Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Working Memory Deficits on Academic Achievement in Adolescents with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study examined the impact of working memory deficits (WMD) on the academic achievement of adolescents with ADHD. Adolescents (n=79) aged 13 to 17 years with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD were subtyped into those with and without WMD based on impairment in at least two measures, and then compared on their academic achievement and clinical profile. Results indicated that adolescents with ADHD plus WMD (23%) manifest significantly lower academic achievement than those with adequate WM. By contrast, there were no group differences in psychiatric comorbidity, severity of ADHD symptoms and psychological adjustment. We also found a unique contribution of WM to academic achievement over and above that of other clinical features. These findings suggest that WMD compromise the educational attainment of a subgroup of individuals with ADHD. Individuals with ADHD should be screened for WMD to prevent academic failure and WM should be considered as a treatment target.
Epigenetic activation of LY6K predicts the presence of metastasis and poor prognosis in breast carcinoma

The role of lymphocyte antigen 6 complex, locus K (LY6K) in breast cancer has been studied, whereas the epigenetic control of LY6K transcription is not fully understood. Here, we report that breast cancer patients with increased LY6K expression had shorter disease-free and overall survival than the patients with low levels of LY6K by multivariate analysis. LY6K also was upregulated in breast cancer patients with distant metastases than those without distant metastases, downregulating E-cadherin expression. Furthermore, xenograft tumor volumes from LY6K knockdown nude mice were reduced than those of mice treated with control lentivirus. Interestingly, LY6K has a CpG island (CGI) around the transcription start site and non-CGI in its promoter, called a CGI shore. LY6K expression was inversely correlated with methylation in not only CGI but CGI shore, which are associated with histone modifications. Additionally, LY6K methylation was increased by the PAX3 transcription factor due to the SNP242 mutation in LY6K CGI shore. Taken together, breast cancer risk and metastasis were significantly associated with not only LY6K expression, but also methylation of CGI shore which induced by SNP242 mutation. Our results suggest that an understanding epigenetic mechanism of the LY6K gene may be useful to diagnose carcinogenic risk and predict outcomes of patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Why Is Quinidine an Inhibitor of Cytochrome P450 2D6?

We have previously shown that Phe120, Glu216, and Asp301 in the active site of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) play a key role in substrate recognition by this important drug-metabolizing enzyme (Paine, M. J., McLaughlin, L. A., Flanagan, J. U., Kemp, C. A., Sutcliffe, M. J., Roberts, G. C., and Wolf, C. R. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 4021–4027 and Flanagan, J. U. , Maréchal, J.-D. , Ward, R. , Kemp, C. A. , McLaughlin, L. A. , Sutcliffe, M. J., Roberts, G. C. , Paine, M. J., and Wolf, C. R. (2004) Biochem. J. 380, 353–360). We have now examined the effect of mutations of these residues on interactions of the enzyme with the prototypical CYP2D6 inhibitor, quinidine. Abolition of the negative charge at either or both residues 216 and 301 decreased quinidine inhibition of bufuralol 1′-hydroxylation and dextromethorphan O-demethylation by at least 100-fold. The apparent dissociation constants (Kd) for quinidine binding to the wild-type enzyme and the E216D and D301E mutants were 0.25–0.50 μm. The amide substitution of Glu216 or Asp301 resulted in 30–64-fold increases in the Kd for quinidine. The double mutant E216Q/D301Q showed the largest decrease in quinidine affinity, with a Kd of 65 μm. Alanine substitution of Phe120, Phe481,or Phe483 had only a minor effect on the inhibition of bufuralol 1′-hydroxylation and dextromethorphan O-demethylation and on binding. In contrast to the wild-type enzyme, a number of the mutants studied were found to be able to metabolize quinidine. E216F produced O-demethylated quinidine, and F120A and E216Q/D301Q produced both O-demethylated quinidine and 3-hydroxyquinidine metabolites. Homology modeling and molecular docking were used to predict the modes of quinidine binding to the wild-type and mutant enzymes; these were able to rationalize the experimental observations.
Nimodipine, a dihydropyridine‐type calcium channel blocker, prevents alcoholic hepatitis caused by chronic intragastric ethanol exposure in the rat

