Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multisurface Interpersonal Circumplex Assessment of Rejection Sensitivity

ABSTRACT Individuals high in rejection sensitivity (RS) are at risk for experiencing high levels of interpersonal distress, yet little is known about the interpersonal profiles associated with RS. This investigation examined the interpersonal problems, sensitivities, and values associated with RS in 2 samples: 763 multicultural undergraduate students (Study 1) and 365 community adults (Study 2). In Study 1, high anxious RS was associated with socially avoidant interpersonal problems, whereas low anxious RS was associated with vindictive interpersonal problems. In Study 2, we assessed both anxious and angry expectations of rejection. Circumplex profile analyses showed that the high anxious RS group reported socially avoidant interpersonal problems, sensitivities to remoteness in others, and valuing connections with others, whereas the high angry RS group reported vindictive interpersonal problems, sensitivities to submissiveness in others, and valuing detached interpersonal behavior. Low anxious RS was related to domineering interpersonal problems, sensitivity to attention-seeking behavior, and valuing detached interpersonal behavior, whereas low angry RS was related to submissive interpersonal problems, sensitivity to attention-seeking behavior, and valuing receiving approval from others. Overall, results suggest that there are distinct interpersonal profiles associated with varying levels and types of RS.
Immunogold Localization of the Dopamine Transporter: An Ultrastructural Study of the Rat Ventral Tegmental Area

The dopamine transporter (DAT) plays an important role in the plasmalemmal reuptake of dopamine and, thus, in the termination of normal dopaminergic neurotransmission. DAT is also a major binding site for cocaine and other stimulants, the psychoactive effects of which are associated primarily with the inhibition of dopamine reuptake within mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic neurons. We used electron microscopy with an anti-peptide antiserum directed against the N-terminal domain of DAT to determine the subcellular localization of this transporter in the rat ventral tegmental area (VTA), the region that contains the cell bodies and dendrites of these dopaminergic neurons. We show that in the VTA, almost 95% of the DAT immunogold-labeled profiles are neuronal perikarya and dendrites, and the remainder are unmyelinated axons. Within perikarya and large proximal dendrites, almost all of the DAT immunogold particles are associated with intracellular membranes, including saccules of Golgi and cytoplasmic tubulovesicles. In contrast, within medium- to small-diameter dendrites and unmyelinated axons, most of the DAT gold particles are located on plasma membranes. In dually labeled tissue, peroxidase reaction product for the catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase is present in DAT-immunoreactive profiles. These findings suggest that intermediate and distal dendrites are both the primary sites of dopamine reuptake and the principal targets of cocaine and related psychostimulants within dopaminergic neurons in the VTA.
Inhibitory circuits and the nature of their interactions in the human motor cortex – a pharmacological TMS study

Inhibitory circuits are crucial in modulating corticospinal output in the primary motor cortex (M1). Relatively little is known about how these inhibitory circuits interact. Here we measured three forms of inhibition in M1 by paired‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation: short‐interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), long‐interval intracortical inhibition (LICI) and short‐interval interhemispheric inhibition (SIHI). We specifically tested their interactions under pharmacological challenge with a single oral dose of diazepam, a positive allosteric modulator of the γ‐aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAAR), or baclofen, a specific agonist at the GABA type B receptor (GABABR). Motor evoked potentials were recorded bilaterally from the first dorsal interosseous muscle in eight right‐handed healthy volunteers. Diazepam enhanced SICI, and baclofen produced a trend towards enhanced LICI, corroborating the view that SICI reflects inhibition mediated by the GABAAR, and LICI very likely reflects inhibition mediated by the GABABR. The pharmacology of SIHI was inconclusive and warrants further investigation. Findings strongly suggest that SICI, LICI and SIHI recruit three distinct inhibitory circuits in the human M1. The interactions between SIHI and SICI, LICI and SIHI, and LICI and SICI were all negative, that is SIHI suppressed SICI, and LICI suppressed both SIHI and SICI. Diazepam partially restored SICI in the presence of LICI, while all other interactions remained unaffected by diazepam or baclofen. It will be argued that the negative interactions between SIHI and SICI, LICI and SIHI, and LICI and SICI are most likely due to presynaptic GABABR‐mediated autoinhibition.
DNA based characterization of Ceratocystis fimbriata isolates associated with mango decline in Oman

