Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MINIMAL BRAIN DYSFUNCTION AS A NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LAG

Children who have gross brain damage, such as those with cerebral palsy, exhibit abnormalities on classical neurological examination. In contrast, the diagnosis of minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) is based on findings that are abnormal only with reference to the child's age. If the child were younger, the findings would be regarded as normal. They indicate a relative delay in some aspect of neurological maturation as a result of slowed evolution of cerebral control of the relevant activity. The antecedents of neurodevelopmental lag are many, and the particular pattern of affected functions does not indicate any particular pathogenesis. Nor are the antecedents of MBD known to differ from those of major congenital central nervous system disorders such as cerebral palsy or mental retardation. It appears that any influence that is deleterious to neurons can, if it has impact on developing brain, retard the pace of some aspect of brain development. Whether the insult leads to developmental lag or frank neurological deficit depends on the distribution and severity of this impact. If it impairs mechanisms that are already functioning at birth, then the resulting clinical picture is abnormal irrespective of the stage of extrauterine life, and MBD is not diagnosed. If one component of an integrated mechanism, such as the corticospinal or the cerebellar contribution to voluntary movement, is selectively damaged, then the mechanism of the resulting behavior becomes imbalanced in a way that has no ontogenetic precedent. When an independent mechanism is affected in its entirety, in that its maturation is delayed, then MBD may be said to obtain. It follows that all indicators of MBD represent the normal state of affairs in younger children. The factors that selectively limit the performance of children with MBD are some of those that normally limit the performance of younger children. With respect to these factors, young normal children constitute a model for MBD. Only the context of the inadequate performance is different in the child with MBD, since in other respects he is functioning at a substantially higher level, appropriate to his chronological age. The lag in neural development may affect any component of the nervous system. Sometimes it is inconsequential for the child's daily life and social adjustment, as when it involves some minor reflex abnormality. At other times, it may be of major importance, as when a motor inadequacy renders the child clumsy, inflexible deployment of attention impairs his concerted thought, or an immaturity of cognitive process makes him unready to learn to read by the usual methods.
The genetic contribution to carpal tunnel syndrome in women: a twin study.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative genetic and environmental contribution to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using a classic twin study of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. METHODS The study group comprised unselected female twin pairs, between 20 and 80 years of age, from the St Thomas' UK Adult Twin Registry. Individuals completed a questionnaire that included details on potential risk factors for CTS. The diagnosis of CTS was made using a standardized hand pain diagram and validated criteria. The genetic contribution to CTS was assessed using variance component and regression methods, the heritability was adjusted for environmental confounders. The role of individual risk factors was assessed by a nested case-control study. RESULTS An overall prevalence of 14.2% for CTS was found in a population of 4,488 females, comprising 867 MZ and 970 DZ twin pairs, and 814 singletons. The concordance for CTS was significantly higher in MZ compared with DZ twins (case-wise concordance values of 0.35 and 0.24 respectively, with a significantly increased MZ:DZ ratio of 1.48; P = 0.03). Modeling produced a heritability estimate of 0.46 (95% CI 0.34-0.58) that was essentially unchanged after adjustment for environmental risk factors including age, body mass index, physical activities, and hormonal/reproductive factors. No major influence of any individual risk factor was seen in the case-control analysis of 520 cases and 3,154 controls, apart from a modest association with menopausal status with an increased risk of 1.53 and 1.43 in the peri and postmenopausal groups. There was no overall effect of age or body mass index. CONCLUSION This is the first study to explore the genetic component of CTS. Our data show that up to half of the liability to CTS in women is genetically determined, and this appears to be the single strongest risk factor, with only minor contributions from known environmental factors. Further studies should focus on genetic mechanisms that may lead to tests for susceptibility and detection of those at risk of developing CTS.
Epidemiologic investigation of a cluster of workplace HIV infections in the adult film industry: Los Angeles, California, 2004.

