Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of discontinuity in visual contours in area 19 of the cat

Previous ablation studies have suggested that area 19 of the cat plays an important role in pattern discrimination. To clarify the functional roles unique to area 19, we studied the receptive-field properties of cells in area 19 and compared them with those of cells in area 17. Recordings were made of anesthetized and immobilized animals. The majority (72%) of the cells in area 17 responded maximally to an elongated bar at a particular orientation, while they responded only weakly or not at all to a small spot (elongation-requiring cells). In contrast, more than half (63%) of the cells in area 19 showed a good response to a nonoriented small stimulus moving in any direction (dot- responsive cells). Two-thirds of the dot-responsive cells in area 19 failed to respond when the moving slit was elongated to more than some length in any orientation. These dot-responsive cells of the “inhibited- by-length” type responded strongly to the end of a long bar, and many of them also responded strongly to a break point in the middle of a long bar. We suggest that these dot-responsive cells of the “inhibited- by-length” type detect discontinuities in contours. Though they are in the minority, elongation-requiring cells constitute a considerable population (37%) in area 19, and dot-responsive and elongation- requiring cells from columnar patches in the same area. We conclude that, in contrast to area 17, whose main role is the decomposition of patterns into oriented contours, area 19 analyzes both orientation and discontinuities, with a strong bias towards the latter.
Impact of different culture media on hairy roots growth of Valeriana officinalis L.

Transformed hairy root cultures of Valeriana officinalis were established by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. To determine the effect of different media on the growth of V. officinalis hairy roots, MS, B5 media (1.0X and 0.5X strength), N6 medium and a modified MS medium without phytohormones were used. In addition, different NH 4 + to NO 3 - ratios in MS medium were studied. The effects of these treatments were evaluated after 21 days of culture in relation to hairy root growth. B 5 and ½ B 5 media were the best basal media for hairy root growth. MS medium supplemented with a 20:20 ratio (mM) of NH 4 + to NO 3 - displayed highest growth rates and biomass yield in hairy root cultures. The present study demonstrated that the composition of culture medium and the ratio of different nitrogen sources have significant impact on the growth of V. officinalis hairy roots.
Serum free light chain reduction correlates with response and progression-free survival following carfilzomib therapy in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma

1Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA, 2M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, 3Mt Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA, 4Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA, 5University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA, 6Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an Amgen subsidiary, South San Francisco, CA, USA and 7John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ, USA
Quantification of energy expenditure of recreational football

ABSTRACT There is a strong relationship between low physical activity level and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The popularity of football may be used to promote physical activity and previous evidence has shown it is effective to decrease the risk of CVD. However, the energy expenditure (EE) of recreational football is not well known but it is crucial to develop preventive health programmes. Fifteen sedentary middle-aged male participants were involved (mean ± SDs; age 43.9 ± 3.1 years, weight 83.0 ± 13.6 kg, height 174.9 ± 6.8 cm). EE was estimated from the heart rate (HR)-VO2 relation during 1-h 5-a-side matches (futsal). Participants covered 3412 ± 381 m in 52 ± 2 min, at an average HR of 85 ± 2% of maximum HR. Estimated EE during a recreational futsal match was 634 ± 92 kcal. One futsal recreational match corresponds to about 50% of American College of Sport Medicine recommended physical activity quantity per week. Based on this estimation: once, twice and 3 sessions per week are equivalent to 50% (634 kcal), 100% (1268 kcal) and 150% (1902 kcal), respectively, of EE suggested in international guidelines. This EE estimation may have important implications for designing recreational football training protocols in health programmes and dose response studies.
Incidence and distribution of deciduous molar ankylosis, a longitudinal study.