Abstract.A serious mango decline disease has recently been reported from the Sultanate of Oman. Based on morphological characteristics, the pathogen responsible for the disease was previously identified as Ceratocystis fimbriata. C. fimbriata is one of the most important pathogens of mango in Brazil and its appearance in Oman is of great concern. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that C. fimbriata most likely represents a species complex. The aim of this study was to confirm the identity of the mango pathogen in Oman based on DNA sequences. Sequence data were obtained for the internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 regions and the 5.8S rRNA gene regions and these were compared with sequence data of C. fimbriata from several hosts and geographic areas. The isolates from Oman where shown to represent C. fimbriata sensu lato and also to be most closely related to an isolate from mango in Brazil. This provides some evidence that the mango pathogen in Oman might have originated in Brazil.
Multistakeholder Perspectives on Composite Measures of Ambulatory Care Quality

The development of composite measures of ambulatory care quality is an area of growing practice and policy interest. Using 29 semistructured interviews, this study describes the opinions of stakeholders related to the use and development of composite measures in a multistakeholder setting. Research experts working in multistakeholder settings need to understand the perspective of various stakeholders, many of whom have varying levels of research expertise, in order to develop useful and acceptable composite measures. Findings from this study suggest that to achieve maximal stakeholder buy-in, research experts should focus on clinical area-specific composites that are designed and constructed in a simple and transparent manner. However, composite measures are not a panacea for improving the utility of public reporting. Performance measure and report card creators should continue to investigate other ways to improve the user-friendliness of their reports and to address other barriers that prevent more extensive use of reports.
Agrobiodiversity and nutrition in traditional cropping systems

This work would not have been possible without the financial support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) initiative "GlobE - Research for the Global Food Supply". Dr. Joseph Bahati facilitated the support of the Ugandan National Science Foundation, the office of President and the approval of the local Regional District Coordinators and Chief Administrative Officers of Bushenyi, Rubirizi, and Sheema, Uganda. During the fieldwork, Antonia Nyamukuru and Carolyne Nakaketo helped with interpretation and facilitation, and the Local Chairmen, other village members, and respondents welcomed us to their homes and farms and offered their support, hospitality and company.
Governing what Wasn’t Meant to be Governed: A Controversy-Based Approach to the Study of Bitcoin Governance

Is it possible to implement trustworthy governance mechanisms for Bitcoin -- the technology that, by design and by manifesto, “was not meant to be governed” to begin with? This question has been raised several times since the creation of Bitcoin, which has been presented as an “alternative” currency circumventing state-backed financial and economic institutions. It is no coincidence that Bitcoin’s birth and swift rise took place at the very moment in recent history, 2008, when the worldwide financial crisis exposed the shortcomings and unsavory innerworkings of the global financial system. Not meant to be controlled by any central authority, Bitcoin’s monetary supply is shaped and defined by its namesake protocol -- its cornerstone being that from the inception of the system, the total amount of bitcoins that could ever be created was known and established in advance (twenty-one million), and so was their generation rate over time. The generation of bitcoins is based on an activity called mining, based on the principle that bitcoins are assigned as a reward to those users -- the miners -- that lend their computing and hard disk resources to the system for operational and security purposes. The establishment of the system’s functioning as “purely” technical, as mentioned, was strictly related to the alleged aim of wiping corruption and “human-made” dangerous and speculative practices from finance and markets. Banks and states could not be trusted anymore, opening the way to a trustless, cryptography-reliant, architecture-based solution. However -- and as we have explored in previous work (Mallard, Méadel and Musiani, 2014) -- when Bitcoin started becoming a global network and raised interest and business opportunities for a variety of actors worldwide, including a number of new market intermediaries, the issue of trust came back in full colors raising questions related to the global redistribution of authority and power -- and governance.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and HIV Infection

