Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain Cortical Thickness and Surface Area Correlates of Neurocognitive Performance in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Healthy Adults

Abstract Relationships between cortical brain structure and neurocognitive functioning have been reported in schizophrenia, but findings are inconclusive, and only a few studies in bipolar disorder have addressed this issue. This is the first study to directly compare relationships between cortical thickness and surface area with neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia (n = 117) and bipolar disorder (n = 121) and healthy controls (n = 192). MRI scans were obtained, and regional cortical thickness and surface area measurements were analyzed for relationships with test scores from 6 neurocognitive domains. In the combined sample, cortical thickness in the right rostral anterior cingulate was inversely related to working memory, and cortical surface area in four frontal and temporal regions were positively related to neurocognitive functioning. A positive relationship between left transverse temporal thickness and processing speed was specific to schizophrenia. A negative relationship between right temporal pole thickness and working memory was specific to bipolar disorder. In conclusion, significant cortical structure/function relationships were found in a large sample of healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The differences that were found between schizophrenia and bipolar may indicate differential relationship patterns in the two disorders, which may be of relevance for understanding the underlying pathophysiology. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1080–1093)
A Functional Subset of Serotonergic Neurons in the Rat Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Implicated in the Inhibition of Sympathoexcitation and Panic

Abstract: The ability of serotonin (5‐HT) to facilitate or attenuate autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral responses to stressful stimuli has received much attention. The effects of 5‐HT on physiologic and behavioral responses to stressful stimuli seem to depend on the brain region where it is released and the effector system it acts upon. This and the distinct morphology and topographic organization of subpopulations of serotonergic neurons have led to the hypothesis that subpopulations of serotonergic neurons are functionally distinct. Serotonin's role as a modulator of the “fight‐or‐flight” response is mediated in part by 5‐HT release in the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (DLPAG) and in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), an area that contains sympathoexcitatory C1 adrenergic (A) neurons. The release of 5‐HT in either region inhibits stress‐induced sympathetic activity in part via actions on 5‐HT1A receptors. In addition, 5‐HT release in the DLPAG inhibits fight‐or‐flight or “Go” behaviors. The origin of endogenous 5‐HT in the DLPAG and RVLM seems to be a subpopulation of serotonergic neurons within the ventrolateral PAG, a region implicated in “freezing” or “No Go” behaviors. These serotonergic neurons are located in the lateral “wings” of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) a region also referred to as the ventrolateral DRN. The existence of a functional subpopulation of serotonergic neurons capable of inhibiting sympathoexcitation and fight‐or‐flight behavioral responses may be clinically relevant for explaining in part the efficacy of serotonergic drugs in the treatment of hypertension and panic attacks in panic disorder patients.
Constrction of the Neonatal Aorta by Raised Oxygen Tension

A preparation consisting of the great arteries around the heart from neonatal guinea pigs was perfused at constant flow by physiological saline solutions in a bath in which various gases (95% N2 + 5% CO2, air + 5% CO2 and 95% O2 + 5% CO2) were bubbled. The pressure drop across the aorta, including the preductal area, was recorded and the changes in resistance in response to these gas tensions were calculated. The well-known closure of the ductus with increased Po2 occurred, but in addition there was a reversible increase, up to 400%, in the resistance of the aortic segment. This was maximal 1 to 2 days after birth, diminishing with age until after 6 days it was very slight. In very young animals (1 to 2 days), responses to air and oxygen were roughly proportional to the Po2. Inspection of injection casts of the vessels showed that the constriction was local in the preductal area, closely resembling that of aortic coarctation. Segments of aorta that did not include the preductal area, and from animals of comparable age, showed very slight constriction to raised Po2. The neonatal vessels of pigs, rabbits and cats showed similar O2 sensitivity of different degrees, and with different peculiarities as to time lag and repeatability. Neither the ductus nor the neonatal aorta of dogs appears to constrict to increased Po2, and closure of the ductus in this species must be by a different mechanism. These observations may be interpreted as evidence for the Skodaic theory that infantile aortic coarctation may occur in association and coincident with the closure of the ductus at birth. The administration of high O2 gases at birth might, in cases of abnormal development, lead to permanent coarctation.
Couple-focused support to improve HIV medication adherence: a randomized controlled trial

