Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development Patterns of Executive Functions in Children

Abstract Executive Functions (EF) exercise control over an individual’s conduct and thinking through a set of functionally independent processes, among which are cognitive flexibility (reactive and spontaneous), working memory and planning. The development patterns of these components appear to have stages of acceleration and deceleration during childhood. Studies analyzing their development in Spanish-speaking children were not found in our area. Therefore, this study will analyze the development patterns of the cited executive functions with the objective of establishing relationships and comparisons, and identifying the stages of acceleration and stagnation for each component. The study’s sample consists of 274 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 8 (119 in first grade, 61 in second grade and 94 in third grade). Participants were evaluated using the following instruments from the Neuropsychological Assessment of Children test battery (known by the acronym ENI in Spanish): Verbal Fluency (semantic and phonemic); Cognitive Flexibility; Mexican Pyramid; and Backward Digit Span. Three different development patterns were detected, as well as different interactions between the executive components. Additionally, three empirical types were established based on the patterns and relationships between components.
Risk and Predictors of Arterial Thrombosis in Lupus and Non-Lupus Primary Glomerulonephritis: A Comparative Study

We conducted the current study to compare the incidence and risk factors of arterial thrombosis in lupus and non-lupus primary glomerulonephritis. We identified patients in whom lupus nephritis and non-lupus primary glomerulonephritis were diagnosed between 1993 and 2003 using our lupus cohort database and pathology registry. We analyzed the cumulative incidence of new arterial thromboembolic events since diagnosis by Kaplan-Meier plot, and studied risk factors by multivariate analysis. We studied 162 patients with lupus and 181 patients with non-lupus primary glomerulonephritis. After a mean observation of 8.1 years, 47 (14%) patients died, 23 (7%) were lost to follow-up, and 38 (11%) developed 42 arterial events (incidence, 15.1/1000 patient-years). Although patients with lupus nephritis were younger and had a significantly lower frequency of smoking, hypertension, obesity, and renal dysfunction, their cumulative risk of arterial event at 5 years was not significantly lower than that of patients with primary non-lupus glomerulonephritis (6.3% vs. 6.6%, p = 0.96). In a Cox regression model, lupus was found to be an independent risk factor for arterial thrombosis (hazard ratio 3.57 [1.07-11.9]; p = 0.04), in addition to increasing age (hazard ratio 1.04 per year; p = 0.02), low-density lipoprotein ≥2.6 mmol/L (hazard ratio 4.46; p = 0.002), and glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min (hazard ratio 2.67; p = 0.04). We concluded that in immune-mediated glomerulonephritis, having systemic lupus increased the risk of arterial thromboembolism after adjustment for age, renal insufficiency, and other traditional risk factors. Abbreviations: ACE = angiotensin-converting enzyme, ARB = angiotensin II-receptor blockers, AZA = azathioprine, CT = computed tomography, CYC = cyclophosphamide, GFR = glomerular filtration rate, HCQ = hydroxychloroquine, HIRS = Hospital Information Retrieval System, MMF = mycophenolate mofetil, MRI = magnetic resonance imaging, SLE = systemic lupus erythematosus, TIA = transient ischemic attack.
Severe Psychological Stress in Elderly Individuals: A Proposed Model of Neurodegeneration and Its Implications

During clinical practice, degenerative diseases in some patients appear after exposure to a severe psychological stress. Several studies have suggested that the duration of exposure to corticosteroids or stress, the dose of corticosteroids and the vulnerability of the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex areas targeted by elevated stress hormones, mediate the damaging effects of elevated corticosteroids. Although understanding what triggers the transition from adaptive plasticity to the maladaptive effects of stress in the elderly is important, one of the great challenges is to determine individual differences in vulnerability to stress-induced events in both animal and human populations, and to devise strategies that may help protecting the brain from permanent damage. This review provides the basis for creating interventions and educational programs during midlife in order to prevent dementia or other neurodegenerative diseases or to halt the progress of neurodegeneration in the early stages.
About 1% of the breast and ovarian Spanish families testing negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 are carriers of RAD51D pathogenic variants

