Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Clinical-Pathologic Research on the Causes of Dementia in Late Life: Update From the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study

In this study, we compare neuropathological findings at autopsy with clinical dementia diagnoses, such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Participants consisted of 363 aged Japanese-American men from the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Results indicated that the correspondence between clinical and neuropathologic diagnosis was not great, with 56% of patients diagnosed with probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease during life but with only 19% having neuritic plaques and/or neurofibrillary tangles as the sole or dominant dementia-related lesions in the brain at autopsy. Although 16% of cases were attributed to mixed causes during life, almost 40% were found to have significant mixtures of dementia-related lesions at autopsy. Finally, both Alzheimer’s disease and non-Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologic lesions contributed independently to the explanation of variance on a test of overall cognitive performance. The results suggest that clinical diagnosis of dementia made during life may fail to reflect the pathogenic complexity of this condition in very elderly persons.
Clinical study on interferon treatment of early scarring in filtering bleb.

PURPOSE To investigate the effectiveness of needle revision combined with subconjuctival injection of interferon α-2b in reversing early scarring of filtering blebs following trabeculectomy surgery. METHODS Twenty-five glaucoma patients (31 eyes) who presented with scarred or encapsulated filtering bleb after glaucoma surgery underwent needle revision in combination with subconjuctival injection of interferon α-2b, and were followed for 12 months. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and filtering bleb morphology were observed post treatment. RESULTS The mean time until scarring occurred was 21.0±7.4 days. The average time between recognition of bleb scarring and completion of needle revision was 2.2±0.8 days. The time interval between surgery and needle revision was inversely correlated with the time until needle revision (r = -0.694, P<0.001). The mean IOPs before and after needle revision were 24.2±2.7mmHg and 19.6±3.8mmHg, respectively (t = 5.916，P<0.001). At the 12-month follow-up visit, 18 eyes (58.1%) achieved complete success in IOP control, and 6 eyes (19.4%) had conditional success. The overall success rate for needling was thus 77.4%. Subconjunctival hemorrhage was observed in 4 eyes during the needle revision procedure. Punctate staining was found in the corneal epithelium of 2 eyes. Shallow anterior chamber (Grade I or II) was identified in 5 eyes. CONCLUSION Slit-lamp needle revision combined with subconjunctival injection of interferon α-2b may be efficacious in the treatment of early scarring of filtering blebs, is easy and safe to perform, and may be considered for more widespread application.
Excitability of pontine startle processing neurones is regulated by the two‐pore‐domain K+ channel TASK‐3 coupled to 5‐HT2C receptors

The mammalian startle reflex is a fast response to sudden intense sensory stimuli that can be increased by anxiety or decreased by reward. The cellular integration of sensory and modulatory information takes place in giant neurones of the caudal pontine reticular formation (PnC). The startle reflex is known to be enhanced by 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT); however, signalling mechanisms that change the excitability of the PnC giant neurones are poorly understood. Possible molecular candidates are two‐pore‐domain K+ (K2P) channels that generate a variable K+ background conductance and control neuronal excitability upon activation of G‐protein‐coupled receptors. We demonstrate by in situ hybridization that the K2P channel TASK‐3 is substantially expressed in PnC giant neurones. Brain slice recordings revealed a corresponding background K+ current in these cells that forms about 30% of the outward current at −30 mV. Inactivation of TASK‐3 at pH 6.4 and by ruthenium red depolarized the cells by about 7 mV and increased the action potential frequency as well as duration. Specific activation of Gαq‐coupled 5‐HT2 receptors with α‐methyl 5‐HT evoked a similar increase of neuronal excitability. Consistently, we measured afferent synaptic inputs from serotonergic raphe neurones and detected 5‐HT2C receptors in PnC giant neurones by immunohistochemistry. Thus, neuronal excitability of PnC giant neurones in vivo is most likely increased by serotonergic projections via the K2P channel TASK‐3.
Distributed Antennas Aided Secure Communication in MU-Massive-MIMO with QoS Guarantee

