Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Procedural Learning Impairments Identified via Predictive Saccades in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury

ObjectiveTo characterize integrity of fronto-striatal circuitry in chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). BackgroundDue to both direct and indirect effects, TBI is hypothesized to affect frontal and striatal function. On the basis of elegant animal, lesion, and neuroimaging literatures, oculomotor testing can provide a useful tool for in vivo assessments of neurophysiologic function. The predictive saccade paradigm in oculomotor function is well established to provide assessment of this fronto-striatal circuit. MethodsSixty patients with a history of chronic TBI completed 2 specific tests of oculomotor function, including a test of reflexive visually guided saccades to assess basic oculomotor function and a predictive saccade test to assess procedural learning. ResultsTBI (mild and moderate/severe) was associated with a decrease in rates of procedural learning, with degree of impairment increasing with injury severity. This was observed as a decrease in the proportion of anticipatory saccades (primary measure of learning). ConclusionsThis abnormal oculomotor performance supports the hypothesis that TBI results in chronic impairment of frontal-striatal functions proportionally to injury severity and demonstrate that oculomotor testing is sensitive to all severities of closed-head injury.
Missense Mutations in GDF-5 Signaling: Molecular Mechanisms Behind Skeletal Malformation

© 2012 Mueller et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Missense Mutations in GDF-5 Signaling: Molecular Mechanisms Behind Skeletal Malformation
The Relationships Between Victim Age, Gender, and Relationship Polymorphism and Sexual Recidivism

Victim choice polymorphism refers to victim inconsistency in a series of offenses by the same perpetrator, such as in the domains of victim age, victim gender, and victim–offender relationship. Past studies have found that victim age polymorphic offenders have higher rates of sexual recidivism than offenders against adults only and offenders against children only. Few studies, however, have examined gender and relationship polymorphism, or accounted for the impact of the number of past victims. The present study analyzed the relationship between polymorphism and sexual recidivism, while controlling for the number of victims. The sample consisted of 751 male adult sexual offenders followed for an average of 10 years, 311 of whom were polymorphic (41% of the total sample). The main finding suggested that there was an association between sexual recidivism and age and relationship polymorphism; however, these associations were no longer significant after controlling for the number of victims.
On the concept of objectivity in digital image analysis in pathology

Aims: The term ‘objective’ connotes a method that is based on facts and not influenced by personal opinions, perception or emotion. One often reads in the biomedical literature claims of objectivity for methods that use digital image analysis applied to histology. Since objective assessment of histology would represent a huge leap forward in scientific measurement and clinical diagnosis, such claims should be substantiated by strong evidence. This paper takes a selective look at the literature on image analysis to assess the definition of objectivity in image analysis and asks whether such a claim is ever justified. Methods: First, a brief background on the basic science of image analysis in histology details some of the controversies and opinions in the field. Then, a literature review of a subset of papers pertaining to image analysis in histology (with claims of objectivity) is conducted to determine what evidence exists for objectivity in these methods. Results: It was found that image analysis may have many benefits (speed, indefatigability, standardisation, etc.). However, algorithms are devised and implemented by human beings who make subjective decisions at each stage of the algorithm design and implementation process. Thus, image analysis methods can be seen as deterministic processes which ‘objectively’ implement the subjective decisions of the programmer. This indicates that ‘inter‐observer’ variation in image analysis is equivalent to ‘inter‐algorithm’ variation (which is rarely studied) and that a single computer algorithm's repeatability is of lesser importance than the repeatability of the image analysis method as a whole (including the block, slide and field selection and the method of tissue processing). Conclusion: Repeatability and automaticity must not be confused with objectivity, but a lack of objectivity does not imply a lack of utility. Unless specific evidence of objectivity is provided, editors should insist that claims of objectivity in image analysis papers be either removed or justified prior to publication.
What is the cost of a healthy diet? Using diet data from the UK Women's Cohort Study

Background A healthy diet is important to promote health and well-being while preventing chronic disease. However, the monetary cost of consuming such a diet can be a perceived barrier. This study will investigate the cost of consuming a range of dietary patterns. Methods A cross-sectional analysis, where cost of diet was assigned to dietary intakes recorded using a Food Frequency Questionnaire. A mean daily diet cost was calculated for seven data-driven dietary patterns. These dietary patterns were given a healthiness score according to how well they comply with the UK Department of Health's Eatwell Plate guidelines. This study involved ∼35 000 women recruited in the 1990s into the UK Women's Cohort Study. Results A significant positive association was observed between diet cost and healthiness of the diet (p for trend >0.001). The healthiest dietary pattern was double the price of the least healthy, £6.63/day and £3.29/day, respectively. Dietary diversity, described by the patterns, was also shown to be associated with increased cost. Those with higher education and a professional or managerial occupation were more likely to consume a healthier diet. Conclusions A healthy diet is more expensive to the consumer than a less healthy one. In order to promote health through diet and reduce potential inequalities in health, it seems sensible that healthier food choices should be made more accessible to all.
Very Long-Standing Parkinson's Disease