RAD51D mutations have been recently identified in breast (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) families. Although an etiological role in OC appears to be present, the association of RAD51D mutations and BC risk is more unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of germline RAD51D mutations in Spanish BC/OC families negative for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations. We analyzed 842 index patients: 491 from BC/OC families, 171 BC families, 51 OC families and 129 patients without family history but with early‐onset BC or OC or metachronous BC and OC. Mutation detection was performed with high‐resolution melting, denaturing high‐performance liquid chromatography or Sanger sequencing. Three mutations were found in four families with BC and OC cases (0.82%). Two were novel: c.1A>T (p.Met1? ) and c.667+2_667+23del, leading to the exon 7 skipping and one previously described: c.674C>T (p.Arg232*). All were present in BC/OC families with only one OC. The c.667+2_667+23del cosegregated in the family with one early‐onset BC and two bilateral BC cases. We also identified the c.629C>T (p.Ala210Val) variant, which was predicted in silico to be potentially pathogenic. About 1% of the BC and OC Spanish families negative for BRCA1/BRCA2 are carriers of RAD51D mutations. The presence of several BC mutation carriers, albeit in the context of familial OC, suggests an increased risk for BC, which should be taken into account in the follow‐up and early detection measures. RAD51D testing should be considered in clinical setting for families with BC and OC, irrespective of the number of OC cases in the family.
Optimal MMSE Pan Sharpening of Very High Resolution Multispectral Images

In this paper, we propose an optimum algorithm, in the minimum mean-square-error (mmse) sense, for panchromatic (Pan) sharpening of very high resolution multispectral (MS) images. The solution minimizes the squared error between the original MS image and the fusion result obtained by spatially enhancing a degraded version of the MS image through a degraded version, by the same scale factor, of the Pan image. The fusion result is also optimal at full scale under the assumption of invariance of the fusion parameters across spatial scales. The following two versions of the algorithm are presented: a local mmse (lmmse) solution and a fast implementation which globally optimizes the fusion parameters with a moderate performance loss with respect to the lmmse version. We show that the proposed method is computationally practical, even in the case of local optimization, and it outperforms the best state-of-the-art Pan-sharpening algorithms, as resulted from the IEEE Data Fusion Contest 2006, on true Ikonos and QuickBird data and on simulated Pleiades data.
Real-time pothole detection on TMS320C6678 DSP

In this paper, a previously proposed pothole detection algorithm is improved in order to increase its performance in terms of speed and detection rate and to evaluate the performance. The algorithm was implemented for the TMS320C6678 SoC Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Potholes can be detected by comparing the disparity values of the scene to that of the disparity of the road surface if known. In a practical situation, the disparity of the road surface is not known but can be estimated. In this paper, the disparity of the road surface is efficiently estimated by modeling the road surface. Connected Component Labeling for size and severity estimation of individual potholes is also used. The main improvement of the existing algorithm follows the introduction of sampling when estimating model parameters. The sampling algorithm uses prior knowledge of the points' distribution and thus reduces the randomness when selecting data points. To achieve a high frame rate, the system was not only improved at the algorithm level but also taking advantage of the architecture of the SoC, using the various compiler optimization switches and selecting the appropriate memory arrangement. Finally, to take advantage of the multicore SoC, OpenMP APIs for code parallelization was used for the implementation. This has shown an improvement of around 3.4 times when using 5 cores. It is also shown that using more than 5 cores can result in performance degradation. Experimental results show that the system achieves real-time high performance of 145fps on images with 1050×600 resolution with 100% recall and 98% accuracy for pothole detection.
Prevention of dialysis catheter-related sepsis with a citrate-taurolidine-containing lock solution.

