Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Age‐at‐Death Estimation Using Data from a New, Modern Autopsy Sample—Part II: Sternal End of the Fourth Rib *,†

Abstract: This research tests the accuracy of age‐at‐death estimation from the sternal end of the fourth rib. Age was estimated using the İşcan and Loth casts and written descriptions. The correlation results indicate that there are significant differences in the observed versus actual ages (r = 0.75329, p < 0.001) and that there are significant interobserver differences. Intraobserver tests showed that no significant differences were found within observers. Results of the rib end analysis compared to the results from the pubic symphyses suggest that the rib performs better than the pubic symphysis in age estimation. The rib ends were sorted based on morphology without prior knowledge of age. Summary statistics were calculated for each new phase, and descriptions were created. A variant form of the rib end was described, and the previously understated feature of bone quality was emphasized.
Treatment of Ovarian Cysts in Buffaloes with Emphasis to Echotexture Analysis

The present study was conducted on 31 buffalo-cows aged 3-10 years and diagnosed rectally as they had follicular cyst. The previous diagnosis of the follicular cyst was confirmed by ultrasonography and serum progesterone assay. Ultrasound images of the ovarian follicles, both mature and cystic follicles, were individually identified and monitored and were subsequently digitized for computer analysis of echotexture [mean pixel value (MPV) and pixel heterogeneity (PH)] of the follicle antrum and wall. Animals were classified into two groups (Treated, n=20 and control, n=11). The treated buffalo-cows injected i.m with 100mg progesterone oily in nature followed by i.m injection of 5000 IU HCG at days 5. Out of the twenty treated animals 14 buffaloes responded and diagnosed as they had luteinized cyst. Out of the 14 animals that had luteinized cyst 9 buffaloes injected with 25 mg of PGF2α at day 14 and the other 5 buffaloes left as control. The 6 non responded buffaloes were classified into two subgroups each (n=3), one of them injected with HCG and the other left as control without any treatment. The time elapsed till luteinization of the follicular treated group was significantly different (32.67 ± 1.45 days and 15.71 ± 0.75 days respectively). The recovery rate was 27.27 % in control animals and 70% in treated ones. Days elapsed till appearance of estrus was significantly shorter in treated buffaloes (22.20 ± 1.19 days) in comparison to the control ones (56.33 ± 2.03 days). The conception rates were 33.33% and 66.67% in control and treated group respectively. Days elapsed from the treated animals (36.50 ± 1.47 days) compared to the control ones (64 days). Serum progesterone level was significantly different in treated animals comparing to the control ones. Changes in echotexture of bovine ovarian follicles assessed by computer analysis of ultrasound images has revealed a significant increase in echotexture parameters (MPV & PH) in cystic follicles compared with preovulatory follicles. PH of the antrum and wall of luteinized cystic follicles increased significantly compared to preovulatory and cystic follicles. Ultrasonography examination and echotexture analysis has revealed a presence of positive correlation between the cyst wall thickness and progesterone level which consequently aids in the treatment protocol. From the present study, it could be recommended that accurate diagnosis of the ovarian cyst was done by ultrasonography in combination with echotexture characteristics of ultrasound images together with progesterone profile 2 weeks postpartum early as soon as possible; and the animals should be re-examined with 7-10 days if possible for re-treatment of non responded cases if necessary.
Symptoms in carriers of adrenoleukodystrophy relate to skewed X inactivation

Skewing of X inactivation may contribute to the manifestation of symptoms in adrenoleukodystrophy carriers. We observed highly skewed X inactivation in 32% of 22 symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers but not in 7 related and 35 unrelated controls. Skewing of X inactivation correlated with clinical neurological scores but not with the extent of very long‐chain fatty acid accumulation. Transcript analysis in cultured fibroblasts revealed that skewing could occur both in favor of the mutant and the wild‐type allele. Adrenoleukodystrophy carriers are more susceptible to develop skewing of X inactivation in favor of the mutant allele beiing associated with the manifestation of symptoms.
Beat discovery from dimensionality reduced perspective streams of electrocardiogram signal data

