Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combining Pharmacological Antagonists and Behavioural Psychotherapy in Treating Addictions

Supervised administration of disulfiram is one of the very few treatments that can significantly reduce alcohol consumption, yet it is rarely used, despite being simple and cheap. Disulfiram is not ‘aversion therapy‘, but a technique for facilitating exposure and response prevention, and it fits comfortably into a behavioural, social-learning model of addiction (or dependence) and its treatment. The availability of other effective antagonists, notably to opiates, suggests that an approach that is demonstrably effective in alcohol dependence may be helpful in treating other addictions. The reasons for the unpopularity of this approach appear to be largely ideological.
The Role of the Mouse in the Life Cycle of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Two experiments were undertaken to assess the role of the mouse in the life-cycle of Aelurostrongyhis abslrusus. In the first, 18 mice were fed first stage larvae and killed one month later. At post-mortem and histopathological examinations larvae were not demonstrated and attempts to extract larvae from a proportion of the mice were also negative. In the second experiment, 24 mice were fed heavy doses of first stage larvae. Subsequent examinations failed to reveal the presence of larvae and post-mortem and histopathological examinations performed on two cats, each of which had been fed with six of the mice, failed to reveal the presence of lungworms. It is concluded that mice do not act as intermediate host for Aelurostrongyhis abstrusus.
Dipeptides catalyze rapid peptide exchange on MHC class I molecules

Significance We have shown previously that dipeptides can support efficient in vitro folding of the MHC class I molecules. Here, we describe the discovery of dipeptides that catalyze the dissociation of low- and high-affinity peptides from class I and their replacement for exogenous peptides of interest, on both recombinant and cell surface HLA-A*02:01, HLA-B*27:05, and H-2Kb molecules. Understanding peptide exchange on class I will help us understand peptide optimization in live cells. We demonstrate that the peptide-exchange technology can be used to produce epitope-specific MHC tetramers much faster and more easily than possible with techniques currently available and to enhance peptide loading onto live cells for cancer immunotherapy. Further applications include allotype specific peptide epitope elution from tumor cells. Peptide ligand selection by MHC class I molecules, which occurs by iterative optimization, is the centerpiece of immunodominance in antiviral and antitumor immune responses. For its understanding, the molecular mechanisms of peptide binding and dissociation by class I molecules must be elucidated. To this end, we have investigated dipeptides that bind to the F pocket of class I molecules. We find that they accelerate the dissociation of prebound peptides of both low and high affinity, suggesting a mechanism of action for the peptide-exchange chaperone tapasin. Peptide exchange on class I molecules also has practical uses in epitope discovery and T-cell monitoring.
A method for quantifying biodiversity loss and its application to a 50‐year record of deforestation across Madagascar

Madagascar is a top global conservation priority for high rates of deforestation and endemism. Deforestation has been extensive, but impacts of forest loss on biodiversity have not been well quantified, especially for nonvertebrates. We use generalized dissimilarity modeling (GDM) as a basis for estimating forest biodiversity remaining at different points in time. We predict that 9.1% of species in Madagascar have been committed to extinction from deforestation between 1950 and 2000. This quantity is higher than losses expected from random deforestation of the same total area, indicating that deforestation has been biased towards environmentally and biologically distinct areas. In contrast to traditional area‐based methods, these techniques allow one to estimate biodiversity loss based on the location of deforestation and thus can inform land‐use policies that aim to minimize biodiversity impacts of deforestation or development.
Relationship between socioeconomic status and physical fitness in junior high school students.

