Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical importance of the minimal cancellous diameter of lower thoracic and lumbar vertebral pedicles

Transpedicular spinal fixation is a widely used method in vertebral surgery, but it suffers from complications due to mismatches between the screw and pedicle. Therefore, information on minimal cancellous (MCD) and minimal external diameters (MED) of the pedicle is highly important for vertebral surgery. To determine these diameters and their ratios, 2,808 measurements of 1,404 pedicles of 702 human vertebrae were made from Th11 to L5. We found that the mean ratio of MCD to MED was 72.2%, MCD to vertical diameter (VD) was 41.7%, and MCD to transverse diameter (TD) was 62.2% in all levels. We recommend that these results be considered prior to pedicular fixation operations and design of new implantable devices. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The characterization of differential operators by locality: abstract derivations

Abstract Let δ be a closed *-derivation on a commutative C*-algebra , suppose that is dense in for some n = 1, 2, …, ∞, and let be a linear operator satisfying the locality condition It is shown that , for some finite integer p≤n and functions lm on X. Estimates on the coefficients lm are obtained and applied to flows and local flows.
[Detection of numerical chromosome aberrations in sperm of workers exposed to benzene series by two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization].

OBJECTIVE To study the numerical aberrations of sex chromosomes in sperm of workers exposed to benzene series. METHODS The interphase sperm from workers of exposed and control groups were hybridized using two color fluorescence in situ hybridization with X and Y(alpha)-satellite chromosome specific DNA probes, and the aneuploidy frequencies of X and Y chromosome in X and Y sperms were detected simultaneously. RESULTS Geometric mean concentration of benzene in workplace air was 83.95 mg/m(3), one fold higher than national maximum allowable concentration. A total of 74,517 sperm nuclei in 13 benzene-exposed workers and 89,662 sperm nuclei in 13 control workers were counted. Frequencies of disomic sperm for X, Y and XY were (0.15 +/- 0.05)%, (0.13 +/- 0.05)% and (0.20 +/- 0.11)% in workers exposed to benzene series, and (0.10 +/- 0.04)%, (0.10 +/- 0.04)% and (0.13 +/- 0.06)% in control workers. There was statistical difference in disomic frequency of X sperm and overall disomic frequency between the benzene series-exposed workers (0.15% and 0.48%, respectively) and the control workers (0.10% and 0.33%, respectively). CONCLUSION Exposed to benzene at higher concentration may induce increase in aneuploidy frequency of sperm sex chromosome in exposed workers.
Two microRNA panels to discriminate three subtypes of lung carcinoma in bronchial brushing specimens.

RATIONALE Effective treatment for lung cancer requires accuracy in subclassification of carcinoma subtypes. OBJECTIVES To identify microRNAs in bronchial brushing specimens for discriminating small cell lung cancer (SCLC) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and for further differentiating squamous cell carcinoma (SQ) from adenocarcinoma (AC). METHODS Microarrays were used to screen 723 microRNAs in laser-captured, microdissected cancer cells from 82 snap-frozen surgical lung specimens. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed on 153 macrodissected formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) surgical lung specimens to evaluate seven microRNA candidates discovered from microarrays. Two microRNA panels were constructed on the basis of a training cohort (n = 85) and validated using an independent cohort (n = 68). The microRNA panels were applied as differentiators of SCLC from NSCLC and of SQ from AC in 207 bronchial brushing specimens. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Two microRNA panels yielded high diagnostic accuracy in discriminating SCLC from NSCLC (miR-29a and miR-375; area under the curve [AUC], 0.991 and 0.982 for training and validation data set, respectively) and in differentiating SQ from AC (miR-205 and miR-34a; AUC, 0.977 and 0.982 for training and validation data set, respectively) in FFPE surgical lung specimens. Moreover, the microRNA panels accurately differentiated SCLC from NSCLC (AUC, 0.947) and SQ from AC (AUC, 0.962) in bronchial brushing specimens. CONCLUSIONS We found two microRNA panels that accurately discriminated between the three subtypes of lung carcinoma in bronchial brushing specimens. The identified microRNA panels may have considerable clinical value in differential diagnosis and optimizing treatment strategies based on lung cancer subtypes.
Removal of two halves restores the whole: Reversal of visual hemineglect during bilateral cortical or collicular inactivation in the cat

