Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antiphospholipid Syndrome - An Evolving Story of a Multisystemic Disease

Historically, aPL antibodies were classified based on the clinical laboratory test in which they were detected, i.e. LA and aCL antibodies. It is now widely accepted that aPL antibodies are a heterogenous group of antibodies that react with a myriad of phospholipids (PLs), PL-protein complexes and PL binding proteins. The main antigenic target of these antibodies is recognized to be 2glycoprotein I (2GPI), which along with prothrombin accounts for more than 90% of the antibody binding activity in APS patients. Other potentially significant antigenic targets include tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), phosphatidylserine (PS), plasmin, annexin 2, activated protein C (APC), thrombin, antithrombin (AT) and annexin A5 [2,3].
Alternative therapies used by women with breast cancer in four ethnic populations.

BACKGROUND Interest in alternative therapies is growing rapidly in the United States. We studied the types and prevalence of conventional and alternative therapies used by women in four ethnic groups (Latino, white, black, and Chinese) diagnosed with breast cancer from 1990 through 1992 in San Francisco, CA, and explored factors influencing the choices of their therapies. METHODS Subjects (n = 379) completed a 30-minute telephone interview in their preferred language. Logistic regression models assessed factors associated with the use of alternative therapies after a diagnosis of breast cancer. RESULTS About one half of the women used at least one type of alternative therapy, and about one third used two types; most therapies were used for a duration of less than 6 months. Both the alternative therapies used and factors influencing the choice of therapy varied by ethnicity. Blacks most often used spiritual healing (36%), Chinese most often used herbal remedies (22%), and Latino women most often used dietary therapies (30%) and spiritual healing (26%). Among whites, 35% used dietary methods and 21% used physical methods, such as massage and acupuncture. In general, women who had a higher educational level or income, were of younger age, had private insurance, and exercised or attended support groups were more likely to use alternative therapies. About half of the women using alternative therapies reported discussing this use with their physicians. More than 90% of the subjects found the therapies helpful and would recommend them to their friends. CONCLUSIONS Given the high prevalence of alternative therapies used in San Francisco by the four ethnic groups and the relatively poor communication between patients and doctors, physicians who treat patients with breast cancer should initiate dialogues on this topic to better understand patients' choices with regard to treatment options.
With great expectations, can two "wrongs" prime a "right"?

The proportion of related prime-target pairs (relatedness proportion, RP) and prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was varied to determine the involvement of strategic priming mechanisms in the reduction in semantic priming that occurs when a target follows an unmasked prime that itself receives immediate repetition priming from a masked prime. At 300-ms and 1,200-ms SOAs, (a) strategic semantic priming was operating, in that priming from a nonrepeated prime increased as RP increased from . 25 to . 75, and (b) for both RPs, prime repetition reduced semantic priming. At a 167-ms SOA, (a) priming from a nonrepeated prime was unaffected by RP, suggesting that strategic priming was not operating, and (b) for both RPs, prime repetition did not reduce semantic priming. Because prime repetition did not reduce priming at the 167-ms SOA (when only spreading activation should have been mediating semantic priming), the reduction in semantic priming produced by prime repetition is not evidence against spreading activation automaticity. Possible mechanisms through which prime repetition reduces semantic priming are discussed.
Creating a Canadian stroke system.

Stroke accounts for 7% of all deaths in Canada. [1][1] The overall mortality rate is 47.8 per 100 000 population. In people aged 65–69 years, the rate is 73.4 per 100 000 population. The rate gradually increases to 2003 per 100 000 population for those aged 90 years and over. [2][2] High life
Test-retest reliability of auditory ERP components in healthy 6-year-old children

