Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Striatal CREB Phosphorylation Following Cued/Response Learning in the Water Maze Differ in Two Inbred Strains of Mice

Much evidence shows that the hippocampus and striatum play roles as important neural substrates for spatial/place and cued/response learning, respectively. This experiment was conducted to investigate the engagement of the striatum in cued/response learning. The engagement of the striatum was assessed after either place or cue training by determining levels of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) in these two mouse strains. Results revealed that striatal CREB levels in both strains of mice were not significantly increased after cued/response learning comparing to place training mediated by the hippocampus. However, striatal pCREB of DBA/2 mice was significantly higher after cued/response training in comparison to place learning, while striatal pCREB levels on C57BL/6 mice did not differ in cued learning versus place learning. These findings indicate that striatal pCREB, specifically associated with cued/response learning, is closely tied to differences in cued/responses strategy preference between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF MIXED ELECTROOSMOTIC/PRESSURE DRIVEN MICROFLOWS

A spectral element algorithm is developed to analyze mixed electroosmotic/pressure driven flows in complex two-dimensional geometries. The new algorithm exhibits spectral accuracy in resolving thin electric double layers. Mixed electroosmotic/pressure driven flows are simulated in straight channels. Electrokinetic pumping and the means of producing large pressure gradients in microchannels are explored. Finally, electroosmotic flow in a T-junction geometry is analyzed under various external electric field strengths. Flowrate in the T-junction is shown to vary linearly with the electroosmotic body forces in the Stokes flow regime.
Evaluation of the Relationship between Sex, Polymorphisms in CYP2C8 and CYP2C9, and Pharmacokinetics of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers

Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are used to treat hypertension. Most ARBs are metabolized by CYP2C9. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible association between sex, polymorphisms in the CYP2C8 and CYP2C9 genes, and the pharmacokinetics of losartan, valsartan, candesartan, and telmisartan. The study population comprised 246 healthy volunteers from seven single-dose clinical trials: 64 from two candesartan studies, 43 from a telmisartan study, 36 from a losartan study, and 103 from three valsartan studies. DNA was extracted from blood samples and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the CYP2C8 (CYP2C8*2, CYP2C8*3, CYP2C8*4, CYP2C8*5) and CYP2C9 (CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3) genes were evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Sex only affected telmisartan pharmacokinetics, since women showed a higher telmisartan Cmax than men (590.5 ± 75.8 ng/ml versus 282.1 ± 30.8 ng/ml; P ≤ 0.01). CYP2C9 variants were associated only with losartan pharmacokinetics: the half-life of losartan was higher in CYP2C9*3 allele carriers (3.1 ± 0.4 hours) than in volunteers with the wild-type genotype (2.3 ± 0.1 hours) (P ≤ 0.05). CYP2C8 polymorphisms were associated only with valsartan pharmacokinetics, since *2 allele carriers showed faster clearance (1.07 ± 0.57 l/h·kg) than those with the wild-type genotype (0.48 ± 0.72 l/h·kg; P ≤ 0.01) and carriers of the *3 allele (0.35 ± 0.49 l/h·kg; P ≤ 0.001). These results suggest that genotypes for CYP2C9 and CYP2C8 are relevant to the pharmacokinetics of losartan and valsartan, respectively, but not the pharmacokinetics of candesartan or telmisartan.
Plasmid-mediated Tet M in Haemophilus ducreyi

A tetracycline-resistant Haemophilus ducreyi strain isolated in the United States was shown to carry a 34-megadalton plasmid which hybridized with the 1.8-kilobase KpnI-HindIII Tet M probe. The complete Tn916 transposon hybridized with five different bands from this plasmid, suggesting homology throughout the length of the transposon.
MicroRNA-146a and MicroRNA-146b Regulate Human Dendritic Cell Apoptosis and Cytokine Production by Targeting TRAF6 and IRAK1 Proteins*