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare but life-threatening complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. PAH can complicate the course of HIV infection regardless of the route of HIV transmission, the stage of HIV infection, and the degree of immunosuppression. The clinical presentation and underlying pathology of PAH associated with HIV infection (PAH-HIV) are similar to those encountered in other forms of PAH, although there are data suggesting a greater inflammatory component in the HIV-related form. Given the good long-term prognosis of HIV patients with highly active antiretroviral treatments and the severity of PAH in HIV-infected patients, screening for pulmonary hypertension according to a precise algorithm is warranted in HIV-infected patients presenting with dyspnea not explained by another cause. In all cases, right heart catheterization must be performed to establish the diagnosis of PAH. Beneficial effects of antiretroviral treatments on PAH-HIV still remain to be proven. Patients with PAH-HIV appear to respond well to treatment with the prostacyclin epoprostenol, although continuous intravenous infusion is associated with a range of potential complications. Treatment with the oral dual endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan has been shown to benefit patients with PAH-HIV without adversely affecting the control of HIV infection, and resulted in functional and hemodynamic normalization in approximately 20% of patients. Other PAH therapies, including prostacyclin analogs, type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitors, and single endothelin receptor antagonists, have yet to be evaluated in PAH-HIV.
Keratin 20 is a specific marker of submicroscopic lymph node metastases in colorectal cancer: validation by K‐RAS mutations

Lymph node status has major prognostic importance in colorectal cancer and greater precision in the diagnosis of lymph node metastases should provide better prognostic and therapeutic guidance. Keratin 20 (K20) gene expression has been used as a marker of lymph node metastases, but the evidence for this remains circumstantial. This study has therefore sought to determine K20 specificity and to correlate K20 expression with mutant K‐RAS expression, in order to provide direct evidence that K20 expression in lymph nodes of colorectal cancer patients genuinely reflects metastatic disease. Specificity of K20 expression was established against a range of tissue types and 289 lymph nodes from 41 non‐cancer control patients. K20 expression was restricted to gastrointestinal epithelia and was only present in one of the 289 control lymph nodes, giving a calculated specificity of 97.6% (95% confidence limits: 87.1–99.9%). Forty‐two tumour samples were analysed for the presence of K‐RAS codon 12 gene mutations using a RT‐PCR mutant allele‐specific amplification (MASA) technique. Thirteen tumours (31%) had codon 12 mutations detected by MASA and these were further analysed to determine the exact nature of the mutation. MASA was then used to screen the lymph nodes from these patients for the presence of the tumour‐specific K‐RAS transcript and the results were compared with K20 RT‐PCR and histopathology from the same samples. Whilst K‐RAS MASA was not as sensitive as K20 RT‐PCR, there was substantial agreement between the assays. There were no K20‐negative lymph nodes which were found to be K‐RAS MASA‐positive, whereas seven nodes in four patients were K20‐positive and K‐RAS‐negative, in keeping with the differences in assay sensitivity. These results further validate K20 as a marker by providing greater certainty that what is being detected represents occult metastatic disease. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Self-reflection and the psychosis-prone brain: an fMRI study.