One prerequisite of using auditory event-related brain potentials (ERP) in developmental and clinical research is to determine their reliability. We examined the individual stability and test–retest reliability of the ERP responses elicited by repetitive, slightly deviant, and novel sounds over 3 months in healthy 6-year-old children. When broken down to 20 ms intervals, the standard-stimulus ERP responses shared > 77%, the deviant-stimulus responses 17–31%, and the novel-stimulus responses > 33% of the individual variation over the two testing sessions; the mean amplitude differences (novel/deviant−standard) did not change significantly between sessions. The sufficiently high individual stability of the ERP responses support the utility of these measurements for studying the effects of novel sounds in this age group.
Immune‐inflammatory markers in schizophrenia: comparison to normal controls and effects of clozapine

The purpose of this study was to investigate immune‐inflammatory markers in schizophrenia and the effects of chronic treatment with clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic agent, on these variables. Toward this end, we measured interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), soluble IL‐6 receptor (sIL‐6R) and sIL‐2R in the blood of 26 normal controls and 14 schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with clozapine. The sIL‐2R and IL‐6 levels were significantly higher in younger (<35 years) schizophrenic subjects than in normal controls and older (≥ 35 years) schizophrenic subjects. The sIL‐6R levels were significantly lower in schizophrenic subjects than in normal controls. Chronic treatment with clozapine significantly increased the blood concentration of sIL‐2R; the increases in the latter were significantly related to the dose of clozapine but not to changes in severity of positive or negative symptoms. We conclude that: (a) schizophrenia in younger people is accompanied by increased IL‐6 and sIL‐2R secretion; and (b) subchronic treatment with clozapine increases sIL‐2R levels. Increased plasma sIL‐2R may be one mechanism by which neuroleptics exhibit their immunosuppressive effects.
Engineers, Innovative Capacity and Development in the Americas

This paper offers the first evidence on the prevalence of a central actor in modern growth theory—the engineer. Using newly collected sub-national, and international data as well as historical case studies, it then argues that differences in innovative capacity, captured by the density of engineers and patents at the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution, in fact, are important to explaining present income differences across US counties, states within countries, and between the US and Latin America. This remains the case after controlling for literacy, other higher order human capital, and demand side elements that might be confounded with engineering or patenting. Instrumenting engineering using the Land Grant Colleges program further limits remaining endogeneity. A 1 SD increase in engineers at the turn of the 20th century accounts for a 16 percent increase in US county income today, and patenting capacity contributes another 10 percent. This can partly explain why countries with similar levels of income in 1900, but ten fold differences in engineering density diverged in their growth trajectories over the next century.
Lamotrigine derivatives and riluzole inhibit INa,P in cortical neurons

The persistent, slowly inactivating fraction of the sodium current is involved in key functions in the CNS such as dendritic integration of synaptic inputs and cellular excitability. We have studied whether established anti-epileptic drugs and neuroprotective agents target the persistent sodium current. Two lamotrigine derivatives (sipatrigine and 202W92) and riluzole inhibited the persistent sodium current at low, therapeutic concentrations. In contrast, lamotrigine and the classical antiepileptic agents phenytoin and valproic acid blocked the fast-inactivating sodium channel but failed to affect the persistent fraction. The ability to influence either mode of channel activaty may represent a defining feature of each drug subclass, changing profoundly their clinical indications. Given the damaging role of a sustained influx of sodium in both pharmaco-resistant seizures or excitotoxic insults, we suggest the utilization of drugs that suppress the persistent conductance.
Stochasticity of the step size in the force generating process due to a single myosin molecule

We formulate a motional model on the basis of an experimental optical trapping system which reveals the single molecular events of the force generation due to actin and myosin, and we discuss the origin of the dispersion of the displacements of the beads bound to the actin filament. In some experimental data sets, this dispersion is larger than that presumed from the model under the condition that the thermal agitation is the only source of the fluctuation. Thus, other fluctuating elements besides that due to thermal agitation are supposed to cause the dispersion. A possible fluctuating element is the step size itself. We discuss this possibility and estimate the fluctuation in step size using two reported experimental data sets.
On some ambiguities in the method of effective charges.