BACKGROUND Adult film production is a legal, multibillion dollar industry in California. In response to reports of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission by an adult film worker, we sought to determine the extent of HIV infection among exposed workers and to identify means of improving worker safety. METHODS The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services initiated an outbreak investigation that included interviews of infected workers to elicit information about recent sex partners, review of the testing agency's medical records and laboratory results, molecular analysis of HIV isolates from the 4 infected workers, and a risk assessment of HIV transmission in the adult film industry. RESULTS Many adult film workers participate in a monthly program of screening for HIV infection by means of polymerase chain reaction-based technology to detect HIV DNA in blood. A male performer tested negative for HIV on 12 February 2004 and 17 March 2004, then tested positive for HIV on 9 April 2004. During the period between the negative test results, he experienced a flulike illness after performing unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse for an adult film produced outside the United States by a US company. After returning to California, he performed unprotected sex acts for adult films with 13 female partners who had all tested negative for HIV in the preceding 30 days; 3 subsequently tested positive for HIV (a 23% attack rate). Contact tracing identified no reasonable sources of infection other than the male index patient. CONCLUSION Although current testing methods may shorten the window period to diagnosis of new HIV infection, they fail to prevent occupational acquisition of HIV in this setting. A California Occupational Safety and Health Administration-approved written health and safety program that emphasizes primary prevention is needed for this industry.
Breast and cervical carcinoma

Although screening for breast and cervical carcinoma has been widely accepted as beneficial, specific segments of the population are not receiving these services as frequently as recommended. The objective of this study was to describe differences in breast and cervical screening prevalence among those with activity limitations and those residing in rural areas. Disparities in the incidence rates of in situ breast carcinoma and cervical carcinoma, as well as mortality among rural and urban women, are also described.
The role of B cell depleting therapy in graft versus host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) remains a common complication following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Historically, research into prevention and treatment of GVHD has centered on donor T lymphocytes using strategies to suppress or deplete these cells. The role of B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of this disease was brought to prominence following a case report of a patient with chronic GVHD who responded to B cell depletion therapy with rituximab. Since this original observation, several clinical trials and case series have been published on the use of B cell depletion using rituximab in the treatment of chronic GVHD. Corresponding to this clinical experience, considerable laboratory evidence has revealed the complex interactions between B and T cells which culminate in acute and chronic GVHD. More recently, researchers have examined the link between B cell immune reconstitution following HCT and the development of chronic GVHD. The focus of the next decade will likely be on prevention and treatment of GVHD through targeted therapies directed at key pathways in this process. This article provides an overview of the current understanding regarding the role of B cells in GVHD along with discussion on how this knowledge will be used to direct future therapies.
Refolding kinetics of cytochrome c551 reveals a mechanistic difference between urea and guanidine

The energetic parameters for the folding of small globular proteins can be very different if derived from guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) or urea denaturation experiments. A study of the equilibrium and kinetics of the refolding of wild‐type (wt) cytochrome c551 (cyt c551) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and of two site‐directed mutants (E70Q and E70V) shows that the nonionic nature of urea reveals the role of a salt bridge between residues E70 and K10 on the transition state, which is otherwise completely masked in GdnHCl experiments. Mixed denaturant refolding experiments allow us to conclude that the masking effect of GdnHCl is complete at fairly low GdnHCl concentrations (≅0.1 M). The fact that potassium chloride is unable to reproduce this quenching effect, together with the results obtained on the mutants, suggests a specific binding of the Gdn+ cation, which involves the E70–K10 ion pair in wt cyt c551. We propose, therefore, a simple kinetic test to obtain a mechanistic interpretation of nonlinear dependences of ΔGw on GdnHCl concentration on the basis of kinetic refolding experiments in the presence of both denaturants.
Individual movement variability magnitudes are predicted by cortical neural variability

Humans exhibit considerable motor variability even across trivial reaching movements. This variability can be separated into specific kinematic components such as extent and direction, which are thought to be governed by distinct neural processes. Here, we report that individual subjects exhibit different magnitudes of kinematic variability, which are consistent (within individual) across movements to different targets and regardless of which arm (right or left) was used to perform the movements. Simultaneous fMRI recordings revealed that the same subjects also exhibited different magnitudes of fMRI variability across movements in a variety of motor system areas. These fMRI variability magnitudes were also consistent across movements to different targets when performed with either arm. Cortical fMRI variability in the posterior-parietal cortex of individual subjects predicted their movement-extent variability. This relationship was apparent only in posterior-parietal cortex and not in other motor system areas, thereby suggesting that individuals with more variable movement preparation exhibit larger kinematic variability. We, therefore, propose that neural and kinematic variability are reliable and interrelated individual characteristics that may predispose individual subjects to exhibit distinct motor capabilities.
Inferring Coancestry in Population Samples in the Presence of Linkage Disequilibrium

