Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The efficacy of exercise as a long-term antidepressant in elderly subjects: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Pharmacological treatment of depression in geriatric patients is often difficult. Although unsupervised exercise has been shown to benefit younger depressed patients, there is no evidence that unsupervised exercise can be used as a maintenance treatment for depression in elderly patients. Our aim was to test the feasibility and efficacy of unsupervised exercise as a long-term treatment for clinical depression in elderly patients. METHODS We studied 32 subjects (71.3 +/- 1.2 years of age, mean +/- SE) in a 20-week, randomized, controlled trial, with follow-up at 26 months. Subjects were community-dwelling patients with major or minor depression or dysthymia. Exercisers engaged in 10 weeks of supervised weight-lifting exercise followed by 10 weeks of unsupervised exercise. Controls attended lectures for 10 weeks. No contact was made with either group after 20 weeks until final follow-up. Blinded assessment was made with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Philadelphia Geriatric Morale Scale, and Ewart's Self Efficacy Scale at 20 weeks and with the BDI and physical activity questionnaire at 26 months. RESULTS Patients randomized to the exercise condition completed 18 +/- 2 sessions of unsupervised exercise during Weeks 10 to 20. The BDI was significantly reduced at both 20 weeks and 26 months of follow-up in exercisers compared with controls (p <.05-.001). At the 26-month follow-up, 33% of the exercisers were still regularly weight lifting, versus 0% of controls (p <.05). CONCLUSIONS Unsupervised weight-lifting exercise maintains its antidepressant effectiveness at 20 weeks in depressed elderly patients. Long-term changes in exercise behavior are possible in some patients even without supervision.
On the Nominal Interest Rate Yield Response to Net Government Borrowing in the U.S.: GLM Estimates, 1972-2012

This study provides current empirical evidence on the impact of net U.S. government borrowing (budget deficits) on the nominal interest rate yield on ten-year Treasury notes. The model includes an ex ante real short-term real interest rate yield, an ex ante real long-term interest rate yield, the monetary base as a percent of GDP, expected future inflation, the percentage growth rate of real GDP, net financial capital inflows, and other variables. This study uses annual data for the period 1972-2012. GLM (Generalized Linear Model) estimates imply, among other things, that the federal budget deficit, expressed as a percent of GDP, exercised a positive and statistically significant impact on the nominal interest rate yield on ten-year Treasury notes over the study period.
Prostanoid-induced relaxation of precontracted cat ciliary muscle is mediated by EP2 and DP receptors.

The pharmacology of prostanoid-induced relaxation of the precontracted cat ciliary smooth muscle was characterized using synthetic prostaglandin (PG) analogues that are selective for specific prostanoid receptors. Relaxation was studied using carbachol to precontract the isolated longitudinal ciliary muscle, followed by application of the PG agonist. Of the compounds studied, PGE2 was the most potent relaxant (concentration that produced 50% of maximum relaxation, 10(-7) mol/l), and its maximal effect in each preparation was used as a standard for comparison. Both PGD2 and PGF2 alpha produced relaxations that were approximately 30- and 100-fold weaker, respectively, than those produced by PGE2. Prostanoids with activity at the EP2 (19-(R)-hydroxy PGE2 and 11-deoxy PGE1) and DP (BW 245C) receptors potently relaxed the ciliary muscle. Other EP receptor subtypes and the TP receptor were not involved as indicated by the lack of relaxant activity of sulprostone (EP3 > EP1), MB 28767 (EP3 > TP), and U-46619 (TP). Although 17-phenyl trinor PGE2 (EP1 and EP3) and PGI2 (IP) had some activity, it occurred at a nonselective dose (10(-4) mol/l). The presence of DP receptors in the cat ciliary muscle was confirmed by using BW A868C, a selective DP-receptor antagonist. This drug (concentration, 1 mumol/l) displaced the relaxant effects of PGD2 but had no effect on the activities of PGE2 and 11-deoxy PGE1. In addition, 17-phenyl trinor PGF2 alpha (FP) was inactive, indicating that the FP receptor was not involved in ciliary muscle relaxation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Efficacy of Written Modeling and Vicarious Reinforcement in Increasing Use of Problem-Solving Methods by Distressed Individuals

The authors evaluated an application of social cognitive theory principles intended to increase adherence to a problem-solving intervention. The study included 132 adult volunteers who wanted to reduce their distress levels. All participants received group training in problemsolving methods. Before attempting to solve at least 1 distressing problem in their lives over the next 3 weeks, participants were randomly assigned to either (a) a modeling with vicarious reinforcement condition in which they received 3 personal anecdotes written by individuals who had successfully applied problem-solving methods to a real problem or (b) a control condition in which they received a fact sheet about problem solving. Word counts of problem-solving writing, self-reports of adherence, and observer ratings of adherence showed that participants in the vicarious reinforcement condition demonstrated significantly higher adherence than did those in the control condition. These results provide support for the effectiveness of symbolic modeling and vicarious reinforcement in increasing adherence to problem-solving methods by individuals who want to decrease their distress.
Profound Sex-Specific Effects on Incubation Times for Transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy to Mice