BACKGROUND The use of haemodialysis catheters is complicated by catheter-related sepsis. Intraluminal colonization of the catheter with bacteria is important in the pathogenesis of catheter-related sepsis. The use of a catheter lock solution containing the antimicrobial taurolidine might prevent bacterial colonization, thereby reducing the incidence of catheter-related sepsis. METHODS In a randomized prospective trial, patients receiving a dialysis catheter were included and catheters were locked with either heparin or a citrate-taurolidine-containing solution. Blood cultures drawn from the catheter lumen were routinely taken every 2 weeks and at time of removal of the catheter to detect bacterial colonization. Catheter-related sepsis and exit-site infections were registered for both groups. RESULTS A total of 76 catheters were inserted in 58 patients. The incidence of catheter colonization progressed slowly over time with no differences between dialysis catheters filled with heparin or citrate-taurolidine-containing solution. The number of exit-site infections was also similar between both groups. In the heparin group, four cases of catheter-related sepsis occurred as opposed to no sepsis episodes in the patients with catheters locked with the citrate-taurolidine-containing solution (P<0.5). No side effects with the use of citrate-taurolidine catheter lock solution were noted. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that catheter filling with a solution containing the antimicrobial taurolidine may significantly reduce the incidence of catheter-related sepsis. Taurolidine appears to be effective and safe and does not carry the risk for side effects that have been reported for other antimicrobial lock solutions containing gentamicin or high concentrations of citrate.
EFFECT OF NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS, POTASSIUM, AND MANURE ON SIZE, RATE OF DEVELOPMENT, AND YIELD OF BRUSSELS SPROUTS

A factorial experiment was conducted during three successive cropping seasons to investigate the effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and manure on the growth and yield of Brussels sprouts. Plant development was delayed by a lack of phosphorus. Nitrogen and phosphorus applications decreased the yields of small sprouts and increased the yields of those greater than 2.3 cm in diameter. Total marketable yields were substantially increased by nitrogen and phosphorus but were only slightly affected by rates of applied potassium. Yield increases from high rates of nitrogen were obtained only when accompanied by adequate phosphorus. A manure treatment slightly increased marketable yields but the effect was usually not significant.
Exhaled NO and iNOS expression in sputum cells of healthy, obese and OSA subjects

Background. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with airways inflammation; a key role in this regard seems to be played by nitric oxide (NO). The aim of this study was to measure exhaled NO and expression of its enzyme, the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cells of induced sputum in OSA patients and in obese subjects without sleep apnoea and to correlate these inflammatory markers with severity of OSA.
Tomato spotted wilt virus-positive steps towards negative success.

Abstract Taxonomy: Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is the type member of the plant-infecting Tospovirus genus in the family Bunyaviridae, a large group of predominantly vertebrate- and insect-infecting RNA viruses. Physical properties: Virions are 80-120-nm pleomorphic particles with surface projections composed of two viral glycoproteins, G1 and G2 (Fig. 1). Virion composition is 5% nucleic acid, 70% protein, 5% carbohydrate and 20% lipid. The genome consists of three negative or ambisense ssRNAs designated S (2.9 kb), M (4.8 kb) and L (8.9 kb), with partially complementary terminal sequences that allow the RNA to adopt a pseudocircular or panhandle conformation. Each genomic RNA is encapsidated by multiple copies of the viral nucleocapsid (N) protein to form ribonucleoprotein structures also known as nucleocapsids. The nucleocapsids are enclosed in a host-derived membrane bilayer along with an estimated 10-20 copies of the L protein, the putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Hosts: Over 800 plant species, both dicots and monocots, in more than 80 plant families are susceptible to TSWV (Goldbach and Peters, 1994). The Solanaceae and Compositae families contain the largest numbers of susceptible plant species (Prins and Kormelink, 1998). TSWV also replicates in its insect vector, thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) (Ullman et al., 1993; Wijkamp et al., 1993). Useful web site: http://www4.ncbi. nlm.nih. gov/ICTVdb/ICTVdB/11050003.htm.
Harnessing the Glucosyltransferase Activities of Clostridium difficile for Functional Studies of Toxins A and B

