Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The photopic negative response of the flash electroretinogram in primary open angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE To determine whether the photopic negative response (PhNR) of the electroretinogram (ERG) is reduced in patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS ERGs were recorded with DTL electrodes from 62 normal subjects (16 to 82 years), 18 POAG patients (47 to 83 years) and 7 POAG suspects (46 to 73 years) to brief flashes (<6 ms), and also in a few subjects to long (200 ms) red, full-field ganzfeld flashes delivered on a rod-saturating blue background. At the time of ERG measurements, the intraocular pressures of most of the patients were controlled medically. Visual field sensitivities were measured with the Humphrey C24-2 threshold test and optic nerve head cup-to-disc ratio (C/D) was determined by binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy. RESULTS ERGs of normal subjects contained a slow negative potential following the a- and b-waves, the PhNR, that increased slightly in latency with age. The a- and b-wave amplitudes and implicit times of POAG patients were similar to age-matched controls. In contrast, their PhNRs were small or virtually absent. PhNR amplitudes were reduced even when visual sensitivity losses were small, and were correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with mean deviation (MD), corrected pattern SD (CPSD), and C/D across the population of POAG patients whose MD losses ranged from 1 to 13 dB, CPSDs from 0 to 11 dB and C/Ds from 0.6 to 0.9. PhNRs of most POAG suspects also were small. CONCLUSIONS PhNR amplitudes in POAG patients are smaller than those of normal subjects. PhNR amplitudes are reduced when visual field sensitivity losses are mild and become even smaller as sensitivity losses increase. There is a potential role for the PhNR in early detection and possibly in monitoring the progression of glaucomatous damage.
Honesty in the Digital Age * February 2018

Modern communication technologies enable efficient exchange of information, but often sacrifice direct human interaction inherent in more traditional forms of communication. This raises the question of whether the lack of personal interaction induces individuals to exploit informational asymmetries. We conducted two experiments with 866 subjects to examine how human versus machine interaction influences cheating for financial gain. We find that individuals cheat significantly more when they interact with a machine rather than a person, regardless of whether the machine is equipped with human features. When interacting with a human, individuals are particularly reluctant to report unlikely favorable outcomes, which is consistent with social image concerns. The second experiment shows that dishonest individuals prefer to interact with a machine when facing an opportunity to cheat. Our results suggest that human interaction is key to mitigating dishonest behavior and that self-selection into communication channels can be used to screen for dishonest people.
Accepting or declining dialysis: considerations taken into account by elderly patients with end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND Elderly patients with end-stage renal disease have to make a difficult decision whether or not to start dialysis. This study explores the considerations taken into account by these patients in decision-making regarding renal replacement therapy. METHOD In-depth interviews were conducted to gain an enhanced understanding of the considerations in treatment decision-making. Fourteen patients aged 65 years or older participated in the interviews, of whom 8 patients had made the decision to start, and 6 patients the decision to decline, dialysis. RESULTS All participating patients had a variety of health problems, but appeared to have normal cognitive functions. Patients who declined dialysis were older and more often men and widow(er)s compared with patients who accepted dialysis. Patients chose to start dialysis because they enjoyed life, were not prepared to face the end of life, felt they had no other choice or had care-giving responsibilities for family members. Patients declined dialysis because of the speculated loss of autonomy, their age-associated decrease in vitality, distance from dialysis center and reluctance to think about the future. CONCLUSION Results suggest that patients' decisions to decline or accept dialysis are not based on the effectiveness of the treatment, but rather on personal values, beliefs and feelings toward life, suffering and death, and the expected difficulties in fitting the treatment into their life.
Four new subunits of the Dam1–Duo1 complex reveal novel functions in sister kinetochore biorientation

