Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of dengue virus in individual Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Delhi, India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Delhi, the capital city of India, has so far witnessed several outbreaks of dengue fever since 1967 (last one reported in 2013). Improved virological and entomological surveillance are the only tools that can help in prevention of dengue as well as in the development of dengue control programmes. The aim of the study was to conduct a prospective field study to detect dengue virus in adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes collected from various localities represented by different socioeconomic groups in Delhi. METHODS The study areas were selected and categorized into high, medium and low income groups on the basis of socioeconomical characteristics of the resident population, where dengue cases were reported during the past three years by MCD. Dengue viral infection was detected in the head squash of each adult mosquito by immunofluorescent assay (IFA) employing monoclonal antibodies against dengue virus (DENV). A total of 2408 females and 1206 males of Ae. aegypti were collected and tested by IFA. RESULTS Out of 2408 Ae. aegypti females, 14 were found positive, with minimum infection rate (MIR) of 5.8 per 1000 mosquitoes. Among the 18 study areas, 11 localities were found positive for dengue virus infection. Low income group (LIG) areas showed highest mosquito infectivity (9.8), followed by medium income group (MIG), i.e. 6.2; while least was observed in high income group (HIG), i.e. 1.3. No vertical transmission of dengue virus could be detected in 1206 Ae. aegypti males collected. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION The study concludes that there was high MIR in the identified localities of low and medium income groups. Estimation of MIR in a female Aedes mosquito in the existing arsenals for dengue surveillance would be an added advantage for early warning of dengue outbreak. The presence of infected mosquitoes in identified localities of Delhi was alarming and require rigorous vector surveillance so that the severe outbreaks can be prevented.
Pharmacological Study of the Effect of Licorice Alone and in Combination with Diclofenac Sodium on Hepatotoxicity-induced Experimentally in Rats.

The protective effect of licorice and diclofenac sodium in doses of 50 mg/kg bwt. and 5 mg/kg bwt. respectively against liver toxicity induced by CCl4 (1ml/kg bwt.) in olive oil [1:1 (v/v)] every other day for 8 weeks and by hepatic ischemia/reperfusion in adult male albino rats was studied. Different antioxidant and liver function parameters were reported to find the protective effect of both licorice and diclofenac sodium against hepatotoxicity. Results showed that licorice protected against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity as well as ischemia/reperfusion-induced liver injury. On the other hand, diclofenac sodium caused deleterious effects, especially in presence of CCl4, where a high mortality rate was observed.
Wisdom, Bias, and Balance: Toward a Process-Sensitive Measurement of Wisdom-Related Cognition

Philosophers and behavioral scientists refer to wisdom as unbiased reasoning that guides one toward a balance of interests and promotes a good life. However, major instruments developed to test wisdom appear biased, and it is unclear whether they capture balance-related tendencies. We examined whether shifting from global, de-contextualized reports to state-level reports about concrete situations provides a less biased method to assess wise reasoning (e.g., intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change, consideration of the broader context at hand and perspectives of others, integration of these perspectives or compromise), which may be aligned with the notion of balancing interests. Results of a large-scale psychometric investigation (N = 4,463) revealed that the novel Situated WIse Reasoning Scale (SWIS) is reliable and appears independent of psychological biases (attribution bias, bias blind spot, self-deception, and impression management), whereas global wisdom reports are subject to such biases. Moreover, SWIS scores were positively related to indices of living well (e.g., adaptive emotion regulation, mindfulness), and balancing of cooperative and self-protective interests, goals (influence-vs.-adjustment), and causal inferences about conflict (attribution to the self-vs.-other party). In contrast, global wisdom reports were unrelated or negatively related to balance-related measures. Notably, people showed modest within-person consistency in wise reasoning across situations or over time, suggesting that a single-shot measurement may be insufficient for whole understanding of trait-level wisdom. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for research on wisdom, judgment and decision making, well-being, and prosociality.
Age estimation of pouch young and growth of the burrowing bettong, Bettongia lesueur, (Marsupialia: Potoroidae) on Heirisson Prong, Shark Bay, Western Australia

Measurements of hind foot length, weight, head length and tail length were collected from pouch young, young at foot, sub-adults and adults of a reintroduced population of the vulnerable burrowing bettong, Bettongia lesueur, on Heirisson Prong, Shark Bay, Western Australia. A key based on qualitative characteristics was used to age individuals and a Richards growth function was fitted to plots of hind foot length versus age. The patterns of growth and morphological characteristics were similar for males and females. Both sexes exhibited a growth pattern typical of a medium-sized macropod with an initial slow phase of growth followed by a rapid phase that slowed as adult size was reached. The growth curves are suitable for broad estimates of the age of wild-caught animals from pouch young to early adulthood.
Preschool Enrollment, Classroom Instruction, Elementary School Context, and the Reading Achievement of Children from Low-Income Families.