BACKGROUND Research on physical fitness often regards socioeconomic status (SES) as a confounding factor. However, few studies investigate the impact of SES on fitness. This study investigated the impact of SES on physical fitness in both males and females, with an economic-based construct of SES. METHODS The sample consisted of 954 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from a public, urban, Illinois middle school. The students participated in the FITNESSGRAM battery of fitness assessments as part of physical education. Descriptive statistics were calculated for height, weight, age, and sex. Students were grouped as high or low SES depending on whether they qualified for the federal free lunch program. A multivariate analysis of variance controlled for age and stratified by sex compared the raw scores from the fitness test for low and high SES students. Odds ratios stratified by sex were calculated for the likelihood of not achieving the FITNESSGRAM Healthy Fitness Zone standards among SES groups. RESULTS Girls of the low SES group had significantly lower scores on the FITNESSGRAM assessments and were significantly less likely to achieve Healthy Fitness Zone status than the girls from the high SES groups. For boys, SES was a significant main effect for body composition but not for the other fitness tests conducted. CONCLUSION SES is related to physical fitness in girls but not in boys. A potential explanation for this is that boys are more likely to engage in vigorous leisure time activity regardless of SES than girls.
The predictive value of plasma brain natriuretic peptide for the recurrence of atrial fibrillation six months after external cardioversion.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level for the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after successful cardioversion in patients with persistent AF. STUDY DESIGN The study included 58 patients (36 females, 22 males; mean age 59 years) with preserved left ventricular function, who underwent successful electrical cardioversion for persistent AF. Plasma BNP levels were measured before, 30 minutes and six months after cardioversion and electrocardiography was performed to assess AF recurrence. Echocardiography was performed in all the patients before cardioversion. RESULTS At six months, 38 patients (65.5%) were in sinus rhythm (SR), whereas 20 patients (34.5%) reverted to AF. The mean baseline BNP level was significantly higher than that measured 30 minutes after cardioversion (255.6+/-159.6 pg/ml vs 70.5+/-57.0 pg/ml; p=0.00006). Patients who reverted to AF had significantly higher baseline (p=0.035) and six-month (p=0.001) BNP levels. In addition, they had a significantly greater decrease in BNP levels 30 minutes after cardioversion than patients who remained in SR (-271.9+/-42.4 pg/ml vs -139.4+/-25.3 pg/ml; p=0.008). ROC analysis of this drop with the cutoff value of 200 pg/ml predicted AF recurrence at six months with 80% sensitivity and 86% specificity. There were no correlations between baseline BNP level and duration of AF. However, left atrium diameter showed a significant negative correlation with the baseline BNP level (for = or <40 mm, 41-45 mm, and = or >45 mm: 394.6 pg/ml, 206.5 pg/ml, and 198.5 pg/ml, respectively; p=0.02). CONCLUSION In patients with persistent AF, baseline plasma BNP level and the magnitude of its decrease after successful cardioversion may predict AF recurrence.
EFFECT OF IMIDACLOPRID ON THE BIOCHEMICAL CONTENTS OF KIDNEYS IN MALE SWISS ALBINO MICE

Six groups (A, B, C, D, E and F) of male Swiss albino mice (Mus musculus albinus) were orally administered with varied doses (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, 4.0 and 8.0 mg/kg bw/mouse) of imidacloprid; they showed significant decrease in protein, DNA and RNA content in the kidneys of all the treated groups of mice throughout the experimental period (on day 1, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 30 of treatment) when compared with controls. It is clear from the results that the insecticide caused marked disturbance in the metabolism of protein, DNA and RNA.
Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Fibigia Triquetra (DC.) Boiss. to Osmotic Stress

Abstract Water deficit in the soil leads to osmotic stress in plants. The type of stress affects plant water relations, osmolyte accumulation and oxidative stress balance. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of osmotic stress on the Croatian perennial species Fibigia triquetra (DC.) Boiss, adapted to a hot and dry habitat. Plants grown in culture conditions were subjected to isoosmotic concentrations of mannitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) and certain physiological and oxidative stress parameters were analyzed during a period of 14 days. Dry weight and proline content in Fibigia triquetra shoots increased in response to osmotic stress while the relative water content decreased. After an initial rise, chlorophyll and carotenoid levels in treated plants dropped to untreated plant levels. Oxidative damage to proteins and especially to lipids was evident upon PEG-induced osmotic stress. Superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase appear to play an essential protective role in stressed plants. Regardless of the osmotic agent, accumulation of heat-shock proteins of 70 kDa was noticed under osmotic stress. The tolerance of the plant species to osmotic stress seems to be associated with increased capacity of the antioxidative system and efficient photoprotective system.
The prevalence of potential drug interactions in Intensive Care Units

