Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coping with temptations and adolescent smoking cessation: an initial investigation.

INTRODUCTION Although a great deal of research focuses on adolescent cigarette smoking, little is known about the process by which adolescents attempt to stop smoking. Resisting temptations to smoke is one of the key challenges encountered by individuals who attempt smoking cessation. A large body of literature has examined coping with temptation among adult smokers, and research on this issue for adolescents is lacking. To further our understanding in this area, the present study reports on an initial examination of the Smoking Temptation Coping Questionnaire (STCQ). The STCQ, which assesses coping in a social pressure situation involving cigarettes, was adapted from the Temptation Coping Questionnaire, a brief self-report measure of adolescent coping with temptations to use alcohol and other drugs. METHODS The present study included 109 adolescent participants (aged 14-19 years) in a naturalistic study of smoking self-change. Participants completed baseline and 6-month follow-up interviews. RESULTS Exploratory factor analysis of the STCQ coping scale yielded a single factor including six strategies for coping with temptations. Analyses provided support for the concurrent, predictive, and construct validity of the STCQ. In particular, the coping scale score significantly predicted prospective duration of abstinence for adolescents who engaged in smoking cessation efforts. DISCUSSION These results provide preliminary support for the utility of the STCQ. In addition, findings support the role of temptation coping in the adolescent smoking cessation process.
THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT HYPERTENSION MODELS ON VISUAL EVOKED POTENTIALS

Even though there is an abundance of information about the complications of hypertension, studies of its influence on visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are rare. In previous studies, it was pointed out that hypertension induces changes on VEPs. However, it has not yet been clarified which models of hypertension are more effective on VEPs. The aim of this study was to investigate this subject in rats. Animals were divided equally into six groups: control group (C), sham operated (Sham), two kidney-one clip (2K-1C), one kidney-one clip (lK-lC), deoxycorticosterone-salt (DOCA), and N-omega-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME) groups. Mean arterial pressure was significantly higher in four hypertensive groups compared with control and sham groups, but there were no significant differences either among hypertensive groups or between sham and control groups. At the end of the experimental period, flash visual evoked potentials were recorded. The mean latencies of P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3 components were significantly prolonged in all hypertensive groups compared with the control and sham groups. The mean latencies of all VEPs components in the L-NAME group were longer than in the other hypertensive groups. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were determined as an indicator of lipid peroxidation. Our data showed that hypertension caused a significant increase of lipid peroxidation in brain and retinal tissues. Additionally, plasma renin activity (PRA) was highest in the 2K-1C group and lowest in the DOCA group.
The role of nitric oxide and the unfolded protein response in cytokine-induced beta-cell death.

OBJECTIVE The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a conserved cellular response designed to alleviate damage and promote survival of cells experiencing stress; however, prolonged UPR activation can result in apoptotic cell death. The UPR, activated by cytokine-induced nitric oxide (NO) production, has been proposed to mediate beta-cell death in response to cytokines. In this study, the role of UPR activation in cytokine-induced beta-cell death was examined. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The effects of cytokine treatment of rat and human islets and RINm5F cells on UPR activation, NO production, and cell viability were examined using molecular and biochemical methodologies. RESULTS UPR activation correlates with beta-cell death in interleukin (IL)-1-treated rat islets. NO mediates both cytokine-induced UPR activation and beta-cell death as NO synthase inhibitors attenuate each of these IL-1-stimulated events. Importantly, cytokines and tunicamycin, a classical UPR activator, induce beta-cell death by different mechanisms. Cell death in response to the classical UPR activator is associated with a 2.5-fold increase in caspase-3 activity, while IL-1 fails to stimulate caspase-3 activity. In addition, cell death is enhanced by approximately 35% in tunicamycin-treated cells expressing an S51A eIF2 alpha mutant that cannot be phosphorylated or in cells lacking PERK (protein kinase regulated by RNA/endoplasmic reticulum-like kinase). In contrast, neither the absence of PERK nor the expression of the S51A eIF2 alpha mutant affects the levels of cytokine-induced death. CONCLUSIONS While cytokine-induced beta-cell death temporally correlates with UPR activation, the lack of caspase activity and the ability of NO to attenuate caspase activity suggest that prolonged UPR activation does not mediate cytokine-induced beta-cell death.
The relationship between oscillatory activity and motor reaction time in the parkinsonian subthalamic nucleus