ABSTRACT The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been increasing within the last decade. Pathogenic strains of C. difficile produce toxin A and/or toxin B, which are important virulence factors in the pathogenesis of this bacterium. Current methods for diagnosing CDI are mostly qualitative tests that detect either the bacterium or the toxins. We have developed an assay (Cdifftox activity assay) to detect C. difficile toxin A and B activities that is quantitative and cost-efficient and utilizes a substrate that is stereochemically similar to the native substrate of the toxins (UDP-glucose). To characterize toxin activity, toxins A and B were purified from culture supernatants by ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatography through DEAE-Sepharose and gel filtration columns. The activities of the final fractions were quantitated using the Cdifftox activity assay and compared to the results of a toxin A- and B-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The affinity for the substrate was >4-fold higher for toxin B than for toxin A. Moreover, the rate of cleavage of the substrate was 4.3-fold higher for toxin B than for toxin A. The optimum temperature for both toxins ranged from 35 to 40°C at pH 8. Culture supernatants from clinical isolates obtained from the stools of patients suspected to be suffering from CDI were tested using the Cdifftox activity assay, and the results were compared to those of ELISA and PCR amplification of the toxin genes. Our results demonstrate that this new assay is comparable to the current commercial ELISA for detecting the toxins in the samples tested and has the added advantage of quantitating toxin activity.
Thylakoid Membrane Architecture in Synechocystis Depends on CurT, a Homolog of the Granal CURVATURE THYLAKOID1 Proteins

CurT is required for shaping the thylakoid membrane architecture in Synechocystis and mediates osmotic stress responses. Photosynthesis occurs in thylakoids, a highly specialized membrane system. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 (hereafter Synechocystis 6803), the thylakoids are arranged parallel to the plasma membrane and occasionally converge toward it to form biogenesis centers. The initial steps in PSII assembly are thought to take place in these regions, which contain a membrane subcompartment harboring the early assembly factor PratA and are referred to as PratA-defined membranes (PDMs). Loss of CurT, the Synechocystis 6803 homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana grana-shaping proteins of the CURVATURE THYLAKOID1 family, results in disrupted thylakoid organization and the absence of biogenesis centers. As a consequence, PSII is less efficiently assembled and accumulates to only 50% of wild-type levels. CurT induces membrane curvature in vitro and is distributed all over the thylakoids, with local concentrations at biogenesis centers. There it forms a sophisticated tubular network at the cell periphery, as revealed by live-cell imaging. CurT is part of several high molecular mass complexes, and Blue Native/SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing demonstrated that different isoforms associate with PDMs and thylakoids. Moreover, CurT deficiency enhances sensitivity to osmotic stress, adding a level of complexity to CurT function. We propose that CurT is crucial for the differentiation of membrane architecture, including the formation of PSII-related biogenesis centers, in Synechocystis 6803.
Reduction of the Potential Anticancer Drug Oracin in the Rat Liver In‐vitro

Studies on the metabolism of the potential cytostatic drug oracin have shown that a principal metabolite of oracin is 11‐dihydrooracin (DHO). We conducted in‐vitro experiments to investigate the extent of oracin carbonyl reduction in microsomal or cytosolic fractions and to find out the enzymes involved under these conditions.
Meta-analysis of family-based association studies between the dopamine transporter gene and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Introduction Molecular genetic research has mainly focused on the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) and the dopamine transporter (DAT) genes in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A recent meta-analysis showed that the DRD4 gene has a significant role in the vulnerability to ADHD. Objectives With an equal number of positive and negative association studies between the 10-repeat of the DAT gene and ADHD, a meta-analysis is required for this other candidate gene. Methods We re-analysed the 13 published family-based association studies between ADHD and the DAT gene. Following recent recommendations, different biases were specifically assessed, such as the sample-size effect and the time effect. Results The meta-analysis showed no significant association between ADHD and the DAT gene (P=0.21), but an important between-samples heterogeneity (P=0.0009). Odds ratios above 1 are mostly observed in studies with a small number of informative transmissions, and decrease with larger sample size. Conclusions Contrary to what was found for the DRD4 gene, the 10-repeat allele of the DAT gene has at most a minor role in the genetic susceptibility of ADHD. The different biases detected herein probably explain the initial impression of a significant impact of the DAT gene on hyperactivity.
Pooling of urine specimens for PCR testing: a cost saving strategy for Chlamydia trachomatis control programmes.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pooling of first catch urine (FCU) specimens as a cost effective strategy for chlamydia testing. METHODS: Mock specimens were pooled with and without dilution to determine optimal pool size and ease of work flow. The performance of the Amplicor Chlamydia trachomatis PCR assay on pooled specimens was compared with individual testing using 370 FCU specimens from asymptomatic men presenting to an STD clinic. Cost savings associated with pooling were estimated. RESULTS: Using mock specimens, the sensitivity and specificity of the Amplicor PCR assay were not affected by pool sizes of two and five, but at a pool size of 10 decreased sensitivity due to inhibition was observed in one of five mock pools when the pooling method which involved no dilution was used. Archived FCU specimens from a study of 370 asymptomatic men were combined consecutively into 74 pools of five and tested by PCR. Of the 18 pools that contained positive specimens, 17 were PCR positive. Compared with testing FCU specimens individually, pooling resulted in a sensitivity of 95%, specificity of 100%, and a cost savings of 57% based on reduced number of tests required. CONCLUSION: Depending on the prevalence of infection, pooling of FCU specimens for PCR testing may result in cost savings compared with testing specimens individually. Further evaluations to validate this strategy using fresh FCU specimens are needed.
Regenerative Medicine

