Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Final Rising and Global Raising in Cantonese Intonation

This study investigates the intonation in Cantonese. Previous studies showed that questions can be cued by final rising in Cantonese. Moreover, the presence of a large amount of sentence final particles suggests that a boundary tone may be an important part of the Cantonese intonation system, which is contrary to Mandarin in which the global raising of F0 is more important than the boundary effect. While previous studies focused on the tone-intonation interaction caused by the final rising, this study investigates the phonetic profiles of both final rising and the global raising in Cantonese questions. Results showed that final rising is an essential cue for Cantonese questions while significant global raising was not observed, indicating a boundary tone in Cantonese.
Hepatitis B, C, and E infection among HIV-infected patients in Franceville, Gabon: retrospective cross-sectional study.

Access to antiretrovirals has increased the life expectancy of patients living with HIV. However, HIV-viral hepatitis coinfections in countries endemic for these infections make management more difficult. To determine the extent of these coinfections in Gabon, we investigated markers of hepatitis B, C, and E viruses in 762 adults infected with HIV-1 by ELISA. We used real-time PCR to quantify plasma HBV DNA (HBV VL) and amplified HCV and HEV RNA by nested RT-PCR and PCR.The seroprevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection was 9.3 %. Among patients with isolated HBcAc profiles, the prevalence of occult hepatitis B infection was 26.7 %, for a real prevalence (detectable CV-HBV) of 17.3 % of the total population. HCV seroprevalence was 8.8 %. Of the 67 HIV-positive patients, 76.1 % had replicative profiles (detectable HCV RNA), that is, 6.7 % of the total population. For hepatitis E, seroprevalence was 3.5 %. No case of chronic HEV infection was found. In conclusion, this study highlights a high rate of HIV-Hepatitis B, C and E coinfections in Gabon. In addition, we show the interest of looking for chronic infections (replicative profiles) in HIV-infected patients in Gabon. The establishment of technical platforms for this type of research, accessible to middle-income countries, is necessary.
Atherosclerosis and Rheumatic Diseases

Until recently, patients with chronic autoimmune diseases were dying at a young age from their disease. However, with the emergence of biologic drugs and disease-targeted therapies, longevity in this patient population has increased. In addition, physicians have become more aware of the long-term sequelae of chronic inflammation focusing mainly on the development of premature atherosclerosis. In this review we will systematically analyze the most relevant published papers for the PubMed Central database and other validated-internet sources that have relevance to the role that atherosclerosis plays in several autoimmune diseases including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). We also examined the effects of disease modifying agents on the development of atherosclerosis in patients with autoimmune diseases as well as identifying strategies or interventions which can prevent or retard the development of cardiovascular disease in these patients.
Grafting of Choroid Plexus Ependymal Cells Promotes the Growth of Regenerating Axons in the Dorsal Funiculus of Rat Spinal Cord: A Preliminary Report

Nerve regeneration in the central nervous system has been studied by grafting various tissues and cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that choroid plexus ependymal cells can promote nerve regeneration when grafted into spinal cord lesions. The choroid plexus was excised from the fourth ventricle of adult rats (Wistar), minced into small fragments, and grafted into the dorsal funiculus at the C2 level in adult rat spinal cord from the same strain. Electron microscopy and fluorescence histochemistry showed that ependymal cells of the grafted choroid plexus intimately interacted with growing axons, serving to support the massive growth of regenerating axons. CGRP-positive fibers closely interacted with grafted ependymal cells. HRP injection at the sciatic nerve showed that numerous HRP-labeled regenerating fibers from the fasciculus gracilis extended into the graft 7 days after grafting. This regenerating axons from the fasciculus gracilis was maintained for at least 10 months, with some axons elongating rostrally into the dorsal funiculus. Evoked potentials of long duration were recorded at a level ca. 5 mm rostral to the lesion in the rats 8 to 10 months after grafting. These findings indicate that choroid plexus ependymal cells have the ability to facilitate axonal growth in vivo, suggesting that they may be a promising candidate as graft for the promotion of nerve regeneration in the spinal cord.
Education, Activity, Health, Blood Pressure and Apolipoprotein E as Predictors of Cognitive Change in Old Age: A Review