Objective:To assess the efficacy of a couple-based intervention to improve medication-taking behavior in a clinic population with demonstrated adherence problems. Design:A randomized controlled trial (SMART Couples Study) conducted between August 2000 and January 2004. Setting:Two HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in New York City. Participants:Heterosexual and homosexual HIV-serodiscordant couples (n = 215) in which the HIV-seropositive partner had < 80% adherence at baseline. The sample was predominantly lower-income racial/ethnic minorities. Intervention:Participants were randomly assigned to a four-session couple-focused adherence intervention or usual care. The intervention consisted of education about treatment and adherence, identifying adherence barriers, developing communication and problem-solving strategies, optimizing partner support, and building confidence for optimal adherence. Outcome measures:Medication adherence at week 8 (2 weeks after the intervention) compared with baseline, assessed with a Medication Event Monitoring System cap. Results:Intervention participants showed higher mean medication adherence at post-intervention when compared with controls whether adherence was defined as proportion of prescribed doses taken (76% versus 60%) or doses taken within specified time parameters (58% versus 35%). Also, participants in the intervention arm were significantly more likely to achieve high levels of adherence (> 80%, > 90%, or > 95%) when compared with controls. However, in most cases, effects diminished with time, as seen at follow-up at 3 and 6 months. Conclusion:The SMART Couples program significantly improved medication adherence over usual care, although the level of improved adherence, for many participants, was still suboptimal and the effect was attenuated over time.
Geographic Heterogeneity, Social Learning and Technology Adoption: Evidence From The Direct Planting System in Brazil

We study the diffusion of a new agricultural technology in Brazil: the Direct Planting System. This system achieves higher revenue and lower cost than traditional farming; however, the adoption rate in 2006, more than thirty years after the original innovation, was very low (around 10%). While the usual deterrents to adoption (such as upfront costs or increased risk) are absent, the system needs to be adapted to specific site conditions, configuring a learning barrier that makes adoption costly when geographic heterogeneity is large. We develop a model to show that the impact of heterogeneity on adoption should be non-monotonic if learning is the diffusion channel: zero if adoption is either too low or too high, and negative for intermediate levels. This can be used as an indirect way to test for the presence of social learning. Using data on soil characteristics and adoption rates, we apply an unconditional quantile approach to show that the model’s predictions are consistent with the empirical evidence.
Effect of amount and source of supplemental dietary vegetable oil on broiler chickens exposed to aflatoxicosis

1. Addition of sunflower oil (SFO) at 30 or 60 g/kg or three vegetable oils, namely SFO, soybean (SBO) or groundnut (GNO), at 30 g/kg to isocaloric and isonitrogenous broiler chicken diets were evaluated for possible counteractive effects against aflatoxin (AF) (0·3 µg B1/g diet) from 0 to 42 d of age. 2. Body weight, food intake and serum concentration of protein were lower in the AF group than in the control, whereas in the SFO and SBO supplemented groups they were comparable with those of the control. Sunflower oil at both concentrations exerted similar effects on growth. Groundnut oil did not improve growth or food intake in AF-fed birds. 3. The serum concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides decreased with AF feeding and was increased by supplementation of any of the three oils both in the control and in AF-fed groups. 4. Liver and giblet weight and liver fat content were increased by AF; these effects were countered by dietary oil inclusion, except for liver weight at 60 g/kg SFO. Weights of pancreas and gall bladder were increased by AF. Oil supplementation reduced the weight of pancreas in chickens given AF. 5. Humoral immune response was depressed by AF and dietary oil supplementation (particularly SFO or SBO) countered this effect. Other variables, namely, serum gamma glutamyl transferase activity, bone mineralisation, weights of lymphoid organs, kidney and adrenals, ready-to-cook yields and fat content in muscle and skin showed little or no effect of dietary oil supplementation. 6. It is concluded that dietary inclusion of SFO or SBO at 30 g/kg may alleviate the adverse effects of 0·3 µg/g of AF B1 in commercial broiler chickens. Groundnut oil, although showing beneficial effects on some biochemical variables, failed to improve growth performance.
Learning Curves in Manufacturing

Large increases in productivity are typically realized as organizations gain experience in production. These "learning curves" have been found in many organizations. Organizations vary considerably in the rates at which they learn. Some organizations show remarkable productivity gains, whereas others show little or no learning. Reasons for the variation observed in organizational learning curves include organizational "forgetting," employee turnover, transfer of knowledge from other products and other organizations, and economies of scale.
Differences in knowledge related to dental implants between patients with and without a treatment history of dental implants

