Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of patients seeking health information online via social health networks versus general Internet sites: a comparative study

Background: Camoni.co.il, a Hebrew-language social health network offers advice, consultation, and connection to others with chronic illness. This study compared characteristics and objectives of Camoni.co.il users and individuals seeking medical information through general Internet sites. Methods: Similar questionnaires were sent to 1009 Internet and 900 Camoni users. Cluster analysis defined four modes of online social health network use: “acquiring information and support”, “communicating”, “networking” and “browsing”. Results: Six hundred and five Internet and 125 Camoni users responded. Diabetes, hypertension, obesity and lung diseases were found more often among general Internet users than Camoni users. Among Camoni users, “acquiring information and support” was the main motivation for individuals over age 55 years, women, those with lower income, chronic pain, obesity and depression. “Communicating” was the main incentive of men, those 20–34 years old, those with less education, or an eating disorder. “Networking” was the most significant motivation for those with multiple sclerosis or depression. Browsing was most frequent among individuals with multiple sclerosis. Conclusions: Identifying needs of social health network surfers will allow planning unique contents and enhancing social health sites. Physicians might advise patients to use them to obtain support and information regarding their conditions, possibly leading to improved compliance and self-management.
Sociocognitive and Behavioral Correlates of a Measure of Prosocial Tendencies for Adolescents

The present study was designed to examine the psychometric properties of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors to use with early adolescents and middle adolescents. One hundred thirty-eight students (X̄ age = 15.8 years; 80 girls; 70% White, non-Hispanic) from a public middle school and high school completed measures of prosocial moral reasoning, sympathy, perspective taking, aggression, ascription of responsibility, social desirability, verbal skills, and a revised prosocial tendencies measure (PTM-R). The questionnaires were completed in two sessions each separated by a 2-week time span (to assess test-retest reliability of the PTM-R). Moreover, teacher ratings of adolescents’ generosity and helpfulness toward others were obtained. Analyses were conducted separately for early adolescents and middle adolescents and results showed adequate reliability and evidence of validity for PTM-R. Discussion focused on individual differences in prosocial behaviors among early adolescents and middle adolescents and the need to differentiate among differing types of prosocial behaviors.
What Women and Men Should Be, Shouldn't be, are Allowed to be, and don't Have to Be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes

This article presents a four-category framework to characterize the contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. The framework distinguishes between prescriptions and proscriptions that are intensified by virtue of one's gender, and those that are relaxed by virtue of one's gender. Two studies examined the utility of this framework for characterizing prescriptive gender stereotypes in American society (Study 1) and in the highly masculine context of Princeton University (Study 2). The results demonstrated the persistence of traditional gender prescriptions in both contexts, but also revealed distinct areas of societal vigilance and leeway for each gender. In addition, they showed that women are seen more positively, relative to societal standards, than are men. We consider the implications of this framework for research on reactions to gender stereotype deviants and sex discrimination.
Relationship between cell cycle molecules and onset of oligodendrocyte differentiation

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are the myelin-forming cells of the CNS. They derive from progenitor cells that undergo a series of developmental stages to reach the mature myelinating phenotype (Pfeiffer et al., 1993). The progression from progenitor to myelinating oligodendrocyte entails a sequence of events, including cell cycle withdrawal, cytoskeletal changes and synthesis of myelin components. The end-point of differentiation is the formation of myelin sheaths around multiple axons that facilitates saltatory nerve conduction (Franklin, 2002). Although the majority of progenitors develop into oligodendrocytes, some persist in the adult CNS as a population of slowly dividing cells (Ffrench-Constant and Raff, 1986; Wolswijk and Noble, 1989; Reynolds and Hardy, 1997) and are thought to be responsible for remyelination after injury (Gensert and Goldman, 1997; Blakemore and Keirstead, 1999; Chang et al., 2000, 2002; Franklin, 2002). Remyelination by progenitor cells requires the recapitulation of a similar sequence of events occurring during development: progenitors proliferate, migrate to the site of lesion, contact the axon, and differentiate into myelinforming cells (Franklin et al., 1997; Franklin, 2002). Given the importance of these events for myelination during normal development and for remyelination after myelin damage, we shall first focus on the extracellular and intracellular signals regulating proliferation and then discuss models proposing a causal relationship between proliferation and differentiation in the oligodendrocyte lineage.
Pain in Persons Living With HIV and Comorbid Psychologic and Substance Use Disorders

