Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epstein-Barr virus DNA load in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of patients with AIDS-related lymphoma

Detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related brain lymphoma. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to quantify EBV DNA in CSF and plasma from 42 patients with AIDS-related non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Twenty patients had primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and 22 systemic NHL, including 12 with central nervous system involvement (CNS-NHL). As controls, 16 HIV-infected patients with other CNS disorders were examined. EBV DNA was detected in the CSF from 16/20 (80%) patients with PCNSL, 7/22 (32%) with systemic NHL, 8/12 (67%) with CNS-NHL, and 2/16 (13%) of the controls. The viral EBV DNA levels were significantly higher in the CSF from patients with PCNSL or CNS-NHL compared to patients with systemic NHL or controls. EBV DNA was detected in plasma from 5/16 (31%) patients with PCNSL, 9/16 (56%) with systemic NHL, 4/9 (44%) with CNS-NHL, and 4/15 (27%) controls. No difference in plasma viral load was found between patient groups. From the patients with CNS-NHL, plasma samples drawn prior to CNS involvement contained significantly higher EBV DNA levels than those from systemic NHL patients without subsequent CNS involvement. EBV DNA levels in the CSF, but not in plasma, from patients treated with antiherpes drugs were significantly lower than in untreated patients. High CSF EBV DNA levels were found in HIV-associated brain lymphomas and the viral load can be clinically useful. High plasma EBV DNA levels might predict CNS involvement in systemic NHL.
A truncating mutation in the IL1RAPL1 gene is responsible for X‐linked mental retardation in the MRX21 family

X‐linked mental retardation (XLMR) is a genetically heterogeneous condition, due to mutations in at least 50 genes, involved in functioning of the central nervous system and located on the X chromosome. Nonspecific XLMR (MRX) is characterized essentially by mental retardation transmitted by X‐linked inheritance. More than 80 extended MRX pedigrees have been reported to date, which have been distinguished exclusively by physical position of the corresponding gene on the X chromosome, established by linkage analysis. One such family, MRX21, which was described by us in 1993 and localized to Xp11.4‐pter, has now been reanalyzed with additional markers and after one more affected individual had became available. This extra information allowed a significant reduction of the linkage interval and, eventually, identification of the mutant gene. A stop mutation in exon 10 of the IL1RAPL1 gene (in Xp21) was found in the four affected males and in obligate carriers, allowing conclusive counseling of other family members of uncertain carrier status. The W487X mutation results in the production of a truncated IL1RAPL protein, comprised of the extracellular Ig‐like domain and transmembrane tract, but lacking the last 210 aminoacids of the cytoplasmic domain. MRX21 is the first extended MRX family with a point mutation in IL1RAPL1 and the second with a stop mutation, which had been previously found only in a small family. Our report confirms the role of the IL1RAPL1 gene in causing nonspecific mental retardation in males and underlines the importance of detailed linkage analysis before candidate gene mutational screening. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of G Protein‐Coupled Receptor Kinase 2 on the Sensitivity of M4 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors to Agonist‐Induced Internalization and Desensitization in NG108‐15 Cells

Abstract : NG108‐15 cells express predominantly the M4 subtype of the muscarinic receptor for acetylcholine. Stimulation of these receptors by the agonist carbachol causes an inhibition of cellular adenylyl cyclase and a consequent fall in the intracellular cyclic AMP concentration. Pretreatment of the cells with carbachol caused both internalization and desensitization of the M4 receptor. Overexpression of G protein‐coupled receptor kinase (GRK) 2 caused an increase in the rate constant for receptor endocytosis (from 0.06 to 0.18 min‐1) and a decrease in the EC50 for carbachol stimulation of internalization (from 15 to 3 μM). Overexpression of a dominant negative form of GRK2 had more modest effects, reducing the rate constant for endocytosis (from 0.11 to 0.07 min‐1) and increasing the EC50 for carbachol stimulation of internalization (from 8 to 17 μM). Neither GRK2 nor dominant negative GRK2 overexpression had any effect on the rate constant for receptor recycling following agonist removal. The time course and extent of receptor desensitization in control cells were identical to the corresponding values for receptor internalization, and the rate and extent of desensitization were again increased by GRK2 overexpression. Exposure of the cells to hyperosmolar sucrose (0.6 M) almost completely blocked agonist‐induced receptor internalization in both control and GRK2‐overexpressing cells. Sucrose treatment also blocked agonist‐induced desensitization. We conclude that the internalization and desensitization of the M4 muscarinic receptor in NG108‐15 cells can be modulated in response to changes in GRK2 activity and also that internalization plays a key role in desensitization.
The thermo‐TRP ion channel family: properties and therapeutic implications

