Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ENDOSCOPIC TRANSAQUEDUCTAL REMOVAL OF FOURTH VENTRICULAR NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS WITH AN ANGIOGRAPHIC CATHETER

OBJECTIVE Fourth ventricular neurocysticercosis (FVNCC) usually presents with obstructive hydrocephalus. Available treatment options are medical, external cerebrospinal fluid diversion, microsurgical, or endoscopic removal alone or in combination. We present our experience of transaqueductal removal of FVNCC by angiographic catheter with endoscopic third ventriculostomy with a rigid endoscope. METHODS Ten patients (five male and five female patients; age range, 12–45 yr; mean, 23.2 years) with FVNCC with obstructive hydrocephalus underwent endoscopic removal along with endoscopic third ventriculostomy in a single sitting, through a frontal precoronal burr hole. Diagnosis was established on imaging and confirmed on histology in all of the cases. The Gaab Universal Endoscope System along with 4-mm, 30-degree rigid telescopes was used to enter the third ventricle, and a cut length of angiographic catheter was negotiated through the aqueduct for removal of FVNCC. RESULTS Removal of the cyst was performed in all cases. A 30-degree rigid telescope provided excellent image quality, with the ability to address intra-FVNCC through the dilated aqueduct with a curved-tip catheter. None of these patients required any further surgery. There were no significant operative or postoperative complications in any of the cases. All of the patients were asymptomatic, with an average follow-up of 18 months. CONCLUSION Transaqueductal removal of an intra-fourth ventricular cyst along with endoscopic third ventriculostomy with a rigid endoscope and catheter is an effective treatment and obviates the need for posterior cranial fossa exploration.
“Candidatus Thiobios zoothamnicoli,” an Ectosymbiotic Bacterium Covering the Giant Marine Ciliate Zoothamnium niveum

ABSTRACT Zoothamnium niveum is a giant, colonial marine ciliate from sulfide-rich habitats obligatorily covered with chemoautotrophic, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria which appear as coccoid rods and rods with a series of intermediate shapes. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that the ectosymbiont of Z. niveum belongs to only one pleomorphic phylotype. The Z. niveum ectosymbiont is only moderately related to previously identified groups of thiotrophic symbionts within the Gammaproteobacteria, and shows highest 16S rRNA sequence similarity with the free-living sulfur-oxidizing bacterial strain ODIII6 from shallow-water hydrothermal vents of the Mediterranean Sea (94.5%) and an endosymbiont from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent gastropod of the Indian Ocean Ridge (93.1%). A replacement of this specific ectosymbiont by a variety of other bacteria was observed only for senescent basal parts of the host colonies. The taxonomic status “Candidatus Thiobios zoothamnicoli” is proposed for the ectosymbiont of Z. niveum based on its ultrastructure, its 16S rRNA gene, the intergenic spacer region, and its partial 23S rRNA gene sequence.
Social relations and depressive symptomatology: Self-efficacy as a mediator

This study investigates general and social self-efficacy as possible mediators of the relationship between quantity and quality of social relations and depressive symptomatology. Mediation models were examined using a regionally representative sample of middle-aged (35–59) and older adults (60+). Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for age, race, sex, education, health, and family composition, revealed partial mediation for several social relations predictor variables. Whereas general self-efficacy acted as a partial mediator for only middle-aged adults, social self-efficacy was a partial mediator between social relations and depressive symptomatology only among older adults. Findings suggest that self-efficacy may function as a mechanism through which social relations influence depressive symptoms, and that the importance of this mechanism as domain-specific or domain-general may vary with age.
No Association between Antibodies to Sexually Transmitted Infections and Colorectal Hyperplastic Polyps in Men: Minnesota Cancer Prevention Research Unit Polyp Study

Background: Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) are sexually transmitted and linked to several epithelial malignancies, but an association between HPV and colorectal neoplasia is not established. Previously, we reported a three-fold increase in the odds of colorectal hyperplastic polyps associated with oncogenic HPV seropositivity in men but detected no HPV DNA in colorectal tissues from these same men. Methods: To test the reproducibility of our prior HPV antibody results and to explore the hypothesis that colorectal hyperplastic polyps may be associated with sexual behavior in men, we conducted a case–control study of hyperplastic polyps and antibodies to eight oncogenic HPV types (including 16 and 18), Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Study participants were men, ages 30–74 years, enrolled in the Minnesota Cancer Prevention Research Unit Polyp Study who had an index colonoscopy from 1991 to 1994, and received a diagnosis of hyperplastic polyps (n = 97) or were polyp-free (n = 184). Plasma was assessed for antibodies to the eight oncogenic HPV types, HSV-2, and HCV using a bead-based multiplex assay. Results: The adjusted ORs for the association between hyperplastic polyps and seropositivity to oncogenic HPV (all eight types combined) was 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.44–1.58; for HSV-2, OR, 0.98, 95% CI, 0.48–1.99; and for HCV, OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.11–3.26]. Conclusions: Our study suggested no association between colorectal hyperplastic polyps and antibodies to specific sexually transmitted infections (STI) in men. Impact: Factors associated with STIs are unlikely to play a role in the etiology of colorectal hyperplastic polyps in men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(9); 1599–601. ©2012 AACR.
Patterns in fish radiation are compatible with Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and 14 600 year history for its cichlid species flock