OBJECTIVE The Cortical Midline Structures (CMS) play a critical role in self-reflection, together with the insula. Abnormalities in self-referential processing and its neural underpinnings have been reported in schizophrenia and at-risk populations, suggesting they might be markers of psychotic vulnerability. Psychometric measures of schizotypal traits may be used to index psychosis proneness (PP) in nonclinical samples. It remains an unresolved question whether differences in self-reflective processing are associated with PP. METHOD Six hundred students completed the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences Questionnaire, positive subscale. Two groups were formed from the extremes of the distribution (total N = 36). fMRI was used to examine CMS/insula function during a self-reflection task. Participants judged personality trait sentences about self and about an acquaintance. RESULTS High PP subjects attributed less positive traits to others (i.e., acquaintances) than subjects with low PP. Across groups, the contrasts self > semantic and self > other induced activation in CMS and insula, whereas other > semantic did not produce insula activation. Other > self induced posterior cingulate cortex activation in low PP but not in high PP. In addition, high PP subjects showed stronger activation than low PP in left insula during self > semantic. Examining valence effects revealed that high PP individuals showed increased activation in left insula, right dMPFC, and left vMPFC for positive self-related traits, and in bilateral insula, ACC, and right dMPFC for negative self-related traits. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that aspects of self-referential processing and underlying brain mechanisms are similar in clinical and subclinical (high PP) forms of psychosis, suggesting that these may be associated with vulnerability to psychosis.
The unpleasantness of perceived dyspnea is processed in the anterior insula and amygdala.

RATIONALE The subjective perception of dyspnea, which is an impairing symptom in various cardiopulmonary diseases, consists of sensory (intensity) and affective aspects (unpleasantness). However, little is known about the cortical processing of the perception of dyspnea. OBJECTIVES To investigate the cortical areas associated with the processing of the affective unpleasantness of perceived dyspnea. METHODS Brain imaging study using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 14 healthy volunteers. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Dyspnea was induced by inspiratory resistive loaded breathing with concomitant positive and negative emotional stimulation by viewing standardized emotional picture series. The blood oxygen level-dependent contrast was measured as an index of local neuronal activity while respiration was continuously monitored. Negative emotional stimulation during loaded breathing was associated with higher unpleasantness of perceived dyspnea when compared with loaded breathing with concomitant positive emotional stimulation (P < 0.05). The levels of intensity of perceived dyspnea, respiratory responses, and load magnitude were similar between both conditions. Higher unpleasantness of dyspnea was associated with neuronal activations in the limbic system-that is, in the right anterior insula and in the right amygdala (respective Z values = 3.93 and 3.15; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of the present brain imaging study suggest that the unpleasantness of subjectively perceived dyspnea is processed in the right human anterior insula and amygdala.
Substrate-induced conformational changes in the nucleotide-binding domains of lipid bilayer–associated P-glycoprotein during ATP hydrolysis

P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is an efflux pump important in multidrug resistance of cancer cells and in determining drug pharmacokinetics. Pgp is a prototype ATP-binding cassette transporter with two nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) that bind and hydrolyze ATP. Conformational changes at the NBDs (the Pgp engines) lead to changes across Pgp transmembrane domains that result in substrate translocation. According to current alternating access models (substrate-binding pocket accessible only to one side of the membrane at a time), binding of ATP promotes NBD dimerization, resulting in external accessibility of the drug-binding site (outward-facing, closed NBD conformation), and ATP hydrolysis leads to dissociation of the NBDs with the subsequent return of the accessibility of the binding site to the cytoplasmic side (inward-facing, open NBD conformation). However, previous work has not investigated these events under near-physiological conditions in a lipid bilayer and in the presence of transport substrate. Here, we used luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) to measure the distances between the two Pgp NBDs. Pgp was labeled with LRET probes, reconstituted in lipid nanodiscs, and the distance between the NBDs was measured at 37 °C. In the presence of verapamil, a substrate that activates ATP hydrolysis, the NBDs of Pgp reconstituted in nanodiscs were never far apart during the hydrolysis cycle, and we never observed the NBD–NBD distances of tens of Å that have previously been reported. However, we found two main conformations that coexist in a dynamic equilibrium under all conditions studied. Our observations highlight the importance of performing studies of efflux pumps under near-physiological conditions, in a lipid bilayer, at 37 °C, and during substrate-stimulated hydrolysis.
Pretreatment effects of regular aerobic training on the IGF system and hepatotoxicity induced by doxorubicin in rats.