Background: Cross-sectional studies have identified a number of health and lifestyle factors that correlate with cognitive function in old age. It is important to know whether these factors also predict change in cognitive function over time. Objective: To evaluate published findings on genetic, health and lifestyle predictors of cognitive change in late adulthood. Methods: Studies reporting data on education, health, blood pressure, activity and apolipoprotein E (APOE) as predictors of cognitive change were reviewed. A total of 34 studies were identified that reported data on these predictors. The average follow-up period of studies reviewed was 7.68 years. Results: Results showed that education, hypertension, objective indices of health and cardiovascular disease, and APOE were associated with cognitive change. Results regarding the effect of physical activity on cognitive change were inconclusive. Conclusion: Despite the lack of data on some predictors, the longitudinal trends are generally consistent with cross-sectional findings on predictors of cognitive performance in old age. More research is required to compare the influence of predictors on different types of cognitive abilities.
Quantitative study of the non‐circularity of myelinated peripheral nerve fibres in the cat

1. One hind limb of each of four cats was either chronically de‐efferentated, or chronically de‐afferentated, and perfused with buffered glutaraldehyde fixative. Up to three different muscle nerves were dissected from each limb, post‐fixed in osmium tetroxide and embedded in Epon. Ultrathin transverse sections were mounted on Formvar‐coated single‐hole specimen grids so that all the fibres in each nerve could be examined individually by electron microscopy.
Effects of ethanol on midbrain neurons: role of opioid receptors.

BACKGROUND Although ethanol addiction is believed to be mediated by the mesolimbic dopamine system, originating from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), how acute ethanol increases the activity of VTA dopaminergic (DA) neurons remains unclear. METHOD Patch-clamp recordings of spontaneous firings of DA and GABAergic neurons in the VTA in acute midbrain slices from rats. RESULTS Ethanol (20-80 mM) excites DA neurons, and more potently depresses firing of local GABAergic neurons. The ethanol-induced excitation of DA neurons is considerably attenuated by DAMGO (Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-N-Me-Phe-Gly-ol enkephalin), a mu-opioid agonist that suppresses firing of GABAergic neurons, or by naloxone, a general opioid antagonist. The ongoing opioid-induced facilitation of DA cell firing (revealed by naloxone) is enhanced by ethanol, probably by an increase in opioid release or action. CONCLUSION Ethanol excites VTA DA neurons at least partly by increasing ongoing opioid-mediated suppression of local GABAergic inhibition. This indirect mechanism may contribute significantly to the positively reinforcing properties of ethanol.
Strong jet and a new thermal wave in Saturn's equatorial stratosphere

The strong jet, with a speed between 500 and 600 m/s, is inferred in the equatorial region of Saturn by combining the nadir and limb observations of Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) aboard the Cassini spacecraft. A similar jet was discovered on Jupiter (F. M. Flasar et al., 2004a). These discoveries raise the possibility that intense jets are common in the equatorial stratospheres of giant planets. An equatorial wave with wavenumber ∼9 is revealed in the stratosphere of Saturn by the CIRS high spatial‐resolution thermal maps. Our discussion based on the phase velocity suggests that the equatorial wave is probably a Rossby‐gravity wave. The discovery of an equatorial wave in the stratosphere suggests that Saturn's equatorial oscillations (T. Fouchet et al., 2008; G. S. Orton et al., 2008) may be driven by vertically propagating waves, the same mechanism that drives the quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO) on Earth.
The Impact of Children's Social Adjustment on Academic Outcomes