We consider in this paper the physical layer security in multi-user massive multiple-input multiple-output (MU-Massive-MIMO) system, where an eavesdropper (Eve) is assumed to be able to intercept the information intended to any of the users. Distributed antenna sets, commonly known as remote radio heads (RRHs), are deployed at the base station, which enables autonomous power allocation between the information signal and artificial noise (AN) at each antenna set. Assuming a large number of antennas at each RRH and cooperative downlink maximum-ratio transmission beamforming, we first derive the closed-form deterministic equivalents of post-processing signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of users and Eve in both the centralized and autonomous full transmission schemes. Then, we maximize the minimum user SINR over the signal and AN powers subject to the sum power and Eve SINR constraints. The optimization in the former scheme leads to a linear programming problem, while the latter results in a complementary geometric programming (GP), which has to be transformed into an ordinary GP problem in order to be solved efficiently. Numerical results demonstrate the significance of deploying the RRHs as well as autonomous power allocation to improve the user SINR along with the secure communication with QoS guarantee in MU-Massive-MIMO.
Iron homeostasis: transport, metabolism, and regulation

Purpose of reviewIron is essential for normal cellular function and many diseases result from disturbances in iron homeostasis. This review describes some of the recent key advances in iron transport and its regulation, how this relates to iron-related disorders, and emerging therapies for these diseases. Recent findingsThe iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin and its target, the iron exporter ferroportin (FPN), play central roles in iron homeostasis. Recent studies have expanded our understanding of how hepcidin is regulated in response to stimulated erythropoiesis and have added some new players to the complex network of factors that influences hepcidin expression. Novel structural insights into how FPN transports iron have been an important addition to the field, as has the recognition that some zinc transporters such as ZIP14 can transport iron. Investigations into cardiac iron homeostasis have revealed a key role for FPN, and transferrin receptor 1, which is essential for cellular iron uptake, has been shown to be critical for normal immune function. SummaryThe increased understanding of mechanisms of iron homeostasis that has resulted from recent research has greatly improved our ability to diagnose and manage iron-related disorders, and has offered new therapies for this important class of human diseases.
Comparing global models of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP): the importance of water availability

Given that neither absolute measures nor direct model validations of global terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) are feasible, intercomparison of global NPP models provides an effective tool to check model consistency. For this study, we tested the assumption that water availability is the primary limiting factor of NPP in global terrestrial biospheric models. We compared a water balance coefficient (WBC), calculated as the difference of mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration to NPP for each grid cell (0.5° × 0.5° longitude/latitude) in each of 14 models. We also evaluated different approaches used for introducing water budget limitations on NPP: (1) direct physiological control on evapotranspiration through canopy conductance; (2) climatological computation of constraints from supply/demand for ecosystem productivity; and (3) water limitation inferred from satellite data alone. Plots of NPP vs. WBC showed comparable patterns for the models using the same method for water balance limitation on NPP. While correlation plots revealed similar patterns for most global models, other environmental controls on NPP introduced substantial variability.
Increased serum transforming growth factor‐β1 in human colorectal cancer correlates with reduced circulating dendritic cells and increased colonic Langerhans cell infiltration

Cancer‐related cytokines may interfere with the differentiation and migration of dendritic cells (DCs) and with the associated up‐regulation of co‐stimulatory molecules in vitro. We determined whether cytokines affected the distribution and activation of DCs in patients with colorectal cancer by measuring the levels of serum cytokines [transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)], DC numbers and phenotype from peripheral blood and mesenteric lymph nodes draining the cancer, and the infiltration of DCs into colorectal cancer. A significant increase in the serum level of TGF‐β1 correlated with a significant reduction in the level of circulating DCs in cancer patients that was associated with an increased infiltration of Langerhans cells into colorectal mucosa. The prevalence but not intensity of co‐stimulatory molecule expression in circulating and mesenteric lymph node DCs was reduced in patients with colorectal cancer compared to patients with inflammatory bowel conditions. There was no correlation between co‐stimulatory molecule expression and serum TGF‐β1. Thus the circulating DC depletion in colorectal cancer could be explained by a TGF‐β1‐related DC redistribution from the circulation into the colorectal cancer and adjacent mucosa where DC levels were increased. There was an impairment of DC activation within colorectal cancer that was not related to serum level of cytokines.
Enhanced self-localization by auditory cues in blind humans

