Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Frequency of Eimeriidae Species in the Domestic Geese in Kars Province of Turkey

Summary. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of coccidia species in the domestic geese (Anser anser domesticus) in Kars province, Turkey. The study involved 400 randomly selected geese of different age and localities. The faecal samples were collected between May and October, 2001 from the cloaca of individual animals. The samples were examined by using saturated salty water flotation technique. OPG (oocysts per gram of faeces) counts in faecal samples containing oocysts were calculated by modified McMaster technique. The sporulation of coccidia oocysts was done in potassium dichromate solution at 27 o C. Coccidian oocysts were detected in 80.8% of the samples and seven different species of Eimeriidae were identified. The species identified in this study were Tyzzeria parvula (81.7%), Eimeria anseris (11.2%), E. fulva (16.7%), E. hermani (13.3%), E. nocens (2.8%), E. stigmosa (31.6%), and E. truncata (37.8%). The OPG counts in infected geese ranged from 100 to 144 000. The rate of mixed infections was 64.4% and that of pure infection was 35.6%. The rate of mixed infections caused by two different coccidia species was 43%. During this study, necropsies were performed on 32 goslings that died of clinical diarrhea. Endogenous developing forms (meronts, gamonts) of coccidia species were seen in the intestine of 21 (65.6%) geese. Of these, 5 (5/21) had characteristic lesions of intestinal coccidiosis. Examination of kidneys revealed endogenous developing forms of E. truncata in the tubulus of 4 goslings (4/21).
Functional neuroanatomy of speech processing within the temporal cortex

The phonemic structure of the maternal language determines the way of perceiving speech signals. A typical example is that native Japanese listeners map two English phonemes, /r/ and /l/, onto the same /R/. This perceptual assimilation of speech sounds has been associated with the left and/or right posterior perisylvian region, but the precise functional anatomy is unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a repetition priming paradigm, we identified three subregions in the left temporal cortex: an anterior division sensitive to language-specific phonological knowledge, and a midlateral and a posterior division related to other vocal stimuli features. Dynamic causal modeling supports the scheme by which the anterior pathway processes perceptual assimilation; the posterior pathway processes lexico-semantic information.
High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in patients with manifest Huntington disease

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are common in older institutionalized people and known to be associated with muscle weakness, impaired balance and increased fall risk. Falls and balance problems are common in people with Huntington disease (HD). Despite this, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with manifest HD has never been investigated. Serum 25(OH)D levels were measured in routinely drawn blood samples from 28 Dutch institutionalized patients with manifest Huntington disease. Mean serum 25(OH)D level was 33 nmol/l (SD 15). Twenty-five subjects (89%) were vitamin D deficient or insufficient (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L). A positive association was found between serum 25(OH)D levels and Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) scores (p = 0.023).
FDOPA-(18F): a PET radiopharmaceutical recently registered for diagnostic use in countries of the European Union

Positron emission tomography (PET) and its recent update PET/CT are very effective diagnostic tools for non-invasive imaging of metabolic or functional disorders in target tissues. The clinical usefulness of fluorodeoxyglucose-(18F) (FDG) has been now widely accepted. Recently, the clinical usefulness of fluoroDOPA-(18F) or FDOPA, an aminoacid labelled with the same positron emitter fluorine-18, has been evaluated and recognised in France and subsequently in several EU countries. FDOPA is diagnostic PET agent, which has been used for decades in imaging the loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease, and more recently to detect, stage and restage neuroendocrine tumours and to search for recurrence of viable glioma tissue. The present article summarises the body of evidence that led the French Medicines Agency (AFSSAPS) to grant a marketing authorisation to IASOdopa, a commercial preparation of FDOPA. Brief case reports and figures illustrate the diagnostic performance of FDOPA PET or PET/CT in the different settings that are currently approved in oncology.
Ito‐cell gene expression and collagen regulation