We reviewed the medical records at our institution going back to 1990 in search of all patients diagnosed at least 20 years prior as having PD. In all cases, the date of diagnosis was clearly established. PD was clinically defined according to the criteria of the Parkinson’s Disease Brain Bank in the UK [14] . All these patients maintained an objective response to levodopa (LD) confirmed in every case. These patients were evaluated in an ‘off’ condition, before LD challenge, when possible. Evaluation was carried out by means of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, Hoehn-Yahr stage, and Schwab and England scale. Motor complications were assessed as follows: (1) drug-related dyskinesias, including ‘on’ and ‘off’ dyskinesias; (2) motor fluctuations defined as evident impairment of mobility bearing close relationship to the timing of medication, including wearing off; (3) gait abnormalities, including freezing of gait and festination, and (4) significant loss of postural reflexes interfering with function. For those patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS), evaluation was carried out in ‘on’ stimulation. Diagnosis of dementia was defined as cognitive deficits extensive enough to meet the DSM IV criteria [15] . Finally, the age at onset of these patients was compared with that of a group of typical PD patients who were prospecDear Sir, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the presence of motor and nonmotor symptoms [1] . Despite effective symptomatic treatment, most patients eventually deteriorate with the passage of time [1–13] . The progression of PD is not predictable for individual cases – the figures differ between studies, depending on the type of study and initial treatment. In general terms, roughly 50% of the patients will develop at least one motor or nonmotor complication within 5 years (including motor fluctuations, gait impairment, dyskinesias, loss of postural reflexes, altered behavior and dementia) [3, 5–8, 10] . These figures are even worse after the first decade; indeed, Hely et al. [11] , who reviewed patients previously included in the Sydney Multicenter Study of Parkinson’s disease, found that after 15 years of diagnosis, most patients were disabled and almost half exhibited criteria of dementia [11] . Based on this data, very long-standing PD patients – those with at least 20 years of PD progression – should be almost irremediably disabled. To date, few studies have addressed this issue. The aim of this study is to assess the motor and functional characteristics of very long-standing PD. We reviewed the medical records of patients with very longstanding PD, arbitrarily defined as those with disease duration of at least 20 years since diagnosis. Published online: August 27, 2013
Permutation Method for ICA Separated Source Signal Blocks in Time Domain

A new permutation method for ICA (independent component analysis)- based blind separation is presented. The objective here is to concatenate ICA separated signals in adjacent time blocks. The proposed method utilizes the associativity in column vectors of an estimated mixing matrix and a tracking filter. It has advantages of no required array calibration, efficient computation, and real time updatability. These superiorities are highly beneficial for radar or communication system type applications. Furthermore it is shown, by an experiment using radio wave signals, that the proposed permutation algorithm successfully permutes the separated signal blocks.
A Contribution to the Theory of Financial Fragility and Crisis

The paper examines three aspects of a financial crisis of domestic origin. The first section studies the evolution of a debt-financed consumption boom supported by rising asset prices, leading to a credit crunch and fluctuations in the real economy, and, ultimately, to debt deflation. The next section extends the analysis to trace gradual evolution toward Ponzi finance and its consequences. The final section explains the link between the financial and the real sector of the economy, pointing to an inherent liquidity problem. The paper concludes with comments on the interactions between the three aspects.
Estimation of the Rate of Egg Contamination from Salmonella‐Infected Chickens