Spectral characteristics of ECG traces have identified a stochastic component in the inter-beat interval for triggering a new cardiac cycle. Yet the stream consistently shows impressive reproducibility of the inherent core waveform. Respectively, the presence of close to deterministic structures firmly contends for representing a single cycle ECG wave by a state vector in a low dimensional embedding space. Rather than performing arrhythmia clustering directly on the high dimensional state space, our work first reduces the dimensionality of the extracted raw features. Analysis of heartbeat irregularities becomes then more tractable computationally, and thus claims more relevance to run on emerging wearable and IoT devices that are severely resource and power constraint. In contrast to prior work that searches for a two dimensional embedding space, we project feature vectors onto a three dimensional coordinate frame. This merits an essential depth perception facet to a specialist that qualifies cluster memberships, and furthermore, by removing stream noise, we managed to retain a high percentile level of source energy. We performed extensive analysis and classification experiments on a large arrhythmia dataset, and report robust results to support the intuition of expert neutral similarity.
Acetyl-L-Carnitine Augmentation of Clozapine in Partial-Responder Schizophrenia: A 12-Week, Open-Label Uncontrolled Preliminary Study

ObjectivesThis was the first 12-week, open-label, uncontrolled trial aimed at exploring the efficacy of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) add-on pharmacotherapy on clinical symptoms and cognitive functioning in 15 schizophrenia patients with suboptimal clinical response despite receiving clozapine (CLZ) monotherapy at the highest tolerated dosage. MethodsAfter clinical (Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale [PANSS]) and neuropsychological (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Color-Word Test, Verbal Fluency Test) assessments, patients received 1 g/d of ALC for 12 weeks. ResultsA final sample of 9 subjects completed the study. Acetyl-L-carnitine augmentation of CLZ significantly reduced only PANSS domains “positive” (P = 0.049); at end point, only 2 subjects (22.2% of the completers) reached a minimal improvement (25% reduction in PANSS total score). No significant differences emerged in cognitive performances at the end of the study; effect sizes were small in each explored cognitive dimension. ConclusionsThe findings provide preliminary evidence that ALC added to ongoing CLZ treatment appeared to be ineffective to improve symptoms in schizophrenia patients who have failed to respond sufficiently to CLZ. Further trials with adequately powered methodology are needed to identify which augmentation strategies are more effective in schizophrenia patients showing a suboptimal response to CLZ.
Glycoprofiling Bifidobacterial Consumption of Galacto-Oligosaccharides by Mass Spectrometry Reveals Strain-Specific, Preferential Consumption of Glycans

ABSTRACT Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are versatile food ingredients that possess prebiotic properties. However, at present there is a lack of precise analytical methods to demonstrate specific GOS consumption by bifidobacteria. To better understand the role of GOS as prebiotics, purified GOS (pGOS) without disaccharides and monosaccharides was prepared and used in bacterial fermentation experiments. Growth curves showed that all bifidobacteria assayed utilized and grew on pGOS preparations. We used a novel mass spectrometry approach involving matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (MALDI-FTICR) to determine the composition of oligosaccharides in GOS syrup preparations. MALDI-FTICR analysis of spent fermentation media demonstrated that there was preferential consumption of selected pGOS species by different bifidobacteria. The approach described here demonstrates that MALDI-FTICR is a rapid-throughput tool for comprehensive profiling of oligosaccharides in GOS mixtures. In addition, the selective consumption of certain GOS species by different bifidobacteria suggests a means for targeting prebiotics to enrich select bifidobacterial species.
Biofeedback‐assisted Relaxation Training for Essential Hypertension: Who Is Most Likely to Benefit?

