Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Risk Factors for Pediatric Kidney Stone Formation: The Effects of Sex

Background: Urinary stones are affecting more children, and pediatric stone formers have unique pathophysiology compared to adults. While adult stone formers are most frequently male, children have an age dependent sex prevalence. Under 10 years, a majority of stone formers are boys; adolescent stone formers are mostly female. Previous adult studies have shown that stone composition is influenced by the sex and age of the stone former. Thus, we hypothesize that female and male stone forming children will also have sex and age specific stone phenotypes. Methods: Retrospective chart review of a large pediatric center's stone forming children 6/1/2009 to 6/1/2016. Patients were identified by ICD 9 codes: N20, N20.1, and N20.9. Charts were reviewed for radiographic evidence of stones or documented visualized stone passage. Results: One hundred and thirty six subjects: 54 males and 82 females. Females were older, median age 14 years [interquartile range (IQR): 11, 15] vs. males' median age 12 years (IQR: 11, 14) (p < 0.01). Females had lower height z-scores, median 0.2 (IQR: −0.8, 0.8) vs. males' median 0.8 (IQR: −0.2, 1.8) (p < 0.01). Presenting symptoms were similar except flank pain affecting 39% of females vs. 22% of males (p = 0.04). Leukocyte esterase was positive in more females than males (33 vs. 4%) (p < 0.001). Males had a higher BUN/Cr ratio, mean ± standard deviation of 19.8 ± 6.3 vs. 16.6 ± 6.5 in females (p = 0.01). Glomerular hyperfiltration was present in 9% of patients while 35% of patients had estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 90 ml/min/1.73 m2. Treatment strategies and clinical course were similar except females were told to increase dietary citrate more frequently than males (21 vs. 4%) (p < 0.01). Conclusion: We have provided a novel analysis and demonstrated that low height z-score and pyuria are more common in female stone formers. We have also shown that 9% of pediatric stone formers have labs consistent with hyperfiltration. Whether high protein intake and/or chronic dehydration are associated with hyperfiltration and long-term renal function in children with kidney stones will be an area for future research.
DNA Methylation Patterns of a Satellite Non-coding Sequence – FA-SAT in Cancer Cells: Its Expression Cannot Be Explained Solely by DNA Methylation

Satellite ncRNAs are emerging as key players in cell and cancer pathways. Cancer-linked satellite DNA hypomethylation seems to be responsible for the overexpression of satellite non-coding DNAs in several tumors. FA-SAT is the major satellite DNA of Felis catus and recently, its presence and transcription was described across Bilateria genomes. This satellite DNA is GC-rich and includes a CpG island, what is suggestive of transcription regulation via DNA methylation. In this work, it was studied for the first time the FA-SAT methylation profile in cat primary cells, in four passages of the cat tumor cell line FkMTp and in eight feline mammary tumors and the respective disease-free tissues. Contrary to what was expected, we found that in most of the tumor samples analyzed, FA-SAT DNA was not hypomethylated. Furthermore, in these samples the transcription of FA-SAT does not correlate with the methylation status. The use of a global demethylating agent, 5-Azacytidine, in cat primary cells caused an increase in the FA-SAT non-coding RNA levels. However, global demethylation in the tumor FkMTp cells only resulted in the increased levels of the FA-SAT small RNA fraction. Our data suggests that DNA methylation of FA-SAT is involved in the regulation of this satellite DNA, however, other mechanisms are certainly contributing to the transcriptional status of the sequence, specifically in cancer.
A Review on the Relationship Between Sound and Movement in Sports and Rehabilitation