In response to the preceding paper by Chyla, the status of some remaining ambiguities in the method of effective charges is reviewed and the specific example of the static potential in QCD is discussed. A criterion for convergence of perturbation theory is suggested, and shown to be satisfied by the recent /ital O/(/alpha//sub /ital s///sup 3/) calculation of /sigma/(/ital e//sup +/e/sup /minus///r arrow/hadrons) of Gorishny, Kataev, and Larin.
Is live high–train low altitude training relevant for elite athletes? Flawed analysis from inaccurate data

Since 2012, Lundby and Robach1–3 have consistently stated that ‘altitude training does not convincingly increase exercise performance and should not be recommended to elite (endurance) athletes’ . 2 This research group suggests3 that altitude training and particularly ‘live high–train low (LHTL) may only increase total haemoglobin mass (Hbmass) [and possibly maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max)] in athletes with an initial low Hbmass value’ . This statement comes from the analysis of nine selected studies4–12 on the relationship between group mean pre-LHTL value of Hbmass and increase in Hbmass after LHTL.3 The inverse correlation (r=−0.86; P<0.01) between initial Hbmass value and percentage increase in Hbmass would suggest that athletes starting an intervention with high relative Hbmass levels have smaller chances to further increase their relative Hbmass following altitude training. The rationale behind was that those athletes had already maximised their Hbmass level by training at sea level.3 We have concerns that this statement does not seem to be supported by several other studies,13–21 done by well-respected research groups, using what are widely considered to be best-practice techniques and protocols. These studies with outcomes conflicting with works of Lundby and Robach1–3 include those with shorter time course13 14 or lower hypoxic exposures15 16 to moderate altitude (2500–3000 m), which showed Hbmass increases ranging between 2.1% and 3.7%. In fact, Lundby and Robach’s own work has shown a +5% Hbmass improvement after 17 days of altitude training in five male cross-country skiing Olympic medallists with already high initial value of 13.5 g/kg.1 However, the most problematic issue of this flawed analysis3 is that conclusions appear to rely on Hbmass measures that may be inaccurate. Indeed, three4 8 11 out of nine studies used for …
Local disorder in yttrium doped ceria (Ce1−xYxO2−x/2) probed by joint X-ray and Neutron Powder Diffraction

Yttrium doped ceria materials (Ce1−xYxO2−x/2) are widely studied for their application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells devices. An anomalous decrease in the isothermal ionic conductivity at increasing Y3+ concentration above a critical value has been observed and attributed to the formation of defect clusters / domains at the nanometric scale, the crystallographic structure of which is still under debate. In this context we present a combined Synchrotron Radiation and Neutron Powder Diffraction study. In particular, neutrons allow to determine accurately oxygen related parameters, the contribution of which in terms of X-ray scattering power is almost negligible when compared to that of cations. The effect of doping on the average structure is investigated using conventional Rietveld analysis, while the Pair Distribution Function (PDF) technique is used to explore structural distortions and the spatial extent of disorder as well. The local structure observed in the real space is not consistent with the mean crystallographic one and is better modeled considering a biphasic model.
Opioid responsiveness of cancer pain syndromes caused by neuropathic or nociceptive mechanisms

