Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Associated with the Functional Status of Community‐dwelling Elderly

Purpose: This research sought to answer the following question: To what extent is the functional status of elderly people explained by gender, age, geographical residence, level of cognitive function, and depression? Method: Two hundred randomly selected community‐dwelling elderly people aged 65 to 80 years old completed the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Physical Performance Test (PPT). Results: Correlation analysis and simple linear regression models showed that age, MMSE, GDS, and geographical residence were significantly associated with the functional level, whereas gender was not. In the multiple regression model, MMSE and geographical residence together explained 40% of the variance in functional status; age and GDS did not add to the explanation. Conclusion: Since cognitive function had the strongest association with functional performance to an extent greater than the other variables, adding a treatment regimen that stimulates cognitive function might further enhance functional level or prevent decline of functional status compared with an exercise intervention alone.
An individualized gene expression signature for prediction of lung adenocarcinoma metastases

Our laboratory previously reported an individual‐level signature consisting of nine gene pairs, named 9‐GPS. This signature was developed by training on microarray expression data and validated using three independent integrated microarray data sets, with samples of stage I non‐small‐cell lung cancer after complete surgical resection. In this study, we first validated the cross‐platform robustness of 9‐GPS by demonstrating that 9‐GPS could significantly stratify the overall survival of 213 stage I lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients detected with RNA‐sequencing platform in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; log‐rank P = 0.0318, C‐index = 0.55). Applying 9‐GPS to all the 423 stage I‐IV LUAD samples in TCGA, the predicted high‐risk samples were significantly enriched with clinically diagnosed metastatic samples (Fisher's exact test, P = 0.0015). We further modified the voting rule of 9‐GPS and found that the modified 9‐GPS had a better performance in predicting metastasis states (Fisher's exact test, P < 0.0001). With the aid of the modified 9‐GPS for reclassifying the metastasis states of patients with LUAD, the reclassified metastatic samples presented clearer transcriptional and genomic characteristics compared to the reclassified nonmetastatic samples. Finally, regulator network analysis identified TP53 and IRF1 with frequent genomic aberrations in the reclassified metastatic samples, indicating their key roles in driving tumor metastasis. In conclusion, 9‐GPS is a robust signature for identifying early‐stage LUAD patients with potential occult metastasis. This occult metastasis prediction was associated with clear transcriptional and genomic characteristics as well as the clinical diagnoses.
An Eigen-Based Approach for Enhancing Matrix Inversion Approximation in Massive MIMO Systems

This correspondence presents a new matrix inversion approximation (MIA) method for massive multiple-input multiple-output systems (MIMO). In contrast to the existing methods that are mostly derived from the Neumann series expansion framework, additional coefficients have been introduced in our proposed method to enhance the precision of approximation. We propose an efficient algorithm for the coefficient design, which consists of an eigenvalue estimation procedure derived from random matrix theory, and a least-squares fitting procedure that solves a low-dimensional overdetermined system of linear equations. Complexity analysis and simulation results show that our eigen-based MIA method exhibits practically comparable computational complexity, while achieving substantial performance enhancement compared to other benchmark methods.
Comparison of Two Amplification Technologies for Detection and Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA in the Female Genital Tract

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA levels in female genital tract and peripheral blood samples were compared using two commercial amplification technologies: the Roche AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR test and either the Organon Teknika nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA-QT) assay or the NucliSens assay. Estimates of HIV-1 RNA copy number were derived from internal kit standards and analyzed unadjusted and adjusted to a common set of external standards. We found a discordance rate of approximately 18% between the two technologies for the detection of HIV-1 in either the genital tract or peripheral blood samples. Detection discordance was not consistent among specimens or among women. There were no significant differences in adjusted or unadjusted estimates of HIV-1 RNA copy number in the genital tract samples using the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR test and either the NASBA-QT assay or the NucliSens assay. In addition, the estimated HIV-1 RNA copy number in peripheral blood samples did not differ when tested with the NucliSens assay and the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR test using kit standards. However, there was a significant difference in estimated RNA copy number between the NASBA-QT assay and the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR test for internal kit standards, which, as we have previously shown, was eliminated after adjustment with the external standards. Our results suggest that the Roche and Organon Teknika assays are equivalent for quantifying HIV-1 RNA in female genital tract specimens, although variation in detection does exist.
Joint Cooling does not Hinder Athletic Performance during High-intensity Intermittent Exercise

