Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurologists' detection and recognition of mental disorder in a tertiary in-patient neurological unit

Aims and method Psychiatric disorders are common in neurological in-patients, but they are under-recognised and undertreated. We investigated the frequency of detection of mental disorder and referral to psychiatric services in a regional neuroscience centre. The results were compared with the expected prevalence. All in-patient referrals received in 2014 from the in-patient wards of the regional neuroscience centre and acute neurological unit were reviewed. Results A total of 129 ward referrals were identified; of these, 78 were from the regional in-patient neurological unit, which comprised 11.4% of the total of 679 admissions to that unit. Clinical implications A spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions were recognised by neurologists, but overall rates of recognition were low. To address the problem of under-recognition, routine screening with validated assessment tools can represent a cost-effective and acceptable method to detect psychiatric disorders in an in-patient neurological setting. Declaration of Interest None.
Comparison of Nitroprusside and Hydralazine in Isolated Uterine Arteries from Pregnant and Nonpregnant Patients

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relative potency of nitroprusside and hydralazine with respect to inhibition of norepinephrinc-induced contraction of isolated, uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant patients. The arteries, obtained after hysterectomy, were dissected free from surrounding tissue, and arterial rings were prepared and mounted in tissue chambers filled with Kreb's-bicarbonate solution. Isometric tension was recorded. At concentrations of 10-9 M to 10-5 M, both nitroprusside and hydralazine produced concentration-dependent inhibition of the contractile response to norepinephrine. Nitroprusside and hydralazine were more potent in relaxing arteries contracted by a lower concentration (3 X 10-6 M) of norepinephrine than by a higher concentration (10-5 M) of norepinephrine. Regardless of the concentration of norepinephrine, nitroprusside was considerably more potent than hydralazine. The concentrations of nitroprusside that produced 50% inhibition (IC50) of the contractile response to norepinephrine (3 X 10-6 M) in uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant patients were 3.2 ± 0.5 X 10-9 M (n = 5) and 1.2 ± 0.1 X 10-9 M (n = 6), respectively. The IC50 values for hydralazine acting against norepinephrine (3 X 10-6 M) in the uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant patients were 5.1 ± 0.5 X 10-7 M (n = 5) and 4.0 ± 0.5 X 10-7 M (n = 6), respectively. Nitroprusside (10-6 M), compared to hydralazine (10-5 M), produced the greater maximal inhibition of norepinephrine-induced contraction. The results demonstrate that, although both nitroprusside and hydralazine inhibit norepinephrine-induced uterine artery contraction, nitroprusside has a greater potency compared to hydralazine in producing direct vasodilation of the uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant humans.
Studies of thyroid function and the peripheral metabolism of I 131-labeled thyroxine in patients with treated Graves disease.

Recent studies have revealed an abnormality in the peripheral metabolism of thyroxine in patients with active untreated Graves' disease (1). In such patients, an abnormally large fraction of the extrathyroidal pool of thyroxine is degraded daily. Other authors have also observed an accelerated fractional turnover of thyroxine in patients with untreated Graves' disease (2, 3) and have postulated that the rate of turnover of the hormone might be a function of its concentration in the blood (2). Alternatively, accelerated turnover of thyroxine might merely reflect the general speeding of metabolic processes which occurs during the hyperthyroid state. The present studies were designed to differentiate between these and other possibilities. Rates of turnover of thyroxine have been assessed in patients in whomthe thyrotoxicity had been corrected by appropriate therapy, as well as in nonthyrotoxic subjects who were made hypermetabolic by the administration of thyroid hormone. A preliminary report of the data obtained has been published in abstract form (4). It has been shown that the induction of thyrotoxicosis medicamentosa does result in an augmentation of the fractional rate of turnover of thyroxine. However, it has also been demonstrated that accelerated fractional turnover of thyroxine frequently persists in patients with Graves' disease, despite
Residential Context and Racial Solidarity among African Americans

Theory: As the "structural linchpin" of American race relations, residential segregation has important implications for blacks' and whites' thinking about race. Considered here is the impact of residential context-living in predominantly black or racially heterogeneous neighborhoods in the city or the suburbs-on feelings of racial solidarity among black Americans. Hypotheses: The social density hypothesis predicts stronger racial solidarity among blacks who live in the city and in predominantly black neighborhoods. The social salience hypothesis predicts stronger solidarity among suburbanites and residents of racially mixed neighborhoods. The identity supremacy hypothesis predicts no relationship between residence and sense of racial solidarity. Methods: Regression analysis of survey data for a subsample of black urbanites and suburbanites in the Detroit metropolitan area. Results: The statistical results are most consistent with the social density hypothesis. The conclusion centers on the possible implications of black suburbanization and changing levels of racial solidarity among blacks.
The Cotton Kinesin-Like Calmodulin-Binding Protein Associates with Cortical Microtubules in Cotton Fibers1