ObjectivesThere is a dearth of information on the experience of pain in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cooccurring psychologic and substance use problems. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of pain in 162 HIV-positive persons diagnosed with mood and/or anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. MethodsBodily pain scores in the current sample were compared with pain scores in the United States general population and HIV-positive persons who screened negative for psychologic and substance use problems. Bivariate analyses were used to identify significant correlates of pain scores in the current sample, which were then subjected to multiple regression analysis. ResultsPain scores in the current sample were significantly lower (indicating more pain) than the general population and HIV-positive persons who screened negative for psychologic and substance use problems. Multivariate analysis indicated that the presence of mood disorder, older age, and lower CD4 cell counts (below 200) were associated with increased pain. Presence of mood disorder accounted for the largest amount of unique variance in pain scores. DiscussionHIV-positive persons with diagnosed mood/anxiety and substance use disorders reported substantially higher levels of pain than the general population and HIV-positive persons without these comorbid conditions. The presence of mood disorder emerged as an important marker for pain in the current sample. Given that individuals living with HIV and comorbid psychologic and substance use disorders are at increased risk for pain, concerted efforts should be directed at identifying and treating pain in this population.
Propagating Neural Source Revealed by Doppler Shift of Population Spiking Frequency

Electrical activity in the brain during normal and abnormal function is associated with propagating waves of various speeds and directions. It is unclear how both fast and slow traveling waves with sometime opposite directions can coexist in the same neural tissue. By recording population spikes simultaneously throughout the unfolded rodent hippocampus with a penetrating microelectrode array, we have shown that fast and slow waves are causally related, so a slowly moving neural source generates fast-propagating waves at ∼0.12 m/s. The source of the fast population spikes is limited in space and moving at ∼0.016 m/s based on both direct and Doppler measurements among 36 different spiking trains among eight different hippocampi. The fact that the source is itself moving can account for the surprising direction reversal of the wave. Therefore, these results indicate that a small neural focus can move and that this phenomenon could explain the apparent wave reflection at tissue edges or multiple foci observed at different locations in neural tissue. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The use of novel techniques with an unfolded hippocampus and penetrating microelectrode array to record and analyze neural activity has revealed the existence of a source of neural signals that propagates throughout the hippocampus. The source itself is electrically silent, but its location can be inferred by building isochrone maps of population spikes that the source generates. The movement of the source can also be tracked by observing the Doppler frequency shift of these spikes. These results have general implications for how neural signals are generated and propagated in the hippocampus; moreover, they have important implications for the understanding of seizure generation and foci localization.
Clozapine as a first treatment for schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to explore whether clozapine given as the first antipsychotic treatment favorably affects the course of schizophrenia. METHOD Thirty-four inpatients experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were treated first with clozapine and then followed for up to 4 years. In a previous study, the authors followed patients experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were given fluphenazine as the first treatment. In the current study and the previous study, response criteria required sustained remission of positive symptoms. RESULTS Nineteen of the 34 subjects met response criteria while taking clozapine. The median time to treatment response was 11 weeks (range=2-13). Using survival analysis, the authors determined that the cumulative response rate for the 34 patients was 66.4% at the end of 13 weeks, which is comparable to the response rate to fluphenazine in the previous study. All responses to clozapine occurred by 13 weeks. Eight (42%) of the clozapine responders discontinued clozapine before 6 months, and only six (32%) remained on clozapine for all of their time in the study. CONCLUSIONS The authors found no benefit for clozapine over conventional antipsychotics for acute treatment of the first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Long-term benefits could not be studied because of the high rate of early discontinuation of clozapine treatment.
A study of correlation of CT scan brain and EEG in epilepsy

Introduction: Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Epileptic seizures are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking. These episodes can result in physical injuries to the patients. Aim: To study the correlations of CT scan Brain and EEG in epileptic patients. Materials and methods: This study was done at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital (MGM), Warangal, and Telangana State. Duration of the study is from 2002 to 2003.The patients admitted with seizures were included after considering the exclusion of metabolic causes and infective causes. The seizures in these patients were classified as per the classification of International classification of epileptic seizures. Results: Out of 150 cases subjected to CT scan brain 90 (60 %) cases were normal and 60 cases (40%) showed focal lesions on CT scan. All 150 patients of epilepsy were subjected to EEG which was recorded using 18-channel instrument, Normal EEG was observed in 83 cases (55%), and Generalized epileptic potentials were seen in 41 cases (27.3%) and epileptic foci was seen in 26 cases (17.3%). Conclusion: A significant correlation was observed between focal EEG changes and focal lesions in CT scan brain.
The Impact of Mortality Salience on Mind Wandering During Reading: A Cognitive Test of Terror Management Theory