Purpose. Investigate the involvement of auditory spatial compensation, which is observed in blind humans, in self-localization processes. Method. Sighted and early-blind subjects had to indicate, on a two-dimensional view of the experimental room, the position where they previously sat and had passively listened to auditory spatial cues. Two different environments were distinguished. In a first session, auditory cues (i.e., white broadband sounds) were displayed successively in a dark anechoic room. This condition was defined as a simple acoustic environment. In a second session, four different auditory cues were displayed simultaneously at regular intervals in an experimental room, where echo cues were salient. This condition, which is more reminiscent of the natural situation, was described as a complex acoustic environment. Results. Self-localization capacities were significantly better in early-blind individuals than in sighted subjects, whatever the type of acoustic environment. Conclusions. Auditory compensation leads to improved self-localization capacities in early-blind humans and indicates that prior visual experience is not essential for the development of spatial competence.
Joint sampling-communication strategies for smart-meters to aggregator link as secondary users

This paper assesses the communication between smart-meters and aggregators as secondary users that transmit their data over the primary uplink channel. We assume: directional antennas are employed in the meter-aggregator link, secondary users transmit with limited power, meters' transmissions are randomized to avoid packet collisions, and an outage constraint for the secondary links' to guarantee their robustness. Therefore, the interference caused by the secondary users in the primary can be neglected. Conversely, the secondary users still experience interference from mobile users of the primary network, whose positions and traffic activity are unknown. Our goal is to study sampling-communication strategies for transmitting the average power demand of a household so the signal can be reconstructed by the aggregator with low deviation. Our results indicate that an event-based scheme based on energy packets can outperform the usual time-based, periodic, sampling.
Attitudes to Malocclusion in a Nigerian School Population

The aim of this study was to determine attitudes to malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among school children in Lagos, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 120 randomly selected school children, 66 boys (55%) and 54 girls (45%) aged 10-12 years in Lagos State, Southwestern region of Nigeria. The study was conducted with a fixed choice questionnaire and the need for orthodontic treatment was assessed with the WHO-FDI basic method for recording occlusal traits, 1979. The results showed that most children (61.7%) were satisfied with their dental appearance with no significant sex differences while the10-year-old children expressed significantly higher level of dissatisfaction with their teeth arrangement (P Keywords : Malocclusion, Attitudes, Orthodontic treatment need Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research Vol. 5 (1) 2006: pp. 16-23
The Pharmacokinetics of Racemic Verapamil in Patients with Impaired Renal Function

The pharmacokinetics of verapamil were studied in patients with renal failure who were undergoing maintenance hemodialysis and in normal subjects after an IV infusion of 10 mg and a single oral dose of 120 mg. Plasma levels of verapamil and its active metabolite, norverapamil, were analyzed by a sensitive and specific HPLC procedure. Severe renal failure requiring hemodialysis did not change the time course of verapamil and norverapamil plasma concentrations after either the IV or oral dose. The terminal elimination rate constant, clearance, volume of distribution, and bioavailability of verapamil were not significantly different between the two groups of subjects. In addition, the apparent maximal plasma concentration, terminal elimination rate constant, and area under the curve for norverapamil were similar in patients with renal failure and normal subjects. The study showed that the plasma disposition of verapamil and norverapamil was not affected in patients with impaired renal function. Furthermore, this study does not indicate that any change in dosage is necessary when single doses of verapamil are administered to patients with renal failure.
Altered TCR Signaling from Geometrically Repatterned Immunological Synapses

