Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer-assisted cognitive therapy for depression: maintaining efficacy while reducing therapist time.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this investigation was to compare the efficacy of computer-assisted cognitive therapy against standard cognitive therapy and a control group without treatment for outpatients with nonpsychotic major depressive disorder. METHOD Medication-free participants (N=45) with major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to cognitive therapy (N=15), computer-assisted cognitive therapy (N=15), or a wait list (N=15). Both active treatments consisted of nine sessions over 8 weeks. Therapist time was reduced after the first visit for computer-assisted cognitive therapy, with 25-minute sessions rather than 50-minute sessions. Assessments were completed pretreatment, after 4 and 8 weeks of therapy, and 3 and 6 months posttreatment. RESULTS Computer-assisted cognitive therapy and standard cognitive therapy were superior to the wait list control group for treatment of depression and did not differ from each other on the primary outcome variables. Very large between-group effect sizes were observed. Improvement in depression for both computer-assisted cognitive therapy and standard cognitive therapy was maintained at the 3- and 6-month follow-up evaluations. Computer-assisted cognitive therapy had more robust effects, relative to being wait-listed, than standard cognitive therapy in reducing measures of cognitive distortion and in improving knowledge about cognitive therapy. CONCLUSIONS A multimedia, computer-assisted form of cognitive therapy with reduced therapist contact was as efficacious as standard cognitive therapy. Computer-assisted therapy could decrease costs and improve access to cognitive therapy for depression.
A climatological study of the sea and land breezes in the Arabian Gulf region

[1] This study focuses on observations of the sea and land breeze circulations in the southern Arabian Gulf. During the summer months, the Indian monsoon creates light northwesterly winds over the Arabian Gulf, allowing for the formation of thermally driven circulations. Observations from a network of stations are used to develop a wind climatology for the Arabian Gulf region. Characteristics of the sea and land breeze circulations, such as onset time, duration, and horizontal and vertical extent are described. The dense network of surface stations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) allows for a fine-scale observational study in this region. It is found that the sea breeze occurs during all seasons of the year in this region. It occurs in the late afternoon and continues through the evening. A land breeze sets in during the night. Surface offshore winds in the land breeze are strong probably due to drainage flow down the inland hills.
Cytochrome c oxidase deficiency in neurons decreases both oxidative stress and amyloid formation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Defects in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX) have been associated with Alzheimer's Disease, in which the age-dependent accumulation of β-amyloid plays an important role in synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. To test the possibility that age-dependent decline in the mitochondrial respiratory function, especially COX activity, may participate in the formation and accumulation of β-amyloid, we generated mice expressing mutant amyloid precursor protein and mutant presenilin 1 in a neuron-specific COX-deficient background. A neuron-specific COX-deficient mouse was generated by the Cre-loxP system, in which the COX10 gene was deleted by a CamKIIα promoter-driven Cre-recombinase. COX10 is a farnesyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of heme a, required for COX assembly and function. These KO mice showed an age-dependent COX deficiency in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Surprisingly, COX10 KO mice exhibited significantly fewer amyloid plaques in their brains compared with the COX-competent transgenic mice. This reduction in amyloid plaques in the KO mouse was accompanied by a reduction in Aβ42 level, β-secretase activity, and oxidative damage. Likewise, production of reactive oxygen species from cells with partial COX activity was not elevated. Collectively, our results suggest that, contrary to previous models, a defect in neuronal COX does not increase oxidative damage nor predispose for the formation of amyloidgenic amyloid precursor protein fragments.
Frameworks for Cooperation in Distributed Problem Solving

Two forms of cooperation in distributed problem solving are considered: task-sharing and result-sharing. In the former, nodes assist each other by sharing the computational load for the execution of subtasks of the overall problem. In the latter, nodes assist each other by sharing partial results which are based on somewhat different perspectives on the overall problem. Different perspectives arise because the nodes use different knowledge sources (KS's) (e.g., syntax versus acoustics in the case of a speech-understanding system) or different data (e.g., data that is sensed at different locations in the case of a distributed sensing system). Particular attention is given to control and to internode communication for the two forms of cooperation. For each, the basic methodology is presented and systems in which it has been used are described. The two forms are then compared and the types of applications for which they are suitable are considered.
Patterns of Abstinence or Continued Drug Use Among Methadone Maintenance Patients and Their Relation to Treatment Retention