PURPOSE The goal of this study was test expectations derived from sociological and developmental perspectives that the association between phonics instruction in kindergarten classrooms and reading achievement during the first year of school in the low-income population would depend on whether children had previously attended preschool as well as the socioeconomic composition of their elementary schools. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH Autoregressive modeling was applied to nationally representative data from 7,710 children from low-income families in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, with a series of sensitivity tests to improve causal inference and explore the robustness of results. FINDINGS The association between phonics instruction and achievement was strongest among children from low-income families who had not attended preschool and then enrolled in socioeconomically disadvantaged elementary schools and among children from low-income families who had attended preschool and then enrolled in socioeconomically advantaged elementary schools. RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Insight into educational inequality can be gained by situating developing children within their proximate ecologies and institutional settings, especially looking to the match between children and their contexts. These findings are relevant to policy discussions of early education, instructional practices, and desegregation.
Use of immune function test in monitoring immunosuppression in liver transplant recipients

Immune function test (Immuknow™) is a measure of cell‐mediated immunity based on peripheral CD4+ T cell adenosine triphosphate activity (desired range, 225–525 ng/mL). We evaluated the role of immune function test (IFT) in monitoring and adjustment of immunosuppression in orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients. A total of 289 IFTs were obtained from 171 patients from March 2007 to June 2008. Graft/patient status was classified as stable, serious infection, or malignancy. IFT levels were analyzed with duration of follow‐up after OLT, graft/patient status, and the presence of hepatitis C (HCV) infection. The mean age was 54 ± 14 yr, with 62% men. The median follow‐up was 65 (2–249) months. Mean IFT levels were significantly lower in patients who were <24 months than in those ≥24 months post‐OLT (220 ± 19.5 vs. 257 ± 11.3 ng/mL, p = 0.03). Clinically stable patients had higher IFT levels than those with serious infection or malignancy (254 ± 11.1 vs. 162.5 ± 23.9, p < 0.001). HCV‐infected patients had lower IFT levels than uninfected patients (206.7 ± 15.7 vs. 273 ± 12.0 ng/mL, p < 0.001). Immunosuppression was reduced in 58 patients with IFT levels <225 ng/mL, and 90% maintained stable graft function after a median follow‐up of 22 (1–39) months. IFT may be a useful tool in monitoring and lowering of immunosuppression in long‐term OLT recipients.
Role of Endothelial NO Synthase Phosphorylation in Cerebrovascular Protective Effect of Recombinant Erythropoietin During Subarachnoid Hemorrhage– Induced Cerebral Vasospasm

Background and Purpose— In the present study, the effect of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on the phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and the ability of recombinant erythropoietin (Epo) to augment this vasodilator mechanism in the spastic arteries were studied. Methods— Recombinant adenoviral vectors (109 plaque-forming units per animal) encoding genes for human Epo (AdEpo), and &bgr;-galactosidase were injected immediately after injection of autologous arterial blood into the cisterna magna (day 0) of rabbits. Cerebral angiography was performed on day 0 and day 2, and basilar arteries were harvested for Western blots, measurement of cGMP levels, and analysis of vasomotor functions. Results— Injection of autologous arterial blood into cisterna magna resulted in significant vasospasm of the basilar arteries. Despite the narrowing of arterial diameter and reduced expression of eNOS, expressions of phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt) and phosphorylated eNOS were significantly increased in spastic arteries. Gene transfer of AdEpo reversed the vasospasm. AdEpo-transduced basilar arteries demonstrated significant augmentation of the endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine, whereas the relaxations to an NO donor, 2-(N,N-diethylamino)diazenolate-2-oxide sodium salt, were not affected. Transduction with AdEpo further increased the expression of phosphorylated Akt and eNOS and elevated basal levels of cGMP in the spastic arteries. Conclusions— Phosphorylation of eNOS appears to be an adaptive mechanism activated during development of vasospasm. The vascular protective effect of Epo against cerebral vasospasm induced by SAH may be mediated in part by phosphorylation of Akt/eNOS.
Eruption chronology of Primary Teeth in Garhwa district , Jharkhand , India