The effects of mind wandering on normal reading have been explored recently in studies using self-paced reading (Schooler, Reichle, & Halpern, 2004) and eye tracking (Reichle, Reineberg, & Schooler, 2009). These studies demonstrate our propensity to lapse into episodes of mindless reading, but shed little light on its causality. Furthermore, behavioral studies suggest that reminders of death (mortality salience) evoke an evolutionary defense mechanism capable of embracing distractions to eliminate thoughts of death (Pysczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1999). Thirty participants were primed with either reminders of their own death or reminders of a painful experience. Participants then read a neutral passage while self-reporting episodes of mind wandering and while responding to probes inquiring the status of their level of awareness. It was predicted that participants primed to be mortality salient would be caught by probes and mind wander less frequently due to increased engagement in the text in order to distract themselves from notions of their mortal vulnerability. The results partially confirm these predictions: All participants engaged in mind wandering to a comparable extent. Mortality salience-primed individuals self-reported far fewer instances of mind wandering than individuals who received a control (pain) prime, suggesting that reminders of death affect the ability to realize that mind wandering is happening.
Adaptive robust fast control for induction motors

A new induction motor position controller that exhibits fast response and robustness is proposed. The control strategy is based on the well-known linear quadratic regulator design principle. By adaptively adjusting a penalty parameter, it is shown that the control strategy enables the induction motor system to exhibit fast convergence. Meanwhile, since the sliding mode will occur in the transient process, the fast control inherits the robustness in matched uncertainties of the sliding-mode control. In addition, to alleviate the chattering effect of the switching control signal, a low-pass filter is used to smooth the control and its design is integrated with the switching control design. The performance of the proposed control strategy is verified by experimental results.
The Flavivirus Precursor Membrane-Envelope Protein Complex: Structure and Maturation

Many viruses go through a maturation step in the final stages of assembly before being transmitted to another host. The maturation process of flaviviruses is directed by the proteolytic cleavage of the precursor membrane protein (prM), turning inert virus into infectious particles. We have determined the 2.2 angstrom resolution crystal structure of a recombinant protein in which the dengue virus prM is linked to the envelope glycoprotein E. The structure represents the prM-E heterodimer and fits well into the cryo–electron microscopy density of immature virus at neutral pH. The pr peptide β-barrel structure covers the fusion loop in E, preventing fusion with host cell membranes. The structure provides a basis for identifying the stages of its pH-directed conformational metamorphosis during maturation, ending with release of pr when budding from the host.
Human γδ Thymocytes Are Functionally Immature and Differentiate into Cytotoxic Type 1 Effector T Cells upon IL-2/IL-15 Signaling

Cytotoxicity and IFN-γ production by human γδ T cells underlie their potent antitumor functions. However, it remains unclear where and how human γδ T cells acquire these key effector properties. Given the recent disclosure of a major contribution of the thymus to murine γδ T cell functional differentiation, in this study we have analyzed a series of human pediatric thymuses. We found that ex vivo–isolated γδ thymocytes produced negligible IFN-γ and lacked cytolytic activity against leukemia cells. However, these properties were selectively acquired upon stimulation with IL-2 or IL-15, but not IL-4 or IL-7. Unexpectedly, TCR activation was dispensable for these stages of functional differentiation. The effects of IL-2/IL-15 depended on MAPK/ERK signaling and induced de novo expression of the transcription factors T-bet and eomesodermin, as well as the cytolytic enzyme perforin, required for the cytotoxic type 1 program. These findings have implications for the manipulation of γδ T cells in cancer immunotherapy.
Tracing the fate of atmospheric nitrate deposited onto a forest ecosystem in Eastern Asia using Δ 17 O

Abstract. The stable isotopic compositions of nitrate in precipitation (wet deposition) and groundwater (spring, lake, and stream water) were determined for the island of Rishiri, Japan, so as to use the 17O anomalies (Δ17O) to trace the fate of atmospheric nitrate that had deposited onto the island ecosystem, which is a representative background forest ecosystem for eastern Asia. The deposited nitrate had large 17O anomalies with Δ17O values ranging from +20.8‰ to +34.5‰ (n = 32) with +26.2‰ being the annual average. The maximum Δ17O value of +34.5‰, obtained for precipitation on the 23rd to 24th of February 2007, was an extraordinarily large value among values for all samples of precipitation in Rishiri. Most nitrate in the sample might have been produced via NO3 radical in a highly polluted air mass that had been supplied from megacities on the eastern coast of the Asian continent. On the other hand, nitrate in groundwater had small Δ17O values ranging from +0.9‰ to 3.2‰ (n = 19), which corresponds to an mixing ratio of atmospheric nitrate to total nitrate of (7.4±2.6)%. Comparing the inflow and outflow of atmospheric nitrate in groundwater within the island, we estimated that the direct drainage accounts for (8.8±4.6)% of atmospheric nitrate that has deposited on the island and that the residual portion has undergone biological processing before being exported from the forest ecosystem.
Development of a prototype system for statewide asthma surveillance.