Four strains of mice were inoculated intracerebrally with a primary isolate of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and the cloned mouse-adapted scrapie strain ME7. Clinical prion disease diagnosis was made at the appearance of three or more neurological symptoms and their persistence for 3 consecutive weeks and confirmed by neuropathological criteria. For BSE, incubation periods were profoundly different between the sexes in all four mouse strains, being longer in the females. In contrast, ME7 scrapie incubation times were similar between the sexes. Our results indicate that sex-specific processes are involved in the course of primary BSE transmission. Research into this phenomenon may provide clues to the prophylaxis of BSE and have possible implications for new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
Safety and pharmacokinetics of anti‐TFPI antibody (concizumab) in healthy volunteers and patients with hemophilia: a randomized first human dose trial

Prophylaxis with either intravenous (i.v.) factor VIII (FVIII) or FIX is the gold standard of care for patients with severe hemophilia. A monoclonal antibody (concizumab) targeting tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) that can be administered subcutaneously (s.c.) has the potential to alter current concepts of prophylaxis in hemophilia.
Towards Automatic Detection of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis from Speech Acoustic and Articulatory Samples

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapid neurodegenerative disease that affects the speech motor functions of patients, thus causes dysarthria. There is no definite marker for the diagnosis of ALS. Currently, the diagnosis of ALS is primarily based on clinical observations of upper and lower motor neuron damage in the absence of other causes, which is timeconsuming, of high cost, and often delayed. Timely diagnosis and assessment for ALS are crucial. Automatic detection of ALS from speech samples would advance the diagnosis of ALS. In this paper, we investigated the automatic detection of ALS from short, pre-symptom speech acoustic and articulatory samples using machine learning approaches (support vector machine and deep neural network). A data set of more than 2,500 speech samples collected from eleven patients with ALS and eleven healthy speakers was used. Leave-subjects-out cross validation experimental results indicate the feasibility of the automatic detection of ALS from speech samples. Adding articulatory motion information (from tongue and lips) further improved the detection performance.
A retrospective study on the treatment outcome of wide-bodied implants.

PURPOSE This retrospective study documented the 5-year cumulative survival rate (CSR) of 5-mm-diameter wide-bodied implants in posterior jaws as related to identified risk factors and relative host bone site dimensions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-four wide-bodied implants placed consecutively in the posterior jaws of 43 patients were matched using several identified risk factors with 64 regular-diameter implants (3.75-mm or 4-mm diameter) placed in the posterior jaws of 25 of the same patients and 14 others. Life table analyses were undertaken to examine the difference in CSR between the groups. Multivariate Cox regression was conducted to assess the relationship between potential risk factors and overall CSR. RESULTS Ten of the wide-bodied implants failed (CSR 80.9%), while two of the regular-diameter implants failed (CSR 96.8%). The difference between the groups was statistically significant. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between overall CSR and the ratio of implant volume to remaining bone volume. This suggests that relative determinants of critical bone volume to implant dimensions may need to be considered when planning implant surgery. CONCLUSION Wide-bodied implants placed in the posterior jaw can suffer a significantly elevated risk of implant failure compared to regular-diameter implants. This susceptibility may relate to either implant design or the relative relationship of implant to host bone dimensions.
Depressive Symptomatology and Priming Effects Among Younger and Older Adults

Background/Study Context: This study examined the potential impact of self-reported depressive symptoms on the age-related capacity for inhibition and suppression, utilizing a negative priming paradigm. Methods: One hundred eighty-five community-residing adults varying in age (98 younger adults, Mage = 22; 87 older adults, Mage = 69) completed a nonconscious priming task, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), the Depression Sensitivity Scale (DSS), a free thought suppression task, as well as several measures indexing overall cognitive ability and psychomotor speed. Hierarchical regressions investigated the interaction of depressive symptoms with age and its effect on both positive and negative priming performance, indexing both facilitation and inhibition effects, respectively. Results: Results support the hypothesis that noncognitive factors affect effortful performance among older adults, although this influence varied with the specific component of the GDS, i.e., Dysphoria, Social Withdrawal, and Cognitive Control, and with the measure of depressive symptoms, i.e., GDS versus DSS. Conclusion: These data suggest that aging’s impact on both facilitation and inhibition, e.g., positive and negative priming, are to an extent, a function of individual differences in depressive symptoms that interact with age in influencing the necessity to reallocate one’s cognitive resources to deal with depressive thoughts and feelings.
van den Ende–Gupta syndrome: Laryngeal abnormalities in two siblings