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) is one of the most prevalent causes for human gastroenteritis and is by far the predominant Salmonella serovar among human cases, followed by Salmonella Typhimurium. Contaminated eggs produced by infected laying hens are thought to be the main source of human infection with S. Enteritidis throughout the world. Although previous studies have looked at the proportion of infected eggs from infected flocks, there is still uncertainty over the rate at which infected birds produce contaminated eggs. The aim of this study was to estimate the rate at which infected birds produce contaminated egg shells and egg contents. Data were collected from two studies, consisting of 15 and 20 flocks, respectively. Faecal and environmental sampling and testing of ovaries/caeca from laying hens were carried out in parallel with (i) for the first study, testing 300 individual eggs, contents and shells together and (ii) for the second study, testing 4000 eggs in pools of six, with shells and contents tested separately. Bayesian methods were used to estimate the within‐flock prevalence of infection from the faecal and hen post‐mortem data, and this was related to the proportion of positive eggs. Results indicated a linear relationship between the rate of contamination of egg contents and the prevalence of infected chickens, but a nonlinear (quadratic) relationship between infection prevalence and the rate of egg shell contamination, with egg shell contamination occurring at a much higher rate than that of egg contents. There was also a significant difference in the rate of egg contamination between serovars, with S. Enteritidis causing a higher rate of contamination of egg contents and a lower rate of contamination of egg shells compared to non‐S. Enteritidis serovars. These results will be useful for risk assessments of human exposure to Salmonella‐contaminated eggs.
Stereotactic biopsy guidance in adults with supratentorial nonenhancing gliomas: role of perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECT The. diagnosis of low-grade glioma (LGG) cannot be based exclusively on conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies, and target selection for stereotactic biopsy is a crucial issue given the high risk of sampling errors. The authors hypothesized that perfusion-weighted imaging could provide information on the microcirculation in presumed supratentorial LGGs. METHODS All adult patients with suspected (nonenhancing) supratentorial LGGs on conventional MR imaging between February 2001 and February 2004 were included in this study. Preoperative MR imaging was performed using a dynamic first-pass gadopentate dimeglumine-enhanced spin echo-echo planar perfusion-weighted sequence, and the tumors' relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) measurements were expressed in relation to the values observed in contralateral white matter. In patients with heterogeneous tumors a stereotactic biopsy was performed in the higher perfusion areas before resection. Among 21 patients (16 men and five women with a mean age of 36 years, range 23-60 years), 10 had diffuse astrocytomas (World Health Organization Grade II) and 11 had other LGGs and anaplastic gliomas. On perfusion-weighted images demonstrating heterogeneous tumors, areas of higher rCBV focus were found to be oligodendrogliomas or anaplastic astrocytomas on stereotactic biopsy; during tumor resection, however, specimens were characterized predominantly as astrocytomas. Diffuse astrocytomas were associated with significantly lower mean rCBV values compared with those in the other two lesion groups (p < 0.01). The rCBV ratio cutoff value that permitted better discrimination between diffuse astrocytomas and the other lesion groups was 1.2 (80% sensitivity and 100% specificity). CONCLUSIONS Perfusion-weighted imaging is a feasible method of reducing the sampling error in the histopathological diagnosis of a presumed LGG, particularly by improving the selection of targets for stereotactic biopsy.
Carotid endarterectomy: does it improve cognitive or motor functioning?

Synopsis In a group of 20 patients who were to undergo endarterectomy for atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the internal carotid artery, the stenosis did not appear to have resulted in cognitive or motor deficits. Consistent with this finding, surgery could not be shown to have a beneficial effect on cognitive or motor functioning. Control data were supplied by 20 patients who underwent peripheral vascular surgery and 20 healthy subjects. The test-retest interval was 10 weeks.
Probiotic Bacteria in the Management of Atopic Disease: Underscoring the Importance of Viability

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of oral supplementation of viable and heat-inactivated probiotic bacteria in the management of atopic disease and to observe their effects on the composition of the gut microbiota. Methods The study population included 35 infants with atopic eczema and allergy to cow's milk. At a mean age of 5.5 months, they were assigned in a randomized double-blind manner to receive either extensively hydrolyzed whey formula (placebo group) or the same formula supplemented with viable (viable LGG group) or heat-inactivated Lactobacillus GG (heat-inactivated LGG group), respectively. The changes in symptoms were assessed by the SCORAD method and the presence of some predominant bacterial genera in the feces detected with 16S rRNA-specific probes. Results The treatment with heat-inactivated LGG was associated with adverse gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhea. Consequently, the recruitment of patients was stopped after the pilot phase. Within the study population, atopic eczema and subjective symptoms were significantly alleviated in all the groups; the SCORAD scores (interquartile range) decreased from 13 (range, 4–29) to 8 (range, 0–29) units in the placebo group, from 19 (range, 4–47) to 5 (range, 0–18) units in the viable LGG group, and from 15 (range, 0–29) to 7 (range, 0–26) units in the heat-inactivated LGG group. The decrease in the SCORAD scores within the viable LGG group tended to be greater than within the placebo group. The treatments did not appear to affect the bacterial numbers within the genera enumerated. Conclusions Supplementation of infant formulas with viable but not heat-inactivated LGG is a potential approach for the management of atopic eczema and cow's milk allergy.
Enzymatic synthesis of isotopically labelled serine and tryptophan for application in peptide synthesis

