Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic Transcranial Brain Stimulation: Painless Evaluation of Central Motor Pathways Normal Values and Clinical Application in Spinal Cord Diagnostics Upper Extremities

Painless transcranial magnetic stimulation has been performed on 53 healthy adults in order to obtain normal values of central motor pathway conduction times to cervical segments innervating upper limb muscles. Central motor latency was 5.1 msec when recording from the biceps brachii and 5.2 msec when recording from the abductor pollicis brevis or abductor digiti minimi muscles. The plexus motor latency as the conduction time between the cervical motor root and the proximal nerve trunks in the axillary region was 2.2 msec and 2.6 msec when recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digiti minimi muscles, respectively. Conduction times higher than mean latency + 2 standard deviation may indicate a pathologic conduction slowing. Magnetic stimulation of the motor system is a new painless neurophysiologic technique enabling examination of the central motor pathways in awake subjects. With respect to spinal cord diagnostics, this method is useful in conditions such as compression of the spinal cord or of the motor root in the intervertebral foramen or canal.
Value of echo-enhanced Doppler sonography in evaluation of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts.

OBJECTIVE The value of echo-enhanced color and power Doppler sonography in the evaluation of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) was assessed and compared with that of unenhanced Doppler sonography and portal angiography. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In a prospective randomized trial, 31 shunts in 30 patients underwent unenhanced conventional color and power Doppler sonography and portal venography including pressure measurements. The patients were allocated to either echo-enhanced conventional color Doppler sonography or echo-enhanced power Doppler sonography. For echo enhancement, a galactose-based suspension was administered IV. Shunt stenoses, if present, were quantified by percentage of stenosis and correlated with angiography, which was the gold standard. The diagnostic confidence of unenhanced and echo-enhanced Doppler sonography was assessed using a visual analog scale. RESULTS In the diagnosis of shunt occlusion, echo-enhanced Doppler sonography yielded a sensitivity and a specificity of 100% and 100%, respectively, compared with 100% and 89%, respectively, for unenhanced Doppler sonography. Our evaluation of hemodynamically significant stenoses (portosystemic gradient > or = 15 mm Hg) found echo-enhanced Doppler sonography to be superior to unenhanced Doppler sonography (sensitivity and specificity of 82% and 83%, respectively, compared with 64% and 80%, respectively). In the detection of a shunt stenosis based on morphologic criteria only, echo-enhanced Doppler sonography yielded a sensitivity and a specificity of 78% and 100%, respectively, compared with 47% and 50%, respectively, for unenhanced Doppler sonography. Power Doppler imaging did not improve diagnostic accuracy but did increase diagnostic confidence for unenhanced Doppler sonography compared with conventional color Doppler sonography. The diagnostic confidence for sonographic evaluation of TIPS was significantly (p < .001) increased and the variability of hemodynamic measurements was markedly decreased with echo-enhanced sonography. CONCLUSION Echo-enhanced Doppler sonography provides images of TIPS like those of angiography and allows morphologic assessment of the shunts, complementary to the essential pulsed Doppler waveform analysis that would be performed in a more guided manner. Also, echo-enhanced Doppler sonography significantly increases the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of shunt dysfunction. The high diagnostic confidence and the diminished variability of spectral Doppler measurements may improve acceptance of sonographic evaluation of TIPS. Echo-enhanced Doppler sonography is safe and effective and may reduce the instances in which TIPS sonographic surveillance is nondiagnostic, in which case angiographic assessment is required.
Genetic defects in β-spectrin and tau sensitize C. elegans axons to movement-induced damage via torque-tension coupling

Our bodies are in constant motion and so are the neurons that invade each tissue. Motion-induced neuron deformation and damage are associated with several neurodegenerative conditions. Here, we investigated the question of how the neuronal cytoskeleton protects axons and dendrites from mechanical stress, exploiting mutations in UNC-70 β-spectrin, PTL-1 tau/MAP2-like and MEC-7 β-tubulin proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that mechanical stress induces supercoils and plectonemes in the sensory axons of spectrin and tau double mutants. Biophysical measurements, super-resolution, and electron microscopy, as well as numerical simulations of neurons as discrete, elastic rods provide evidence that a balance of torque, tension, and elasticity stabilizes neurons against mechanical deformation. We conclude that the spectrin and microtubule cytoskeletons work in combination to protect axons and dendrites from mechanical stress and propose that defects in β-spectrin and tau may sensitize neurons to damage. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.20172. 001
The Logistic Organ Dysfunction system. A new way to assess organ dysfunction in the intensive care unit. ICU Scoring Group.

