Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endothelin in Migraine Patients

Endothelins (ETs) are the most potent vasoconstrictors known, and may be the mediators of the vasoconstrictive phase in migraine attacks. We studied 31 previously selected migraine patients with (9) and without (22) aura ictally and interictally to determine their plasma ET-1 values. The mean interictal and ictal values were 5.3 pg/ml (SD 1.8) and 6.4 pg/ml (SD 3.9), respectively. The ictal values were markedly elevated at the beginning of the migraine attack (<2 h) and declined to interictal or even lower level later (4 to 6 h) in the course of an attack. The local vasoconstriction at the beginning of a migraine attack might be ET-mediated secondarily to serotonin activation.
Development of phonological processing skills in children with specific language impairment with and without literacy delay: a 3-year longitudinal study.

PURPOSE To compare the development of phonological skills in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay and to examine whether kindergarten phonological skills could discriminate these 2 groups. METHOD In a longitudinal study, 8 children with SLI and literacy delay, 10 children with SLI and normal literacy, and 14 typically developing children were studied from the last year of kindergarten to the start of Grade 3. A wide range of phonological tasks (phonological awareness [PA], verbal short-term memory [vSTM], and rapid automatized naming [RAN]) were administered yearly. RESULTS The SLI group with literacy delay scored significantly lower than the typically developing children on almost all phonological tasks in all grades, whereas the SLI group with normal literacy scored significantly lower only on demanding PA and vSTM tasks. A combination of kindergarten PA and RAN skills could correctly classify 75% of the children with SLI. By including vSTM, the discriminatory value did not increase. CONCLUSIONS Children with SLI and normal literacy at age 8;1 [years;months] continued to have difficulties with demanding PA and vSTM tasks. Children with SLI and poor PA and RAN in kindergarten were at high risk of developing literacy problems in a transparent orthography.
Systematic Occlusion of Shunts: Control of Early Postoperative IOP and Hypotony-related Complications Following Glaucoma Shunt Surgery

Objective:Evaluation of a protocol of total intraluminal occlusion of Baerveldt shunts and its effects on early postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) control and hypotony-related complications. Design:This was a noncomparative, prospective, and interventional study. Participants:Glaucoma patients were recruited to undergo Baerveldt shunt surgery. A total of 116 eyes of 112 patients were enrolled. Intervention:During shunt implantation, aqueous outflow was restricted using an intraluminal occluding stent inserted through the entire tube length, with and without external ligation, to halt aqueous flow. Postoperatively, eyes underwent ligature laser suture lysis and partial or complete stent removals, at predetermined time intervals. Main Outcome Measure:Loss of postoperative IOP control was categorized as transient or persistent hypotony (IOP⩽5 mm Hg) or hypertony (IOP>21 mm Hg). Patients were followed up for 1 year. Results:Preoperatively median IOP was 23 mm Hg (mean 26 mm Hg, SD 12 mm Hg), median number of glaucoma medications was 3.0 (mean 3.0, SD 1.2). During year 1, laser suture lysis was performed in 30 eyes (26%) and stent removal in 93 eyes (80%) (23 partial; 70 complete). There was 1 case of transient hypotony, no cases of persistent hypotony, 10 of transient hypertony, and 3 of persistent hypertony. Nine eyes had IOP⩽5 mm Hg at ≥1 time points and hypotony-related complications occurred in 8 eyes (7%). At 1 year, median IOP was 12 mm Hg (mean 13 mm Hg, SD 4 mm Hg) with a median of 1.0 glaucoma medications (mean 1.1, SD 1.3). The cumulative probability of failure during the first 12 months follow-up was 6% (n=7). Overall postoperative complications occurred in 11 eyes (9%). Conclusions:The surgical and postoperative protocol resulted in controlled, step-wise reductions of IOP with low rates of hypotony and related complications.
[Psychometric properties of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2) in a Spanish sample of partner-violent men].

