Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An fMRI Study of Semantic Priming: Modulation of Brain Activity by Varying Semantic Distances

ObjectiveOur purpose was to study the effect of semantic priming at varying semantic distances on brain activation during a lexical decision experiment, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). BackgroundNeuroimaging studies have demonstrated decreased brain activation for primed versus unprimed stimuli in language areas due to semantic priming, suggesting facilitated semantic retrieval. However, the effect of varying semantic distances on brain activation has not been studied. Therefore we examined direct and indirect priming effects on cerebral activation to provide information regarding spread of activation in the semantic network. MethodsParticipants were presented with closely, distantly, and unrelated word pairs during fMRI, and asked to make a lexical decision on the second word. ResultsBehavioral measurements demonstrated significant priming effects for all semantic distances. Imaging results showed modulation of brain activation due to different semantic relationships in the left inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus and anterior temporal lobe, and consisted of decreased magnitude of activation when primed stimuli were processed compared with unprimed stimuli, with the greatest effect observed for closely related words. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates graduated effects of semantic priming on fMRI in semantic but not attentional brain regions, contributing to explain how semantic knowledge is organized and retrieved. These findings support the network model for organization of the semantic lexicon.
Determinants of remaining in the community after discharge: results from New Jersey's Nursing Home Transition Program.

PURPOSE To inform states with nursing home transition programs, we determine what risk factors are associated with participants' long-term readmission to nursing homes within 1 year after discharge. DESIGN AND METHODS We obtained administrative data for all 1,354 nursing home residents who were discharged, and we interviewed 628 transitioning through New Jersey's nursing home transition program in 2000. We used the Andersen behavioral model to select predictors of long-term nursing home readmission, and we used Cox proportional hazards regressions to examine the relative risk of experiencing such readmissions. RESULTS Overall, 72.6% of the 1,354 individuals remained in the community, with 8.6% readmitted to a nursing home for long stays (>90 days) and 18.8% dying during the study year. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that being male, single, and dissatisfied with one's living situation; living with others; and falling within 8 to 10 weeks after discharge were significant predictors of long-term nursing home readmission during the first year after discharge. IMPLICATIONS Most of the factors predicting long-term readmission were predisposing, not need, factors. This fact points to the limits of formulaic approaches to assessing candidates for discharge and the importance of working with clients to understand and address their particular vulnerabilities. Consumers, state policy makers, nursing home transition staff, discharge planners, and caregivers can use these findings to understand and help clients understand their particular risks and options, and to identify those individuals needing the greatest attention during the transition period as well as risk-specific services such as fall-prevention programs that should be made available to them.
Emergence of rifampin-resistant Rhodococcus equi in an infected foal