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to compare visual orienting behavior in the adult cat during (1) unilateral and bilateral cooling deactivation of posterior-middle suprasylvian (pMS) sulcai cortex, and (2) unilateral and bilateral deactivation of the superior colliculus. As expected, unilateral cooling deactivation of either pMS cortex or the superior colliculus resulted in a profound visual neglect of the contracooled hemifield. The addition of cooling the homotopic region in the opposite hemisphere largely reversed this deficit and restored visual orienting into the previously neglected hemifield. These results show that (1) pMS cortex and the superior colliculus are essential for normal detection and orienting to visual targets, and (2) unilateral visual neglect results from an imbalance of activities in the two hemispheres induced at either cortical or subcortical levels. These conclusions have implications for understanding neural bases of visual hemineglect following unilateral lesions in humans.
In-hospital care pathways for stroke.

BACKGROUND Stroke care pathways have the potential to promote organised and efficient patient care that is based on best evidence and guidelines, but evidence to support their use is unclear. OBJECTIVES We aimed to assess the effects of care pathways, compared with standard medical care, among patients with acute stroke who had been admitted to hospital. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched in June 2003), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2003), MEDLINE (1975 to June 2003), EMBASE (1980 to June 2003), CINAHL (1982 to June 2003), ISI Proceedings: Science & Technology (1990 to November 2003), and HealthSTAR (1994 to May 2001). We also handsearched the Journal of Integrated Care Pathways (2001 to 2003), formerly Journal of Managed Care (1997 to 1998) and Journal of Integrated Care (1998 to 2001). Reference lists of articles were searched. SELECTION CRITERIA We considered randomised controlled trials and non-randomised studies that compared care pathway care with standard medical care. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS One reviewer selected studies for inclusion and the other independently checked the decisions. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the studies. One reviewer extracted the data and the other checked the extracted data. MAIN RESULTS Three randomised controlled trials (340 patients) and 12 non-randomised studies (4081 patients) were included. There was significant statistical heterogeneity in the analysis of many of the outcomes. We found no significant difference between care pathway and control groups in terms of death or discharge destination. Patients managed with a care pathway were: (a) more dependent at discharge (P = 0.04); (b) less likely to suffer a urinary tract infection (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.51, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.34 to 0.79); (c) less likely to be readmitted (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.39); and (d) more likely to have neuroimaging (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.12 to 5.25). Evidence from randomised trials suggested that patient satisfaction and quality of life were significantly lower in the care pathway group (P = 0.02 and P < 0.005 respectively). REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS Use of stroke care pathways may be associated with positive and negative effects. Since most of the results have been derived from non-randomised studies, they are likely to be influenced by potential biases and confounding factors. There is currently insufficient supporting evidence to justify the routine implementation of care pathways for acute stroke management or stroke rehabilitation.
Antidiabetic potential of two novel fatty acid derivatised, N-terminally modified analogues of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP): N-AcGIP(LysPAL16) and N-AcGIP(LysPAL37)