Geophysical data are currently being interpreted as evidence for a late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and its refilling 14 600 years ago. This implies that between 500 and 1000 endemic cichlid fish species must have evolved in 14 600 years, the fastest large–scale species radiation known. A recent review concludes that biological evidence clearly rejects the postulated Pleistocene desiccation of the lake: a 14 600 year history would imply exceptionally high speciation rates across a range of unrelated fish taxa. To test this suggestion, I calculated speciation rates for all 41 phylogenetic lineages of fish in the lake. Except for one cichlid lineage, accepting a 14 600 year history does not require any speciation rates that fall outside the range observed in fishes in other young lakes around the world. The exceptional taxon is a lineage of haplochromine cichlids that is also known for its rapid speciation elsewhere. Moreover, since it is unknown how many founding species it has, it is not certain that its speciation rates are really outside the range observed in fishes in other young lakes. Fish speciation rates are generally faster in younger than in older lakes, and those in Lake Victoria, by far the largest of the young lakes of the world, are no exception. From the speciation rates and from biogeographical observations that Lake Victoria endemics, which lack close relatives within the lake basin, have such relatives in adjacent drainage systems that may have had Holocene connections to Lake Victoria, I conclude that the composition of the fish assemblage does not provide biological evidence against Pleistocene desiccation. It supports a hypothesis of recent colonization from outside the lake basin rather than survival of a diverse assemblage within the basin.
Increased Activity of Vitamin K-Dependent Clotting Factors in Human Hyperlipoproteinaemia – Association with Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels

Summary Levels of blood coagulation factors, cholesterol and triglyceride were measured in human plasma. Prothrombin was significantly elevated in type Ha hyperlipidaemia; prothrombin and factors VII, IX and X in type lib; and prothrombin and factors VII and IX in type V. Multiple regression analysis showed significant correlation between the levels of these plasma lipids and the vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (prothrombin, factors VII, IX and X). Higher cholesterol levels were associated with higher levels of prothrombin and factor X while higher triglyceride levels were associated with higher levels of these as well as factors VII and IX. Prothrombin showed a significant cholesterol-triglyceride interaction in that higher cholesterol levels were associated with higher prothrombin levels at all levels of triglyceride, with the most marked effects in subjects with higher triglyceride levels. Higher prothrombin levels were noted in subjects with high or moderately elevated (but not low) cholesterol levels. Ultracentrifugation of plasma in a density of 1.21 showed activity for prothrombin and factors VII and X only in the lipoprotein-free subnatant fraction. Thus, a true increase in clotting factor protein was probably present. The significance of the correlation between levels of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors and plasma lipids remains to be determined.
The Caulobacter crescentus flaFG region regulates synthesis and assembly of flagellin proteins encoded by two genetically unlinked gene clusters

At a specific time in the Caulobacter crescentus cell cycle, a single flagellar filament and multiple receptor sites for the swarmer-specific phage phi Cbk are assembled at one pole of the predivisional cell. One cluster of genes required for this morphogenesis, the flaYG region, includes the flgJKL genes, which encode structural proteins of the flagellar filament. These flagellin genes are flanked by genes required for filament assembly, the flaYE genes at one end and the flaF-flbT-flbA-flaG genes at the other. In this study, we characterized mutants carrying large chromosomal deletions within this region. Several of these strains are phi CbK resistant and produce a novel 22-kDa flagellin that is not assembled into flagella. Merodiploid strains containing either the entire flaFG region or individual fla transcription units from this region were constructed. These strains were used to correlate the presence or absence of specific gene products to changes in flagellin synthesis, filament assembly, or phage sensitivity. As a result of these studies, we were able to conclude that (i) the production of the 22-kDa flagellin results from the absence of the flbA and flaG gene products, which appear to be components of a flagellin-processing pathway common to the 25-, 27-, and 29-kDa flagellins; (ii) flbT negatively modulates the synthesis of the 27- and 25-kDa flagellins from two genetically unlinked gene clusters; (iii) flgL is the only flagellin gene able to encode the 27-kDa flagellin, and this flagellin appears to be required for the efficient assembly of the 25-kDa flagellins; (iv) flaF is required for filament assembly; and (v) phi CbK resistance results from the deletion of at least two genes in the flaFG region.
The Nature of Well-Being: The Roles of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Processes and Trait Emotional Intelligence