Aims: Drug interaction occurs when a drug affects the action of another. In this line, the present study has been conducted to determine the prevalence of potential drug interactions in critical care units. Methods: In the present retrospective study, the first twenty-four hour prescriptions of 371 patients admitted to intensive care unit of Shahid Bahonar hospital of Kerman were investigated in terms of the number and type of drug interaction in addition to other factors such as number of drugs, age, gender, length of ICU stay and number of prescribing doctors. In order to determine the number and type of drug interactions, a reference textbook of "Drug Interaction Facts" was used, and data analysis was performed by SPSS 18 statistical software with respect to the study objectives using descriptive statistics, Pierson correlation test, independent t-test, and variance analysis. Results: In terms of the drugs received, 77 different drugs and, in total, 2091 cases of drug prescription were found with the average of 5.6 (±1.5) for each patient. Overall, 726 cases of drug interactions were observed among critical care unit patients in the first 24 hour of prescription. Delayed, moderate, and possible interactions were accounted for the most interactions found. The results are indicative of a significant correlation between the number of drug interactions and prescribed medications, age, gender, duration of hospitalizations and number of prescribing doctors. Conclusion: Due to possessing more risk factors of drug interactions, critical care unit patients are at higher risk of developing drug interaction which behooves the medical team to pay more attention to this issue.
A Case of Anti‐Epiligrin Cicatricial Pemphigoid Associated with Lung Carcinoma and Severe Laryngeal Stenosis: Review of Japanese Cases and Evaluation of Risk for Internal Malignancy

A 68‐year‐old Japanese male with a five‐year‐history of lung carcinoma showed recurrent blisters and erosions on the oral and genital mucosae and the skin. The patient complained of dyspnea due to severe laryngeal stenosis and underwent a tracheostomy. A skin biopsy specimen showed a subepidermal blister and linear deposits of IgG and C3 at the basement membrane zone of the epidermis. Indirect immunofluorescence examination demonstrated circulating IgG anti‐basement membrane zone autoantibodies that reacted to epiligrin on immunoblotting. Based on a diagnosis of anti‐epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid, he was treated with prednisolone, minocycline hydrochloride and nicotinamide. Although no new skin lesions appeared, he died of lung carcinoma five months after the tracheostomy. A review of reported cases with anti‐epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid in Japan disclosed that 5 of 16 cases (31.2%) were complicated by internal malignancies.
VoxResNet: Deep Voxelwise Residual Networks for Volumetric Brain Segmentation

Recently deep residual learning with residual units for training very deep neural networks advanced the state-of-the-art performance on 2D image recognition tasks, e.g., object detection and segmentation. However, how to fully leverage contextual representations for recognition tasks from volumetric data has not been well studied, especially in the field of medical image computing, where a majority of image modalities are in volumetric format. In this paper we explore the deep residual learning on the task of volumetric brain segmentation. There are at least two main contributions in our work. First, we propose a deep voxelwise residual network, referred as VoxResNet, which borrows the spirit of deep residual learning in 2D image recognition tasks, and is extended into a 3D variant for handling volumetric data. Second, an auto-context version of VoxResNet is proposed by seamlessly integrating the low-level image appearance features, implicit shape information and high-level context together for further improving the volumetric segmentation performance. Extensive experiments on the challenging benchmark of brain segmentation from magnetic resonance (MR) images corroborated the efficacy of our proposed method in dealing with volumetric data. We believe this work unravels the potential of 3D deep learning to advance the recognition performance on volumetric image segmentation.
CMOS Differential and Amplified Dosimeter with Field Oxide N-Channel MOSFETs