We show here that Ask1p, Dad2p, Spc19p and Spc34p are subunits of the budding yeast Duo1p–Dam1p–Dad1p complex, which associate with kinetochores and localize along metaphase and anaphase spindles. Analysis of spc34‐3 cells revealed three novel functions of the Duo1–Dam1p–Dad1p subunit Spc34p. First, SPC34 is required to establish biorientation of sister kinetochores. Secondly, SPC34 is essential to maintain biorientation. Thirdly, SPC34 is necessary to maintain an anaphase spindle independently of chromosome segregation. Moreover, we show that in spc34‐3 cells, sister centromeres preferentially associate with the pre‐existing, old spindle pole body (SPB). A similar preferential attachment of sister centromeres to the old SPB occurs in cells depleted of the cohesin Scc1p, a protein with a known role in facilitating biorientation. Thus, the two SPBs are not equally active in early S phase. We suggest that not only in spc34‐3 and Δscc1 cells but also in wild‐type cells, sister centromeres bind after replication preferentially to microtubules organized by the old SPB. Monopolar attached sister centromeres are resolved to bipolar attachment in wild‐type cells but persist in spc34‐3 cells.
PTH Differentially Regulates Expression of RANKL and OPG

RANKL and OPG gene expressions were measured with and without PTH at different stages of osteoblast development. Mouse stromal cells were cultured in osteoblast differentiating conditions, and RANKL, OPG, COL1, ALP, OC, and PTHRec genes were measured using qRT‐PCR. OPG:RANKL ratios indicate that PTH may induce a possible switch in the regulatory mechanism of osteoclastogenesis where OPG is inhibited early and RANKL is increased at late stages of osteoblast differentiation.
Low-Frequency ( 1 ∕ f ) Noise Performance of n- and p-MOSFETs with Poly- Si ∕ Hf -Based Gate Dielectrics

The low-frequency (LF) noise performance of n- and p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with different Hf-based gate oxides, deposited by metallorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on the same interfacial oxide layer and using polysilicon (poly-Si) as a gate material has been investigated. Independent of the gate oxide, the LF noise spectra of n- and p-MOSFETs are predominantly of the 1/f γ type, with the frequency exponent γ close to 1. For nMOSFETs, the noise spectral density of HfO 2 devices is two orders of magnitude higher than for SiON or Hf x Si 1-x ON (silicates), where 0 < x < 100%, most likely due to trapping by defects in the high-it layer. For the silicates with different x, no significant differences are noticed for n- and p-MOSFETs. It is shown that the noise characteristics behave as can be expected for a number fluctuations mechanism. The extracted volume and surface trap densities are significantly higher for pure HfO 2 than for the Hf x Si 1-x ON devices. In the latter case, trap densities comparable with the values for the SiON reference transistors are obtained. Hooge's parameter α H , as an alternative figure of merit, shows that the devices with MOCVD HfO 2 gate dielectric have the noisiest performance, while Hf x Si 1-x ON MOSFETs yield the lowest α H , even better than for SiON.
Risks to health care workers in developing countries.

The first report of a health care worker infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by a needle stick, published in the medical literature in 1984,1 launched a new era of concern about the occupational transmission of blood-borne pathogens. In the United States, universal precautions were implemented,2 regulations such as the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard were issued,3 and the rate of vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) among health care workers increased dramatically.4 After a decade of phenomenal technological advances in sharp devices engineered for safety, the federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, requiring the use of safer devices, became law .
Molecularly targeted therapy for melanoma

Effective therapy for melanoma remains an unmet goal, with most traditional therapies representing inadequate trade‐offs among the several goals of specificity, efficacy, and toxicity. Targeted molecular therapeutics are tailored to genetic abnormalities that are associated with tumor progression. Modulation of aberrant signaling pathways in cancer cells has the potential to provide more effective and potentially nontoxic therapy for a broad range of cancers, including melanoma. Among the possible targets in melanoma are the Ras‐MAPK and PI3K/AKT signal transduction pathways, the proteasome, histone deacetylases, methyltransferases, and melanoma‐induced angiogenesis. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.
The promoters of two carboxylases in a C4 plant (maize) direct cell-specific, light-regulated expression in a C3 plant (rice).

