Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Childhood trauma and neuroticism as an adult: possible implication for the development of the common psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviour

Background. Neuroticism is an important personality dimension associated with depressive and anxiety disorders. Both genetic and social factors are thought to contribute to neuroticism. This study aims to examine whether early childhood adversity may be a determinant of neuroticism. Method. Five hundred and thirty-two abstinent substance dependent patients completed both the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Results. There was a significant relationship between total childhood trauma scores on the CTQ and neuroticism scores on the EPQ. There were also significant relationships between neuroticism and CTQ subscores for emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect. Conclusions. Childhood trauma may be a determinant of neuroticism. This may be one way in which childhood trauma plays a role in the development of psychiatric disorders. General population studies are needed.
ARTICLES: Validation of Ethical Decision Making Measures: Evidence for a New Set of Measures

Ethical decision making measures are widely applied as the principal dependent variable used in studies of research integrity. However, evidence bearing on the internal and external validity of these measures is not available. In this study, ethical decision making measures were administered to 102 graduate students in the biological, health, and social sciences, along with measures examining exposure to ethical breaches and the severity of punishments recommended. The ethical decision making measure was found to be related to exposure to ethical events and the severity of punishments awarded. The implications of these findings for the application of ethical decision making measures are discussed.
A New Prenylated Flavanoid with Antibacterial Activity from Propolis Collected in Egypt

A novel prenylated flavanoid, isonymphaeol-D (1), together with two known compounds, isonymphaeol-B (2) and nymphaeol-B (3), were isolated from Egyptian propolis. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by various spectroscopic methods. 1 exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative strains (Serratia sp., Pseudomonos sp., Escherichia coli).
Spatiotemporal Patterns of Pax3, Pax6, and Pax7 Expression in the Developing Brain of a Urodele Amphibian, Pleurodeles waltl

The onset and developmental dynamics of Pax3, Pax6, and Pax7 expressions were analyzed by immunohistochemical techniques in the central nervous system (CNS) of embryos, larvae, and recently metamorphosed juveniles of the urodele amphibian Pleurodeles waltl. During the embryonic period, the Pax proteins start being detectable in neuroepithelial domains. Subsequently, they become restricted to subsets of cells in distinct brain regions, maintaining different degrees of expression in late larvae and juvenile brains. Specifically, Pax6 is broadly expressed all along the urodele CNS (olfactory bulbs, pallium, basal ganglia, diencephalon, mesencephalic tegmentum, rhombencephalon, and spinal cord) and the developing olfactory organ and retina. Pax3 and Pax7 are excluded from the rostral forebrain and were usually observed in overlapping regions during embryonic development, whereas Pax3 expression is highly downregulated as development proceeds. Thus, Pax3 is restricted to the roof plate of prosomere 2, pretectum, optic tectum, rhombencephalon, and spinal cord. Comparatively, Pax7 was more conspicuous in all these regions. Pax7 cells were also found in the paraphysis, intermediate lobe of the hypophysis, and basal plate of prosomere 3. Our data show that the expression patterns of the three Pax genes studied are overall evolutionarily conserved, and therefore could unequivocally be used to identify subdivisions in the urodele brain similar to other vertebrates, which are not clearly discernable with classical techniques. In addition, the spatiotemporal sequences of expression provide indirect evidence of putative migratory routes across neuromeric limits and the alar–basal boundary. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:3913–3953, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Delayed infusion of GDNF promotes recovery of motor function in the partial lesion model of Parkinson's disease

Here we studied the effects of glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in a rat model that represents the symptomatic stages of Parkinson's disease. GDNF was infused starting 2 weeks after an intrastriatal 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) lesion in order to halt the ongoing degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. GDNF or vehicle was infused in the striatum or the lateral ventricle via an osmotic minipump over a total 4‐week period (2–6 weeks postlesion). Motor function was evaluated by the stepping, paw reaching and drug‐induced motor asymmetry tests before the pump infusion was initiated, and was repeated once during (5 weeks postlesion) and twice after the withdrawal of the minipumps (7 and 11 weeks postlesion). We found that within two weeks following the lesion ≈ 40% of the nigral TH‐positive neurons were lost. In the vehicle infusion groups there was an additional 20% cell loss between 2 and 12 weeks after the lesion. This latter cell loss occurred mainly in the caudal part of the SN whereas the cell loss in the rostral SN was almost complete within the first two weeks. Ventricular GDNF infusion completely blocked the late degenerating neurons in the caudal SN and had long lasting behavioural effects on the stepping test and amphetamine rotation, extending to 6 weeks after withdrawal of the factor. Striatal infusion affected the motor behaviour transiently during the infusion period but the motor performance of these animals returned to baseline upon cessation of the GDNF delivery, and the delayed nigral cell loss was marginally affected. We conclude that intraventricular GDNF can successfully block the already initiated degenerative process in the substantia nigra, and that the effects achieved via the striatal route, when GDNF is given acutely after the lesion, diminish as the fibre terminal degeneration proceeds.
An Efficient Similarity based Trust and Reputation Management System for