Averaging techniques have demonstrated that movement preparatory cues and movement itself are associated with marked reductions in the oscillatory synchrony of local neuronal populations in the area of the human parkinsonian subthalamic nucleus (STN), as indexed by 8–30 Hz local field potential (LFP) activity. In order to examine the detailed nature and strength of the relationship between reductions in oscillatory activity and movement we examined single‐trial LFP activity recorded from the STN area of parkinsonian subjects engaged in a choice reaction task. In this task an initial warning cue was either fully predictive or non‐predictive of the hand required to make a later motor response. This motor response was elicited by a second go cue to which data were aligned. We observed a significant linear relationship between the onset time of oscillation reduction after go cues and subsequent motor response time across single trials within subjects. Consistent with this observation we also found a positive correlation of power with response time following go cues. In addition, we observed shorter durations of suppression in fully predictive trials where selection of the response could precede go cue presentation. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that reductions in 8–30 Hz population synchrony in the STN area are related to the processing required for motor preparation, particularly response selection.
Thalamocortical rhythms during a vibrotactile detection task

Significance When a near-threshold sensory stimulus is presented, a sensory percept may or may not be produced. The exact process by which neural activity elicits subjective perception is a long-standing open question. Here, we ask what role brain oscillations in early sensory regions play in this cognitive process, as oscillations are thought to reflect population dynamics, indicative of the state of a brain network. We found task-related modulations in oscillatory activity in both the somatosensory thalamus and primary sensory cortex, which were correlated with the perceptual decision process and subsequent behavioral response. We conclude that these early sensory regions, in addition to their primary sensory functions, may be actively involved in perceptual decision making. To explore the role of oscillatory dynamics of the somatosensory thalamocortical network in perception and decision making, we recorded the simultaneous neuronal activity in the ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPL) of the somatosensory thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in two macaque monkeys performing a vibrotactile detection task. Actively detecting a vibrotactile stimulus and reporting its perception elicited a sustained poststimulus beta power increase in VPL and an alpha power decrease in S1, in both stimulus-present and stimulus-absent trials. These oscillatory dynamics in the somatosensory thalamocortical network depended on the behavioral context: they were stronger for the active detection condition than for a passive stimulation condition. Furthermore, contrasting stimulus-present vs. stimulus-absent responses, we found that poststimulus theta power increased in both VPL and S1, and alpha/beta power decreased in S1, reflecting the monkey’s perceptual decision but not the motor response per se. Additionally, higher prestimulus alpha power in S1 correlated with an increased probability of the monkey reporting a stimulus, regardless of the actual presence of a stimulus. Thus, we found task-related modulations in oscillatory activity, not only in the neocortex but also in the thalamus, depending on behavioral context. Furthermore, oscillatory modulations reflected the perceptual decision process and subsequent behavioral response. We conclude that these early sensory regions, in addition to their primary sensory functions, may be actively involved in perceptual decision making.
Speech Recognition in Cochlear Implant Recipients: Comparison of Standard HiRes and HiRes 120 Sound Processing

Objective: HiRes (HR) 120 is a sound-processing strategy purported to offer an increase in the precision of frequency-to-place mapping through the use of current steering. This within-subject study was designed to compare speech recognition as well as music and sound quality ratings for HR and HR 120 processing. Setting: Cochlear implant/tertiary referral center. Subjects: Eight postlinguistically deafened adults implanted with an Advanced Bionics CII or HR 90K cochlear implant. Study Design/Main Outcome Measures: Performance with HR and HR 120 was assessed during 4 test sessions with a battery of measures including monosyllabic words, sentences in quiet and in noise, and ratings of sound quality and musical passages. Results: Compared with HR, speech recognition results in adult cochlear implant recipients revealed small but significant improvements with HR 120 for single syllable words and for 2 of 3 sentence recognition measures in noise. Both easy and more difficult sentence material presented in quiet were not significantly different between strategies. Additionally, music quality ratings were significantly better for HR 120 than for HR, and 7 of 8 subjects preferred HR 120 over HR for listening in everyday life. Conclusion: HR 120 may offer equivalent or improved benefit to patients compared with HR. Differences in performance on test measures between strategies are dependent on speech recognition materials and listening conditions.
Multiple p44 Genes Encoding Major Outer Membrane Proteins Are Expressed in the Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Agent*