The role of auditory information on perceptual-motor processes has gained increased interest in sports and psychology research in recent years. Numerous neurobiological and behavioral studies have demonstrated the close interaction between auditory and motor areas of the brain, and the importance of auditory information for movement execution, control, and learning. In applied research, artificially produced acoustic information and real-time auditory information have been implemented in sports and rehabilitation to improve motor performance in athletes, healthy individuals, and patients affected by neurological or movement disorders. However, this research is scattered both across time and scientific disciplines. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview about the interaction between movement and sound and review the current literature regarding the effect of natural movement sounds, movement sonification, and rhythmic auditory information in sports and motor rehabilitation. The focus here is threefold: firstly, we provide an overview of empirical studies using natural movement sounds and movement sonification in sports. Secondly, we review recent clinical and applied studies using rhythmic auditory information and sonification in rehabilitation, addressing in particular studies on Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Thirdly, we summarize current evidence regarding the cognitive mechanisms and neural correlates underlying the processing of auditory information during movement execution and its mental representation. The current state of knowledge here reviewed provides evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of the application of auditory information to improve movement execution, control, and (re)learning in sports and motor rehabilitation. Findings also corroborate the critical role of auditory information in auditory-motor coupling during motor (re)learning and performance, suggesting that this area of clinical and applied research has a large potential that is yet to be fully explored.
Paravian Phylogeny and the Dinosaur-Bird Transition: An Overview

Recent years witnessed the discovery of a great diversity of early birds as well as closely related non-avian theropods, which modified previous conceptions about the origin of birds and their flight. We here present a review of currently the taxonomic composition and main anatomical characteristics of those theropod families closely related with early birds, with the aim to analyze and discuss main phylogenetic hypotheses that compete some topics about the non-avian dinosaur-bird transition. We conclude that troodontid affinities of anchiornithines, and dromaeosaurids affinities of microraptorians and unenlagiids are dismissed in favor of sister group relationships with Avialae. After recodification of unenlagiids the topology of the TWiG phylogenetic scheme, results on a large polytomy at the base of Pennaraptora. Regarding character evolution, we found that: 1) presence of ossified sternum goes hand by hand with the presence of ossified uncinate processes; 2) presence of folded forelimbs in basal archosaurs indicates a widespread distribution among reptiles, contradicting previous proposals in that forelimb folding driven by propatagial and associated tendons was exclusive of the avian lineage; 3) in basal paravians and avialans as Archaeopteryx the wings are relatively large and wide, with relatively short rectricial feathers, and rounded alar contour, having a convex wing attack margin. These taxa exhibit restricted folding capabilities of forelimbs, preserving hands with flexor angles (respect to radius/ulna) no lesser than 90o. In more derived birds, instead, rectrices are notably elongate and the angle described between the hand and forearm is much less than 90o, indicating not only an increased folding capability of the forelimbs, but also increased variety of beat movements of the wing during flight. Because of the strong similarities on pectoral girdle conformation between ratites and basal avialans and paravians, it is possible to infer that main forelimb movements were similar in all these taxa, lacking the complex dorsoventral wing excursion characteristic of living neognathans.
Target-Response Associations Can Produce Response-Congruency Effects Without Task-Switching Costs

