Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behavioral Therapy for “Apathy” of Hospitalized Schizophrenics

20 chronic schizophrenic adult female patients in a ward of a hospital for the mentally ill were placed on schedules of reinforcement designed to establish or strengthen behaviors incompatible with the diagnostic statement “apathetic. ” Another 20 patients on the same ward received standard ward therapy. 30 behavioral samples, spaced evenly in ½-hr. intervals, were obtained for each of the patients for 3 5-day periods: before, during, and on termination of the program. Apathy was defined as the degree to which a patient at the time of any of the 30 daily observations engaged in one—and only one—clearly discernible behavior. While the degree of apathy was equal for experimentals and controls at the beginning of the experiment, those patients who were subjected to the schedules of reinforcement were significantly less apathetic at the termination of the experiment than the controls who were given normal ward therapy but who were not subjected to such schedules. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Withdrawal from controlled carbamazepine therapy followed by further carbamazepine treatment in patients with dementia.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to assess the effects of withdrawal from placebo and carbamazepine administered for agitation associated with dementia and to assess safety, tolerability, and efficacy of subsequent ongoing carbamazepine therapy. METHOD We previously reported the results of a 6-week, randomized, parallel-group study of placebo versus carbamazepine in 51 nursing home patients with dementia who were agitated; 47 subjects completed that study. This report first presents the results of withdrawal from that experimental treatment assessed by (blinded) observations 3 weeks later (N = 45 remaining). The primary outcome measure was the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Secondary outcome measures addressed other aspects of behavior, cognition, function, safety, and tolerability. Patients were then treated with carbamazepine for an additional 6 weeks (N = 32 remaining) or 12 weeks (N = 25 remaining), with the same assessments performed. RESULTS Patients who had previously shown behavioral improvement with carbamazepine therapy reverted to their baseline state after washout, whereas there was no change in the patients previously treated with placebo. There were no other significant effects of washout. During subsequent therapy with carbamazepine at a modal dose of 300 mg/day, there were 2 deaths and 4 other adverse events resulting in dropout. Neither of the deaths, and only 1 serious adverse experience, was judged to be related to carbamazepine. There were a variety of nonserious adverse experiences during the trial. Behavior ratings showed ongoing improvement in agitation and aggression, as well as in other aspects of psychopathology. CONCLUSION The washout data provided independent confirmation of efficacy found in the prior placebo-controlled phase of this trial. Ongoing treatment was not associated with unexpected toxicity and was associated with improvement in measures of agitation and aggression that appeared to continue for up to 12 weeks. These findings confirm and extend results from earlier placebo-controlled studies.
Amyloid Fibrils Composed of Hexameric Peptides Attenuate Neuroinflammation

Amyloid fibrils may provide anti-inflammatory benefit in MS and other neuroinflammatory disorders. MS Had Better Watch Its Six It’s easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys in superhero comics: Have you ever heard a hero give an “evil laugh”? However, in disease pathogenesis, things aren’t so cut and dried. Proteins that are thought to be bad actors can actually play a healing role. Amyloid-forming proteins—such as tau, αB crystallin, and amyloid P—are examples of such complex characters. Although amyloid fibrils are thought to contribute to pathogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease, it’s becoming increasingly clear that that isn’t the whole story. Now, Kurnellas et al. suggest that hexameric amyloid peptides may be broadly anti-inflammatory in the setting of neuroinflammatory disease. The authors examined a series of hexameric amyloid peptides in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. They found that these peptides reduced the production of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as attenuated clinical symptoms of EAE such as paralysis. Indeed, amyloid fibrils formed from these hexamers could precipitate proteins out of plasma and correlated with chaperone function, which may contribute to the anti-inflammatory mechanism. The amyloid-forming proteins tau, αB crystallin, and amyloid P protein are all found in lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS). Our previous work established that amyloidogenic peptides from the small heat shock protein αB crystallin (HspB5) and from amyloid β fibrils, characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, were therapeutic in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), reflecting aspects of the pathology of MS. To understand the molecular basis for the therapeutic effect, we showed a set of amyloidogenic peptides composed of six amino acids, including those from tau, amyloid β A4, major prion protein (PrP), HspB5, amylin, serum amyloid P, and insulin B chain, to be anti-inflammatory and capable of reducing serological levels of interleukin-6 and attenuating paralysis in EAE. The chaperone function of the fibrils correlates with the therapeutic outcome. Fibrils composed of tau 623–628 precipitated 49 plasma proteins, including apolipoprotein B-100, clusterin, transthyretin, and complement C3, supporting the hypothesis that the fibrils are active biological agents. Amyloid fibrils thus may provide benefit in MS and other neuroinflammatory disorders.
The impact of chorionicity on umbilical cord acid–base values in twin gestations

