Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Persistence of Past-Life Memories: Study of Adults Who Claimed in Their Childhood to Remember a Past Life

Forty-two adults, aged 19 to 49, who claimed memories of a previous life when they were children were interviewed about their alleged memories. Over half of them had lost all these childhood memories but 38% unreservedly affirmed that they still had retained some of their past-life memories. These persons had been interviewed about their memories when they were children by Ian Stevenson or the author. The number of retained memories among those who still remembered something was about one-fifth of their original memories. The retained memories tended to center around persons they knew in their previous life and circumstances that led to their death. For half of the subjects the past-life memories had a positive impact on their life, but to some they had brought difficulties and unpleasant experiences, such as excessive attention given to them and teasing by other children. The great majority expressed general happiness with how their lives had developed. Their educational level was higher than that of their generation, as one-fourth had received some college or university education. A few of them still had phobias that they had had in their childhood and which they related to their previous life.
Relations between intracellular Ca2+ stores and store‐operated Ca2+ entry in primary cultured human glioblastoma cells

1 In primary cultured human glioblastoma cells extracellular application of ATP triggered elevation in cytoplasmic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) mediated entirely by generation of inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (InsP3)‐dependent Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores followed by the activation of store‐operated Ca2+ entry into the cells. 2 Sensitivity of P2Y purinoceptors to extracellular ATP was regulated by extracellular Ca2+: in Ca2+‐free extracellular solution the threshold concentration of ATP that induced an increase in [Ca2+]i was reduced by one order of magnitude. 3 Activation of Ca2+ release and store‐operated Ca2+ entry was dissociated: low concentrations of ATP induced substantial Ca2+ release without activation of Ca2+ entry; activation of the latter required higher ATP concentrations. 4 Mitochondria participated in buffering Ca2+ loads that resulted from store‐operated Ca2+ influx; in contrast Ca2+ released from intracellular stores was not accumulated by the mitochondrial depot. 5 We conclude that ATP‐induced Ca2+ responses are governed by several pathways with different sensitivities to the agonist. This enables cells to respond either with pure Ca2+ release from intracellular stores (at low ATP concentrations) or (at high ATP concentrations) the response is amplified by plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx. Store‐operated Ca2+ entry increases mitochondrial Ca2+ content providing a link between cellular activation and mitochondrial function.
Use of a Self-Report-Generated Charlson Comorbidity Index for Predicting Mortality

Background:The Charlson Comorbidity Index, a popular tool for risk adjustment, often is constructed from medical record abstracts or administrative data. Limitations in both sources have fueled interest in using patient self-report as an alternative. However, little data exist on whether self-reported Charlson Indices predict mortality. Objectives:We sought to determine whether a self-reported Charlson Index predicts mortality, its performance relative to indices derived from administrative data, and whether using study-specific weights instead of Charlson's original weights enhances model fit. Methods:We surveyed 7761 patients admitted to a university medical service over the course of 4 years and extracted their administrative data. We constructed 6 different Charlson indices by using 2 weighting schemes (original Charlson weights and study-specific weights) and 3 different datasources (ICD-9CM data for index hospitalization, ICD-9CM data with a 1-year look-back period, and patient self-report of comorbidities.) Multivariate models were constructed predicting 1-year mortality, log total costs, and log length of stay. Results:The 6 measures of the Charlson index all predicted 1-year mortality. Models with age and gender, with or without diagnosis-related group, had approximately the same predictive power regardless of which of the 6 Charlson indices were used. Nevertheless, there were small improvements in model fit using administrative data versus self-report, or study-specific versus original weights. All models obtained areas under the receiver operating curve of 0.70 to 0.77. Conclusions:Overall, self-reported Charlson indices predict 1-year mortality comparably with indices based on administrative data. Administrative data may offer some small improvements in predictive ability and may be preferred when readily available.
Post-translational Regulation of the Type III Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor by miRNA-506*