Intimate partner violence is a complex problem that requires the update of the available assessment tools. The aim of the study is to test the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2) in partner-violent men. Its structure and other psychometric properties are analyzed in 173 convicted offenders from Brians-2 and Alhaurín de la Torre penitentiaries. Discriminant validity is also assessed by comparing offenders with 108 males from the general population. The internal consistency for the 39 items of perpetration is . 88 (varying from .59 to .83 among the subscales). The validity data indicate that the scale is useful to discriminate between batterers and general population in physical and psychological violence, although there is an overlap between different types of violence, and it is difficult to compare self-reports with external criteria such court decisions. The results of confirmatory factorial analysis do not support the original five-factor structure. Using exploratory factorial analysis, four components with good internal consistency were identified: Physical (.86), Sexual (.75), and Psychological Violence (.82), and Negotiation (.83). Recommendations for use and a reference guide of rating scores in samples of offenders are suggested.
Collaboration between Allergists and Pharmacists Increases β-Lactam Antibiotic Prescriptions in Patients with a History of Penicillin Allergy

Background: Over 90% of patients with a history of penicillin allergy have negative penicillin skin tests. Pharmacists are trained to identify and resolve medication-related problems. We hypothesized that collaboration between allergists and pharmacists to identify and evaluate patients with a history of penicillin allergy would increase β-lactam antibiotic prescription. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in which patients with a history of penicillin allergy were identified and educated at the pharmacy about penicillin allergy and offered an allergist consultation with a penicillin skin test. All patients were followed up to determine which antibiotics were subsequently prescribed. Results: A total of 503 patients were enrolled, and 71 (14%) were evaluated by an allergist. Sixty-seven of these 71 patients (94%) had a negative penicillin skin test. Twenty-nine patients evaluated by an allergist and 205 patients not evaluated were prescribed antibiotics. Patients prescribed antibiotics and evaluated by an allergist were compared to those not evaluated by an allergist, with the following results: 19 of 29 patients (66%) were prescribed a β-lactam antibiotic compared to 54 of 205 (26%; p < 0.0001); 8 of 29 patients (28%) were prescribed penicillin compared to 7 of 205 (3%; p < 0.0001); 15 of 29 patients (52%) were prescribed a cephalosporin compared to 48 of 205 (23%; p < 0.01), and 10 of 29 patients (34%) were prescribed a non-β-lactam antibiotic compared with 177 of 205 (86%; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: A collaborative effort between allergists and pharmacists can increase β-lactam antibiotic prescriptions and decrease non-β-lactam prescriptions in patients with a history of penicillin allergy.
Periods and Resistances

It is virtually impossible to divide periods according to dates for, as [ Jurij] Lotman points out, human culture is a dynamic system. Attempts to locate stages of cultural development within strict temporal boundaries contradict that dynamism. A splendid example of the kind of difficulties that arise from the ‘periodization approach’ emerge [sic] when we consider the problem of defining the temporal limits of the Renaissance.1
Gastroduodenal mucosal vitamin-C levels in Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND Vitamin C is an important endogenous antioxidant, and epidemiologic evidence suggests that it may protect against the development of gastric cancer. We therefore determined mucosal vitamin-C levels in the stomach and duodenum of subjects with and without Helicobacter pylori infection. METHODS The patients were 30 subjects undergoing routine gastroscopy for investigation of dyspepsia. High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was used to determine mucosal ascorbic acid and total vitamin-C levels. RESULTS In H. pylori-negative subjects with normal gastroduodenal histology the antrum contained significantly higher levels of ascorbic acid and total vitamin C than the corpus or duodenum (P < 0.05). No significant changes were seen in gastric mucosal ascorbic acid or total vitamin-C levels in the presence of H. pylori infection and related inflammation. The presence of gastric atrophy did not affect mucosal ascorbic acid or total vitamin C levels. Duodenal ascorbic acid and total vitamin-C levels did not change significantly in the presence of gastric H. pylori or duodenal inflammation. CONCLUSIONS Although high levels of vitamin C are present in the gastroduodenal mucosa, these are not altered in the presence of H. pylori infection and inflammation. These observations suggest that the mucosal antioxidant potential of vitamin C is not impaired by H. pylori infection.
Biological behavior of preneoplastic conditions of the endometrium: A retrospective 16-year study in south India