To investigate the emergence of rifampin resistance in Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from foals and their environment in Japan, we compared the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities to rifampin of 640 isolates from 64 infected foals and 98 soil isolates from their horse-breeding farms. As a control, 39 human isolates from patients with and without AIDS were also tested for susceptibility to rifampin. All of the isolates showed rifampin sensitivity, except isolates from one infected foal and two patients with AIDS that showed rifampin resistance. To investigate the emergence of rifampin-resistant R. equi in the infected foal, which had received rifampin monotherapy for a month before euthanasia, 99 isolates of R. equi from the lesions and 20 isolates from the intestinal contents of the one foal with rifampin-resistant organisms were analyzed for rifampin susceptibilities, pathogenicities, and ribotypes. Of the 99 isolates from the lesions, all of which were virulent R. equi strains containing a virulence plasmid with a size of 85 or 90 kb, 90 (91%) isolates were rifampin resistant (MIC, > or = 12.5 microg/ml). On the other hand, of the 20 isolates from the intestinal contents, 11 (55%) isolates showed rifampin resistance (MIC, > or = 25 microg/ml), and 5 of them were avirulent R. equi strains. Among these 101 rifampin-resistant R. equi isolates with and without virulence plasmids characterized by ribotyping, 58 were type I, 20 were type II, 11 were type III, and 12 were type IV. These results demonstrated that at least eight different rifampin-resistant R. equi strains emerged concurrently and respectively from the different lesions and intestinal contents of the infected foal.
Co-medication of statins and CYP3A4 inhibitors before and after introduction of new reimbursement policy.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are frequently used drugs in the treatment of dyslipidaemia. Co-medication with interacting drugs increases the risk of statin-induced muscular side-effects. Simvastatin exhibits particularly high interaction potential due to substantial metabolism via cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4). WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS In June 2005, a new reimbursement policy was introduced by the Norwegian Medicines Agency stating that simvastatin should be prescribed as first-line lipid-lowering therapy. Following introduction of the new policy, the number of patients co-medicated with simvastatin and CYP3A4 inhibitors almost doubled. A potential consequence is increased incidence of muscular side-effects in the statin-treated population. AIMS To assess the prevalence of co-medication of statins and CYP3A4 inhibitors before and after introduction of a new Norwegian reimbursement policy, which states that all patients should be prescribed simvastatin as first-line lipid-lowering therapy. METHODS Data from patients receiving simvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, fluvastatin or atorvastatin in 2004 and 2006, including co-medication of potent CYP3A4 inhibitors, were retrieved from the Norwegian Prescription Database covering the total population of Norway. Key measurements were prevalence of continuous statin use (two or more prescriptions on one statin) and proportions of different statin types among all patients and those co-medicated with CYP3A4 inhibitors. RESULTS In 2004, 5.9% (n= 272 342) of the Norwegian population received two or more prescriptions on one statin compared with 7.0% (n= 324 267) in 2006. The relative number of simvastatin users increased from 39.7% (n= 112 122) in 2004 to 63.1% (n= 226 672) in 2006. A parallel increase was observed within the subpopulation co-medicated with statins and CYP3A4 inhibitors, i.e. from 42.9% (n= 7706) in 2004 to 63.6% (n= 13 367) in 2006. For all other statins the number of overall users decreased to a similar extent to those co-medicated with CYP3A4 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS In both 2004 and 2006, the choice of statin type did not depend on whether the patient used a CYP3A4 inhibitor or not. Considering the pronounced interaction potential of simvastatin with CYP3A4 inhibitors, a negative influence of the new policy on overall statin safety seems likely.
The reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory: Effects of age, gender, education, and culture

We investigated the age distribution of autobiographical memories with the Galton-Crovitz method through the Internet. Almost 2000 participants in the United States and the Netherlands aged between 11 and 70 years participated. They were presented with 10 cue words, and were asked to recall and date autobiographical memories. We found strong evidence for a “reminiscence bump” in all participant groups at all ages, with peaks at ages 15–18 for men and 13–14 for women. This peak could be localised more precisely than in previous studies due to our large sample size. We were able to remove the forgetting effect from the empirical age distribution with a method that allows separate estimation of memory encoding and forgetting. American participants showed a tendency to report older memories than the Dutch. Age group and level of education did not influence the lifetime encoding function.
Hypoglycaemia predisposes platelets to death by affecting calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial integrity

Factors affecting platelet survival are poorly understood. To explore the hypothesis that platelet lifespan correlates with the lifespan of a key housekeeping process we subjected human platelets to in vitro incubation at 37°C for 24 h to several days under hypoglycaemic conditions. Viability was assessed both by microscopy and flow cytometry using calcein-AM and/or FM4-64. In keeping with previous data we found that, under control conditions platelets died at a linear rate during 120 h of incubation. Hypoglycaemia did not affect the death rate but did lead to an increase in the frequency of platelets unable to accumulate the mitochondrial potentiometric dye 10-Nonyl Acridine Orange (NAO) and promoted platelet death in response to the pro-apoptotic molecule BH3I-2′. Hypoglycaemia led to an increase in intraplatelet calcium that could be prevented 2-aminoethoxydiphenylborate (2-APB), a store operated calcium channel (SOCC) blocker. However, this agent was unable to rescue the platelets’ ability to accumulate NAO. These data suggest that extracellular glucose is utilised by platelets for calcium homeostasis and maintenance of mitochondrial integrity and that hypoglycaemia primes platelets for death.
Effects of topical vitamin K and retinol on laser-induced purpura on nonlesional skin.