In task-switching experiments with bivalent target stimuli, conflicts during response selection give rise to response-congruency effects. Typically, participants respond more slowly and make more errors in trials with incongruent targets that require different responses in the two tasks, compared to trials with congruent targets that are associated with the same response in both tasks. Here we investigate whether participants show response-congruency effects when task rules are not made explicit. In two experiments, we assigned task-irrelevant features to each bivalent target. When participants were instructed to apply the task rules, they showed significant task-switching costs as well as response-congruency effects. Importantly, when the same participants did not know the task rules and responded without applying the task rules, they showed response-congruency effects but no switch costs. The significant congruency effects suggest that associations between bivalent target features and responses can be formed passively, even when participants do not follow the task rules and use task-irrelevant target features to make a response.
The Top-100 Highly Cited Original Articles on Drug Therapy for Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Background: In recent decades, research on drug therapy for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains one of the major hot-spots in the field of critical care medicine, but relevant data are not satisfactory. Our aim was to assess the status and trends of the most cited articles on drug therapy for VAP through bibliometric approaches. Methods: The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science core collection database was searched for the VAP-related articles. The time period for retrieval was from the beginning of the database to September 30, 2018. The top 100 most cited articles were selected to obtain their information on the authors, title, publication, number of citations, author’s affiliations, country, etc. These general information and bibliometric data were collected for analysis. VOSviewer software was used to generate a term co-occurrence graph that visualized a reference pattern for different terms in the 100 articles. Results: The number of citations for the 100 selected articles ranged from 142 to 3,218. These articles were published in 31 different journals. The top three journals in terms of the number of our selected articles they published were “Critical Care Medicine” (17 articles), “American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine” (11 articles) and “Clinical Infectious Diseases” (10 articles). The most frequently nominated author was Marin H. Kollef from the University of Washington, and of the top 100 articles, 16 listed his name. These top 100 articles were published after the year of 2000. The most common type of article in the top 100 was an original article (53%). The United States and France were the countries that contributed the most articles to the top 100. Gram-negative bacilli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, antibiotics, risk factors and other terms appeared more frequently, suggesting that attentions on this issue currently focused on the rational application and management of antibiotics. Conclusion: This study analyzed the 100 most cited articles on drug-treated VAP, and provided insights into the historical developments and characteristics of the most cited articles in the field of VAP.
Trajectory of University Dropout: Investigating the Cumulative Effect of Academic Vulnerability and Proximity to Family Support

University dropout is a major policy concern around the world because of its consequences for the individual, institutions and society. In this study, we offer new evidence by examining the cumulative effect of academic vulnerability and family support on trajectory of dropout among cohorts of undergraduate students in Thailand. Data were drawn from administrative records of two cohorts of students (n = 1,613), and consisted of information on which semester individual's dropped out of university. Using discrete time survival analysis, we first modeled the trajectory of dropout without predictors followed by a conditional model which examined the effects of predictors on the trajectory of dropout. Cumulative effects of predictors were then examined by plotting the probabilities of their combined effects on dropout in each semester. Our findings show that while the beginning of the second year was a critical period of dropout with almost 20% of students leaving by this time, as much as 10% of students drop out between the second and final year. Students with the lowest entry grades were about 2.17 times more likely to dropout while those who were farther away from family support were 1.32 times more likely to drop out across each semester. The cumulative effect of low entry grades and living away from family support resulted in a 30% probability of dropping out in the second year. The dropout rate among this category of students by the final year was 60% compared to only 14% for students with high entry grades and who live close to their families. Among other things, we recommend that interventions to reduce dropout should encompass both helping students to access family support and develop personal connections at university to compensate for absence of family support, as well as academically focused support for student who do not have a strong entry qualification.
HUBUNGAN ANTARA PENGETAHUAN DENGAN SIKAP ANAK USIA SEKOLAH AKHIR (10-12 TAHUN) TENTANG MAKANAN JAJANAN DI SD NEGERI II TAGOG APU PADALARANG KABUPATEN BANDUNG BARAT TAHUN 2015