Ito cells are perisinusoidal cells thought to be a major source of collagen in normal and fibrotic livers. These cells appear to have features similar to several cell types but when cultured assume a fibroblast‐like morphology. In this study we evaluated the phenotype of both freshly isolated and cultured Ito cells by examining their gene expression. To better define the modulators of Ito‐cell collagen synthesis, we also examined the effect of transforming growth factor‐β1, tumor necrosis factor‐α and dexamethasone on collagen synthesis by these cells. Northern hybridization analysis revealed that cultured Ito cells expressed different types of procollagen mRNAs than did freshly isolated cells. Cultured cells contained large amounts of type I procollagen mRNA and lesser amounts of types III and IV, whereas freshly isolated cells contained more type IV procollagen mRNA than types I and III. Treatment of cultured cells with either transforming growth factor‐β1 or tumor necrosis factor‐α resulted in a greater than threefold increase in total collagen content, and the effects of these cytokines on Ito‐cell collagen synthesis involved different levels of gene regulation. Transforming growth factor‐β1‐treated cells had an approximately threefold increase in their type I procollagen mRNA levels, whereas no increase in this mRNA level was found in tumor necrosis factor‐α‐treated cells. Transforming growth factor‐β1 treatment induced a twofold increase in transforming growth factor‐β1 mRNA content in cultured cells. In contrast to transforming growth factor‐β1, dexamethasone inhibited type I procollagen and transforming growth factor‐β1 mRNA content by at least twofold in cultured cells. These results suggest that cultured Ito cells alter their collagen gene expression such that they become phenotypically more fibroblast‐like. Furthermore, transforming growth factor‐β1's induction of its own mRNA in Ito cells suggests that these cells are capable of amplifying their collagen synthesis. Finally, the inhibition of transforming growth factor‐β1 and procollagen type I gene expression by dexamethasone suggests another way steroids may be beneficial in the treatment of certain forms of chronic liver disease.
Comparisons of Self-reported Glaucoma Medication Adherence With a New Wireless Device: A Pilot Study

Purpose: To compare use of topical medications between a wireless monitoring device and validated self-reported measures of glaucoma medication adherence. Patients and Methods: This study involved adults from a group ophthalmology practice diagnosed with and being medicinally treated for glaucoma who were not scheduled for a surgery during the study period. Subjects were required to use a new wireless device to dispense their glaucoma medication for 2 months, and were surveyed at baseline and immediately following the study to assess mobile phone use, glaucoma-related self-efficacy, and medication adherence. Results: Complete data (survey and accurate device recordings) were available for 23 subjects at both baseline and endpoint. Median adherence, as measured by the device, was 82% and dropped slightly between 30-day periods, from 83% to 77%. Similarly, the percent adherent (dosing at least 75% of the time) dropped significantly between months according to both the device (78.3% and 52.2%) and a self-reported measure (63% and 56%). Kappa statistics indicated low agreement between the device and self-report when classifying adherent status. A majority of subjects interviewed found the device easy to use, indicated that it did not interfere with medication-taking or normal activities, and were not bothered by their physician knowing when medication was dispensed. Conclusion: In this pilot, nearly all Kali Drop devices performed as expected, providing real-time data on medication use over a 60-day period. Data suggested that self-reported and electronic estimates of glaucoma medication use differ, but additional testing of this new device is needed to corroborate the data observed.
Serum 5'nucleotidase activity in rats: a method for automated analysis and criteria for interpretation.