Objective: To evaluate the impact of chorionicity on inter-twin differences in acid–base status at birth. Methods: Records for twin pregnancies delivered at ⩾ 24 weeks' gestation from 1 January 1990 to 31 June 2000 were reviewed. Collected data included maternal demographics, gestational age, fetal presentation, anesthesia, delivery mode, inter-twin interval, umbilical artery (UA) and venous (UV) acid–base values, Apgar scores and birth weights. The influence of chorionicity on umbilical cord biochemistry was evaluated. (p < 0.05 was considered significant.) Results: Analysis was carried out in 87 twin pairs (29 monochorionic, MC; and 58 dichorionic, DC). MC and DC twins were similar in maternal age (25.5 vs. 28.2 years), estimated gestational age (33.7 vs. 33.6 weeks), Cesarean delivery (55.2 vs. 52.6%), delivery interval (10 v s.5 min) and respective birth weights (twin A,1882 vs. 1981; and twin B,1828 vs. 1872 g). MC first twins had a higher UA pH (7.31 ± 0.05 vs. 7.26 ± 0.08; p = 0.0005) than DC first twins. MC first and second twins had higher UA and UV bicarbonate levels than their DC counterparts (ΔpH = 21.7 ± 5.1 vs. 18.5 ± 3.1 mmol/l and 22.0 ± 3.5 vs. 19.6 ± 2.5 mmol/l, respectively; p = 0.003). MC twins were more discordant in UA pH than DC twins (ΔpH = 0.043 ± 0.09 vs. 0.003 ± 0.07; p = 0.009). MC and DC twins had a similar venous pH (ΔpH = 0.01 ± 0.06 vs. 0.02 ± 0.06; p = 0.5). Conclusions: There is a significant association between placental chorionicity and umbilical cord biochemistry in twins. Although it is possible that the mechanism of this finding is related to placental angioarchitecture, it is unlikely to be a result of simple mixing of blood volumes between twins. The physiology of underlying processes requires further study.
Effects of the Amazonian Psychoactive Beverage Ayahuasca on Binocular Rivalry: Interhemispheric Switching or Interhemispheric Fusion?

Abstract An early theoretical analysis supposed changes in hemispheric integration as the basis of altered state of consciousness induced by psychoactive drugs. Brain imaging studies revealed right cortical activation after administration of hallucinogens. Recent studies on binocular rivalry suggest that interhemispheric switching is the neural substrate of the perceptual oscillations observed during dichoptic stimulus presentation. The current study tested perceptual alternation in ceremonial participants, who ingested the South American hallucinogenic beverage ayahuasca, to examine the claim that there might be changes in interhemispheric function under the influence of hallucinogens. Ingestion of ayahuasca resulted in a decrease of rivalry alternation rates, increased length of one percept and there was evidence of phenomenal fusion. The findings are in line with results of brain activation studies and support the concept of interhemispheric fusion in altered states of consciousness.
Concurrence of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura and Alopecia Areata: A Rare Association