OBJECTIVE To develop an objective method for assessing organ dysfunction among intensive care unit (ICU) patients on the first day of the ICU stay. DESIGN AND SETTING Physiological variables defined dysfunction in 6 organ systems. Logistic regression techniques were used to determine severity levels and relative weights for the Logistic Organ Dysfunction (LOD) score and for conversion of the LOD score to a probability of mortality. PATIENTS A total of 13 152 consecutive admission to 137 adult medical/surgical ICUs in 12 countries from the European/North American Study of Severity Systems. OUTCOME MEASURES Patient vital status at hospital discharge. RESULTS The LOD System identified from 1 to 3 levels of organ dysfunction for 6 organ systems: neurologic, cardiovascular, renal, pulmonary, hematologic, and hepatic. From 1 to 5 LOD points were assigned to the levels of severity, and the resulting LOD scores ranged from 0 to 22 points. Model calibration was very good in the developmental and validation samples (P=.21 and P=.50, respectively), as was model discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.843 and 0.850, respectively). CONCLUSION The LOD System provides an objective tool for assessing severity levels for organ dysfunction in the ICU, a critical component in the conduct of clinical trials. Neurologic, cardiovascular, and renal dysfunction were the most severe organ dysfunctions, followed by pulmonary and hematologic dysfunction, with hepatic dysfunction the least severe. The LOD System takes into account both the relative severity among organ systems and the degree of severity within an organ system.
Modeling Stalled Induction Motors

Southern California Edison experienced a slow voltage recovery event in summer of 2004 attributed to stalled air conditioning compressor motors. Simulations using existing load models was not able to reproduce the voltages recorded during the event. Based on tests of a four ton residential air conditioning unit a new model was developed to mimic the stall behavior of induction motors in order to replicate the voltage observed
Malignant Pleural Effusion, an Unusual Presentation of Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an uncommon malignant neoplasm of the major and minor salivary glands that is known to have a long clinical course, behaving in an insidious and indolent fashion with multiple recurrences preceding distant metastasis. Reported here is a case of a patient presenting with shortness of breath and recurrent pleural effusion. Exfoliated ACC cells were observed on cytological evaluation, a rare occurrence. Mediastinal lymph node involvement was also confirmed on cytology. A primary site of origin was not found. In summary ACC can present in various body sites and pathologists should consider ACC in the differential diagnosis of a basaloid carcinoma of uncertain origin. [N A J Med Sci. 2017;10(1):8-12. DOI: 10.7156/najms.2017. 1001008]
Mobile Gibberellin Directly Stimulates Arabidopsis Hypocotyl Xylem Expansion[W][OA]

In this study, the authors find that the expansion of the xylem in Arabidopsis hypocotyls observed upon flowering is directly triggered by signaling through the plant hormone gibberellin. The authors also demonstrate that this involves mobile gibberellin, which therefore can act as a long-distance signal. Secondary growth of the vasculature results in the thickening of plant structures and continuously produces xylem tissue, the major biological carbon sink. Little is known about the developmental control of this quantitative trait, which displays two distinct phases in Arabidopsis thaliana hypocotyls. The later phase of accelerated xylem expansion resembles the secondary growth of trees and is triggered upon flowering by an unknown, shoot-derived signal. We found that flowering-dependent hypocotyl xylem expansion is a general feature of herbaceous plants with a rosette growth habit. Flowering induction is sufficient to trigger xylem expansion in Arabidopsis. By contrast, neither flower formation nor elongation of the main inflorescence is required. Xylem expansion also does not depend on any particular flowering time pathway or absolute age. Through analyses of natural genetic variation, we found that ERECTA acts locally to restrict xylem expansion downstream of the gibberellin (GA) pathway. Investigations of mutant and transgenic plants indicate that GA and its signaling pathway are both necessary and sufficient to directly trigger enhanced xylogenesis. Impaired GA signaling did not affect xylem expansion systemically, suggesting that it acts downstream of the mobile cue. By contrast, the GA effect was graft transmissible, suggesting that GA itself is the mobile shoot-derived signal.
Parents’ experiences of caring for preterm infants after discharge with grandmothers as their main support