AIM To study incidence and distribution of deciduous molar ankylosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS study design: longitudinal retrospective study. A total of 512 consecutive subjects (aged 5 to 15 years) were examined at the Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry Department of the Genoa University School of Dentistry; for each subject an ortopantomography x-ray was taken. RESULTS Thirty-four children were affected by deciduous molars ankylosis (6.6%). A statistically significant difference was revealed between the distributions: the lower deciduous molars were ankylosed more frequently than the upper ones (P < 0.001); the second deciduous molars were ankylosed more frequently than the first molars (P < 0.001). No statistical significance was found between sex and number of infraoccluded teeth (P = 0.74). CONCLUSION This study found an incidence of deciduous molar ankylosis of about 6.6%; the lower deciduous molars and second deciduous molars were ankylosed more frequently (P < 0.001).
Induction motor efficiency test methods: A comparison of standards

Improved efficiency is the task of the hour. Environmental challenges, which include climate change, global warming and greenhouse gas emission have been fuelling the need to increase energy efficiency in electrical rotating machinery. Furthermore, there is a need to establish a level platform for motor manufacturers globally where they can produce electric machines according harmonized standards. Not only does this establish trust with the market, but it allows legislators to enact policies which promote energy conservation and facilitate governments to provide incentives to organizations which make energy efficiency their priority. A comparison of induction motor efficiency test methods according to the IEC 60034-2-1 and IEEE 112 standards is presented in this paper. A standard DOL squirrel cage induction motor rated at 5.5 kW is tested according to the IEC and IEEE preferred standards. Data collected from tests carried out on the 5.5 kW 4-pole motor is used to calculate the efficiency for the various IEC and IEEE tests. The data obtained shows a similar variation in values of efficiency, stray load losses and excitation losses for the same machine, but calculated using different standards. These differences result from how stray losses are treated and calculated in the standards. As a result, there is a need to harmonize the international standards.
AVALIAÇÃO DA TENDÊNCIA ESPAÇO-TEMPORAL DA PRECIPITAÇÃO PLUVIOMÉTRICA EM UMA REGIÃO SEMIÁRIDA DO ESTADO DE PERNAMBUCO

Os eventos extremos de precipitacao pluviometrica sao frequentemente investigados por parte da comunidade cientifica devido aos prejuizos socioeconomicos causados pelo excesso ou escassez de chuvas em determinadas regioes do mundo. No Nordeste brasileiro, diversos problemas como migracoes, fome e mortes tem relacao com as recorrentes secas que, historicamente, assolam a regiao. Ainda assim, estudos sobre as variabilidades climaticas no Semiarido sao escassos e generalistas, sobretudo aqueles onde se busca investigar possiveis relacoes com as mudancas climaticas globais, uma das maiores ameacas do presente seculo. Deste modo, a presente pesquisa objetiva analisar a tendencia espaco-temporal de diferentes indices de precipitacao pluviometrica na em uma regiao semiarida do estado de Pernambuco e a influencia da Temperatura de Superficie do Mar (TSM) dos Oceanos Pacifico e Atlântico na variabilidade pluviometrica da regiao. Foram calculados nove indices climaticos de precipitacao relativos a intensidade diaria, DCS, DCC e PRCPTOT com a utilizacao dos softwares Rclimdex e Climap. O teste Mann-Kendall (MK) foi aplicado neste estudo para detectar possiveis alteracoes de ordem climatica das series temporais de precipitacao. Os indices climaticos foram correlacionados com dados da Temperatura da Superficie do Mar (TSM) dos oceanos Pacifico e Atlântico. Verificou-se significativa variacao espacial dos sinais de tendencia e nivel de significância estatistica, indicando diminuicao das chuvas na regiao estudada. Constatou-se que as precipitacoes com tendencias negativas sao influenciadas pelas variacoes da TSM nos oceanos Pacifico e Atlântico, evidenciando que o fenomeno El Nino influencia na reducao das chuvas na regiao, assim como o Dipolo do Atlântico.
Ameboid microglia as effectors of inflammation in the central nervous system

Techniques for selective isolation, labeling, stimulation, and destruction of ameboid microglia allow study of some fundamental questions in neuroimmunology. Examination of surface morphology, proliferative capacity, and cytochemistry suggests that microglia are a class of brain mononuclear phagocytes distinct from blood monocytes, spleen macrophages, or resident peritoneal macrophages. Morover, cultured ameboid microglia isolated from newborn brain can be induced to grow thin cytoplasmic projectios several hundred microns in length; these process‐bearing cells resemble a differentiated form of microglia found in adult brain.
Plasma methylated septin 9: a colorectal cancer screening marker