C4 plants have two carboxylases which function in photosynthesis. One, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is localized in mesophyll cells, and the other, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPC) is found in bundle sheath cells. In contrast, C3 plants have only one photosynthetic carboxylase, RuBPC, which is localized in mesophyll cells. The expression of PEPC in C3 mesophyll cells is quite low relative to PEPC expression in C4 mesophyll cells. Two chimeric genes have been constructed consisting of the structural gene encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS) controlled by two promoters from C4 (maize) photosynthetic genes: (i) the PEPC gene (pepc) and (ii) the small subunit of RuBPC (rbcS). These constructs were introduced into a C3 cereal, rice. Both chimeric genes were expressed almost exclusively in mesophyll cells in the leaf blades and leaf sheaths at high levels, and no or very little activity was observed in other cells. The expression of both genes was also regulated by light. These observations indicate that the regulation systems which direct cell-specific and light-inducible expression of pepc and rbcS in C4 plants are also present in C3 plants. Nevertheless, expression of endogenous pepc in C3 plants is very low in C3 mesophyll cells, and the cell specificity of rbcS expression in C3 plants differs from that in C4 plants. Rice nuclear extracts were assayed for DNA-binding protein(s) which interact with a cis-regulatory element in the pepc promoter. Gel-retardation assays indicate that a nuclear protein with similar DNA-binding specificity to a maize nuclear protein is present in rice. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Time course of changes in striatal dopamine transporters and D2 receptors with specific iodinated markers in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

The time course of the loss in presynaptic dopamine transporters (DAT) and of the increase in postsynaptic dopamine D2 receptors (D2R) was studied in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. For this, in vitro autoradiographic experiments were performed in the striatum using (E)‐N‐(3‐iodoprop‐2‐enyl)‐2β‐carbomethoxy‐3β‐(4′‐methylphenyl) nortropane (PE2I), a new single photon emission tomography (SPET) ligand for DAT, and iodobenzamide (IBZM), a SPET ligand for D2R. A significant decrease in [125I]PE2I binding was observed as early as 24 h after 6‐hydroxydopamine lesion, whereas no change occurred in [125I]IBZM binding. At 48 h postlesion, PE2I binding was 50% decreased, while IBZM binding was 30% increased. Between 3 and 14 days postlesion, PE2I binding had almost totally disappeared and IBZM binding remained increased by around 40–50%. From these animal experiments, it can be assumed that PE2I would be very efficient for the detection of a reduction in the number of DAT reflecting neuronal loss, thus allowing early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. The exploration of both DAT and D2R would improve follow‐up of this disease. Synapse 31:134–139, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Complete blood cell count and retinal vessel diameters.

OBJECTIVE To examine the cross-sectional associations of components of the complete blood cell count with retinal vessel diameters. METHODS The data are from the baseline examination of the Beaver Dam Eye Study cohort (n = 4730) from March 1, 1988, to September 14, 1990. Blood pressure was measured, a medical history including questions on cigarette smoking was obtained, and fundus photographs centered on the optic disc were taken and digitized. Retinal arteriole and venule diameters were measured using computer-assisted software. The central retinal arteriole equivalent and central retinal venule equivalent were computed. A complete blood cell count was done. RESULTS In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, red blood cell count, hemoglobin level, hematocrit, and white blood cell count were all statistically significantly associated with central retinal venule equivalent and central retinal arteriole equivalent, while platelet count was associated only with central retinal venule equivalent. These relationships persisted in more fully adjusted models, except platelet count became statistically significantly associated with both central retinal arteriole equivalent and central retinal venule equivalent. CONCLUSIONS Blood components as measured in a complete blood cell count are significant correlates of retinal vessel diameters and should be considered in analyses where retinal blood vessel diameters are outcomes.
Morphological Evidence of Neutrophil-Tumor Cell Phagocytosis (Cannibalism) in Human Gastric Adenocarcinomas

