Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of the telephone-based Brief Motivational Intervention for alcohol problems in Brazil.

BACKGROUND The Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) is an effective treatment for alcohol misuse but has not been adequately tested for use in helplines for alcoholics. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-based BMI for Brazilians seeking help with alcohol use cessation. METHODS A randomized, controlled trial was performed with Brazilian subjects. Participants were randomly assigned to either the minimal intervention group (i.e., given reference materials) or the BMI group. Alcohol abstinence was evaluated in a 6-month follow-up telephone counseling session. The analysis was based on the intention to treat (ITT). RESULTS Of the 5,896 drug users who called the helpline, 700 (12%) used alcohol, 637 of whom enrolled in this study. At 6-month follow-up, 70% of the BMI group had stopped consuming alcohol compared to 41% in the control group (odds ratio = 1.5; 95% confidence interval = 1.2-1.9; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A helpline-based BMI helps alcohol users achieve abstinence.
Machine Translation Using Automatically Inferred Construction-Based Correspondence and Language Models

We discuss the problem of translation in the wider context of the problem of mean- ing in cognition and describe a structural statistical machine translation (MT) method moti- vated by philosophical, cognitive, and computational considerations. Our approach relies on a recently published algorithm capable of learning from a raw corpus a limited yet effec- tive grammar that can be used to construct probabilistic parsers and language models, and on cognitively motivated heuristics for learning construction-based translation models. A pi- lot system has been implemented and tested successfully on simple English to Hebrew and Spanish to English translation tasks.
Electrophysiologic effects of coronary occlusion and reperfusion. Observations of dispersion of refractoriness and ventricular automaticity.

UNLABELLED In order to determine the electrophysiological changes that occur during coronary occlusion and following reperfusion, 19 mongrel dogs were studied. Refractory periods were determined by the extrastimulus method in nonischemic and ischemic zones prior to and after variable periods of left anterior descending artery occlusion and reperfusion. After 15-30 minutes of occlusion, refractory periods in the nonischemic zones remained unchanged while in the ischemic zone they shortened by 17%, resulting in a dispersion of refractoriness. Within three minutes of reperfusion, arrhythmias appeared together with a marked directional change of refractory periods to a prolongation by 34% (P less than 0.001) in the ischemic zone and by 3% (P less than 0.02) in the nonischemic zone. Refractory periods returned to baseline values after 60 minutes of reperfusion. After 60-90 minutes of occlusion, refractory periods in the nonischemic zones were unchanged whereas in the ischemic zone they demonstrated a decrease by 28% (P less than 0.01), again resulting in a dispersion of refractoriness. Within five minutes of reperfusion, refractory periods in the ischemic zone prolonged by 44% (P less than 0.001). Similar but smaller directional changes were also seen in nonischemic zones. Concomitant with the observed prolongation in refractory periods frequent ventricular ectopic activity was again documented. In addition, refractory periods did not return to control values after periods of observation up to 120 minutes in this group. In seven dogs, complete heart block was induced to ascertain the rate of idioventricular pacemaker and the effect of ventricular overdrive on the escape interval. Control ventricular rates (53.3 +/- 5.7 beats/min) remained unchanged (52.3 +/- 5.6) following coronary occlusion, but decreased to 48.0 +/- 4.4 (P less than 0.05) during reperfusion. Mean control escape intervals (1.8 +/- 0.2 sec) did not change after occlusion (1.7 +/- 0.2 sec) but prolonged to 2.1 +/- 0.2 sec (P less than 0.05) following reperfusion. IN CONCLUSION 1) sudden prolongation in refractory periods following reperfusion leads to an overshoot resulting in a dispersion of refractoriness temporally related to the onset of ventricular arrhythmias and 2) re-entry, and not enhanced automaticity, appears to be the mechanism for postperfusion arrhythmias.
MobiAd: private and scalable mobile advertising

