Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carbimazole embryopathy: An emerging phenotype

Concerns about the safety of carbimazole in pregnancy were raised in 1985 [Milham ( 1985 ): Teratology 32:321]. Since this time many reports of children believed to have been affected by carbimazole in utero have appeared in the medical literature. Initial reports were of an increased incidence of scalp defects in the infants of treated mothers, but many other anomalies have now been described. Choanal atresia, gastrointestinal anomalies‐particularly esophageal atresia, athelia/hypothelia, developmental delay, hearing loss, and dysmorphic facial features have all been reported. The phenotype associated with exposure to carbimazole appears to be rare but specific with distinctive facial features. We report on two new cases of carbimazole embryopathy with strikingly similar facial features. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Baseline dental plaque activity, mutans streptococci culture, and future caries experience in children.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate a chairside caries risk assessment protocol utilizing a caries prediction instrument, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity in dental plaque, mutans streptococci (MS) culture, and routine dental examination in five- to 10-year-old children at two regional Australian schools with high caries experience. METHODS Clinical indicators for future caries were assessed at baseline examination using a standardized prediction instrument. Plaque ATP activity was measured directly in relative light units (RLU) using a bioluminescence meter, and MS culture data were recorded. Each child's dentition was examined clinically and radiographically, and caries experience was recorded using enamel white spot lesions and decayed, missing, and filled surfaces for primary and permanent teeth indices. Univariate one-way analysis of variance between selected clinical indicators, ATP activity, MS count at baseline, and future new caries activity was performed, and a generalized linear model for prediction of new caries activity at 24 months was constructed. RESULTS Future new caries activity was significantly associated with the presence of visible cavitations, reduced saliva flow, and orthodontic appliances at baseline (R(2)=0.2, P<. 001). CONCLUSION Baseline plaque adenosine triphosphate activity and mutans streptococci counts were not significantly associated with caries activity at 24 months.
Decline of Ecological Functions Performed by Dung Beetles in Areas of Atlantic Forest and Contribution of Rollers and Tunnellers in Organic Matter Removal

Abstract The feeding behavior of the Scarabaeinae subfamily has positive implications on ecosystem functioning. We characterize the necrophagous and coprophagous dung beetle assemblages, and we quantify the removal of swine carrion and domestic dog dung in two areas with different degrees of environmental disturbance in an Atlantic Forest remnant located in Florianopolis, SC, Brazil. The experiment was setup at eight sampling points in each area, by installing one control and two collection and removal assessment arenas for collecting necrophagous dung beetles while simultaneously evaluating the removal of carrion (50 g of rotting pork for 48 h). We used the same sample design with 50 g of domestic dog dung for evaluating the coprophagous dung beetle assemblage and dung removal. Our results indicated that necrophagous dung beetles were more sensitive to environmental disturbance owing to a lower richness and changes in species dominance, which resulted in a lower removal in the areas with greater disturbance and lower environmental quality (39.6% carrion removal) in relation to less disturbed areas (75.1% carrion removal). The dung beetle assemblages were similar in structure and removal rates between areas (80% of dung was removed). In assessing the influence of richness, abundance, and biomass of dung beetles on resource removal both for the whole assemblage and for each separate functional guild, only the abundance and biomass of rollers contributed significantly to dung removal. These results highlight the implications of environmental disturbances on the functions of dung beetles, which respond differently according to the resource they use.
CYFIP2 is highly abundant in CD4+ cells from multiple sclerosis patients and is involved in T cell adhesion

DNA microarray profiling of CD4+ and CD8+ cells from non‐treated relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients determined that the cytoplasmic binding partner of fragile X protein (CYFIP2, also called PIR121) was increased significantly compared to healthy controls. Western analysis confirmed that CYFIP2 protein was increased approximately fourfold in CD4+ cells from MS compared to inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD) patients or healthy controls. Because CYFIP2 acts as part of a tetrameric complex that regulates WAVE1 activation we hypothesized that high levels of CYFIP2 facilitate T cell adhesion, which is elevated in MS patients. Several findings indicated that increased levels of CYFIP2 facilitated adhesion. First, adenoviral‐mediated overexpression of CYFIP2 in Jurkat cells increased fibronectin‐mediated adhesion. Secondly, CYFIP2 knock‐down experiments using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides reduced fibronectin‐mediated binding in Jurkat and CD4+ cells. Thirdly, inhibition of Rac‐1, a physical partner with CYFIP2 and regulator of WAVE1 activity, reduced fibronectin‐mediated adhesion in Jurkat and CD4+ cells. Finally, inhibition of Rac‐1 or reduction of CYFIP2 protein decreased fibronectin‐mediated adhesion in CD4+ cells from MS patients to levels similar to controls. These studies suggest that overabndance of CYFIP2 protein facilitates increased adhesion properties of T cells from MS patients.
Endogenous markers of two separate hypoxia response pathways (hypoxia inducible factor 2 alpha and carbonic anhydrase 9) are associated with radiotherapy failure in head and neck cancer patients recruited in the CHART randomized trial.