OBJECTIVE This aim of this study was to investigate the differences between patients with and without a treatment history of dental implants by use of a questionnaire survey in order to determine the information that is required for patients undergoing dental implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS The questionnaires were given to 4512 patients who visited the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital for oral implants between January 2012 and December 2014, and 2972 (66%) valid questionnaires were collected. RESULTS There were 857 patients with a treatment history of dental implants and 2115 patients without. "Preservation of an adjacent tooth" was the reason that 32% of these patients chose implant therapy, and the patients without treatment history were significantly higher than the patients with one. Significantly, more patients without a treatment history of dental implants selected the after-effects of surgery and pain after surgery as their main concerns for implant therapy compared to those with a treatment history. In the question "Pain after surgery," the patients without treatment history did not know significantly lower than the patients with one. CONCLUSIONS Patients without a treatment history of dental implants placed more importance on the preservation of healthy teeth. Because patients, in particular those without a treatment history of dental implants, are anxious about surgery, we should provide them with more information on treatment than we already do and explain the risks of treatment to them. To keep the credence between doctors and patients, informed consent and patient education on treatment are six important concerns.
Meta‐analysis of magnitudes, differences and variation in evolutionary parameters

Meta‐analysis is increasingly used to synthesize major patterns in the large literatures within ecology and evolution. Meta‐analytic methods that do not account for the process of observing data, which we may refer to as ‘informal meta‐analyses’, may have undesirable properties. In some cases, informal meta‐analyses may produce results that are unbiased, but do not necessarily make the best possible use of available data. In other cases, unbiased statistical noise in individual reports in the literature can potentially be converted into severe systematic biases in informal meta‐analyses. I first present a general description of how failure to account for noise in individual inferences should be expected to lead to biases in some kinds of meta‐analysis. In particular, informal meta‐analyses of quantities that reflect the dispersion of parameters in nature, for example, the mean absolute value of a quantity, are likely to be generally highly misleading. I then re‐analyse three previously published informal meta‐analyses, where key inferences were of aspects of the dispersion of values in nature, for example, the mean absolute value of selection gradients. Major biological conclusions in each original informal meta‐analysis closely match those that could arise as artefacts due to statistical noise. I present alternative mixed‐model‐based analyses that are specifically tailored to each situation, but where all analyses may be implemented with widely available open‐source software. In each example meta‐re‐analysis, major conclusions change substantially.
Number of teeth in relation to oral health behaviour in dentate elderly patients in Lithuania.

AIM To describe oral self-care practices and the use of dental services among dentate elderly patients attending public dental service in Kédainiai, Lithuania, and relate these parameters to the number of remaining teeth. DESIGN Cross-sectional questionnaire study. SETTING Two public dental offices in Kédainiai, Lithuania. PARTICIPANTS Dentate patients aged 60+. METHODS A self-administered questionnaire covering oral hygiene practices, use of sugar, utilisation of dental services, and number of teeth. Age, gender, and education served as background factors. RESULTS In all, 174 dentate elderly people responded, their mean age being 69.2 years (CI 95% 68.2-70.2) and mean number of teeth reported 16.2 (CI 95% 15.4-17.1). Of these respondents, 30% reported that they brushed their teeth twice daily and 57% that they always used fluoridated tooth paste. Having 21+ teeth was strongly associated (p < 0.001) with these habits, with brushing in the evening, and with enrolment in higher education, but not with gender. After controlling for various self-care and background factors, frequent tooth brushing remained as the only significant factor in the logistic regression model (OR 2.0, CI 95% 1.2-3.3, p = 0.01) to explain subjects' retention of 21+ teeth. CONCLUSIONS Elderly Lithuanians' oral self-care is far from meeting recommendations. To preserve their natural teeth, dentate elderly people should improve their oral self-care practices, in particular as regards tooth brushing. To reach that goal, all efforts by the community and dental profession are welcomed.
Intensive Immunosuppression Therapy for Aplastic Anemia Associated with Dyskeratosis Congenita: Report of a Case

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a very rare inherited disorder characterized by skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy, and mucosal leukoplakia. It is also associated with a variety of noncutaneous abnormalities, such as fatal pulmonary complications, malignancy, and bone marrow failure. We report the case of a 32-year-old man with DC associated with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). The traditional treatment of DC-associated SAA is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, in this case, an HLA-matched donor was not available. Therefore our patient was given intensive immunosuppressive therapy with antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) and cyclosporine A (CsA). The hemogram findings improved after the treatment, but the patient died of pulmonary complications after being in stable condition for 6 months. The results support the possible use of intensive immunosuppression with ALG and CsA for DC-associated SAA as an alternative treatment for patients who are not eligible for HSCT.
A SNP microarray and FISH‐based procedure to detect allelic imbalances in multiple myeloma: An integrated genomics approach reveals a wide gene dosage effect