The immunological synapse is a specialized cell-cell junction that is defined by large-scale spatial patterns of receptors and signaling molecules yet remains largely enigmatic in terms of formation and function. We used supported bilayer membranes and nanometer-scale structures fabricated onto the underlying substrate to impose geometric constraints on immunological synapse formation. Analysis of the resulting alternatively patterned synapses revealed a causal relation between the radial position of T cell receptors (TCRs) and signaling activity, with prolonged signaling from TCR microclusters that had been mechanically trapped in the peripheral regions of the synapse. These results are consistent with a model of the synapse in which spatial translocation of TCRs represents a direct mechanism of signal regulation.
Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and Laser Doppler Anemometry velocity measurements downstream of replacement heart valves: implications for in vivo assessment of prosthetic valve function.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY The non-invasive, in-vivo assessment of prosthetic valve function is compromised by the lack of accurate measurements of the transvalvular flow fields or hemodynamics by current techniques. Short echo time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may provide a method for the non-invasive, in vivo assessment of prosthetic valve function by accurately measuring changes in the transvalvular flow fields associated with normal and dysfunctional prosthetic valves. The objectives of these in vitro experiments were to investigate the potential for using MRI as a tool to measure the complex flow fields distal to replacement heart valves, and to assess the accuracy of MRI velocity measurements by comparison with Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA), a gold standard. METHODS The velocity fields downstream of tilting disc, bileaflet, ball and cage, and pericardial tissue valves were measured using both three-component LDA and MRI phase velocity encoding under a steady flow rate of 22.8 l/min, simulating peak systolic flow. The valves were tested under normal and stenotic conditions to assess the MRI capabilities under a wide range of local flow conditions, velocities and turbulence levels. A new short echo time MRI technique (FAcE), which allowed velocity measurements in stenotic jets with high turbulence, was tested. RESULTS Good overall agreement was obtained between the MRI velocity measurements and the LDA data. The MRI velocity measurements adequately reproduced the spatial structure of the flow fields. In most cases peak velocities were accurately measured to within 15%. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that the FAcE MRI method has the potential to be used as a diagnostic tool to assess prosthetic valve function.
The Psychology of the Affirmed Learner: Spontaneous Self-Affirmation in the Face of Stress.

A key question about achievement motivation is how to maintain it over time and in the face of stress and adversity. The present research examines how a motivational process triggered by a social-psychological intervention propagates benefits over a long period of time and creates an enduring shift in the way people interpret subsequent adversity. During their first or second year of college, 183 Latino and White students completed either a values affirmation intervention or control exercise as part of a laboratory study. In the affirmation intervention, students wrote about a core personal value, an exercise that has been found in previous research to buffer minority students against the stress of being negatively stereotyped in school. This single affirmation improved the college grade point average (GPA) of Latino students over 2 years. Students were re-recruited for a follow-up session near the end of those 2 years. Results indicated that GPA benefits occurred, in part, because the affirmation shifted the way Latino students spontaneously responded to subsequent stressors. In particular, in response to an academic stressor salience task about their end-of-semester requirements, affirmed Latino students spontaneously generated more self-affirming and less self-threatening thoughts and feelings as assessed by an open-ended writing prompt. They also reported having a greater sense of their adequacy as assessed by measures of self-integrity, self-esteem, and hope, as well as higher academic belonging. Discussion centers on how and why motivational processes can trigger effects that persist over surprisingly long periods of time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Suppression of Penile Tumescence by Instrumental Conditioning