The main purpose of this study was to develop a way to predict which persons with essential hypertension would benefit most from biofeedback-assisted relaxation (BFAR) training. Second, the authors evaluated the effect of BFAR on blood pressure (BP) reduction, which was measured in the clinic and outside the clinic using an ambulatory BP monitor. Fifty-four adults with stage 1 or 2 hypertension (78% taking BP medications) received 8 weeks of relaxation training coupled with thermal, electromyographic, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia biofeedback. Blood pressure was measured in the clinic and over 24 hours using an ambulatory BP monitor pretraining and posttraining. Systolic BP dropped from 135.0 ± 9.8 mm Hg pretraining to 132.2 ± 10.5 mm Hg posttraining (F = 6.139, P = .017). Diastolic BP dropped from 80.4 ± 8.1 mm Hg pretraining to 78.5 ± 10.0 mm Hg posttraining (F = 4.441, P = .041). Data from 37 participants with baseline BP of 130/85 mm Hg or greater were used to develop a prediction model. Regression showed that those who were able to lower their SBP 5 mm Hg or more were (1) not taking antihypertensive medication, (2) had lowest starting finger temperature, (3) had the smallest standard deviation in daytime mean arterial pressure, and (4) the lowest score on the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control—internal scale. Since these types of persons are most likely to benefit from BFAR, they should be offered BFAR prior to starting hypertensive medications.
Field and laboratory studies of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) infection by the ciliate Conchophthirus acuminatus in the Republic of Belarus.

This study quantifies the infection prevalence and intensity of the European, commensal, host-specific ciliate Conchophthirus acuminatus (Scuticociliatida: Conchophthiridae) in five zebra mussel populations within the Republic of Belarus. Laboratory and field experiments were also conducted to assess variables affecting infection. C. acuminatus was found in zebra mussels in all five waterbodies sampled: Naroch, Myastro, and Lukomskoe Lakes, Skema Stream, and in the Svisloch River. Prevalence was always 100%, with the exception of shallow areas (</=0.5 m depth) in the Svisloch River. This was possibly the result of the elimination of the majority of infected zebra mussels each winter by a combination of factors, including ice scour, mallard duck predation, and fluctuating water levels. As a result, zebra mussels are not permanently present at shallow depths, and the mussels that we randomly sampled there during the summer were thus smaller (i.e., younger) and less infected than those present in deeper sections of the river. This is the first study to quantify the intensity of Conchophthirus infection in zebra mussels. When infection prevalence was 100%, it was not uncommon for zebra mussels to have 500-2,000 C. acuminatus in their mantle cavities, particularly those mussels ca. 15-30 mm in length. Zebra mussels, while relatively small bivalves, have one of the highest intensities ever reported for ciliates in the order Scuticociliatida. Infection intensity correlated directly with mussel length (range in r2 = 0.83-0.92). Transinfection of zebra mussels with C. acuminatus was achieved both in the laboratory and field, and represented the first successful trials to initiate protozoan infection in Dreissena. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that C. acuminatus rapidly leave their dying zebra mussel hosts, and this suggested that these mussels are likely a major source for the spread of C. acuminatus infection. Field trials indicated that the presence of mussels with high intensity infections can cause an increase in the levels of infection (both prevalence and intensity) in other zebra mussels in their microhabitat.
Barriers and Facilitators to Learning and Performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Neighborhoods With Low Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Prevalence and High Rates of Cardiac Arrest in Columbus, OH

Background—Residents who live in neighborhoods that are primarily black, Latino, or poor are more likely to have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, less likely to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and less likely to survive. No prior studies have been conducted to understand the contributing factors that may decrease the likelihood of residents learning and performing CPR in these neighborhoods. The goal of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to learning and performing CPR in 3 low-income, high-risk, and predominantly black neighborhoods in Columbus, OH. Methods and Results—Community-Based Participatory Research approaches were used to develop and conduct 6 focus groups in conjunction with community partners in 3 target high-risk neighborhoods in Columbus, OH, in January to February 2011. Snowball and purposeful sampling, done by community liaisons, was used to recruit participants. Three reviewers analyzed the data in an iterative process to identify recurrent and unifying themes. Three major barriers to learning CPR were identified and included financial, informational, and motivational factors. Four major barriers were identified for performing CPR and included fear of legal consequences, emotional issues, knowledge, and situational concerns. Participants suggested that family/self-preservation, emotional, and economic factors may serve as potential facilitators in increasing the provision of bystander CPR. Conclusions—The financial cost of CPR training, lack of information, and the fear of risking one’s own life must be addressed when designing a community-based CPR educational program. Using data from the community can facilitate improved design and implementation of CPR programs.
Selection bias in dynamically measured supermassive black hole samples: consequences for pulsar timing arrays