The thermo‐transient receptor potentials (TRPs), a recently discovered family of ion channels activated by temperature, are expressed in primary sensory nerve terminals where they provide information about thermal changes in the environment. Six thermo‐TRPs have been characterised to date: TRP vanilloid (TRPV) 1 and 2 are activated by painful levels of heat, TRPV3 and 4 respond to non‐painful warmth, TRP melastatin 8 is activated by non‐painful cool temperatures, while TRP ankyrin (TRPA) 1 is activated by painful cold. The thermal thresholds of many thermo‐TRPs are known to be modulated by extracellular mediators, released by tissue damage or inflammation, such as bradykinin, PG and growth factors. There have been intensive efforts recently to develop antagonists of thermo‐TRP channels, particularly of the noxious thermal sensors TRPV1 and TRPA1. Blockers of these channels are likely to have therapeutic uses as novel analgesics, but may also cause unacceptable side effects. Controlling the modulation of thermo‐TRPs by inflammatory mediators may be a useful alternative strategy in developing novel analgesics.
Expectations for Replications

Failures to replicate published psychological research findings have contributed to a “crisis of confidence. ” Several reasons for these failures have been proposed, the most notable being questionable research practices and data fraud. We examine replication from a different perspective and illustrate that current intuitive expectations for replication are unreasonable. We used computer simulations to create thousands of ideal replications, with the same participants, wherein the only difference across replications was random measurement error. In the first set of simulations, study results differed substantially across replications as a result of measurement error alone. This raises questions about how researchers should interpret failed replication attempts, given the large impact that even modest amounts of measurement error can have on observed associations. In the second set of simulations, we illustrated the difficulties that researchers face when trying to interpret and replicate a published finding. We also assessed the relative importance of both sampling error and measurement error in producing variability in replications. Conventionally, replication attempts are viewed through the lens of verifying or falsifying published findings. We suggest that this is a flawed perspective and that researchers should adjust their expectations concerning replications and shift to a meta-analytic mind-set.
Deixis and the future of visualization excellence

The authors maintain that of particular importance for visualization excellence is an understanding of effective deictic facilities, especially new techniques made possible by computation. They explain what deixis is and why it is fundamental to visualization and they analyze some of the requirements for effective deixis in the context of emergent visualization technology. <<ETX>>
A composite perspective on British living standards during the Industrial Revolution

Few topics in economic history have received more attention than the profound transformations undergone by Great Britain during the 18th and 19th century. Even though the positive outcomes of this process for human living standards nowadays are not disputed, the same does not apply to the century spanning from 1750 to 1850 in Great Britain. Studies looking at key well-being dimensions individually such as income, health, working time and inequality individually often show contradictory evidence. To account for differences in their evolution, this paper presents a new framework grounded on economic theory to integrate them in a single measure and put their development into a broader perspective. I conclude that the new welfare measure does not support the idea of a two-phase process in the evolution of British living standards during the period 1781-1851 which indeed can be observed when considering the individual indicators of income, health or working time separately. The reason for this is that welfare gains came first almost exclusively from health improvements until the 1810s and then from wages (and to a lower extent non-working time). Secondly, the discrepancies between different real wage estimates in the literature appear less substantial in a framework that extends the concept of wellbeing. And thirdly, real wages typically underestimate the extent to which welfare increased over this period. Actually, health might have contributed to an improvement in well-being at least as substantial as the most optimistic estimate of real wages.
A Design Method and Developments of a Low-Power and High-Resolution Multiphase Generation System

A practical method for coupled oscillator design is elaborated. The topology analysis of a coupled oscillator, the ways of simulating its sensitivity, initializing its operation, and the oscillation frequency enhancement with nMOS phase couplers are presented. We have developed a write strategy system for DVD with a coupled oscillator using these techniques. In addition, we have also developed a low-power-oriented multiphase generator for mobile phones with our newly devised multiphase level shift system (M-LS). The M-LS has established superiority in its low power consumption because of no short current. Moreover, we have applied the method of output phase-accuracy improvement using a resistor ring to the M-LS. Two test chips are fabricated and the design method is validated. The first coupled oscillator has a resolution of 32 ps and a phase accuracy of -1.0 to 0.8 LSB at 490 MHz, corresponding to 16times DVD write speed. The second one consumes 1 mA and has a high phase accuracy of 0.5 LSB at 123 MHz.
Safety, Energy Efficiency, and Cost Efficacy of the C-Leg for Transfemoral Amputees: A Review of the Literature