A trust and reputation management framework for VANETs (Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks) is proposed. In the framework, a similarity mining technique is used for identifying similar messages or similar vehicles. And a reputation evaluation algorithm is proposed for evaluating a new vehicle’s reputation based on the similarity theory. Similarities from different recommenders are used as weights for computing a vehicle’s recommendation based reputation. An updating algorithm for reputations is proposed in the framework. The framework is applied to decide whether a message is trustworthy when a vehicle receives an event message.
The contribution of SERF1 to root-to-shoot signaling during salinity stress in rice

Stress perception and communication play important roles in the adaptation of plants to changing environmental conditions. Plant roots are the first organs to detect changes in the soil water potential induced by salt stress. In the presence of salinity stress, root-to-shoot communication occurs to adjust the growth of the whole plant. So far, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA), hydraulic signals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been proposed to mediate this communication under salt stress. Recently, we identified the rice transcription factor SALT-RESPONSIVE ERF1 (SERF1), which regulates a ROS-dependent transcriptional cascade in roots required for salinity tolerance. Upon salt stress, SERF1 knockout mutant plants show an increased leaf temperature as compared with wild type. As this occurs within the first 20 min of salt stress, we here evaluated the involvement of SERF1 in the perception of salt stress in the shoot. By metabolic profiling and expression analysis we show that the action of SERF1 in signal communication to the shoot is independent from ABA, but does affect the accumulation of ROS-related metabolites and transcripts under short-term salt stress.
Infections caused by filamentous fungi in patients with hematologic malignancies. A report of 391 cases by GIMEMA Infection Program.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients with hematologic malignancies developing a filamentous fungi infection (FFI) and to define the prognostic factors for their outcome. DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective study, conducted on patients admitted to 14 Hematology divisions of tertiary care or university hospitals, participating in the GIMEMA Infection Program, over a ten-year period (1988-1997). The study included patients with hematological malignancies and a histologically and/or microbiologically proven or probable FFI. RESULTS We included 391 patients (male/female: 262/129, median age 49 years) with hematologic malignancies (225 acute myeloid leukemia, 67 acute lymphocytic leukemia, 30 chronic myeloid leukemia, 22 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 12 myelodysplastic syndrome, 10 aplastic anemia, 7 Hodgkin's disease, 8 chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 5 multiple myeloma, and 5 hairy cell leukemia) who developed a proven FFI. Eighty percent of the patients had been neutropenic for an average of 14 days before the infection, and 71% had an absolute neutrophil count lower than 0.5 x 10(9)/L at the time of FFI diagnosis. The primary sites of infection were: lungs (85%), nose and paranasal sinus (10%), and other sites (5%). The diagnosis was made while still alive in 310 patients (79%), and at autopsy in the remaining 81 patients (21%). Chest X-ray was diagnostic in 77% of patients with pulmonary FFI, while computed tomography (CT) scan of the thorax was positive in 95% of cases. A significant diagnostic advantage for CT scan was observed in 145 patients who had both a chest X-ray and CT scan. Aspergillus was identified as the cause of FFI in 296 patients, Mucorales in 45 patients, Fusarium in 6 patients and other filamentous fungi species in 4 patients, while in a further 40 patients no agent was identifiable. The overall mortality rate three months after the diagnosis of FFI was 74%, and fungal infection had been the cause of death in 51% of patients. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Our retrospective study shows that FFI still remains a life-threatening complication in neutropenic patients. Despite appropriate treatment, half of the patients die due to this complication. The use of glucocorticoids and recovery from neutropenia are the most important prognostic factors. Mucorales infections are associated with a significantly poorer prognosis than those due to Aspergillus spp.
A tetracycline‐inducible and skeletal muscle‐specific Cre recombinase transgenic mouse

We have generated a transgenic mouse that expresses Cre recombinase only in skeletal muscle and only following tetracycline treatment. This spatiotemporal specificity is achieved using two transgenes. The first transgene uses the human skeletal actin (HSA) promoter to drive expression of the reverse tetracycline‐controlled transactivator (rtTA). The second transgene uses a tetracycline responsive promoter to drive the expression of Cre recombinase. We monitored transgene expression in these mice by crossing them with ROSA26 loxP‐LacZ reporter mice, which express β‐galactosidase when activated by Cre. We find that the expression of this transgene is only detectable within skeletal muscle and that Cre expression in the absence of tetracycline is negligible. Cre is readily induced in this model with tetracycline analogs at a range of embryonic and postnatal ages and in a pattern consistent with other HSA transgenic mice. This mouse improves upon existing transgenic mice in which skeletal muscle Cre is expressed throughout development by allowing Cre expression to begin at later developmental stages. This temporal control of transgene expression has several applications, including overcoming embryonic or perinatal lethality due to transgene expression. This mouse is especially suited for studies of steroid hormone action, as it uses tetracycline, rather than tamoxifen, to activate Cre expression. In summary, we find that this transgenic induction system is suitable for studies of gene function in the context of hormonal regulation of skeletal muscle or interactions between muscle and motoneurons in mice. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009
Seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 among pregnant women in Tripoli, Libya.