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore parents of preterm infants' experiences of caring for their preterm infants with the grandmother as their primary support after discharge. BACKGROUND Preterm delivery is the major cause of high neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. There is poor neonatal health outcome in the Ghanaian community with some illnesses culturally classified as not-for-hospital. In the community, grandmothers or older women provide support for new parents and decide treatment options for sick infants. However, there is paucity of research on how parents of preterm infants experience this support in the Ghanaian community. METHOD Qualitative narrative inquiry methodology was used. Face-to-face interviews using semi-structured interview guide were used to collect data from 21 mothers and nine fathers. Participant observation and field notes were used to complement interview data. Thematic content analysis of data within the three-dimensional narrative space was employed. Analysis focussed on the relationship of time, place, person and cultural practices affecting the care of preterm infants in the community. RESULTS Three themes emerged from the data, namely (i) Grandmother's prescriptions, (ii) Fighting for the well-being of the infant and (iii) Being in a confused state. Cultural practices mainly initiated by grandmothers resulted in adverse health problems for preterm infants and disruption in parents' mental health. CONCLUSION As grandmothers perform their traditional role of supporting new parents to care for preterm infants after discharge, they give both positive and negative advice which can adversely affect the health of vulnerable preterm infants in the community. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Grandmothers are the main support providers of parents of preterm infants after neonatal unit discharge. Nurses should identify and include grandmothers in predischarge education in order to equip them to render appropriate support to parents and preterm infants.
Mapping Time: How the Spatial Representation of Time Influences Intertemporal Choices

Cognitive linguistic studies have found that people perceive time to be intertwined with space. Western consumers, in particular, visualize time on a horizontal spatial axis, with past events on the left and future events on the right. Underexplored, however, is whether and how space-time associations influence future time-related judgments and decisions. For instance, can spatial location cues affect intertemporal decisions? Integrating cognitive linguistics, time psychology, and intertemporal choice, the authors demonstrate across five studies that when choices are displayed horizontally (vs. vertically), consumers more steeply discount future outcomes. Furthermore, this effect is serially mediated by attention to time and anticipated duration estimates. Specifically, the authors propose and demonstrate that horizontal (vs. vertical) temporal displays enhance the amount of attention devoted to considering the time delay and lead consumers to overestimate how long it will take to receive benefits. This research has important implications for consumers who want to forgo immediate gratification and for firms that need to manage consumers’ time perceptions.
Psoriasis and Psychiatric Morbidity: a Profile from a Tertiary Care Centre of Eastern India

Context: Psoriasis has an impact on psychology of the patients. There is a dearth of studies regarding this field in eastern India. Aims and Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the psychiatric morbidity in psoriasis and secondary objective is to assess the morbidity in all eight dimensions of psychosocial and physical aspects, i.e. cognitive, social, discomfort, limitations, depression, fear, embarrassment and anger. Settings and Design: Institutional based case control study. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight patients of psoriasis and equal number of healthy controls were included in the study. Self-reporting questionnaire-24 (SRQ-24) and skindex (A 61-item survey questionnaire) were used to assess the psychiatric morbidity in both groups. Statistical Analysis Used: “MedCalc version 10.2. 0.0” (by Acacialaan 22, B-8400, Ostend, Belgium) was used as statistical software. Chi-square test was used as a test of significance. Results: The SRQ assessed psychiatric morbidity in the study group was 62.5%, compared with 18.5% in the control group. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Guttate psoriasis had maximum association with psychiatric morbidity (100%), followed by plaque type (63.6%) and palmoplantar type (42.8%). According to the skindex, the most common psychiatric morbidity in psoriasis patients was anger (58.3%), followed by discomfort (52.08%), social problem (52.08%), cognitive impairment (50%), embarrassment (50%), physical limitation (47.91%), fear (47.91%) and depression (43.75%). The skindex observed psychiatric morbidity among the case and control group was statistically significant for all the parameters (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Psoriasis has a high degree of psychiatric morbidity and the extent of this co-morbidity is even greater than hitherto thought of.
The Explosive Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Epidemic among Injecting Drug Users of Kathmandu, Nepal, Is Caused by a Subtype C Virus of Restricted Genetic Diversity

ABSTRACT An explosive epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been documented among the injecting drug user population of Kathmandu, Nepal, whose seropositivity rate has risen from 0 to 40% between 1995 and 1997. By using Catrimox to preserve whole-blood RNA at ambient temperature for transportation, HIV-1 envelope V3–V4 sequences were obtained from 36 patients in this group. Analysis of the sequences indicated a homogenous epidemic of subtype C virus, with at least two independent introductions of the virus into the population. Viral diversity was restricted within two transmission subclusters, with the majority of variation occurring in V4. Calculation of the synonymous-to-nonsynonymous mutation ratio (Ks:Ka) across this region showed that significant evolutionary pressure had been experienced during the rapid horizontal spread of the virus in this population, most strongly directed to the region between V3 and V4.
Nuclear localization and regulation of erk- and rsk-encoded protein kinases