Background: The biological behavior of endometrial carcinoma differs in epidemiology, presentation, and prognosis, suggesting that there are two fundamentally different pathogenic types of disease: type I (estrogen related, endometrioid type) and type II (non-estrogen related, non-endometrioid type). Untreated hyperplasia can develop into an endometrioid type of adenocarcinoma, hence, it is important to recognize the former type. In contrast to cervical cancers, there are limited studies with respect to the biology of hyperplastic lesions documented from India. This was a 16-year retrospective study, carried out to determine the nature and outcome of proliferative lesions of the endometrium in a referral center from south India. Materials and Methods: A histopathological diagnosis of the endometrial hyperplasia, polyp, and carcinoma, on endometrial biopsy and hysterectomy specimens, over a 16 year period (1983 to 1999), were recorded in a computer and the case slides were reviewed. Using the computer software Foxpro, the patients who had come more than once for a subsequent or previous biopsy were identified. An attempt was made to look for progression, regression or a static nature of the lesion in the follow-up cases. Results: A total of 1778 cases were studied, and only 74 patients with endometrial hyperplasia and five cases of benign endometrial polyp had follow-up endometrial histopathology. Hyperplasia cases included 59 cases of simple hyperplasia, 10 cases of complex hyperplasia without atypia, and five cases with atypia. The predominant age for patients with all types of hyperplasias was 41 – 50 years. Progression to a higher grade was seen in 8.10%, regression to a lower grade was seen in 9.45%, lesions reverted to a normal pattern in 10.81% cases, and lesions persisted in 70.27% of the cases. A mixed pattern was seen in 54 cases, with predominant coexistent lesion being simple and complex hyperplasia without atypia. Conclusion: The fate of the hyperplastic lesion of the endometrium showed a varied pattern. Follow-up cases predominantly showed persistence of the lesion, possibly resulting from a fluctuating but higher level of estrogenic stimulus. Hence, it was not only the high levels of estrogen that influenced the biology, but its sustenance for a prolonged period.
Perfil estatístico dos atletas do NBB 2009/2010

O objetivo deste estudo e tracar o perfil estatistico dos jogadores participantes do Novo Basquete Brasil, na temporada 2009/2010. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da estatistica disponivel no site oficial da Liga Nacional de Basquetebol (LNB). Foram analisados os indicadores de jogo de 34 atletas das quatro equipes semifinalistas. A analise descritiva dos dados foi realizada por meio da media e do desvio padrao. Os resultados encontrados evidenciaram que, nas acoes ofensivas, os armadores destacaram-se com o maior numero de tentativas de arremesso e de pontos convertidos, enquanto os pivos sobressairam-se no aproveitamento. As acoes defensivas revelaram participacao ativa dos pivos nos rebotes defensivos e tocos, enquanto os armadores foram os jogadores que mais recuperaram bola. Palavras-chave: estatistica; basquetebol; posicoes especificas.
Information Transmission and Ownership Consolidation in Aid Programs

We investigate the degree of leeway donors of foreign aid should grant to recipient governments when their preferences over how to implement the aid are different, and both the donor and recipient possess some private information about the most effective policies. Intuitively, our model shows that donors should stay in control of how their aid is spent when their own private information is more important than the private information of the recipient. Less obviously, an increase in the difference of preferences between donors and recipients can increase rather than decrease the leeway that donors should grant the recipients, as the recipients' information gains in importance relative to those of the donors, and recipients become less likely to communicate truthfully. We test the model using dyadic data for 28 bilateral aid donors and 112 recipients, over the 1995-2010 period. Our proxy for "centralized" aid is project aid, while budget aid leaves more leeway to the recipient and thus proxies for "decentralized" aid. In line with the model, misaligned interests and informational asymmetries indeed influence the shares of aid given as budget and project aid.
The occurrence and activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria in the bottom sediments of the Gulf of Gdańsk