A manual kit for determining serum 5'nucleotidase (5'NT, EC 3.1.3.5) activity was adapted for use with rat samples on a large discrete clinical chemistry analyzer. The precision of the method was good (within-run C.V. = 2.14%; between-run C.V. = 5.5%). A comparison of the new automated method with a manual and semi-automated method gave regression statistics of y = 1.18X -3.66 (Sy. x = 4.54), and y = 0.733X + 1.97 (Sy. x = 1.69), respectively. Temperature conversion factors provided by the kit manufacturer for human samples were determined to be inaccurate for converting results from rat samples. Analysis of components contributing to normal variation in rat serum 5'NT activity showed age and sex to be major factors. Increased serum 5'NT activity was observed in female rats when compared to male rats beginning at about 5 to 6 weeks of age. An analysis of variance of serum 5'NT, alkaline phosphatase, and GGT activities observed over a 9-week period in normal rats suggests several advantages for 5'NT as a predictor of biliary lesions in rats.
Arthroscopic Repair for Traumatic Posterior Shoulder Instability *

Background: The role of arthroscopic repair in the treatment of posterior shoulder instability remains poorly defined. Purpose: To evaluate the results of arthroscopic repair of posterior Bankart lesions. Study Design: Retrospective review. Methods: Records were reviewed of 27 shoulders (26 patients). All of the patients were male with a mean age of 28.7 years; in all cases symptoms were preceded by a traumatic event. Fourteen of the patients had 2+ to 3+ posterior translation noted under preoperative anesthesia. The posterior capsulolabral complex was found to be detached from the glenoid rim in all cases; bioabsorbable tack fixation was used for repair. Results: At a mean follow-up of 5.1 years, no patients demonstrated a range of motion deficit. Muscle weakness (grade 4/5) in external rotation was noted in two patients (8%). There was no instability greater than 1+ in the anterior, posterior, or inferior directions. The mean L'Insalata shoulder score was 90.0 ± 13.9. The mean SF-36 physical and mental component scores were 50.4 ± 7 and 53.9 ± 9, respectively. Symptoms of pain and instability were eliminated in 24 patients (92%). Two patients (8%) required additional surgery after arthroscopic repair of the posterior Bankart lesion. Radiographs demonstrated that there had been no progressive glenohumeral joint degeneration. Conclusions: Arthroscopic repair of the posterior capsulolabral complex is an effective means of eliminating symptoms of pain and instability associated with posterior Bankart lesions of traumatic origin.
A Critical Role for the Wnt Effector Tcf4 in Adult Intestinal Homeostatic Self-Renewal

ABSTRACT Throughout life, intestinal Lgr5+ stem cells give rise to proliferating transient amplifying cells in crypts, which subsequently differentiate into one of the five main cell types and migrate along the crypt-villus axis. These dynamic processes are coordinated by a relatively small number of evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways, which includes the Wnt signaling pathway. The DNA-binding proteins of the T-cell factor family, Tcf1/Tcf7, Lef, Tcf3/Tcf7l1, and Tcf4/Tcf7l2, constitute the downstream effectors of the Wnt signaling pathway. While Tcf4 is the major member active during embryogenesis, the role of these Wnt effectors in the homeostasis of the adult mouse intestinal epithelium is unresolved. Using Tcf1−/−, Tcf3flox, and novel Tcf4flox mice, we demonstrate an essential role for Tcf4 during homeostasis of the adult mouse intestine.
Reliability and validity of disability questions for US Census 2000.

OBJECTIVES We investigated the validity and proxy reliability of 7 new disability questions from the 2000 US census ("Census 2000"). METHODS A total of 131 people with disabilities and their proxies from St Louis, Mo, and Massachusetts were interviewed, and responses were compared for concordance. Responses also were compared with responses to questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) instrument. RESULTS Overall, proxies reported more impairment than did people with disabilities, and agreement was low (kappa = 0.24-0.55). Concordance was moderate between the census questions and their BRFSS and ADL counterparts. CONCLUSIONS The Census 2000 questions may not provide an accurate profile of disability in America.
Acylation-stimulating protein is a surrogate biomarker for acute myocardial infarction: Role of statins

