Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A different story on “Theory of Mind” deficit in adults with right hemisphere brain damage

Background: Difficulties in social cognition and interaction can characterise adults with unilateral right hemisphere brain damage (RHD). Some pertinent evidence involves their apparently poor reasoning from a “Theory of Mind” perspective, which requires a capacity to attribute thoughts, beliefs, and intentions in order to understand other people's behaviour. Theory of Mind is typically assessed with tasks that induce conflicting mental representations. Prior research with a commonly used text task reported that adults with RHD were less accurate in drawing causal inferences about mental states than at making non‐mental‐state causal inferences from control texts. However, the Theory of Mind and control texts differed in the number and nature of competing discourse entity representations. This stimulus discrepancy, together with the explicit measure of causal inferencing, likely put the adults with RHD at a disadvantage on the Theory of Mind texts. This project was supported in part by grant # DC01820 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders. The authors are indebted to Denise Balason, Meghan Capellini, Bethany Peters, Anita Lewis, Sara Byers, and Annie Palaika for their assistance. Aims: This study revisited the question of Theory of Mind deficit in adults with RHD. The aforementioned Theory of Mind texts were used but new control texts were written to address stimulus discrepancies, and causal inferencing was assessed relatively implicitly. Adults with RHD were hypothesised not to display a Theory of Mind deficit under these conditions. Methods & Procedures: The participants were 22 adults with unilateral RHD from cerebrovascular accident, and 38 adults without brain damage. Participants listened to spoken texts that targeted either mental‐state or non‐mental‐state causal inferences. Each text was followed by spoken True/False probe sentences, to gauge target inference comprehension. Both accuracy and RT data were recorded. Data were analysed with mixed, two‐way Analyses of Variance (Group by Text Type). Outcomes & Results: There was a main effect of Text Type in both accuracy and RT analyses, with a performance advantage for the Theory of Mind/mental‐state inference stimuli. The control group was faster at responding, and primed more for the target inferences, than the RHD group. The overall advantage for Theory of Mind texts was traceable to one highly conventional inference: someone tells a white lie to be polite. Particularly poor performance in mental‐state causal inferencing was not related to neglect or lesion site for the group with RHD. Conclusions: With appropriate stimulus controls and a relatively implicit measure of causal inferencing, this study found no “Theory of Mind” deficit for adults with RHD. The utility of the “Theory of Mind” construct is questioned. A better understanding of the social communication difficulties of adults with RHD will enhance clinical management in the future.
Diffusion tensor analysis of peritumoral edema using lambda chart analysis indicative of the heterogeneity of the microstructure within edema.

OBJECT Histopathological studies indicate that cerebral edema associated with tumors (peritumoral edema) does not represent a single pathophysiological or clinical entity. In this study the authors investigated peritumoral edema by performing lambda chart analysis (LCA), a noninvasive technique that can be used to make visible and analyze apparent water diffusivity in tissues in vivo, and assessed the utility of LCA in differentiating high-grade gliomas from nonglial tumors. METHODS The water diffusivity characteristics of peritumoral edema associated with four tumor groups-12 high-grade gliomas, five low-grade gliomas, 11 metastatic tumors, and 15 meningiomas-were assessed in 43 patients by performing magnetic resonance imaging with the aid of a 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging system. In all tumor groups, peritumoral edema exhibited greater trace values and reduced anisotropy compared with normal white matter. Edema associated with high-grade gliomas had significantly higher trace values than edema associated with the other three tumor groups, although the anisotropic angles of those groups were comparable. CONCLUSIONS Lambda chart analysis identified two distinct types of peritumoral edema: edema associated with high-grade gliomas and edema associated with low-grade gliomas or nonglial tumors. The apparent water diffusivity was significantly greater in high-grade gliomas, whereas the anisotropy in these lesions was comparable to that of edema in other tumors. These findings indicated that water movement in areas of edema, predominantly in the extracellular spaces, was less restricted in high-grade gliomas, a phenomenon that likely reflected the destruction of the extracellular matrix ultrastructure by malignant cell infiltration and consequently greater water diffusion. Although preliminary, this study indicates that LCA could be used as a clinical tool for differentiating high-grade gliomas and for evaluating the extent of cellular infiltration.
Assessment of Inducible Fracture Micromotion in Distal Radial Fractures Using Radiostereometry