52 International Journal of Trichology / Jan-Mar 2016 / Vol-8 / Issue-1 Sir, An 18-year-old, otherwise healthy, male presented with 1-month history of patchy, asymptomatic hair loss over the scalp. Dermatological examination showed well-defined, round patches of nonscarring alopecia on his parietal, temporal, and occipital area which were consistent with alopecia areata (AA) [Figure 1]. General physical examination was normal with no evidence of lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly. His medical and family histories were insignificant for autoimmune diseases and atopy. Before treatment, laboratory tests done to exclude coexisting autoimmune diseases were either negative or normal, including levels of thyroid hormones, thyroid autoantibodies, blood fasting glucose, Vitamin B12, and antinuclear antibodies. A complete blood count was also normal apart from a platelet count of 10000/mm3. There was no history of bleeding except for occasional ecchymoses secondary to trauma [Figure 2]. The patient was referred to hematology with a presumptive diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) concurrent with AA. A peripheral blood smears revealed decreased number of platelets (1–2 per field) and normal-appearing leukocytes, erythrocytes, confirming the diagnosis of ITP. Treatment with methylprednisolone 0.8 mg/kg/day led to increase of platelet count to 265,000/mm3 and almost complete growth of hair within 2 weeks. The patient is still followed up. Concurrence of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura and Alopecia Areata: A Rare Association
Isolation of 3 flavonoids from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia and determination of their genotoxic potentials by using the E. coli WP2 test system.

UNLABELLED Flavonoids, abundant in most of plant species, are widely used in medicine and development studies on phytotherapeutic drugs due to their various biological activities. In the present study, 3 flavonoids, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, apigenin-7-O-rutinoside, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide, were isolated from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia by using E. coli WP2 genotoxicity assay guided fractionation procedures. Later, the mutagenic and antimutagenic properties of each flavonoid were evaluated by using the same genotoxicity assay. The results showed that all the test compounds have significant antimutagenic activity at tested concentrations with or without S9 activation. The inhibition rates were between 25.3% (apigenin-7-O-glucoside with S9-2.0 μM/plate) and 59.0% (apigenin-7-O-rutinoside without S9-2.0 μM/plate). In conclusion, the results revealed that the 3 flavonoids from Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. longifolia have significant antimutagenic activity, and the findings of the present study are valuable for further investigations, focus on the phytotherapeutic drug discovery. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Apigenin derivatives can be thought as genetically safe at tested concentrations because they did not show mutagenic activity. Furthermore, they have also significant antimutagenic activity. These are valuable for further research focus on phytotherapeutic drug discovery and development.
Attenuated portal hypertension in germ‐free mice: Function of bacterial flora on the development of mesenteric lymphatic and blood vessels

Intestinal bacterial flora may induce splanchnic hemodynamic and histological alterations that are associated with portal hypertension (PH). We hypothesized that experimental PH would be attenuated in the complete absence of intestinal bacteria. We induced prehepatic PH by partial portal vein ligation (PPVL) in germ‐free (GF) or mice colonized with altered Schaedler's flora (ASF). After 2 or 7 days, we performed hemodynamic measurements, including portal pressure (PP) and portosystemic shunts (PSS), and collected tissues for histomorphology, microbiology, and gene expression studies. Mice colonized with intestinal microbiota presented significantly higher PP levels after PPVL, compared to GF, mice. Presence of bacterial flora was also associated with significantly increased PSS and spleen weight. However, there were no hemodynamic differences between sham‐operated mice in the presence or absence of intestinal flora. Bacterial translocation to the spleen was demonstrated 2 days, but not 7 days, after PPVL. Intestinal lymphatic and blood vessels were more abundant in colonized and in portal hypertensive mice, as compared to GF and sham‐operated mice. Expression of the intestinal antimicrobial peptide, angiogenin‐4, was suppressed in GF mice, but increased significantly after PPVL, whereas other angiogenic factors remained unchanged. Moreover, colonization of GF mice with ASF 2 days after PPVL led to a significant increase in intestinal blood vessels, compared to controls. The relative increase in PP after PPVL in ASF and specific pathogen‐free mice was not significantly different. Conclusion: In the complete absence of gut microbial flora PP is normal, but experimental PH is significantly attenuated. Intestinal mucosal lymphatic and blood vessels induced by bacterial colonization may contribute to development of PH. (Hepatology 2015;61:1685‐1695)
Multi-task Attention-based Neural Networks for Implicit Discourse Relationship Representation and Identification