BACKGROUND Human parvovirus B19 has been implicated as a primary etiologic agent of erythema infectiosum (fifth disease) and aplastic crisis in patients with chronic haemolytic anemias. Human parvovirus B19 is known to be associated with adverse effects on fetuses such as hydrops fetalis, intrauterine fetal death, and chronic anaemia in immunocompromized individuals. The objective of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of human parvovirus B19 among the pregnant women in Tripoli, Libya. METHODOLOGY A total number of 150 participants were included in the study, consisting of women of child-bearing age ranging from 18 to 41 years, and divided into age groups as follows: < or = 21 years, 22-27, 28-32, 33-37, and > or = 38 years. Specific IgM and IgG antibodies were measured using a commercial ELISA kit. RESULTS IgG was observed to be prevalent (61%) among the women of child-bearing age. The sero-prevalence of IgM was found to be 5% overall and there was no detectable IgM in the age group between 33 and 37. CONCLUSION The presence of IgG and absence of IgM indicate immunity to primary infection, but a significant percentage of child-bearing aged women are at risk of primary infection with parvovirus B19 which could adversely affect their pregnancy.
Differential Effects of Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Morphine on Activation Levels of Signaling Molecules.

BACKGROUND Opioids alter the responses of D2-like dopamine receptors (D2DRs), known to be involved in the pathology of addiction and other mental illnesses. Importantly, our recent results demonstrated that various opioids differentially modulate the behavioral responses of D2DRs. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of various opioids on striatal activation levels of Akt and ERK1/2, as well as the signaling responses of D2DRs following opioid exposure. METHODS Mice were pre-treated with 20 mg/kg morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or saline for 6 days. Twenty-four hours later, mice were injected with vehicle or a D2/D3 receptor agonist, quinpirole. Thirty minutes later, dorsal striatum was collected and analyzed using Western blot. RESULTS In morphine-pretreated animals, baseline Akt activation level was unchanged, but was reduced in response to quinpirole. In contrast, baseline Akt activation levels were reduced in mice pretreated with hydrocodone and oxycodone, but were unchanged in response to quinpirole. In mice pretreated with all opioids, baseline ERK2 activation levels were unchanged and increased in response to quinpirole. However, quinpirole-induced ERK2 activation was significantly higher than drug naïve animals only in the morphine-pretreated mice. CONCLUSIONS Various opioids differentially modulate the baseline activation levels of signaling molecules, which in turn results in ligand-selective effects on the responses to a D2/D3 dopamine receptor agonist. This demonstrates a complex interplay between opioid receptors and D2DRs, and supports the notion that various opioids carry differential risks to the dopamine reward system. This information should be considered when prescribing opioid pain medication, to balance effectiveness with minimal risk.
PHD 1 Links Cell-Cycle Progression to Oxygen Sensing through Hydroxylation of the Centrosomal Protein Cep 192

Sandra C. Moser,1 Dalila Bensaddek,1,2 Brian Ortmann,1,2 Jean-Francois Maure,1 Sharon Mudie,1 J. Julian Blow,1 Angus I. Lamond,1 Jason R. Swedlow,1 and Sonia Rocha1,* 1Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK 2These authors contributed equally to this work *Correspondence: s.rocha@dundee.ac. uk http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.devcel. 2013.06. 014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Alcohol drinking and colorectal cancer risk: an overall and dose-response meta-analysis of published studies.