We introduce MobiAd; a scalable, location-aware, personalised and private advertising system for mobile platforms. Advertising is the driving force behind many websites and service providers on the Internet. With the ever-increasing number of smart phones, there is a fertile market for personalised and localised advertising. They key benefit of using mobile phones is to take advantage of the vast amount of information on the phones and the locations of interest to the user in order to provide personalised ads. Preservation of user privacy is however essential for successful deployment of such a system. MobiAd would perform a range of data mining tasks in order to maintain an interest profile on the user's phone, and use the infrastructure network to download and display relevant ads and reports the clicks via a Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocol. In this paper we provide an overview into existing advertising systems and privacy concerns on mobile phones, in addition to the scalable local ad download and privacy-aware DTN-based click report dissemination methods that we propose for MobiAd.
Localization and Function of GABA Transporters GAT-1 and GAT-3 in the Basal Ganglia

GABA transporter type 1 and 3 (GAT-1 and GAT-3, respectively) are the two main subtypes of GATs responsible for the regulation of extracellular GABA levels in the central nervous system. These transporters are widely expressed in neuronal (mainly GAT-1) and glial (mainly GAT-3) elements throughout the brain, but most data obtained so far relate to their role in the regulation of GABAA receptor-mediated postsynaptic tonic and phasic inhibition in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Taking into consideration the key role of GABAergic transmission within basal ganglia networks, and the importance for these systems to be properly balanced to mediate normal basal ganglia function, we analyzed in detail the localization and function of GAT-1 and GAT-3 in the globus pallidus of normal and Parkinsonian animals, in order to further understand the substrate and possible mechanisms by which GABA transporters may regulate basal ganglia outflow, and may become relevant targets for new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of basal ganglia-related disorders. In this review, we describe the general features of GATs in the basal ganglia, and give a detailed account of recent evidence that GAT-1 and GAT-3 regulation can have a major impact on the firing rate and pattern of basal ganglia neurons through pre- and post-synaptic GABAA- and GABAB-receptor-mediated effects.
Spontaneous Testicular Teratomas in an Inbred Strain of Mice.

Descriptions of teratoid tumors of the mammalian testis, other than for man and ie horse, are ,are. In mice'oteratoma testis has not heretofore been reported. urthermore,. there are only a few descriptions of the ovarian counterpart of this 'pe of tumor in the mouse. ", 2, 3, 4 In view of the paucity of information concerng teratomas in mice, their occurrence in the testes of an inbred strain is of conderable interest, especially since they appear spontaneously in a definite proporon of males.
A Quantitative Profiling Method of Phytohormones and Other Metabolites Applied to Barley Roots Subjected to Salinity Stress

As integral parts of plant signaling networks, phytohormones are involved in the regulation of plant metabolism and growth under adverse environmental conditions, including salinity. Globally, salinity is one of the most severe abiotic stressors with an estimated 800 million hectares of arable land affected. Roots are the first plant organ to sense salinity in the soil, and are the initial site of sodium (Na+) exposure. However, the quantification of phytohormones in roots is challenging, as they are often present at extremely low levels compared to other plant tissues. To overcome this challenge, we developed a high-throughput LC-MS method to quantify ten endogenous phytohormones and their metabolites of diverse chemical classes in roots of barley. This method was validated in a salinity stress experiment with six barley varieties grown hydroponically with and without salinity. In addition to phytohormones, we quantified 52 polar primary metabolites, including some phytohormone precursors, using established GC-MS and LC-MS methods. Phytohormone and metabolite data were correlated with physiological measurements including biomass, plant size and chlorophyll content. Root and leaf elemental analysis was performed to determine Na+ exclusion and K+ retention ability in the studied barley varieties. We identified distinct phytohormone and metabolite signatures as a response to salinity stress in different barley varieties. Abscisic acid increased in the roots of all varieties under salinity stress, and elevated root salicylic acid levels were associated with an increase in leaf chlorophyll content. Furthermore, the landrace Sahara maintained better growth, had lower Na+ levels and maintained high levels of the salinity stress linked metabolite putrescine as well as the phytohormone metabolite cinnamic acid, which has been shown to increase putrescine concentrations in previous studies. This study highlights the importance of root phytohormones under salinity stress and the multi-variety analysis provides an important update to analytical methodology, and adds to the current knowledge of salinity stress responses in plants at the molecular level.
Good Glycemic Control Is Associated with Better Survival in Diabetic Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis: A Prospective Observational Study