Background: MicroRNA (miR)-146a and miR-146b (miR-146a/b) expression is induced upon human monocyte differentiation into dendritic cells (DCs). Results: miR-146a/b negatively regulates DC apoptosis and cytokine production. Conclusion: The miR-146a/b-TRAF6/IRAK1-NF-κB axis is responsible for DC apoptosis. Significance: Our data reveal a novel negative feedback regulation in DCs and may have implications in the pathogenesis and treatment of autoimmune diseases. We have previously reported 27 differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) during human monocyte differentiation into immature dendritic cells (imDCs) and mature DCs (mDCs). However, their roles in DC differentiation and function remain largely elusive. Here, we report that microRNA (miR)-146a and miR-146b modulate DC apoptosis and cytokine production. Expression of miR-146a and miR-146b was significantly increased upon monocyte differentiation into imDCs and mDCs. Silencing of miR-146a and/or miR-146b in imDCs and mDCs significantly prevented DC apoptosis, whereas overexpressing miR-146a and/or miR-146b increased DC apoptosis. miR-146a and miR-146b expression in imDCs and mDCs was inversely correlated with TRAF6 and IRAK1 expression. Furthermore, siRNA silencing of TRAF6 and/or IRAK1 in imDCs and mDCs enhanced DC apoptosis. By contrast, lentivirus overexpression of TRAF6 and/or IRAK1 promoted DC survival. Moreover, silencing of miR-146a and miR-146b expression had little effect on DC maturation but enhanced IL-12p70, IL-6, and TNF-α production as well as IFN-γ production by IL-12p70-mediated activation of natural killer cells, whereas miR-146a and miR-146b overexpression in mDCs reduced cytokine production. Silencing of miR-146a and miR-146b in DCs also down-regulated NF-κB inhibitor IκBα and increased Bcl-2 expression. Our results identify a new negative feedback mechanism involving the miR-146a/b-TRAF6/IRAK1-NF-κB axis in promoting DC apoptosis.
Concurrent and prospective effects of psychopathic traits on affective and cognitive empathy in a community sample of late adolescents.

BACKGROUND A deficit in affective rather than cognitive empathy is thought to be central to psychopathic traits. However, empirical evidence for empathy deficits in adolescents with psychopathic traits is limited. We investigated the concurrent and prospective effects of psychopathic traits on affective and cognitive trait empathy in late adolescence. METHODS A community sample of 107 males and 126 females who were approximately 16-year olds at Time 1 participated in four annual waves. Sex-specific classes of adolescents' psychopathic traits were created using Latent Class Analyses. Subsequently, we investigated class differences in level and development of empathy. RESULTS For both sexes, Latent Class Analyses produced two classes: one class with low and one with moderate levels of psychopathic traits. Consistent with our hypothesis, for both sexes, adolescents with moderate levels of psychopathic traits reported lower mean levels of affective empathy than adolescents with low levels of psychopathic traits. In addition, female adolescents with moderate psychopathic traits reported lower mean levels of cognitive empathy. Male adolescents showed a trend in this direction. No differences between classes were found in development of empathy, which increased over years. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to show that male and female adolescents with higher levels of psychopathic traits have lower levels of affective empathy not only concurrently but also prospectively over a 3-year period. Females additionally showed a similar pattern on cognitive empathy. In this community sample, developmental results suggest that adolescents with higher levels of psychopathic traits have relative rather than absolute empathy deficits.
Enhanced Variational Image Dehazing

Images obtained under adverse weather conditions, such as haze or fog, typically exhibit low contrast and faded colors, which may severely limit the visibility within the scene. Unveiling the image structure under the haze layer and recovering vivid colors out of a single image remains a challenging task, since the degradation is depth-dependent and conventional methods are unable to overcome this problem. In this work, we extend a well-known perception-inspired variational framework for single image dehazing. Two main improvements are proposed. First, we replace the value used by the framework for the gray-world hypothesis by an estimation of the mean of the clean image. Second, we add a set of new terms to the energy functional for maximizing the interchannel contrast. Experimental results show that the proposed enhanced variational image dehazing (EVID) method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods both qualitatively and quantitatively. In particular, when the illuminant is uneven, our EVID method .
On the correlation between globalization and vulnerability in times of economic crisis - a statistical analysis for Europe