The purpose of this paper was to review the literature through a structured literature review and provide a grade of recommendation for patient safety, gait energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness of the C-Leg microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee for transfemoral amputees. Medline (Ovid) and CINAHL (EBSCO) data bases were searched to identify potentially pertinent studies within the 1995–2009 time range. Studies were screened and sorted. Pertinent studies were rated for methodologic quality and for risk of bias. Following assessment of methodologic quality and bias risk, the level of evidence and a grade of recommendation was determined for each of three categories: Safety, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness. A total of 18 articles were determined to be pertinent: seven for safety, eight for energy efficiency, and three for cost effectiveness. Methodologic quality was low with a moderate risk of bias in the safety and energy effectiveness categories. Studies in cost effectiveness received high scores for methodologic quality. Though methodologic quality varied across the selected topics, there was sufficient evidence to suggest increased efficacy of the C-Leg in the areas of safety, energy efficiency and cost when compared with other prosthetic knees for transfemoral amputees.
Market Structure and Transaction Costs of Index CDSs

Despite a regulatory effort to promote all-to-all trading, the post-Dodd-Frank index CDS market remains two-tiered. Transaction costs are higher for dealer-to-client than interdealer trades, but the difference is explained by the higher, largely permanent, price impact of client trades. Most interdealer trades are liquidity motivated and executed via low-cost, low-immediacy trading protocols. Dealer-to-client trades are not anonymous; they almost always improve upon contemporaneous executable interdealer quotes, and dealers appear to price discriminate based on the perceived price impact of trades. Our results suggest the market structure is a consequence of the characteristics of client trades: relatively infrequent, large in size, and differentially informed.
Proteomic analysis of cytoplasmic and surface proteins from yeast cells, hyphae, and biofilms of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a human commensal and opportunistic pathogen that participates in biofilm formation on host surfaces and on medical devices. We used DIGE analysis to assess the cytoplasmic and non‐covalently attached cell‐surface proteins in biofilm formed on polymethylmethacrylate and planktonic yeast cells and hyphae. Of the 1490 proteins spots from cytoplasmic and 580 protein spots from the surface extracts analyzed, 265 and 108 were differentially abundant respectively (>1.5‐fold, p <0.05). Differences of both greater and lesser abundance were found between biofilms and both planktonic conditions as well as between yeast cells and hyphae. The identity of 114 cytoplasmic and 80 surface protein spots determined represented 73 and 25 unique proteins, respectively. Analyses showed that yeast cells differed most in cytoplasmic profiling while biofilms differed most in surface profiling. Several processes and functions were significantly affected by the differentially abundant cytoplasmic proteins. Particularly noted were many of the enzymes of respiratory and fermentative pentose and glucose metabolism, folate interconversions and proteins associated with oxidative and stress response functions, host response, and multi‐organism interaction. The differential abundance of cytoplasmic and surface proteins demonstrated that sessile and planktonic organisms have a unique profile.
Productivity Overshooting: The Dynamic Impact of Trade Opening with Heterogeneous Firms

In this paper, I build a dynamic model of trade with heterogeneous …rms which extends the work of Melitz (2003). As countries open up to trade, they will experience a productivity overshooting. Aggregate productivity increases in the long run, but it increases even more so in the short run. When trade opens up, there are too many …rms, inherited from the autarky era. The most productive foreign …rms enter the domestic market. Competition is …erce. The least productive …rms that are no more pro…table are forced to stop production. Not only do the most productive …rms increase their size because they export, but the least productive …rms stop producing altogether. Aggregate productivity soars. As time goes by, …rms start to exit because of age. Competition softens. Some less productive …rms resume production. This pulls down aggregate productivity. The slower the exit of …rms, the larger this overshooting phenomenon. This model also predicts that the price compression that accompanies trade opening may be dampened in the long run. It also predicts that inequalities should increase at the time when a country opens up to trade, and then gradually recede in the long run.
Cultural Aspects of Major Mental Disorders: A Critical Review from an Indian Perspective

Major mental disorders such as schizophrenia and affective disorders are highly disabling illnesses. The cultural factors that influence the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders are of paramount clinical significance. We attempted to critically review the cultural factors in relation to the epidemiology, phenomenology, treatment, and outcome of major mental disorders from an Indian perspective, and tried to compare these with the cultural factors identified in major international studies. The clinical expression of major mental disorders was noted to vary across cultures in the review. In addition, the outcome of major mental disorders is reported to be better in developing nations than in the developed countries. Transcultural variations are also noted to exist in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, traditional healing practices, and psychotherapeutic approaches. The role of cultural factors in severe mental illnesses needs adequate attention from mental health professionals. Continued research on the cultural aspects is required to understand the interplay of all social, cultural, and biological factors. It is important to consider other cultural, traditional, and folk methods for understanding and management of mental illnesses.
The prescription of dexamphetamine to patients with schizophrenia and amphetamine dependence

