Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determination and use of mechanical nociceptive thresholds of the thoracic limb to assess pain associated with induced osteoarthritis of the middle carpal joint in horses.

OBJECTIVES To establish reference mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) values of the equine thoracic limb and to assess the use of MNT values to detect pain associated with induced osteoarthritis in the middle carpal joint. ANIMALS 24 adult horses. PROCEDURES MNT values were evoked by a pressure algometer at 17 sites within each thoracic limb during 2 baseline sessions conducted an average of 5 days apart. Effects of age, sex, weight, and wither height on MNT values were assessed separately for each site. Tolerance of horses to the procedure was graded subjectively and correlated with MNT values. Synovitis and osteoarthritis were induced arthroscopically in the middle carpal joint of 1 randomly selected thoracic limb. The opposite limb served as a sham-operated control limb. Mechanical nociceptive threshold values were recorded weekly and correlated with clinical, radiographic, and necropsy scores measured over 10 weeks. Lower MNT values corresponded with increased pain, whereas higher MNT values indicated reduced pain. RESULTS A gradual increase in MNT values was detected from proximal-to-distal sites of the thoracic limbs. High MNT values were recorded for geldings and tall horses. In general, tolerance to procedure scores was positively correlated with overall pooled MNT values within each thoracic limb. From 2 to 6 weeks after surgery, the osteoarthritic limb had significantly reduced MNT values within the carpal region. The osteoarthritic limb also had significant changes in clinical examination, radiographic, and necropsy scores, which were poorly correlated with MNT values. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Pressure algometry provided objective assessment of nociception of the thoracic limb; however, MNT values were poorly correlated with clinical variables used to assess osteoarthritis.
Cerebral Blood Volume and Blood Flow at Varying Arterial Carbon Dioxide Tension Levels in Rabbits During Propofol Anesthesia

There are little data on the effects of propofol on cerebral blood volume (CBV). We studied the effects of changes in Paco2 on CBV and cerebral blood flow (CBF) during propofol anesthesia in eight New Zealand white rabbits. We also investigated the effects of propofol over time on CBV and CBF during normocapnia (control group). At normocapnia, the mean (± sd) CBV and CBF values were 2.41 ± 0.68 mL/100 g and 56 ± 28 mL/100 g/min, respectively,. When Paco2 was reduced from 41 to 27 mm Hg, no significant change in either CBV or CBF was observed (P > 0.10). However, increasing Paco2 from 41 to 58 mm Hg resulted in a 30% increase in CBV (3.08 ± 0.86 mL/100 g, P < 0.05) and a 91% increase in CBF (97 ± 39 mL/100 g/min, P < 0.01). In the control group, there were no significant changes in CBV and CBF (P > 0.10) during 2 h of propofol anesthesia. These results indicate that, during propofol anesthesia, cerebrovascular reactivity of blood flow and blood volume is maintained during hypercapnia but is markedly diminished during hypocapnia. Implications During propofol anesthesia in rabbits with normal brains, a reduction in the arterial carbon dioxide level may not always be accompanied by a reduction in brain blood flow and blood volume.
La validación de los tests

El objeto central de este trabajo es ofrecer una panoramica general sobre la problematica y las tendencias actuales en el campo de la validez, desde las concepciones empiricas y operativas de principios de siglo hasta las visiones actuales mas comprensivas y unitarias enmarcadas en la metodologia cientifica general. Siguiendo la propuesta de los ultimos estandares tecnicos publicados en 1999, se repasan las estrategias mas habituales de recogida de datosen el proceso de validacion de los tests, tale scomo las estrategias centradas en los contenidos, los procesos de respuesta, la estructura interna, las relaciones con otras variables y las consecuenicas derivadas del uso de las pruebas. Finalmente se analizan algunos de los puntos mas polemicos actualmente en el ambito de la validez, como son los derivados del impacto de las nuevas tecnologias y de algunas propuestas innovadoras en el ambito de la medicion psicologica y educativa. A modo de epilogo se extraen algunas conclusiones y orientaciones para el futuro.
THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF PARTHENOGENETIC CNEMIDOPHORUS LEMNISCATUS (SAURIA, TEIIDAE). I. EVIDENCE FOR A HYBRID ORIGIN