Supermassive black hole–host galaxy relations are key to the computation of the expected gravitational wave background (GWB) in the pulsar timing array (PTA) frequency band. It has been recently pointed out that standard relations adopted in GWB computations are in fact biased-high. We show that when this selection bias is taken into account, the expected GWB in the PTA band is a factor of about 3 smaller than previously estimated. Compared to other scaling relations recently published in the literature, the median amplitude of the signal at f = 1 yr-1 drops from 1.3 × 10-15 to 4 × 10-16. Although this solves any potential tension between theoretical predictions and recent PTA limits without invoking other dynamical effects (such as stalling, eccentricity or strong coupling with the galactic environment), it also makes the GWB detection more challenging.
Corin Mutations K317E and S472G from Preeclamptic Patients Alert Zymogen Activation and Cell Surface Targeting*

Background: Corin is a protease that acts in the pregnant uterus to prevent pregnancy-induced hypertension. Results: Corin mutations K317E and S472G from preeclamptic patients impaired corin zymogen activation and intracellular trafficking, respectively. Conclusion: Mutations in the CORIN gene may impair corin function by different mechanisms. Significance: Genetic variants and mutations disrupting corin function may contribute to pregnancy-induced hypertension in patients. Corin is a membrane-bound serine protease that acts as the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) convertase in the heart. Recent studies show that corin also activates ANP in the pregnant uterus to promote spiral artery remodeling and prevent pregnancy-induced hypertension. Two CORIN gene mutations, K317E and S472G, were identified in preeclamptic patients and shown to have reduced activity in vitro. In this study, we carried out molecular modeling and biochemical experiments to understand how these mutations impair corin function. By molecular modeling, the mutation K317E was predicted to alter corin LDL receptor-2 module conformation. Western blot analysis of K317E mutant in HEK293 cells showed that the mutation did not block corin expression on the cell surface but inhibited corin zymogen activation. In contrast, the mutation S472G was predicted to abolish a β-sheet critical for corin frizzled-2 module structure. In Western blot analysis and flow cytometry, S472G mutant was not detected on the cell surface in transfected HEK293 cells. By immunostaining, the S472G mutant was found in the ER, indicating that the mutation S472G disrupted the β-sheet, causing corin misfolding and ER retention. Thus, these results show that mutations in the CORIN gene may impair corin function by entirely different mechanisms. Together, our data provide important insights into the molecular basis underlying corin mutations that may contribute to preeclampsia in patients.
Overproduction of the GAL1 or GAL3 protein causes galactose-independent activation of the GAL4 protein: evidence for a new model of induction for the yeast GAL/MEL regulon

The transcriptional activation function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL4 protein is modulated by the GAL80 and GAL3 proteins. In the absence of galactose, GAL80 inhibits the function of GAL4, presumably by direct binding to the GAL4 protein. The presence of galactose triggers the relief of the GAL80 block. The key to this relief is the GAL3 protein. How GAL3 and galactose activate GAL4 is not understood, but the long-standing notion has been that a galactose derivative formed by catalytic activity of GAL3 is the inducer that interacts with GAL80 or the GAL80-GAL4 complex. Here we report that overproduction of the GAL3 protein causes constitutive expression of GAL/MEL genes in the absence of exogenous galactose. Overproduction of the GAL1 protein (galactokinase) also causes constitutivity, consistent with the observations that GAL1 is strikingly similar in amino acid sequence to GAL3 and has GAL3-like induction activity. Cells lacking the GAL10-encoded UDP-galactose-UDP-glucose epimerase retained the constitutivity response to overproduction of GAL3, making it unlikely that constitutivity is due to endogenously produced galactose. A galactose-independent mechanism of constitutivity is further indicated by the inducing properties of two newly created galactokinaseless alleles of GAL1. On the basis of these data, we propose a new model for galactose-induced activation of the GAL4 protein. This model invokes galactose-activation of the GAL3 and GAL1 proteins which in turn elicit an alteration of the GAL80-GAL4 complex to activate GAL4. This model is consistent with all the known features of the system and has important implications for manipulating GAL4-dependent transcriptional activation in vitro.
Present status of electric shock therapy.

