Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Animal Models of Inherited Epilepsy

A significant proportion of the childhood epilepsies have a genetic component. Therefore, animal models that can be bred for seizure expression may provide important information regarding the mechanisms by which molecular defects result in the neuronal hyperexcitability states collectively termed “epilepsy. ” Because of the rate and ease of breeding, rodent models are the most commonly used. The genetically epilepsy‐prone rat has motor seizures in response to auditory stimuli. It is likely that the seizures are generated in the inferior colliclus because of an abnormality in the noradrenergic system. The seizure predisposition is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The genetic absence epilepsy rat has age‐related spontaneous seizures characterized by motor arrest and head drops that are correlated with generalized spike‐wave on the electroencephalogram (EEG). The seizure generating mechanism appears to be located in the lateral thalamic nuclei. The epileptic mongolian gerbil demonstrates behavioral arrest followed by myoclonic, tonic, and tonic‐clonic seizures in response to unfamiliar environments. The underlying neuroanatomy involves hippocampal‐cortical interactions indicative of a partial epilepsy. The tottering mouse has absence and myoclonic seizures, a 6‐ to 7‐Hz ictal spike‐wave EEG, and noradrenergic hyperinnervation that are linked to a mutation on chromosome 8. Hippocampal network hyperexcitability has been found with normal neuronal intrinsic properties. Stargazer is a mouse mutant with almost identical clinical and electrographic features as found in tottering. However, the genetic defect is located on chromosome 15 and no abnormalities of norepinephrine have been discovered. The El mouse demonstrates ictal automatisms in response to vestibular stimulation. Metabolic and structural abnormalities have been found in the hippocampus. Linkage to chromosomes 9 and 2 have been reported recently. The dilute brown agouiti mouse demonstrates motor seizures in response to auditory stimuli. Chromosomes 4 and 17 are linked to seizure expression. Thus, a variety of models exist to study the genetic, biochemical, structural and electrophysiological mechanisms that underlie the predisposition and expression of the inherited epilepsies.
Designing social commerce platforms based on consumers’ intentions

ABSTRACT Social commerce has been gaining momentum over the last few years as a novel form of e-commerce, creating substantial changes for both businesses and consumers. However, little is known about how consumer behaviour is influenced by characteristics on social commerce platforms. The purpose of this research is to elucidate how user intentions to purchase and to spread word-of-mouth (WOM) are influenced by characteristics present on social commerce platforms. More specifically, we adopt a uses-and-gratifications perspective and examine the influence of socialising, personal recommendation agents, product selection, and information availability. Partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis is performed on a sample of 165 social commerce users. Outcomes of the analysis indicate that socialising and personal recommendation agents positively influence purchase and WOM intentions, while product selection is found to only enhance purchase intentions. Interestingly, our findings reveal that information availability has no significant effect on purchase and WOM intentions. Finally, we find that when purchase intentions are triggered, they will tend increase consumers’ intentions to WOM.
Citrobacter freundii produces an 18-amino-acid heat-stable enterotoxin identical to the 18-amino-acid Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (ST Ia)

We purified and sequenced the heat-stable enterotoxin produced by Citrobacter freundii. The toxin was detected during purification by reaction with monoclonal antibody to Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin. The C. freundii toxin amino acid sequence was identical to that of the 18-amino-acid heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) produced by toxigenic E. coli.
Robust principal component analysis via re-weighted minimization algorithms

Many standard procedures in statistics such as linear regression and principal component analysis (PCA) are inconsistent in high-dimensional settings, where the number of unknown parameters is larger than the number of available observations. This implies that consistency can only be achieved by polynomial-time methods through additional structural assumptions on the data, e.g., sparsity or manifold constraints. In Robust PCA the goal is to recover the intrinsic data structure lying in a low-dimensional subspace from noisy measurements. One formulation of this problem capitalizes on the decomposition of the data matrix into low-rank and sparse error components, which form the aforementioned structural constraints. This formulation yields a convex problem that can recover the exact components via the minimization of a weighted combination of the low-rank component's nuclear norm and the ℓ1-norm of the sparse noise component subject to linear constraints. In this paper, we extend this approach by proposing methods that can be formulated in the general framework of majorization-minimization algorithms. The proposed methods perform at least as well as the state-of-the-art schemes for Robust PCA, while they allow for larger rank and sparsity regimes of the component matrices under exact recovery requirements. Convergence results are discussed and efficient implementations based on the general Augmented Lagrange Multiplier framework are presented.
Bi‐directional regulation of postsynaptic cortactin distribution by BDNF and NMDA receptor activity

