Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Competition between 11C-raclopride and endogenous dopamine in Parkinson's disease

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to understand whether the increase in 11C-raclopride binding in the striatum of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with the depletion of endogenous dopamine. MethodsPositron emission tomography (PET) scans of the two dopamine D2 receptor ligands, 11C-raclopride and 11C-N-methylspiperone (11C-NMSP), and the dopamine transporter ligand, 11C-2&bgr;-carbomethoxy-3&bgr;-(4-fluorophenyl)-tropane, were performed on five patients with PD and seven controls. The binding of each tracer was calculated by using a (region–cerebellum)/cerebellum ratio in the caudate, anterior putamen, and posterior putamen. ResultsIn patients with PD, the 11C-raclopride to 11C-NMSP ratios in the posterior putamen, which was the subregion of the striatum with the lowest binding of 11C-2&bgr;-carbomethoxy-3&bgr;-(4-fluorophenyl)-tropane, were the largest among all three subregions of the striatum. In controls, the 11C-raclopride to 11C-NMSP ratios in all three subregions of the striatum were within a constant range. ConclusionIn patients with PD, the kinetic difference between 11C-raclopride and 11C-NMSP was found prominently in the posterior putamen, in which presynaptic degeneration occurred most profoundly. Therefore, we concluded that the increase in 11C-raclopride binding in the striatum of patients with PD was strongly associated with the depletion of endogenous dopamine. 11C-NMSP can be chosen in the place of 11C-raclopride in cases in which it may be essential to eliminate the influence of endogenous dopamine.
Homeless Veterans of the Mil-Volunteer Force: A Social Selection Perspective

Recent research has shown that men who served in the military during the early years of the all-volunteer force (AVF) have a higher risk of homelessness than do veterans of other eras and nonveterans of comparable ages. The current article draws on data from the 1996 National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients in order to examine differences between currently homeless veterans and nonveterans in the number of months they had been homeless at the time they were interviewed. A social selection perspective formed the basis for hypotheses about factors affecting variation in length of current homelessness. The results indicate that current episodes of homelessness were longest among veterans of the all-volunteer force, those with behavioral risk factors with possible early onset, and those who were lacking in social bonds to civilian society that are normally conferred by employment, marriage, and support from family of origin. Although recent age cohorts of enlistees in the all-volunteer force do not show the same pattern of vulnerabilities, the Department of Defense needs to continue to pay close attention to the screening of military applicants for mental health and substance use problems, and to invest in programs that give psychosocial support to those veterans whose connections to civilian society are most tenuous.
Late functional recovery with a novel community rehabilitation programme after herpes simplex encephalitis

A 15-year-old boy had severe persisting behavioural and cognitive deficits after herpes simplex encephalitis in 1980 despite 18 months of early inpatient rehabilitation, two and a half years at home and 16 months' inpatient treatment in a behavioural unit. Following discharge from the behavioural unit in 1987, a behavioural programme was continued in the home using an untrained daytime care worker under the supervision of a community psychologist. This was associated with significant and continuing functional recovery in many areas including continence, wandering, washing and dressing. Possible reasons for the success of this inexpensive novel programme and the implications for long-term rehabilitation of brain-injured patients are discussed.
Communication Theory Vector quantisation for finite-state Markov channels and application to wireless communications

Vector quantisation for joint source-channel (JSC) coding over a finite-state Markov channel (FSMC) is studied. In particular, minimum mean square error (MMSE) decoding of a vector quantised source in the absence of channel state information (CSI) is considered. Based on hidden Markov modelling of the channel output, two decoding strategies are proposed. The first one is a soft-decoder which estimates the source reconstruction vectors directly from a sequence of channel output samples. The second one is a hard-decoder based on joint maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability estimation of channel symbols and channel states. An iterative procedure for designing JSC optimised vector quantisers (VQs) is also proposed. Finally, the design of VQs for wireless channels using a finite-state model is examined. Experimental results are provided for a Gauss-Markov source and flat-fading wireless channels. A comparison with an idealised tandem source-channel coding system is also provided to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed JSC coding approach. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Organic Dust Toxic Syndrome

The organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS) de­ notes a toxic reaction with flulike symptoms occur­ ring in apparently nonsensitized subjects exposed to organic dusts. The following account of how one of the authors (P.M.) fell ill at his first day of expo­ sure to swine dust in the winter of 1991, while participating in a study of ODTS-reactions to dust in piggeries in previously nonexposed subjects, highlights some of the features of ODTS. Two weeks before exposure, extensive lung function tests were performed, including measurement of bronchial reactivity.
Emerging data on improving response to hormone therapy: the role of novel targeted agents