Objectives: This study examined the potential for measuring dynamic inducible micromotion (DIMM) between fragments in healing distal radial fractures using radiostereometry (RSA). Design: Prospective imaging study. Setting: University teaching hospital. Patients: Nine patients with low-impact distal radial fractures. Intervention: Volar locked plating of the fracture with insertion of tantalum beads into bone fragments. RSA examinations at 1 day and then 2, 6, 26, and 52 weeks. Motion at the fracture site was induced by maximal voluntary hand grip using a Jamar dynamometer. Radiographs were analyzed using locally developed and UMRSA software. Main Outcome Measurements: DIMM and migration were calculated as translations and rotations of the main distal segment. Clinical precision was assessed under repeatability conditions. Results: Precision (as 95% error limit) ranged from 0.06 to 0.13 mm and 0.5 to 0.8 degrees for migration, and from 0.10 to 0.14 mm and 0.6 to 1.0 degrees for DIMM. DIMM was characterized by axial and dorsal compression with dorsiflexion. The median DIMM of patients reached a maximum at 2 weeks: mainly as 0.3 mm axial compression, 0.3 mm dorsal compression, and 2.5 degrees dorsiflexion. DIMM ceased by 26 weeks, indicating union of all fractures. Fracture collapse continued until the 26-week measurement, ranging between 0.2 and 2.8 mm axially. Instability of some intraosseous markers was observed. Conclusions: The precision of this RSA method was sufficient to observe inducible movements occurring during fracture healing. This has the potential for quantifying rates of fracture union and improving understanding of the available treatments.
Occupational asthma caused by African maple (Obeche) and Ramin: evidence of cross reactivity between these two woods

Four patients with occupational asthma were studied. All patients were exposed to African maple dust and two of them were also exposed to Ramin dust. Skin tests and bronchial provocation tests with African maple extracts revealed an immediate response in all patients, and the same tests performed with Ramin extracts again revealed an immediate reaction in either exposed or non‐exposed patients to Ramin wood dust. Specific IgE antibodies against African maple extracts were demonstrated in all patients as measured by a reverse enzyme immunoassay. Cross reactivity between both woods was demonstrated by a reverse enzyme immunoassay inhibition study. Unexposed persons and exposed asymptomatic workers did not exhibit reactivity to both woods in any of the tests listed above. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article in which occupational asthma due to Ramin is defined, and cross sensitivity between two different woods is demonstrated.
Wire packing - a strong formulation of crosstalk-aware chip-leveltrack/layer assignment with an efficient integer programming solution

By focusing on chip-wide slices of the global routing grid, making a few mild geometric assumptions about layer use, and suitably abstracting pin details, we derive an efficient integer linear programming formulation for track/layer assignment. The key technical insight is to model all constraints both geometric and crosstalk - as cliques in an appropriate conflict graph; these cliques can be extracted quickly from the interval structure of wires in a slice. We develop a "strong" linear relaxation of this problem that almost always yields the integral optimum; this solution gives us directly the maximum number of wires that can be packed legally without crosstalk risk. Experiments on synthetic netlists that match statistics of wire layouts from industrial 0.25-/spl mu/m designs demonstrate that we can pack 100-1000 wires optimally or, at worst, a very few overflows in seconds.
Optimal Experimental Designs via Particle Swarm Optimization Methods

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is relatively new, simple yet powerful and widely used in applied fields. However PSO does not seem to have made an impact in mainstream statistical applications hitherto. We propose variants of the PSO method to find optimal experimental designs for both linear and nonlinear models in a novel way. We show that the PSO method can simply generate many types of optimal designs very quickly, including optimal designs under a non-differentiable criterion such as minimax optimal designs where effective algorithms to generate such designs have remained elusive to date.
Effects of exercise intensity and duration on norepinephrine spillover and clearance in humans.

