Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fragile X mental retardation protein in plasticity and disease

Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of mental retardation known to be inherited. The syndrome results from the suppressed expression of a single protein, the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Understanding the function and regulation of FMRP can, therefore, offer insights into both the pathophysiology of fragile X syndrome and the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. We provide an overview of current concepts of how FMRP functions in the nervous system, with special emphasis on recent evidence that FMRP has a role in metabotropic glutamate receptor‐activated protein translation and synaptic plasticity. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral contraceptives and thrombosis, From risk estimates to health impact

OBJECTIVE The scientific debate on oral contraceptives (OCs) and thrombotic diseases continues unabated. The aim of this survey was to evaluate available scientific data on OCs and thrombotic diseases and to make tentative prescription recommendations of OCs to women with and without various thrombotic risk factors. CONSENSUS In women 15-29 years old, venous thromboembolism is about twice as common as arterial complications. In women between 30 and 44 years, the number of arterial complications exceeds venous diseases by about 50%. The mortality from arterial diseases is 3.5 times higher than the number of deaths from venous diseases in women below 30 years, and 8.5 times higher in women 30-44 years old. A significant disability is more frequent in women suffering and surviving an arterial complication than in women with venous thromboembolism. Although many important scientific issues still have to be addressed, the available scientific data suggests a differential influence of OCs with second and third generation progestagens on the risk of venous and arterial diseases. OCs with second generation progestagens seem to confer a smaller increase in the risk of venous diseases and a higher increase in risk of arterial complications, compared with OCs containing third generation progestagens. The possible difference on the venous side seems to be smaller than primarily anticipated. RESULTS Young women without any known risk factor for thrombotic diseases may use any low-dose OC. If OCs are prescribed to women with known risk factors for arterial thrombotic disease; e.g. smoking, diabetes, controlled hypertension, migraine without aura, family disposition of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or thrombotic stroke, a low-dose pill with a third generation progestagen may have an advantage. If OCs are considered for women with risk factors for venous disease such as severe obesity, varicose veins, family history of VTE or with factor V Leiden mutation, a low-dose combined pill with a second generation progestagen may be preferable. In women above 30 years, OCs with third generation progestagens generally seem to confer less overall thrombotic morbidity, mortality and disability than OCs with second generation progestagens. These women should reconsider, however, the indication of combined OCs in the presence of significant risk factors of thrombotic diseases.
Muscular and neuromuscular control following soccer‐specific exercise in male youth: Changes in injury risk mechanisms

Poor neuromuscular control has been proposed as a risk factor for non‐contact injuries, thus this study aimed to explore the effects of soccer‐specific fatigue on leg muscle activation, reactive strength, leg stiffness, and functional hamstring/quadriceps ratio (H/QFUNC) in elite male youth soccer players. Outcome measures were determined in 18 youth players (age 14.4 ± 0.5 years; stature 169.4 ± 9.9 cm; mass 59.3 ± 8.9 kg; maturity offset 0.86 ± 0.88 years) pre and post simulated soccer match play (SAFT90). There was no fatigue‐related change in the H/QFUNC; however, reactive strength and leg stiffness were both compromised (P < 0.001) after soccer‐specific fatigue. Muscle activation was also locally compromised (P < 0.001) in the medial hamstring and quadriceps but not in the lateral muscles. Where statistically significant changes were observed, the effect sizes ranged from small to large (0.33–0.97). Compromised stiffness when fatigue is present suggests an increased yielding action, greater ground contact times, greater center of mass displacement, and less efficient movement when the limb comes into contact with the ground. This combined with a reduction in medial quadriceps muscle activation may reflect poor kinetic chain control at the hip and an increase in knee injury risk.
Leveraging Big Data and Electronic Health Records to Enhance Novel Approaches to Acute Kidney Injury Research and Care

While acute kidney injury (AKI) has been poorly defined historically, a decade of effort has culminated in a standardized, consensus definition. In parallel, electronic health records (EHRs) have been adopted with greater regularity, clinical informatics approaches have been refined, and the field of EHR-enabled care improvement and research has burgeoned. Although both fields have matured in isolation, uniting the 2 has the capacity to redefine AKI-related care and research. This article describes how the application of a consistent AKI definition to the EHR dataset can accurately and rapidly diagnose and identify AKI events. Furthermore, this electronic, automated diagnostic strategy creates the opportunity to develop predictive approaches, optimize AKI alerts, and trace AKI events across institutions, care platforms, and administrative datasets.
The origins of ‘5-HT and mechanisms of defence’ by Deakin and Graeff: A personal perspective