ABSTRACT The present study reconceptualized the role of hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (engagement) functions as well-being processes and distinguished them from well-being outcomes. Well-being outcomes encompass life satisfaction, positive affect, psychological well-being, social well-being, subjective physical health, and absence of depression, anxiety, and stress. It was hypothesized that trait emotional intelligence (EI) would mediate the relationship between well-being processes and well-being outcomes. Participants (N = 370, mean age = 27.35 years, SD = 10.01) completed measures of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being processes, trait EI, and well-being outcome indices. Path analysis using structural equation modeling showed that trait EI fully mediated the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic processes and well-being outcomes. Results demonstrated that engagement in meaningful activities as captured by hedonic and eudaimonic well-being processes may promote well-being outcomes.
A comparison and evaluation of the PML and COM mesh truncation techniques for FDTD simulation

Open region FDTD simulation requires terminating the computational domain with an operator or with an absorbing material that simulates the effect of an unbounded medium. Two techniques for mesh termination have emerged that succeed in bringing the artificial reflections generated from the terminal boundaries of FDTD space to unprecedented low levels. These two techniques are the perfectly matched layer (PML) introduced by Berenger (1994) and the complementary operators method (COM) introduced by Ramahi (1995). No direct comparison between the two techniques has yet been published. In this paper, an evaluation and comparison of these two techniques is presented that is based on a numerical experiment which has been discussed in the literature (Ramahi). Here, the primary factors in the comparison are: accuracy, memory overhead and operations count. Although this example gives numerical data, it is still intended to give primarily a qualitative perspective on the relative performance of the two techniques. The example demonstrates that COM provides comparable accuracy to that obtained by an 18-layer PML, while requiring less memory and fewer operations.
A family-based association study of congenital left-sided heart malformations and 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.

BACKGROUND Aortic valve stenosis (AVS), coarctation of the aorta (CoA), and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) are obstructive malformations of the left ventricular outflow tract that account for a significant proportion of infant mortality. Two previous small case-control studies suggested methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms may be associated with this group of malformations. METHODS We used a family-based association design with inclusion criteria of nonsyndromic diagnosis of AVS, CoA, and HLHS, powered to detect an odds ratio for the heterozygote of <1.5. A total of 207 affected offspring-parent trios were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphisms at the two common polymorphic loci C677T and A1298C. RESULTS Error rate estimation based on replicate samples was 0.76%. Mendelian inconsistency at either polymorphism was noted in 10 trios, for a calculated undetected error rate of 1.95%. A total of 197 trios were analyzed using the transmission disequilibrium test. Significant association was not found between both the C677T or A1298C polymorphisms and presence of a heart defect, whether analyzed as a group, or by sex, ethnicity, or specific diagnosis. A log-linear analysis did not find increased relative risk based on the maternal genotype. CONCLUSIONS We were unable to replicate previous association studies and concluded that neither the affected nor the maternal MTHFR genotype, by itself, is a major risk factor for congenital left ventricular outflow tract malformations.
Effort Allocation in Children With ADHD: Abnormal Decision-Making or Poor Execution?

Objective: Effort allocation is a multi-faceted process driving both the decision to choose a high effort–high reward alternative over a low effort–low reward alternative, and the execution of this decision by recruiting sufficient effort. The objectives of our study were to examine whether children with ADHD would (a) show different reward–effort cost trade-off, and (b) have difficulty executing their decision. Method: 50 children, aged 9 to 15, with and without ADHD, had to choose between high effort–high reward and low effort–low reward alternatives using a handheld dynamometer and to execute their choice. Results: Children with ADHD and controls made similar number of high-effort choices (p = .806). However, children with ADHD executed their high-effort choices less frequently compared with controls (p = .029). Conclusion: These findings suggest that children with ADHD are not characterized by different effort–reward trade-off but rather by difficulties in recruiting effort for their preferences implementation.
Effects of speech supplementation strategies on intelligibility and listener attitudes for a speaker with mild dysarthria