Background: Acylation-stimulating protein (ASP) is an adipokine synthesized within adipocytes environment due to adipocyte differentiation. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess changes in ASP levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and to correlate these variations with disease variables. Subjects and Methods: A total number of 111 patients previously and currently treated with rosuvastatin or atorvastatin presented with acute MI in a Coronary Care Unit, were divided into three groups, Group A: Thirty-nine patients treated with atorvastatin, Group B: Thirty patients treated with rosuvastatin, compared to 42 patients presented with MI not previously treated with statins were enrolled in this study. ASP and troponin-I levels and lipid profile were estimated in each group. Results: The effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin compared to nonstatins-treated group on the anthropometric and biochemical variables in patients with acute MI showed significant difference in all biochemical and anthropometric parameters P< 0.05. Serum ASP (nmol/l) levels were higher in control patients 57.25 ± 9.15 compared to atorvastatin-treated patients 48.43 ± 7.42 and rosuvastatin-treated patients 49.33 ± 6.52 P= 0.0124. Conclusion: ASP levels are elevated in patients with acute MI and regarded as surrogate biomarker for acute MI also; therapy with statins leads to significant reduction in ASP levels compared to nonstatins-treated patients that presented with acute MI.
Benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal: a review of the syndrome and its clinical management

The treatment of anxiety has evolved through various phases. Currently, there is a growing recognition that anxiety disorders are frequently chronic and/or recurrent. There is also less optimism than a decade ago that benzodiazepines will be replaced by alternative agents that are not active at the benzodiazepine receptor. Consequently. the understanding and management of benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal continue to be of some clinical importance. This article briefly reviews the withdrawal syndrome and the pharmacological and patient variables that contribute to it. It then summarizes the various approaches to managing benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal.
Cognitive object recognition based on dynamic field theory

Our brains excel at parsing the vast amount of visual information that enters through our eyes. Replicating this level of skill in artificial vision systems has proven difficult. To date, the most successful approaches mimic the fast, feedforward categorization capabilities of our visual system, but its other important abilities, for example, quickly learning to recognize new objects in previously unseen orientations have not yet been modeled as successfully. In part, this is due to a gap in our understanding of the functional architecture of the visual system. One model that aims to reduce this gap uses localized feature histograms to quickly learn to recognize objects while concurrently estimating their pose. The system is capable of recognizing objects in new poses based on just a small number of training views using principles of dynamic field theory, a mathematical framework for modeling cognitive processes. I extend this object recognition model by the capacity to sequentially attend and recognize items in a scene, and the capacity to form working memory for the results of these recognitions. This extension is based on integrating the object recognition system with a model for scene representation also based on dynamic field theory. As part of this integration, I enable the object recognition system to recognize multiple objects in succession based only on principles of neural dynamics. The result is a large dynamical system that autonomously recognizes objects in a scene, fully implemented within the framework of dynamic field theory. I assess this system on a new database that contains multiple objects, on which the system achieves acceptable performance. I present a second extension of the object recognition system, which enables an object representation that preserves the spatial arrangement of feature values better than the previously used localized histograms. Using this new representation further grounds the object recognition system in neural principles. It also allows the system to estimate scale and the full range of object orientations. In addition, it uncovers some limitations of the pose estimation and recognition process, which I address by introducing a modified dynamics for representing the recognition result. I demonstrate the performance of the system, showing that recognition rates improve with the new representation at comparable sampling rates. I also compare the system’s performance to behavioral data on human object recognition and find that this view-based object recognition system exhibits pose-invariant performance, which contrasts with opinions in the literature that interpret evidence of pose-invariant performance as a sign that object descriptions in the brain are not view-based.
The role of motorcycle taxi drivers in the pre-hospital care of road traffic injury victims in rural Dominican Republic

This study explored the role of motorcycle taxi drivers in the pre-hospital care of road traffic injury victims in the province of Monte Plata, Dominican Republic. A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 58 motorcycle taxi drivers working at six different highway taxi posts. The majority of drivers surveyed (67.2%) indicated witnessing a motor vehicle crash. The most common type of help drivers reported providing was transportation of crash victims (41%). Only 15.8% of drivers had ever attended a first-aid course but 84.5% expressed interest in attending a course if given the opportunity.
What Influences Young Adults ’ Decision to Adopt New Technology ?