In both pedigree linkage studies and in population-based association studies there has been much interest in the use of modern dense genetic marker data to infer segments of gene identity by descent (ibd) among individuals not known to be related, to increase power and resolution in localizing genes affecting complex traits. In this article, we present a hidden Markov model (HMM) for ibd among a set of chromosomes and describe methods and software for inference of ibd among the four chromosomes of pairs of individuals, using either phased (haplotypic) or unphased (genotypic) data. The model allows for missing data and typing error, but does not model linkage disequilibrium (LD), because fitting an accurate LD model requires large samples from well-studied populations. However, LD remains a major confounding factor, since LD is itself a reflection of coancestry at the population level. To study the impact of LD, we have developed a novel simulation approach to generate realistic dense marker data for the same set of markers but at varying levels of LD. Using this approach, we present results of a study of the impact of LD on the sensitivity and specificity of our HMM model in estimating segments of ibd among sets of four chromosomes and between genotype pairs. We show that, despite not incorporating LD, our model has been quite successful in detecting segments as small as 106 bp (1 Mpb); we present also comparisons with fastIBD which uses an LD model in estimating ibd.
Myelin Expression Is Altered in the Brains of Neonatal Rats Reared in a Fluctuating Oxygen Atmosphere

Background: Preterm infants receiving supplemental oxygen therapy experience frequent fluctuations in their blood oxygen levels, the magnitude of which has been associated with the incidence and severity of retinopathy of prematurity in such infants. Objective: Our objective was to investigate in a relevant animal model whether the immature brain with its poorly vascularised white matter might also be susceptible to injury when exposed to such fluctuations in blood oxygen. Methods: Newborn rats were reared in an atmosphere in which a computer reproduced the oxygen fluctuations derived from the transcutaneous oxygen levels of a 24-week preterm infant who had developed severe retinopathy. Following 14 days of exposure, we measured the expression of active caspase-3, myelin basic protein (MBP) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the brains comparing with rat pups raised in room air. Results: Compared to room air controls, at day 14, the expression of active caspase-3 was increased by up to 162% (significant increase in 7 of 9 regions), MBP decreased by up to 70% (significant in the hypothalamus only) and GFAP increased by up to 103% (significant in 6 of 7 regions. On day 21, following 7 days of reparative recovery, GFAP levels in most areas of oxygen-exposed brains had returned to near control levels. There were no longer significant differences in caspase-3 levels apart from the cerebral cortex, cerebellum and striatum. In contrast, MBP expression was now much higher in most regions of the treated brains compared to controls. Conclusion: We conclude that fluctuations in blood oxygen, observed in preterm survivors, may constitute a source of injury to the white matter and corpus striatum of the developing brain and contribute to the neurological sequelae in extremely premature infants.
Narratives of risk in occupational health and safety: why the ‘good’ boss blames his tradesman and the ‘good’ tradesman blames his tools

Abstract: Risk and its control are important themes in occupational health and safety. In the current regulatory framework, risk is conceptualised as a probabilistic expression of hazard potential. However, social meanings of risk in the workplace may be different. The social context of work shapes the ways that risk is understood in the workplace, yet little research in occupational health and safety acknowledges it. A few studies of risk have used qualitative research methods to elicit understandings of risk at work; however, little research explores the experiences of both employers and employees. This study describes the narratives of risk in occupational health and safety of employers and employees in the Victorian painting industry. Using ethnographic methods, we collected data about the contexts in which risk is experienced and the sources of risk that each group identifies. These narratives reveal that risk in the painting industry is constructed through the interactions of three factors: the social context, the hierarchical structure of the industry and the shared assumptions about risk control through individual skills and responsibilities. The narratives explain why occupational health and safety strategies focusing solely on individual behaviour change or technical measures will be unsuccessful.
Hybrid low loss voltage balancing method for series connection of IGBTs

The demand for high voltage switches can be achieved by connecting power devices in series. The main problem associated with series connected devices is the unequal sharing of the switch voltage by each device. In this paper, a hybrid voltage balancing method suitable for use with series strings of IGBT is described. The method combines active gate control with passive snubber circuits to yield a simple gate control circuit and to minimise the switching power losses. Simulations show that the method is capable of good voltage balancing during turn-off and turn-on transients.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF CONGENERIC MONOGENEAN PARASITES (DACTYLOGYRUS): A CASE OF INTRAHOST SPECIATION