Microtubules in interphase plant cells form a cortical array, which is critical for plant cell morphogenesis. Genetic studies imply that the minus end-directed microtubule motor kinesin-like calmodulin-binding protein (KCBP) plays a role in trichome morphogenesis in Arabidopsis. However, it was not clear whether this motor interacted with interphase microtubules. In cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers, cortical microtubules undergo dramatic reorganization during fiber development. In this study, cDNA clones of the cotton KCBP homolog GhKCBP were isolated from a cotton fiber-specific cDNA library. During cotton fiber development from 10 to 21 DPA, the GhKCBP protein level gradually decreases. By immunofluorescence, GhKCBP was detected as puncta along cortical microtubules in fiber cells of different developmental stages. Thus our results provide evidence that GhKCBP plays a role in interphase cell growth likely by interacting with cortical microtubules. In contrast to fibers, in dividing cells of cotton, GhKCBP localized to the nucleus, the microtubule preprophase band, mitotic spindle, and the phragmoplast. Therefore KCBP likely exerts multiple roles in cell division and cell growth in flowering plants.
The potential for utilizing inter-limb coupling in the rehabilitation of upper limb motor disability due to unilateral brain injury

Purpose. Symmetry tendencies in human movement have generally been regarded as a constraint to upper limb motor performance. However, several recent studies have suggested that this phenomenon might be utilized in the rehabilitation of individuals with motor disability due to unilateral brain injury. In this paper the efficacy of such a rehabilitative approach is explored by reviewing: (i) examples of symmetry tendencies in healthy individuals, (ii) the potential neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for inter-limb coupling, and (iii) recent studies which have directly assessed the effects of inter-limb coupling on individuals with unilateral brain injury. Method. A thorough review of current published evidence was conducted utilizing various electronic search engines (Medline, PreMedline, Embase and Cinahl). Studies included those that focused on symmetry tendencies and/or inter-limb coupling in the upper limbs with a particular emphasis placed on studies of individuals with unilateral brain injury. Results. Based on the current literature it seems that motor function of the affected upper limb in individuals with unilateral brain injury can be improved through a rehabilitation approach that incorporates inter-limb coupling. Conclusion. This approach should be considered as an adjunct to more common rehabilitation strategies with future research aimed at determining the most effective means of employing this paradigm.
The DNA methylation profile of activated human natural killer cells

ABSTRACT Natural killer (NK) cells are now recognized to exhibit characteristics akin to cells of the adaptive immune system. The generation of adaptive memory is linked to epigenetic reprogramming including alterations in DNA methylation. The study herein found reproducible genome wide DNA methylation changes associated with human NK cell activation. Activation led predominately to CpG hypomethylation (81% of significant loci). Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that non-coding and gene-associated differentially methylated sites (DMS) are enriched for immune related functions (i.e., immune cell activation). Known DNA methylation-regulated immune loci were also identified in activated NK cells (e.g., TNFA, LTA, IL13, CSF2). Twenty-one loci were designated high priority and further investigated as potential markers of NK activation. BHLHE40 was identified as a viable candidate for which a droplet digital PCR assay for demethylation was developed. The assay revealed high demethylation in activated NK cells and low demethylation in naïve NK, T- and B-cells. We conclude the NK cell methylome is plastic with potential for remodeling. The differentially methylated region signature of activated NKs revealed similarities with T cell activation, but also provided unique biomarker candidates of NK activation, which could be useful in epigenome-wide association studies to interrogate the role of NK subtypes in global methylation changes associated with exposures and/or disease states.
Effects of Dark Chocolate and Almonds on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese Individuals: A Randomized Controlled‐Feeding Trial