In this paper, we test the hypothesis that more globalized countries in Europe are equally vulnerable to the current crisis as less globalized European countries. To determine the level of globalization, we use the Maastricht Globalization Index (MGI). We measure the severity of the economic crisis with five key economic indicators. The results seem to suggest that the rising level of globalization increases vulnerability to economic crises on the one hand, while, on the other, higher levels of globalization increase the opportunities to deal with a crisis.
Is bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy accurate in estimating changes in fat-free mass in judo athletes?

Abstract Bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS) provides an affordable and practical assessment of fat-free mass (FFM). However, little information is available on the assessment of changes in fat-free mass in top-level athletes using BIS. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy of BIS in tracking changes in fat-free mass of elite male judo athletes from a period of weight stability to just before competition, using the four-compartment model (4C model) as reference method. In total, 27 elite male judo athletes (age 22.2 ± 2.8 years) were evaluated. Measures of body volume assessed by air displacement plethysmography, bone mineral content by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and total-body water assessed with deuterium dilution were used in a 4C model. Fat-free mass was also assessed by BIS (FFMBIS). Changes in FFMBIS were not significantly different from measured by the reference method (P = 0.000). Furthermore, the r 2 was 0.62 and the standard error of the estimate was 1.03 kg. The limits of agreement ranged from −3.36 to 2.59 kg with no bias observed. These findings demonstrate the viability of BIS as a valid tool for tracking fat-free mass in elite male judo athletes. However, based on the wide limits of agreement observed, BIS is less valid at an individual level for tracking fat-free mass in these athletes.
Retrospective evaluation of isotope images of the brain in 852 patients.

The value of brain scanning in the evaluation of intracranial disorders has been well established (12–15). Introduction of the scintillation camera further enhanced the diagnostic value of isotope imaging of the brain. Addition of technetium99m in the pertechnetate form to the armamentarium of radioisotopes available for brain studies allowed the use of a larger dose of isotopes with a markedly lowered patient dose and resulted in brain images of finer detail and, consequently, more accurate diagnoses. Materials and Methods Between March 1965 and March 1966 isotope-imaging of the brain was carried out in a total of 942 patients. Ninety of these patients, referred from outside hospitals, were lost to follow-up and were therefore eliminated from the study, leaving a total of 852 patients included. All were followed for a minimum of one year after the brain examination, and many have been followed for as long as two years. Technetium 99m was the radioisotope employed in the great majority of the patients, bu.
Growth Restriction on an rpoC Mutant Is Suppressed by Alleles of the Rz 1 Homolog lysC

Waksman Institute and Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, State University of New Jersey, Rutgers, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720; and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2128
Improved quasi-orthogonal codes

Orthogonal codes are a class of space-time block codes that achieve full diversity, though at a loss of code rate. Such codes have simple single-symbol decoders. The code rate can be made higher by constructing quasi-orthogonal codes, which trade a small loss of performance for full rate coding. Typically, quasi-orthogonal codes perform the best when joint maximum likelihood (ML) decoding is used within subsets of the space-time codewords that are mutually orthogonal. We show that for a particular class of quasi-orthogonal codes, the interference which the subset of the symbols to be jointly decoded sees from other symbols is such that the signal to interference ratio remains constant for all channel realizations. Using the same constellation for all symbols in the subset reduces the minimum distance for such codes and results in a loss of performance. As a remedy to this problem, we introduce a rotation-based method that aims at maximizing the minimum distance in the space-time constellation. Numerical simulations show that significant improvements to previously reported results without rotation can be attained.
CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE OF THE PRESENTERS IN TAKE ME OUT INDONESIA