The paper presents the results of investigations concerning the number, distribution and physiological activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) inhabiting the bottom sediments of the Gulf of Gdansk. The numbers of this group of bacteria range between 0.76× 103 and 1.27× 104 cells per g wet sediment. The bacterial sulphate reduction rate in bottom sediments of this area of the Baltic Sea varies from 1.89 to 31.6 nM SO2− 4 g −1 24 h−1. The numbers of SRB and their physiological activity were subject to considerable seasonal fluctuations, maximum values being noted in summer (June) and minima in spring (April). A direct relationship has been found between the number of SRB and hydrogen sulphide concentrations; there is, however, no such relationship with reference to sulphate concentrations. The numbers and distributions of SRB demonstrated considerable variation in a depth profile of bottom sediments. SRB inhabiting the bottom sediments of the Gulf of Gdansk were able to use three different organic substrates (lactate, acetate, propionate) as electron donors and as carbon and energy sources. 106 Z. J. Mudryk, B. Podgorska, A. Ameryk, J. Bolalek
Periapical dental infection with nasolacrimal involvement in a horse

ventral nasal concha it exits at the distal punctum. The duct drains tear secretions from the eye, and obstruction due to ocular inflammatory debris is not infrequent. Such acquired blockages typically present as epiphora and are treated by retrograde lavage of the duct and the administration of topical ocular medication. Dacryocystitis as a primary condition is rarely encountered and its aetiology is unknown (Dziezyc 1999); cases reportedly demonstrate chronic conjunctivitis and purulent discharge from the distal punctum. Following the second contrast radiographic study it became clear that the recurrent conjunctivitis and nasolacrimal duct discharge in the gelding were secondary to periapical dental abscessation. While the abnormalities of the clinical crown of tooth 206 were minimal (moderate infundibular caries of a degree often seen in horses without any evidence of dental infection), the marked radiographic signs indicated a long-standing infection. Periapical infections of the rostral two or three maxillary cheek teeth normally result in external facial swelling over the affected tooth (Dixon and others 2000), although occasionally drainage into the nasal passage may occur. Drainage via the nasolacrimal duct is highly unusual. Nasolacrimal duct involvement in cases of dental infection is well recognised but is usually a result of an obstruction of the proximal part of the duct secondary to maxillary sinus empyema, arising from infection of a caudal cheek tooth (Henninger and others 2003). Pressure on the duct more rostrally by periapical abscessation has also reportedly resulted in epiphora, demonstrating the close proximity of the duct to the dental apices (Dixon and others 2000). The present case is unusual because of the apparently chronic drainage of a periapical abscess solely into the nasolacrimal duct, with secondary dacryocystitis and conjunctivitis. Duct obstruction secondary to dental disease is not uncommon, but discharge and conjunctivitis due to abscess communication is noteworthy. Given the clinical findings, it can be assumed that the nasolacrimal duct had become incorporated into the area of infection and was a natural outlet for Periapical dental infection with nasolacrimal involvement in a horse
Age at menopause of HIV-infected women: A review

The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy has promoted a reduction in mortality due to HIV. Thus more women are living longer after receiving a diagnosis of HIV infection. With an increase in survival, topics related to the menopausal transition in HIV-infected women have emerged, such as age at menopause, bone mineral density and menopause-related symptoms. To this end, several studies have investigated age at menopause (AM) in HIV-infected women. The present paper reviews these studies and discusses the possible clinical implications of determining AM for HIV-positive women.
Eficacia de un Programa de Educación Emocional en Educación Primaria