Abstract Fatty acid derivatisation was used to develop two novel, long-acting, N-terminally modified, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) analogues, N-AcGIP(LysPAL16) and N-AcGIP(LysPAL37). In contrast to GIP, which was rapidly degraded by in vitro incubation with dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP IV) (52% intact after 2 h), the analogues remained fully intact for up to 24 h. Both fatty acid-derivatised analogues stimulated cAMP production in GIP receptor Chinese hamster lung (CHL) fibroblasts (EC50 12.1–13.0 nM) and significantly improved in vitro insulin secretion from BRIN-BD11 cells (1.1- to 2.4-fold; p<0.05 to p<0.001) compared to control (5.6 mM glucose). Administration of N-AcGIP(LysPAL16) and N-AcGIP(LysPAL37) together with glucose in obese diabetic (ob/ob) mice significantly reduced the glycaemic excursion (1.4- and 1.5-fold, respectively; p<0.05 to p<0.01) and improved the insulinotropic response (1.5- and 2.3-fold, respectively; p<0.01 to p<0.001) compared to native peptide. Dose-response studies with N-AcGIP(LysPAL37) revealed that even the lowest concentration (6.25 nmol/kg) induced a highly significant decrease (1.4-fold; p<0.001) in the overall glycaemic excursion, coupled with a significant increase (2.0-fold; p<0.01) in circulating insulin. Furthermore, basal glucose values remained significantly reduced (p<0.05) and insulin values increased 24 h following a single injection of N-AcGIP(LysPAL37). The glucose-lowering action of the fatty acid-derivatised peptide was greater than that of N-AcGIP. These data demonstrate that novel fatty acid-derivatised analogues of N-terminally modified AcGIP function as long-acting GIP-receptor agonists, with significant antidiabetic potential.
Convivencia y conflictos en los centros educativos: Informe del Ararteko sobre la situación en los centros de Educación

Informe realizado por un equipo de IDEA (Instituto de Evaluacion y Asesoramiento Educativo) dirigido por Elena Martin y un equipo de la institucion del Ararteko. En el se presenta un informe sobre la convivencia y los conflictos en los centros de Educacion Secundaria en la Comunidad Autonoma del Pais Vasco. Un objetivo basico de la educacion es aprender a convivir, sin violencia, respetando a todas las personas, independientemente de como sean. Este informe quiere aportar un mayor o mejor conocimiento sobre la realidad de nuestros centros y, basandonos en el, plantear una serie de recomendaciones que puedan ayudar a mejorar el clima escolar y la convivencia en los centros.
Genetic and Morphologic Variation in the Davis Mountains Cottontail (Sylvilagus robustus)

Abstract The Davis Mountains cottontail, Sylvilagus robustus, is an endemic species of the Trans-Pecos area of Texas. Although S. robustus previously was believed to be extirpated from the Chisos Mountains, we confirmed existence of a population. We examined intrapopulation and interpopulation variation in S. robustus, as well as the genetic relationship to the eastern cottontail (S. floridanus) using partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b and control region genes. Six morphometric traits relating to overall size and six cranial characters considered diagnostic for the two subspecies were used to confirm identification of specimens. Our morphological analysis suggested that specimens from the Chisos and Davis Mountains were S. robustus; however, low levels of genetic divergence between S. robustus and S. floridanus appeared inconsistent with species-level recognition for S. robustus.
Detection of four species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Netherlands

Summary Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were investigated for their value as sentinel animals for Lyme borreliosis in the Netherlands. Serum was obtained from 114 roe deer, and 513 Ixodes ricinus, predominantly females (72%), were obtained from 47 animals (41%). The polymerase chain reaction was used to detect DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in a total of 190 ticks, comprising 106 engorged ticks and 84 non-engorged ticks. Borrelia DNA was detected in 24 engorged ticks (23%) and 26 non-engorged ticks (31%). This difference was not significant (P = 0·25). Four species of B. burgdorferi sensu lato were identified in the ticks: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii and group VS116. B. afzelii was most commonly found and present in 13 mixed infections, and in 28 single infections. Fifteen sera (13%) contained antibodies to Borrelia spp. Ticks are more appropriate sentinel animals for Lyme borreliosis than roe deer, an important host for I. ricinus. Although the viability of borrelia spirochaetes in engorged ticks collected from roe deer was not assessed, a bloodmeal taken from roe deer did not eliminate borrelia spirochaetes from the tick. The relevance of this finding for transovarial transmission of borrelia spirochaetes in ticks is discussed.
CD 80-Transfected Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells Induce Primary Allogeneic

