Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auditory hallucinations in childhood: associations with adversity and delusional ideation

Background Previous work suggests that exposure to childhood adversity is associated with the combination of delusions and hallucinations. In the present study, associations between (severity of) auditory vocal hallucinations (AVH) and (i) social adversity [traumatic experiences (TE) and stressful events (SE)] and (ii) delusional ideation were examined. Method A baseline case-control sample of children with and without AVH were re-assessed on AVH after 5 years and interviewed about the experience of social adversity and delusions. Results A total of 337 children (mean age 13.1 years, s.d.=0.5) were assessed: 40 children continued to hear voices that were present at baseline (24%, persistent group), 15 heard voices only at follow-up (9%, incident group), 130 children no longer reported AVH that were present at baseline (remitted group) and 152 never heard voices (referent group). Both TE and SE were associated with both incident and persistent AVH, as well as with greater AVH severity and delusional ideation at follow-up. In addition, the combination of AVH and delusions displayed a stronger association with TE and SE compared with either AVH or delusions alone. Conclusions Early childhood AVH are mostly benign and transitory. However, experience of social adversity is associated with persistence, severity and onset of new AVH closer to puberty, and with delusional ideation.
Regulation of mRNA expression encoding chaperone and co-chaperone proteins of the glucocorticoid receptor in peripheral blood: association with depressive symptoms during pregnancy

Background Major depressive disorder during pregnancy associates with potentially detrimental consequences for mother and child. The current study examined peripheral blood gene expression as a potential biomarker for prenatal depressive symptoms. Method Maternal RNA from whole blood, plasma and the Beck Depression Inventory were collected longitudinally from preconception through the third trimester of pregnancy in 106 women with a lifetime history of mood or anxiety disorders. The expression of 16 genes in whole blood involved in glucorticoid receptor (GR) signaling was assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. In parallel, plasma concentrations of progesterone, estradiol and cortisol were measured. Finally, we assessed ex vivo GR sensitivity in peripheral blood cells from a subset of 29 women. Results mRNA expression of a number of GR-complex regulating genes was up-regulated over pregnancy. Women with depressive symptoms showed significantly smaller increases in mRNA expression of four of these genes – FKBP5, BAG1, NCOA1 and PPID. Ex vivo stimulation assays showed that GR sensitivity diminished with progression of pregnancy and increasing maternal depressive symptoms. Plasma concentrations of gonadal steroids and cortisol did not differ over pregnancy between women with and without clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Conclusions The presence of prenatal depressive symptoms appears to be associated with altered regulation of GR sensitivity. Peripheral expression of GR co-chaperone genes may serve as a biomarker for risk of developing depressive symptoms during pregnancy. The presence of such biomarkers, if confirmed, could be utilized in treatment planning for women with a psychiatric history.
Evidence that the wider social environment moderates the association between familial liability and psychosis spectrum outcome

Background Familial liability to both severe and common mental disorder predicts psychotic disorder and psychotic symptoms, and may be used as a proxy in models examining interaction between genetic risk and the environment at individual and contextual levels. Method In a representative general population sample (n=4011) in Izmir, Turkey, the full spectrum of expression of psychosis representing (0) no symptoms, (1) subclinical psychotic experiences, (2) low-impact psychotic symptoms, (3) high-impact psychotic symptoms and (4) full-blown clinical psychotic disorder was assessed in relation to mental health problems in the family (proxy for familial liability) and the wider social environment. Quality of the wider social environment was assessed in an independent sample using contextual measures of informal social control, social disorganization, unemployment and low income, aggregated to the neighbourhood level. Results The association between familial liability to severe mental illness and expression of psychosis spectrum was stronger in more deprived neighbourhoods [e.g. this association increased from β=0.33 (p=0.01) in low-unemployment neighbourhoods to β=0.92 (p<0.001) in high-unemployment neighbourhoods] and in neighbourhoods high in social control, while neighbourhood variables did not modify the association between familial liability to common mental disorder and the psychosis outcome. Neighbourhood variables mediated urbanicity effects. Conclusions Contextual effects may be important in moderating the expression of psychosis liability in populations, representing a specific pathway independent of the link between common mental disorder and psychosis.
Negative emotion impairs working memory in pediatric patients with bipolar disorder type I