El objetivo de este articulo es demostrar los efectos positivos de la implementacion de un programa para desarrollar la competencia emocional en alumnos de primer curso de educacion primaria. Para ello se ha tomado como poblacion a alumnos de colegios publicos de la ciudad de Badajoz durante el curso 2012-2013, seleccionando una muestra de 78 alumnos de entre 5 y 7 anos, divididos en grupo experimental y grupo control. El procedimiento metodologico seguido se centra en un enfoque cualitativo con dos tecnicas de recogida de datos: test sociometrico de amistad y una Escala de Inteligencia Emocional. Se ha disenado e implementado un programa de inteligencia emocional con los alumnos del grupo experimental, midiendo antes y despues de la intervencion el nivel de competencia emocional y las relaciones sociales del grupo-clase. Del mismo modo, se han tomado mediciones de la competencia emocional y grado de relaciones sociales de los alumnos del grupo control, que no participo de la intervencion. Los resultados demuestran que el programa fue eficiente para incrementar la inteligencia emocional de los alumnos que componen el grupo experimental, mejorando con esta el grado de amistad y las relaciones sociales del grupo-clase.
A Latent Space Understandable Generative Adversarial Network: SelfExGAN

This paper describes a latent space understandable network: Self- excited Generative Adversarial Network (Self- ExGAN), a novel self- excited structure based on adversarial learning. Compared with the conventional generative adversarial networks, SelfExGAN consists of three components, which are en- coder (E), generator (G), and discriminator (D). Different from other papers which directly apply reconstruction loss between encoder and generator, SelfExGAN introduces Nash equilibrium between these three parts in order to discover the correspondence between latent inputs and training data spontaneously. The most attractive point of SelfExGAN is that it can use the learned correspondence to guide G to generate homomorphic samples given different latent inputs in an unsupervised learning manner. We demonstrate the learning ability of SelfExGAN on MNIST, celebA, and SVHN datasets. Our code is available on https://github.com/LiamLYJ/SelfexGAN.
A quantitative study of Wi-Fi interference on PRP-ZigBee

This paper investigates the use of the Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) in the context of ZigBee nodes communicating in an industrial environment subjected to interference from another wireless system, namely Wi-Fi. A hardware experiment is conducted and it shows that PRP generally improves studied system performance criteria (latency, jitter, maximum end-to-end delay and percentage packets received). Under heavy interference, with severe packet drops on the channel under interference, PRP demonstrates increased reliability in terms of percentage of packets received. Interference was studied in a controlled environment and quantified in terms of an FTP file transfer under several Wi-Fi data rates. The experimental hardware results were also validated via OPNET simulations.
Robust Ki67 detection in human blood by flow cytometry for clinical studies.

AIM Ki67 is a prognostic and/or predictive biomarker in patients with malignancies. Flow cytometry is a powerful technology for single-cell multiparameter analysis. RESULTS We developed and validated a multicolor quantitative flow cytometry assay for detection of intracellular Ki67 expression in various immune cell subsets from human blood. The assay was optimized and showed excellent precisions. Assessment of the sample stability indicated that percentage changes from the fresh sample for the reportable results of interest were within 20%, up to 72 h after blood collection in the Cyto-Chex® BCT tube. CONCLUSION The validated assay is sufficiently robust to analyze clinical samples. Easy access to peripheral blood enables continuous monitoring of Ki67 expression in blood as a biomarker, for example, for immunotherapy studies.
Articulatory dynamics and coordination in classifying cognitive change with preclinical mTBI

1 Speech analysis has shown potential for identifying neurological impairment. With brain trauma, changes in brain structure or connectivity may result in changes in source, prosodic, or articulatory aspects of voice. In this work, we examine the articulatory components of speech reflected in formant tracks, and how changes in track dynamics and coordination map to cognitive decline. We address a population of athletes regularly receiving impacts to the head and showing signs of preclinical mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), a state indicated by impaired cognitive performance occurring prior to concussion. We hypothesize that this preclinical damage results in 1) changes in average vocal tract dynamics measured by formant frequencies, their velocities, and acceleration, and 2) changes in articulatory coordination measured by a novel formant-frequency cross-correlation characterization. These features allow machine learning algorithms to detect preclinical mTBI identified by a battery of cognitive tests. A comparison is performed of the effectiveness of vocal tract dynamics features versus articulatory coordination features. This evaluation is done using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves along with confidence bounds. The articulatory dynamics features achieve area under the ROC curve (AUC) values between 0.72 and 0.98, whereas the articulatory coordination features achieve AUC values between 0.94 and 0.97.