It has been shown recently that inactivation of Kupffer cells prevents free radical formation and early alcohol‐induced liver injury, and that hypoxia subsequent to a hypermetabolic state caused by activated Kupffer cells is likely involved in the mechanism. Calcium is essential for the activation of Kupffer cells, which contain L‐type voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a Ca2+ channel blocker, nimodipine, prevents early alcohol‐induced liver injury in vivo and to evaluate its effect on intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) in Kupffer cells in vitro. Male Wistar rats were exposed to ethanol (10‐12 g/kg/d) continuously for up to 4 weeks via intragastric feeding using an enteral model developed by Tsukamoto and French. In this model, ethanol causes steatosis, necrosis, and inflammation in only a few weeks. In the experimental group, nimodipine (10 mg/kg/d) was added to the diet and was shielded from direct light. Nimodipine had no effect on body weight over a 4‐week treatment period, nor were mean ethanol concentrations or their cyclic pattern in urine affected. The mean urine ethanol values were 154 ± 11 mg/dL in ethanol‐fed and 144 ± 38 mg/dL in ethanol + nimodipine‐fed rats. After 4 weeks, serum aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were elevated in ethanol‐treated rats to 183 ± 78 U/L. In contrast, values only reached 101 ± 9 U/L in rats given nimodipine + ethanol‐values which were significantly lower. Steatosis and necrosis assessed histologically were also reduced significantly by nimodipine. Nimodipine (10 micrograms/kg) also blocked the swift increase in alcohol metabolism and elevated oxygen consumption in perfused livers from rats treated with alcohol in vivo. Further, in cultured Kupffer cells, nimodipine (1 mumol/L) largely prevented the elevation in [Ca2+]i caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (LPS, 200 ± 11 nmol/L; LPS + nimodipine, 94 ± 31 nmol/L; P < .05). These results indicate that nimodipine prevents alcoholic hepatitis, possibly by inhibition of endotoxin‐mediated Kupffer cell activation.
Randomized comparison of megestrol acetate versus dexamethasone versus fluoxymesterone for the treatment of cancer anorexia/cachexia.

PURPOSE Previous double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that both corticosteroids and progestational agents do partially alleviate cancer anorexia/cachexia. Pilot information suggested that an anabolic corticosteroid might also improve appetite in patients with cancer anorexia/cachexia. The current trial was developed to compare and contrast a progestational agent, a corticosteroid, and an anabolic corticosteroid for the treatment of cancer anorexia/cachexia. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients suffering from cancer anorexia/cachexia were randomized to receive either dexamethasone 0. 75 mg qid, megestrol acetate 800 mg orally every day, or fluoxymesterone 10 mg orally bid. Patients were observed at monthly intervals to evaluate weight changes and drug toxicity. Patients also completed questionnaires at baseline and at monthly intervals to evaluate appetite and drug toxicities. RESULTS Fluoxymesterone resulted in significantly less appetite enhancement and did not have a favorable toxicity profile. Megestrol acetate and dexamethasone caused a similar degree of appetite enhancement and similar changes in nonfluid weight status, with nonsignificant trends favoring megestrol acetate for both of these parameters. Dexamethasone was observed to have more corticosteroid-type toxicity and a higher rate of drug discontinuation because of toxicity and/or patient refusal than megestrol acetate (36% v 25%; P =.03). Megestrol acetate had a higher rate of deep venous thrombosis than dexamethasone (5% v 1%; P =.06). CONCLUSION Whereas fluoxymesterone clearly seems to be an inferior choice for treating cancer anorexia/cachexia, megestrol acetate and dexamethasone have similar appetite stimulating efficacy but differing toxicity profiles.
Ureteropelvic junction obstruction in children: two variants of the same congenital anomaly?

OBJECTIVE To compare the characteristics of prenatally and postnatally diagnosed ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS We reviewed the records of 74 children who underwent pyeloplasty or nephrectomy for UPJO between 1995 and 2000. The patients were divided into 2 groups: prenatally and postnatally diagnosed UPJO. In each group, we compared age at surgery, gender, affected side, anteroposterior diameter (APD) of the renal pelvis, surgical findings, and renal function as determined by creatinine clearance. RESULTS Of the 74 children, 44 (59.4%) had a prenatal diagnosis of UPJO and 30 (40.6%) had a postnatal diagnosis despite the fact that all had had a fetal ultrasonography. Median age at the time of surgery was 6.3 years (4 months to 16 years) for children with postnatal UPJO and 3.6 months (1 month to 4 years) for the prenatal group. Forty-three percent of the children in the postnatal group and 25% in the prenatal group were females. Clinical manifestations in children with postnatal UPJO included abdominal pain in 13 (43%) patients, pyelonephritis in 7 (23%), urinary tract infection in 5 (16.6%), and occasional findings upon ultrasound in 5 (16.6%). Excretory urography suggested obstruction in most children. The surgical findings included ureteral kinks due to adhesions in 93.3% of postnatally diagnosed UPJO cases and in 27.3% of prenatal cases (p < 0.01). A reduction in mean creatinine clearance of hydronephrotic kidneys was observed for both groups when compared to reference values for the respective ages, but this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Postnatally diagnosed UPJO may be considered, at least in part, an entity different from prenatally detected obstruction due to its peculiar characteristics, i.e., postnatal UPJO more frequently affects females, manifests later in life with urinary infection or abdominal pain, and is frequently associated with ureteral kinking.
Affective Complementarity in Service Encounters