The phenomenon of neutrophil-tumor cell emperipolesis or phagocytosis has been documented by light microscopy in various human carcinomas, but little is known about the cellular pathological processes and the morphological changes involved. In an attempt to clarify the nature of this phenomenon, the authors' ultrastructural studies on the relationships among neutrophils and tumor cells in human gastric carcinomas are reviewed and analyzed. At the electron microscopy level, apoptotic neutrophils were found within vacuoles of adenocarcinoma cells in 2 cases. They showed either early apoptotic morphology with perinuclear chromatin aggregation but cytoplasm integrity or late apoptotic morphology with uniform, collapsed nucleus and tightly packed cytoplasmic granules. A light microscopy review of 200 cases of resected gastric carcinomas identified 22 cases (11%) that were characterized by neutrophil-tumor cell phagocytosis (cannibalism). TUNEL staining confirmed the presence of apoptotic neutrophils within the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. This study provides light and electron microscopic evidence of apoptotic neutrophils phagocytosed by gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The morphological features of neutrophil-tumor cell phagocytosis (cannibalism) would suggest a particular mechanism of tumor-immune escape in human gastric carcinoma.
Anaerobic Oxidation of Benzene by the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Ferroglobus placidus

ABSTRACT Anaerobic benzene oxidation coupled to the reduction of Fe(III) was studied in Ferroglobus placidus in order to learn more about how such a stable molecule could be metabolized under strict anaerobic conditions. F. placidus conserved energy to support growth at 85°C in a medium with benzene provided as the sole electron donor and Fe(III) as the sole electron acceptor. The stoichiometry of benzene loss and Fe(III) reduction, as well as the conversion of [14C]benzene to [14C]carbon dioxide, was consistent with complete oxidation of benzene to carbon dioxide with electron transfer to Fe(III). Benzoate, but not phenol or toluene, accumulated at low levels during benzene metabolism, and [14C]benzoate was produced from [14C]benzene. Analysis of gene transcript levels revealed increased expression of genes encoding enzymes for anaerobic benzoate degradation during growth on benzene versus growth on acetate, but genes involved in phenol degradation were not upregulated during growth on benzene. A gene for a putative carboxylase that was more highly expressed in benzene- than in benzoate-grown cells was identified. These results suggest that benzene is carboxylated to benzoate and that phenol is not an important intermediate in the benzene metabolism of F. placidus. This is the first demonstration of a microorganism in pure culture that can grow on benzene under strict anaerobic conditions and for which there is strong evidence for degradation of benzene via clearly defined anaerobic metabolic pathways. Thus, F. placidus provides a much-needed pure culture model for further studies on the anaerobic activation of benzene in microorganisms.
The isolation and characterization of renal cancer initiating cells from human Wilms' tumour xenografts unveils new therapeutic targets†

There are considerable differences in tumour biology between adult and paediatric cancers. The existence of cancer initiating cells/cancer stem cells (CIC/CSC) in paediatric solid tumours is currently unclear. Here, we show the successful propagation of primary human Wilms' tumour (WT), a common paediatric renal malignancy, in immunodeficient mice, demonstrating the presence of a population of highly proliferative CIC/CSCs capable of serial xenograft initiation. Cell sorting and limiting dilution transplantation analysis of xenograft cells identified WT CSCs that harbour a primitive undifferentiated – NCAM1 expressing – “blastema” phenotype, including a capacity to expand and differentiate into the mature renal‐like cell types observed in the primary tumour. WT CSCs, which can be further enriched by aldehyde dehydrogenase activity, overexpressed renal stemness and genes linked to poor patient prognosis, showed preferential protein expression of phosphorylated PKB/Akt and strong reduction of the miR‐200 family. Complete eradication of WT in multiple xenograft models was achieved with a human NCAM antibody drug conjugate. The existence of CIC/CSCs in WT provides new therapeutic targets.
Adenomyosis: current concepts and imaging considerations.