We propose the use of a CMOS differential circuit with inherent amplification to enhance the performance of n-channel field oxide MOSFETs as ionizing radiation dosimeters. These new dosimeters are aimed to be used in low dose applications such as X-ray diagnosis. The circuit is presented and described, and a discrete-level prototype was tested as regards sensitivity, temperature variations compensation and signal-to-noise ratio at different operation conditions. Results show that, comparing to a single MOSFET dosimeter, on chip amplification is possible along with temperature induced error attenuation. The highest sensitivity measured with respect to γ radiation was 0.4 V/rad. The circuit successfully measured the dose delivered in an X-ray image diagnosis environment with a sensitivity of approximately 0.5 V/rad.
Dementing Disorders in the Elderly: Evolution of Disease Severity Over 7 Years

The goal of this study was to describe the evolution of dementia severity in a very old dementia population. We investigated a representative group of demented subjects gathered from a population-based study (n = 223). Changes in cognition, functioning, and performance on global scales were followed over a period of 7 years. At baseline, 19% of the demented subjects were found to be severely impaired according to the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, 41% according to the Mini-Mental State Examination score, and 31% according to Katz activities of daily living scale. After 7 years these proportions were 78%, 93%, and 68%, respectively. The probability of surviving 3 years, 5 years, and 7 years after baseline examination was 48%, 28%, and 15%, respectively. Over a 7-year follow-up period, subjects suffering from questionable–mild dementia had a mean survival of 3.9 years (95% confidence interval 3.3–4.5), whereas subjects with severe dementia survived on average 2.9 years (95% confidence interval 2.5–3.2). Male gender, lower education, and poor cognitive and functional status were associated with shorter survival in milder cases, whereas the only factors that predicted shorter survival in more severe cases were older age and poor functional status. Long-term survivors in dementia are not rare, and as the absolute number of demented people is increasing, expanding our knowledge of these persons is of high public health importance.
Rat Seminiferous Epithelium Contains a Unique Junction (Ectoplasmic Specialization) with Signaling Properties Both of Cell/Cell and Cell/Matrix Junctions

Abstract The seminiferous epithelium contains unique actin related cell-cell junctions, termed ectoplasmic specializations (ESs). Turnover of these junctions is fundamental to sperm release and to movement of spermatocytes from basal to adluminal compartments of the epithelium during spermatogenesis. In this study we report several novel observations related to the spatial and temporal distribution of integrin-related signaling molecules at ESs. We confirm the presence of β1-integrin at these sites and further demonstrate co-localization of integrin linked kinase (ILK). β1-Integrin and ILK were shown by immunoprecipitation to associate in whole cell lysates of seminiferous epithelium. This observation provides the first evidence for a direct β1-integrin/ILK interaction in noncultured epithelium. Pan-cadherin and β-catenin antibodies did not react at ESs. Rather, antibodies reacted with desmosome-like junctions that are present both at basal junctional complexes between Sertoli cells and at sites of attachment to spermatogenic cells. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a known integrin-associated molecule, did not codistribute with β1-integrins and did not associate with these adhesion molecules in immunoprecipitation studies. Although FAK was expressed in the epithelium, it appeared to be limited to the cytoplasm of early spermatogenic cells. Significantly, polyclonal antibodies against phosphotyrosine-containing residues reacted strongly at ESs, with highest levels detected during sperm release and turnover of basal junction complexes. Our observations indicate that ESs share cell signaling features both of cell-cell junctions and of cell-extracellular matrix junctions.
Learning argument structure generalizations

General correlations between form and meaning at the level of argument structure patterns have often been assumed to be innate. Claims of innateness typically rest on the idea that the input is not rich enough for general learning strategies to yield the required representations. The present work demonstrates that the semantics associated with argument structure generalizations can indeed be learned, given the nature of the input and an understanding of general categorization strategies. Examination of an extensive corpus study of children’s and mothers’ speech shows that tokens of one particular verb are found to account for the lion’s share of instances of each argument frame considered. Experimental results are reported that demonstrate that high token frequency of a single prototypical exemplar facilitates the learning of constructional meaning.
Histologic features relating to prognosis in synovial sarcoma