Background: Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R3) is critical to secretion in a number of epithelia and its expression is lost in secretory disorders. Results: miR-506 down-regulates InsP3R3 expression and impairs Ca2+ signaling and secretion. Conclusion: Post-translational regulation of InsP3R3 expression by miR-506 might contribute to disease phenotype. Significance: Restoring InsP3R3 expression by use of anti-miR-506 therapy might be beneficial in a variety of secretory disorders. The type III isoform of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R3) is apically localized and triggers Ca2+ waves and secretion in a number of polarized epithelia. However, nothing is known about epigenetic regulation of this InsP3R isoform. We investigated miRNA regulation of InsP3R3 in primary bile duct epithelia (cholangiocytes) and in the H69 cholangiocyte cell line, because the role of InsP3R3 in cholangiocyte Ca2+ signaling and secretion is well established and because loss of InsP3R3 from cholangiocytes is responsible for the impairment in bile secretion that occurs in a number of liver diseases. Analysis of the 3′-UTR of human InsP3R3 mRNA revealed two highly conserved binding sites for miR-506. Transfection of miR-506 mimics into cell lines expressing InsP3R3–3′UTR-luciferase led to decreased reporter activity, whereas co-transfection with miR-506 inhibitors led to enhanced activity. Reporter activity was abrogated in isolated mutant proximal or distal miR-506 constructs in miR-506-transfected HEK293 cells. InsP3R3 protein levels were decreased by miR-506 mimics and increased by inhibitors, and InsP3R3 expression was markedly decreased in H69 cells stably transfected with miR-506 relative to control cells. miR-506-H69 cells exhibited a fibrotic signature. In situ hybridization revealed elevated miR-506 expression in vivo in human-diseased cholangiocytes. Histamine-induced, InsP3-mediated Ca2+ signals were decreased by 50% in stable miR-506 cells compared with controls. Finally, InsP3R3-mediated fluid secretion was significantly decreased in isolated bile duct units transfected with miR-506, relative to control IBDU. Together, these data identify miR-506 as a regulator of InsP3R3 expression and InsP3R3-mediated Ca2+ signaling and secretion.
Meta-Analysis of the MMPI-2 Fake Bad Scale: Utility in Forensic Practice

ABSTRACT Some clinical researchers disagree regarding the clinical utility of the MMPI-2 Fake Bad scale (FBS ) within forensic and clinical settings. The present meta-analysis summarizes weighted effect size differences among the FBS and other commonly used validity scales (L, F, K, Fb, Fp, F-K, O-S, Ds2, Dsr2 ) in symptom overreporting and comparison groups. Forty studies that included FBS were identified through exploration of online databases, perusal of published references, and communication with primary authors. Nineteen of the 40 studies met restrictive inclusion criteria, resulting in a pooled sample size of 3664 (1615 overreporting participants and 2049 comparison participants). The largest grand effect sizes were observed for FBS (.96), followed by O-S (.88), Dsr2 (.79), F-K (.69), and the F- scale (.63). Significant within-scale variability was observed for seven validity scales, including FBS (Q = 119.11, p < .001). Several subsequent FBS moderator analyses yielded moderate to large effect sizes and were statistically significant for level of cognitive effort, type of overreporting comparison group, and condition associated with overreporting (e.g., traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress, chronic pain). Findings suggest that the FBS performs as well as, if not superior to, other validity scales in discriminating overreporting and comparison groups; the preponderance of the present literature supports the scale's use within forensic settings.
Positive hand effects on mobile handset antennas

A study on the effect of hands on mobile handset antennas has been carried out experimentally with antenna prototypes and an active mobile phone. It is reported that the positive hand effect exists for small antennas in the 900 MHz band. Measurements of antenna prototypes and an active mobile phone show that the positive hand effect can improve antenna total efficiency by 1 to 2 dB in the 900 MHz band.
MCMC Multilocus Lod Scores: Application of a New Approach