Abstract The efficacy and effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in the medical management of opioid addiction has been well-established, but treatment outcomes are compromised by the continued use of licit and illicit drugs during MMT. The present study examined the relationship between in-treatment illicit drug use and retention and dropout of 604 MMT patients in Washington, D.C. Sixty-eight percent of patients did not test positive for an unprescribed drug during the study period. Of patients who tested positive for an illicit drug during the baseline period, 55% tested positive for cocaine, 44% for opiates, 23% for THC, 20% for benzodiazepines, 7% for PCP, and 4% for amphetamines. Those testing positive were three times more likely to leave treatment than those who did not test positive. Testing positive for one drug doubled the rate of attrition; testing positive for multiple drugs quadrupled the risk of attrition. Non-prescribed opioid or benzodiazepine use was a predictor of MMT dropout, but prescribed opioid or benzodiazepine use was not. Continued illicit drug use poses significant risk for subsequent premature termination of MMT. Assertive clinical management of continued illicit drug use could provide mechanisms to enhance MMT retention and long-term recovery outcomes.
Continuous traumatic stress as a mental and physical health challenge: Case studies from South Africa

This article discusses the condition of continuous traumatic stress as common on the African continent and in other international settings characterised by very high levels of ongoing violence and threat of community, political or war-related origin. Through consideration of three case studies from South Africa, contexts of continuous traumatic stress are described, and the mental health and physical health effects of living in such contexts are elaborated. Cautions are raised about attempting to transpose existing posttraumatic stress models onto individuals exposed to situations of continuous traumatic stress, and guidelines for optimal interventions with such cases are proposed.
Incidence and Predictors of Fractures in Children After Solid Organ Transplantation: A 5‐Year Prospective, Population‐Based Study

In this population‐based prospective follow‐up study, children undergoing solid organ transplantation had a highly elevated risk for fractures: The incidence of all fractures was 6‐fold higher (92 versus 14 fractures/1000 persons/year; p < 0.001) and vertebral fractures was 160‐fold higher (57 versus 0.35 fractures/1000 persons/year; p < 0.001) in the study group compared with the control population. Thus, screening of vertebral fractures at regular intervals is recommended, and preventive strategies should be studied.
Cognitive impairment and Fabry Disease : a case report with mutation S 126 G

Anderson-Fabry Disease is a lysosomal storage disease, multisystem, progressive, hereditary, linked to the X-chromosome. Specifically, it is characterized by a glycosphingolipid metabolism due to the reduction or absence of Alpha-galactosidase, an enzyme activity lisosomile gene mutation GLA (Xq21.3-q22), which encodes the enzyme. The decreased activity causes the accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) within lysosomes, which in turn sets off a cascade of cellular events. The clinical picture presents a wide spectrum of manifestations of multiple systems: neurological, skin, kidney, cardiovascular disease, auditory and vestibular and cerebrovascular. Despite the recent interest in the involvement of cognitive studies in literature have not yet produced enough results to outline a possible neuropsychological profile of course. Also, not all researchers agree on the existence of a specific cognitive deficit of Fabry Disease (FD). The case discussed here is a example of a neuropsychological profile in patient with FD (mutation p.S126G).
Viable methods for evaluation of community-based rehabilitation programmes

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss some viable and practically feasible methods for evaluation of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes in developing country settings. Method: Based on review of literature the role of qualitative approaches for evaluation of CBR programmes are analysed. Results: Aspects of the qualitative paradigm are discussed. The specific qualitative methods of case studies, focus groups, nominal groups, participatory techniques, content analysis, and key informant interviews are deliberated. Conclusions: Viable alternatives to the qualitative paradigm offer promise in evaluation of CBR programmes. Issues in qualitative designing, sampling, data collection, analysis, and interpretation are discussed. The classical, quantitative paradigm needs to be complemented with viable qualitative methods for evaluation of CBR programmes.
Radio Properties of z > 4 Optically Selected Quasars

We report on two programs to address differential evolution between the radio-loud and radio-quiet quasar populations at high (z > 4) redshift. Both programs entail studying the radio properties of optically selected quasars. First, we have observed 32 optically selected, high-redshift (z > 4) quasars with the VLA at 6 cm (5 GHz). These sources represent a statistically complete and well-understood sample. We detect four quasars above our 3 σ limit of ≈0.15 mJy, which is sufficiently sensitive to detect all radio-loud quasars at the probed redshift range. Second, we have correlated 134 z > 4 quasars, comprising all such sources that we are aware of as of mid-1999, with the FIRST survey and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. These two recent 1.4 GHz VLA sky surveys reach 3 σ limits of approximately 0.6 and 1.4 mJy, respectively. We identify a total of 15 z > 4 quasars, of which six were not previously known to be radio-loud. The depth of these surveys does not reach the radio-loud/radio-quiet demarcation luminosity density (L1.4 GHz = 1032.5 h ergs s-1 Hz-1) at the redshift range considered; this correlation therefore provides only a lower limit to the radio-loud fraction of quasars at high redshift. The two programs together identify eight new radio-loud quasars at z > 4, a significant increase over the seven currently in the published literature. We find no evidence that the radio-loud fraction depends on optical luminosity for -25 > MB > -28 at z ≃ 2 or for -26 > MB > -28 at z > 4. Our results also show no evolution in the radio-loud fraction between z ≃ 2 and z > 4 (for -26 > MB > -28).
An Annotation Scheme for Information Status in Dialogue