This study tested whether social adjustment added to the prediction of academic outcomes above and beyond prior academic functioning. Researchers collected school records and peer-, teacher-, and self-report measures for 1,255 third-grade children in the fall and spring of the school year. Measures of social adjustment included social acceptance by and aggression with peers. Academic outcomes included math and reading grade point average, classroom behavior, academic self-esteem, and absenteeism. As expected, the researchers found support for the causal model such that both forms of social adjustment contributed independently to the prediction of each area of academic adjustment. Gender differences were present in the patterns of results, particularly for the impact of aggression on academic adjustment. Discussion focuses on the implications for social–emotional literacy programs for preventing negative academic outcomes.
Interobserver and Intraobserver Agreement of Radiograph Interpretation With and Without Pedicle Screw Implants: The Need for a Detailed Classification System in Posterolateral Spinal Fusion

Study Design. A prospective randomized clinical study in which four observers evaluated radiographs of posterolateral fusion masses. Objectives. To evaluate the accuracy of radiograph interpretation of the posterolateral spinal fusion mass when using a detailed classification system and to analyze the influence of metallic internal fixation devices on radiologic inaccuracy. Summary of Background Data. In general, the literature describing the classification criteria used for radiograph interpretation of spinal posterolateral fusion has serious deficiencies. There is a need for a detailed classification system. Methods. Seventy patients were randomly allocated to receive no instrumentation (n = 36) or Cotrel–Dubousset instrumentation (n = 34) in posterolateral lumbar fusion. All four observers participated in a prestudy discussion and evaluated the radiographs (anteroposterior, lateral) taken at the 1-year follow-up evaluation. The observers scored the radiographs twice (30 days apart). Each level on each side was judged separately. A continuous intertransverse bony bridge involving at minimum one of the two sides indicated a fusion at that level. “Fusion” indicated this quality of fusion at all intended levels. If the fusion was doubtful on both sides of the interspace, the individual case could not be classified as “fused. ” Results. The mean interobserver agreement was 86% (Kappa 0.53), and the mean intraobserver agreement was 93% (Kappa 0.78). No difference in interobserver and intraobserver agreement was found between patients with and without supplementary pedicle screw fixation. All mean Kappa values were classified as fair or good. The four observers identified a mean fusion rate of 81%. Conclusion. It is extremely difficult to interpret radiographic lumbar posterolateral fusion success. Such an assessment needs to be performed by use of a detailed radiographic classification system. The classification system presented here revealed good interobserver and intraobserver agreement, both with and without instrumentation. The classification showed acceptable reliability and may be one way to improve interstudy and intrastudycorrelation of radiologic outcomes after posterolateral spinal fusion. Instrumentation did not influence reproducibility but may result in slightly underestimated fusion rates.
Morphological Changes during Creation of a Neo-Bile Duct Using a Vein and a Biodegradable Endoluminal Stent

ABSTRACT Major bile duct lesions are usually treated by a hepaticojejunostomy which is often complicated by cholangitis and liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphologic features of a neo-bile duct created from a vein and a biodegradable endoluminal stent. The neo-bile duct was created using a segment of the external jugular vein which was endoluminally stented by a biodegradable poly-lactate-acid stent. In 18 pigs, the common bile duct was resected and replaced by the vein with (n = 12) or without endoluminal stent (n = 6). Six animals served as controls. Survival, liver function and morphological changes of the neo-bile duct and the liver were observed for six months. After six months, the neo-bile duct morphologically resembled the native bile duct showing Ck7-positive columnar epithelium and newly formed capillaries in the bile duct wall. The biodegradable stent disappeared after four months. All animals survived and showed normal liver function and no cholestasis. In contrast, after sole vein reconstruction of the bile duct, four animals died due to biliary peritonitis and cholangitis. Creation of a neo-bile duct which morphologically resembles the native bile duct is feasible by using a body's own vein and a biodegradable endoluminal stent.
Recurrent toxic hepatitis in a Caucasian girl related to the use of Shou-Wu-Pian, a Chinese herbal preparation.