In this brief reflection I outline how Fred Graeff and I came to integrate our ideas and findings concerning the behavioural functions of serotonin (5-HT) over 20 years ago in ‘5-HT and mechanisms of defence’, reproduced in this volume (pp. 000-000). The principal insight was that different 5-HT pathways mediate distinct adaptive responses to aversive events of different types. It emerged from a number of strands in neuropsychopharmacology: the functional implications of the still-fresh images of monoamine neuroanatomy of the 1970s; the ethological differentiation of behavioural responses to proximal and distal threats; and the seemingly contradictory effects of 5-HT drugs in unconditioned, Pavlovian and instrumental paradigms of reward and aversion. The article has been cited over 600 times and continues to be cited. The evidence was mainly from the animal literature but included some experimental psychopharmacological tests in humans. Some more recent and notable human corroborations are highlighted in this perspective.
Predicting costs of mental health care: a critical literature review

Background. Cost evaluation research in the mental health field is being increasingly recognized as a way to achieve a more effective deployment of scarce resources. However, there is a paucity of studies that seek to identify predictors of psychiatric service utilization and costs. This paper aims to critically review the published research in the field of psychiatric service utilization and costs, and discusses current methodological developments in this field. Method. Sixteen studies were identified and are critically reviewed. Results. No single variable alone can explain variations in costs between patients; instead, a range of different clinical and non-clinical variables provides a greater explanation of cost variations. Having a history of previous psychiatric service use is the most consistent predictor of higher psychiatric costs. Only one study considers indirect costs incurred by users, their families and friends and society as a whole, with the remaining 15 studies focusing on direct mental health care costs. There is a lack of studies that consider the future psychiatric service utilization and costs of care of children and older people. The cross-validation of predictive models is not yet routine, with only four of the studies including a cross-validation procedure. Conclusions. The predictive approach in mental health cost evaluation has relevance for both mental health policy and practice. However, there is a paucity of studies that focus on children, older people and indirect costs. Furthermore, there remain a number of methodological challenges to address.
EMPRESAS BORN GLOBALS BRASILEIRAS: A INFLUÊNCIA DO PERFIL DO EMPREENDEDOR E DA LOCALIZAÇÃO GEOGRÁFICA

Este artigo analisa a relacao entre o perfil do empreendedor, o pertencimento a uma determinada regiao e o sucesso de empresas born globals brasileiras. Duas empresas da regiao de Campinas, a CI&T e a Griaule Biometrics, sao analisadas segundo o modelo de decisao estrategica de Oviatt e McDougall (1994) e enquadrados na tipologia de Fernandes e Seifert (2007). A pesquisa e de natureza qualitativa e foram realizadas entrevistas com a alta gerencia das empresas. Para o sucesso dessas empresas born globals sao essenciais: o perfil do empreendedor e o fato de fazer parte de uma regiao com caracteristicas de polo tecnologico, podendo usufruir do renome de uma universidade de ponta, e o apoio do governo, por meio de financiamento.
A wireless assistive device for visually-impaired persons using tongue electrotactile system

People with low and lost vision are increasingly independent nowadays; besides, more and more resources and facilities have been developed to enable them adapt to daily life in an active way. Based on the idea of sensory substitution and the electrotactile stimulation on the tongue, a wireless small device was studied and designed in order to aid the visually-impaired people in getting more perception of their surrounding environment. The device was also fabricated and tested with normal people to understand the sensibility of human tongue in achieving the information from the device. With wireless part, the device is totally able to communicate with the host system and receive the command to help users perceive and direct in the environment.
Crossmodal Correspondence Between Auditory Pitch and Visual Elevation Affects Temporal Ventriloquism

Temporal ventriloquism is the shift in perceived timing of a visual stimulus that occurs when an auditory stimulus is presented close in time. This study investigated whether crossmodal correspondence between auditory pitch and visual elevation modulates temporal ventriloquism. Participants were presented two visual stimuli (above and below fixation) across a range of stimulus onset asynchronies and were asked to judge the order of the events. A task-irrelevant auditory click was presented shortly before the first and another shortly after the second visual stimulus. There were two pitches used (low and high) and the congruency between the auditory and visual stimuli was manipulated. The results show that incongruent pairings between pitch and elevation abolish temporal ventriloquism. In contrast, the crossmodal correspondence effect was absent when the direction of the pitch change was fixed within sessions, reducing the saliency of the pitch change. The results support previous studies suggesting that in addition to spatial and temporal factors, crossmodal correspondences can influence binding of information across the senses, although these effects are likely to be dependent on the saliency of the crossmodal mapping.
El trabajo infanto-juvenil y el estado nutricional de los menores colombianos