Abstract : In the past few years, game shows such as Take Me Out Indonesia were quite popular in Indonesian television. These game shows were quite interesting to study because they were not only involving many participants, but also requiring the settings in which politeness and implicature needed to be used to keep the communication flows smoothly. This paper is a pragmatic study that aims at investigating conversational implicature that the presenters of Take Me Out Indonesia operate within their utterances along with the possible implications that lie behind the implicature [AJ1] . The episode XXII of the show was chosen purposively as the sample. Qualitative method was employed in processing the transcription of the 204 recorded implicature data. The intended features were identified, classified, calculated and then separately analyzed based on conversational implicature theory proposed by Grice (1975). The result shows that the presenters tended to use generalized conversational implicature (59, 8%) rather than the particularized (40,2%). Based on the functions, inferences or motive it contains, generalized conversational implicature can be classified into ten categories implying: (1) the presence of the opposition, (2) the invalidity of the expressions or events at the time of speaking, (3) “not all”, (4) events that have not yet occured, (5) the actual position, (6) persons or things having similararity, (7) “not completely”, (8) further actions, (9) the others of the similar kind, and (10) the opposite of the real situations. The needed inferences fall into two classifications: (1) the show’s settings inferences and (2) general knowledge inferences. Based on the objectives, particularized implicatures are used to ensure: (1) the effectiveness of a polite criticism, (2) maximum efficiency of communication, (3) minimum degree of an imperative’s imposition, and (4) alleviation of other’s self offensiveness. This study concludes that various types of implicature were used in informal game show conversation to make interaction flows smoothly. Key words : conversational implicature, maxims, inference, meanings, game show s.
Does Information Technology Investment Influence a Firm's Market Value? A Case of Non-Publicly Traded Healthcare Firms

Managers make informed information technology investment decisions when they are able to quantify how IT contributes to firm performance. While financial accounting measures inform IT's influence on retrospective firm performance, senior managers expect evidence of how IT influences prospective measures such as the firm's market value. We examine the efficacy of IT's influence on firm value combined with measures of financial performance for non-publicly traded (NPT) hospitals that lack conventional market-based measures. We gathered actual sale transactions for NPT hospitals in the United States to derive the q ratio, a measure of market value. Our findings indicate that the influence of IT investment on the firm is more pronounced and statistically significant on firm value than exclusively on the accounting performance measures. Specifically, we find that the impact of IT investment is not significant on return on assets (ROA) and operating income for the same set of hospitals. This research note contributes to research and practice by demonstrating that the overall impact of IT is better understood when accounting measures are complemented with the firm's market value. Such market valuation is also critical in merger and acquisition decisions, an activity that is likely to accelerate in the healthcare industry. Our findings provide hospitals, as well as other NPT firms, with insights into the impact of IT investment and a pragmatic approach to demonstrating IT's contribution to firm value.
Barriers to utilisation of eye care services in Kibera slums of Nairobi.

OBJECTIVES To identify the main barriers to utilisation of eye care services among the slum population of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya. DESIGN Community based survey. SETTING Kibera slums, Nairobi City, Kenya. SUBJECTS Randomly selected 1,438 Kibera slum dwellers aged over two years. RESULTS Majority of subjects (83.3%) do not utilise the nearby well-established eye clinics. Twenty one percent of those with poor vision do not seek treatment at all. The main barriers to seeking eye care services were lack of money, ignorance and the problem not causing much discomfort to warrant medical attention. There was significant, association between the level of education and health seeking behaviour (P = 0.008). CONCLUSION Majority of Kibera slum dwellers have no access to eye care. RECOMMENDATION There is need to establish a comprehensive primary eye care project to provide low cost but quality services affordable to Kibera slum dwellers.
Point‐of‐Care Ultrasound in General Surgery Residency Training: A Proposal for Milestones in Graduate Medical Education Ultrasound