Chromosomes and allozymes were studied from chromosomally distinct unisexual (races B and C) and bisexual (races D and E) populations of the teiid lizard Cnemidophorus lemniscatus, and from selected outgroup taxa (C. murinus, C. nigricolor, Ameiva ameiva, and A. auberi). Karyotyping confirmed the racial identity of individuals and showed that the chromosomal composition of populations at specific localities has remained the same for 20 years. All individuals of both unisexual populations were heterozygous for a pericentric inversion that distinguishes D and E bisexuals. Also, the unisexuals were all heterozygous for 8 of 11 protein loci for which D and E were fixed or nearly fixed for different alleles. Most of these alleles represent derived states relative to the other Cnemidophorus and Ameiva analyzed, and the fixed heterozygote condition at these nine markers provides unequivocal support for the hypothesis that the unisexual C. lemniscatus arose by hybridization between ancestors genetically similar to extant D and E populations. At the remaining three loci for which D and E show fixed differences, the unisexuals were homozygous rather than heterozygous. This suggests that either (1) allozymes have been lost by mutations to null, silent, or convergent mobility states, (2) ancestral genotypes were similar to but not identical with the extant D and E races, and/or (3) limited recombination may occur between unisexual genomes.
Cognitive processes in auditory hallucinations: attributional biases and metacognition

Background. Cognitive models suggest that auditory hallucinations are experienced when mental events are misattributed to an external source; therefore, this study was designed to examine attributional biases in patients experiencing auditory hallucinations. The study also examined the role of metacognitive beliefs in the experience of auditory hallucinations, as some theories have implicated metacognition in the development and maintenance of auditory hallucinations. Methods. Fifteen participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia experiencing auditory hallucinations were compared with 15 non-hallucinating schizophrenics and 15 non-psychiatric control subjects on several measures, including an immediate source monitoring task and a questionnaire assessing metacognitive beliefs. Results. Results indicated that patients experiencing hallucinations exhibited the predicted bias towards misattributing internal events to an external source, as measured by ratings of internality of responses in a word association task. All groups had lower perceived levels of internality and control for emotionally salient words, which provides further evidence for the importance of emotional content in hallucinations. Patients experiencing hallucinations were found to score higher than the other two groups on metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability and danger and positive beliefs about worry. In addition, a logistic regression analysis showed that beliefs about uncontrollability and danger were predictive of whether subjects experienced auditory hallucinations or not. Conclusions. These results offer considerable support to cognitive bias models of auditory hallucinations, particularly those that implicate metacognition.
Inflammation and hepatic encephalopathy: Ibuprofen restores learning ability in rats with portacaval shunts

One of the neurological alterations in patients with minimal or overt hepatic encephalopathy is cognitive impairment. This impairment is reproduced in rats with chronic liver failure due to portacaval shunt (PCS). These rats show decreased ability to learn a conditional discrimination task in a Y‐maze, likely due to reduced function of the glutamate–nitric oxide (NO)–cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway in brain. It has been proposed that inflammation exacerbates the neuropsychological alterations induced by hyperammonemia, suggesting that inflammation‐associated alterations may contribute to cognitive impairment in hepatic encephalopathy. This study assessed whether treatment with an anti‐inflammatory drug, ibuprofen, is able to restore the function of the glutamate‐NO‐cGMP pathway in cerebral cortex in brain in vivo and/or learning ability in PCS rats. We show that PCS rats have increased levels of interleukin‐6 and increased activities of cyclooxygenase and of inducible NO synthase in cerebral cortex, indicating the presence of inflammation. Chronic treatment with ibuprofen normalizes cyclooxygenase and inducible NO synthase activities but not interleukin‐6 levels. Moreover, ibuprofen normalizes the function of the glutamate‐NO‐cGMP pathway in cerebral cortex in vivo and completely restores the ability of rats with chronic liver failure to learn the Y‐maze task. This supports that inflammation contributes to the cognitive impairment in hepatic encephalopathy. Conclusion: the results reported point to the possible therapeutic utility of decreasing inflammation in the treatment of the cognitive deficits in patients with minimal or overt hepatic encephalopathy. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
Galactosylation variations in marketed therapeutic antibodies