Introduction: Tooth eruption marks a milestone in a child’s development and is synchronous with growth and development of the craniofacial complex. Thus, the present study was carried to evaluate the timing and sequence of eruption of deciduous teeth among children of India. Materials and methods: The present study was carried out on 60 children (30 boys and 30 girls), aged between 5 till the emergence of II deciduous molar in the oral cavity, who were local residents, born and residing in that area and were visited regularly at monthly intervals at their homes. All the data were compiled and tabulated using the SPSS software package version 18. Comparison was made between the data obtained and the standard tooth eruption table. The Student t’ test was used to assess the significance of difference in the mean age of tooth eruption with p value of <0.005 as significant value. Results: Comparing the maxillary and mandibular arches, mandibular central incisor at 8.85 ± 1.05 was the first tooth to erupt and maxillary second molar was erupted at 28.12 ± 1.5 months were the last deciduous tooth to erupt in the oral cavity. Females showed delayed eruption compared to males in case of anterior teeth, and males showed delayed eruption in case of posterior deciduous teeth. Though the difference was not significant (p> 0.05), there was a systematic tendency for early eruption of left sided primary teeth, though the difference was not significant. K. Vinod, Singh R, Suryavanshi R, Ashok Kumar, Singh RK, Ranjan R. Eruption chronology of Primary Teeth in Garhwa district, Jharkhand, India. IAIM, 2016; 3(5): 81-84. Page 82 Conclusion: The present study found delay in eruption. Hence, studies conducted to evaluate time to time estimation of variation of eruption sequence among different populations is important for general dental practitioners, and pediatric dentists to contend with the anxiety of the parents.
A Permutation Test for the Regression Kink Design

ABSTRACT The regression kink (RK) design is an increasingly popular empirical method for estimating causal effects of policies, such as the effect of unemployment benefits on unemployment duration. Using simulation studies based on data from existing RK designs, we empirically document that the statistical significance of RK estimators based on conventional standard errors can be spurious. In the simulations, false positives arise as a consequence of nonlinearities in the underlying relationship between the outcome and the assignment variable, confirming concerns about the misspecification bias of discontinuity estimators pointed out by Calonico, Cattaneo, and Titiunik. As a complement to standard RK inference, we propose that researchers construct a distribution of placebo estimates in regions with and without a policy kink and use this distribution to gauge statistical significance. Under the assumption that the location of the kink point is random, this permutation test has exact size in finite samples for testing a sharp null hypothesis of no effect of the policy on the outcome. We implement simulation studies based on existing RK applications that estimate the effect of unemployment benefits on unemployment duration and show that our permutation test as well as inference procedures proposed by Calonico, Cattaneo, and Titiunik improve upon the size of standard approaches, while having sufficient power to detect an effect of unemployment benefits on unemployment duration. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Does Left Atrial Enlargement Contribute to Mitral Leaflet Tethering in Patients with Functional Mitral Regurgitation? Proposed Role of Atriogenic Leaflet Tethering

Papillary muscle repositioning due to left ventricular remodeling is thought to be the primary mechanism responsible for functional mitral regurgitation. This article proposes that remodeling (enlargement) of the left atrium also plays a role in the pathogenesis of functional mitral regurgitation, through a novel mechanism–atriogenic leaflet tethering–described herein.
Composition and Statistical Analysis of Biophenols in Apulian Italian EVOOs

Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is among the basic constituents of the Mediterranean diet. Its nutraceutical properties are due mainly, but not only, to a plethora of molecules with antioxidant activity known as biophenols. In this article, several biophenols were measured in EVOOs from South Apulia, Italy. Hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and their conjugated structures to elenolic acid in different forms were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) together with lignans, luteolin and α-tocopherol. The concentration of the analyzed metabolites was quite high in all the cultivars studied, but it was still possible to discriminate them through multivariate statistical analysis (MVA). Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were also exploited for determining variances among samples depending on the interval time between harvesting and milling, on the age of the olive trees, and on the area where the olive trees were grown.
Visual acuities "hand motion" and "counting fingers" can be quantified with the freiburg visual acuity test.

PURPOSE The visual acuity (VA) of patients with very low vision is classified using the semiquantitative scale "counting fingers" (CF), "hand motion" (HM), "light perception" (LP), and "no light perception. " More quantitative measures would be desirable, especially for clinical studies. The results of clinical VA measurements, Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) charts, and the Freiburg Visual Acuity Test (FrACT) were compared. The FrACT is a computerized visual acuity test that can present very large Landolt C optotypes when necessary. METHODS Examined were 100 eyes of 100 patients with various eye diseases (e.g., diabetic retinopathy, ARMD), covering a range of VAs from LP to decimal 0.32. The FrACT optotypes were presented on a 17-inch LCD monitor with random orientation. After extensive training, two ETDRS and FrACT measurements were obtained. The testing distance was 50 or 100 cm. RESULTS ETDRS and FrACT coincided closely for VA > or = 0.02 (n = 80). ETDRS measures were successfully obtainable down to CF (at 30 cm; test-retest averaged over all patients, coefficient of variation [CV](ETDRS) = 9% +/- 8%), and FrACT provided reproducible measurements down to HM (test-retest CV(FrACT) =12% +/- 11%). For CF (n = 6), both ETDRS and FrACT resulted in a mean VA of 0.014 +/- 0.003 (range, 0.01-0.02). The VA results of FrACT for HM (n = 12) were 0.005 +/- 0.002 (range, 0.003-0.009); the individual values were highly reproducible. No results were obtainable for LP (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS The three acuity procedures concur above a VA of 0.02. The results suggest that the category CF at 30 cm can be replaced by 0.014, using ETDRS or FrACT. Using FrACT, one can even reproducibly quantify VA in the HM-range, yielding a mean VA of 0.005.
Clinical evaluation of 4D PET motion compensation strategies for treatment verification in ion beam therapy