The use of point‐of‐care ultrasound (US) in the clinical setting has undergone massive growth, although its incorporation into training and practice is variable. Surgeons are interested in using point‐of‐care US and can incorporate it effectively into clinical practice. However, the current state of point‐of‐care US training in general surgery is inadequate. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education introduced the Milestones Project to evaluate resident and fellow performance. Emergency medicine is the only specialty with a point‐of‐care US milestone. We have successfully implemented a US training program into our general surgery residency curriculum and now propose milestones in point‐of‐care US for all general surgery residents.
The Effects of Association-Based Organizational Formats in Taking Vocabulary Notebooks

For language learners, owning abundant and diverse vocabulary is essential for communicative competence, however, its acquisition is a tedious process and confronts them with insurmountable difficulties. Recording words in a vocabulary notebook has been regarded as a plausible but critical method for learners. Keeping vocabulary notebooks is viewed as an effective strategy to take control of, organize and manage individual vocabulary learning. While this strategy is beneficial for learning vocabulary, most researchers and teachers have demonstrated that learners need more guidance in the proper use of vocabulary notebooks. For example, students simply tend to write vocabulary word by word because they commonly view words as individual units. In order to resolve the issue, in this study, an association-based strategy has been introduced to assist learners in compiling vocabulary notebooks. This deep processing strategy was found more effective in regard to vocabulary retention than rote repetition strategies. To assess the strategy, an experiment was conducted to investigate the potential benefits and pitfalls in the act of learning vocabulary. This experiment mainly examined the effect of the association-based note-taking method. The experimental results show that the association-based method could increase the vocabulary retention.
Gabapentin versus nortriptyline in post-herpetic neuralgia patients: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial--the GONIP Trial.

BACKGROUND Gabapentin and nortriptyline have not been compared in a randomized trial in post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The present study was, therefore, undertaken to determine their comparative efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial of 9 weeks duration. Adult PHN patients with history of > 8 weeks of PHN pain after healing of rash, a pain intensity of at least 40 mm on a 100 mm visual analog scale at screening and at randomization, and average pain score of at least 4 on the Likert scale during the baseline week were included in the study. Gabapentin and nortriptyline were given in incremental doses at 2-weekly intervals till a maximum tolerated dose was obtained. The primary efficacy parameter was change in pain score (11-point Likert scale) from baseline to the end of the study period. RESULTS 70 patients were available for intention-to-treat analysis. The average pain scores on the Likert scale were significantly reduced at the end of study in both the treatment groups with 47.6% and 42.8% reduction in pain scores in nortriptyline and gabapentin groups, respectively. Patients showed significant improvement in sleep scores in both the treatment groups nortriptyline (46.0%) and gabapentin (52.0%). The VAS and the SF-MPQ scores for pain were significantly reduced in both the groups. Gabapentin was, however, better tolerated as compared to nortriptyline. CONCLUSION Gabapentin was shown to be equally efficacious but was better tolerated compared to nortriptyline and can be considered a suitable alternative for the treatment of PHN.
A Computational Analysis of Gene Location and Gene Dynamics

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the first eukaryotic organism to be fully sequenced. The complete genome made it possible for detailed analysis of gene functionality. To deal with the large amount of data that became available, computers were introduced in biology research. The new field was named bioinformatics and is now one of the fastest growing areas in genomics. New studies have focused on protein networks to describe intracellular processes. Another way of discovering functionally related genes is to analyze gene expressions. Investigating dependencies across different types of data sets could lead to great knowledge in the field. This thesis is a computational analysis of gene location of co-expressed genes from four selected data sets of protein interactions. Previous studies indicate local grouping of genes with correlated expression along the chromosomes. My results show no genome-wide correlation of co-expressed genes and no specific location of those co-expressed genes inside the protein networks.