There are currently ~25 recombinant full-length IgGs (rIgGs) in the market that have been approved by regulatory agencies as biotherapeutics to treat various human diseases. Most of these are based on IgG1k framework and are either chimeric, humanized or human antibodies manufactured using either Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells or mouse myeloma cells as the expression system. Because CHO and mouse myeloma cells are mammalian cells, rIgGs produced in these cell lines are typically N-glycosylated at the conserved asparagine (Asn) residues in the CH2 domain of the Fc, which is also the case with serum IgGs. The Fc glycans present in these rIgGs are for the most part complex biantennary oligosaccharides with heterogeneity associated with the presence or the absence of several different terminal sugars. The major Fc glycans of rIgGs contain 0 or 1 or 2 (G0, G1 and G2, respectively) terminal galactose residues as non-reducing termini and their relative proportions may vary depending on the cell culture conditions in which they were expressed. Since glycosylation is strongly associated with antibody effector functions and terminal galactosylation may affect some of those functions, a panel of commercially available therapeutic rIgGs expressed in CHO cells and mouse myeloma cells were examined for their galactosylation patterns. The results suggest that the rIgGs expressed in CHO cells are generally less galactosylated compared to the rIgGs expressed in mouse myeloma cells. Accordingly, rIgGs produced in CHO cells tend to contain higher levels of G0 glycans compared with rIgGs produced in mouse myeloma cell lines. Despite the apparent wide variability in galactose content, adverse events or safety issues have not been associated with specific galactosylation patterns of therapeutic antibodies. Nevertheless, galactosylation may have an effect on the mechanisms of action of some therapeutic antibodies (e.g., effector pathways) and hence further studies to assess effects on product efficacy may be warranted for such antibodies. For antibodies that do not require effector functions for biological activity, however, setting a narrow specification range for galactose content may be unnecessary.
Neuropsychological Correlates of the Proportional Impact of White Matter Hyperintensities on Mild to Moderate Dementia: The MRI 300 Study

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) increase cognitive impairment in patients with dementia. Objective: We investigated the impact of WMH on the neuropsychological profiles in patients with mild to moderate dementia. Methods: We consecutively recruited newly diagnosed patients with mild to moderate dementia across South Korea for 1 year. The participants completed neuropsychological tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and structured neurological evaluations. The patients were divided into 3 categories, i.e. minimal, moderate, and severe WMH groups, according to the proportional degree of WMH. Results: 289 patients were recruited; 140 (48.3%) for the minimal WMH group, 99 (34.2%) for the moderate group, and 50 (17.5%) for the severe group. Both advanced age and low general cognitive level were significant contributors to WMH in patients with dementia. After adjusting for age, the neuropsychological correlates of the proportional impact of WMH were frontal executive, language, and attention profiles. However, the only significant neuropsychological correlate was the recognition memory profile after adjusting for both age and general cognitive level simultaneously. Conclusion: The results suggest that the most significant neuropsychological profile impacting the burden of WMH in patients with mild to moderate dementia was the recognition memory profile, regardless of age and general cognitive function.
Prevalence of Epileptiform Discharges in Healthy Infants