Article abstract –We performed a combined analysis of the results from four controlled single-dose relative-potency studies to assess the impact of inferred pain mechanism on the response to an opioid drug. A total of 168 patients received 474 administrations of either morphine or heroin, and we assessed the analgesic response during a 6-hour period with visual analog scales. We summarized this as a total pain relief (TOTPAE) score. Two experienced pain clinicians reviewed information about pain characteristics and designated each case according to the inferred pain mechanism (neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed) and the degree of confidence in the inferred mechanism (definite versus probable/possible). They grouped the cases as follows: nociceptive pain only (n = 205), neuropathic pain only (n = 49), and mixed (n = 220). We compared pain relief achieved by patients with different mechanisms, with TOTPAR adjusted for significant covariates (duration of prior opioid administration, doses of opioid administered in the previous 48 hours, pain intensity at the start of the study, BUN:creatinine ratio, and dose of administered opioid). The adjusted mean TOTPAR score of the group with any neuropathic pain was significantly lower than that of the group with nociceptive pain only (26.1 versus 20.4, p = 0.02). The score of the group with definite nociceptive pain alone (adjusted mean TOTPAR = 28.0) was significantly higher than scores of the groups with possible/probable nociceptive pain (TOTPAR = 19.9), mixed mechanisms (TOTPAR = 20.2), definite neuropathic pain alone (TOTPAR = 20.6), and possible/probable neuropathic pain alone (TOTPAR = 22.9). In pairwise comparisons, there were no significant differences in the adjusted mean TOTPAR scores among the latter four groups. Among the patients with neuropathic pain, the dose-response relationship was significant. These data support the postulate that opioid responsiveness is a continuum with extensive overlap in the responsiveness of pains mediated by neuropathic, nociceptive, and mixed pain mechanisms.
Adaptive cubature Kalman filter with directional uncertainties [Correspondence]

In this paper, an adaptive cubature Kalman filter (ACKF) is proposed to improve the performance of the conventional cubature Kalman filter. The ACKF uses a new cubature rule that combines a third-degree spherical rule with an adaptive higher degree radial rule along the directions of larger uncertainty. More accurate and robust results can be obtained with slightly more cubature points than the conventional third-degree cubature Kalman filter (CKF). Compared with other high-degree Gaussian filters, ACKF uses much fewer points but maintains very close performance. A target tracking problem is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed filter.
Accurate modeling of simultaneous switching noise in low voltage digital VLSI

The origin and the effect of the simultaneous switching noise (SSN) in CMOS output drivers are explained. A new simultaneous switching noise model which includes the velocity saturation effect is presented. SPICE level 3 simulations for 0.8 /spl mu/m are used to compare this new model with the other recently reported two SSN models at three different supply voltage levels. The new SSN model is derived and proved with SPICE simulations. The results of the simulations show that the new model is more accurate than the other models, especially in the case of low voltage, and large number of output buffers.
Genetic Relationship among Worldwide Strains of Xanthomonas Causing Canker in Citrus Species and Design of New Primers for Their Identification by PCR

ABSTRACT Partial sequence analysis of the ribosomal operon in Xanthomonas axonopodis allowed discrimination among strains causing the A, B, and C types of citrus bacterial canker (CBC) and quantification of the relationship of these organisms with other species and pathovars in the same genus. Sets of primers based on sequence differences in the internally transcribed spacer and on a sequence from the plasmid gene pthA involved in virulence were designed for specific identification of xanthomonads causing CBC diseases. The two sets were validated with a collection of Xanthomonas strains associated with citrus species. The primer set based on ribosomal sequences had a high level of specificity for X. axonopodis pv. citri, whereas the set based on the pthA gene was universal for all types of CBC organisms. Moreover, the relationships among worldwide Xanthomonas strains causing CBC were analyzed by amplification of repetitive sequences (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus and BOX elements). Under specific conditions, pathotypes of these Xanthomonas strains could be discerned, and subgroups of the pathotypes were identified. Subgroups of strains were associated with certain geographic areas of the world, and on this basis the origin of type A strains introduced into Florida could be inferred.
A Role for Drosophila ATX2 in Activation of PER Translation and Circadian Behavior