Cortactin is an F‐actin‐associated protein which interacts with the postsynaptic scaffolding protein Shank at the SH3 domain and is localized within the dendritic spine in the mouse neuron. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐based time‐lapse imaging revealed cortactin redistribution from dendritic cytoplasm to postsynaptic sites by application of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This response was mediated by mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase activation and was dependent on the C‐terminal SH3 domain. In contrast, activation of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors induced loss of cortactin from postsynaptic sites. This NMDA‐dependent redistribution was blocked by an Src family kinase inhibitor. Conversely, increasing Src family kinase activity induced cortactin phosphorylation and loss of cortactin from the postsynaptic sites. Finally, blocking of endogenous BDNF reduced the amount of cortactin at the postsynaptic sites and an NMDA receptor antagonist prevented this reduction. These results indicate the importance of counterbalance between BDNF and NMDA receptor‐mediated signalling in the reorganization of the postsynaptic actin cytoskeleton during neuronal development.
GPS observables in general relativity

I present a complete set of gauge invariant observables, in the context of general relativity coupled with a minimal amount of realistic matter (four particles). These observables have a straightforward and realistic physical interpretation. In fact, the technology to measure them is realized by the Global Positioning System: they are defined by the physical reference system determined by GPS readings. The components of the metric tensor in this physical reference system are gauge invariant quantities and, remarkably, their evolution equations are local.
Cigarette Smoking and Bronchoalveolar T Cell Populations in Sarcoidosis a

Pulmonary physicians must often deal with patients, including patients with sarcoidosis, who smoke cigarettes. Since changes in local pulmonary immune function have been associated with both sarcoidosis’4 and cigarette smoking;-’o it is important to distinguish which of these immunological changes in the lungs are due to the disease, which are due to cigarette smoking, and which, perhaps, are due to both. Abnormally large numbers of helper thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes are found in fluids recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from patients with sarcoidosis. “ By contrast, normal numbers of lymphocytes are found in BAL fluids from normal cigarette smokers,6 and lower than normal percentages of the cells in these fluids are lympho~ytes . ~*~~’~ The effects of smoking on T lymphocyte subpopulations in normal cigarette smokers and on those in patients with sarcoidosis, however, have not been thoroughly characterized. The purposes of this study, therefore, were 1) to determine the effects of smoking on T lymphocyte subpopulations in BAL fluids from healthy normal volunteers (“normals”) and on those in BAL fluids from patients with sarcoidosis ((‘sarcoids”), and 2) to determine whether comparisons of the T lymphocyte subpopulations of normals and those of sarcoids revealed any effects of cigarette smoking.
Effects of intrauterine infection or inflammation on fetal lung development

Intrauterine infection or inflammation is common in cases of preterm birth. Preterm infants are at risk of acute respiratory distress as a result of lung immaturity; evidence of exposure to infection and/or inflammation before birth is associated with a reduced risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Experimentally induced intrauterine inflammation or infection in sheep causes a precocious increase in pulmonary surfactant in the preterm lungs that improves preterm lung function, consistent with the reduced risk of RDS in human infants exposed to infection and/or inflammation before birth. The effects of intrauterine inflammation on fetal lung development appear to result from direct action of proinflammatory stimuli within the lungs rather than by systemic signals, such as the classical glucocorticoid‐mediated lung maturation pathway. However, paracrine and/or autocrine production and/or metabolism of glucocorticoids in fetal lung tissue may occur as a result of inflammation‐induced changes in the expression of 11β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (types 1 and 2). Likely candidates that mediate inflammation‐induced surfactant production by the preterm lung include prostaglandin E2 and/or other arachidonic acid metabolites. Intrauterine inflammation induces the expression of enzymes responsible for prostaglandin production in fetal lung tissue. Inhibition of prostaglandin production prevents, at least in part, the effects of inflammation on fetal lungs. Our experiments are identifying mechanisms of surfactant production by the preterm lungs that may be exploited as novel therapies for preventing respiratory distress in preterm infants. Elucidation of the effects of inflammation on the fetal lungs and other organs will allow more refined approaches to the care of preterm infants exposed to inflammation in utero.
8 Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) was first described by Gagner et al in 1992 (Gagner et al., 1992). Since this time LA has become the procedure of choice for most adrenal pathologies. Multiple case-control studies have consistently demonstrated the benefits of LA compared to open adrenalectomy (OA) in terms of blood loss, analgesic requirments, postoperative complications, hospital stay and earlier return to normal activity.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections: Old Challenges and New Opportunities