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is caused by infection with an obligatory intracellular bacterium, the HGE agent. We previously cloned a gene encoding HGE agent 44-kDa major outer membrane protein and designated it p44. In this study, we (i) identified five different mRNAs that are transcribed fromp44-homologous genes in the HGE agent cultivated in HL-60 cells; (ii) cloned genes corresponding to the mRNAs from the genomic DNA of the HGE agent; (iii) showed that the genes being expressed were not clustered in the HGE agent genome; (iv) estimated that a minimum copy number of the p44-homologous genes in the genome is 18; (v) detected two different P44-homologous proteins expressed by the HGE agent; and (vi) demonstrated existence of antibodies specific to the two proteins in sera from patients with HGE. These findings showed that p44 multigenes have several active expression sites and the expression is regulated at transcriptional level, suggesting a potentially unique mechanism for generating the diversity in major antigenic outer membrane proteins of the HGE agent. Characterization of p44-homologous genes expressed by the HGE agent in a tissue culture would assist in understanding a role of the p44 multigene family in pathogenesis and immune response in HGE.
An Interethnic Comparison of Polymorphisms of the Genes Encoding Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes and Drug Transporters: Experience in Singapore

Much of the interindividual variability in drug response is attributable to the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters. In recent years, we have investigated the polymorphisms in a number of genes encoding phase I and II drug-metabolizing enzymes including CYP1A1, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, GSTM1, NAT2, UGT1A1, and TPMT and drug transporter (MDR1) in three distinct Asian populations in Singapore, namely the Chinese, Malays, and Indians. Significant differences in the frequencies of common alleles encoding these proteins have been observed among these three ethnic groups. For example, the frequency of the variant A2455G polymorphism of CYP1A1 was 28% in Chinese and 31% in Malays, but only 18% in Indians. CYP3A4*4 was detected in two of 110 Chinese subjects, but absent in Indians and Malays. Many Chinese and Malays (61–63%) were homozygous for the GSTM1*0 null genotype compared with 33% of Indians. The frequency of the UGT1A1*28 allele was highest in the Indian population (35%) compared to similar frequencies that were found in the Chinese (16%) and Malay (19%) populations. More importantly, our experience over the years has shown that the pharmacogenetics of these drug-metabolizing enzymes and MDR1 in the Asian populations are different from these in the Caucasian and African populations. For example, the CYP3A4*1B allele, which contains an A-290G substitution in the promoter region of CYP3A4, is absent in all three Asian populations of Singapore studied, but occurs in more than 54% of Africans and 5% of Caucasians. There were no difference in genotype and allelic variant frequencies in exon 12 of MDR1 between the Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations. When compared with other ethnic groups, the distribution of the wild-type C allele in exon 12 in the Malays (34.2%) and Indians (32.8%) was relatively high and similar to the Japanese (38.5%) and Caucasians (41%) but different from African–Americans (15%). The frequency of wild-type TT genotype in Asians (43.5% to 52.1%) andJapanese (61.5%) was much higher than those found in Caucasians (13.3%) All the proteins we studied represent the primary hepatic or extrahepatic enzymes, and their polymorphic expression may be implicated in disease risk and the disposition of drugs or endogenous substances. As such, dose requirements of certain drugs may not be optimal for Asian populations, and a second look at the factors responsible for this difference is necessary.
The acute‐phase response and associated lipoprotein abnormalities accompanying lymphoma

Abstract. Lipoprotein abnormalities seen in patients with inflammatory diseases are thought to develop secondary to circulating cytokines and the accompanying acute‐phase response. Patient's with lymphoma may develop similar lipoprotein abnormalities but the mechanism is unclear. We report a patient with B‐cell lymphoma who presented with an HDL cholesterol level of 3 mg dl−1, an ApoA level of 17.4 mg dl−1, elevated triglyceride level (272 mg dl−1) and an elevated ApoB level of 156 mg dl−1. Density gradient analysis of the patient's lipoproteins demonstrated a virtual absence of an identifiable HDL particle. Serum amyloid A and C‐reactive protein were also elevated. All of the lipoprotein abnormalities resolved with chemotherapy and resolution of the acute‐phase response. The acute‐phase response may be associated with striking lipoprotein abnormalities in a subset of patients with lymphoma. Lymphoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with hypertriglyceridaemia and low HDL cholesterol.
FTO genotype, dietary protein, and change in appetite: the Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies trial.