BACKGROUND Pulsed dye laser treatments usually result in purpura. Any topical application that eliminates or shortens the duration of purpura would be extremely useful. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the safety and efficacy of topical vitamin K cream in shortening the duration of laser-induced purpura. METHODS Twenty adult subjects were enrolled. Each subject had five 1.5 cm sites treated with a pulsed dye laser at 585 nm, 450 nsec, 7 mm spot size at each subject's respective threshold fluence. Each subject had a control site where no topical application was used and four other sites where a different formulation was applied to each for 2 weeks before and for 2 weeks after laser irradiation. Five vitamin K formulations with or without retinol were studied: 3% vitamin K in acrylates copolymer cream, 5% vitamin K in acrylates copolymer cream, 1% vitamin K and 0.3% retinol in acrylates copolymer cream, 1% vitamin K and 0.15% retinol in acrylates copolymer cream, 1% free vitamin K cream. Purpuric discoloration at each site was rated on days 0, 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14 after laser treatment on a quartile scale. Each site was assigned 100% discoloration on day 0 after laser irradiation. RESULTS Laser-induced purpuric discoloration resolved faster with 1% vitamin K and 0.3% retinol in acrylates copolymer cream than with no topical application. The difference is statistically significant from day 3 onward. CONCLUSION A combination of 1% vitamin K and 0.3% retinol in acrylates copolymer cream hastened the resolution of laser-induced purpura.
A Landsat-5 Atmospheric Correction Based on MODIS Atmosphere Products and 6S Model

The Landsat satellite series represents the longest record of global-scale medium spatial resolution earth observations, and the utility of Landsat data for long-term and/or large-area monitoring depends on accurate and quantitative atmospheric correction to produce a consistently corrected surface reflectance (SR) dataset. In this study, we developed a rapid, automated atmospheric correction procedure based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) atmospheric characterization products and the 6S (Second Simulation of a Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum) radiative transfer code for Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. Three MODIS atmosphere products at the resolution of 0.05°, MOD04, MOD05, and MOD07 were used as input to the 6S radiative transfer model in order to compute the parameters required for atmospheric correction, which were then used to correct TM imagery per-pixel automatically. This method was tested using five multi-date Landsat TM images in Beijing, China, and the atmospheric correction precision was assessed using ground-measured reflectance. The result showed that the SR retrieved from Landsat TM is consistent with the ground measurements, with a mean R2 of 0.773 and a mean root mean square error value of 0.045.
Pelleted complete grower-finisher rations for lambs.

Duplicate groups of 10 lambs were assigned to each of four dietary treatments. These were (1) pelleted complete feed containing 13% crude protein, (2) pelleted complete feed containing 15% crude protein, (3) mash concentrate containing 13% crude protein to be fed with long timothy hay, and (4) pelleted complete feed formulated to meet the requirements of the growing dairy heifer. The lambs weighed an average of 17.3 and 23.4 kg in the two replicates at the beginning of the experiment and were slaughtered between 41 and 45 kg. Lambs consuming the lower protein complete feed had greater average daily gains and required fewer days to reach market weight than did those consuming concentrate plus long hay. There were no significant differences in the performance of lambs fed the two pelleted complete lamb rations (1 and 2). The pelleted complete heifer ration (4) produced similar average daily gains to the concentrate plus long hay feeding regimen; however, more feed was required to maintain that growth. There.
Approaching Human Performance in Behavior Estimation in Couples Therapy Using Deep Sentence Embeddings