Patients with a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia have significant rates of concurrent amphetamine use. Such dual diagnosis patients have been shown to have poorer treatment outcomes. Often, they do not comply with treatment plans and have frequent episodes of hospitalization. There is growing evidence for the role of prescribed dexamphetamine in the treatment of amphetamine dependence. The prescription of dexamphetamine to patients with schizophrenia and amphetamine dependence has not been previously reported. Eight schizophrenic patients are described to whom dexamphetamine has been prescribed, with information being extracted retrospectively from case notes. In four out of eight cases, the prescription of dexamphetamine led to apparently good progress both in terms of substance misuse and psychiatric health. In two cases, progress was more equivocal, but appeared to produce some benefit. Two cases could be judged as treatment failures, but the condition and situation of the patients were not worse at the end of treatment than at the beginning. Compliance with neuroleptics increased in most cases. No patients exhibited exacerbation of psychosis as a result of treatment. The rate of outcome success is satisfactory when consideration is given to the difficult nature of this patient group, and their previous failure to respond to intensive treatment. It is argued that benefits may be gained from increased compliance with psychiatric treatment in patients prescribed amphetamine, and that this may outweigh possible risks. However, any conclusions are tentative in view of the nature of this study. A small open-label prospective study is recommended.
Rheological and mechanical properties of poloxamer mixtures as a mucoadhesive gel base

This study described the thermosensitive formulations composed of poloxamer mixtures for use as drug delivery platform via mucosal route. It also characterized the poloxamer mixtures’ rheological, mechanical and mucoadhesive properties. Poloxamer (Plx) 407 and Plx 188 were used alone and together for preparing the mucosal drug delivery platform. The mixtures of Plx 407 and Plx 188 in ratio of 15:15 (F5); 15:20 (F6); 20:10 (F7) existed liquid at room temperature, but gelled at physiological temperature. Flow rheometry studies and oscillatory analysis of each formulation were performed at 20 ± 0.1°C and 37 ± 0.1°C. F5 and F7 formulations exhibited typical gel-type mechanical spectra (G′ > G″) after the determined frequency value at 37°C whereas F6 behaved as weakly cross-linked gel. Texture profile analysis presented that F5 and F7 showed similar mechanical properties and can be used as base for mucosal dosage form. Mucoadhesion studies indicated the difference among the formulations and the effect of the mucosal surface on mucoadhesive properties. Mucin disc, bovine vaginal and buccal mucosa were used as mucosal platform for mucoadhesion studies. It is suggested that these investigations may be usefully combined to provide a more rational basis for selecting the ratio of Plx to prepare a topical thermosensitive drug delivery system for mucosal administration.
Psychological and organisational aspects of age management in organisations

In article we present selected issues of age management in organizations. They pointed to the lack of rationale for the discriminatory policies of some companies to employees aged 50+. Attention of managers was paid to the problem of age management in organizations, conditioned by an increase in the number of employees 50+. In Poland, currently there are employed approx. 31% of workers in this group (64 years old). While in EU countries the employment rate for workers aged fifty years and older more than 50%. The article discusses the specifics of the development processes and changes in the phase of middle and late adulthood, characterizing the population of employees and pointing to the “strengths” of the group. Age management in the context of both pathology and positive practices was presented. Referring to the data the benefits of age management were indicated.
d-fenfluramine-induced prolactin responses in mania: evidence for serotonergic subsensitivity.

OBJECTIVE The authors examined serotonergic-mediated prolactin release in bipolar mania, using d-fenfluramine as a probe. METHOD Hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder, currently manic, were matched for age and sex to healthy comparison subjects. Each group consisted of nine subjects (seven men and two women). After an overnight fast, all subjects had an intravenous cannula inserted into a forearm at 8:30 a.m., and baseline blood samples for determination of prolactin and cortisol levels were drawn. d-Fenfluramine (30 mg p.o.) was then administered; plasma prolactin levels were measured 15 minutes before d-fenfluramine was given, immediately before, and 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes afterward. RESULTS Baseline serum cortisol levels were higher in the bipolar manic subjects than in the comparison subjects, although baseline prolactin levels were similar in the two groups. The plasma prolactin responses to d-fenfluramine of the bipolar manic subjects were significantly lower than those of the comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS Bipolar mania appears to be associated with a state of decreased serotonergic responsivity similar to that found in unipolar depression.