Most studies on epileptiform discharges in young children were performed using analog electroencephalographic (EEG) recording systems and a limited numbers of electrodes that might have a lower detection rate for epileptiform discharges than modern digital recording systems. Knowing the prevalence of epileptiform discharges in healthy children is critical for a valid interpretation of findings in patients with a suspected epileptic disorder. We reviewed EEG recordings of 393 otherwise healthy children aged 12 to 60 months using digital EEG recording with respect to epileptiform discharges. We found epileptiform discharges in 3 children aged 12, 34 and 55 months resulting in a prevalence of epileptiform discharges in our cohort of 0.76% (95% confidence interval 0.0% to 1.62%). The prevalence of epileptiform discharges in children younger than 5 years is by far lower than in older children, and the digital findings are in accordance with previous data of conventional EEG.
Validation of a Multivariate Model Predicting Presence and Size of Varices

Background A model developed by our group identified low platelets and advanced Child-Pugh class (CPC) as being associated with large varices. Goals To validate a defined cut-off of platelets ≤80,000/μL in CPC-A for large varices and platelets ≤90,000/μL in CPC-B/C for any varices. Study Validation cohorts consisted of patients with cirrhosis undergoing screening for varices from Oregon Health and Science University (n=152), Indiana University (n=252), and Genoa, Italy (n=101). Similar clinical and laboratory data were collected as for the original cohort. To assess the ability of these cut-offs to predict presence of large and any varices, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, likelihood ratios, and the c-statistic were measured. Results The validation cohorts were statistically different from the original cohort with regards to CPC and prevalence of large varices. Combining the original (n=301) and validation cohorts resulted in a negative predictive value of 92.1% for platelets ≤80,000/μL in CPC-A for large varices and positive predictive value of 80.1% for platelets ≤90,000/μL in CPC-B/C for any varices. Combining the 4 cohorts yielded a c-statistic of 0.67 (95% confidence interval: 063-0.72). No other factors such as splenomegaly and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score were identified as significant. Conclusions This study confirms the validity of a previous model identifying low platelets and advanced CPC class as predictors of large varices. Despite combining the cohorts, no other risk factors were identified.
Effect of the Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitor L-744,832 on the Colon Cancer Cell Line DLD-1 and Its Combined Use with Radiation and 5-FU

Background: Ras oncogenes are found in 25% of human tumors and they significantly affect prognosis. One of the major fields studied to improve anticancer drugs is blockade of the oncogenic ras protein function. One of the mechanisms to block the function of these proteins is to block farnesylation using a farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI) and thus to prevent the ras from anchoring to the cell membrane. Methods: In this study, we investigated the effects of FTI L-744,832 either alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU; 1 µM/l) and radiotherapy (2, 6, and 10 Gy) on the colon cancer cell line DLD-1 with mutations in K-, N- and H-ras, c-myb, c-myc, p53, fos, sis and DNA repair genes. Drugs were added 3 h after cultivation. Radiotherapy was performed on the 3rd day of the study. On the 3rd day, medium and drugs were changed. Evaluations were performed on the 6th day. Results: Administration of L-744,832, neither alone nor its combination with 5-FU and radiation, affected the number of DLD-1 cells and apoptosis rates. Regarding its effects on the cell cycle, L-744,832 was shown to lead to G₀/G1 and G2/M accumulation in a dose-dependent manner when administered alone. However, in combination with 5-FU, only a G₀/G1 accumulation was observed. Conclusion: Our study showed that FTI L-744,832 does not effect the cell number and apoptosis rate of DLD-1 cells and it cannot overcome 5-FU and radiation resistance, although it is able to modify some phases of the cell cycle.
Adaptive Dynamic Surface Control of a Class of Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Direction Control Gains and Input Saturation

In this paper, adaptive neural network based dynamic surface control (DSC) is developed for a class of nonlinear strict-feedback systems with unknown direction control gains and input saturation. A Gaussian error function based saturation model is employed such that the backstepping technique can be used in the control design. The explosion of complexity in traditional backstepping design is avoided by utilizing DSC. Based on backstepping combined with DSC, adaptive radial basis function neural network control is developed to guarantee that all the signals in the closed-loop system are globally bounded, and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of origin by appropriately choosing design parameters. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and the good performance is guaranteed even though both the saturation constraints and the wrong control direction are occurred.
Neurobehavioral correlates of sleep‐disordered breathing in children