ATAXIN Clock Although core components of circadian clocks in flies and mammals are transcriptional circuits, recent evidence indicates posttranscriptional regulation of the clock occurs. Studies from Lim and Allada (p. 875) and Zhang et al. (p. 879) converge to show that the protein ATAXIN-2, associated with neurodegenerative diseases in humans, is a regulator of translation required for normal clock function in pacemaker neurons and for daily rhythms of behavior. ATAXIN is an RNA-binding protein and cooperates in the accumulation of the Per (Period) protein, a core transcriptional regulatory component of the clock. Fruit fly circadian clock function requires protein translation regulated by an RNA-binding protein. A negative transcriptional feedback loop generates circadian rhythms in Drosophila. PERIOD (PER) is a critical state-variable in this mechanism, and its abundance is tightly regulated. We found that the Drosophila homolog of ATAXIN-2 (ATX2)—an RNA-binding protein implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases—was required for circadian locomotor behavior. ATX2 was necessary for PER accumulation in circadian pacemaker neurons and thus determined period length of circadian behavior. ATX2 was required for the function of TWENTY-FOUR (TYF), a crucial activator of PER translation. ATX2 formed a complex with TYF and promoted its interaction with polyadenylate-binding protein (PABP). Our work uncovers a role for ATX2 in circadian timing and reveals that this protein functions as an activator of PER translation in circadian neurons.
Geographic variation in Mexican jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina): local differentiation, polyphyly or hybridization?

Studies of genetic variation within highly variable taxa can provide valuable insight into the factors influencing biological diversification. We examined six microsatellite loci, a nuclear intron and the mitochondrial control region to determine if the Mexican jay subspecies Aphelocoma ultramarina couchii and A. u. potosina have hybridized with western scrub‐jays (A. californica). We suspected hybridization because these Mexican Jay populations resemble scrub‐jays in several traits. We sampled six Mexican jay (N = 105) and four scrub‐jay (N = 78) populations. Suspected hybrid Mexican Jay populations did not share any mitochondrial types or intron alleles with scrub‐jays. All microsatellite alleles found in the suspected hybrid Mexican jay populations are also found in the control Mexican jay populations. Genetic distance‐based trees from microsatellites supported reciprocal monophyly of Mexican jays and scrub‐jays with bootstrap support > 80%. We randomized genotypes among populations to test scenarios consistent with hybridization. In some areas where Mexican jays and scrub‐jays occur in sympatry or geographical proximity, randomization tests yield results expected under hybridization (100% support for seven of nine scenarios). However, these populations were not the primary candidates for hybridization based on phenotype. Even if low‐level hybridization did occur, hybridization does not appear to be the main reason some Mexican jay populations resemble scrub‐jays more than others. The scrub‐jay‐like traits in these populations may be due to drift, adaptation or plasticity. Alternatively, ancient hybridization, followed by selection for scrub‐jay like traits in some Mexican jay populations, might have given rise to the observed variation.
Prevalence and Factors Associated With Decreased Bone Mineral Density in Young and Middle-Aged Male Schizophrenic Patients

Objective: The prevalence and factors of decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in young and middle-aged schizophrenic male subjects were examined in this study. Methods: The sample included male patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia, between 18 and 45 years old. In the large-sample, cross-sectional study, cluster sampling method was adopted. 200 male inpatients in total, between 18 and 45 years old, diagnosed with schizophrenia, were included and interviewed in Beijing. The clinical assessment instruments included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and a questionnaire with disease-related investigations and general information. The laboratory measurements concluded calcium, phosphorus, total cholesterol, prolactin (PRL), thyroid stimulating hormone, fT3, T3, fT4, T4, testosterone and fasting blood-glucose (FBG). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to test BMD. Results: The prevalence of osteopenia or osteoporosis was 33.5% (n=67). The prevalence of fracture in decreased BMD group was 17.9%12/67, significantly higher than that in the normal BMD group 8.3%11/133(p<0.05). Decreased BMD was associated with PANSS-negative scores, PANSS-total scores, body mass index (BMI), smoking and weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that BMI and PANSS-negative score had statistically significant difference between two groups. Conclusion: Prevalence of decreased bone mineral density was higher in young and middle-aged male subjects with schizophrenia in China. And the prevalence of fracture was more than twice in the decreased BMD group compared with the normal BMD group. PANSS-negative symptom was a risk factor, while BMI was a protective factor.