Abstract We examined the effects of ankle and knee joint cooling on 20-m sprint times and maximal vertical jump heights during high-intensity intermittent exercise. 21 healthy collegiate male basketball (n=14) and handball players (n=7) underwent 3 experimental sessions. Each session consisted of four 15-min quarters of high-intensity intermittent exercises including various intensities of 20-m shuttle running and jumping. A 20-min bilateral joint cooling (ankle, knee, or control-no cooling: in a counterbalanced order) was applied before quarters 1 and 3. After joint cooling, no warm-up activity other than the exercise protocol was given. The 20-m sprint times and maximal vertical jump heights in each experimental session were recorded at baseline (prior to quarter-1) and during each quarter. To test joint cooling effects over time, we performed 3×5 mixed model ANOVAs. Neither ankle nor knee joint cooling changed 20-m sprint times (F8,280=1.45; p=0.18) or maximal vertical jump heights (F8,280=0.76; p=0.64). However, a trend was observed in which joint cooling immediately decreased (quarters 1 and 3) but active warm-up for approximately 20 min improved 20-min sprint times (quarters 2 and 4). Our study suggests that athletic performance such as sprinting and jumping are not altered by joint cooling applied prior to or during high-intensity intermittent exercise.
Antivirion Effects of Streptovaricin Complex Against Friend Virus

The in vitro antivirion activities of five different streptovaricin complex lots against the polycythemic strain of the Friend virus were evaluated. The assay system was based on the inhibition of the Friend virus-induced spleen foci. The virus inactivation process was shown to be susceptible to variation in temperature, pH, and time. The antivirion activity and the acute toxicity for mice, as well as the optical properties of these streptovaricin complexes, do not co-vary; this suggests that their biological activities are not associated with a single molecular structure. In addition, the antivirion activity of the five preparations of streptovaricin complex differs about 30-fold, indicating that this activity does not reside in a major component of the complex.
Neuropsychological Correlates of Theory of Mind Deficits in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to understand and interpret another person’s beliefs, intentions (cognitive ToM) and emotions (affective ToM). Objective: To explore affective and cognitive ToM and their neuropsychological correlates in patients affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Material and Method: Forty MS patients and 40 matched control individuals underwent tasks assessing cognitive (the ToM Pictures Sequencing Task and the Advanced Test of ToM) and affective ToM (the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task and the Emotion Attribution Task), in both verbal and nonverbal modality, a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and questionnaires for behavioral disorders. Results: MS patients performed significantly worse than controls on tasks assessing cognitive and affective ToM, in verbal and nonverbal modality. Moreover, MS patients achieved significantly lower scores on tests assessing visuospatial learning and speed of spatial information processing, and significantly higher scores on scales for alexithymia and depression with respect to controls. After covarying for cognitive and behavioral variables different in the 2 groups, the differences between patients and controls on ToM tasks remained significant. ToM abilities were significantly related to executive functions, but not to depressive, anxious and apathetic symptoms. Higher alexithymia scores were associated with poor recognition of others’ mental states. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that both affective and cognitive aspects of ToM are impaired in nondemented and mildly to moderately disabled MS and suggest that impaired social cognition can occur independently from behavioral disorders.
An Untypeable Shigella flexneri Strain Associated with an Outbreak in California

ABSTRACT Eleven Shigella flexneri (group B) isolates were recovered from epidemiologically linked patrons and food handlers from a restaurant-associated outbreak of shigellosis. Six isolates available for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were identical. All strains agglutinated in group B and subgroup factor 6 sera but not in group 1 through group 6 sera.
asense, a member of the Drosophila achaete‐scute complex, is a proneural and neural differentiation gene.

The asense (ase) gene of the achaete‐scute complex (AS‐C) is expressed in the precursors of all adult sensory organs (SOs), the sensory mother cells (SMCs) and in their immediate progeny. Its deletion causes the loss of some SOs and the abnormal differentiation of part of the remaining ones. These defects, which include malformations of the external part of the SOs, duplication of the innervating neuron etc, are enhanced by the haploid condition for the other AS‐C genes and are corrected by an ase transgene. We conclude that ase participates, in combination with other members of the AS‐C, in implementing the neural program of differentiation of the SMCs. ase also has a proneural function that participates in the singling out of the SMCs that give rise to the recurved bristles of the anterior wing margin. The proneural potential of ase is shown, in addition, by the generation of SOs induced by the generalized expression of an ase gene driven by a hsp70 promoter.
Degradation of Atrazine by Fenton's Reagent: Condition Optimization and Product Quantification.

Atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] degradation by Fenton's reagent (FR) was determined as a function of reagents' concentration and ratios and pH in batch treatments. The optimal mixture, 2.69 mM (1 :1) FeSO 4 :H 2 O 2 , completely degraded [2,4,6- 14 C]atrazine (140 μM) in ≤30 s primarily to 2-chloro-4,6-diamino-6-triazine (CAAT, 23%) and 2-acetamido-4-amino-6-chloro-s-triazine (CDAT, 28%). Chloride release of 55 ± 9% indicated that dehalogenated s-triazines accounted for the balance of 14 C. Higher FR concentrations lowered CDAT concentrations, but CAAT and the dehalogenated s-triazines persisted. Atrazine degradation decreased from 99% at pH 3 to 37% at pH 9. Thus, FR can rapidly degrade atrazine, but post-treatments may be necessary to eliminate residual chloro-s-triazines like CDAT and CAAT.
Experience with a hand grasp neuroprosthesis incorporating natural sensory feedback

This paper presents experience with a hand grasp neuroprosthesis that is controlled by means of signals from natural sensors in the skin. The signals from the natural sensors were recorded with a cuff electrode implanted around the palmar digital nerve innervating the radial aspect of the index finger. The implanted muscle stimulator is part of the commercial FREEHAND® System. A data-recording unit allowed storage and off-line analysis of the stimulator command and the recorded nerve signal. The system was used by a tetraplegic volunteer to test the feasibility of including natural sensors in a hand grasp neuroprosthesis for activities of daily living.
Environmental accommodations for a child with traumatic brain injury

Abstract Primary objective: Children with severe TBI frequently demonstrate language and cognition challenges and require accommodations to succeed academically. However, minimal research exists about accommodation efficacy for this population. This study examined the effect of environmental accommodations (reduced visual and auditory distractions) on the redirections, task variability and accuracy of a child with severe TBI when performing cognitive-linguistic activities. Hypothesis: The researchers hypothesized no differences in variability between accommodation conditions; poorest task performance and most frequent task redirections given no environmental accommodations; comparable task performance and redirections with visual accommodation and auditory accommodation; and highest task performance and fewest redirections with combined visual and auditory accommodations. Research design: The researchers used an alternating treatment, single case design to compare task performance, variability and redirection averages across conditions. They used visual inspection, linear growth curve analyses and repeated measure analyses for data interpretation. Methods and procedures: Data collection occurred during label-object association, oral directions and divided attention tasks over 22 sessions varying in accommodation provision. Main outcomes and results: Findings showed visual plus auditory accommodations resulted in fewer redirections and superior average performance on all tasks although substantial variability persisted. Significant differences emerged across conditions only for the oral directions task.
Intense Video Gaming Is Not Essentially Problematic

Video games are more popular than ever and the general public, including parents, educators, and the media, tends to consider intense video gaming fundamentally problematic. To test this hypothesis, participants were recruited via gaming-related websites resulting in a sample of N = 5,222 online video gamers (mean age: 22.2 years, SD = 6.4). Besides assessing gaming time, we administered the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire. Two structural regression models were estimated with both gaming time and problematic gaming as outcome variables. Predictors were psychiatric symptoms in the first, and gaming motives in the second model. Both models yielded adequate fit indices. Psychiatric symptoms had a moderate positive effect on problematic use (&bgr; = .46, p < .001) whereas their effect on gaming time was practically zero (&bgr; = −.01, p = .84). In the second model, Escape was the most prominent motive and was moderately to-strongly associated (&bgr; = .58, p < .001) with problematic use. However, the association between Escape and gaming time was substantially weaker (&bgr; = .21, p < .001). The correlation between gaming time and problematic use was weak-to-moderate in both models (r = .26, p < .001 and r = .21, p < .001, respectively). Data suggest that gaming time is weakly associated with negative psychological factors such as psychiatric symptoms and Escape motive, which were found to be consistently related to problematic use. Therefore, the amount of gaming time alone appears to be an unreliable predictor of problematic use, which questions the aforementioned idea that intense gaming is essentially problematic.
Infection by Helicobacter pylori expressing the BabA adhesin is influenced by the secretor phenotype