Background Consumption of almonds or dark chocolate and cocoa has favorable effects on markers of coronary heart disease; however, the combined effects have not been evaluated in a well‐controlled feeding study. The aim of this study was to examine the individual and combined effects of consumption of dark chocolate and cocoa and almonds on markers of coronary heart disease risk. Methods and Results A randomized controlled, 4‐period, crossover, feeding trial was conducted in overweight and obese individuals aged 30 to 70 years. Forty‐eight participants were randomized, and 31 participants completed the entire study. Each diet period was 4 weeks long, followed by a 2‐week compliance break. Participants consumed each of 4 isocaloric, weight maintenance diets: (1) no treatment foods (average American diet), (2) 42.5 g/d of almonds (almond diet [ALD]), (3) 18 g/d of cocoa powder and 43 g/d of dark chocolate (chocolate diet [CHOC]), or (4) all 3 foods (CHOC+ALD). Compared with the average American diet, total cholesterol, non–high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol after the ALD were lower by 4%, 5%, and 7%, respectively (P<0.05). The CHOC+ALD decreased apolipoprotein B by 5% compared with the average American diet. For low‐density lipoprotein subclasses, compared with the average American diet, the ALD showed a greater reduction in large buoyant low‐density lipoprotein particles (−5.7±2.3 versus −0.3±2.3 mg/dL; P=0.04), whereas the CHOC+ALD had a greater decrease in small dense low‐density lipoprotein particles (−12.0±2.8 versus −5.3±2.8 mg/dL; P=0.04). There were no significant differences between diets for measures of vascular health and oxidative stress. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that consumption of almonds alone or combined with dark chocolate under controlled‐feeding conditions improves lipid profiles. Incorporating almonds, dark chocolate, and cocoa into a typical American diet without exceeding energy needs may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT01882881.
Venous Thromboembolism in Young Female While on Oral Contraceptives: High Frequency of Inherited Thrombophilia and Analysis of Thrombotic Events in 400 Czech Women

Oral contraceptive use is a common risk factor for venous thromboembolism in women of reproductive age. The presence of inherited thrombophilia further increases this risk. Methods: We analyzed a large group of 400 Czech women with venous thromboembolism in association with oral contraceptive with regard to duration of use at the time of manifestation of venous thromboembolism, the frequency of inherited and acquired thrombophilia, the frequency of eliciting risk factor for thrombosis including immobilization, surgery, administration of plaster cast, long travel, and so on, and the type of thrombosis. The mean age of the women was 26 years, and the average duration of use was 45 months at the onset of thrombosis. Results: Venous thrombosis solely due to the pill occurred in 57% of the women, and in the other 43%, an additional transient eliciting factor was recognized. Among the clinical manifestation, distal thrombosis prevailed (N = 231, 58%) followed by proximal deep vein thrombosis (N = 65, 16%), pulmonary embolism (N = 21, 5%), and thrombosis in unusual sites (N = 20, 5%). Inherited or acquired thrombophilia was diagnosed in 195 (49%) women: factor V Leiden mutation in 35%, congenital deficiency of antithrombin in 1.8%, protein C in 0.8%, protein S in 1%, F IIG20210A in 5%, and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in 5.3%. Among the most common risk factors were immobilization of lower limb, minor and major surgery, and trauma. Conclusion: The results confirm that venous thromboembolism is a multifactorial disease in which thrombophilia screening is needed in young symptomatic women on the pill with thrombosis. The results also emphasize the value of proper thromboprophylaxis in women while on oral contraceptive in situations of increased risk for venous thromboembolism.
Analogizing and Maneuvering as New Product Development Decision Making Approaches at Technology-Based Organizations in Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to report findings related to new product development (NPD) decision making approaches from an ongoing study on NPD management process. The research adopts grounded theory method using interview as the primary data source on sixteen senior managers from six technology-based organizations in Malaysia. Our in- depth discovery study revealed that senior managers apply two astute schemes in making NPD related decisions which signify their decision making competency; "analogizing" and "maneuvering". Analogizing is defined as an approach taken to skillfully make use of some information from one situation in an attempt to understand another situation which is ambiguous but to some degree resembling the former. "Maneuvering" is defined as an approach taken to skillfully shift or override previously decided choices or directions in response to certain influence. We propose a framework of NPD decision making approaches which facilitates theory generation in the area of NPD management. Although the insights from this study are not statistically generalizable, the concepts and proposed framework can analytically reflect similar cases, and also be used for future researches to build on and refine. More importantly, this study brings awareness to NPD management practitioners on the requisites to increase their competency in NPD decision making.
Evaluation of lesion and thermodynamic characteristics of Symplicity and EnligHTN renal denervation systems in a phantom renal artery model.

AIMS Radiofrequency renal artery denervation has been used effectively to treat resistant hypertension. However, comparison of lesion and thermodynamic characteristics for different systems has not been previously described. We aimed to assess spatiotemporal lesion growth and ablation characteristics of Symplicity and EnligHTN systems. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 39 ablations were performed in a phantom renal artery model using Symplicity (n=17) and EnligHTN (n=22) systems. The phantom model consisted of a hollowed gel block surrounding a thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) film, exhibiting temperature sensitivity of 50-78°C. Flow was simulated using 37°C normal saline with impedance equal to blood. Radiofrequency ablations with each system were delivered with direct electrode tip contact to the TLC. Lesion size was interpreted from the TLC as the maximum dimensions of the 51°C isotherm. Mean lesion depth was 3.82 mm±0.04 versus 3.44 mm±0.03 (p<0.001) for Symplicity and EnligHTN, respectively. Mean width was 7.17 mm±0.08 versus 6.23 mm±0.07 (p<0.001), respectively. With EnligHTN, steady state temperature was achieved 20 sec earlier, and was 15°C higher than Symplicity. CONCLUSIONS In this phantom model, Symplicity formed larger lesions compared to EnligHTN with lower catheter-tip temperature. The clinical significance of our findings needs to be explored further.
Can non-life insurers improve policyholder relationships in online services?