AIMS To examine the pretreatment effects of regular aerobic training on the IGF system (IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and IGF/IGFBP) and doxorubicin(DOX) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight male rats were divided into groups:(1) control+placebo (2)control+DOX10 mg.kg-1 (3)control+DOX20 mg.kg-1 (4) training+placebo (5) training+DOX10 mg.kg-1 (6) training+DOX20 mg.kg-1. Hepatotoxicity was induced by DOX with dosages of 10 and 20 mg.kg-1. The rats in groups 4, 5 and 6 performed treadmill running of 25-54 min/day and 15-20 m/min, 5 days/wk for 6 wks. At the end of the aerobic training protocol, rats in the 1 and 4 groups, in the 2 and 5 groups and in the 3 and 6 groups received saline solution, DOX10 mg.kg-1 and DOX20 mg.kg-1, respectively. RESULTS Administration of DOX20 mg.kg-1 caused a significant increase in IGF-1 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3, an insignificant decrease in IGFBP-3, as compared to the control+placebo group. However, after six weeks of aerobic training and DOX treatment with 10mg.kg-1 and or/ 20mg.kg-1 an insignificant decrease in IGF-1, an insignificant increase in IGFBP-3 and a significant decrease in IGF-1/IGFBP-3 were detected, in comparison to C+DOX10 and C+DOX20. CONCLUSIONS Hepatotoxicity of doxorubicin is dose-dependent and pretreatment with regular aerobic training may improve DOX-induced hepatotoxicity by up-regulation of IGFBP3.
Inclusion-body myositis

Sporadic inclusion-body myositis (s-IBM), the most common muscle disease of older persons, is of unknown cause and there is no successful treatment. We summarize our most recent findings, which provide a better understanding of the steps in the pathogenetic cascade. We suggest that s-IBM is primarily a myodegenerative disease. Intriguing are the phenotypic similarities between s-IBM muscle fibers and the brains of Alzheimer disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease of older persons. In s-IBM, abnormal accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) precursor protein and its proteolytic fragment, Aβ, associated with the aging intracellular milieu of the muscle fiber, appear to be key upstream pathogenic events. We propose that the identified abnormal accumulation, misfolding, and aggregation of proteins, perhaps provoked by the aging milieu and aggravated by the oxidative stress, lead to the s-IBM-specific vacuolar degeneration and atrophy of muscle fibers.
Cyst‐based toxicity tests XIV—Application of the ostracod solid‐phase microbiotest for toxicity monitoring of river sediments in Flanders (Belgium)

In view of the need for rapid and low‐cost solid‐phase assays for contaminated sediments, a new 6‐day “culture/maintenance‐free” microbiotest has been developed with the freshwater ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens at the Laboratory for Biological Research in Aquatic Pollution at the Ghent University in Belgium. The sensitivity of the Ostracodtoxkit F™ has been compared with that of the 10‐day sediment contact test with the amphipod crustacean Hyalella azteca and the two pore water assays (on the anostracan crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus and the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata) selected by the Flemish Environmental Agency for initial hazard assessment of contaminated sediments. The exercise was performed on 26 sediments collected at random from various rivers of the Flemish hydrographic basin in Belgium. The toxicity data ranged from nontoxic to highly toxic for the solid‐phase assays and showed that the mortality of the two test biota varied from “nearly identical” to “substantially different,” depending on the sediment. The correlation coefficient for the data pairs was weakly positive (r = 0.60), mainly because of 5 samples for which a low mortality had been noted with the ostracod versus a much higher mortality for the amphipod. However, for 4 out of the 5 samples of concern, a substantial growth inhibition was recorded for H. incongruens, showing that this assay eventually performed as did the amphipod test in detecting the toxic character of the sediments. The comparison of toxicity data of the two solid‐phase assays with those of the two pore water tests again confirmed that both types of bioassay provided complementary (nonredundant) information. On the basis of its various advantages (independence of stock culturing/maintenance, user‐friendliness, precision, and time and cost savings) the new ostracod microbiotest appears to be a promising tool for routine toxicity assessment of contaminated sediments. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 17: 533–537, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/tox.10087