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a slow-developing cancer (10–15 years) with one of the highest frequencies in the world’s population. Many countries have implemented various CRC screening programs, but have not achieved the desired compliance. Colonoscopy – considered the gold standard for CRC screening – has its limitations as well as the other techniques used, such as irrigoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, fecal blood and hemoglobin tests. The biomarker septin 9 has been found to be hypermethylated in nearly 100% of tissue neoplasia specimens and detected in circulating DNA fractions of CRC patients. A commercially available assay for septin 9 has been developed with moderate sensitivity (∼70%) and specificity (∼90%) and a second generation assay, Epi proColon 2.0 (Epigenomics AG), shows increased sensitivity (∼92%). The performance of the assay proved to be independent of tumor site and reaches a high sensitivity of 77%, even in early cancer stages (I and II). Furthermore, septin 9 was recently used in follow-up studies for detection of early recurrence of CRC. This article evaluates the opportunities, known limitations and future perspectives of the recently introduced Epi proColon® 2.0 test, which is based on the detection of aberrantly methylated DNA of the v2 region of the septin 9 gene in plasma.
Work-related diseases and occupational injuries among workers in the construction industry

1. Khogali M, Awad El-Karim M. Working in hot climate. In “Recent Advances in Occupational Health III” Edited by: Harrington, J. M. Churchill Livingston, London. 1987, pp. 171–89. 2. Changnon SA, Kunkel KE, Reinke BC. Impacts and Responses to the 1995 Heat Wave: A Call to Action. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 1996;77(7):1497– 506. 3. Yaglou P, Minard D. Control of heat casualties at military training centers. American Medical Association Journal. Archives of Industrial Health, 1957;6:302–16. 4. Ramsey JD. Practical evaluation of hot working areas. Professional Safety, 1987;32(2):42–8. 5. Mokdad M. Ergonomic studies in the datepalm industry. Ph. D. Thesis. Engineering Production Department, Birmingham University. England, 1989. 6. ACGIH. Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices. In: Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances in the Work Environment, 1992–1993. Cincinnati, Ohio: The American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists. 1992. 7. Astrand PO, Rodahl K. Textbook of work physiology. McGraw Hill, New York. 1977.
Evaluating the performance of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) breast and ovarian genetic/familial high risk assessment referral criteria for breast cancer women in an Asian surgical breast clinic.

BACKGROUND Globally, resources for genomic services vary. Current National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) breast and ovarian genetic/familial high risk assessment criteria for further genetic risk evaluation are useful, but lack specificity for reliably excluding patients with low a priori risk. This may result in patient overload in lesser-equipped genetics clinics. Since we use Manchester and the Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm (BOADICEA) risk assessment models in our genetics clinic to determine whether genetic testing is warranted, we chose Manchester and BOADICEA as the reference standard to compare how the NCCN breast and ovarian genetic/familial high risk assessment criteria for further genetic risk evaluation performs against these two risk assessment models in referring breast cancer patients for genetic evaluation. METHODS Breast cancer patients diagnosed from 2009-2011 were assessed using the NCCN criteria, Manchester and BOADICEA. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to compare the NCCN criteria versus the Manchester and BOADICEA scoring systems in identifying high-risk patients. RESULTS A total of 666 patients were included in the study. Percentages of high-risk patients resulting from Manchester and BOADICEA were 1.80% and 2.55%, respectively. Among the NCCN criteria, breast cancer and ≥1 close relatives with breast cancer at ≤50 years of age correlated best with Manchester and/or BOADICEA (c-statistic =0.831) with a false negative rate of 1.0%. CONCLUSIONS Breast cancer at any age and ≥1 close relative with breast cancer at ≤50 years of age exhibited the highest correlation with Manchester and/or BOADICEA, promising greater specificity compared to the other NCCN criteria for segregating high risk, Asian breast cancer patients for referral to a genetics clinic, nevertheless recognizing the inherent limitations of the scoring systems.
Cost of Care for Cancer in a Health Maintenance Organization

