Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of emotion on perceptual asymmetry in adolescent inpatients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE The authors studied the hemispheric functioning of adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in relation to this group's response to positively toned emotional stimuli. METHOD Dichotic word tests were used to measure perceptual asymmetry in 21 adolescent inpatients and 24 control subjects. Ten patients had ADHD; 11 did not. Subjects were tested under four emotional conditions by using combinations of neutral, positive, and negative words. RESULTS the ADHD group had lower right ear advantage (REA) scores when presented with stimulus pairs containing positive words than when presented with pairs not containing positive words. By comparison, the non-ADHD patient group and the control group had higher REA scores under positive emotional conditions than under non-positive conditions. CONCLUSIONS The abnormal response to positive emotional tone supports the reward system dysfunction hypothesis of ADHD and may also have implications for learning problems, behavioral difficulties, and disturbed interpersonal relationships in this population.
The Germinal Zones of the Basal Ganglia But Not the Septum Generate GABAergic Interneurons for the Cortex

Cortical interneurons originate from subpallial precursors and migrate into the cortex during development. Using genetic lineage tracing in transgenic mice we examine the contribution of two germinal zones, the septum and the lateral ganglionic eminence/caudal ganglionic eminence (LGE/CGE) to interneurons of the cortex. We find that the septal neuroepithelium does not generate interneurons for the neocortex. There is, however, clear migration of cells from the LGE/CGE to the cortex. Comparison of the dynamics of cortical colonization by the two major cohorts of interneurons originating in the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) and the LGE/CGE has shown differences in the timing of migration and initial route of entry into the cortex. LGE/CGE-derived interneurons enter the cortex later than the MGE-derived ones. They invade the cortex through the subventricular/intermediate zone route and only later disperse within the cortical plate and the marginal zone. During the first postnatal week MGE interneurons move extensively to acquire their laminar position within the cortical plate whereas LGE/CGE-derived cells remain largely within the upper layers of the cortex. The two populations intermingle in the adult cortex but have distinct neurochemical properties and different overall distributions. LGE/CGE-derived interneurons account for one third of the total GABAergic interneuron population in the adult cortex.
Size at birth and abdominal adiposity in adults: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

We performed a systematic literature review on the associations between birth size and abdominal adiposity in adults, while also investigating the role of the adjustment for adult body mass index (BMI). MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS and SciELO databases were searched for articles published up to February 2013. Only prospective studies were included. After screening 2,570 titles, we selected 31 publications for the narrative synthesis, of which 13 were considered to be of high methodological quality. Six main indicators of birth size were identified, and birth weight (BW) was the most extensively studied. Most studies relied on anthropometric measurements as proxies for abdominal fatness or as indicators of body fat distribution. Few studies assessed abdominal adiposity through imaging methods, generally with small sample sizes. Eleven articles could be included in the meta‐analyses. BW was found to be positively associated with waist circumference in adulthood, but the association disappeared after adjustment for adult BMI. In contrast, there was no association between BW and waist‐to‐hip ratio, whereas a strong negative association became evident after controlling for adult BMI. In conclusion, BW seems to be associated with larger adult size in general, including both waist and hip circumferences. The marked change in coefficients after adjustment for adult BMI suggests that post‐natal growth strongly affects relative central adiposity, whereas BW per se does not play a role. Given the potential impact of post‐natal growth, further research is needed to identify different growth trajectories that lead to abdominal adiposity, as well as studies on interactions of foetal and post‐natal growth patterns.
The carbon footprint of e-waste recycling - Indian scenarios

The carbon footprint of any product or process has become a reference value which is of increasing importance. As part of the WEEE Recycle project (www.weeerecyle.in) the authors have assessed the carbon footprint of metals produced from PC scrap in India under different recycling scenarios. To calculate emission figures, data from the ecoinvent database (Classen et al., 2009) (Hischier, 2007) were used. The results show that the use of secondary raw materials can lower the carbon footprint of new products. They also demonstrate that it may be valuable in economic as well as environmental terms to dismantle the scrap manually in India before then further processing it elsewhere. Manual dismantling results in a higher dismantling depth which leads to a higher metal content in the scrap entering the smelter. Therefore manual dismantling has a lower carbon account than mechanical dismantling. Regarding the extraction of metals through a pyro-metallurgical process it has been found that the high carbon footprint of the Indian electricity mix renders the option of shipping the waste to Europe more attractive in terms of lower carbon emissions.
Measuring the efficiency of a healthcare waste management system in Serbia with data envelopment analysis

In 2007, the Serbian Ministry of Health initiated specific activities towards establishing a workable model based on the existing administrative framework, which corresponds to the needs of healthcare waste management throughout Serbia. The objective of this research was to identify the reforms carried out and their outcomes by estimating the efficiencies of a sample of 35 healthcare facilities engaged in the process of collection and treatment of healthcare waste, using data envelopment analysis. Twenty-one (60%) of the 35 healthcare facilities analysed were found to be technically inefficient, with an average level of inefficiency of 13%. This fact indicates deficiencies in the process of collection and treatment of healthcare waste and the information obtained and presented in this paper could be used for further improvement and development of healthcare waste management in Serbia.
Isolation and identification of NAD-independent bacteria from chickens with symptoms of infectious coryza.