During dynamic exercise, blood flow to exercising muscle is closely matched to metabolic demands. This is made possible by metabolic vasodilation, vasoconstriction in inactive vascular beds, and a rise in cardiac output. The sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in regulating this exercise response. In this study, we used steady-state infusions of tritiated norepinephrine ([3H]NE) to determine the magnitude and time course of the arterial NE spillover response to sustained upright bicycle exercise at low (n = 11) and moderate-to-high (n = 14) exercise intensity (25 and 65% of maximum work load, respectively) in normal young subjects. In addition, we sought to examine whether exercise was associated with a change in NE clearance. During 30 min of low-level exercise, arterial NE spillover increased from 1.45 +/- 0.13 to 3.14 +/- 0.30 nmol.min-1 x m-2 (P < 0.01) and appeared to plateau at 20-30 min of exercise; NE clearance remained unchanged. During 20 min of moderate-to-high-intensity exercise, we found a substantial and progressive rise of arterial NE spillover from 2.15 +/- 0.27 to 13.52 +/- 1.62 nmol.min-1 x m-2 (P < 0.01). NE clearance decreased from 0.91 +/- 0.05 to 0.80 +/- 0.05 l.min-1 x m-2 (P < 0.05). These data suggest that, during dynamic exercise, sympathetic nervous system activity is related to exercise intensity, and there appears to be an interaction between the effects of exercise intensity and duration on NE spillover. In addition, at moderate-to-high exercise intensity, a small decrease of NE clearance contributes to the rise in plasma NE.
Efficacy of Intravenous Lidocaine in Preventing Laryngospasm in Children Undergoing Tonsillectomy

Background: Laryngospasm is a well-known problem typically occurring immediately following tracheal extubation. Lidocaine is known to inhibit airway reflexes. Pediatric laryngospasm is an anesthetic emergency. It is a relatively common phenomenon that occurs with varying frequency dependent on multiple factors. Treating laryngospasm by using lidocaine is controversial. Aim: To compare the efficacy of intravenous lidocaine with placebo for prevention of laryngospasm in children undergoing tonsillectomy. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trail conducted in the department of Anesthesia, Mayo Hospital Lahore. Total 150 patients were included in the study and randomly divided into 2 groups. Each group contained 75 patients each. In Group-P patients were given placebo and in Group-L patients were given IV Lidocaine. Informed consent was taken from parents of each patient in both treatment groups. Relevant information was recorded on a well-defined Performa. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS 11.5. Results: Average age of all 150 patients was 8.33±2.33 years. Average age of patients in Group-P and in Group-L was 8.09±2.37 and 8.56±2.32 years respectively. In placebo group laryngospasm was present in 20% and in Lidocaine group 8% of the patients had laryngospasm. Efficacy of Lidocaine in controlling laryngospasm was 92% where as efficacy of placebo group was 80%. Lidocaine shows greater efficacy for controlling laryngospasm. Conclusion: On the basis of obtained results it is concluded that Lidocaine effectively controls laryngospasm in children undergoing Tonsillectomy.
Decreased pregnancy rate is linked to abnormal uterine peristalsis caused by intramural fibroids.