Although the American Joint Commission has classified all synovial sarcomas as “high grade” histologic subtypes can be identified. By histologically subclassifying synovial sarcoma tumors according to percent glandularity and mitotic rates, the authors were able to define high‐risk and low‐risk patients. Charts and original pathologic slides were reviewed on 45 synovial sarcoma patients. With a 41‐month median follow‐up, the low‐risk patients showed 100% survival, whereas the high‐risk patients showed 37% survival.
Analytical model for coupling of waves between a homogeneous medium and a volumetric transmission-line network

The use of transmission-line networks as periodic structures emulating many interesting metamaterial-related phenomena, such as negative refraction ([1], [2]) and cloaking ([3], [4]), has gained increasing interest in the scientific community. Transmission-line networks offer a simple way to create non-resonant, broadband structures exhibiting exotic wave propagation characteristics. A big drawback of traditional transmission-line metamaterials is the fact that most such structures are not inherently coupled with electromagnetic waves propagating in a homogeneous material, such as free space for example. Recently various approaches to couple transmission-line networks to free space have been proposed, see, e.g., [3], [4], [5]. The approach of [3], [4], is based on matching the free space wave to a network by introducing a special transition layer which couples the different modes propagating in the two different “media”. Such a layer can be formed simply by creating metal tapers, which guide the wave with very small amount of reflections from one media to another [3]. This technique has been successfully employed to create an electromagnetic cloaking device based on transmission-line networks [4].
Incidence of unplanned oophorectomy at laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy for clinically benign cysts

Abstract Laparoscopic surgery is the preferred approach in women with ovarian cysts and a low risk of malignancy, and the aim in young women should be to preserve the ovary. We are not aware of any data on the success of conservative surgery in preserving the affected ovary and this is the reason why we decided to investigate the incidence of unplanned oophorectomy, when a woman is originally scheduled for laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy for clinically benign cysts. We reviewed the medical notes of the 123 women who underwent surgery for clinically benign ovarian cysts between November 2004 and May 2012. The operative procedures performed were ovarian cystectomies (n = 119), salpingo-oophorectomy (n = 2) and fenestration (n = 2). In total, 61 women underwent a concomitant procedure. In our study, we found that planned laparoscopic cystectomy was mostly successful, with only 1.6% of patients in our series requiring unplanned oophorectomy.
Antigen-Induced Protective and Nonprotective Cell-Mediated Immune Components against Cryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT Mice immunized with two different cryptococcal antigen preparations, one a soluble culture filtrate antigen (CneF) in complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) and the other heat-killed Cryptococcus neoformans cells (HKC), develop two different profiles of activated T cells. CneF-CFA induces CD4+ T cells responsible for delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactivity and for amplification of the anticryptococcal DTH response, whereas HKC induce CD4+ and CD8+ T cells involved in anticryptococcal DTH reactivity and activated T cells which directly kill C. neoformans cells. The main purpose of this study was to assess the level of protection afforded by each of the two different T-cell profiles against challenge with viable C. neoformans cells, thereby identifying which activated T-cell profile provides better protection. CBA/J mice immunized with CneF-CFA had significantly better protective responses, based on better clearance of C. neoformans from tissues, on longer survival times, and on fewer and smaller lesions in the brain, than HKC-immunized mice or control mice similarly infected with C. neoformans. Both immunization protocols induced an anticryptococcal DTH response, but neither induced serum antibodies to glucuronoxylmannan, so the protection observed in the CneF-CFA immunized mice was due to the activated T-cell profile induced by that protocol. HKC-immunized mice, which displayed no greater protection than controls, did not have the amplifier cells. Based on our findings, we propose that the protective anticryptococcal T cells are the CD4+ T cells which have been shown to be responsible for DTH reactivity and/or the CD4+ T cells which amplify the DTH response and which have been previously shown to produce high levels of gamma interferon and interleukin 2. Our results imply that there are protective and nonprotective cell-mediated immune responses and highlight the complexity of the immune response to C. neoformans antigens.