Background We investigated affect recognition and the impact of emotional valence on working memory (using happy, angry, and neutral faces) in pediatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy control (HC) subjects. Method Subjects (N=70) consisted of unmedicated patients with BD type I (BD I, n=23) and type II (BD II, n=16) and matched HC subjects (n=31). All subjects completed tasks of emotion recognition (Chicago Pediatric Emotional Acuity Task; Chicago PEAT) and working memory for happy, angry, and neutral faces (Affective N-Back Memory Task; ANMT). Results Compared to HC subjects, BD patients performed significantly more poorly when identifying the intensity of happy and angry expressions on the Chicago PEAT, and demonstrated working-memory impairments regardless of the type of facial emotional stimuli. Pediatric BD patients displayed the most impaired accuracy and reaction time performance with negative facial stimuli relative to neutral stimuli, but did not display this pattern with positive stimuli. Only BD I patients displayed working-memory deficits, while both BD I and BD II patients displayed emotion-identification impairments. Results remained significant after controlling for co-morbid ADHD and mood state. Conclusions Both BD I and BD II youth demonstrate emotion-identification deficits. BD youth also demonstrate working-memory impairments for facial stimuli irrespective of emotional valence; however, working-memory deficits were the most pronounced with negative emotional stimuli. These deficits appear to be specific to BD I patients, and suggest therefore that a more severe form of illness is characterized by more severe social-cognitive impairment.
Plumbing the depths: extracellular water storage in specialized leaf structures and its functional expression in a three-domain pressure -volume relationship.

A three-domain pressure-volume relationship (PV curve) was studied in relation to leaf anatomical structure during dehydration in the grey mangrove, Avicennia marina. In domain 1, relative water content (RWC) declined 13% with 0.85 MPa decrease in leaf water potential, reflecting a decrease in extracellular water stored primarily in trichomes and petiolar cisternae. In domain 2, RWC decreased by another 12% with a further reduction in leaf water potential to -5.1 MPa, the turgor loss point. Given the osmotic potential at full turgor (-4.2 MPa) and the effective modulus of elasticity (~40 MPa), domain 2 emphasized the role of cell wall elasticity in conserving cellular hydration during leaf water loss. Domain 3 was dominated by osmotic effects and characterized by plasmolysis in most tissues and cell types without cell wall collapse. Extracellular and cellular water storage could support an evaporation rate of 1 mmol m-2 s-1 for up to 54 and 50 min, respectively, before turgor loss was reached. This study emphasized the importance of leaf anatomy for the interpretation of PV curves, and identified extracellular water storage sites that enable transient water use without substantive turgor loss when other factors, such as high soil salinity, constrain rates of water transport.
The role of communication in collaborative information searching

Collaboration plays an important role in the information seeking and retrieval activities within a team setting. In this research, we examined the impact of collaborative design features in two information retrieval tools that explicitly support collaboration. We designed the two collaborative information searching prototype, MUSE (Multi-User Search Engine) and MUST (Multi-User Search and Talk) and evaluated both systems. Results indicate that the communication (i.e., chat) function played an important role in enhancing the information seeking process by establishing common ground among group members. We also identified unexpected challenges that arose as the prototypes were used during these activities. These challenges were both technical and social in nature. We discuss implications for system design and directions for future research.
Midnight salivary cortisol, measured by highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, for the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the measurement of midnight salivary cortisol as a method of screening for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). Here we tested the performance of a highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) for midnight salivary cortisol measurement in an extensive clinical study (n=104). Three groups were investigated: 30 patients with CS, 34 with obesity and 40 healthy normal weight controls. All of them collected saliva samples at 24:00 h and urine samples over the same day (24 hour period). An electrochemiluminescence immunoassay was used to measure salivary cortisol. Mean midnight salivary cortisol in healthy volunteers, obese patients and patients with CS was 8.33 ± 3.62, 8.13 ± 4.47 and 33.11 ± 21.68 nmol/l, respectively. No significant difference was found between midnight salivary cortisol in healthy and obese subjects (P>0.05). In contrast, salivary cortisol at midnight was significantly higher in patients with CS (P<0.001) as compared to both other groups. The cut-off point of 14.2 nmol/l yielded a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 94.2% (AUCROC=0.984 ± 0.01(0.965-1.000). A strong positive correlation between midnight salivary cortisol and urinary free cortisol has been found in the CS group (r=0.686, P<0.0001). Our results demonstrate that measurement of midnight salivary cortisol could be successfully used as a first-line screening method for CS. Our data approve ECLIA as a simple, reliable and timesaving method for the assessment of salivary cortisol. Automated measurement of midnight salivary cortisol by ECLIA would facilitate the routine practice in the screening for CS.
The Periaqueductal Gray: From Longitudinal columns to defensive behaviour