A clinical trial named PROMETHEUS is currently ongoing for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center (HIT, Germany). In this framework, 4D PET-CT datasets are acquired shortly after the therapeutic treatment to compare the irradiation induced PET image with a Monte Carlo PET prediction resulting from the simulation of treatment delivery. The extremely low count statistics of this measured PET image represents a major limitation of this technique, especially in presence of target motion. The purpose of the study is to investigate two different 4D PET motion compensation strategies towards the recovery of the whole count statistics for improved image quality of the 4D PET-CT datasets for PET-based treatment verification. The well-known 4D-MLEM reconstruction algorithm, embedding the motion compensation in the reconstruction process of 4D PET sinograms, was compared to a recently proposed pre-reconstruction motion compensation strategy, which operates in sinogram domain by applying the motion compensation to the 4D PET sinograms. With reference to phantom and patient datasets, advantages and drawbacks of the two 4D PET motion compensation strategies were identified. The 4D-MLEM algorithm was strongly affected by inverse inconsistency of the motion model but demonstrated the capability to mitigate the noise-break-up effects. Conversely, the pre-reconstruction warping showed less sensitivity to inverse inconsistency but also more noise in the reconstructed images. The comparison was performed by relying on quantification of PET activity and ion range difference, typically yielding similar results. The study demonstrated that treatment verification of moving targets could be accomplished by relying on the whole count statistics image quality, as obtained from the application of 4D PET motion compensation strategies. In particular, the pre-reconstruction warping was shown to represent a promising choice when combined with intra-reconstruction smoothing.
Prospective study of the association between sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension.

BACKGROUND Sleep-disordered breathing is prevalent in the general population and has been linked to chronically elevated blood pressure in cross-sectional epidemiologic studies. We performed a prospective, population-based study of the association between objectively measured sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension (defined as a laboratory-measured blood pressure of at least 140/90 mm Hg or the use of antihypertensive medications). METHODS We analyzed data on sleep-disordered breathing, blood pressure, habitus, and health history at base line and after four years of follow-up in 709 participants of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study (and after eight years of follow-up in the case of 184 of these participants). Participants were assessed overnight by 18-channel polysomnography for sleep-disordered breathing, as defined by the apnea-hypopnea index (the number of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour of sleep). The odds ratios for the presence of hypertension at the four-year follow-up study according to the apnea-hypopnea index at base line were estimated after adjustment for base-line hypertension status, body-mass index, neck and waist circumference, age, sex, and weekly use of alcohol and cigarettes. RESULTS Relative to the reference category of an apnea-hypopnea index of 0 events per hour at base line, the odds ratios for the presence of hypertension at follow-up were 1.42 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.13 to 1.78) with an apnea-hypopnea index of 0.1 to 4.9 events per hour at base line as compared with none, 2.03 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.29 to 3.17) with an apnea-hypopnea index of 5.0 to 14.9 events per hour, and 2.89 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.46 to 5.64) with an apnea-hypopnea index of 15.0 or more events per hour. CONCLUSIONS We found a dose-response association between sleep-disordered breathing at base line and the presence of hypertension four years later that was independent of known confounding factors. The findings suggest that sleep-disordered breathing is likely to be a risk factor for hypertension and consequent cardiovascular morbidity in the general population.
Cardiac Protection During On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Ischemic Versus Isoflurane Preconditioning

Objectives. To compare the cardioprotective effects of anesthetic preconditioning by isoflurane with ischemic preconditioning. Methods. A total of 45 patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery were randomized to preconditioning either by 3 episodes of 1-minute aortic cross-clamping followed by 4 minutes of reperfusion after each episode, a 10-minute exposure to isoflurane 2.5% followed by 5 minutes of washout, or no preconditioning technique (control group). Hemodynamic data, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) release, need for inotropic support, hospital stay, and adverse cardiac events were measured and recorded. Results. Preconditioned patients showed marked improvement in hemodynamic data, less need for inotropic support, and less postoperative increase in the serum levels of CK-MB and cTnI. No significant difference in hospital stay was found. Also, 4 patients in the control group had adverse cardiac events versus 1 patient in the isoflurane and ischemic groups in 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions. Based on this very small sample size, these data support a cardioprotective effect of isoflurane and ischemic preconditioning during CABG surgery.