Background The effect of glycemic control after starting peritoneal dialysis (PD) on the survival of diabetic PD patients has largely been unexplored, especially in Asian population. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study, in which 140 incident PD patients with diabetes were recruited. Patients were divided into tertiles according to the means of quarterly HbA1C levels measured during the first year after starting PD. We examined the association between HbA1C and all-cause mortality using Cox proportional hazards models. Results The mean age was 58.7 years, 59.3% were male, and the mean follow-up duration was 3.5 years (range 0.4–9.5 years). The mean HbA1C levels were 6.3%, 7.1%, and 8.5% in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tertiles, respectively. Compared to the 1st tertile, the all-cause mortality rates were higher in the 2nd [hazard ratio (HR), 4.16; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91–18.94; p = 0.065] and significantly higher in the 3rd (HR, 13.16; 95% CI, 2.67–64.92; p = 0.002) tertiles (p for trend = 0.005), after adjusting for confounding factors. Cardiovascular mortality, however, did not differ significantly among the tertiles (p for trend = 0.682). In contrast, non-cardiovascular deaths, most of which were caused by infection, were more frequent in the 2nd (HR, 7.67; 95% CI, 0.68–86.37; p = 0.099) and the 3rd (HR, 51.24; 95% CI, 3.85–681.35; p = 0.003) tertiles than the 1st tertile (p for trend = 0.007). Conclusions Poor glycemic control is associated with high mortality rates in diabetic PD patients, suggesting that better glycemic control may improve the outcomes of these patients.
Comparison of Contrast-Enhanced Isotropic 3D-GRE-T1WI Sequence versus Conventional Non-Isotropic Sequence on Preoperative Staging of Cervical Cancer

Purpose To compare contrast-enhanced isotropic 3D-GRE-T1WI sequence vs. conventional non-isotropic sequence in terms of image quality, estimated signal-to-noise ratio (eSNR), relative tumor contrast and performance of cervical cancer staging. Methods This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and informed consent was waived. Seventy-one patients (47 ± 9.4 years), with pathologically-confirmed cervical cancer underwent axial contrast-enhanced 1mm3 isotropic 3D-GRE-T1WI sequence (herein referred to Isotropy), and 3-mm-thick non-isotropic sagittal and coronal sequences. Image quality score, eSNR and relative contrast between tumor to myometrium, gluteal muscle, and fat respectively, were compared between 3-mm-thick reconstructed images from Isotropy and directly scanned non-isotropic images by paired t-test. Difference in tumor staging obtained from Isotropy and combined Three-planes including reconstructed axial images, directly scanned sagittal and coronal sequence were compared by McNemar test. Results Both sequences showed similar image quality. Reconstructed images demonstrated higher eSNR, equal or lower relative tumor contrast compared with non-isotropic images. Compared with performing diagnosis on Three-planes, both reviewers showed higher accuracy when diagnosing vaginal invasion on Isotropy (p = 0.039 and 0.003, respectively). Conclusion Compared with non-isotropic sequence, 3.0T MR isotropic 3D-GRE-T1WI sequence exhibited better eSNR, providing more reliable clinical information for preoperative staging of cervical cancer.
Production, absorption, distribution and excretion of vitamin B12 in sheep