BACKGROUND A common obesity-risk variant rs9939609 in the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene was recently shown to affect appetite, and the gene is sensitive to the regulation of amino acids. OBJECTIVE We examined the interaction between FTO genotype and protein intake on the long-term changes in appetite in a randomized controlled trial. DESIGN We genotyped FTO rs9939609 in 737 overweight adults in the 2-y Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies trial and assessed 4 appetite-related traits including cravings, fullness, hunger, and prospective consumption. RESULTS We showed that dietary protein significantly modified genetic effects on changes in food cravings and appetite scores at 6 mo after adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, baseline body mass index, weight change, and baseline value for respective outcomes (P-interaction = 0.027 and 0.048, respectively). The A allele was associated with a greater decrease in food cravings and appetite scores in participants with high-protein-diet intake (P = 0.027 and 0.047, respectively) but not in subjects in the low-protein-diet group (P = 0.384 and 0.078, respectively). The weight regain from 6 to 24 mo attenuated gene-protein interactions. Protein intakes did not modify FTO genotype effects on other appetite measures. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that individuals with the FTO rs9939609 A allele might obtain more benefits in a reduction of food cravings and appetite by choosing a hypocaloric and higher-protein weight-loss diet. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00072995.
Intraobserver and Interobserver Agreement in Volumetric Assessment of Glioblastoma Multiforme Resection

BACKGROUND:The role of extent of tumor resection in improving outcome for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is still under debate. OBJECTIVE:To analyze intraobserver and interobserver agreement of manual segmentation as a method for volumetric assessment of GBM resection. METHODS:Three observers performed volumetric assessment of preoperative tumor volume (PreTV) and postoperative tumor volume (PostTV) by manual segmentation on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI data sets of 8 patients. Measurements were repeated after a minimum interval of 2 weeks. Intraobserver and interobserver agreement for PreTV, PostTV, and residual tumor volume (RTV) percentage were expressed in intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). RESULTS:Intraobserver agreement is high for PreTV (ICC = 0.99), PostTV (ICC = 0.73-0.94), and RTV (ICC = 0.89-0.94). Interobserver agreement is high for PreTV (ICC = 0.97), but low for PostTV (ICC = 0.54) and RTV (ICC = 0.52). CONCLUSION:Postoperative assessment of GBM volume seems to offer high intraobserver agreement, but low interobserver agreement. Using absolute RTV values to relate extent of tumor resection with survival may be unreliable. More research is needed before this method can be used as a valid end point for clinical studies. Computer-assisted tumor volume calculation may increase interobserver agreement in the future.
Endogenous Assessment of the Capacity Value of Solar PV in Generation Investment Planning Studies

There exist several different reliability- and approximation-based methods to determine the contribution of solar resources toward resource adequacy. However, most of these approaches require knowing in advance the installed capacities of both conventional and solar generators. This is a complication since generator capacities are actually decision variables in capacity planning studies. In this paper, we study the effect of time resolution and solar PV penetration using a planning model that accounts for the full distribution of generator outages and solar resource variability. We also describe a modification of a standard deterministic planning model that enforces a resource adequacy target through a reserve margin constraint. Our numerical experiments show that at least 50 days worth of data are necessary to approximate the results of the full-resolution model with a maximum error of 2.5% on costs and capacity. We also show that the amount of displaced capacity of conventional generation decreases rapidly as the penetration of solar PV increases. We find that using an exogenously defined and constant capacity value based on time-series data can yield relatively accurate results for small penetration levels. For higher penetration levels, the modified deterministic planning model better captures avoided costs and the decreasing value of solar PV.
Clinical efficacy and side effects of antimalarials in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review

Background: Antimalarial drugs (AMs), chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), are frequently withdrawn in patients with lupus with either severe or remitting disease. However, additional effects beyond immunomodulation have been recently described. The aim of the present work was to analyse all the published evidence of the beneficial and adverse effects of AM therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: A systematic review of the English literature between 1982 and 2007 was conducted using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were selected. Case reports were excluded except for toxicity reports. The GRADE system was used to analyse the quality of the evidence. Results: A total of 95 articles were included in the systematic review. High levels of evidence were found that AMs prevent lupus flares and increase long-term survival of patients with SLE; moderate evidence of protection against irreversible organ damage, thrombosis and bone mass loss. Toxicity related to AMs is infrequent, mild and usually reversible, with HCQ having a safer profile. In pregnant women, high levels of evidence were found that AMs, particularly HCQ, decrease lupus activity without harming the baby. By contrast, evidence supporting an effect on severe lupus activity, lipid levels and subclinical atherosclerosis was weak. Individual papers suggest effects in preventing the evolution from SLE-like to full-blown SLE, influencing vitamin D levels and protecting patients with lupus against cancer. Conclusions: Given the broad spectrum of beneficial effects and the safety profile, HCQ should be given to most patients with SLE during the whole course of the disease, irrespective of its severity, and be continued during pregnancy.