Since 1990, NAD-independent bacteria have been isolated in South Africa from poultry showing respiratory manifestations similar to infectious coryza. A total of 126 isolates was examined biochemically and serologically, using polyclonal as well as monoclonal antibodies. Forty isolates were identified as Ornithobacterium rhinotra-cheale, some of which agglutinated glutaraldehyde-fixed red blood cells. Furthermore, fourteen Pasteurella avium isolates, five P. volantium and three Pasteurella species A were isolated for the first time. The remaining 64 isolates were biochemically identified as NAD-independent H. paragallinarum. Of these, 37 were Page serovar A, while no Page serovar B isolates were found. The remaining 25 isolates were typed as Page serovar C. Two different haemagglutination inhibition reaction patterns were found among the Page serovar C isolates, i.e. isolates which reacted with a 1 in 100 dilution of the Page serovar C antiserum, and another larger group which did not react with this dilution of the serum, but did react with rabbit raised antiserum prepared against other Kume serogroup C isolates. This is the first recorded isolation of Page serovar C NAD-independent H. paragallinarum.
Percutaneous Lumbar Disc Decompression Using the Dekompressor: A Prospective Long-Term Outcome Study.

BACKGROUND DATA Few studies have investigated the long-term efficacy of percutaneous lumbar disc decompression (PLDD) with Dekompressor (Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI) for discogenic radicular pain that has failed conservative management. OBJECTIVE Determine long-term outcomes of Dekompressor PLDD for discogenic radicular pain. METHODS Prospective cohort study at a tertiary academic spine center of consecutive patients (12/2004-11/2005) with discogenic lumbosacral radicular pain who underwent PLDD with Dekompressor. Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) leg pain score and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score data were collected at 6 months and 1 year. These two measures, 5-point Likert scale patient satisfaction, and surgical rate data were collected at 8 years. RESULTS Seventy patients underwent PLDD. Forty and 25 patients were successfully contacted at 1-year and 8-year follow-up, respectively. Using intention to treat analysis, at 1 year and 8 years, NRS leg pain scores were reduced >50% in 47% (95% confidence interval [CI] 35%, 59%) and 29% (95% confidence interval [CI] 18%, 40%) of patients, respectively; ODI score improved >30% in 43% (CI 32%, 55%) and 26% (CI 19%, 41%) of patients, respectively. Of the patients who followed up at 8 years, 36% (CI 17%, 55%) had undergone surgery and the median satisfaction was "4" (interquartile range 2,5). CONCLUSIONS While limited by loss-to-follow-up, this study suggests that treatment of discogenic lumbosacral radicular pain with Dekompressor results in decreased leg pain and disability and favorable satisfaction at long-term follow-up. Further study with adequate follow-up retention is needed to confirm that Dekompressor spares open spinal surgery.
In vitro cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles on osteoblasts and osteoclasts at antibacterial concentrations

Abstract Nanoparticulate silver coatings for orthopaedic implants promise to decrease postoperative infection rates. However, silver-induced cytotoxicity on bone cells has not been investigated in detail. This study investigated the cytotoxic effects of silver nano- and microparticles and Ag+ on osteoblasts (OBs) and osteoclasts (OCs) and correlated their effects with the antibacterial efficacy on Staphylococcus epidermidis. Silver nanoparticles (50 nm) exhibited strong cytotoxic effects on OBs and OCs. Weak cytotoxic effects were observed for silver microparticles (3 μm). The cytotoxicity was primarily mediated by a size-dependent release of Ag+. Antibacterial effects occurred at Ag+ concentrations that were 2–4 times higher than those inducing cytotoxic effects. Such adverse effects on OB and OC survival may have deleterious effects on the biocompatibility of orthopaedic implants. Our study represents an important step toward the detailed investigation of orthopaedic implant with nanoparticulate silver coatings prior to their widespread clinical usage.
Matching video net: Memory-based embedding for video action recognition