L‐[1,2‐13C2,15N]Serine was prepared from [1,2‐13C2,15N]glycine on a gram scale by the use of the enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase. The reaction was monitored by 13C‐NMR spectroscopy. This is the first simultaneously 13C‐ and 15N‐labelled serine isotopomer so far reported. Part of the product was directly converted by tryptophan synthase to L‐[1,2‐13C2,15N]tryptophan which could conveniently be purified and isolated as Boc‐derivative in a yield of 71%. Most of the serine was isolated similarly but to remove remaining starting material in this case purification by column chromatography was required. © 1997 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relativity without relativity

We give a derivation of general relativity (GR) and the gauge principle that is novel in presupposing neither spacetime nor the relativity principle. We consider a class of actions defined on superspace (the space of Riemannian 3-geometries on a given bare manifold). It has two key properties. The first is symmetry under 3-diffeomorphisms. This is the only postulated symmetry, and it leads to a constraint linear in the canonical momenta. The second property is that the Lagrangian is constructed from a 'local' square root of an expression quadratic in the velocities. The square root is 'local' because it is taken before integration over 3-space. It gives rise to quadratic constraints that do not correspond to any symmetry and are not, in general, propagated by the Euler–Lagrange equations. Therefore these actions are internally inconsistent. However, one action of this form is well behaved: the Baierlein–Sharp–Wheeler (Baierlein R F, Sharp D and Wheeler J A 1962 Phys. Rev. 126 1864) reparametrization-invariant action for GR. From this viewpoint, spacetime symmetry is emergent. It appears as a 'hidden' symmetry in the (underdetermined) solutions of the Euler–Lagrange equations, without being manifestly coded into the action itself. In addition, propagation of the linear diffeomorphism constraint together with the quadratic square-root constraint acts as a striking selection mechanism beyond pure gravity. If a scalar field is included in the configuration space, it must have the same characteristic speed as gravity. Thus Einstein causality emerges. Finally, self-consistency requires that any 3-vector field must satisfy Einstein causality, the equivalence principle and, in addition, the Gauss constraint. Therefore we recover the standard (massless) Maxwell equations.
Issue – Eating Behavior Changes The Role of Attitude , Control and Intention to Explain Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Racial / Ethnic Minority Women with Low Socioeconomic Status

Objective: Fruit and Vegetable (FV) intake-a modifiable risk factor for chronic diseases-is lower among racial/ethnic minorities and low SocioEconomic Status (SES) groups when compared to other populations. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one theoretical model studied to explain and influence individual health behaviors, including FV intake, in middle class populations, but not exclusively in diverse, low SES groups. This cross-sectional study evaluated the utility of select TPB variables to explain intention to consume and intake of FV in this population. Design: Demographics, BMI, select TPB variables, and FV intake were measured via survey. Bivariate analyses were conducted to explore relationships between variables. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to fit two models: one to explain intention and one to explain behavior with regard to FV vegetable intake. Results: Participants (n=114) age 25-69 years and were mostly African American/Black and Hispanic (21.9% and 73%, respectively). The TPB variable perceived behavioral control was the only significant predictor of intention to consume FV (OR=2.55, 95% CI OR: 1.23, 5.27), and with BMI, FV intake (R2=0.08; F [2,130] =5.72, p=0.0042). Conclusion: Perceived behavioral control and BMI are the most significant predictors of FV intake but explain only 8% of the variability in intake in our cohort. Our results support prior research which suggests an attenuation of the intention-behavior relationship by SES, and may question the utility of the TPB as it is currently operationalized as a foundational model for future health behavior change research and programs in low SES racial/ethnic minorities.
Unsuspected cocaine exposure in young children.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of cocaine exposure among preschool children with clinically unsuspected signs and/or symptoms. DESIGN Prevalence study. SETTING Pediatric emergency department in an inner-city hospital. PARTICIPANTS 250 children aged 2 weeks to 5 years who underwent urine assays for cocaine prior to discharge from the emergency department. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS Six (2.4%) of the 250 urine assays (95% confidence interval, 0.5% to 4.3%) were positive for benzoylecgonine, the major urinary cocaine metabolite. Four of the positive urine assays were from children younger than 1 year and all children with positive urine assays were younger than 24 months. None of these children presented with a complaint or was identified as having clinical problems currently associated with childhood exposure to cocaine. Possible exposure routes include breastfeeding, intentional administration, accidental ingestion of cocaine or cocaine-contaminated household dust via normal hand-to-mouth activity, and passive inhalation of "crack" vapors. CONCLUSION Among the inner-city children served by this hospital, significant numbers of infants and young children are being exposed to cocaine, and this exposure occurs in a clinically unsuspected population.