In 1992, van den Ende et al. first reported an autosomal recessive multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by blepharophimosis, arachnodactyly, and congenital contractures in a Brazilian girl born to consanguineous parents. Since then, nine total patients have been reported with van den Ende–Gupta syndrome (VDEGS), and the syndrome's phenotype has been found to also include additional dysmorphic facial features, palatal abnormalities, and slender skeletal features. We present two African‐American sisters born to nonconsanguineous parents who have been diagnosed with VDEGS. Both sisters developed stridor and were found to have an unusual malformation characterized by large, globular cuneiform cartilages, shortened aryepiglottic folds, a tightly coiled epiglottis, and laryngomalacia. Both patients underwent supraglottoplasty with a successful outcome. A review of the literature reveals that airway problems have been reported in a previous patient. However, no specific airway anomaly has been reported. We suggest that all patients with VDEGS and stridor undergo direct laryngoscopy with consideration for surgical correction. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assisting reproduction of infertile men carrying a Robertsonian translocation.

BACKGROUND In order to provide better genetic counselling for Robertsonian translocation carriers, the meiotic segregation of chromosomes 13, 14 and 21 from six infertile (13;14) and (14;21) Robertsonian translocation carriers was examined. METHODS Dual-colour fluorescence in-situ hybridization analysis using locus-specific probes was carried out on spermatozoa of translocation carriers. Spermatozoa from six proven fertile subjects were analysed using the same probes as controls. RESULTS We observed that the frequencies of unbalanced spermatozoa were similar in the (13;14) translocation carriers (9.0, 10.0 and 12.9%) and in the (14;21) translocation carriers (8.7, 7.2 and 7.0%). These frequencies were significantly increased compared with the control population (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This high frequency might justify the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis in these patients where the translocation is usually associated with infertility, requiring intracytoplasmic sperm injection, as it might improve the outcome of the assisted reproduction technique.
The effect of temperature and density on broiler performance.

Abstract STUDIES by Barrott and Pringle (1949, 1950), Ota and Garver (1954), Prince et al. (1960) and Howes et al. (1962) indicated that the optimum environmental temperature for growing broilers decreased to approximately 12.8° to 18.3° at 4 to 5 weeks of age. Some controversy exists in the literature concerning density effects on broiler performance. Tomhave and Seeger (1945), Mehrhof and O’Steen (1948), Heishman et al. (1952), Thayer et al. (1953), Hartung (1955), Brooks et al. (1957, 1958), Milligan et al. (1957), McHenry (1958), and Hanson and Becker (1960) reported a reduction in growth rate as floor area per bird was decreased. Siegel and Coles (1958), compared 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.25 square feet of floor space per broiler and found little difference in body weight. Olinde et al. (1965) used bird densities of 0.50, 0.67, and 1.00 square feet of floor space under fogging and non-fogging conditions. Fogging of broilers .
Real-Time Strategy Game Competitions

In recent years, real-time strategy (RTS) games have gained attention in the AI research community for their multitude of challenging and relevant real-time decision problems that have to be solved in order to win against human experts or to effectively collaborate with other players in team-games. In this article we motivate research in this area, give an overview of past RTS game AI competitions, and discuss future directions.
Long-term mortality after transfusion-associated non-A, non-B hepatitis. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Study Group.