ABSTRACT Introduction: Hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer represents the most common subtype of breast cancer. Metastatic HR+ breast cancer may develop resistance to standard hormone therapies, arising from genomic alterations in the estrogen receptor and/or upregulation of other signal transduction pathways. Areas covered: In this review, we discuss hormone resistance and strategies to overcome it, from the pre-clinical and clinical perspectives. This review includes a discussion of inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, CDK 4/6, histone deacetylation, fibroblast growth factor receptor, and immune pathways, based on review of relevant literature. Expert commentary: Several emerging novel therapies to improve the response to hormone therapy are approved or are in development. The most promising agents at present are inhibitors of CDK 4/6 and mTOR, which have already been incorporated into treatment in the advanced stage setting and are under study for early stage disease.
Molecular tests potentially improving HPV screening and genotyping for cervical cancer prevention

ABSTRACT Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers can be averted by type-specific vaccination (primary prevention) and/or through detection and ablation of precancerous cervical lesions (secondary prevention). This review presents current challenges to cervical cancer screening programs, focusing on recent molecular advances in HPV testing and potential improvements on risk stratification. Areas covered: High-risk (HR)-HPV DNA detection has been progressively incorporated into cervix cancer prevention programs based on its increased sensitivity. Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) are being rapidly applied to HPV typing. However, current HPV DNA tests lack specificity for identification of cervical precancer (CIN3). HPV typing methods were reviewed based on published literature, with a focus on these applications for screening and risk stratification in the emerging complex clinical scenario post-vaccine introduction. In addition, the potential for NGS technologies to increase specificity is discussed in regards to reflex testing of specimens for emerging biomarkers for cervix precancer/cancer. Expert commentary: Integrative multi-disciplinary molecular tests accurately triaging exfoliated cervical specimens will improve cervical cancer prevention programs while simplifying healthcare procedures in HPV-infected women. Hence, the concept of a ‘liquid-biopsy’ (i.e., ‘molecular’ Pap test) highly specific for early identification of cervical precancerous lesions is of critical importance in the years to come.
Impact of next-generation sequencing on diagnosis and management of neurometabolic disorders: current advances and future perspectives

Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, The University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, and Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Postnatal depression and post‐traumatic stress after childbirth: Prevalence, course and co‐occurrence

Research relating to the postnatal mental health of women has tended to focus on postnatal depression. There have been increasing calls to consider the issue of post‐partum anxiety disorders, including post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study sought to provide further evidence regarding the prevalence and longitudinal course of post‐traumatic stress symptoms resulting from traumatic birth experiences. The study also investigated the extent to which symptoms of trauma and depression occur together in the postnatal period. Four hundred women were recruited from the maternity ward of a public hospital in South West Sydney. Symptoms of birth trauma and postnatal depression were assessed via questionnaires given at birth, 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months post‐partum. The prevalence of having a PTSD profile at 6 weeks post‐partum was 2%. A further 10.5% of women reported experiencing significant distress related to childbirth and several symptoms of post‐traumatic stress without meeting full diagnostic criteria. The prevalence of a PTSD profile remained relatively stable across the first 12 months post‐partum, with estimates being 2.6% at 6 months and 2.4% at 12 months. The co‐morbidity between post‐traumatic stress and postnatal depression was high at all three time points. The study highlights the potentially chronic nature of PTSD after childbirth and the importance of viewing post‐partum emotional distress in a broader context than simply postnatal depression.
Approaching the matched filter bound with block transmission techniques

Block transmission techniques, with appropriate cyclic prefixes and employing frequency‐domain equalisation techniques, have been shown to be suitable for high data rate transmission over severely time‐dispersive channels. The most popular techniques based on this concept are orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and single‐carrier with frequency‐domain equalisation (SC‐FDE).
Uplink OFDMA resource allocation with discrete rates: optimal solution and suboptimal implementation

Resource allocation in the uplink of orthogonal frequency‐division multiple access systems is investigated. The problem of ergodic utility maximisation with discrete rates is formulated and solved using dual Lagrangian techniques. Suboptimal algorithms based on equal power allocation over the subcarriers are proposed. Results are presented and compared for the continuous and discrete rates scenario, using both the optimal solutions and the suboptimal algorithms. Equal power allocation is shown to approximate well the optimal solution in the continuous rates case, as well as in the discrete rates scenario when the number of modulation and coding schemes increases. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Correlation between morphological and functional liver volume in each sector using integrated SPECT/CT imaging by computed tomography and technetium-99m galactosyl serum albumin scintigraphy in patients with various diseases who had undergone hepatectomy