BACKGROUND The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that alcohol consumption is related to colorectal cancer (CRC). However, several issues remain unresolved, including quantification of the association for light (≤1 drink/day) and moderate (2-3 drinks/day) alcohol drinking, investigation of the dose-response relationship, and potential heterogeneity of effects by sex, colorectal site, and geographical region. METHODS Twenty-seven cohort and 34 case-control studies presenting results for at least three categories of alcohol intake were identified from a PubMed search of articles published before May 2010. The summary relative risks (RRs) were estimated by the random effects model. Second-order fractional polynomials and random effects meta-regression models were used for modeling the dose-risk relation. RESULTS The RRs were 1.21 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13-1.28] for moderate and 1.52 (95% CI 1.27-1.81) for heavy (≥4 drinks/day) alcohol drinking. The RR for moderate drinkers, compared with non-/occasional drinkers, was stronger for men (RR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.13-1.37) than for women (RR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13; P(heterogeneity) = 0.02). For heavy drinkers, the association was stronger in Asian studies (RR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.33-2.46; P(heterogeneity) = 0.04). The dose-risk analysis estimated RRs of 1.07 (95% CI 1.04-1.10), 1.38 (95% CI 1.28-1.50), and 1.82 (95% CI 1.41-2.35) for 10, 50, and 100 g/day of alcohol, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis provides strong evidence for an association between alcohol drinking of >1 drink/day and colorectal cancer risk.
A Cube Pairing Approach for Synthesis of ESOP-Based Reversible Circuit

This work proposes an ESOP-based technique for the synthesis of reversible circuit using a paired cube approach. In this method, initially we provide an ESOP as input and generate an optimized cube structure. Next, the pairing of ESOP cubes based on their structural similarity is performed to design improved reversible circuit using Toffoli gates. Experimental result shows that the paired cube synthesis approach is highly efficient primarily for the single output functions. Significant reduction of quantum cost is also achieved for those multi-output functions, which do not have shared functionality between multiple outputs. The proposed algorithm generates reversible circuits for large functions with reduced quantum cost in reasonable time.
Using Kite-Based Aerial Photography for Conducting Adélie Penguin Censuses in Antarctica@@@Using Kite-Based Aerial Photography for Conducting Adelie Penguin Censuses in Antarctica

-Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are sensitive indicators of change in Antarctic marine and terrestrial habitats, and have been intensively monitored as part of international efforts to understand the role of apex predators in the Southern Oceans. Among the key variables annually assessed by these monitoring programs are measures of population change which are typically obtained with ground and aerial censuses. Aerial censuses, however, are expensive and logistically complex, while the accuracy of ground censuses tends to decrease as colony size increases, especially in complex landscapes where high relief may block sections of the colony from the observer's view. Here we describe the use of kites equipped with remote-controlled cameras to census Ad6lie Penguin colonies at Palmer Station, a research site in the western Antarctic Peninsula region. We suggest that this method, which produced excellent results, may bridge an important gap between ground and aerial censuses, offering the opportunity to obtain better data for large or difficult to census colonies at a fraction of the cost of aerial surveys. Received 29 March 1999, accepted 20 May 1999.
Antagonist molecules in the treatment of angina

Introduction: Management of chronic angina has evolved dramatically in the last few decades with several options for pharmacotherapy outlined in various evidence-based guidelines. Areas covered: There is a growing list of drugs that are currently being investigated for treatment of chronic angina. These also include several herbal medications, which are now being scientifically evaluated as potential alternative or even adjunctive therapy for angina. Gene- and cell-based therapies have opened yet another avenue for management of chronic refractory angina in ‘no-option' patients who are not candidates for either percutaneous or surgical revascularization and are on optimal medical therapy. An extensive review of literature using PUBMED, Cochrane database, clinical trial databases of the USA and European Union was done and summarized in this review. This review will attempt to discuss the traditional as well as novel therapeutic agents for angina. Expert opinion: Several pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic options are now available for treatment and management of chronic refractory angina. Renewed interest in traditional therapies and cell- and gene-based modalities with targeted drug delivery systems will open the doors for personalized therapy for patients with chronic refractory angina.
Stress of daily activities and risk of breast cancer: A prospective cohort study in Finland

The belief that life stress enhances breast cancer is common, but there are few prospective epidemiological studies on the relationship of life stress and breast cancer. We have investigated the association between stress of daily activities (SDA) and breast‐cancer risk in a prospective cohort study of 10,519 Finnish women aged 18 years or more. SDA measures a subject's own appraisal of daily stress. It was assessed in 1975 and 1981 by a self‐administered questionnaire, which also provided information on subject characteristics and other known breast‐cancer risk factors. Follow‐up data for breast cancer from 1976 to 1996 were attained through record linkage to the Finnish Cancer Registry. Study subjects were divided into 3 groups based on their SDA scores in 1975: no stress (23% of subjects), some stress (68%) and severe stress (9%). Hazard ratios (HRs) and respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incidence of breast cancer by level of SDA were obtained from the Cox proportional hazards model. We identified 205 incident breast cancers in the cohort. Multivariable‐adjusted HRs for breast‐cancer risk were 1.00 (reference), 1.11 (95% CI 0.78–1.57) and 0.96 (95% CI 0.53–1.73) by increasing level of stress. Neither shifting of the SDA cut‐off points nor restricting the analysis to women who reported the same level of SDA in 1975 and 1981 materially altered the results. We found no evidence of an association between self‐perceived daily stress and breast‐cancer risk. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.