Despite sufficient levels of HLA class I and class II expression, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells usually fail to induce a significant T-cell response in vitro. Therefore, we investigated whether in vitro modifications could enhance the T-cell stimulatory properties of AML cells. AML cells were either cultured with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), or transfected with the CD80 (B7.1) gene and used as stimulator cells for primed and unprimed allogeneic T cells. Cytokine treatment increased HLA class I and II expression, but did not induce CD80 on AML cells. Cytokine-treated AML cells efficiently presented nominal and allo-antigens to primed T-cell clones, induced strong T-cell proliferation in HLA mismatched mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR), but failed to induce primary T-cell responses from an HLA identical bone marrow donor in MLR. In contrast, CD80-transfected AML cells induced T-cell proliferation of HLA-identical bone marrow donor peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) in primary MLR, allowing the generation of leukemia reactive CD41 T-cell lines and clones. The majority of the generated oligoclonal (25 of 35) T-cell cultures showed patient specific reactivity that did not discriminate between patient’s leukemic cells and EpsteinBarr virus (EBV)-transformed B cells (EBV-LCL). The remaining 10 oligoclonal T-cell cultures recognized only leukemic cells. One of these latter leukemia reactive oligoclonal T cells was cloned. The majority of the clones (25 of 29) reacted against both leukemic cells and patient’s EBV-LCL. A minority of the T-cell clones with the CD4 phenotype (four of 29) showed strong HLA-DP restricted reactivity against leukemic cells, but not against patient’s EBV-LCL or against HLA-matched nonleukemic cells, indicating that their target antigens are preferentially expressed by leukemic cells. In conclusion, our study shows that the in vitro allogeneic T-cell response induced by CD80-transfected AML cells is mainly directed against patient’s specific minor histocompatibility antigens, while antigens preferentially expressed by leukemic cells can also trigger T-cell responses. r 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.
Prevalence and Treatment of Substance Abuse in the Mentally Retarded Population: An Empirical Review

Abstract This article presents the first comprehensive review of studies of alcohol and illicit substance use in mentally retarded individuals, including prevalence, and recommendations for assessment and treatment. Mentally retarded persons appear to use/abuse alcohol at about the same rate as their noncognitively-impaired counterparts, and illicit drugs at moderately lower rates. However, little is known regarding which assessments and interventions are most effective in this population, given the absence of published treatment outcome studies and case examples. This is particularly disconcerting as detrimental consequences resulting from substance use have been identified in mentally retarded samples. Anecdotal data suggests that treatment for these individuals require modifications of existing empirically-derived substance abuse interventions to accommodate their unique needs.
Spiritual Intelligence and High Risk Behaviors

It is necessary to design some treatments and evaluate them based on the components of spiritual intelligence, in accordance with social – cultural situ-ations and the type of disorder. Since this item is useful both for prevention and improvement of the health level, it’s deserving that the researchers and therapists explore this area more than ever.Copyright © 2014, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences; Published by Kowsar Corp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com -mons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Impact of social comparison on cancer survivors' quality of life: an experimental field study.

OBJECTIVE For cancer survivors, the recovery phase after hospital treatment can be bothersome. Social comparison information from fellow cancer survivors can improve the quality of life in this situation. METHOD In a randomized field experiment, 139 Dutch cancer survivors (M(age) = 52 years; 70.5% women) were assigned to a control condition or 1 of 3 experimental conditions in which they listened to an interview with fellow cancer survivors. The interview's content is about patients' negative emotions and/or the effective coping strategies patients used. A validation study among 101 students showed that the conditions were perceived as intended. In the main study, quality of life was assessed after 2 months (using the LASA, Cantrils' Ladder, and 2 items of the EORTC-C30). RESULTS The effects of the interviews depended on the participants' self-reported health status and sensitivity to social comparison information (p < .001). Highly sensitive patients with a good health status benefited from the information; in those not sensitive, quality of life diminished. In patients with a poor health status, the effects were reverse. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that a brief intervention comprised of testimonials of fellow cancer survivors had an impact on the quality of life of cancer survivors after 2 months. However, subgroups of patients were detected whose quality of life decreased because of the intervention. These results stress the need to be careful in providing social comparison information and to consider side effects of psychosocial interventions.
Utility of organotypic raphe slice cultures to investigate the effects of sustained exposure to selective 5‐HT reuptake inhibitors on 5‐HT release