OBJECTIVES We developed and evaluated a statewide and community-level asthma surveillance system. METHODS Databases and measures included a community prevalence survey, hospital admissions data, emergency department/outpatient clinic visit records, and a physician survey of diagnosis and treatment practices. We evaluated the system in 5 Maine communities varying in population and income. RESULTS Asthma hospitalizations were high in the rural/low-socioeconomic-status communities studied, although diagnosed asthma was low. Males were more likely than females to experience asthma symptoms, although they were less likely to have been diagnosed with asthma or to have used hospital-based asthma care. CONCLUSIONS Databases were useful for estimating asthma burden and identifying service needs as well as high-risk groups. They were less useful in estimating severity or in identifying environmental risks.
Genetic Variation in MAOA Modulates Prefrontal Cortical Regulation of Approach-Avoidance Reactions

Background: Regulation of automatic approach and avoidance behavior requires affective and cognitive control, which are both influenced by a genetic variation in the gene encoding Monoamine Oxidase A (termed MAOA-uVNTR). Methods: The current study investigated MAOA genotype as a moderator of prefrontal cortical activation measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in 37 healthy young adults during performance of the approach-avoidance task with positive and negative pictures. Results: Carriers of the low- compared to the high-expressing genetic variant (MAOA-L vs. MAOA-H) showed increasing regulatory activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during incompatible conditions (approach negative, avoid positive). This might have been a compensatory mechanism for stronger emotional reactions as shown in previous studies and might have prevented any influence of incompatibility on behavior. In contrast, fewer errors but also lower activity in the right DLPFC during processing of negative compared to positive stimuli indicated MAOA-H carriers to have used other regulatory areas. This resulted in slower reaction times in incompatible conditions, but - in line with the known better cognitive regulation efficiency - allowed them to perform incompatible reactions without activating the DLPFC as the highest control instance. Carriers of one low- and one high-expressing allele lay as an intermediate group between the reactions of the low- and high-expressing groups. Conclusions: The relatively small sample size and restriction to fNIRS for assessment of cortical activity limit our findings. Nevertheless, these first results suggest monoam-inergic mechanisms to contribute to interindividual differences in the two basic behavioral principles of approach and avoidance and their neuronal correlates.
How anthropogenic noise affects foraging

The influence of human activity on the biosphere is increasing. While direct damage (e.g. habitat destruction) is relatively well understood, many activities affect wildlife in less apparent ways. Here, we investigate how anthropogenic noise impairs foraging, which has direct consequences for animal survival and reproductive success. Noise can disturb foraging via several mechanisms that may operate simultaneously, and thus, their effects could not be disentangled hitherto. We developed a diagnostic framework that can be applied to identify the potential mechanisms of disturbance in any species capable of detecting the noise. We tested this framework using Daubenton's bats, which find prey by echolocation. We found that traffic noise reduced foraging efficiency in most bats. Unexpectedly, this effect was present even if the playback noise did not overlap in frequency with the prey echoes. Neither overlapping noise nor nonoverlapping noise influenced the search effort required for a successful prey capture. Hence, noise did not mask prey echoes or reduce the attention of bats. Instead, noise acted as an aversive stimulus that caused avoidance response, thereby reducing foraging efficiency. We conclude that conservation policies may seriously underestimate numbers of species affected and the multilevel effects on animal fitness, if the mechanisms of disturbance are not considered.
Temporal study of Nosema spp. in a cold climate.

In a nationwide Swedish survey, 967 honey bee colonies from 521 beekeepers were sampled in the spring of 2007 and the samples assayed for Nosema spp. infections. Of the 319 positive samples, only 32 samples contained a proportion of N. ceranae DNA in mixed infections with both Nosema spp. above the cut-off point chosen for comparisons of 1%. Only one pure N. ceranae infection was found, with the rest 284 infected samples assayed being pure N. apis infections. In 2009 and 2011, beekeepers or bee inspectors providing N. ceranae mixed positive bee samples in 2007 were again asked to submit samples (2009, n = 96; 2011, n = 83). No trend of an increased proportion of N. ceranae-infected samples could be found. The proportion of N. ceranae DNA in samples with mixed infection did not increase between 2007 and 2011. It is concluded that N. apis is still the dominating Microsporidia infection in honey bees in Sweden and that there is no tendency for one species replacing the other.