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infects half the world's population and causes diverse gastric lesions, from gastritis to gastric cancer. Our aim was to evaluate the significance of secretor and Lewis status in infection and in vitro adherence by Hp expressing BabA adhesin. We enrolled 304 Hp‐infected individuals from Northern Portugal. Gastric biopsies, blood and saliva were collected. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence were used to detect BabA+ Hp in gastric biopsies. In vitro adherence by a BabA expressing Hp strain to gastric biopsies was performed. Secretor status was identified by Ulex, a lectin that recognizes secretor‐dependent glycan structures in saliva and in gastric mucosa, and by Lewisa/b antibodies, and indirectly by identification of an inactivating mutation in the FUT2 gene (G428A). BabA status of infecting Hp was associated with CagA and VacAs1 (p < 0.05), intercellular localization of Hp (p < 0.01) and the presence of intestinal metaplasia (p < 0.05) and degenerative alterations (p < 0.005) in the biopsies. BabA was associated (p < 0.05) with Ulex staining of gastric biopsies and, although not significantly, to absence of homozygosity for FUT2 G428A inactivating polymorphism. In vitro Hp adherence was higher in cases wild‐type or heterozygous for FUT2 G428A mutation (p < 0.0001), cases staining for Ulex (p < 0.0001) and a−b+ and a−b− secretor phenotypes (p < 0.001). In conclusion, BabA+ Hp infection/adhesion is secretor‐dependent and associated with the severity of gastric lesions. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Larval migration of the ascarid nematode Toxocara canis following infection and re-infection in the gerbil Meriones unguiculatus

Abstract A morphological and immunohistochemical study of larval migration patterns was performed in gerbils that were infected once (primary infected group) or twice (secondary infected group) with 1500 eggs of Toxocara canis. Animals from the primary infected and the re-infected group were killed at different times after infection, and larvae were counted in the intestines, liver, lungs and brain. Fragments of all organs were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded for histology and immunohistochemistry analyses (using polyclonal anti-Toxocara serum raised in rabbits infected with T. canis). In the primary infected group, larvae were more abundant in the intestine at 24 h, in the liver and lungs between 24 and 72 h and in the brain after 96 h; larvae predominated in the brain for up to 60 days after infection. In the re-infected group, an increase in the number of larvae in the liver and a reduction in the number of larvae in the brain was observed up to 60 days after re-infection. Inflammatory reactions were absent or limited. Eosinophils and loose granulomata were observed around the larvae and their antigens in the primary infected group and were more severe. Many eosinophils and typical epithelioid granulomata were observed around larvae in the re-infected group. These results demonstrate that the migration pattern of T. canis larvae in gerbils is similar to that in mice and rats, exhibiting a late neurotropic stage. In the re-infected group, there was histological evidence of an adaptive T-helper 2 (Th-2) response, and larvae were apparently retained within granulomata in the liver, without obvious signs of destruction.
Social inequality and caries studies in 1,719 Danish military recruits.

Information on the social origin, dental health related behavior and patterns of utilization of dental services were collected simultaneously with epidemiologic data on dental caries from 1,719 Danish recruits called-up for military training at the Karup Air Base during 1972. The findings indicated that the less privileged social groups had more decayed teeth, had lost more teeth and had fewer filled teeth than the more privileged groups. Exposure to the regular care program provided by the School Dental Health Service and the Youth Dental Care Scheme seemed to have a leveling effect among social groups. However, the less privileged social groups had a significantly lower participation rate in the Youth Dental Care Scheme and accounted for a larger number of drop-outs from the regular care program when compared to the more privileged groups. Rural/urban residency was not found to be associated with the number of DMF teeth or the rate of utilization of the Youth Dental Care Scheme, if selected social variables were held constant.
NOVEL UMBELLIFERONE PHYTOSOMES: DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION USING EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN APPROACH AND EVALUATION OF PHOTO-PROTECTIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a novel formulation (Phytosome) of umbelliferone with phospholipid for improved permeability, solubility and hence better pharmacological action. Methods: The phytosomal complex was prepared by using solvent evaporation method and optimised by applying the Box-Behnken design on the basis of complexation rate and partition coefficient. The formation of phytosomes was confirmed by FTIR, DSC, SEM, XRD, HPTLC and NMR by comparing the results of the complex with the drug. The photoprotective potential of complex against UV-exposure was evaluated in rats and compared with the drug by incorporating it in a gel and estimating the antioxidant enzymes in skin namely reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, lipid peroxidation and catalase. Results: The crystalline drug was completely converted to amorphous complex. The complex showed a good practical yield, drug content and particle size was in the range. The solubility of the complex was determined by partition coefficient method and was found to be better than the drug. The ex vivo and in-vitro permeation of the complex showed improved permeation for complex than the drug. The in vitro antioxidant activity of complex was evaluated by DPPH and ferrozine antioxidant assay and was better than the drug. The photoprotective action of the complex was found to be better than drug on the basis of the content of antioxidant enzymes estimated in the skin. Conclusion: The phytosomal complex was found to show better solubility in the water phase and oil phase, better permeation, better antioxidant activity and a better photo-protective activity when compared to umbelliferone.