BACKGROUND Acute non-A, non-B hepatitis after blood transfusion often progresses to chronic hepatitis and sometimes culminates in cirrhosis or even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the frequency of these sequelae and their effects on mortality are not known. METHODS We traced patients with transfusion-related non-A, non-B hepatitis who had been identified in five major prospective studies conducted in the United States between 1967 and 1980. We matched each patient with two control subjects (identified as the first and second controls) who received transfusions but who did not have hepatitis. The mortality rates in the three groups were determined with use of data from the National Death Index and Social Security Death Tapes. Cause-specific mortality was determined by reviewing death certificates. RESULTS Vital status was established for over 94 percent of the 568 patients who had had non-A, non-B hepatitis and the two control groups (526 first controls and 458 second controls). After an average follow-up of 18 years, the estimate by life-table analysis of mortality from all causes was 51 percent for those with transfusion-associated non-A, non-B hepatitis, as compared with 52 percent for the first controls and 50 percent for the second controls. The survival curves for the three groups were virtually the same. Mortality related to liver disease was 3.3, 1.1, and 2.0 percent, respectively, among the three groups (P = 0.033 for the comparison of the group with non-A, non-B hepatitis with the combined control group). Seventy-one percent of the deaths related to liver disease occurred among patients with chronic alcoholism. CONCLUSIONS In this long-term follow-up study, there was no increase in mortality from all causes after transfusion-associated non-A, non-B hepatitis, although there was a small but statistically significant increase in the number of deaths related to liver disease.
[In vitro maturation and fertilization of unstimulated immature oocyte for the treatment of infertile women].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of in vitro maturation (IVM) and fertilization of unstimulated immature oocytes for the treatment of infertile women. METHODS Fifty-four cycles of IVM were carried out in 40 patients including 26 women with infertility due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and 14 patients with history of assisted reproductive technology (ART) failure. Transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte collection was performed during menstrual cycle days 9 - 12 without pretreatment of gonadotropins. After 24 - 48 hours of culture, the metaphase II stage oocytes were inseminated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Embryo transfer was performed 2 or 3 days after ICSI. Laser assisted hatching was done before embryo transfer. RESULTS Seven cycles were cancelled and the cancel rate was 13% (7/54). A total of 857 immature oocytes were obtained with the mean numbers of 18.2 per cycle, and 632 oocytes developed at MII stage (73.7%, 632/857). A total of 476 oocytes were fertilized by ICSI (75.3%, 476/632), with a cleavage rate of 91.2% (434/476). Embryo transfer was performed in 47 cycles and the mean number of embryos transferred were 4.3 per cycle (range: 2 - 6). The mean endometrial thickness on the day of embryo transfer was 8.9 mm. Nineteen clinical pregnancies were obtained, giving a pregnancy rate of 35% (19/54) per start cycle and 40% (19/47) per transfer cycle. CONCLUSIONS IVM of unstimulated immature oocytes for the treatment of women with various causes of infertility especially due to PCOS is an effective alternative method. The clinical pregnancy rate of 40% (19/47) is similar to that by conventional in vitro fertilization treatment in our unit.
Predictive value of a whole blood IFN-gamma assay for the development of active tuberculosis disease after recent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

RATIONALE Numerous studies have been published on the new Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-specific IFN-gamma release assays. However, their prognostic value for progression from latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to active TB has yet to be established. OBJECTIVES To compare the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay (QFT) with the tuberculin skin test (TST) in recently exposed close contacts of active TB cases with respect to their development of TB disease within 2 years. METHODS Close contacts (n = 601) of MTB-positive source cases underwent both TST and QFT testing and were subsequently observed for 103 (+/-13.5) weeks. Risk factors for MTB infection were evaluated by multivariate analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS For the TST, 40.4% (243/601) of contacts were positive at a 5-mm cutoff, whereas only 66 (11%) were QFT positive. QFT positivity, but not TST, was associated with exposure time (P < 0.0001). Six contacts progressed to TB disease within the 2-year follow-up. All were QFT positive and had declined preventive treatment, equating to a progression rate of 14.6% (6/41) among those who were QFT positive. The progression rate for untreated TST-positive subjects was significantly lower (P < 0.003), at 2.3% (5 of 219), and one subject who progressed was TST negative. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that QFT is a more accurate indicator of the presence of LTBI than the TST and provides at least the same sensitivity for detecting those who will progress to active TB. The high rate of progression to active TB of those who are QFT positive (14.6%), which is far greater than the 2.3% found for those who are TST positive, has health and economic implications for enhanced TB control, particularly if this higher progression rate is seen in studies of other at-risk populations.
Neuro-fuzzy decoding of sensory information from ensembles of simultaneously recorded dorsal root ganglion neurons for functional electrical stimulation applications

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used to improve motor function after injury to the central nervous system. Some FES systems use artificial sensors to switch between finite control states. To optimize FES control of the complex behavior of the musculo-skeletal system in activities of daily life, it is highly desirable to implement feedback control. In theory, sensory neural signals could provide the required control signals. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of deriving limb-state estimates from the firing rates of primary afferent neurons recorded in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). These studies used multiple linear regression (MLR) methods to generate estimates of limb position and velocity based on a weighted sum of firing rates in an ensemble of simultaneously recorded DRG neurons. The aim of this study was to test whether the use of a neuro-fuzzy (NF) algorithm (the generalized dynamic fuzzy neural networks (GD-FNN)) could improve the performance, robustness and ability to generalize from training to test sets compared to the MLR technique. NF and MLR decoding methods were applied to ensemble DRG recordings obtained during passive and active limb movements in anesthetized and freely moving cats. The GD-FNN model provided more accurate estimates of limb state and generalized better to novel movement patterns. Future efforts will focus on implementing these neural recording and decoding methods in real time to provide closed-loop control of FES using the information extracted from sensory neurons.