A recent report demonstrated that a laboratory-grown neobladder tissue could be successfully used for cystoplasty in young patients with myelomeningocele who were otherwise healthy. This remarkable achievement portends well for the application of tissue engineering/regenerative medicine technologies to the treatment of end-organ failure due to a variety of causes (ie, congenital, acquired, age or disease related). Nonetheless, the broader clinical use of these groundbreaking technologies awaits improved understanding of endogenous regenerative mechanisms, more detailed knowledge of the boundary conditions that define the current limits for tissue repair and replacement in vivo, and the parallel development of critical enabling technologies (ie, improved cell source, biomaterials, bioreactors). This brief report will review a number of the most salient features and recent developments in this rapidly advancing area of medical research and detail some of our own experience with bladder and skeletal muscle regeneration and replacement as examples that highlight both the promise and challenges facing regenerative medicine/tissue engineering.
Hydration testing in collegiate wrestlers undergoing hypertonic dehydration.

UNLABELLED Because dehydration (DEH) violates assumptions used in the assessment of body composition, hydration testing has become an integral part of minimal weight (MW) assessment. PURPOSE To determine the accuracy of hydration tests for the detection and quantification of hypertonic DEH. METHODS Twenty-five male collegiate wrestlers (mean +/- SD, age: 20.0 +/- 1.4 yr, height: 175.0 +/- 7.1 cm, body mass: 81.7 +/- 15.3 kg) had their hydration assessed under well-controlled conditions of euhydration (EUH) and DEH. The DEH phase occurred on the same day as EUH, after subjects acutely dehydrated 2-6% of body weight through fluid/food restriction and exercise in a hot environment. RESULTS All hydration tests except plasma potassium significantly increased from EUH to DEH, and meaningful cutoff values could be established for most tests. Cutoff values for urine tests were 586 mOsm.L(-1) for osmolality and 71 mEq.L(-1) for potassium. Plasma cutoff values were 293 mOsm.L(-1) for osmolality, 140 mEq.L(-1) for sodium, 103 mEq.L(-1) for chloride, and 3.5 pg.mL(-1) for arginine vasopressin. For ratio tests, a urine:plasma osmolality of 2.06 and an extracellular:intracellular water of 0.533 measured by the bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy were cutoff values. For urine specific gravity, a cutoff value of 1.020 g.mL(-1) had a sensitivity and specificity of 96% each for the automated harmonic oscillation technique and 87% and 91% (respectively) for the dipstick technique. Protein (by dipstick) was detected in 5% of subjects in EUH, and 100% of subjects in DEH. Correlations between hydration tests and dehydration were only low to moderate. CONCLUSION This study supports a specific gravity cutoff of 1.020 g.mL(-1) for the identification of hypertonic DEH. Future research should test the cutoff values established in this study and explore the relationship between DEH and urine protein.