The direct costs of medical care for cancer are examined at Kaiser Permanente (KP) in Northern California. Use data from July 1987 through June 1991 were obtained from KP automated files for all 21,977 KP patients in the Bay Area SEER registry with cancer at one of seven cancer sites. Medical charts were reviewed for a stratified sample of 886 patients. Costs were estimated for initial, continuing, and terminal care, and for all person time within 15 years of diagnosis, by stage at diagnosis. From diagnosis until death or 15 years, long-term costs attributable to cancer were as follows: breast, $35,000; colon, $42,000; rectum, $51,000; lung, $33,000; ovarian, $64,000; prostate, $29,000; and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), $48,000. The utilization and cost results reported here may be useful in assessing the cost-effectiveness of cancer prevention and control programs, in adjusting capitation rates and budgets, and in estimating the aggregate medical care costs attributable to cancer.
Fatty acids as energy sources

The notion that fatty acids (FA) can act as a significant source of energy for higher animals has been so much a part of our understanding of metabolism that just to express it seems platitudinous. We can however sharpen the notion a little by suggesting that this is the major function of FA. While protein and carbohydrates can and do act as energy sources they have other quantitatively important functions. The amounts of FA used for other purposes such as membrane synthesis or prostaglandin formation must be quite small relative to their use as an energy source. Moreover, whereas FA when mobilized need not be oxidized, they can be deposited in essentially the same form: the carbon cannot be used for the synthesis of carbohydrate or amino acids whereas these can be converted to FA. Probably most tissues that can carry out aerobic oxidations have at least some capacity to use FA or their products as an energy source. The pregnant uterus appears to be largely carbohydrate-dependent, but it does appear to use small amounts of ketones (A. Domanski, B. P. Setchell & D. B. Lindsay, unpublished results) and this is also true of the foetus itself (Morriss, Boyd, Makowski, Meschia & Battaglia, 1974). The brain was also for many years supposed to use only carbohydrate, but there is evidence that ketones can be utilized in starving man (Owen, Morgan, Kemp, Sullivan, Herrera & Cahill, 1967) and rats (Hawkins, Williamson & Krebs, 1971). The sheep brain does not normally appear to use acetate or ketones (Lindsay & Setchell, 1972, 1974) but we have recently found that when acetoacetate is infused intravenously into sheep so that the concentration in blood is higher than is normally found even in ketotic animals, there does Seem to be a small utilization of acetoacetate. Even if we accept provisionally that most tissues have at least some capacity to use FA or their oxidation products as energy sources, it is clear that the extent to which this occurs varies considerably between tissues; moreover, for many tissues the amount used is likely to depend on the relative availability of substrates and the physiological state of the animal. I propose in this review to discuss how far we can estimate quantitatively the contribution of FA in meeting energy requirements. In principle this should be a fairly straightforward problem since “C-labelled FA have become available.
Mental object rotation in Parkinson's disease

Deficits in visual-spatial ability can be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and there are several possible reasons for these deficits. Dysfunction in frontal–striatal and/or frontal–parietal systems, associated with dopamine deficiency, might disrupt cognitive processes either supporting (e.g., working memory) or subserving visual-spatial computations. The goal of this study was to assess visual–spatial orientation ability in individuals with PD using the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), along with other measures of cognitive function. Non-demented men with PD were significantly less accurate on this test than matched control men. In contrast, women with PD performed similarly to matched control women, but both groups of women did not perform much better than chance. Further, mental rotation accuracy in men correlated with their executive skills involving mental processing and psychomotor speed. In women with PD, however, mental rotation accuracy correlated negatively with verbal memory, indicating that higher mental rotation performance was associated with lower ability in verbal memory. These results indicate that PD is associated with visual–spatial orientation deficits in men. Women with PD and control women both performed poorly on the MRT, possibly reflecting a floor effect. Although men and women with PD appear to engage different cognitive processes in this task, the reason for the sex difference remains to be elucidated. (JINS, 2003, 9, 1078–1087.)
Sequence analysis of SLITRK1 for var321 in Danish patients with Tourette syndrome and review of the literature