We present a novel multi-task attention based neural network model to address implicit discourse relationship representation and identification through two types of representation learning, an attention based neural network for learning discourse relationship representation with two arguments and a multi-task framework for learning knowledge from annotated and unannotated corpora. The extensive experiments have been performed on two benchmark corpora (i.e., PDTB and CoNLL-2016 datasets). Experimental results show that our proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art systems on benchmark corpora.
Mitigation of secondary disease of allogeneic mouse radiation chimeras by modification of the intestinal microflora.

Conventional CBA mice subjected to lethal whole-body irradiation and allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation developed delayed secondary disease, which caused 95% mortality within 100 days. Symptoms of secondary disease as well as mortality were virtually absent in similarly treated mice kept in the germfree state or given a colonization-resistant (CR) flora. Conventionalization of these mice as early as 40 days after transplantation did not induce a significant degree of secondary disease except in 1 group of CR mice derived from conventional mice by antibiotic treatment. The acute form of secondary disease occurring after transplantation of allogeneic spleen cells was much less influenced by the gnotobiotic conditions, which confirmed the concept that the mortality was caused primarily by severe graft-versus-host reactions. The implications of these findings for the treatment of patients receiving bone-marrow grafts are discussed. -J Natl Cancer Inst 52: 401-404,1974.
A Reevaluation of the Key Factors That Influence Tomato Fruit Softening and Integrity1[W][OA]

The softening of fleshy fruits, such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), during ripening is generally reported to result principally from disassembly of the primary cell wall and middle lamella. However, unsuccessful attempts to prolong fruit firmness by suppressing the expression of a range of wall-modifying proteins in transgenic tomato fruits do not support such a simple model. ‘Delayed Fruit Deterioration’ (DFD) is a previously unreported tomato cultivar that provides a unique opportunity to assess the contribution of wall metabolism to fruit firmness, since DFD fruits exhibit minimal softening but undergo otherwise normal ripening, unlike all known nonsoftening tomato mutants reported to date. Wall disassembly, reduced intercellular adhesion, and the expression of genes associated with wall degradation were similar in DFD fruit and those of the normally softening ‘Ailsa Craig’. However, ripening DFD fruit showed minimal transpirational water loss and substantially elevated cellular turgor. This allowed an evaluation of the relative contribution and timing of wall disassembly and water loss to fruit softening, which suggested that both processes have a critical influence. Biochemical and biomechanical analyses identified several unusual features of DFD cuticles and the data indicate that, as with wall metabolism, changes in cuticle composition and architecture are an integral and regulated part of the ripening program. A model is proposed in which the cuticle affects the softening of intact tomato fruit both directly, by providing a physical support, and indirectly, by regulating water status.
Antibodies Against Myosin in Sera of Patients with Idiopathic Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Myosin Antibodies in Atrial Fibrillation. Introduction: Circulating autoantibodies against myosin heavy chain have been detected in patients with ventricular myocarditis and in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. This study investigated the presence of antibodies against myosin in sera of healthy control persons as compared with patients with idiopathic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation refractory to antiarrhythmic therapy.
A Two-Component Mn2+-Sensing System Negatively Regulates Expression of the mntCAB Operon in Synechocystis

Mn is an essential component of the oxygen-evolving machinery of photosynthesis and is an essential cofactor of several important enzymes, such as Mn–superoxide dismutase and Mn-catalase. The availability of Mn in the environment varies, and little is known about the mechanisms for maintaining cytoplasmic Mn2+ ion homeostasis. Using a DNA microarray, we screened knockout libraries of His kinases and response regulators of Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 to identify possible participants in this process. We identified a His kinase, ManS, which might sense the extracellular concentration of Mn2+ ions, and a response regulator, ManR, which might regulate the expression of the mntCAB operon for the ABC-type transporter of Mn2+ ions. Furthermore, analysis with the DNA microarray and by reverse transcription PCR suggested that ManS produces a signal that activates ManR, which represses the expression of the mntCAB operon. At low concentrations of Mn2+ ions, ManS does not generate a signal, with resulting inactivation of ManR and subsequent expression of the mntCAB operon.
Energy efficient low-voltage DC-grids for commercial buildings