PURPOSE Randomized controlled trials have generally shown a benefit from accelerated radiotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the large randomized United Kingdom trial CHART (Continuous Hyperfractionated Accelerated Radiotherapy) failed to show a benefit of strongly accelerated over standard radiotherapy (RT) in 918 patients with HNSCC. In this study, we investigated the impact of tumor hypoxia on the outcome of HNSCC patients in the CHART trial. There are two distinct hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) that control different gene response pathways and we assessed them both with endogenous markers of hypoxia, hypoxia inducible factor HIF-2 alpha (HIF-2) and carbonic anhydrase CA9, an indicator of HIF-1 alpha (HIF-1) function. METHODS Tissue from pre-RT biopsies performed in 198 of 918 patients recruited was analyzed for the immunohistochemical expression of HIF-2 and CA9. RESULTS A significant association of high HIF2 and of high CA9 reactivity with poor locoregional control (P < .0001 and P = .0002, respectively) and poor survival (P = .0004 and 0.002, respectively) was noted. In multivariate analysis, HIF-2 and CA9 maintained their independent prognostic significance. Coexpression of both pathways had an additive effect, supporting their independent role. The uni-directional hypothesis, that a benefit from randomization to CHART should be seen in the nonhypoxic tumors, was supported by the data (one-tailed P = .04). CONCLUSION Expression of endogenous markers of hypoxia for the HIF-1 and HIF-2 pathway is strongly associated with radiotherapy failure. Using immunohistochemical methods it is possible to identify subgroups of HNSCC patients who are highly curable with radiotherapy, or who are excellent candidates for clinical trials on hypoxia-targeting drugs in two distinct pathways.
Parental beliefs about autism

This study investigated parental beliefs about the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Sixty-two families of affected children completed a questionnaire asking when the parent first noticed developmental or behavioral problems, when they were told the diagnosis, how confident they were about the ability of their child's physician to recognize autism, whether they believed anything specific might have caused their child's autism, and what medications and complementary or alternative therapies they had tried. Two-thirds of parents suspected a specific cause, and three-quarters questioned their physician's ability. Parents who perceived a greater delay in diagnosis or who had tried more different therapies both tended to have less confidence in their physician (p = 0.20 and p = 0.07, respectively). Physicians should inquire about parental beliefs concerning etiology, learn what treatments the children are receiving, perform screening at the 18 month visit, and make referrals for further evaluation as soon as a child begins to exhibit signs suggestive of autism.
Probabilistic Tomography Maps Chemical Heterogeneities Throughout the Lower Mantle

We obtained likelihoods in the lower mantle for long-wavelength models of bulk sound and shear wave speed, density, and boundary topography, compatible with gravity constraints, from normal mode splitting functions and surface wave data. Taking into account the large uncertainties in Earth's thermodynamic reference state and the published range of mineral physics data, we converted the tomographic likelihoods into probability density functions for temperature, perovskite, and iron variations. Temperature and composition can be separated, showing that chemical variations contribute to the overall buoyancy and are dominant in the lower 1000 kilometers of the mantle.
Psychopathology, adversity, and service utilization of young refugees.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the psychopathology, social impairment, adversities, and service utilization of refugee families and their children seeking help at a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic in London. METHOD A retrospective case-control study of 30 refugee children and families individually matched with nonrefugee immigrant families and white British families. Case note review was carried out to obtain data on diagnosis, social adjustment, past adversity, exposure to violence, current socioeconomic circumstances, and use of the child and adolescent psychiatric service. RESULTS Refugee children tended to have disorders with a psychosocial etiology rather than neurobiological disorders. Refugees had similar levels of social impairment compared with the other groups. Refugees were much more isolated and disadvantaged and had different referral pathways but were not more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely. CONCLUSIONS Refugee children and families had been exposed to high levels of adversity. The ability of community agencies to refer families who could use treatment has significant resource implications.
Influence of environmental stimulation on neurogenesis in the adult insect brain.