A denomyosis is a cause of menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea, and symptoms correlate with its histologic severity [1]. Formerly, women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding caused by adenomyosis would be diagnosed and cured by hysterectomy. A growing interest in its nonoperative diagnosis is driven by concerns about the inappropriate use of hysterectomy, by innovations of less invasive alternatives to surgery, and by the development of imaging techniques capable of reliably diagnosing the disorder. The alternatives to surgery for dysfunctional uterine bleeding-for example, endometrial resection or ablation-have a lower success rate if uterine bleeding is caused by deep adenomyosis [2]. This report examines the spectrum of adenomyosis on sonography and MR imaging as related to the pathologic aspects of the disease.
Motor Learning and Chunking in Dyslexia

The authors investigated whether participants with dyslexia had problems with executing discrete keying sequences and with switching between chunks in those sequences. Participants with dyslexia and participants in the control group executed 2 6-key sequences each, with 1 sequence consisting of 2 successive instances of 1 3-key segment (2 x 3 sequence) and the other not involving such a repetition (1 x 6 sequence). The authors assumed that during execution of the 2 x 3 sequence, the same chunk could be reused, whereas during execution of the 1 x 6 sequence a switch between chunks had to be made. Participants with dyslexia were slower than participants in the control group in executing the 1 x 6 sequence, but not the 2 x 3 sequence. The authors suggest that the smaller amount of repetitions of the chunks in the 1 x 6 sequence or the increased difficulty of the 1 x 6 sequence led to the slowed execution of the 1 x 6 sequence in participants with dyslexia.
Frame-rate spatial referencing based on invariant indexing and alignment with application to laser retinal surgery

The paper describes a fast feature-based algorithm for accurately estimating the absolute location of a surgical tool (a laser), pointed at the curved human retina, from a series of image frames. The method is capable of a 91% success rate with just a third of the feature extraction computation, taking 37 ms overall per image on a 900 MHz Pentium III. The success rate approaches 100% when the feature extraction is allowed to run to completion. The median error is 0.92 pixels with 512/spl times/512 8-bit image frames. Making a significant break from prior incremental tracking-based efforts, we propose a framework that involves extensive offline precomputation to build a "spatial map" and high-speed online "spatial referencing" to rapidly register each surgical image with this spatial map. The spatial referencing technique is designed around the idea of quasi-invariant indexing. Similarity invariants, locally valid despite the curved nature of the retina, are computed from constellations of vascular landmarks. These are detected using a high-speed algorithm that recursively traces the blood vessel structure. Invariant indexing establishes initial correspondences between landmarks from the online image and landmarks stored in the spatial map. Alignment and verification steps gradually extend the similarity transformation computed from these initial correspondences to a global, high-order transformation. The spatial map is precomputed to contain mosaics, distance maps and an invariant database, all designed to make these spatial referencing computations extremely fast.
Mortality among Female Farmers in Finland in 1979–1985

In this study cause-specific mortality of female farmers in Finland was examined by size of farm, by type of farm production, and by geographic area. It was shown that mortality of female farmers was higher for those with small farms. In particular, mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the respiratory system and mortality due to accidents, poisonings and violence was slightly increased (statistically not significantly) among those with small farms. Assessed by type of farm production, the differences in mortality were small. Mortality differences among female farmers were smaller than among male farmers.
Projections to the subcortical forebrain from anatomically defined regions of the medial geniculate body in the rat

Although the auditory cortex is believed to be the principal efferent target of the medial geniculate body (MG), our recent behavioral studies indicate that in rats the conditioned coupling of emotional responses to an acoustic stimulus is mediated by subcortical projections of the MG. In the present study we have therefore used WGA‐HRP as an anterograde and retrograde axonal marker to (1) define the full range of subcortical efferent projections of the MG; (2) identify the cells of origin within the MG of each projection; and (3) determine whether the subregions of the MG that project to subcortical areas receive inputs from acoustic relay nuclei of the midbrain, particularly the inferior colliculus.