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among children aged <1 year. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are younger than 6 months of age. RSV also causes repeated infections including severe lower respiratory tract disease, which may occur at any age, especially among the elderly or those with compromised cardiac, pulmonary, or immune systems. Methods: Using the mouse model of RSV infection, this article examines the immunopathogenesis during acute and chronic phases of the disease. This model allows for measurement of basal enhanced pause, which reflects airway obstruction in the acute phase, and the response to methacholine challenge to assess airway hyperresponsiveness during the chronic phase. This article also summarizes some recent studies focusing on novel perspectives and strategies for treatment and prevention of RSV infections. Results: Compared with the lungs of sham-inoculated control mice, mice inoculated with live RSV showed a persistent progression of the severity of pneumonia as determined by an increasing histopathologic score. Mucus production of RSV-infected mice in the acute phase illustrated increased periodic acid-Schiff-positive hypertrophic cells in central and peripheral airways. Conclusions: RSV-infected mice with persistent airway hyperresponsiveness exhibited the presence of abnormal chronic inflammatory changes and mucus overproduction, which likely contributed to long term airway disease induced by RSV infection. These findings provide a histologic correlation to the abnormal pulmonary responses documented by plethysmography. Current trials have demonstrated positive results in continuing to target different alternatives for a new RSV vaccine.
Compreensão típico ideal da prática profissional do enfermeiro em hospitais públicos

ZARATE, Banda Ma. Magdalena Ideal typical comprenhension of professional nursing practice at public hospitals. Ribeirao Preto, 2004 p. Tese (Doutorado) Nursing School Of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. This study aimed to uncover the practice of nursing professionals in public hospitals, adopting a phenomenological approach, in an attempt to understand the experiences of nurses in the daily reality of public hospitals. The understanding process is based on the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz, which allowed us to uncover the social action of nursing professionals. Access to nursing experiences was obtained through non-directive interviews, in view of the question: Could you tell me how your work is as a nurse here at the hospital? The analysis of their descriptions allowed for the understanding of what is typical about nursing practice, which revealed to be highly complex. The complexity levels derive from the intense face-to-face relation that occurs in caring for the singularity of others; from the relations with other health care practices; from limitations in technical nursing formation, which reveals to be insufficient for dealing with the social phenomena present in the hospital world; from the daily confrontations with scientific and technological advances, which require professional reflection to be incorporated into care. The social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz contributed to the understanding of nurses’ social actions as a group that is inserted in a web of intersubjective social relations, which derive from the coexistence and experience of a common time and work space.
Speech and Psychopathology

The purpose of this review is to report on the main directions of research in speech analysis as they relate to various psychiatric states. The variables most often analyzed in both speech and psychiatry, and the procedures which have been used by different authors to establish relationships between them are described. Particular attention is devoted to three groups of variables: the psychological states of the speaker, the vocal characteristics of the speaker, and the listener's perception of the speaker's state of mind. The results of observations and experiments are reviewed from the "Founding period" (i.e., the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries) when the great European psychopathologists clinically defined vocal characteristics in mental illness and when later the first correlations between acoustical measurements of speech parameters and psychological and psycho-pathological states were established. The "Modern period" (from 1950 to the present time) is then considered when more sophisticated technology has been introduced and quantities of data collected. In conclusion, the authors insist on the interest of further research especially (1) in the field of possible common regulation of speech and of mental functions and (2) in the use of speech as an objective reflection of mental state giving help in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic evaluation.
Dysregulated Production of Interferon‐γ, Interleukin‐4 and Interleukin‐6 in Early Tuberculosis Patients in Response to Antigen 85B of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Both interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and interleukin (IL)‐4 expression in T cells and IL‐6 expression in cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage were monitored using antigen 85B (Ag85B) protein and purified protein derivative (PPD) antigen in the early stages of tuberculosis (TB). We showed that the levels of cell‐associated IFN‐γ and IL‐4 (mRNA and intracellular cytokine) in Ag85B‐stimulated T cells were significantly depressed in TB patients compared with those in healthy tuberculin reactors. On the other hand, the capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to produce IL‐6 spontaneously ex vivo was enhanced in patients (P < 0.001), but their corresponding capacities to respond to Ag85B were not significantly different from those of normal donors. After 2 months of antituberculosis therapy, the mean blastogenic responses of Ag85B‐stimulated PBMC from seven TB patients were increased 6.1‐fold (P = 0.011). Furthermore, the proportions of both IFN‐γ‐ (P < 0.01) and IL‐4‐ (P = 0.05) producing T cells were significantly increased. However, those of IL‐6‐producing cells were diminished in response to Ag85B (P = 0.05). Our results suggest that there may be an altered regulation of IFN‐γ, IL‐4 and IL‐6 to Ag85B in the early stages of TB.
Evaluating Resiliency of Supply Chain Network: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