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics and is often accompanied by comorbidities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder. The complex etiology of TS and its co-occurrence with other disorders impedes linking genetic changes with disease segregation. One of the few genes that has been linked to TS is the SLITRK1 (Slit and Trk-like 1) gene, where four variations have been suggested as possible disease-associated changes. One of these variations, which has been reported in six unrelated TS patients, was a noncoding variant (var321) at the 3′-untranslated region of SLITRK1 within a conserved binding site for microRNA has-mir-189. To elucidate the potential role of var321 in disease pathogenesis, a cohort of 112 deeply phenotyped Danish TS patients was investigated for this variation. We could not detect var321 in the present cohort, suggesting that this is not a common variant among Danish TS patients.
Leptin and Ghrelin Levels in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Background: Leptin is a hormone with well-investigated functions concerning body composition, energy homeostasis and feeding behavior in humans. The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is strongly associated with obesity, which is known to be closely associated with hyperleptinemia. More recently, ghrelin, a hormone that also influences appetite and energy homeostasis, has been discovered. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate serum leptin and ghrelin levels in obese patients with OSAS in comparison with equally obese controls without OSAS. Methods: Thirty untreated obese patients with moderate-severe OSAS (apnea-hypopnea index: AHI ≧15) and 22 obese controls (AHI <5) were studied. To confirm the diagnosis, all patients underwent standard polysomnography in our sleep disorders center. Serum samples were taken at 08:00 h in the morning after overnight fasting. Results: Significantly higher serum leptin levels were found in OSAS patients compared to controls (p = 0.012), but there was no significant difference in serum ghrelin levels between OSAS patients and controls. Serum leptin levels were significantly correlated with body mass index in both OSAS patients (r = 0.55, p = 0.002) and controls (r = 0.46, p = 0.028), but only in OSAS patients was the leptin level significantly correlated with AHI (r = 0.38, p = 0.036). Conclusion: These data support findings suggesting that leptin is a hormonal factor affected by OSAS and not determined by obesity alone. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between serum ghrelin and OSAS.
Non-typhi Salmonella bacteremia in children.

BACKGROUND Non-typhi Salmonella (NTS) infections are a frequent cause of self-limited diarrheal illness in healthy children. Bacteremia is a known complication of NTS infection, but the management of children with bacteremia has been based on limited data. OBJECTIVE To study the outcomes of pediatric patients with NTS bacteremia. METHODS Retrospective review of patients with NTS bacteremia covering a 16-year period at an urban pediatric hospital. Clinical data from the initial visits and any follow-up visits or hospitalizations were abstracted from the medical record. RESULTS We studied 144 patients. Median age was 10.5 months. Fifty-four patients were hospitalized at the initial visit including all the patients with immunodeficiency (n = 12). Of the 90 patients initially managed as outpatients, 79 were subsequently admitted; only 1 of these patients developed a focal complication. Persistent bacteremia was found in 51 (41%) patients. Among nonimmunocompromised patients, persistent bacteremia was noted in 34% [95% confidence interval (CI), 20 to 52%] of those initially treated with oral antibiotics, 52% (CI 30 to 74%) of those initially treated with a parenteral dose of antibiotics and in 31% (CI 22 to 43%) of those who were not initially given antibiotics. No laboratory or clinical factors predicted persistent bacteremia. Twelve patients developed focal infections: 3 of 119 previously healthy children (2.5%, CI 0.5 to 7%); and 9 of 25 children with underlying medical conditions (36%, CI 19 to 57%). Focal infections included meningitis (3), osteomyelitis (4), septic arthritis (2), pneumonia (2) and cholangitis (1). CONCLUSIONS NTS bacteremia occurs in otherwise healthy children, although the risk of focal infections is small. Patients with NTS bacteremia frequently have persistent bacteremia at follow-up regardless of initial antibiotic treatment.