On extended pedigrees with extensive missing data, the calculation of multilocus likelihoods for linkage analysis is often beyond the computational bounds of exact methods. Growing interest therefore surrounds the implementation of Monte Carlo estimation methods. In this paper, we demonstrate the speed and accuracy of a new Markov chain Monte Carlo method for the estimation of linkage likelihoods through an analysis of real data from a study of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. For those data sets where comparison with exact analysis is possible, we achieved up to a 100-fold increase in speed. Our approach is implemented in the program lm–bayes within the framework of the freely available MORGAN 2.6 package for Monte Carlo genetic analysis (http://www.stat.washington.edu/thompson/Genepi/MORGAN/Morgan.shtml).
Anti-Fibrillarin Antibody in African American Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: Immunogenetics, Clinical Features, and Survival Analysis

Objective. Anti-U3-RNP, or anti-fibrillarin antibodies (AFA), are detected more frequently among African American (AA) patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) compared to other ethnic groups and are associated with distinct clinical features. We examined the immunogenetic, clinical, and survival correlates of AFA in a large group of AA patients with SSc. Methods. Overall, 278 AA patients with SSc and 328 unaffected AA controls were enrolled from 3 North American cohorts. Clinical features, autoantibody profile, and HLA class II genotyping were determined. To compare clinical manifestations, relevant clinical features were adjusted for disease duration. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine the effect of AFA on survival. Results. Fifty (18.5%) AA patients had AFA. After Bonferroni correction, HLA-DRB1*08:04 was associated with AFA, compared to unaffected AA controls (OR 11.5, p < 0.0001) and AFA-negative SSc patients (OR 5.2, p = 0.0002). AFA-positive AA patients had younger age of disease onset, higher frequency of digital ulcers, diarrhea, pericarditis, higher Medsger perivascular and lower Medsger lung severity indices (p = 0.004, p = 0.014, p = 0.019, p = 0.092, p = 0.006, and p = 0.016, respectively). After adjustment for age at enrollment, AFA-positive patients did not have different survival compared to patients without AFA (p = 0.493). Conclusion. Our findings demonstrate strong association between AFA and HLA-DRB1*08:04 allele in AA patients with SSc. AA SSc patients with AFA had younger age of onset, higher frequency of digital ulcers, pericarditis and severe lower gastrointestinal involvement, but less severe lung involvement compared to AA patients without AFA. Presence of AFA did not change survival.
Bandwidth enhancement of a printed wide-slot antenna with a rotated slot

In this paper, a printed wide-slot antenna fed by a microstrip line with a rotated slot for bandwidth enhancement is proposed and experimentally studied. Impedance, radiation, and gain characteristics of this antenna are presented and discussed. From experimental results, the measured impedance bandwidth, defined by 10 dB return loss, can reach an operating bandwidth of 2.2 GHz at operating frequencies around 4.5 GHz, which is about four times that of a conventional microstrip-line-fed printed wide-slot antenna. Also, the antenna gain within the operating band is measured and studied, and a 2-dB gain bandwidth of at least 1 GHz is achieved.
Listening to Music and Active Music Therapy in Behavioral Disturbances in Dementia: A Crossover Study

Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) (K24 AT004095). In addition, this work was conducted with support from Harvard Catalyst/The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH Award 8UL1TR000170–05 and financial contributions from Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers). Dr. Rebecca Wells and Dr. Michelle Dossett received support from institutional National Research Service Award T32AT000051, Ted Kaptchuk was supported by Mid-Career Investigator Award K24 AT004095, Dr. Russell Phillips was supported by Mid-Career Investigator Award K24AT000589, and Dr. Catherine Kerr was supported by K01 AT003459, all from NCCAM. Dr. Kong was supported by KO1AT003883 (NCCAM), R21AT004497 (NCCAM), R03AT218317 (National Institute on Drug Abuse), R01AT006364 (NCCAM). Dr. Davis received support from the Harvard Clinical and Translational Center (NIH Award UL1 RR 02758) and financial contributions from Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers, or NIH. Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. Author Contributions: Dr. Wells, R.E. : design and conceptualization of study; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; obtaining funding; drafting and revising the manuscript. Dr. Kerr, C.E. : design and conceptualization of study, analysis and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript. Dr. Wolkin, J.: design and conceptualization of study; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data. Dr. Dossett, M. : design of study, analysis and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript. Dr. Davis, R.B. : design and conceptualization of study, analysis and interpretation of data. Walsh, J.: acquisition of data, revising manuscript. Dr. Wall, B. : conceptualization of study, revising manuscript, conducting intervention. Dr. Kong, J.: design and conceptualization of study, analysis and interpretation of data, obtaining funding, drafting and revising manuscript, supervising study. Kaptchuk, T. and Dr. Phillips, R.S. : design and conceptualization of study, obtaining funding, study supervision, revising manuscript. Dr. Press, D. and Dr. Yeh, G. : design and conceptualization of study, analysis and interpretation of data, revising manuscript, supervising study. Sponsor’s Role: None.
Nonlinear Dynamic Boltzmann Machines for Time-Series Prediction