The European ENIAC R&D project consortium DC Components and Grid (DCC+G) is developing suitable, highly efficient components and sub systems for 380 VDC grid to show the benefits of DC grid concept on test site in an office environment. The newly developed DC grid components and their integration into a generic system are presented in this paper. The targeted overall efficiency saving compared to AC grid is 5% and the energy conversion from PV (photo voltaic) is calculated to be 7% more cost effective compared to traditional PV installations. This paper also shows the realized DC grid prototypesupplying an office building of the Fraunhofer Institute in Erlangen, Germany, and describes general benefits of a DC grid system. The DC grid prototype consists of a DC lighting system, a DC low power supply for IT infrastructure, DC electric vehicle charger, a DC μCHP unit, DC photovoltaic MPPT units, a central rectifier and grid controller unit as well as a mixed AC/DC power monitoring unit. It is shown that less conversion losses and higher distribution efficiency can be achieved with a 380 VDC grid compared to conventional AC grids.
Lack of mitochondrial topoisomerase I (TOP1mt) impairs liver regeneration

Significance The liver is rich in mitochondria and has an exceptional regenerative capacity after partial hepatectomy or transplantation, viral infections, or chemical injuries; however, relatively little is known about the genetic factors for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication during liver regeneration. Here, we show that liver regeneration is markedly reduced in mice lacking mitochondrial topoisomerase I (TOP1mt). This defect is linked with reduced production of mtDNA and defective mitochondrial functions during acute energy demand for liver regeneration. Additionally, TOP1mt KO primary hepatocytes from CCl4-treated mice showed reduced and damaged mitochondria, decreased O2 consumption, and ATP production. Together with mtDNA depletion and regeneration experiments with ethidium bromide, these results demonstrate that Top1mt is required for mtDNA synthesis and appropriate liver regeneration. The liver has an exceptional replicative capacity following partial hepatectomy or chemical injuries. Cellular proliferation requires increased production of energy and essential metabolites, which critically depend on the mitochondria. To determine whether Top1mt, the vertebrate mitochondrial topoisomerase, is involved in this process, we studied liver regeneration after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration. TOP1mt knockout (KO) mice showed a marked reduction in regeneration and hepatocyte proliferation. The hepatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) failed to increase during recovery from CCl4 exposure. Reduced glutathione was also depleted, indicating increased reactive oxygen species (ROS). Steady-state levels of ATP, O2 consumption, mtDNA, and mitochondrial mass were also reduced in primary hepatocytes from CCl4-treated KO mice. To further test whether Top1mt acted by enabling mtDNA regeneration, we tested TOP1mt KO fibroblasts and human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells and measured mtDNA after 3-d treatment with ethidium bromide. Both types of TOP1mt knockout cells showed defective mtDNA regeneration following mtDNA depletion. Our study demonstrates that Top1mt is required for normal mtDNA homeostasis and for linking mtDNA expansion with hepatocyte proliferation.
On the robust adaptive stabilization of a class of nominally first-order hybrid systems

This paper presents a robust adaptive stabilization scheme for a class of nominally first-order and controllable hybrid time-invariant linear systems involving both continuous and discrete parametrizations and signals. The usual assumptions of inverse stability of the plant and knowledge of the high-frequency gain are not required. The design philosophy relies on the separation of the contributions of continuous and discrete dynamics to the output by generating two associate additive terms to build the control action. The controllability of the nominally estimated plant model is maintained by using a hysteresis switching function. This allows relaxing the assumption of stability of the plant inverse.