Supply chains can be vulnerable to sudden disruptions, especially when it emphasizes efficient operation. In this regard, supply chain resilience (SCR) has received attention recently to cope with disruptions and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a novel methodology to measure resilience between different configurations of a supply chain network (SCN), based on a number of influential factors. For this reason, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is employed to identify the best-practice and less-performing SCN configurations among a group of alternatives. On this basis, the extent to which a current configuration can improve its resiliency is also measured. The methodology is applied to the case of E1, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) company in Korea. Topological and operational measures were used as variables to assess resilience. The results suggest that the LPG supply chain in the case study requires an addition in the number and capacity of supply nodes in its network.
OSEM-3D reconstruction strategies for the ECAT HRRT

High spatial resolution dynamic brain PET imaging with the ECAT HRRT scanner with short frame durations is characterized by very few counts per sinogram bin due to the small size of the crystal surface. The use of various weighting schemes for OSEM-3D can result in significantly different results. In particular, the correction for random and scattered coincidences prior to the reconstruction can lead to a systematic positive bias in the reconstructed image. We show that the use of Ordinary Poisson OSEM-3D, where all corrections are applied during the iterative steps, allows to avoid this bias without compromising spatial resolution, at a price of a lower convergence rate.
Laparoscopic "radical appendectomy" is an effective alternative to endoscopic removal of cecal polyps.

BACKGROUND The endoscopic removal of cecal polyps can be complicated by hemorrhage, perforation, or incomplete resection. Laparoscopic radical appendectomy represents a safe alternative for the definitive resection and accurate pathologic evaluation of selected cecal polyps. METHODS Patients with cecal cap polyps not involving the ileocecal valve were candidates for laparoscopic radical appendectomy. Intraoperative colonoscopy and resection of the appendix and cecum to the level of the ileocecal valve were accomplished via three midline ports. For each patient, histologic evaluation by frozen section ruled out malignancy and ensured complete resection. RESULTS Five patients, four of whom had significant medical comorbidities, presented with large adenomatous polyps contained within the cecum. Each polyp was determined to be unresectable endoscopically; therefore, a laparoscopic radical appendectomy was performed. One patient with cirrhosis also underwent intraoperative liver ultrasonography and biopsies, which contributed to the longest operative time and hospital stay. The histologic diagnosis by frozen section was benign for each patient. The mean operative time was 95 minutes, and the mean length of hospital stay was 1.8 days. No postoperative complications were observed during a mean follow-up of 6 months. CONCLUSION Laparoscopic "radical appendectomy" is an effective treatment for selected cecal adenomatous polyps. Our ability to resect the polyps completely and avoid a standard right hemicolectomy supports this approach.
Observing the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Meditation on Anxiety and Depression in Chronic Pain Patients.

BACKGROUND People whose chronic pain limits their independence are especially likely to become anxious and depressed. Mindfulness training has shown promise for stress-related disorders. METHODS Chronic pain patients who complained of anxiety and depression and who scored higher than moderate in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as well as moderate in Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) were observed for eight weeks, three days a week for an hour of Mindfulness Meditation training with an hour daily home Mindfulness Meditation practice. Pain was evaluated on study entry and completion, and patients were given the Patients' Global Impression of Change (PGIC) to score at the end of the training program. RESULTS Forty-seven patients (47) completed the Mindfulness Meditation Training program. Over the year-long observation, patients demonstrated noticeable improvement in depression, anxiety, pain, and global impression of change. CONCLUSION Chronic pain patients who suffer with anxiety and depression may benefit from incorporating Mindfulness Meditation into their treatment plans.
A multi-layer F0 model for singing voice synthesis using a b-spline representation with intuitive controls

In singing voice, the fundamental frequency (F0) carries not only melody, but also music style, personal expressivity and other characteristics specific to voice production mechanism. The F0 modeling is therefore critical for a natural-sounding and expressive synthesis. In addition, for artistic purposes, composers also need to have control over expressive parameters of the F0 curve, which is missing in many current approaches. This paper presents a novel parametric F0 model for singing voice synthesis with intuitive control of expressive parameters. The proposed approach considers the various F0 variations of the singing voice as separate layers using B-splines to model the melodic component. This model has been implemented in a concatenative singing voice synthesis system and its perceived naturalness has been evaluated through listening tests. The validity of each layer is first evaluated independently, and the full model is then compared to real F0 curves from professional singers. The results of these tests suggest that the model is suitable to produce natural and expressive F0 contours.