Speech supplementation strategies (alphabet cues, topic cues, and combined topic and alphabet cues) have been shown to have a positive effect on speech intelligibility for many individuals with dysarthria, particularly those with severe and profound intelligibility deficits (Hustad, Auker, Natale, & Carlson, 2003a; Hustad, Jones, & Dailey, 2003b). However, less attention has been given to speakers with moderate and mild intelligibility problems; therefore, the effects of speech supplementation strategies are largely unknown for these individuals. The present study examined the effects of speech supplementation strategies on intelligibility scores and listener attitudes for one speaker with mild spastic dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy. Results showed different findings from previous studies. In the present study, the only speech supplementation strategy that significantly increased intelligibility was alphabet cues. Attitude ratings for each strategy followed a different pattern than intelligibility scores. Results suggest that severity of dysarthria may play an important role in deciding which speech supplementation strategy to use.
Two Immunoglobul in G Fragment C Receptor Polymorphisms Independent ly Predic t Response to Rituximab in Pat ients With Fol l icular Lymphoma

Purpose: Although rituximab is now routinely used in the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the mechanism of its antitumor effect is not clear. One potential mechanism of action involves antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Two aspects of ADCC influence the effectiveness of this process: the susceptibility of tumor cells and the activation of effector cells via their immunoglobulin G fragment C receptors (Fc Rs). Several Fc R polymorphisms have been identified that may affect the killing function of natural killer cells and macrophages. Patients and Methods: The pretreatment tumor cells from 43 patients with follicular lymphoma were tested for their intrinsic susceptibility to rituximab-mediated ADCC. In addition, the Fc RIIIa (CD16) and Fc RIIa (CD32) polymorphisms were determined in an expanded group of 87 patients. The results were then correlated with clinical outcome of these patients. Results: No difference was found between the susceptibility of tumors from patients who clinically responded to rituximab versus those who did not respond. Conversely, both the Fc RIIIa 158 valine/valine and the Fc RIIa 131 histidine/histidine genotypes were found to be independently associated with the response rate and freedom from progression. Conclusion: These data support the hypothesis that ADCC plays an important role in the clinical effect of rituximab at the level of the effector cell. It will be important to include information on Fc receptor polymorphisms in future trials of rituximab therapy. J Clin Oncol 21:3940-3947. © 2003 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Italian in Australia: past and new trends

This article presents a critical overview of changes in the position and public image of Italian that have occurred within both the Italo-Australian community and broader Australian society during almost fifty years of mass migration from Italy. It argues that the language dynamics involving Italian have been, and still are, complex and multidirectional, and that a multiplicity of perspectives is therefore needed to give an account of the sociolinguistic processes that have taken place. The article also explores some new trends that have emerged since the mid-1990s and indicate that a cultural – and possibly also linguistic – revival is taking place among younger generations, which may modify some of the language patterns of previous years. The analysis takes into account the relationship between processes occurring at the community level on one hand and in the educational domain on the other. The concluding section suggests areas of research and initiatives which could support the new trends and reinforce and expand the position of Italian in Australia. This article presents a critical overview of changes in the position and public image of Italian that have occurred within both the Italo-Australian community and broader Australian society during almost fifty years of mass migration from Italy. Understanding these developments in the social and linguistic environment in which we operate is essential if innovations in our Italian teaching are to be effective. My general argument is that the language dynamics involving Italian have been, and still are, complex and multidirectional, and that a multiplicity of perspectives is therefore needed to give account of the sociolinguistic processes that have taken place. While up to the early 1990s all indicators seemed to point to the inevitable decline of the Italian language among the younger Italo-Australian generations, since the mid1990s new trends have started to emerge, indicating a cultural and linguistic revival that may modify the language patterns of previous decades to some extent. My analysis also takes into account the role that Italian has played and is still playing in the Australian educational domain, as well as the relationship between processes occurring at the community level on one hand and in the educational domain on the other. In conclusion I suggest some linguistic initiatives and new directions for research which could support the recent trends and serve to reinforce and expand the position of Italian in Australia, especially in education.
Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain

The findings described in this report and summarized here focus on the prevalence of mental disorders among 5-15 year olds and on the associations between the presence of a mental disorder and biographic, sociodemographic, socio-economic, and social functioning characteristics of the child and the family. Causal relationships should not be assumed for any of the results presented in this report.
Team Commitment as a Mediator Between Self-Esteem and Team Climate as Perceived by Korean Youth Soccer Players

This study examined whether team commitment mediates the relationship between self-esteem and perceived team climate in Korean youth soccer players. A total of 366 youth soccer players from the Korea football association participated in this study. Self-esteem and team commitment were found to significantly and positively affect perceived team climate; team commitment more strongly affected perceived team climate. Regarding structural relationships, self-esteem’s direct effect on perceived team climate was not significant; however, self-esteem’s indirect effect through team commitment was significant. Team commitment therefore mediated the relationship between self-esteem and perceived team climate. Metric invariance was supported for groups categorized by grade and key player, confirming that the model could be applied to various groups.