Mushroom bodies are the main integrative structures of insect brain. They receive sensory information from the eyes, the palps, and the antennae. In the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, a cluster of mushroom body neuroblasts keeps producing new interneurons during an insect's life span. The aim of the present work is to study the impact of environmental stimuli on mushroom body neurogenesis during adulthood. Crickets were reared either in an enriched environment, where they received complex environmental and congeneric stimulations or isolated in small cages and deprived of most visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli. They then were injected with a S-phase marker, 5-bromo, 2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and sacrificed at different periods of their life. Neurogenesis and cell survival were estimated by counting the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the mushroom bodies. Environmentally enriched crickets were found to have an increased number of newborn cells in their mushroom bodies compared with crickets housed in cages with an impoverished environment. This effect of external factors on neurogenesis seems to be limited to the beginning of imaginal life. Furthermore, no cell loss could be detected among the newborn neurons in either environmental situation, suggesting that cell survival was not affected by the quality of the environment. Considering vertebrate studies which showed that enriched environment increases hippocampal cell survival and improves animal performances in spatial learning tests, we suggest that the increased number of interneurons produced in an integrative brain structure after exposure to enriched environment could contribute to adaptive behavioral performances in adult insects.
Electrophysiological Study of Algorithmically Processed Metric/Rhythmic Variations in Language and Music

This work is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists from the fields of audio signal processing, phonetics and cognitive neuroscience aiming at studying the perception of modifications in meter, rhythm, semantics and harmony in language and music. A special time-stretching algorithm was developed to work with natural speech. In the language part, French sentences ending with tri-syllabic congruous or incongruous words, metrically modified or not, were made. In the music part, short melodies made of triplets, rhythmically and/or harmonically modified, were built. These stimuli were presented to a group of listeners that were asked to focus their attention either on meter/rhythm or semantics/harmony and to judge whether or not the sentences/melodies were acceptable. Language ERP analyses indicate that semantically incongruous words are processed independently of the subject's attention thus arguing for automatic semantic processing. In addition, metric incongruities seem to influence semantic processing. Music ERP analyses show that rhythmic incongruities are processed independently of attention, revealing automatic processing of rhythm in music.
Male mating strategies and the mating system of great-tailed grackles

Great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are sexually dimorphic, dichromatic, colonially nesting blackbirds. In this study, males pursued three basic types of conditional mating strategies, each of which employed a different set of mating tactics. Territorial males defended one or more trees in which several females nested. They achieved reproductive success by siring the offspring of their social mates and through extrapair fertilization. Resident males lived in the colony but did not defend territories or have social mates. Transient males passed through the colony, staying no more than a few days, and probably visited more than one colony. Residents appeared to queue for access to territories, but transients did not. Residents and transients gained all paternity through extrapair fertilizations and provided no parental care. Territorial males sired the majority of offspring, but residents and transients also sired small numbers of nestlings. Territorial males were larger and had longer tails than nonterritorial males. The number of social mates was related to body size, and males that sired nestlings were heavier and had longer tails than males with no genetic reproductive success. Males that gained paternity through extrapair fertilization were heavier and had longer tails than males that did not. The mating system of great-tailed grackles can best be categorized as ‘‘non-faithful-female frank polygyny. ’’ Key words: conditional mating tactics, great-tailed grackles, mating systems, male mating strategies, Quiscalus mexicanus, sexual selection. [Behav Ecol 11:132–141 (2000)]
H-2-linked genes which modify resistance of C57BL/10 mice to subcutaneous infection with Mycobacterium lepraemurium

Strains of C57BL/10 mice with recombinants within the H-2 complex were used to map the genes which control the mononuclear cell response at the infection site and modify resistance to subcutaneous infection with Mycobacterium lepraemurium. Strains with b in the K-E beta regions of the H-2 complex mounted a more rapid cellular response in the infected footpad and were more resistant than mice with d or k in the K-E beta regions. Significant differences between strains with k in the K-E beta regions appeared to be controlled by a gene in the D region.
Family grief therapy: a preliminary account of a new model to promote healthy family functioning during palliative care and bereavement

The family is usually the primary provider of care for the terminally ill patient with cancer or other serious progressive illness. The way in which such a family functions is a major determinant of psychological well‐being for its members. Through screening with the Family Relationships Index (FRI) (Moos and Moos, 1981), dysfunctional families and those at risk can be identified, and then helped to achieve better family functioning, thus improving psychosocial outcome of their grief. In this paper, we describe the techniques and themes involved in the application of our empirically developed model of family grief therapy, designed as a preventive intervention for use in the setting of palliative care and bereavement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Current Input Extended Counting ADC With Wide Dynamic Range for LWIR FPAs