REMFTER ten years of personal experience with electric convulsive therapy (ECi)' a survey of the present status LzJ A of this treatment is a welcome opportunity to take stock of established facts, questions still under dispute and the Iseszsszs; limits of our present knowledge. In psychiatry such critical reviews are more important than in other fields of medicine, because the split among psychiatric schools on questions of theory makes the acceptance of clinical facts more difficult. This is all the more true for the somatic treatments in psychiatry, because they strongly contradict the theoretical concepts of many psychiatrists. Theoretical objections against electric shock treatment are so frequently and so violently voiced that it seems justified to make somc general remarks before a detailed discussion of various aspects of the treatment is given. It is true that no adequate theory for ECT is available, but this is no valid reason against its application. The patient who needs help, cannot wait until empirical knowledge has found a satisfactory theoretical basis. In most psychiatric conditions we do not know the etiology, and, therefore, cannot expect to understand the
Incentivos da Regulação de Mercados sobre o Nível de Suavização de Resultados

Este estudo investiga se os incentivos advindos da regulacao dos mercados exerce alguma influencia sobre o nivel de suavizacao de resultados das empresas brasileiras. Dessa maneira, parte-se do pressuposto de que os gestores podem se utilizar das praticas de suavizacao de resultados para reduzir a variabilidade dos lucros divulgados ao mercado, na tentativa de reportar uma visao mais estavel do negocio, evitando assim uma possivel intervencao ou coercao indesejada pelas agencias reguladoras. Metodologicamente, compara-se e descreve-se o nivel de suavizacao de resultados por setor da economia, segregando-os em regulados e nao regulados. A amostra e composta pelas sociedades anonimas com acoes negociadas na BM&FBovespa no periodo entre 1996 a 2009. Os modelos aplicados para detectar a presenca de suavizacao de resultados foram os modelos desenvolvidos por Eckel (1981) e tres medidas de Leuz et al. (2003). Foram aplicados testes de media para verificar se existe diferenca estatisticamente significante entre os grupos de setores regulados e nao regulados. As evidencias revelam que os setores nao regulados apresentaram um maior nivel de suavizacao, demonstrando que a regulacao exercida por agencias brasileiras (ANEEL, ANATEL, ANP, ANTT e ANTAQ) nao criou um incentivo adicional para a suavizacao de resultado. Assim, pode-se dizer que o processo de regulacao proporciona um efeito contrario, ou seja, fornece incentivos para menor intervencao nos resultados contabeis que procurem reduzir a variabilidade dos lucros divulgados ao mercado.
SDRP: Secure and dynamic routing protocol for mobile ad-hoc networks

RSA-based secure routing protocols are computationally expensive because of the use of large public keys and/or signatures that are disadvantageous for mobile ad-hoc networks. In this study, the authors proposed a secure dynamic routing protocol, named SDRP, which uses identity-based scheme with pairing on elliptic curve. It makes use of signature and `Message Authentication Code' algorithms to provide end-to-end, hop-to-hop and whole-route authentications. The proposed SDRP has several advantages over the existing RSA-based secure routing solutions. Firstly, it requires fewer signature generations and verifications on a route. Secondly, the SDRP makes use of an identity-based scheme which is certificate-less, thus saving routing overhead (RO) and storage. Finally, it uses a hardware address to generate its small size of public key. Both the qualitative analysis and the simulation results show that the proposed SDRP provides secure routes and better packet delivery fraction and with significantly less RO and latency compared with previous RSA-based secure routing protocols.