We present an annotation scheme for information status (IS) in dialogue, and validate it on three Switchboard dialogues. We show that our scheme has good reproducibility, and compare it with previous attempts to code IS and related features. We eventually apply the scheme to 147 dialogues, thus producing a corpus that contains nearly 70,000 NPs annotated for IS and over 15,000 coreference links.
Phospholipid Binding Protein C Inhibitor (PCI) Is Present on Microparticles Generated In Vitro and In Vivo

Protein C inhibitor is a secreted, non-specific serine protease inhibitor with broad protease reactivity. It binds glycosaminoglycans and anionic phospholipids, which can modulate its activity. Anionic phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine are normally localized to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, but are exposed on activated and apoptotic cells and on plasma membrane-derived microparticles. In this report we show by flow cytometry that microparticles derived from cultured cells and activated platelets incorporated protein C inhibitor during membrane blebbing. Moreover, protein C inhibitor is present in/on microparticles circulating in normal human plasma as judged from Western blots, ELISAs, flow cytometry, and mass spectrometry. These plasma microparticles are mainly derived from megakaryocytes. They seem to be saturated with protein C inhibitor, since they do not bind added fluorescence-labeled protein C inhibitor. Heparin partially removed microparticle-bound protein C inhibitor, supporting our assumption that protein C inhibitor is bound via phospholipids. To assess the biological role of microparticle-bound protein C inhibitor we performed protease inhibition assays and co-precipitated putative binding partners on microparticles with anti-protein C inhibitor IgG. As judged from amidolytic assays microparticle-bound protein C inhibitor did not inhibit activated protein C or thrombin, nor did microparticles modulate the activity of exogenous protein C inhibitor. Among the proteins co-precipitating with protein C inhibitor, complement factors, especially complement factor 3, were most striking. Taken together, our data do not support a major role of microparticle-associated protein C inhibitor in coagulation, but rather suggest an interaction with proteins of the complement system present on these phospholipid vesicles.
The Aspects and Mechanisms of Cognitive Alterations in Epilepsy: The Role of Antiepileptic Medications

Epilepsy is a major health problem. Several studies suggest a significant influence of epilepsy and its treatment on dynamic and functional properties of brain activity. Epilepsy can adversely affect mental development, cognition, and behavior. Epileptic patients may experience reduced intelligence, attention, and problems in memory, language, and frontal executive functions. Neuropsychological, functional, and quantitative neuroimaging studies revealed that epilepsy affect the brain as a whole. Mechanisms of epilepsy‐related cognitive dysfunction are poorly delineated. Cognitive deficits with epilepsy may be transient, persistent, or progressive. Transient disruption of cognitive encoding processes may occur with paroxysmal focal or generalized epileptic discharges, whereas epileptogenesis‐related neuronal plasticity, reorganization, sprouting, and impairment of cellular metabolism are fundamental determinants for progressive cognitive deterioration. Also antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have differential, reversible, and sometimes cumulative cognitive adverse consequences. AEDs not only reduce neuronal irritability but also may impair neuronal excitability, neurotransmitter release, enzymes, and factors critical for information processing and memory. The present article serves as an overview of recent studies in adult and childhood epilepsy literatures present in PubMed that highlighted cognitive evaluation in epilepsy field (publications till 2008 were checked). We also checked the reference lists of the retrieved studies for additional reports of relevant studies, in addition to our experience in this field. Our search revealed that although the aspects of cognitive dysfunction, risk factors, and consequences have been explored in many studies; however, the mechanisms of contribution of epilepsy‐related variables, including AEDs, to patients' cognition are largely unexplored. In this review, we discussed the differential effect of AEDs in mature and immature brains and the known mechanisms underlying epilepsy and AEDs adverse effects on cognition. The nature, timing, course, and mechanisms of cognitive alteration with epilepsy and its medications are of considerable clinical and research implications.
Association of Physical Activity with Co-morbid Conditions in Geriatric Population