Abstract Dactylogyrus species (Dactylogyridae: Monogenea) are a group of monogenean gill parasites that are highly specific to freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. Dactylogyrus species were sampled from 19 cyprinids and one percid collected in Europe. Using partial 18S rDNA and ITS1 sequences, a phylogeny of 51 Dactylogyrus species was reconstructed to investigate the patterns of parasite speciation and diversification. Three main Dactylogyrus lineages were recognized from all phylogenetic trees, that is, analysis of 18S rDNA alone and combined 18SrDNA and ITS1. The first lineage associates the Dactylogyrus species of Cyprinus carpio and Carassius auratus of the Cyprininae; the second associates Dactylogyrus species of the Gobioninae, Pseudorasbora parva of the Rasborinae, and Ctenopharyngodon idella of the Cyprininae; and the third associates Dactylogyrus species of the Leuciscinae and Alburninae and Barbus barbus of the Cyprininae. Our results suggest that the genus Dactylogyrus is of quite recent origin and that these three lineages separated from each other in a very short period of time. Host subfamily mapping onto the parasite tree inferred from analysis of the combined dataset showed that the Cyprininae could be plesiomorphic hosts for Dactylogyrus. Dactylogyrus parasites would have secondarily colonized the Percidae and representatives of the Leuciscinae, Alburninae, Gobioninae, and Rasborinae. Comparison of host and parasite phylogenetic relationships indicated that a very high number of parasite duplications occurred within two of the three Dactylogyrus lineages. Dactylogyrus diversification can be mainly explained by sympatric intrahost speciation events that seem to be correlated to strict host specificity. Moreover, the present study shows that the congeneric parasites speciating within one host tend to occupy niches within hosts differing at least in one niche parameter.
Polyelectrolyte precipitation of proteins: II. Models of the particle size distributions

A population‐balance model has been used to characterize continuous polyelectrolyte precipitation of egg white proteins. We have modeled the particle size distributions of aggregates formed under a range of mixing conditions. The models, accounting for aggregate growth (by both shear‐driven and Brownian‐like collisions), breakage (by hydrodynamic shear or aggregate‐aggregate collisions), and birth (by the breakage of large aggregates), fit the data well. The kinetic constants show dependencies on shear rate and residence time that have not been previously theoretically predicted; these dependencies are due in part to aging effects on the aggregate. The model constants show a dominance of growth over breakage, supporting qualitative interpretations of the particle size distributions. A mechanism for growth‐rate enhancement, caused by polymer extensions from the particle surfaces, produced improved model performance. A collisional breakage mechanism is supported.
Epipteric bones in the pterion may be a surgical pitfall.

BACKGROUND The pterion, the most commonly used neurosurgical landmark, is defined as the junction of frontal, parietal, and greater wing of the sphenoid and the squamous part of temporal bones. Our aim was to identify the variations of the pterion which may be a potential surgical pitfall. METHODS Both sides of 300 adult skulls were examined but 110 sides were eliminated since their pterion could not be identified owing to a damage. The shortest distance between the lateral orbital rim and the most anterior junction of the four bones forming the pterion was measured on all sides. RESULTS Out of 490 sides the pterion was found to contain epipteric bones in 44 (9 %), and in these skulls the most anterior junction of the bones may be as close as 16 mm to the lateral orbital rim. CONCLUSION In skulls with an epipteric bone variation, particularly the anterius and proprium types; the pterion can mistakenly be assessed to be at the most anterior junction of bones and a burr hole placed over there may cause inadvertent penetration into the orbit.
De Novo Infection of B Cells during Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 Latency

ABSTRACT The mechanisms by which gammaherpesviruses maintain latency are unclear. Here we used a murine gammaherpesvirus model to show that previously uninfected B cells in immunocompetent mice can acquire virus during latency. In vivo depletion of T cells allowed viral reactivation, as measured by increased viral loads, but not enhanced transfer of virus to new cells. In the absence of both immune T cells and antibody following the transfer of latently infected cells into naïve animals, there was robust infection of new B cells. These data confirm that both T cells and antibody contribute to the control of gammaherpesvirus latency, reactivation, and spread.
Regulation of human endogenous retrovirus W protein expression by herpes simplex virus type 1: Implications for multiple sclerosis

The multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus (MSRV), originally identified in cell cultures from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), is closely related to the human endogenous retrovirus family W (HERV-W). Recently, HERV-W gag and env protein expression was demonstrated in MS lesions in situ. Here, the authors show that HERV-W gag and env proteins are induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in neuronal and brain endothelial cells in vitro. The transactivation of HERV-W proteins by HSV-1 could enhance their potential oligodendrotoxic and immunopathogenic effects, representing a mechanism by which HSV-1, and possibly also other herpesviruses associated with MS, may be linked to the pathogenesis of this disease.