Identifying complex behavior in human interactions for observational studies often involves the tedious process of transcribing and annotating large amounts of data. While there is significant work towards accurate transcription in Automatic Speech Recognition, automatic Natural Language Understanding of high-level human behaviors from the transcribed text is still at an early stage of development. In this paper we present a novel approach for modeling human behavior using sentence embeddings and propose an automatic behavior annotation framework. We explore unsupervised methods of extracting semantic information, using seq2seq models, into deep sentence embeddings and demonstrate that these embeddings capture behaviorally meaningful information. Our proposed framework utilizes LSTM Recurrent Neural Networks to estimate behavior trajectories from these sentence embeddings. Finally, we employ fusion to compare our high-resolution behavioral trajectories with the coarse, session-level behavioral ratings of human annotators in Couples Therapy. Our experiments show that behavior annotation using this framework achieves better results than prior methods and approaches or exceeds human performance in terms of annotator agreement.
Long‐term outcomes after 1000 heart transplantations in six different eras of innovation in a single center

The objective of this study was to evaluate long‐term outcomes of cardiac transplantation (HTx) in different eras of innovation at a single center during a period of 27 years. We performed a retrospective analysis of 960 cardiac allograft recipients (40 re‐HTx) between 1981 and 2008. The results of six different eras based on milestones in HTx were analysed: Era 1: the early years (n = 222, 1981–1992); era 2: introduction of inhalative nitric oxide, prostanoids, University of Wisconsin solution (UW) replacing Bretschneider’s solution (HTK, n = 118, 1992–1994); era 3: statins (n = 102, 1994–1995); era 4: tacrolimus (n = 115, 1995–1996); era 5: mycophenolate mofetil (MMF, n = 143, 1997–2000) and era 6: sirolimus (n = 300, 2000–2008). Outcome variables were survival, freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and from acute rejection episodes (AREs). Differences in survival was found comparing era 1 and era 2 with era 4 and era 6 (P < 0.001). Organ preservation through UW demonstrated a significantly better survival as compared with HTK (P < 0.001). Less AREs occurred in patients receiving tacrolimus‐sirolimus or tacrolimus‐MMF (P < 0.001). Patients receiving tacrolimus‐MMF showed less CAV than when treated with cyclosporine‐MMF (P < 0.005). There were more ventricular assist device implantations and more re‐HTx in era 6 (P < 0.0001) than when compared with other eras. Although the causes for improvement in survival over time are multifactorial, we believe that changes in immunosuppressive therapy have had a major impact on survival.
Dissociation between fat-induced in vivo insulin resistance and proximal insulin signaling in skeletal muscle in men at risk for type 2 diabetes.

The effect of short- (2 h) and long-term (24 h) low-grade Intralipid infusion on whole-body insulin action, cellular glucose metabolism, and proximal components of the insulin signal transduction cascade was studied in seven obese male glucose intolerant first degree relatives of type 2 diabetic patients [impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) relatives] and eight matched control subjects. Indirect calorimetry and excision of vastus lateralis skeletal muscle biopsies were performed before and during hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps combined with 3[(3)H]glucose. Clamps were performed after 0, 2, or 24 h Intralipid infusion (0.4 ml.kg(-1). min(-1)). Insulin-stimulated glucose disposal decreased approximately 25% after short- and long-term fat infusion in both IGT relatives and controls. Glucose oxidation decreased and lipid oxidation increased after both short- and long-term fat infusion in both groups. Insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation was higher after long-term as compared with short-term fat infusion in control subjects. Short- or long-term infusion did not affect the absolute values of basal or insulin-stimulated insulin receptor substrate-1 tyrosine phosphorylation, tyrosine-associated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activity, insulin receptor substrate-1-associated PI 3-kinase activity, or Akt serine phosphorylation in IGT relatives or matched controls. In fact, a paradoxical increase in both basal and insulin-stimulated PI 3-kinase activity was noted in the total study population after both short- and long-term fat infusion. Short- and long-term low-grade Intralipid infusion-induced (or enhanced) whole-body insulin resistance and impaired glucose metabolism in IGT relatives and matched control subjects. The fat-induced metabolic changes were not explained by impairment of the proximal insulin signaling transduction in skeletal muscle.
Anterior cingulate activation relates to local cortical thickness