Makanan jajanan adalah makanan yang dipersiapkan dan dijual oleh pedagang di jalanan dan di tempat umum yang langsung dimakan tanpa pengolahan atau persiapan lebih lanjut. Makanan jajanan yang kurang memenuhi syarat kesehatan dan gizi akan mengancam kesehatan anak. Sebanyak 48% jajanan anak di sekolah tidak memenuhi syarat keamanan pangan karena mengandung bahan kimia yang berbahaya. Hal ini bisa menjadi ancaman bagi kesehatan anak bila tidak dilakukan penanggulangannya. Selain itu, hal ini dapat juga mengganggu pertumbuhan dan perkembangan anak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara pengetahuan dengan sikap anak usia sekolah akhir (10-12 tahun) tentang makanan jajanan. Desain penelitian dalam penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kuantitatif dengan pendekatan cross sectional . Populasinya adalah seluruh anak sekolah dasar kelas 4-6 yang bersekolah di SDN II Tagog Apu yang berjumlah 112 siswa/i, dan sampel 88 siswa/i dengan menggunakan teknik stratified random sampling . Pengumpulan data dilakukan menggunakan kuesioner dan analisis data melalui dua tahapan, yaitu univariat untuk menggambarkan distribusi frekuensi dan bivariat untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kedua variabel ( chi-square ). Hasil penelitian diketahui tingkat pengetahuan anak tentang makanan jajanan sebagian besar (65,9%) berpengetahuan baik dan hampir seluruh dari responden (89,8%) bersikap positif. Berdasarkan hasil uji chi-square diketahui bahwa tidak ada hubungan antara pengetahuan dengan sikap anak usia sekolah akhir (10-12 tahun) tentang makanan jajanan (nilai p value = 0,065 > 0,05). Saran bagi pihak sekolah untuk merencanakan penyediaan fasilitas kantin sekolah yang menyediakan makanan jajanan sehat dan dipantau secara berkala.
Identifying Causes of Temporal Changes in Acropora cervicornis Populations and the Potential for Recovery

Corals, specifically the Atlantic staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, have become more vulnerable to disturbance events such as storms and disease and predation outbreaks. Since its population declines due to a wide spread disease event in the early 1980s, limited long-term monitoring studies describing the impact of current threats and potential recovery have been completed. The aim of this study was to document the impacts of environmental (tropical storms, increased wind) and biological (disease and predation) threats on A. cervicornis to further understand its dynamics and potential for recovery. Two high-density A. cervicornis patches (greater than 1 hectare each) were surveyed tri-annually (winter, summer, fall) from 2008-2016. Acropora cervicornis percent cover, canopy height, census of individuals (fragments, colonies and masses), and prevalence and occurrence of disease, predation, and bleaching were evaluated within permanent 3.5 m radial plots. Temporal variability was observed in mean percent live cover at both patches and resulted in an overall loss of tissue. Frequent disturbances such as tropical storms, hurricanes, and disease events caused increased, prolonged, and widespread mortality. Periods void of disturbance allowed for recovery and growth. Prevalence and occurrence of disease and predation were highly variable between monitoring events. They were also found to be significantly higher on masses (individuals ≥ 1.5 m) than on colonies and during summer surveys. These data indicate that substantial length of time between major disturbance events are necessary for recovery and growth of this species. The implication from these results is that given the current rates of growth, recruitment, and storm frequency, natural species recovery is unlikely unless larger scale issues are addressed such as climate change and ocean warming, which could reduce the intensity and frequency of disease and predation.
Genome Comparisons of Candida glabrata Serial Clinical Isolates Reveal Patterns of Genetic Variation in Infecting Clonal Populations

Candida glabrata is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that currently ranks as the second most common cause of candidiasis. Although the mechanisms underlying virulence and drug resistance in C. glabrata are now starting to be elucidated, we still lack a good understanding of how this yeast adapts during the course of an infection. Outstanding questions are whether the observed genomic plasticity of C. glabrata plays a role during infection, or what levels of genetic variation exist within an infecting clonal population. To shed light onto the genomic variation within infecting C. glabrata populations, we compared the genomes of 11 pairs and one trio of serial clinical isolates, each obtained from a single patient. Our results provide a catalog of genetic variations existing within clonal infecting isolates, and reveal an enrichment of non-synonymous changes in genes encoding cell-wall proteins. Genetic variation and the presence of non-synonymous mutations and copy number variations accumulated within the host, suggest that clonal populations entail a non-negligible level of genetic variation that may reflect selection processes that occur within the human body. As we show here, these genomic changes can underlie phenotypic differences in traits that are relevant for infection.
Evaluation of a Sound Quality Visual Feedback System for Bow Learning Technique in Violin Beginners: An EEG Study