1. The efficiency of production and utilization of vitamin B12 was studied with sheep given a cobalt-deficient diet with and without supplementary Co (1 mg/d). Vitamin B12 to lignin ratios in rumen contents were used to estimate minimum rates of production and these were related to faecal and urinary excretion. Tissue distribution and excretion of vitamin B12 were studied with [58Co]cyanocobalamin and 5′-deoxyadenosyl[60Co]cobalamin. 2. Labelled Co was rapidly sequestered by particulate material in the rumen and was largely excreted in the faeces. Most of the vitamin B12 in whole rumen contents was contained in micro-organisms, but was released on incubation at pH 2. Added cyanocobalamin was partly degraded in the rumen. 3. The vitamin B12 to lignin ratio in rumen contents began to decline 1–3 d after cessation of a daily Co drench. Estimated ruminal production of vitamin B12 on full feed was not less than 400–700 μg/d with supplementary Co and 50–110 μg/d from the Co (0.01–0.05 μg/g dry weight) in the basal diet. Production of vitamin B12 appeared to be limited by food intake with or without additional Co. 4. At full feed the efficiency of production of vitamin B12 from Co in the basal diet was about 13% while that from added Co was about 3%. Part of the vitamin B12 produced in the rumen was degraded before reaching the faeces and about 5% was absorbed. The minimum total requirements of sheep for vitamin B12 are assessed at about 11 μg/d. 5. Injected 5′-deoxyadenosylcobalamin was better retained than injected cyanocobalamin, faecal excretion exceeded urinary excretion with both. Labelled cobalamin was selectively retained by liver (particularly by the mitochondria), kidneys and the walls of parts of the alimentary tract. Vitamin B12 was secreted into the duodenum and reabsorbed in the ileum, but little secretion occurred above the duodenum and little absorption below the small intestine.
Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Lignocellulosic Fiber-Filled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Biocomposites

Biocomposites compounded using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene with sunflower hull and distillers’ dried grains with soluble fibers were analyzed for their effectiveness in hybrid form to understand the combined effect of two fillers. The thermal and mechanical properties of the 20 wt. % fiber hybrid biocomposites were compared against the neat polymer. The biocomposites were processed using twin screw extrusion and injection molded as ASTM test specimens. The hybrid biocomposites showed marginal variations in thermal and physical properties, and showed near equivalent mechanical properties. The thermal and structural properties were attributed to the nonstructural and structural constituents of the fibers, respectively. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Ionic Liquids in the Vulcanization of Elastomers

Vulcanization is the basic process used in elastomer technology. The first patent for the sulfur vulcanization of natural rubber was issued to Charles Goodyear in 1839. The most important disadvantage of sulfur vulcanization at its creation was the long process time of several hours. In 1906, Oenslager discovered the accelerating effect of aniline on sulfur vulcanization [1]. This discovery was followed by the introduction of guanidines. Other organic vulcanization accelerators, such as thiazole and sulfenamide, were developed in 1930 [2]. In later years, thiurames and dithiocarbamates were applied. Although vulcaniza‐ tion is one of the oldest and best known processes, thiazoles, sulfenamides and dithiocarba‐ mates were the last significant accelerator classes to be introduced in industry. Soon afterward, it was discovered that zinc oxide could activate the sulfur vulcanization process. Zinc oxide reacts with accelerators to form zinc complexes, which are more reactive than free accelerators. Sulfur is then incorporated into these complexes, and active sulfating agents are formed that react with the allylic hydrogen atoms of unsaturated elastomers to form crosslink precursors. These precursors then react with other rubber chains to gener‐ ate crosslinks that contain large amounts of sulfur atoms in their bridges. In the next step of the vulcanization process, crosslink shortening, usually accompanied by side reactions, produces the final elastomer network [3].
Disuse of rat muscle in vivo reduces protein kinase C activity controlling the sarcolemma chloride conductance