The dynamic Boltzmann machine (DyBM) has been proposed as a stochastic generative model of multi-dimensional time series, with an exact, learning rule that maximizes the log-likelihood of a given time series. The DyBM, however, is defined only for binary valued data, without any nonlinear hidden units. Here, in our first contribution, we extend the DyBM to deal with real valued data. We present a formulation called Gaussian DyBM, that can be seen as an extension of a vector autoregressive (VAR) model. This uses, in addition to standard (explanatory) variables, components that captures long term dependencies in the time series. In our second contribution, we extend the Gaussian DyBM model with a recurrent neural network (RNN) that controls the bias input to the DyBM units. We derive a stochastic gradient update rule such that, the output weights from the RNN can also be trained online along with other DyBM parameters. Furthermore, this acts as nonlinear hidden layer extending the capacity of DyBM and allows it to model nonlinear components in a given time-series. Numerical experiments with synthetic datasets show that the RNN-Gaussian DyBM improves predictive accuracy upon standard VAR by up to 35%. On real multi-dimensional time-series prediction, consisting of high nonlinearity and non-stationarity, we demonstrate that this nonlinear DyBM model achieves significant improvement upon state of the art baseline methods like VAR and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks at a reduced computational cost.
Calcium Homeostasis and Contraction of the Uterine Artery: Effect of Pregnancy and Chronic Hypoxia1

Abstract The present study tested the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia alters pregnancy-mediated adaptation of Ca2+ homeostasis and contractility in the uterine artery. Uterine arteries were isolated from nonpregnant and near-term pregnant ewes of normoxic control or high-altitude (3820 m) hypoxic (oxygen pressure in the blood [PaO2], 60 mm Hg) treatment for 110 days. Contractions and intracellular-free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) were measured simultaneously in the same tissue. In normoxic animals, pregnancy increased norepinephrine (NE), but not 5-hydroxy-thymide (5-HT) or KCl, contractile sensitivity in the uterine artery. Chronic hypoxia significantly attenuated NE-induced contractions in the pregnant, but not nonpregnant, uterine arteries. Similarly, 5-HT-mediated contractions of nonpregnant arteries were not changed. In the pregnant uterine artery, chronic hypoxia significantly increased NE-mediated Ca2+ mobilization, but decreased the Ca2+ sensitivity. In addition, hypoxia increased the calcium ionophore A23187-induced relaxation in pregnant, but not nonpregnant, uterine arteries. However, the A23187-mediated reduction of [Ca2+]i was significantly impaired in hypoxic arteries. In contrast, hypoxia significantly increased the slope of the [Ca2+]i-tension relationship of A23187-induced reductions in [Ca2+]i and tension in the pregnant uterine artery. The results suggest that the contractility of nonpregnant uterine artery is insensitive to moderate chronic hypoxia, but the adaptation of sympathetic tone that normally occurs in the uterine artery during pregnancy is inhibited by chronic hypoxia. In addition, changes in Ca2+ sensitivity of myofilaments play a predominant role in the adaptation of uterine artery contractility to pregnancy and chronic hypoxia.
EFFECTS OF SELECTED CYTOTOXIC AGENTS ON ANTIBODY PRODUCTION IN MAN; A PRELIMINARY REPORT *