A readout circuit incorporating a pixel level analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is studied for 2-D long wavelength infrared focal plane arrays (LWIR FPAs). The charge handling capacity of the unit cell circuit is improved by using the current input incremental ADC. The proposed pixel level ADC is based on an extended counting ADC but is composed of two oversampling conversions. The readout circuit has been fabricated using a 0.35 mum 2-poly 4-metal CMOS process for a 128 times 128 LWIR HgCdTe array with a pixel size of 50 mum times 50 mum. The peak signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and dynamic range (DR) were measured to be 85.8 dB and 99.9 dB, respectively, with a total power consumption of 50 mW.
Physical Activity, Fine Manual Dexterity and a Coach’s Self-Efficacy in a Physical Activity Program for Older Persons Living in Residential Care Facilities

This study aimed at assessing the efficacy of a physical activity intervention on a group of older elderly individuals living in residential care facilities, in terms of the functionality of their upper limbs, hands, and fingers. It also aimed at determining if the coaches’ level of self-efficacy can contribute to the efficacy of the physical activity program. The project involved 44 institutionalized older persons: Their mean age was 84.3 (SD = 7.4) in the experimental group and 85 (SD = 6.6) in the control group; they were all self-sufficient. Seven female coaches, with degrees in physical education and an average age of 29 (SD = 4.4), conducted the physical activity program for 16 weeks. The participants were pre- and post-tested for hand and finger strength with dynamometers. The coaches’ level of perceived self-efficacy was assessed through a self-reported questionnaire (Caprara, 2010). The results obtained by using non-parametric statistical techniques, due to the small sample size, confirmed that the physical activity intervention had positive effects on the fine manual dexterity of the elderly in the experimental group, and the high level of self-efficacy perceived by the coaches influenced the effects of the physical training. The results emphasize the importance of setting realistic objectives, and prove that the choice and training of coaches is fundamental for physical exercise practiced in a condition of frailty, such as that of older people living in residential care facilities.
Perceived judgement influencing creativity in Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds (VWs) have been researched for creativity enhancement due to the capability to manipulate the environment. This paper aims to investigate the perceived judgement experienced in creative processes aided by digital media in a co-located and distributed setting. A reduction of perceiving judgement enhances creative performance in creative processes. Experiencing less judgement in VWs can strengthen further development in creativity enhancement aided by virtual reality. We conducted a between-subject experiment to investigate the difference in perceived judgement in a physical and virtual setting. While we could not find a significant difference in perceived judgement between the two groups, our proposed questionnaire showed high reliability (Chronbach’s α = 0.75) that is potentially useful for future research and other researchers. Additionally, this paper suggests improvements and considerations for future studies aimed to validate lower perceived judgement in VWs.
Monoclonal antibodies for the histopathological diagnosis of cervical neoplasia

Five monoclonal antibodies (Cal, HMFG 1 and 2, 8.30.3 and 77.1) were used to study the distribution of antibody binding sites in cervical tissue with a view to identifying a marker which would distinguish between benign and malignant cervical epithelium. Both benign tissue (mature and immature metaplastic squamous epithelium, congenital transformation zone and glandular epithelium) and neoplastic tissue (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, 1, 2 and 3 and invasive squamous cell carcinoma) were stained by these antibodies. Although immature metaplastic epithelium stained strongly with all the antibodies, the intensity and distribution of staining in general did not distinguish between benign and neoplastic conditions. All five antibodies, raised against three different antigens, stained cervical tissue in a similar way and thus were unsuitable for use as specific tumour markers in equivocal cases. Further studies on other tumour markers are indicated in view of the potential value of this aroach.
The peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α regulates amino acid metabolism

The peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α is a ligand‐activated transcription factor that plays an important role in the regulation of lipid homeostasis. PPARα mediates the effects of fibrates, which are potent hypolipidemic drugs, on gene expression. To better understand the biological effects of fibrates and PPARα, we searched for genes regulated by PPARα using oligonucleotide microarray and sub‐tractive hybridization. By comparing liver RNA from wild‐type and PPARα null mice, it was found that PPARα decreases the mRNA expression of enzymes involved in the metabolism of amino acids. Further analysis by Northern blot revealed that PPARα influences the expression of several genes involved in transand deamination of amino acids, and urea synthesis. Direct activation of PPARα using the synthetic PPARα ligand WY14643 decreased mRNA levels of these genes, suggesting that PPARα is directly implicated in the regulation of their expression. Consistent with these data, plasma urea concentrations are modulated by PPARα in vivo. It is concluded that in addition to oxidation of fatty acids, PPARα also regulates metabolism of amino acids in liver, indicating that PPARα is a key controller of intermediary metabolism during fasting.