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by marked genomic heterogeneity. Beyond structural rearrangements, a relevant role in its biology is represented by allelic imbalances leading to significant variations in ploidy status. To elucidate better the genomic complexity of MM, we analyzed a panel of 45 patients using combined FISH and microarray approaches. We firstly generated genome‐wide profiles of 41 MMs and four plasma cell leukemias, using a self‐developed procedure to infer exact local copy numbers (CNs) for each sample. Our analysis allowed the identification of a significant fraction of patients showing near‐tetraploidy. Furthermore, a conventional hierarchical clustering analysis showed that near‐tetraploidy, 1q gain, hyperdiploidy, and recursive deletions at 1p and chromosomes 13, 14, and 22 were the main aberrations driving samples grouping. Moreover, mapping information was integrated with gene expression profiles of the tumor samples. A multiclass analysis of transcriptional profiles characterizing the different clusters showed marked gene‐dosage effects, particularly concerning 1q transcripts; this finding was also confirmed by a nonparametric analysis between normalized gene expression levels and local CN variations (1027 highly‐significant correlated genes). Finally, we identified several loci in which gene expression correlated with the occurrence of loss of heterozygosity. Our results provide insights into the composite network linking genome structure and transcriptional features in MM. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss,Inc.
CD68 and MCP-1/CCR2 Expression of Initial Biopsies Reflect the Outcomes of Membranous Nephropathy

Background: A considerable diversity of prognosis is seen with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). The initial factors affecting long-term outcome remain unclear. Methods: We studied retrospectively 30 patients with IMN who had been followed up for at least 5 years, or until end-stage renal failure (ESRF). We analyzed the prognostic factors of ESRF in the first renal biopsies; these factors included presence of tubulointerstitial lesions and foam cells, as well as expression of CD68, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), its cognate receptor chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and α-smooth muscle actin. Results: The patients who developed ESRF showed higher percentages of glomerular segmental sclerosis, interstitial MCP-1 expression, CCR2- or CD68-positive monocyte/macrophages and foam cells in the interstitium, and these proved on multivariate analysis to be independent risk factors for ESRF. Finally, ESRF was characterized by the presence of ten interstitial CD68-positive cells per visual field at 200× magnification (hazard ratio 4.096, CI 1.271–15.029, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our results suggested that an interstitial infiltration of CD68-positive cells accompanied by MCP-1/CCR2 expression is the most significant indicator of ESRF in IMN.
Association of Exon 19 and 21 EGFR Mutation Patterns with Treatment Outcome after First-Line Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor in Metastatic Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Background: This study investigated whether there were differential survival outcomes to first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer harboring different subtypes of exon 19 and exon 21 mutations on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Methods: Of 452 patients with stage IIIB and IV non–small-cell lung cancer, 192 patients (42.5%) harbored EGFR mutation and 170 (37.5%) received TKI as first-line treatment. EGFR mutation analysis was performed by direct sequencing. Survival and response outcome were compared among different subtypes of exon 19 and exon 21 EGFR mutations in these 170 patients. Results: Patients harboring exon 19 18-nucleotide deletion (delL747_P753insS) had the shortest median progression-free survival (PFS) (6.5 months), followed by those with 15-nucleotide deletion (delE746_A750) (12.4 months) and mixed insertion/substitution mutations (22.3 months; p = 0.012). However, patients who had exon 19 deletions starting on codon E746 had better median PFS (14.2 months) than those starting on L747 (6.5 months; hazard ratio, 0.445; 95% confidence interval [0.219–0.903]; p = 0.021). Besides, exon 21 L858R derived a longer median PFS than L861R/L861Q (11.4 months versus 2.1 months, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.298; 95% confidence interval [0.090–0.980]; p = 0.034). Conclusions: Different subtypes of EGFR exon 19 and 21 mutations exhibited differential survival to first-line TKI therapy. Detailed sequence evaluation of exon 19 deletions may provide important prognostic information on survival outcome after TKI.
A Cross-Cultural Approach

in which artists played a wider role in society in the Renaissance and Baroque era than what we expect of an artist today; (2) The artist's intended meaning in certain artworks only becomes evident when you reconstruct the common beliefs of the original audience. Give specific examples of how this interrelationship of historical context and iconography works; (3) The "ideal" of what art should do changed drastically during the nineteenth century. Trace this by comparing the work of Ingres, Goya, Friedrich, Courbet, and Munch; (4) What was a woman's place in eighteenthand nineteenthcentury European society? How did male artists view women? (5) How did the urbanization of Paris, photography, and Japanese prints all play a part in the distinctively "modern" look of Impressionist painting? (6) Pretend you are Picasso visiting the University of Kentucky Art Museum's special exhibition of African art. What would your reactions to it be? (7) Discuss the interrelationship of politics, art exhibition, and art censorship in modern art; (8) "Women's art": Is there a specifically female aesthetic? Is it different in essential ways from the male vision?