We demonstrate that members of the erk-encoded family of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (pp44/42mapk/erk) and members of the rsk-encoded protein kinases (RSKs or pp90rsk) are present in the cytoplasm and nucleus of HeLa cells. Addition of growth factors to serum-deprived cells results in increased tyrosine and threonine phosphorylation and in the activation of cytosolic and nuclear MAP kinases. Activated MAP kinases then phosphorylate (serine/threonine) and activate RSKs. Concurrently, a fraction of the activated MAP kinases and RSKs enter the nucleus. In addition, a distinct growth-regulated RSK-kinase activity (an enzyme[s] that phosphorylates recombinant RSK in vitro and that may be another member of the erk-encoded family of MAP kinases) was found associated with a postnuclear membrane fraction. Regulation of nuclear MAP kinase and RSK activities by growth factors and phorbol ester is coordinate with immediate-early gene expression. Indeed, in vitro, MAP kinase and/or RSK phosphorylates histone H3 and the recombinant c-Fos and c-Jun polypeptides, transcription factors phosphorylated in a variety of cells in response to growth stimuli. These in vitro studies raise the possibility that the MAP kinase/RSK signal transduction pathway represents a protein-Tyr/Ser/Thr phosphorylation cascade with the spatial distribution and temporal regulation that can account for the rapid transmission of growth-regulating information from the membrane, through the cytoplasm, and to the nucleus.
Hepatic Arterial Perfusion Is Essential for the Spontaneous Recovery From Focal Hepatic Venous Outflow Obstruction in Rats

We previously observed that focal hepatic venous outflow obstruction recovered spontaneously by the formation of sinusoidal canals in a rat model of portal hyperperfusion. We aimed to investigate whether the lack of hepatic arterial perfusion aggravates parenchymal damage, decelerates recovery and influences the formation of sinusoidal canals after focal hepatic venous outflow obstruction. Rats were subjected to arterialized versus nonarterialized syngeneic liver transplantation after ligating the right median hepatic vein in the donor. Hepatic damage, microcirculation, regeneration and vascular remodeling were evaluated. In arterialized‐recipients, confluent necrosis interspersed with viable periportal islands of hepatocytes, and vascularized sinusoidal canals with visible blood flow, surrounded by normal sinusoidal structure, were visible on postoperative day (POD) 2. Complete parenchymal recovery was consequently established by resorption of necrosis and hepatocyte proliferation, detected in viable portal islands and border zone. Lack of hepatic arterial perfusion caused complete necrosis in the obstruction zone without viable hepatocytes in the periportal area on POD2. Hepatocyte proliferation was only visible in the border zone. On POD28, perfused vascular structures, without neighboring normal sinusoidal structures, were observed in the scar‐like area. Hepatic arterial perfusion determined the extent of hepatic necrosis, the formation of vascularized sinusoidal canals and the parenchymal recovery, after focal hepatic venous outflow obstruction.
Premaxillary Osteotomy and Guided Tissue Regeneration in Secondary Bone Grafting in Children with Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To introduce a surgical technique for secondary alveolar bone grafting performed in conjunction with premaxillary osteotomy and guided tissue regeneration in children with bilateral clefts. This paper also looks at the outcomes of this surgery in a series of 15 consecutive patients. Methods: Secondary alveolar bone grafting (with a premaxillary osteotomy and guided tissue regeneration with a collagen membrane) is usually carried out in the mixed dentition stage. This retrospective study used patients’ medical records, radiographs, and clinical examination to assess the outcome of the surgery. Patients were followed up for an average of 3 years. Results: Bone grafting was successful in all cases. No premaxillae were lost and there was no long-term morbidity of the donor site. Radiographic assessment of the bone heights showed an average of 94% retention, 3 months postoperatively. Preliminary assessment of maxillary canine eruption is encouraging, with 79% being fully erupted in those patients who are at least 3 years post–bone grafting. Conclusion: Premaxillary osteotomy allows repositioning of the premaxilla to its optimal preplanned position and successful closure of all fistulae. We have found that use of a collagen membrane is a useful adjunct.
An Intersectional Analysis of Women’s Experiences of Smoking-Related Stigma

In this article, we explore how young women encounter and counter discourses of smoking-related stigma. Twenty-seven young Australian women, smokers and ex-smokers, took part in interviews. A sub-sample of 18 participants took photographs to document their smoking experience, and took part in a second interview. Data were analyzed through Foucauldian discourse analysis. Four discourses were identified: “smoking as stigmatized,” “the smoking double standard,” “smoking as lower class,” and “smokers as bad mothers. ” The women negotiated stigma in a variety of ways, shifting between agreeing, disagreeing, challenging, and displacing stigma onto “other” smokers. These experiences and negotiations of smoking-related stigma were shaped by intersecting identities, including gender, cultural background, social class, and mothering, which at times, compounded levels of stigmatization. It is concluded that tobacco control measures should consider the negative implications of smoking-related stigma, and the potential for women to experience compounding levels of stigma.