BACKGROUND The relationship between fibroids and infertility remains an unsolved question, and management of intramural fibroids is controversial. During the implantation phase, uterine peristalsis is dramatically reduced, which is thought to facilitate embryo implantation. Our aims were to evaluate (i) the occurrence and frequency of uterine peristalsis in infertile women with intramural fibroids and (ii) whether the presence of uterine peristalsis decreases the pregnancy rate. METHODS Ninety-five infertile patients with uterine fibroids were examined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) presence of intramural fibroids, excluding submucosal type; (ii) no other significant infertility factors (excluding endometriosis); and (iii) regular menstrual cycles, and MRI performed at the time of implantation (luteal phase day 5-9). The frequency of junctional zone movement was evaluated using cine-mode-display MRI. After MRI, patients underwent infertility treatment for up to 4 months, and the pregnancy rate was evaluated prospectively. RESULTS Fifty-one patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and 29 (57%) and 22 (43%) patients were assigned to the low (0 or 1 time/3 min) or high frequency (≥ 2 times/3 min) uterine peristalsis group, respectively. Endometriosis incidence was the same in both groups. Ten out of the 29 patients (34%) in the low-frequency group achieved pregnancy, compared with none of the 22 patients (0%) in the high-frequency group (P< 0.005). Comparing pregnant and non-pregnant cases, 4 of 10 patients (40%) and 9 of 41 patients (22%), respectively, had endometriosis (not significant). CONCLUSIONS A higher frequency of uterine peristalsis during the mid-luteal phase might be one of the causes of infertility associated with intramural-type fibroids.
Clusterin, an Abundant Serum Factor, Is a Possible Negative Regulator of MT6-MMP/MMP-25 Produced by Neutrophils*

MT6-MMP/MMP-25 is the latest member of the membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase (MT-MMP) subgroup in the MMP family and is expressed in neutrophils and some brain tumors. The proteolytic activity of MT6-MMP has been studied using recombinant catalytic fragments and shown to degrade several components of the extracellular matrix. However, the activity is possibly modulated further by the C-terminal hemopexin-like domain, because some MMPs are known to interact with other proteins through this domain. To explore the possible function of this domain, we purified a recombinant MT6-MMP with the hemopexin-like domain as a soluble form using a Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line as a producer. Mature and soluble MT6-MMP processed at the furin motif was purified as a 45-kDa protein together with a 46-kDa protein having a single cleavage in the hemopexin-like domain. Interestingly, 73- and 70-kDa proteins were co-purified with the soluble MT6-MMP by forming stable complexes. They were identified as clusterin, a major component of serum, by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. MT1-MMP that also has a hemopexin-like domain did not form a complex with clusterin. MT6-MMP forming a complex with clusterin was detected in human neutrophils as well. The enzyme activity of the soluble MT6-MMP was inactive in the clusterin complex. Purified clusterin was inhibitory against the activity of soluble MT6-MMP. On the other hand, it had no effect on the activities of MMP-2 and soluble MT1-MMP. Because clusterin is an abundant protein in the body fluid in tissues, it may act as a negative regulator of MT6-MMP in vivo.
Numerical Simulation of a Small Bubble Impinging Onto an Inclined Wall

This paper presents a numerical modeling of the collision between a small bubble -of a few hundred microns, initially moving at terminal velocity, and an inclined wall, with relevance to drag reduction schemes. The theoretical model uses the lubrication theory to describe the film drainage as the bubble approaches the wall, and compute the force exerted by the wall as the integral of the excess pressure due to the bubble deformation. The model is solved using finite differences. The trajectory of the bubble is then determined using equations of classical mechanics. This study is an extension of previous work by Moraga, Cancelos and Lahey, [Multiphase Science and Technology, 18,(2),2006] where the simulation and comparison with experiments was carried out for a horizontal wall. In the present study where the wall is inclined, the bubble trajectory is no longer onedimensional and axisymmetry around the vertical axis is lost, allowing for more complex behavior. The influence of various parameters (Reynolds number, Weber number) is examined. Numerical results are compared with the experimental data from Tsao and Koch [Physics Fluids 9, 44, 1997]Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Genome-wide Approaches Reveal Functional Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-inducible Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells (NFAT) c1 Binding to Angiogenesis-related Genes in the Endothelium*