The effects of sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) on neurobehavioral function were examined in two matched groups of children from the general population. Thirty‐five children with polysomnographically confirmed SDB were matched for ethnicity, age, gender, maternal educational attainment, and maternal smoking, to healthy children with no evidence of SDB. Children with SDB had significantly lower mean scores on the Differential Ability Scales for General Conceptual Ability (similar to IQ) and for the Non‐verbal Cluster. On the neuropsychology assessment battery (NEPSY), children with SDB scored significantly lower than the control group on the attention/executive function domain and two subtests within that domain, one measuring visual attention and the other executive function. In addition, children with SDB scored significantly lower than the controls on one subtest from the NEPSY language domain: Phonological Processing. This subtest measures phonological awareness, a skill that is critical for learning to read. No differences in behavior, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) or the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale, were found between the two groups. Using a novel algorithm to assess sleep pressure, we found that children with SDB were significantly sleepier than controls. Furthermore, total arousal index was negatively correlated with neurocognitive abilities, suggesting a role for sleep fragmentation in pediatric SDB‐induced cognitive dysfunction.
Overexpression of interleukin‐12 and T helper 1 predominance in lupus nephritis

Imbalance of cytokine homeostasis is a prominent feature of both experimental and human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Because interleukin (IL)‐12 promotes interferon (IFN)‐γ production leading to polarization of peripheral cells toward a T helper (Th) 1 phenotype, we investigated its role in lupus nephritis (LN). Soluble Th1 and Th2 cytokines were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera and urines of SLE patients and controls. Th1/Th2 peripheral lymphocyte polarization was determined by flow cytometry. Glomerular accumulation of IL‐12 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, whereas urinary IL‐12 was evaluated by ELISA. Higher serum IL‐12 levels in SLE were associated with LN, whereas IL‐4 was unrelated to the renal damage. Peripheral cells from LN patients showed a Th1 phenotype with a high IFN‐γ expression that paralleled the severity of renal damage. IL‐12 was present within glomerular mononuclear cells in classes IV and V LN, and its accumulation was correlated strongly with urinary levels. IL‐12 overexpression in SLE may contribute to the development of LN. Both serum and urinary IL‐12 elevation reflect its glomerular production and parallel Th1 polarization of peripheral T cells and high IFN‐γ production. In SLE patients, IL‐12 measurement may thus be predictive of the development of LN.
A cluster analysis of road traffic-related childhood knee injuries.

BACKGROUND Knee injuries represent an important category of road traffic injuries among children, and they are heterogeneous in their aetiology. The aims of this study were to estimate the incidence of road traffic childhood knee injuries in Greece by age and gender, point out their time, place and person co-ordinates and identify clusters with distinct characteristics with a view to potential preventive interventions. METHODS During a 3-year period, 305 children with knee injuries resulting from a road traffic accident were identified among the 66,870 children with injuries recorded in the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) of Greece. Using previously derived sampling ratios and national data on childhood population, incidence data by age and gender were estimated. Hierarchical analysis was undertaken for cluster identification. RESULTS The incidence of road traffic knee injuries was 97.5 per 100,000 children-years. The incidence increased with age and was higher among boys than among girls. Most childhood knee injuries (50.2%) occur among pedestrians, and the majority (90.9%) of the children or their guardians admitted responsibility in crossing the road. Of the 31 children injured as car passengers, the vast majority (87.1%) were unrestrained, and a large fraction (38.7%) were front seat passengers. Two clusters were identified: the first consisted of younger children who resided mostly in the Athens area and suffered less serious knee injuries as pedestrians or car passengers during the colder months; the second consisted of older children, frequently tourists, who suffered more serious injuries as cyclists while vacationing. CONCLUSIONS Many of the children who suffered road traffic knee injuries as pedestrians admitted responsibility in road crossing, whereas a large proportion of children who were injured as car passengers were injured while improperly seated in the front and without seatbelt protection. Older children, frequently tourists, were at high risk of knee injuries while using motorcycles and bicycles.