Este trabajo estudia la relacion entre el trabajo infanto-juvenil y el estado nutricional de los menores colombianos. Usando informacion de la Encuesta de Demografia y Salud (ENDS) 2005, se analiza el efecto del trabajo en la nutricion de los menores trabajadores entre 6 y 17 anos. Se encuentra evidencia de que existe una relacion positiva entre el trabajo y la nutricion de los menores, afectada en algunos casos por la asistencia escolar y por pertenecer al quintil mas pobre de la poblacion. Los resultados sugieren que el trabajo infanto-juvenil tiene un efecto positivo sobre la nutricion, a traves de la generacion directa de ingreso extra para el hogar, o al permitir que se libere mano de obra adulta de los trabajos del hogar. Respaldando la teoria y la evidencia empirica, las variables socio-economicas del hogar resultan estar fuertemente relacionadas con el estado nutricional de los menores
Influence of health risk behavior and socio-economic status on health of Slovak adolescents.

AIM To investigate the role of health risk behavior, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, in the explanation of socio-economic health differences among adolescents. The hypothesis of different exposure and the hypothesis of different vulnerability were explored. METHOD In the study carried out in 1998, the prevalence of health complaints of smokers vs non-smokers, alcohol consumers vs abstainers, and among different socio-economic groups of 2,616 Slovak adolescents (mean age, 14.9-/+0.62 years) were investigated by means of self-reported questionnaires. The adolescents were stratified according to sex and type of secondary school. RESULTS Socio-economic disadvantage and the presence of health risk behavior were associated with greater frequency of health complaints by adolescents. Prevalence of smokers was higher in lower socio-economic groups, but no such trend was found for the prevalence of alcohol consumers. Socio-economic status and health risk behavior interactively influenced health, when socio-economic status was assessed according to the mother's characteristics. Socio-economic health differences between non-smokers and abstainers were not significant, unlike the differences between the smokers and alcohol consumers. The influence of health risk behavior was weaker in higher socio-economic groups. CONCLUSION Both hypotheses, of different exposure and different vulnerability, could explain socio-economic health differences among Slovak adolescents, with different exposure playing a more important role.
US Preventive Services Task Force prostate-specific antigen screening guidelines result in higher Gleason score diagnoses

Purpose To evaluate the impact that the 2012 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening guidelines have had on the diagnosis of prostate cancer, we compared the incidence and distribution of new cases diagnosed in 2011-before the USPSTF PSA screening recommendations versus 2014 at which time the guidelines were widely adopted. Materials and Methods We identified all prostate biopsies performed by a large urology group practice utilizing a centralized pathology lab. We examined total biopsies performed, percentage of positive biopsies, and for those with positive biopsies examined for differences in patient age, PSA, and Gleason score. Results A total of 4,178 biopsies were identified – 2,513 in 2011 and 1,665 in 2014. The percentage of positive biopsies was 27% in 2011 versus 34% in 2014 (p<0.0001). Among patients with positive biopsies, we found statistically significant differences between the 2 cohorts in the median ages and Gleason scores. Patients were about 1 year younger in 2014 compared to 2011 (t-test; p=0.043). High Gleason scores (8–10) were diagnosed in 19% of the 2014 positive biopsies versus 9% in the 2011 positive biopsies (chi square; p<0.0001). Conclusions After the widespread implementation of the 2011 USPTF PSA screening guidelines, 34% fewer biopsies were performed with a 29% increase in positive biopsy rates. We found a significantly higher incidence of high grade disease in 2014 compared with 2011. The percentage of patients with positive biopsies having Gleason scores 8–10 more than doubled in 2014. The higher incidence of these more aggressive cancers must be part of the discussion regarding PSA screening.
Neuromuscular activation of triceps surae using muscle functional MRI and EMG.

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to clarify the neuromuscular activation patterns among individual triceps surae (TS) muscles during a repetitive plantarflexion using muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (mfMRI) and electromyography (EMG). METHODS Six healthy men participated in this study, performing 5 sets of 10 repetitions of a calf-raise exercise bilaterally, unilaterally, and unilaterally with an additional 15% of body-weight load. The transverse relaxation times (T2) in the medial gastrocnemius (MG), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), and soleus (SOL) muscles were measured from mfMR images obtained with the subject at rest and immediately after exercise; integrated EMG (iEMG) activity was recorded from the same muscles during exercise using surface electrodes. RESULTS There was remarkable correspondence between the changes in T2 values and iEMG activity under the three different workloads for individual TS muscles. In addition, changes in T2 value that occurred as a function of increasing exercise loads were linearly correlated with iEMG activity in the MG (r=0.58, P<0.05) and SOL (r=0.63, P<0.01), but not in the LG. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that 1) mfMRI signals and iEMG activity correlate with workload in individual TS muscles, 2) mfMRI signals are associated with neuromuscular activity reflected in iEMG in the MG and SOL but not in the LG, and 3) these relationships are associated with neuromuscular and metabolic factors during exercise.
Molecular Chaperone BiP Interacts with Borna Disease Virus Glycoprotein at the Cell Surface