Recent findings on the different functional properties of the neuroanatomical columnar subdivision of the Periaqueductal Gray (PAG) have provided a fundamental understanding for the pathophysiology of panic and anxiety disorder. In this review, we focus mainly on the prominent role of the PAG in defensive behaviour by combining both the behavioural and neuroanatomical data. We have applied the theoretical model of the “two dimensional defence system” by McNaughton and Corr (2004), and thereby constituted an organizational structure on the neuronal circuitry of the different brain regions in relation with this panic- and fear-like behaviour. It has become clear that the dorsal and lateral PAG are involved in the active emotional coping (fight and flight reaction), whereas the ventrolateral PAG is responsible for the passive emotional coping (quiescence/freezing). In this regard, the PAG and other related brain structures are working in concert with different neurotransmitters providing animals with defensive strategies in response to predatory threats. The functional roles of the PAG in these behaviours as characterized in animals warrants further translational studies in humans which may eventually lead to novel approaches in anxiety- and panic-related disorders.
Behavioral and transcriptomic profiling of mice null for Lphn3, a gene implicated in ADHD and addiction

The Latrophilin 3 (LPHN3) gene (recently renamed Adhesion G protein‐coupled receptor L3 (ADGRL3)) has been linked to susceptibility to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and vulnerability to addiction. However, its role and function are not well understood as there are no known functional variants.
Analysis of a large choroideremia dataset does not suggest a preference for inclusion of certain genotypes in future trials of gene therapy

Choroideremia (CHM) is an X‐linked degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium, photoreceptors, and choroid, which causes nyctalopia and progressive constriction of visual fields leading to blindness. The CHM gene encodes Rab escort protein 1 (REP‐1). In this work, we reviewed the phenotypes and genotypes of affected males with the purpose of understanding the functional effects of CHM mutations and their relationship with the phenotypes.
Long Term Effect of Incremental Doses of the Somatostatin Analog SMS 201–995 in 58 Acromegalic Patients*

Fifty-eight acromegalic patients were included in a multicenter prospective study of increasing doses (300–1500 μg) of SMS 201–995 (octreotide, Sandostatin) administered 3 times daily, sc, during 6 months to determine its effects on signs and symptoms of GH hypersecretion. Subsequently, 34 of the patients were maintained for 12–26 months on the minimal efficacious dose, determined from the previous dose-response study. Some adverse effects were frequently encountered, mostly at the initiation of treatment, and disappeared with time. Asymptomatic gallstones occurred in 5 patients. Minimal changes in carbohydrate tolerance, consisting of a rise in blood glucose and a transient decrease in plasma insulin level after meals, were noted. GH normalized in 22% of the patients, improved in 56%, and remained unchanged in 22% regardless of the dose. The optimal daily dose was 300 μg in 50% of the patients and 1500 μg in 20%. Pituitary tumor size reduction occurred in 47% of the patients harboring large tumors or tum.
Sleep deprivation amplifies striatal activation to monetary reward

Background Sleep loss produces abnormal increases in reward seeking but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. The present study examined the influence of one night of sleep deprivation on neural responses to a monetary reward task in a sample of late adolescents/young adults. Method Using a within-subjects crossover design, 27 healthy, right-handed late adolescents/young adults (16 females, 11 males; mean age 23.1 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) following a night of sleep deprivation and following a night of normal sleep. Participants' recent sleep history was monitored using actigraphy for 1 week prior to each sleep condition. Results Following sleep deprivation, participants exhibited increased activity in the ventral striatum (VS) and reduced deactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during the winning of monetary reward, relative to the same task following normal sleep conditions. Shorter total sleep time over the five nights before the sleep-deprived testing condition was associated with reduced deactivation in the mPFC during reward. Conclusions These findings support the hypothesis that sleep loss produces aberrant functioning in reward neural circuitry, increasing the salience of positively reinforcing stimuli. Aberrant reward functioning related to insufficient sleep may contribute to the development and maintenance of reward dysfunction-related disorders, such as compulsive gambling, eating, substance abuse and mood disorders.
Hospital Acquired Infections in a Selected Tertiary Level Hospital of Rangpur City