To find out association of physical activity with co-morbid conditions in geriatric population, a cross-sectional study was conducted in different cties of Pakistan in 2015. A total of 114 participants were inducted by non-probability convenience sampling technique. Data was collected after informed verbal consent by a validated questionnaire that is Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA). Participants were categorized into two groups i.e. physically active and physically inactive. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 20. There were 66 (57.9%) males and 48 (42.1%) females with mean age of 57.04±7.348 years. Among hypertensive individuals (n=43, 37.7%) there were 39 (90.7%) physically inactive, among individuals having angina (n=17, 14.9%) there were 15 (88.2%) physically inactive. Out of 37 (32.5%) diabetics, 35 (94.6%) were physically inactive. Among individuals suffering from arthritis (n=40, 35.1%), there were 38 (95%) physically inactive. A significant association was found between physical activity and diabetes and arthritis with p-value of 0.048 and 0.029 respectively. Physical activity is significantly associated with diabetes and arthritis in geriatric population. Adequate physical activity should be performed to reduce the risk of co-morbid conditions and improve the quality of life in geriatric population. Full Text: PDF
Improved Default Sense Selection forWord Sense Disambiguation

Supervised word sense disambiguation has proven incredibly difficult. Despite significant effort, there has been little success at using contextual features to accurately assign the sense of a word. Instead, few systems are able to outperform the default sense baseline of selecting the highest ranked WordNet sense. In this paper, we suggest that the situation is even worse than it might first appear: the highest ranked WordNet sense is not even the best default sense classifier. We evaluate several default sense heuristics, using supersenses and SemCor frequencies to achieve significant improvements on the WordNet ranking strategy.
Macrolide use in the treatment of critically ill patients with pneumonia: Incidence, correlates, timing and outcomes.

BACKGROUND Macrolide antibiotics are commonly used to treat pneumonia despite increasing antimicrobial resistance. Evidence suggests that macrolides may also decrease mortality in severe sepsis via immunomodulatory properties. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the incidence, correlates, timing and mortality associated with macrolide-based treatment. METHODS A population-based cohort of critically ill adults with pneumonia at five intensive care units in Edmonton, Alberta, was prospectively followed over two years. Data collected included disease severity (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE] II score), pneumonia severity (Pneumonia Severity Index score), comorbidities, antibiotic treatments at presentation and time to effective antibiotic. The independent association between macrolide-based treatment and 30-day all-cause mortality was examined using multivariable Cox regression. A secondary exploratory analysis examined time to effective antimicrobial therapy. RESULTS The cohort included 328 patients with a mean Pneumonia Severity Index score of 116 and a mean APACHE II score of 17; 84% required invasive mechanical ventilation. Ninety-one (28%) patients received macrolide-based treatments, with no significant correlates of treatment except nursing home residence (15% versus 30% for nonresidents [P=0.02]). Overall mortality was 54 of 328 (16%) at 30 days: 14 of 91 (15%) among patients treated with macrolides versus 40 of 237 (17%) for nonmacrolides (adjusted HR 0.93 [95% CI 0.50 to 1.74]; P=0.8). Patients who received effective antibiotics within 4 h of presentation were less likely to die than those whose treatment was delayed (14% versus 17%; adjusted HR 0.50 [95% CI 0.27 to 0.94]; P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS Macrolide-based treatment was not associated with lower 30-day mortality among critically ill patients with pneumonia, although receipt of effective antibiotic within 4 h was strongly predictive of survival. Based on these results, timely effective treatment may be more important than choice of antibiotics.
The oncogene BRAFV 600 E is associated with a high risk of recurrence and less differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma due to the impairment of Na + / I x targeting to the membrane

The oncogene BRAF is the most frequent genetic event in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) but its prognostic impact still remains to be elucidated. We evaluated a representative series of 67 individuals with PTC who underwent total thyroidectomy. BRAF-positive tumours correlated with early recurrences (32% vs 7.6%; P=0.02) during a median postoperative follow-up period of 3 years. Interestingly, within the recurrences, a significant majority had negative radioiodine (I) total body scans, predicting a poorer outcome as treatment with I is not effective. This last observation led us to investigate the role of BRAF and the MEK-ERK pathway in thyroid dedifferentiation, particularly in Na/I symporter (NIS) impairment, as this thyroid-specific plasma membrane glycoprotein mediates active transport of I into the thyroid follicular cells. A subset of 60 PTC samples was evaluated for NIS immunoreactivity and, accordingly, we confirmed a significant low NIS expression and impaired targeting to membranes in BRAF-positive samples (3.5% vs 30%; P=0.005). Furthermore, experiments with differentiated PCCl3 thyroid cells demonstrated that transient expression of BRAF sharply impaired both NIS expression and targeting to membrane and, surprisingly, this impairment was not totally dependent on the MEK-ERK pathway. We have concluded that BRAF is a new prognostic factor in PTC that correlates with a high risk of recurrences and less differentiated tumours due to the loss of NIS-mediated I uptake. Endocrine-Related Cancer (2006) 13 257–269