Most of recent successful researches on action recognition are based on deep learning structures. Nonetheless, training deep neural networks is notorious for requiring huge amount of data. On the other hand, not enough data can lead to an overfitted model. In this work, we propose a novel model, matching video net (MVN), which can be trained with a small amount of data. In order to avoid the problem of overfitting, we use a non-parametric setup on top of parametric networks with external memories. An input clip of video is transformed into an embedding space and matched to the memorized samples in the embedding space. Then, the similarities between the input and the memorized data are measured to determine the nearest neighbors. We perform experiments in a supervised manner on action recognition datasets, achieving state-of-the-art results. Moreover, we applied our model to one-shot learning problems with a novel training strategy. Our model achieves surprisingly good results in predicting unseen action classes from only a few examples.
Exploring the characteristics, global distribution and reasons for retraction of published articles involving human research participants: a literature survey

Aim Article retraction is a measure taken by journals or authors where there is evidence of research misconduct or error, redundancy, plagiarism or unethical research. Recently, the retraction of scientific publications has been on the rise. In this survey, we aimed to describe the characteristics and distribution of retracted articles and the reasons for retractions. Methods We searched retracted articles on the PubMed database and Retraction Watch website from 1980 to February 2016. The primary outcomes were the characteristics and distribution of retracted articles and the reasons for retractions. The secondary outcomes included how article retractions were handled by journals and how to improve the journal practices toward article retractions. Results We included 1,339 retracted articles. Most retracted articles had six authors or fewer. Article retraction was most common in the USA (26%), Japan (11%) and Germany (10%). The main reasons for article retraction were misconduct (51%, n = 685) and error (14%, n = 193). There were 66% (n = 889) of retracted articles having male senior or corresponding authors. Of the articles retracted after August 2010, 63% (n = 567) retractions were reported on Retraction Watch. Large discrepancies were observed in the ways that different journals handled article retractions. For instance, articles were completely withdrawn from some journals, while in others, articles were still available with no indication of retraction. Likewise, some retraction notices included a detailed account of the events that led to article retraction, while others only consisted of a statement indicating the article retraction. Conclusion The characteristics, geographic distribution and reasons for retraction of published articles involving human research participants were examined in this survey. More efforts are needed to improve the consistency and transparency of journal practices toward article retractions.
Retrograde tracheal intubation: beyond fibreoptic endotracheal intubation

Background: Flexible fibreoptic laryngoscopy is the method of choice for coping with difficult tracheal intubations, a leading cause of catastrophic outcomes in anaesthesia. However, this technique is not always available or feasible. Retrograde intubation is a minimally invasive airway management technique with a flat learning curve and a high level of skill retention.
The Reverse Supply Chain of the E-Waste Management Processes in a Circular Economy Framework: Evidence from Italy

In the last several decades, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) reverse supply chain management has increasingly gained more attention due to the development of an environmental awareness, the rapid raise of e-wasted products and the EU regulations. In particular, although the new EU WEEE collection target has not been reached by many EU countries, several studies show that an optimized WEEE wastes management processes could represent a relevant way to achieve economic, environmental and social benefits expected by the adoption of circular economy approaches. According to this, the paper aims to evaluate the extent to which the current Italian organization of the WEEE management system and the related legislation are able to support the achievement of the targets defined by EU with a specific focus on the collection centers (CCs) which play a key role being the initial point of the WEEE reverse logistic cycle. An illustrative analysis based on the transition probability matrix regarding both the e-waste collecting performance and the distribution of collecting centers in the Italian provinces is illustrated. Furthermore, we have analyzed the presence of a correlation between the WEEE collection rate and the presence of the CCs in different provinces in order to better comprehend the role that can play both the investments in CC system and other soft measures in achieving the WEEE collection targets. Results show that the current Italian organization of the WEEE management system and the related legislations are not so effective in supporting the achievement of EU WEEE collection targets at the national level, although some geographical areas and provinces outperform the EU targets.
Multiple sclerosis: low-frequency temporal blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations indicate reduced functional connectivity initial results.

PURPOSE To study the correlation of low-frequency blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fluctuations on magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained of the left- and right-hemisphere primary motor regions in healthy control subjects and patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixteen healthy volunteers and 20 patients with MS underwent MR imaging with a 1.5-T imager by using a protocol designed to monitor low-frequency BOLD fluctuations. Data for low-frequency BOLD fluctuations were acquired with subjects at rest and during continuous performance of a bilateral finger-tapping task. These data were low-pass filtered (<0.08 Hz), and cross correlations of all acquired pixels to a region of interest in the left precentral gyrus were calculated. Confidence levels were calculated from the cross correlations. The fraction of pixels in the right precentral gyrus above a confidence level of 95% for correlation with the left precentral gyrus was calculated for each subject. RESULTS A plot of the fraction of the right precentral gyrus with high correlation with the left precentral gyrus for the finger-tapping state versus the resting state showed a clear discrimination between patients with MS and control subjects. Compared with control subjects, patients with MS generally had a smaller fraction of the pixels in the right precentral gyrus above the confidence level. This finding indicates that our method results in greater than 60% sensitivity and 100% specificity for discriminating patients with MS from control subjects. No significant correlation was found between clinical measures of MS disease and correlations of low-frequency BOLD fluctuations between left and right precentral gyri. CONCLUSION On the basis of the connectivity measure of low-frequency BOLD fluctuations, patients with MS exhibited lower functional connectivity between right- and left-hemisphere primary motor cortices when compared with that in control subjects.
Tissue Culture of Human Fetal Pancreas: Development and Function of B-Cells In Vitro and Transplantation of Explants to Nude Mice