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of e-service quality, perceived risk, and e-customer satisfaction on e-customer loyalty in an online insurance service. Data were collected from the policyholders of the online insurance services of non-life insurers in Taiwan and were analysed using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. Structural equation modelling was employed to examine the relationships posited in this study. Online services significantly enhance the efficiency of insurance markets and benefit policyholders by lowering transaction and information costs. The findings of this study are expected to provide important theoretical, managerial, and policy implications for non-life insurers’ websites management and design. This study can assist insurers in assessing their e-service quality performance, and provide a basis for researchers to further explore alternative methods of customer interaction that will assist in improving perceived risk, e-customer satisfaction, e-customer loyalty, and retention on online non-life insurers’ sites.
Analysts' Interim Earnings Forecasts: Evidence on the Forecasting Process

Existing empirical evidence indicates that analyst forecasts of corporate earnings do not meet the strict rationality standards prescribed by econometric tests of the rational expectations hypothesis.1 In this paper, we address the question of whether the expectation formation process underlying analyst forecasts is adaptive, or whether these forecasts are influenced by noninformational factors, such as incentives arising from the market for their forecasts (O'Brien [1988], Lin and McNichols [1993], Francis and Philbrick [1993], and Dugar and Nathan [1992]), and interaction between judgmental and/or statistical forecasting methods (Bunn and Wright [1991], Fan [1990], and Hoerl and Kennard [1970]). The rejection of rational expectations gives rise to two views of the forecasting process of analysts. The first, based on an informational argument, is that the forecasting process is adaptive (Marcet and Sargent
Prevalence and predisposing factors of brachial plexus birth palsy in a regional hospital in Ghana: a five year retrospective study

Introduction Brachial plexus birth injury is one of the challenges associated with maternal delivery, with varying prevalence between countries. Brachial plexus birth injury poses negative health implications to children and also has socio-economic implications on families and the community as a whole. To treat brachial plexus birth injury, a multi-disciplinary treatment approach is recommended. Brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP) is categorised into two-upper plexus injury (Erb's palsy) and lower plexus injury (Klumpke's palsy). These categories present with various degrees of injuries, with less severe injuries responding well to treatment and in most instances may resolve on their own, but serious and complicated injuries will require a multi-disciplinary treatment approach to treat and/or manage. Effective treatment and management depends on adequate knowledge of the disease condition. These include the risk factors and prevalence of brachial plexus birth palsy within a particular population at a specific period in time. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors and the prevalence of a hospital based brachial plexus birth palsy within a five-year period (2013-2017). Methods A five-year retrospective study design was used. The study involved selection of all clients' diagnosed with brachial plexus birth palsy, where their gender, birth weight, complications at birth, type of brachial plexus suffered, mothers' diabetes status, mother's age, birth attendant, side of affectation, presentation at birth and mode of delivery were recorded. Results The prevalence rate of brachial plexus birth palsy was 14.7% out of a total of three hundred and twenty (320) cases reviewed over the study period in the Volta Regional Hospital. Erb's palsy was found to be the modal type of BPBP in this population (93.6%). Conclusion There is the need to provide a nationwide education on the risk factors that predispose babies to brachial plexus birth palsy. There is also the need for frequent antenatal visit by pregnant women; this will help in the provision of best antenatal history, diagnostic investigation in determining the birth weight and safe mode of delivery.
Reward association facilitates distractor suppression in human visual search

Although valuable objects are attractive in nature, people often encounter situations where they would prefer to avoid such distraction while focusing on the task goal. Contrary to the typical effect of attentional capture by a reward‐associated item, we provide evidence for a facilitation effect derived from the active suppression of a high reward‐associated stimulus when cuing its identity as distractor before the display of search arrays. Selection of the target is shown to be significantly faster when the distractors were in high reward‐associated colour than those in low reward‐associated or non‐rewarded colours. This behavioural reward effect was associated with two neural signatures before the onset of the search display: the increased frontal theta oscillation and the strengthened top‐down modulation from frontal to anterior temporal regions. The former suggests an enhanced working memory representation for the reward‐associated stimulus and the increased need for cognitive control to override Pavlovian bias, whereas the latter indicates that the boost of inhibitory control is realized through a frontal top‐down mechanism. These results suggest a mechanism in which the enhanced working memory representation of a reward‐associated feature is integrated with task demands to modify attentional priority during active distractor suppression and benefit behavioural performance.