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to accurately examine the functional volume (RI-vol) of the hepatic segments on single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (CT) fusion imaging by technetium-99m galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy and compare it with the RI-vol and morphological volume obtained on computed tomography (CT-vol). MethodsIn 60 patients with various liver background statuses who had undergone hepatectomy, the RI-vol and CT-vol were examined in each sector using imaging analysis. The values from a control group (n=91) were used as reference data. ResultsThe mean RI-vol and CT-vol of the right liver were 64±10 and 63±6%, respectively, whereas the values for the left liver were 36±10 and 37±6%, respectively. Compared with the control group, the ratios in each hemiliver were similar. The mean RI-vol and CT-vol for each sector were also similar, and significant positive correlations were identified between the two volumes (P<0.01). In four patients with hepatic tumors involving the main hepatic vessels or the bile duct and in 10 patients who had undergone portal vein embolization, the actual RI-vol in the injured sector was significantly decreased compared with CT-vol (P<0.05). There were marked changes in functional volume in segment 6+7 and segment 2+3 after portal vein embolization (P<0.05). ConclusionVolumetric measurement using single photon emission computed tomography/CT imaging with technetium-99m galactosyl human serum albumin scintigraphy is useful for evaluating the functional volume in separated livers and offers a good reflection of the background liver status.
Achieving high diversity and multiplexing gains in the asynchronous parallel relay network

A single source‐destination pair communicating via a layer of parallel relay nodes under quasi‐static slow fading environment is investigated. The time delays from the source to the destination via different relays are assumed to be different. For such an asynchronous environment, a new transmission scheme is constructed so as to achieve better diversity‐multiplexing tradeoff (DMT). More specifically, both the source and the destination adopts orthogonal frequency division multiplexing technique to solve the asynchronous problem; the relays cooperatively apply the distributed generalised complex orthogonal design, a form of orthogonal space–time coding, for high‐rate transmission. Each relay is assumed to use the adaptive amplify‐and‐forward relaying strategy. To optimise its outage performance, a distributed on‐off power control rule applied to the relays is analytically derived and is proved to yield full spatial diversity order. Compared with an existing protocol, our proposed scheme is shown to achieve the same DMT when there are four relay nodes and better DMT when there are more. Besides, the DMT gap between our scheme and the existing one increases with the number of relay nodes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TNF receptor I on human keratinocytes is a binding partner for staphylococcal protein A resulting in the activation of NF kappa B, AP‐1, and downstream gene transcription

Abstract: Primary human keratinocytes and immortalized HaCaT cells were analysed for their capacity to bind purified staphylococcal protein A (SpA). Co‐incubation with FITC‐labelled SpA led to a dose‐depending attachment. Pull‐down experiments with cellular extracts revealed the TNFα receptor I (TNF RI) as binding partner on keratinocytes. Thus, we next looked for expression of this receptor in human epidermis and cultured keratinocytes. TNF RI is strongly expressed on all keratinocytes analysed, both at the mRNA and protein level and activation by SpA at optimal doses of 50–100 μg/ml resulted in the phosphorylation of the TNF RI downstream kinases MEK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38 subsequently leading to translocation of the p65 NF kappa B subunit and AP‐1 into the nucleus. This translocation was then followed by increased expression of IL‐8 and COX‐2, two known NF kappa B‐induced pro‐inflammatory genes. To further test the relevance of our findings, we analysed in vitro production of over 100 strains isolated from atopic eczema showing that more than 85% of the tested strains produced extracellular SpA in substantial amounts. Thus, besides superantigens, haemolysins, and other cell wall components, Staphylococcus aureus exerts pro‐inflammatory stimuli on human keratinocytes through the production of SpA signalling through TNF RI.
Absence of merkel cell polyoma virus in cutaneous melanoma

Abstract: Recently, merkel cell polyoma virus (MCPyV) has been described in 80% of merkel cell carcinomas (MCC). Similar to MCC, melanoma incidence is increased in immuno‐suppressed patients. We hypothesized that MCPyV may play a role in melanoma development as well. We selected 95 archival, paraffin‐embedded primary melanomas. DNA was obtained from micro‐dissected tissue and amplified with PCR primer sets specific for the MCPyV T‐antigen locus (LT1 and LT3) and for the VP1 gene. None of the 95 melanoma samples did show LT1, LT3, or VP1 fragment amplification. In conclusion, there is no evidence that MCPyV infection plays a role in cutaneous melanoma development.
PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE REGARDING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AMONG ADOLESCENT MALES OF LALITPUR