Face-to-face interactions are a crucial part of services. However, research that investigates the dynamics of service encounters is still rare. In this study we used a theoretical framework that aligned the concept of interpersonal complementarity with Mehrabian and Russell? s (1974) three-dimensional model of affect. We hypothesized that there are positive relationships between employees? and customers? affective experience of pleasantness and arousal (correspondence rule) and a negative relationship between the interactants? experience of power (reciprocity rule). Furthermore, we explored the role of gender combination in service encounters. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 29 service employees and 345 service encounters. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), our hypotheses were confirmed. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between employee and customer arousal was affected by the gender combination.
The nature and relevance of late lung pathology following localised irradiation of the thorax in mice and rats.

An acute inflammatory pneumonitis followed by chronic pulmonary fibrosis is often described in patients as a consequence of thoracic radiotherapy involving a portion of the lung. The lung is the least tolerant when the entire thorax is included in the radiation beam. In this case a severe life- threatening pneumonitis dominates the clinical picture with doses low to rank the lung to the haemopoietic tissues in susceptibility to systemic radiotherapy Our to establish a dependable
Analogy-making as perception - a computer model

The psychologist William James observed that "a native talent for perceiving analogies is . the leading fact in genius of every order. " The centrality and the ubiquity of analogy in creative thought have been noted again and again by scientists, artists, and writers, and understanding and modeling analogical thought have emerged as two of the most important challenges for cognitive science. Analogy-Making as Perception is based on the premise that analogy-making is fundamentally a high-level perceptual process in which the interaction of perception and concepts gives rise to "conceptual slippages" which allow analogies to be made. It describes Copycat - a computer model of analogymaking, developed by the author with Douglas Hofstadter, that models the complex, subconscious interaction between perception and concepts that underlies the creation of analogies. In Copycat, both concepts and high-level perception are emergent phenomena, arising from large numbers of low-level, parallel, non-deterministic activities. In the spectrum of cognitive modeling approaches, Copycat occupies a unique intermediate position between symbolic systems and connectionist systems a position that is at present the most useful one for understanding the fluidity of concepts and high-level perception. On one level the work described here is about analogy-making, but on another level it is about cognition in general. It explores such issues as the nature of concepts and perception and the emergence of highly flexible concepts from a lower-level "subcognitive" substrate. Melanie Mitchell, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, is a Fellow of the Michigan Society of Fellows. She is also Director of the Adaptive Computation Program at the Santa Fe Institute.
Lung function, bronchial responsiveness, and asthma in a community cohort of 6-year-old children.

KEYWORDS Children as young as 6 years old can perform spirometry, yet the relationship between current asthma, lung function, and bronchial responsiveness has not been described at this age; 2,537 children from a community-based birth cohort were assessed at 6 years of age, with history (n = 2,141), physical examination (n = 1,995), standard spirometry (n = 1,735), and a random sample (n = 711) offered methacholine challenge. Males had greater values of FVC and FEV(1) but not of mean forced expiratory flow during the middle half of the FVC or FEV(1)/FVC than females. The greatest influences on lung function at 6 years were height, sex, birth weight, and wheezing in the first year of life. Children with current asthma had small but significant deficits in lung function and were more sensitive to methacholine. The optimal cutpoint for determining heightened bronchial responsiveness was found to be a 15% fall in FEV(1) at a dose of 1.8 mg/ml. A negative test could be useful in excluding a diagnosis of asthma (negative predictive value of 92%). Lung function testing, including methacholine challenge, is feasible in 5- to 7-year-old children and has the potential to contribute to the clinical management of children with asthma.
LOW-MASS VISUAL COMPANIONS TO NEARBY G-DWARFS

A complete census of wide visual companions to nearby G-dwarf stars can be achieved by selecting candidates from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) Point-Source Catalog and checking their status by second-epoch imaging. Such data are obtained for 124 candidates with separations up to 20″, 47 of which are shown to be new physical low-mass stellar companions. A list of visual binaries with G-dwarf primaries is produced by combining newly found companions with historical data. Maximum likelihood analysis leads to a companion frequency of 0.13 ± 0.015 per decade of separation. The mass ratio is distributed almost uniformly, with a power-law index between −0.4 and 0. The remaining uncertainty in the index is related to modeling of the companion detection threshold in 2MASS. These findings are confirmed by an alternative analysis of wider companions in 2MASS, removing the contamination by background stars statistically. Extension of this work will lead to a complete detection of visual companions—a necessary step toward reaching unbiased multiplicity statistics over the full range of orbital periods and, eventually, understanding the origin of multiple systems.
Recurrent Neural Network Language Model with Incremental Updated Context Information Generated Using Bag-of-Words Representation