Background: VEGF-calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling regulates endothelial cell homeostasis. Results: Novel NFAT targets were identified by genome-wide screening and epigenome analysis. Conclusion: Inhibition of the NFAT targets led to blockade of VEGF-mediated functional angiogenesis. Significance: VEGF-NFAT genome-wide occupancy may be useful for the development of target therapies for VEGF-mediated vascular diseases. VEGF is a key regulator of endothelial cell migration, proliferation, and inflammation, which leads to activation of several signaling cascades, including the calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway. NFAT is not only important for immune responses but also for cardiovascular development and the pathogenesis of Down syndrome. By using Down syndrome model mice and clinical patient samples, we showed recently that the VEGF-calcineurin-NFAT signaling axis regulates tumor angiogenesis and tumor metastasis. However, the connection between genome-wide views of NFAT-mediated gene regulation and downstream gene function in the endothelium has not been studied extensively. Here we performed comprehensive mapping of genome-wide NFATc1 binding in VEGF-stimulated primary cultured endothelial cells and elucidated the functional consequences of VEGF-NFATc1-mediated phenotypic changes. A comparison of the NFATc1 ChIP sequence profile and epigenetic histone marks revealed that predominant NFATc1-occupied peaks overlapped with promoter-associated histone marks. Moreover, we identified two novel NFATc1 regulated genes, CXCR7 and RND1. CXCR7 knockdown abrogated SDF-1- and VEGF-mediated cell migration and tube formation. siRNA treatment of RND1 impaired vascular barrier function, caused RhoA hyperactivation, and further stimulated VEGF-mediated vascular outgrowth from aortic rings. Taken together, these findings suggest that dynamic NFATc1 binding to target genes is critical for VEGF-mediated endothelial cell activation. CXCR7 and RND1 are NFATc1 target genes with multiple functions, including regulation of cell migration, tube formation, and barrier formation in endothelial cells.
Flock workers' exposures and respiratory symptoms in five plants.

BACKGROUND Sentinel cases of lymphocytic bronchiolitis in flock production and coating operations triggered a five-plant study of airborne respirable dust and fiber exposures and health symptoms. METHODS Job histories from 219 current workers were linked to a job-exposure matrix derived from personal exposure measurements of respirable dust and fibers. Univariate group comparisons and multivariate modeling tested for relations between indices of cumulative and current exposure, and respiratory and systemic symptom outcomes. RESULTS Respiratory symptoms and repeated flu-like illnesses were associated with use of compressed air to clear equipment (blow-downs) and with respirable dust exposure (current and cumulative) after controlling for smoking. Blow-downs had an equal or greater effect than smoking status on most symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Eliminating compressed air cleaning, engineering control of dust exposure, and respirators are needed to limit exposures to particulates. Longitudinal follow up may provide guidance for a dust or fiber level without adverse respiratory health effects.
Regulation of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator by MicroRNA-145, -223, and -494 Is Altered in ΔF508 Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelium

Expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is altered in individuals with the ΔF508 CFTR mutation. We previously reported differential expression of microRNA (miRNA) in CF airway epithelium; however, the role of miRNA in regulation of CFTR expression here remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the role of upregulated miRNAs in CFTR regulation in vivo in bronchial brushings from individuals homozygous or heterozygous for ΔF508 CFTR, validated our observations in vitro, and assessed the impact of defective chloride ion conductance, genotype, and colonization status on miRNA expression. miRNA target prediction was performed in silico, and expression of miRNA and target genes were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and/or Western blotting. Overexpression and inhibition studies were performed with pre-miRs or antimiRs, respectively, and a luciferase reporter gene was used to elucidate direct miRNA–target interactions. miR-145, miR-223, and miR-494 were upregulated in CF versus non-CF bronchial brushings and cell lines; in ΔF508 CFTR homozygotes versus heterozygotes; in subjects positive for P. aeruginosa; and in cells treated with a CFTR inhibitor or IL-1β. Reciprocal downregulation or upregulation of CFTR gene and/or protein expression was observed after miRNA manipulation and direct miRNA–target relationships demonstrated via a reporter system containing a wild type or mutated full-length CFTR 3′ untranslated region. Increased expression of miR-145, miR-223, and miR-494 in vivo in bronchial epithelium of individuals carrying the ΔF508 CFTR mutation correlates with decreased CFTR expression. Defective CFTR function, Pseudomonas colonization, and inflammation may affect miRNA expression and contribute to the regulation of ΔF508 CFTR.