Few studies have examined the relationship between local anatomic thickness of the cortex and the activation signals arising from it. Using structural and functional MRI, we examined whether a relationship exists between cortical thickness and brain activation. Twenty-eight participants were asked to perform the Go/NoGo response inhibition task known to activate the anterior cingulate and the prefrontal cortex. Structural data of the same regions were simultaneously collected. We hypothesized that cortical thickness in these brain regions would positively correlate with brain activation. Data from the structural MRI were aligned with those of functional MRI activation. There was a positive linear correlation between cortical thickness and activation during response inhibition in the right anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann’s Area 24). No significant thickness–activation correlations were found in the prefrontal cortex. Correlations between cortical thickness and activation may occur only in certain brain regions.
A Single High Affinity Binding Site for Histone H1 in a Nucleosome Containing the Xenopus borealis 5 S Ribosomal RNA Gene (*)

We have reconstituted nucleosomes containing the Xenopus borealis 5 S rRNA gene, a single histone octamer, and 1 or 2 molecules of histone H1. We determine that the 1st molecule of histone H1 to associate with the 5 S nucleosome binds with high affinity (K 2 nM), and the 2nd molecule of H1 binds with a reduced affinity (K 10 nM). This latter binding is comparable with the association of histone H1 with naked DNA. Neither molecule of histone H1 alters the helical periodicity of DNA in the nucleosome as revealed by hydroxyl radical cleavage. We conclude that although multiple molecules of histone H1 can associate with nucleosomal DNA, there is only a single high affinity binding site for histone H1 within the 5 S nucleosome.
[Significance of H3K27me3 and EZH2 in Predicting the Therapeutic Efficacy of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the significance of H3K27me3 and its methyltransferase EZH2 in predicting the short-term and long-term outcome of newly diagnosed patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS The paraffin wax speciments of 102 DLBCL patients in Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital were collected. The expression of H3K27me3, EZH2 and BCL-2 protein were detected using tissue array made by tissue microarray(TMA) technique and immunohistochemistry method. The evaluation data after clinical treatment and follow-up results were collected and combined with expression levels of H3K27me3, EZH2 and BCL-2 detected by tissue array, then on the basis of these data, the survival of patients was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, the correlation of EZH2 with H3K27me3 and BCL-2 was analyzed by pearson correlation test, the correlation of above mentioned indicators with different therapeutic efficacy was analyzed by spearman correlation test. The relationship of H3K27me3 and EZH2 expression as well as co-expression of H3K27me3 and EZH2 with the therapeutic efficacy and prognosis of patients were compared. RESULTS A total of 61.8% patients showed EZH2 high expression which positively correlated with high expression of H3K27me3 and BCL-2. The complete remission (CR) and overall remission (OR) rates in H3K27me3 high expression and co-expression of H3K27me3 EZH2 groups were lower than those in low expression groups (P<0.001), moreover OS and PFS rates also were lower than those in low expression (P<0.001). In the RCHOP subgroup, the patients with EZH2 low expression showed significantly better CR, OR OS and PFS in comparison with those of patients with higher expression (P=0.003,P=0.019). CONCLUSION Part of DLBCL patients with H3K27me3 high expression or coexpression of both H3K27me3 and EZH2 exhibit a worse prognosis in comparison with those patients with H3K27me3 low expression or without coexpression. The patients with EZH2 low expression usually responde well to RCHOP regimen in the short-term or long-term survival.