&NA; Penile tumescence was elicited in normal male volunteers by erotic tape‐recorded passages. Experimental subjects were provided with immediate contingent feedback [red light] whenever their penile tumescence exceeded a criterion increase. Controls for noncontingent feedback and suppression instructions alone indicate that the instrumental conditioning procedure is particularly effective in modifying this response. Results have implications for etiological formulations and treatment of psychogenic potency disorders.
Histologic inflammation is a risk factor for progression to colorectal neoplasia in ulcerative colitis: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Although inflammation is presumed to contribute to colonic neoplasia in ulcerative colitis (UC), few studies have directly examined this relationship. Our aim was to determine whether severity of microscopic inflammation over time is an independent risk factor for neoplastic progression in UC. METHODS A cohort of patients with UC undergoing regular endoscopic surveillance for dysplasia was studied. Degree of inflammation at each biopsy site had been graded as part of routine clinical care using a highly reproducible histologic activity index. Progression to neoplasia was analyzed in proportional hazards models with inflammation summarized in 3 different ways and each included as a time-changing covariate: (1) mean inflammatory score (IS-mean), (2) binary inflammatory score (IS-bin), and (3) maximum inflammatory score (IS-max). Potential confounders were analyzed in univariate testing and, when significant, in a multivariable model. RESULTS Of 418 patients who met inclusion criteria, 15 progressed to advanced neoplasia (high-grade dysplasia or colorectal cancer), and 65 progressed to any neoplasia (low-grade dysplasia, high-grade dysplasia, or colorectal cancer). Univariate analysis demonstrated significant relationships between histologic inflammation over time and progression to advanced neoplasia (hazard ration (HR), 3.0; 95% CI: 1.4-6.3 for IS-mean; HR, 3.4; 95% CI: 1.1-10.4 for IS-bin; and HR, 2.2; 95% CI: 1.2-4.2 for IS-max). This association was maintained in multivariable proportional hazards analysis. CONCLUSIONS The severity of microscopic inflammation over time is an independent risk factor for developing advanced colorectal neoplasia among patients with long-standing UC.
Gene dosage and susceptibility to insulin‐dependent diabetes

1. All members of 33 families in which two or more sibs have insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were HLA‐typed. The results strongly support the hypothesis that, closely linked to the HLA region, there is a locus (S) for susceptibility to IDDM. We use Sd for alleles at this locus which confer susceptibility to disease, and Sa for all other alleles.
Go Home, Gay Boy! Or, Why Do Singaporean Gay Men Prefer to “Go Home” and Not “Come Out”?

Anglo-American ontologies posit that gay men should come out to match their outer selves with their inner ones. In Confucianized Singapore, however, gay men refrain from coming out to their parents to avoid shaming their families. Instead, they couch their homosexuality in kinship terms and “go home” with their boyfriends (Chou, 2000). “Going home” gains familial acceptance, but it does not challenge mainstream discourses of homosexuality. By examining how Singaporean gay men negotiate their sexuality with their families, I question the validity of coming out and going home as both ontological discourses and strategies.
Extracellular site for econazole‐mediated block of Ca2+ release‐activated Ca2+ current (Icrac) in T lymphocytes

1 Standard whole cell patch clamp recording techniques were used to study the pharmacological characteristics and site of econazole‐mediated inhibition of calcium release‐activated calcium current (Icrac) in the human leukaemic T cell line, Jurkat. 2 Extracellularly applied econazole blocked Icrac in a concentration‐dependent manner (IC50 ≅ 14 μm). Block developed over a relatively slow timecourse of 30–60 s (10 μm), and only partially reversed over minutes. 3 Econazole dialysed from the pipette into the cytosol at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 30 μm did not reduce Icrac, or quantitatively affect Icrac block by extracellularly applied econazole. 4 A less lipophilic quaternary iodide derivative of econazole was synthesized to retard absorption through the cell membrane. When applied extracellularly, this compound blocked Icrac in a concentration‐dependent manner with onset kinetics comparable to econazole. 5 Results with intracellularly dialysed econazole and the quaternary econazole derivative provide convergent evidence that econazole blocks Icrac via an extracellular interaction. 6 The inability of intracellularly applied econazole to inhibit Icrac argues against the notion that econazole inhibits capacitative Ca2+ entry pathways secondary to its known inhibitory effects on cytochrome P‐450.