Background: Puberty is a significant phase of human growth. It has important implications for the development of regulatory competence and of physical, emotional, social maturity. Adolescents should have knowledge regarding their physical growth and reproductive health, so that unnecessary reservations and stress could be avoided. Adolescent males have as many health issues as adolescent females, but they are less likely to be seen in a clinical setting due to both individual factors and the health care system itself. Also, very few studies are done to access knowledge and perception of adolescent males regarding reproductive health. Hence, this study was designed to access the knowledge and perception of young adolescent males regarding physical growth and reproductive health which will help to design effective interventions mostly in terms of sex and health education. Method: : A Self designed questionnaire was given to the participants after explaining the objective of the study and taking written consent . The data was tabulated and students’ perception and knowledge regarding reproductive health was analysed. Result: 125 boys filled the form, mean age 13.2±2.2. Overall knowledge and perception regarding reproductive health was found to be satisfactory. Some shortcomings do exist like 50% participants did not know about contraceptives, 23% are worried about shape and size of their penis, and 23% feel no one understands them. Conclusion: Adolescent possess some knowledge about reproductive health but still effective educational intervention is required to encourage more sensible and healthy behaviour which and may lessen stress and reservations that comes with pubertal maturation. Asian Journal of Medical Science, Volume-3 No-3 (2012), Page -27-31 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ajms.v3i3. 7744
Anti N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: a game-changer?

ABSTRACT Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an inflammatory disorder of the brain that has garnered significant interest within the medical and lay communities. There is a need for formal guidelines to assist physicians in identifying patients who should undergo testing for NMDAR encephalitis, recognizing the high potential for this potentially treatable disease to mimic more common disorders, and consequently remain undiagnosed. Areas covered: This review highlights the impact of the discovery of NMDAR encephalitis on the fields of neurology and psychiatry, and discusses the steps that are necessary to improve recognition and treatment of NMDAR encephalitis. Expert commentary: While much progress has been made in our understanding of NMDAR encephalitis, much work remains to be done to delineate the underlying disease mechanisms and their relevance to brain function.
Relationships between substance use and hypomanic symptoms in a non-clinical sample

Previous work has demonstrated high levels of comorbidity between bipolar disorders and substance use disorders. There appears to be a relationship between substance use and hypomanic symptoms within the general population, but there has been little research in the area. The aim of the study was to examine relationships between substance use variables and hypomanic symptoms in a non-clinical sample. An international sample of 400 undergraduate students completed the 32-item hypomania checklist (HCL-32) and an author-constructed measure of substance use. Scores on the HCL-32 were significantly higher for those who were currently using amphetamines, and were approaching signifiance for those currently using cannabis, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and cocaine. Those with a lifetime history of cocaine and amphetamine use had significantly higher scores, and there was a non-significant trend for the same effect with lifetime MDMA use. Statistically significant correlations were found between scores.
Stress‐induced epinephrine levels compromise murine dermal fibroblast activity through β‐adrenoceptors

Abstract: Stress‐induced catecholamine impairs the formation of granulation tissue acting directly in fibroblast activity; however, the mechanism by which high levels of catecholamines alter the granulation tissue formation is still unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate how high levels of epinephrine compromise the activity of murine dermal fibroblasts. Dermal fibroblasts isolated from the skin of neonatal Swiss mice were preincubated with α‐ or β‐adrenoceptor antagonists. Thereafter, cells were exposed to physiologically elevated levels of epinephrine or epinephrine plus α‐ or β‐adrenoceptor antagonists, and fibroblast activity was evaluated. The blockade of β1‐ and β2‐adrenoceptors reversed the increase in fibroblast proliferation, ERK 1/2 phosphorylation, myofibroblastic differentiation and the reduction of collagen deposition induced by epinephrine. In addition, the blockade of β3‐adrenoceptors reversed the increase in fibroblast proliferation and nitric oxide synthesis as well as the reduction of fibroblast migration, AKT phosphorylation and active matrix metalloproteinase‐2 expression induced by epinephrine. However, the blockade of α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptors did not alter the effects of epinephrine on the activity of murine dermal fibroblasts. In conclusion, high levels of epinephrine directly compromise the activity of neonatal mouse skin fibroblasts through the activation of β1‐, β2‐ and β3‐adrenoceptors, but not through α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptors.