide (NO)–induced vasodilatation. Isolated fourth-generation porcine pulmonary arteries were dissected from the lung and cut into rings in ice-cold modified Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate buffer. The relaxant responses of vessels were determined by organ chamber technique, cGMP was assayed by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, the protein levels of phosphorylated Akt were examined by Western blotting, and the activity of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) was assayed by measuring the rate of cGMP degradation. Incubation with DETA NONOate (a stable NO donor) and 8-Br-cGMP (a cell membrane permeable analog of cGMP) attenuated Akt phosphorylation at Ser-473, which was prevented by Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS (a specific inhibitor of PKG) and calyculin A (an inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A) but not by okadaic acid (a selective inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A). Inhibition of Akt enhanced the relaxation and cGMP elevation of porcine pulmonary arteries induced by DETA NONOate or sodium nitroprusside, which was prevented by zaprinast, a specific inhibitor of PDE5. Incubation with LY294002 or Akt inhibitor reduced PDE5 activity in porcine pulmonary arteries. The present study indicates that PKG may attenuate Akt phosphorylation through protein phosphatase 1, which leads to an augmented cGMP elevation by inhibition of PDE5. The increased cGMP in turn activates PKG. Such a positive feedback may play an important role in NO-induced pulmonary vasodilatation.