Current music technologies can assist in the process of learning to play a musical instrument and provide objective measures for evaluating the improvement of music students in concrete music tasks. In this paper, we investigated the effects of a sound quality visual feedback system (SQVFS) in violin learning. In particular, we studied the EEG activity of a group of participants with no previous violin playing experience while they learned to produce a stable sound (regarding pitch, dynamics, and timbre) in order to find motor learning biomarkers in a music task. Eighteen subjects with no prior experience in violin playing were divided into two groups: participants in the first group (experimental group, N = 9) practiced with instructional videos and offline feedback from the SQVFS provided in alternation with their performance, while participants in a second group (control group, N = 9) practiced with the instructional videos only. A third group of violin experts (players with more than 6 years of experience) performed the same task for comparative purposes (N = 7). All participants were asked to perform 20 trials (4 blocks of 5 trials) consisting of a violin bowing exercise while their EEG activity and their produced sound was recorded. Significant sound quality improvements along the session were found in all participants with the exception of participants in the expert group. In addition, participants in the experimental group showed increased interest in the learning process and significant improvement after the second block not present in the control group. A significant correlation between the levels of frontal gamma band power and the sound improvement along the task was found in both the experimental and control group. This result is consistent with the temporal binding model which associates gamma band power with the role of integrating (binding) information processed in distributed cortical areas. Task complexity demands more cognitive resources, more binding and thus, gamma band power enhancement, which may be reduced as the demanded task begins to be automated as it is likely to be the case in both beginners groups.
Metabolic response of bio ® lm to shear stress in ® xed-® lm culture

Y. L IU AND J . -H . TAY. 2001. Aims: In a bio®lm reactor, detachment force resulting from hydraulic shear is a major factor that determines the formation and structure of steady state bio®lm. The metabolic response of bio®lm to change in shear stress was therefore investigated. Methods and Results: A conventional annular reactor made of PVC was used, in which shearing over the rotating disc surface was strictly de®ned. Results from the steady state aerobic bio®lm reactor showed that the bio®lm structure (density and thickness) and metabolic behaviour (growth yield and dehydrogenase activity) were closely related to the shear stress exerted on the bio®lm. Smooth, dense and stable bio®lm formed at relatively high shear stress. Higher dehydrogenase activity and lower growth yield were obtained when the shear stress was raised. Growth yield was inversely correlated with the catabolic activity of bio®lm. The reduced growth yield, together with the enhanced catabolic activity, suggests that a dissociation of catabolism from anabolism would occur at high shear stress. Conclusions: Bio®lms may respond to shear stress by regulating metabolic pathways associated with the substrate ̄ux ̄owing between catabolism and anabolism. A biological phenomenon, besides a simple physical effect, is underlying the observed relation between the shear stress and resulting bio®lm structure. Signi®cance and Impact of the Study: A hypothesis is proposed that the shear-induced energy spilling would be associated with a stimulated proton translocation across the cell membrane, which favours formation of a stronger bio®lm. This research may provide a basis for experimental data on bio®lm obtained at different shear stresses to be interpreted in relation to energy.
DNA variation at the rp49 gene region in Drosophila madeirensis and D. subobscura from Madeira: inferences about the origin of an insular endemic species

An ~1.6‐kb fragment spanning the rp49 gene was sequenced in 16 lines of Drosophila subobscura from Madeira and in 22 lines of the endemic species D. madeirensis. Nucleotide diversity in D. subobscura from Madeira (π=0.0081) was similar to that in lines from Spain carrying the O3+4 chromosomal arrangement (π=0.0080). No significant genetic differentiation was detected between insular and continental O3+4 lines of D. subobscura. These results are compatible both with a rather recent and massive colonization, and with multiple colonization events from the continent. Nucleotide diversity in D. madeirensis (π=0.0076) was similar to that in D. subobscura, which deviates from the expectation, under strict neutrality, of a lower level of variation in an insular species with a small population size. The observed numbers of shared polymorphisms and of fixed differences between D. madeirensis and D. subobscura are compatible with the isolation model of speciation, where shared polymorphisms are due to common ancestry.