ABSTRACT Borna disease virus (BDV) is characterized by highly neurotropic infection. BDV enters its target cells using virus surface glycoprotein (G), but the cellular molecules mediating this process remain to be elucidated. We demonstrate here that the N-terminal product of G, GP1, interacts with the 78-kDa chaperone protein BiP. BiP was found at the surface of BDV-permissive cells, and anti-BiP antibody reduced BDV infection as well as GP1 binding to the cell surface. We also reveal that BiP localizes at the synapse of neurons. These results indicate that BiP may participate in the cell surface association of BDV.
Adaptation and Vertical Integration in the Airline Industry

We explore patterns of vertical integration in the US airline industry. Major airlines subcontract portions of their network to regional partners, which may or may not be owned. We investigate if ownership economizes on ex post renegotiation costs. We estimate whether airlines are more likely to use owned regionals on city pairs with adverse weather (which makes adaptation decisions more frequent) and on city pairs that are more integrated into the major's network (which raises the costs of having adaptation decisions resolved suboptimally). Our results suggest a robust empirical relationship between adaptation and vertical integration in this setting. (JEL L14, L22, L24, L93)
Novel Therapeutics for Depression: L-methylfolate as a Trimonoamine Modulator and Antidepressant-Augmenting Agent

Folate deficiency may increase the risk of depression and reduce the action of antidepressants. Individuals with an inherited polymorphism that reduces the efficiency of folate formation may be at high risk for folate deficiency and for major depression. Antidepressant effects have been reported when antidepressants are augmented with folic acid, folinic acid, or the centrally active L-methylfolate (known formally as (6(S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate [MTHF]), particularly in depressed patients with folate deficiency whose major depressive episodes have failed to respond to antidepressants. The putative mechanism of action of MTHF as an augmenting agent to antidepressants is that it acts as a trimonoamine modulator (TMM), enhancing the synthesis of the three monoamines: dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and serotonin (5-HT), resulting in a boost to the efficacy of antidepressants.
PRODUCTION OF CYTOKINES (TNF‐ALPHA, IL‐1‐BETA) AND ENDOTHELIAL CELL ACTIVATION IN HUMAN LIVER ALLOGRAFT REJECTION1

Intragraft production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1-beta (IL-1-beta) was determined in rejecting human liver grafts during acute rejection and in chronic graft dysfunction. The localization of cytokine-producing cells was then correlated with the distribution of monocytes and macrophages as their main producers, as well as with effector functions such as endothelial cell activation. In selected patients collateral TNF-alpha plasma levels were measured. In normal liver and biopsies taken during an uncomplicated course, few TNF-alpha and even fewer IL-1-beta positive macrophages were found. During acute rejection episodes of all degrees of severity liver grafts were infiltrated by large numbers of TNF-alpha-positive monocytes, and concomitant TNF-alpha plasma levels were elevated compared with uncomplicated controls. In marked contrast IL-1-beta production by macrophages and vascular and sinus endothelial cells was restricted to the most severe, irreversible rejection episodes. The localization of cytokine-positive cells coincided with areas of maximum induction of ICAM-1 and von Willebrand Factor. In chronic graft dysfunction increased numbers of mature macrophages were found. A large proportion of these were positive for TNF-alpha as well as IL-1-beta. Distinct from acute rejection episodes, however, parallel TNF-alpha plasma levels were not elevated, suggesting cytokine storage rather than secretion. The present results indicate an important local role of TNF-alpha and IL-1-beta in the early phase of the rejection process. They presumably activate endothelial cells to upregulate the expression of adhesion molecules, thereby facilitating mononuclear cell adhesion and extravasation. Therefore, specific inactivation of cyto-kines or of their actions may prove to be a powerful tool in the prevention and treatment of allograft rejection in the future.
Plant secretomics

Plant secretomes are the proteins secreted by the plant cells and are involved in the maintenance of cell wall structure, relationship between host and pathogen, communication between different cells in the plant, etc. Amalgamation of methodologies like bioinformatics, biochemical, and proteomics are used to separate, classify, and outline secretomes by means of harmonizing in planta systems and in vitro suspension cultured cell system (SSCs). We summed up and explained the meaning of secretome, methods used for the identification and isolation of secreted proteins from extracellular space and methods for the assessment of purity of secretome proteins in this review. Two D PAGE method and HPLC based methods for the analysis together with different bioinformatics tools used for the prediction of secretome proteins are also discussed. Biological significance of secretome proteins under different environmental stresses, i.e., salt stress, drought stress, oxidative stress, etc., defense responses and plant interactions with environment are also explained in detail.