The purpose of this study was to discover who and/or what influenced young people, specifically when selecting a mobile phone. Studies by Paul Lazarsfeld, Everett Rodgers, Joel Best, and Peter Zollo were examined to gain a deep understanding of the behavior of influencers and other consumer groups. A survey was conducted to gather quantitative data about respondents’ behaviors and what influenced them when they made purchasing decisions of mobile phone and other technology. The bulk of young adults identified themselves as members of the majority adopter category (54.2%). The influencers’ category was the second largest group with 26.0% of respondents classifying themselves as such by telling that others respected their opinion and they were the least traditional. The innovators, those who identified themselves as venturesome, rebellious and the least traditional, consisted of 12.5% of the respondents. Laggards, traditionalists suspicious of change, made up the smallest portion (7.3%) of all respondents. When young people looked to purchase a new mobile phone, they were influenced mostly by friends, followed by family, salespeople and others. In terms of non-human information channels, they were most influenced by advertising, followed by technology blogs and traditional media.
CBP‐Dependent memory consolidation in the prefrontal cortex supports object‐location learning

Recognition of an object's location in space is supported by hippocampus‐dependent recollection. Converging evidence strongly suggests that the interplay between the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is critical for spatial memory. Lesion, pharmacological, and genetic studies have been successful in dissecting the role of plasticity in the hippocampal circuit in a variety of neural processes relevant to spatial memory, including memory for the location of objects. However, prefrontal mechanisms underlying spatial memory are less well understood. Here, we show that an acute hypofunction of the cyclic‐AMP regulatory element binding protein (CREB) Binding Protein (CBP) histone acetyltransferase (HAT) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) results in delay‐dependent disruption of object‐location memory. These data suggest that mechanisms involving CBP HAT‐mediated lysine acetylation of nuclear proteins support selectively long‐term encoding in the mPFC circuits. Evidence from the object‐location task suggests that long‐term memory encoding within the mPFC complements hippocampus‐dependent spatial memory mechanisms and may be critical for broader network integration of information necessary for an assessment of subtle spatial differences to guide appropriate behavioral response during retrieval of spatial memories. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Risk of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax According to Chest Configuration

Abstract Background We compared the chest configurations of patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) and age-sex-matched controls to determine the presence of chest wall deformities in patients with PSP. Methods We retrospectively enrolled 166 male patients with PSP (age, 18–19 years) and 85 age-sex-matched controls without PSP, who simultaneously underwent chest computed tomography (CT) and radiography at one of two institutes. After correcting for height, the following thoracic parameters were comparatively evaluated between the two groups: maximal internal transverse (T) and anteroposterior (W) diameters of the chest, maximal internal lung height (H), Haller index (T/W), and T/Height, T/H, W/Height, W/H, and H/Height ratios. Results Patients were taller than the control subjects (176.5 cm ± 5.9 cm versus 174.4 cm ± 5.6 cm; p = 0.007). After controlling for height, the patient group exhibited lower T and W and greater H and Haller index values than the control group (T: 95% confidence interval [CI], 24.8–25.2 cm versus 25.9–26.5; W: 95% CI, 8.9–9.2 cm versus 10.1–10.6 cm; H: 95% CI, 25.2–25.9 cm versus 23.4–24.4 cm; and Haller index, 95% CI, 2.7–2.9 versus 2.4–2.6; all, p < 0.001). The patient group also exhibited lower T/Height, T/H, W/Height, and W/H ratios and greater H/Height ratio than the control group. Conclusions Patients with PSP have an anteroposteriorly flatter, laterally narrower, and craniocaudally taller thorax than subjects without PSP, suggesting that chest configuration is associated with the development of pneumothorax.