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Selective 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT, serotonin) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely used antidepressants and their therapeutic effect requires several weeks of drug administration. The delayed onset of SSRI efficacy is due to the slow neuroadaptive changes of the 5‐hydroxytryptaminergic (5‐HTergic) system. In this study, we examined the acute and chronic effects of SSRIs on the 5‐HTergic system using rat raphe slice cultures.
Balancing resolution improvement and artifacts in back-propagation reconstructions for a host medium having point-like inhomogeneities

In this contribution the inverse source problem for a multipath environment is addressed, with multipath being created by a grid of point scatterers appositely deployed in the scene. By adopting a weighted back-propagation imaging algorithm, we study how resolution improvement and artefacts depend on the grid layout. Successively, back-propagation is compared with a truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) inverse filtering. It is shown that TSVD in principle allows for a larger resolution improvement and is less prone to artefacts. However, TSVD is more computationally demanding and when noise corrupts data, back-propagation definitely performs better.
Factors Affecting Hedging Decisions Using Evidence from the Cotton Industry

Few farmers utilize futures and options markets to price their crops despite significant educational efforts. This study seeks to analyze producer hedging behavior within the framework of the overall marketing behavior. Producer marketing behavior is modeled as a simultaneous choice between cash sales, cooperative marketing and forward contracts, and hedging. A multinomial logit model is used for empirical estimation using data from a survey administered to a sample of cotton producers from across the U.S. The most important factors that explain the use of forward pricing by cotton producers are producer preferences, farm size, use of crop insurance, risk aversion, income from government payments and off-farm income. Risk aversion, off-farm income, crop insurance and some producer perceptions are important in the choice of the form of forward pricing (direct hedging vs. cooperative marketing and forward contracts).
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young-Adult Nutrition Issues in IDDM

Although insulin is life sustaining for patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), the meal plan is of critical importance for avoiding hyperglycemia, preventing hypoglycemia, and maintaining metabolic balance. Consistency, timing, composition, and caloric content of food intake and physical activity, age, sex, growth, and pubertal status alter meal-plan needs. Self-monitoring of blood glucose should be used to individualize the meal plan. The general American Diabetes Association recommendations suggest that 50–65% of total calories be from carbohydrates from foods with a lower glycemic index and/or high fiber content. Protein should contribute 12–20% of total calories and fat <30%, with <10% saturated fat and <300 mg/day cholesterol. More severe fat restriction should be considered in individuals with persistent lipid abnormalities when compared with sex- and ageadjusted values. Calories should be sufficient for growth and development, with growth data obtained several times a year and plotted on standardized weight, height, and velocity charts. Blood pressure should be similarly plotted on age- and sex-standardized curves. All meal plans should be individualized, but certain circumstances require special attention in IDDM patients: 1) lack of minerals or vitamins in a youngster who is a picky eater; 2) eating disorders (i.e., obesity, bulimia, anorexia nervosa); 3) specific gastrointestinal diseases (i.e., Crohn's disease, celiac disease, giardiasis, or IgA deficiency); 4) low iron stores because of associated achlorhydria and positive gastroparietal antibodies; 5) alternative sweeteners, especially in pregnant women and very young children; 6) mineral balance changes that may occur with increased soluble fiber intake and episodes of hyperglycemia with or without ketosis/ketoacidosis; 7) changes in physical activity that require nutritional counterbalancing; and 8) intensified insulin therapy (including multidose insulin and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion) associated with more frequent hypoglycemia and increased risk of obesity—both conditions potentially amenable to appropriate nutrition counseling.