The conditions causing impairment of liver function in pediatric patients vary with age. In neonates, infection, metabolic diseases and anatomic obstructions are most common, while in older children infection or drugs are more likely (1,2). Drugs should always be considered as a cause of acute liver injury. Drugs may be directly cytotoxic to hepatocytes or may produce immune-mediated hepatic injury. Some drugs produce metabolites causing liver injury in a dose-dependent manner, whereas other agents form a product toxic only in susceptible persons (3). Non-conventional or alternative medical therapies are being used more frequently in Western society and should be considered as a possible cause of unexplained abnormal liver function tests (4). Herbal preparations are widely available as supposedly harmless remedies for many complaints. However, an increasing body of literature has emerged concerning the risks of these preparations including hepatotoxicity (5–7). The Chinese herbal product Shou-Wu-Pian is prepared from the root tuber of Polygonum multiflorum. It is marketed for relief of a variety of conditions including early graying of hair and baldness. It is also recommended for enrichment of the liver. We report the first pediatric case of acute liver injury occurring twice in a Caucasian girl after ingestion of Shou-Wu-Pian.
Measurement of atmospheric deposition of polychlorinated biphenyls and their dry deposition velocities in an urban/industrial site in Turkey

Dry deposition fluxes and total (gas+particle) concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured between August 2004 and May 2005. Samples were collected from an urban-industrial site of Bursa, Turkey. A stainless steel pot and a high volume air sampler (HVAS) were employed to collect deposition and ambient air samples, respectively. The dry deposition fluxes of PCBs ranged from 3600 to 56,000 pg m−2 d−1 while the total PCB concentrations collected simultaneously were between 35 and 348 pg m−3. The average dry deposition flux value was in line with the previously reported values. Possible variations in PCB fluxes were likely due to PCB and total suspended particle (TSP) concentrations, and meteorological conditions. No seasonal trends were observed for the bulk deposition samples. The 3- and 4- chlorobiphenyls (CBs) were abundant homolog groups in bulk and concentration samples with ratios of 67% and 90%, respectively. Apparent bulk deposition velocities were calculated by dividing the dry deposition flux value by particle phase air concentration values of PCBs measured with HVAS. The calculated apparent dry deposition velocities ranged from 0.23 cm s−1 to 3.09 cm s−1 (aver ± SD, 0.74 ± 0.23 cm s−1).
Unsupervised Learning of Stereo Vision with Monocular Depth Cues

We demonstrate unsupervised learning of a stereo vision model involving monocular depth cues (shape from texture cues). We formulate a conditional probability model defining the probability of the right image given the left. This conditional model does not model a probability distribution over images. Maximizing conditional liklihood rather than joint liklihood is similar using a CRF (Conditional Random Field, [6]) rather than an MRF (joint Markov Random Field). The most closely related earlier work seems to be that of Zhang and Seitz [8] who give a method for adapting five parameters of a stereo vision model. In contrast we train highly parameterized monocular depth cues. Also, we avoid the need for independence assumptions through the use of contrastive divergence training — a general method for optimizing CRFs [4]. There is also related work by Saxena et al. on supervised learning of highly parameterized monocular depth cues [1, 2]. Unlike Saxena et al. we train monocular depth cues as part of unsupervised training of a stereo algorithm. Other related work includes that of Scharstein and Pal [7] and Kong and Tao [5] who perform supervised training of stereo algorithms using general CRF methods. We focus on histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) features as a (texture) surface orientation cue. As a surface is tilted away from the camera the edges in the direction of the tilt become foreshortened while the edges orthogonal to the tilt are not. The effect on the edge distribution is shown in the image below where the average HOG feature is shown for regions of tree trunk and forest floor. The cylindrical shape of the tree trunk is clearly indicated by the warping of the HOG feature.
Purdue's RFID supply chain for e-pedigree compliance: applying the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework

The adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) is expected to pick up speed in the pharmaceutical industry as the US Government has imposed a regulation requiring the generation of pedigrees or a historical record of the movement of prescription drugs through different supply chain nodes. 'Electronic' pedigrees require the use of electronic means to establish these records of custody. RFID is perceived to be a leading and promising technology for accelerating e-pedigree deployment among prescription drug firms. This study uses Tornatzky and Fleischer's (1990) technology-organisation-environment (TOE) theoretical framework to analyse and understand Purdue pharmaceutical's RFID implementation to meet the e-pedigree requirement.
Intermolecular complementation of the kinase activity of CheA