Muscle disuse produced by hindlimb unloading (HU) induces severe atrophy and slow‐to‐fast fibre type transition of the slow‐twitch soleus muscle (Sol). After 2 weeks HU, the resting ClC‐1 chloride conductance (gCl) of sarcolemma, which controls muscle excitability, increases in Sol toward a value typical of the fast‐twitch EDL muscle. After 3 days of HU, the gCl increases as well before initiation of fibre type transition. Since ClC‐1 channels are acutely silenced by PKC‐dependent phosphorylation, we studied the modulation of gCl by PKC and serine–threonine phosphatase in Sol during HU, using a number of pharmacological tools. We show that a fraction of ClC‐1 channels of control Sol are maintained in an inactive state by PKC basal activity, which contributes to the lower gCl in control Sol compared to EDL. After 14 days of HU, PKC/phosphatase manipulation produces effects on Sol gCl that corroborate the partial slow‐to‐fast transition. After 3 days of HU, the early increase of gCl in Sol is entirely attributable to a reduction of PKC activity and/or activation of phosphatase, maintaining ClC‐1 channels in a fully active state. Accordingly, we found that HU reduces expression of PKCα, ɛ, and θ isoenzymes in Sol and EDL muscles and reduces total PKC activity. Moreover, we show that the rheobase current is increased in Sol muscle fibres as soon as after 3 days of HU, most probably in relation to the increased gCl. In conclusion, Sol muscle disuse is characterized by a rapid reduction of PKC activity, which reduces muscle excitability and is likely to contribute to disuse‐induced muscle impairment.
Emergency psychiatric condition, mental illness behavior and lunar cycles: is there a real or an imaginary association?

UNLABELLED There is a fairly widespread belief regarding the influence of the moon phases on the psychological behavior in humans. This relationship could be more pronounced among patients with mental disorders. OBJECTIVE To study the possible association between the incidence of psychiatric emergencies and moon phases and between the behaviors of psychiatric patients and moon phases. METHODS Daily series of cases seen in psychiatric emergencies were established according to the condition, typical behaviors manifested and treatments received by patients admitted to the short-term in-patient psychiatric unit, and the brightness of the moon, from 11-1-2006 to 10-31-2007. The possible association between the first two with the second was examined by making cross-correlations in the tuning fork of delays from 0 to 7 days. RESULTS No association appeared between moon phases and characteristics of psychiatric emergencies. In hospitalized patients, a correlation was observed between the moon phases and the bed occupancy rate, which was direct, weak but significant, decreasing until the third day after admission (0.20, 0.18, 0.16 and 0.11), while hypnotic medication intake increased with moon brightness moon until the second day after, also declining and significantly weakness (0.22, 0.19 and 0.15). CONCLUSIONS The only empirical relationship of the moon phases with psychiatric behavior of the mentally ill in our sample was manifested as an increase in the incidence of cases and greater disruption of sleep patterns.
Dissemination of Spotted Fever Rickettsia Agents in Europe by Migrating Birds

Migratory birds are known to play a role as long-distance vectors for many microorganisms. To investigate whether this is true of rickettsial agents as well, we characterized tick infestation and gathered ticks from 13,260 migratory passerine birds in Sweden. A total of 1127 Ixodes spp. ticks were removed from these birds and the extracted DNA from 957 of them was available for analyses. The DNA was assayed for detection of Rickettsia spp. using real-time PCR, followed by DNA sequencing for species identification. Rickettsia spp. organisms were detected in 108 (11.3%) of the ticks. Rickettsia helvetica, a spotted fever rickettsia associated with human infections, was predominant among the PCR-positive samples. In 9 (0.8%) of the ticks, the partial sequences of 17kDa and ompB genes showed the greatest similarity to Rickettsia monacensis, an etiologic agent of Mediterranean spotted fever-like illness, previously described in southern Europe as well as to the Rickettsia sp.IrITA3 strain. For 15 (1.4%) of the ticks, the 17kDa, ompB, gltA and ompA genes showed the greatest similarity to Rickettsia sp. strain Davousti, Rickettsia japonica and Rickettsia heilongjiangensis, all closely phylogenetically related, the former previously found in Amblyomma tholloni ticks in Africa and previously not detected in Ixodes spp. ticks. The infestation prevalence of ticks infected with rickettsial organisms was four times higher among ground foraging birds than among other bird species, but the two groups were equally competent in transmitting Rickettsia species. The birds did not seem to serve as reservoir hosts for Rickettsia spp. , but in one case it seems likely that the bird was rickettsiemic and that the ticks had acquired the bacteria from the blood of the bird. In conclusion, migratory passerine birds host epidemiologically important vector ticks and Rickettsia species and contribute to the geographic distribution of spotted fever rickettsial agents and their diseases.