Recurrent neural network language model (RNNLM) is becoming popular in the state-of-the-art speech recognition systems. However, it can not remember long term patterns well due to a so-called vanishing gradient problem. Recently, Bag-of-words (BOW) representation of a word sequence is frequently used as a context feature to improve the performance of a standard feedforward NNLM. However, the BOW features have not been shown to benefit RNNLM. In this paper, we introduce a technique using BOW features to remember long term dependencies in RNNLM by creating a context feature vector in a separate non-linear context layer during the training of RNNLM. The context information is incrementally updated based on the BOW features and processed further in a non-linear context layer. The output of this layer is used as a context feature vector and fed into the hidden and output layers of the RNNLM. Experiments with Penn Treebank corpus indicate that our approach can provide lower perplexity with fewer parameters and faster training compared to the conventional RNNLM. Moreover, we carried out speech recognition experiments with Wall Street Journal corpus and achieved lower word error rate than RNNLM.
Expression of orphan receptors GPR22 and GPR162 in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Aims/Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic degenerative disease characterized by high blood glucose levels as a result of problems in the action or insulin secretion. Although there are many treatments for this pathology, it has been associated with a high mortality rate. For this reason, it is important to try to identify new pathways that could be involved in diabetic complications. Recently, a new class of receptors has been reported, called orphan receptors because the associated ligand and signaling pathways are unknown, these receptors have been associated with certain pathologies. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the expression of the orphan receptors GPR22 and GPR162 in heart, aorta, brain and kidney of diabetic rats. Materials and methods: We used Wistar male rats with 10–12 weeks of age. Diabetes was induced by a single dose of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg i.p.). After four weeks, the tissue was obtained and the expression of the mRNA was measured by RT-PCR. Results: Our results showed that the orphan receptors are expressed in a different way in heart, kidney, brain and aorta of diabetic and non-diabetic rats. Conclusions: We conclude that orphan receptors could be involved in the development of diabetes complications.
Expression of UBE2Q2, a putative member of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme family in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

BACKGROUND Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the white blood cells most commonly found in childhood with a peak incidence at 2-5 years of age. The ubiquitin degradation pathway facilitates degradation of damaged proteins and regulates the growth and stress response. This pathway is activated in various cancers, including ALL. It has been previously reported that the newly characterized human gene UBE2Q2, a putative member of the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme family, is over-expressed in the tumor mass and invasive epithelium in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and breast cancer. METHODS Here, we have used quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to assess expression of the UBE2Q2 gene in bone marrow samples of 20 children with ALL. Whole blood samples of 20 normal children were used as control specimens. RESULTS RT-PCR revealed the expression of UBE2Q2 mRNA in 80% of the bone marrow samples from ALL patients as well as in 85% of leukemic normal peripheral blood cells. According to the results of quantitative RT-PCR, the levels of UBE2Q2 mRNA expression in the bone marrow cells of 11 out of the 20 children with ALL (55%) were significantly higher (> 2-47 fold) than those in blood cells of normal children. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that the newly characterized human gene, UBE2Q2, may have implications for the pathogenesis of ALL and could be used for molecular diagnosis purposes in the future.
EFFECTS OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS LEVELS, AND FROND-HARVESTING ON ABSORPTION, TRANSLOCATION AND ACCUMULATION OF ARSENIC BY CHINESE BRAKE FERN (PTERIS VITTATA L.)

This hydroponic experiment was conducted to determine the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels and frond-harvesting on the effectiveness of arsenic (As)-hyperaccumulator Chinese brake fern (Pteris vittata L.) to remove As from contaminated groundwater collected from south Florida. Three-month old ferns were grown in 38-L plastic tanks (two ferns per tank) containing 30-L of As-contaminated water (130 μg·L−1 As), which was amended with modified 0.25 strength Hoagland's solution #2. Two N (26 or 52 mg·L−1) and two P levels (1.2 and 2.4 mg·L−1) were tested in one experiment, whereas the effect of frond-harvesting was tested in a separate experiment. Initially, N had little effect on plant As removal whereas low P treatment was more effective than high P and As was reduced to <5 μg·L−1 in 28 d compared to 35 d. For well-established ferns, N and P levels had little effect. Reused fern, with or without harvesting the As-rich fronds, took up arsenic more rapidly so the As concentration in the groundwater declined faster (130 to ∼10 μg·L−1 in 8 h). Regardless of the treatments, most As (85–93%) was located in the aboveground tissue (rhizomes and fronds). Frond As concentrations were higher for non-harvested ferns than for ferns where fronds were partially harvested prior to treatment. Conversely, rhizomes accumulated more arsenic in ferns where fronds had been partially harvested. Low-P treatment coupled with reuse of more established ferns with or without harvesting fronds can be used to effectively remove arsenic from contaminated water using P. vittata