CheA is a dimeric autophosphorylating protein kinase that plays a critical role in the signal transduction network controlling chemotaxis In Escherichia coli. The autophosphorylation reaction was analysed using mutant proteins defective in kinase and regulatory functions. Proteins in which the site of autophosphorylation was mutated (CheA48HQ) or missing (CheAs) were found to phosphorylate the kinase‐defective mutant, CheA470GK. The kinetics of this reaction support the hypothesis that autophosphorylation is the result of trans‐phosphorylation within a dimer. The carboxy‐terminal portion of CheA was previously shown to be dispensable for autophosphorylation, but required for regulation in response to environmental signals transmitted through a transducer and CheW. Mixing of CheA48HQ or CheA470GK with a truncated protein lacking this regulatory domain demonstrated that regulated autophosphoryltion requires the presence of both carboxy‐terminal portions in a CheA dimer. These results indicate that the dimeric form of CheA plays an integral role in signal transduction in bacterial chemotaxis.
Scanning Electron Microscopy of Softened Enamel

After exposing enamel specimens to 0.3% citric acid at pH 3.2 for various times, the acid was titrated to pH 7 before rinsing the specimens in water. After freeze-drying the specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy. This procedure eliminates artefacts due to drying and mineral precipitation. The results showed that the outer region of softened enamel is much more delicate than previously thought, even after short (5- to 20-min) etching times. Mineral was lost from both prism boundaries and the prism bodies, resulting in a surface presenting thin, separate crystal bundles. In further studies, replicas of subsurface pores, created by resin impregnation, showed the softening depth to be several times greater than is suggested by techniques based on removing the softened enamel by physical forces. The results point to a need for improved methods of measuring softening depth. More importantly, it appears that the outer region of the softened layer remaining after an erosive challenge might be too fragile to resist frictional forces in vivo.
Development of zona zoster during bortezomib treatment in patients with Relapsed/Refractory multiple myeloma.

Bortezomib, the first selective proteasome inhibitor, has demonstrated significant preclinical activity in several tumor models and a significant antitumor activity as a single agent and in combination with dexamethasone in patients with refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma [1,2]. Bortezomib is well tolerated; most side effects are only mild to moderate and are manageable [3]. The most common reported adverse events are peripheral neuropathy and thrombocytopenia. In this report, development of zona zoster infection in two of our five patients with refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma during bortezomib treatment is described and the possible association between bortezomib treatment and zona zoster is discussed with a review of the literature.
Prevalence of Pathogenic Genes in Campylobacter jejuni Isolated from Poultry and Human

Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of human diarrhaeal disease. This study was conducted to know the occurrence of C. jejuni in diarrhoeal cases of human and poultry, and to determine the prevalence of different pathogenic genes in isolates recovered from chicken intestine and human stool samples in Meghalaya and Assam. A total of 560 samples comprising 350 chicken intestine and 210 human stool samples were processed for isolation of C. jejuni. Out of these, 60 chicken and 18 human samples were found positive for C. jejuni. The isolates were identified on the basis of morphological, biochemical and PCR based detection of 16S rRNA and hipO gene. The isolates were screened for the presence of 9 pathogenic genes namely flaA, cadF, racR, iam, virB11, pldA, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC, which are responsible for expression of adherence, invasion, colonization and cytotoxin production in C. jejuni. The isolates showed a wide variation for the presence of these genes. Six isolates were positive for all the 9 genes screened. All the isolates were positive for flaA gene. The cadF gene was detected in 88.33% chicken and 100% human isolates. Of the C. jejuni recovered from human, 5.5%, 77.77%, 27.77%, 55.55%, 50%, 27.77% and 27.77% were positive for racR, iam, virB11, pldA, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC, respectively. Out of the isolates from chicken, 18.33%, 60%, 11.66%, 26.66%, 13.33%, 20% and 35% isolates revealed the presence of racR, iam, virB11, pldA, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC, respectively. The results showed the importance of C. jejuni in the region and emphasize the need for detail study and proper preventive measures.