Experiments were performed to detect any effect of the chemical agents employed on antibody production in man. These agents are commonly classed as cytotoxic. Mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, 6-mercaptopurine, 5fluorouracil, 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine and methotrexate were chosen for study. Cyclophosphamide, 6-mercaptopurine, 5-fluorouracil, 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine and methotrexate were found to eliminate or markedly impair the serologic response to a foreign antigen in humans with various neoplastic diseases. Mechlorethamine under the circumstances of these experiments did not interfere noticeably with the development of circulating antibodies against P. tularensis or Vi antigen. The patients who received mechlorethamine or no drug-treatment developed antibody titers in a fashion similar to that reported by Saslaw in normal men immunized with Pasteurella tularensis vaccine and by Landy in normal men given the Vi antigen. None of the chemical agents studied under the conditions of these experiments significantly altered existing red-blood-cell isoagglutinin titers or established (cutaneous) delayed hypersensitivity. In these experiments, no obvious relation between changes in the formed elements of the peripheral blood and suppression of immune responsiveness was detected. Inspection of the patient data in the various experimental categories with regard to their ages, medical diagnoses, extent of their diseases, survival times, serum albumin/globulin ratios, isoagglutinin titers and responsiveness to (delayedmore » hypersensitivity) skin tests does not suggest that any of these variables, singly or in combination, could be related to the altered antibody responses which are attributed to the drugs. Conclusions concerning the comparative effectiveness of these agents in suppressing immune responses must await completion of quantitative dose-response and dose-schedule studies. Similarly, sound extrapolations from animal studies to man must be based on careful quantitative scrutiny of the several variables involved in each experimental system. (auth)« less
B- and T-Cell Responses in Group A Streptococcus M-Protein- or Peptide-Induced Experimental Carditis

ABSTRACT The etiology of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD) is believed to be autoimmune, involving immune responses initiated between streptococcal and host tissue proteins through a molecular mimicry mechanism(s). We sought to investigate the humoral and cellular responses elicited in a Lewis rat model of group A streptococcus M-protein- or peptide-induced experimental valvulitis/carditis, a recently developed animal model which may, in part, represent human rheumatic carditis. Recombinant streptococcal M5 protein elicited opsonic antibodies in Lewis rats, and anti-M5 antisera recognized epitopes within the B- and C-repeat regions of M5. One peptide from the streptococcal M5 protein B-repeat region (M5-B.6, amino acids 161 to 180) induced lymphocytes that responded to both recombinant M5 and cardiac myosin. Rats immunized with streptococcal M5 protein developed valvular lesions, distinguished by infiltration of CD3+, CD4+, and CD68+ cells into valve tissue, consistent with human studies that suggest that RF/RHD are mediated by inflammatory CD4+ T cells and CD68+ macrophages. The current study provides additional information that supports the use of the rat autoimmune valvulitis model for investigating RF/RHD.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis in High School Girls in Fasa District, Iran

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii. Infections of human are common and are usually asymptomatic. The infection may be serious if is transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy. Prophylactic measures, early detection of the infection and treatment can avoid congenital toxoplasmosis and many long term effects. Objective: Seroepidemiological study in young girls is useful to determine the prevalence of infection and to design prevention policies for them after marriage and during their pregnancy. This study was carried out in the years 2000-2001 in the region of Fasa of Fars province in the South of Iran, as a descriptive, analytic and cross sectional study. Methods: Serum Samples of 947 students were collected from high school girls of Fasa and studied by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). The positive and negative controls were also used. Results: The seroprevalance rate of toxoplasmosis ranged from 1 to 21 Percent in different parts of Fasa and 10% in all groups. Some variables including age, nutritional habits and contact with domestic cats were studied. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in girls of various high schools of Fasa is different and it may be related to the level of hygiene in different parts of Fasa. Water and food contamination with cat stool in regions with high contact with domestic cats can play an important role in infection rates. People of such areas should eat well-cooked meat to reduce infection.