The present study evaluates the development and function of human fetal B-cells in vitro with a view to using such cells in future attempts for transplantation of human fetal pancreas to diabetic patients. A method previously described in our laboratory for preparing islets in vitro from the fetal rat pancreas has been applied and modified for use with human fetal pancreas. Pancreatic glands of different gestational ages were obtained from 37 consecutive prostaglandin-induced abortions. After a mild collagenase treatment, the partially disintegrated tissue was maintained in culture for 7 days in tissue culture medium RPM1 1640 plus 20% fetal calf serum to permit cell attachment and outgrowth of endocrine cells. In 17 of the 37 consecutively cultured fetal pancreatic glands, islet-like cell clusters were formed. The 20 remaining glands were lost because of either bacterial contamination or lack of viability already before dissection had occurred. Sections of the newly formed cell clusters revealed well-preserved pancreatic cells showing frequent mitotic figures. The tissue exhibited a high rate of (pro)insulin biosynthesis and a modest insulin response to secretory stimuli, suggesting that the mechanism of glucose regulation by the fetal B-cells is not yet fully developed. Electron micrographs showed a large number of granule-containing cells, some of which were identified as B-cells. In nine cases, harvested cell clusters were implanted beneath the kidney capsule of nude mice. When these animals were killed after 2 mo, seven mice showed a considerable growth of the grafts with numerous islet-like structures containing insulin- and glucagon-positive cells. A high replicatory activity of the grafted cells was further supported by the finding of numerous labeled nuclei in autoradiographs of the graft-bearing kidneys. Since no immunocytochemical staining was carried out, the cell replicatory rate is representative for the whole grafted cell population rather than for the endocrine cells. It isconcluded that this improved culture technique provides a suitable system for the study of growthand differentiation of human fetal pancreas and may facilitate the preservation of pancreatic B-cells intended for transplantation.
Multi-detector row CT attenuation measurements: assessment of intra- and interscanner variability with an anthropomorphic body CT phantom.

PURPOSE To determine the dependence of absolute computed tomographic (CT) attenuation values on multi-detector row CT scanner type, convolution kernel, and tube current by using an anthropomorphic phantom. MATERIALS AND METHODS A customized phantom was designed with tissue-equivalent materials to simulate contrast material-enhanced liver, spleen, pancreas, aorta, kidney, 0- and 50-HU cylindric renal cysts, muscle, and fat. The phantom was scanned with five multi-detector row CT scanners (LightSpeed QXi, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wis; MX8000, Philips Medical Systems, Best, the Netherlands; and Volume Zoom, Sensation 16 and Sensation 64, Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Germany) on five separate occasions with 120 kVp, low and high tube current settings, 3.00-3.75-mm section thickness, 50% overlap, and standard and high-spatial-resolution kernels. Standardized regions of interest (ROIs) were used to obtain 3510 attenuation measurements. Attenuation dependence on scanner, kernel, and tube current was evaluated by using F tests derived with mixed-model regression. Within the mixed-model framework, the Tukey honestly significant difference procedure and a Bonferroni multiple comparison correction were used to assess differences among imaging regimens and tube current settings, respectively, in terms of tissue attenuation and ROI standard deviation. RESULTS Tube current had no significant effect (P>.4) on observed tissue attenuation. Significant (P<.0001) differences were observed between imaging regimens with respect to mean attenuation for each tissue type. Convolution kernel modification had an inconsistent effect on tissue attenuation, depending on the scanner. All multi-detector row CT scanners displayed intrascanner variability in tissue attenuation (minimum range: 8.4 HU for fat tissue with the Sensation 16; maximum range: 63.4 HU for liver tissue with the Sensation 64). The scanners behaved differently at the lower range of the CT number scale, where 0-HU cyst attenuation ranged from -15.7 to 23.9 HU and one vendor's equipment showed significantly lower mean attenuation values. CONCLUSION CT attenuation values vary significantly between different manufacturers' multi-detector row CT scanners, among different generations of multi-detector row CT scanning equipment, and with individual combinations of scanner and convolution kernel. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL http://radiology.rsnajnls. org/cgi/content/full/242/1/109/DC1