Objectives: To find out the proportion, to determine the average length of stay at hospital and to estimate the cost of treatment for hospital-acquired infections in a tertiary level hospital of Rangpur City. Materials and Methods: This descriptive type of cross sectional study was conducted on purposively selected 200 admitted patients in a tertiary level hospital. Among them 100 were HAI patients and 100 were non HAL Data were collected through duly pretested interviewer administered questionnaire and observation checklist. Place and period of study: This study was conducted in Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RpMCH), Rangpur from January to June2011. Results: In this cross sectional study the highest percentage of HAI (42%) belonged to the surgery ward and the lowest percentage (19.%) belonged to medicine ward of the study hospital. According to the type of infections the surgical wound infection was found on the top (23%) and the cannula-associated infection at the bottom (5%) of the list. Respondents of both the polar age groups ( 60 years) were found to be equally (27%) affected by HAI. Occurrence of HAI was found higher (57%) among the female respondents than their male (43%) counterparts. Highest number (48%) of HAI and lowest number (14%) of non- HAI patients were found to be visited by maximum number (≥5) of visitors. Among the respondents who developed HAI, 42% had to stay at hospital for longest duration (21-25 days) but only 13% of their non- HAI counterparts had to stay for same duration. Among HAI patients 26% had to spend highest amount of money (Tk.20,0011- 25,0001-) but among non- HAI patients only 10% had to spend same amount of money for their treatment purpose. Conclusion: It has been revealed from this study that the occurrence of HAI was found higher among the patients with maximum number of visitors. Average length of hospital stay and cost of treatment of HAI patients were found higher than those of their non-HAI counterparts . DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjdre.v4i2. 20247 Bangladesh Journal of Dental Research and Education Vol.4(2) 2014: 49-52
LLM-Planner: Few-Shot Grounded Planning for Embodied Agents with Large Language Models

This study focuses on using large language models (LLMs) as a planner for embodied agents that can follow natural language instructions to complete complex tasks in a visually-perceived environment. The high data cost and poor sample efficiency of existing methods hinders the development of versatile agents that are capable of many tasks and can learn new tasks quickly. In this work, we propose a novel method, LLM-Planner, that harnesses the power of large language models to do few-shot planning for embodied agents. We further propose a simple but effective way to enhance LLMs with physical grounding to generate and update plans that are grounded in the current environment. Experiments on the ALFRED dataset show that our method can achieve very competitive few-shot performance: Despite using less than 0.5% of paired training data, LLM-Planner achieves competitive performance with recent baselines that are trained using the full training data. Existing methods can barely complete any task successfully under the same few-shot setting. Our work opens the door for developing versatile and sample-efficient embodied agents that can quickly learn many tasks. 1
Age of onset in obsessive–compulsive disorder: admixture analysis with a large sample

Background Research into age of onset in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has indicated significant differences between patients with early and late onset of the disorder. However, multiple criteria have been used arbitrarily for differentiating between early- and late-onset OCD, rendering inconsistent results that are difficult to interpret. Method In the current study, admixture analysis was conducted in a sample of 377 OC patients to determine the number of underlying populations of age of onset and associated demographic and clinical characteristics. Various measures of anxiety, depression, co-morbidity, autism, OCD, tics and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms were administered. Results A bimodal age of onset was established and the best-fitting cut-off score between early and late age of onset was 20 years (early age of onset ⩽19 years). Patients with early age of onset were more likely to be single. Early age of onset patients demonstrated higher levels of OCD severity and increased symptoms on all OCD dimensions along with increased ADHD symptoms and higher rates of bipolar disorder. Conclusions It is suggested that 20 years is the recommended cut-off age for the determination of early versus late age of onset in OCD. Early age of onset is associated with a generally graver OCD clinical picture and increased ADHD symptoms and bipolar disorder rates, which may be related to greater functional implications of the disorder. We propose that age of onset could be an important marker for the subtyping of OCD.
Influencia de la infección por VIH/sida sobre algunos indicadores bioquímicos del estado nutricional

Con el objetivo de analizar la influencia de la infeccion por el VIH y el estadio clinico de la enfermedad sobre indicadores bioquimicos del estado nutricional del individuo, se estudio un grupo de individuos infectados y clasificados en diferentes grupos clinicos, de acuerdo con los criterios propuestos en 1987 por el Centro de Control de Enfermedades de los Estados Unidos, asi como un grupo control integrado por sujetos seronegativos al VIH y clasificados antropometricamente con un estado nutricional normal. Se analizaron las variaciones experimentadas por las proteinas totales, albumina, colesterol, triacilgliceridos, urea, acido urico y creatinina, segun sexo y grupo clinico, para lo cual se realizo la comparacion de las medias obtenidas por medio de un analisis de la varianza. Al compararlos con los seronegativos, se encontro en los seropositivos asintomaticos un incremento no significativo de las proteinas totales con disminucion significativa de la albumina y la creatinina; esta ultima solo en el sexo masculino. En los pacientes del estadio IV se manifesto la disminucion mas importante del colesterol y un aumento significativo de los trigliceridos, asi como los niveles mas bajos de albumina. La urea y el acido urico no experimentaron cambios con significacion estadistica. Se recomienda la determinacion de indicadores bioquimicos en la deteccion de estados marginales de malnutricion por defecto en individuos VIH/SIDA.