Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibodies to myelin basic protein, myelin oligodendrocytes peptides, α‐β‐crystallin, lymphocyte activation and cytokine production in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract Vojdani A, Vojdani E, Cooper E (Laboratory of Comparative Neuroimmunology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles; Immunosciences Lab., Inc., Beverly Hills; and University of California Berkeley, Berkeley; CA, USA). Antibodies to myelin basic protein, myelin oligodendrocytes peptides, α‐β‐crystallin, lymphocyte activation and cytokine production in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Intern Med 2003; 254: 363–374.
Civic Participation of Immigrants: Culture Transmission and Assimilation

This paper employs the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey to empirically investigate civic participation of immigrants from fifty-four countries of origin to the European Union. Three sets of issues are addressed in this paper. First, the paper aims at understanding what factors determine civic participation of immigrants at large. Second, it seeks to shed light on differences and similarities between participation outcomes of immigrants and natives. The main part of the paper is dedicated to testing culture transmission and culture assimilation hypothesis with respect to civic participation. Culture assimilation is analysed within the traditional synthetic cohort methodology, and also by testing whether the levels of immigrants’ civic participation depend on the levels of natives’ civic participation in the same countries. Culture transmission is looked at by relating the levels of participation of nonmigrants in countries of origin to participation outcomes of those who migrate. In addition, the effect of other country of origin and country of destination characteristics on immigrants’ civic participation is investigated. The issue of immigrants’ self-selection is addressed by matching immigrants to otherwise similar natives and compatriots who did not migrate. The study finds limited evidence for the transmission of participation culture across borders, although certain home country characteristics continue influencing participation behaviour of individuals after migration: it is those from industrialized, net immigration, culturally more homogeneous countries who tend to participate more. On the other hand, the culture of current place of residence matters most in that by observing higher (lower) participation patterns among natives immigrants tend to participate more (less).
Topography of estradiol‐modulated genomic responses in the songbird auditory forebrain

Sex steroids facilitate dramatic changes in behavioral responses to sociosexual signals and are increasingly implicated in the sensory processing of those signals. Our previous work demonstrated that in female white‐throated sparrows, which are seasonal breeders, genomic responses in the auditory forebrain are selective for conspecific song over frequency‐matched tones only when plasma estradiol (E2) reaches breeding levels. Here, we sought to map this E2‐dependent selectivity in the best‐studied area of the auditory forebrain, the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM). Nonbreeding females with low endogenous levels of E2 were treated with E2 or a placebo and exposed to conspecific song, tones, or no sound playback. Immunoreactive protein product of the immediate early gene zenk (egr‐1) was then quantified within seven distinct subregions, or domains, of NCM. We report three main findings: (1) regardless of hormone treatment, the zenk response is significantly higher in dorsal than in ventral NCM, and higher in medial than in lateral NCM; (2) E2‐dependent selectivity of the response is limited to the rostral and medial domains of NCM; in the more caudal domains, song induces more zenk expression than tones regardless of hormone treatment; (3) even when no sound stimuli were presented, E2 treatment significantly increased zenk expression in the rostral, but not the caudal, domains of NCM. Together, the latter two findings suggest that E2‐dependent plasticity in NCM is concentrated in rostral NCM, which is hodologically and neurochemically distinct from caudal NCM. Activity in rostral NCM may therefore be seasonally regulated in this species. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 2010
Up-regulated expression of Dicer reveals poor prognosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Conclusions: Increased expression of Dicer may be a prognostic biomarker for patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Objectives: Recent studies have shown that many microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the development and progression of human cancers. Dicer, one of the most important enzymes of the miRNA machinery, performs the final step of biogenesis of miRNAs. This study aimed to investigate the impact of Dicer expression on patient survival in human LSCC. Methods: We detected the expression of Dicer in larynx tissue specimens from 76 LSCC samples and 26 polyps by immunohistochemistry. The clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Dicer expression was investigated in LSCC. Results: Our data showed that the expression of Dicer was significantly higher in the LSCC than in the polyp tissue specimens. Moreover, the expression level of Dicer was significantly associated with the pTNM stage and tumor lymph node metastasis. Kaplan–Meier survival analyses revealed a strong association between tumor Dicer expression and the survival of the patients with LSCC.
Patients after a head injury face an uncertain long-term future

Long-term changes in patients after head injury: for better or for worse? After a head injury, it is sometimes assumed that once the first 2–3 years of recovery have passed, any impairment and disability remaining is fairly fixed. There will be little further improvement and in the unlikely event of any subsequent deterioration, the clinician should expect to be able to find a specific cause—for example, hydrocephalus—for the decline. However, longer-term follow-up studies suggest that in fact a fair proportion of patients change, some for the better and some for the worse. The last time the Journal considered this issue was in 2003.1 Millar et al 2 found that at 18 years follow-up after a head injury, twice …
Predicting Stock Movement through Executive Tweets

This paper details an investigation into the viability of predicting stock prices directly from the tweets of company executives. I begin by describing the data collection process and the natural language processing framework. The paper then documents the construction, tuning, and evaluation of the various neural network models and their performance. In the end, a very minor classification accuracy gain is achieved, but I believe the results serve as a promising indication that with additional data collection increased accuracy could be achieved.
Evaluation of contributing factors of post transplant erythrocytosis in renal transplant patients.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence and contributing factors causing post transplant erythrocytosis in renal transplant patients. METHODS This retrospective study was conducted on live related renal transplant patients at SIUT. The records of all transplant recipients transplanted between April 2008 and December 2008 and who had at least 24 months follow up were studied. Patients in whom haematocrit exceeded 51% and those who received treatment for it were classified into post transplant erythrocytosis group. RESULTS Out of 200 renal transplant patients who had functioning graft at the time of analysis, 40 (20%) developed post transplant erythrocytosis (HCT > or = 51%) after a mean interval of 9.5 +/- 2.5 months. Patients with erythrocytosis were mostly males (95% in PTE group vs 73.75% in non PTE group), had a shorter period on dialysis before undergoing renal transplantation (9.28 months in PTE group vs 14.56 months in non PTE group) and had relatively better graft function at the onset of erythrocytosis as judged by serum creatinine (S. Creatinine of 1.06 +/- 0.29 mg/dl in PTE group vs 1.37 +/- 0.51 mg/dl in non PTE group). No thrombotic complications were observed. All patients with erythrocytosis were treated with enalapril (ACE inhibitors) and 28 out of 40 required phlebotomy in addition to ACE inhibitors. The mean HCT at the time of last follow up in treated patients was 48.61 +/- 1.85%. CONCLUSION Post transplant erythrocytosis generally occurs in male patients with good graft function, thrombotic complications are of rare occurrence and response to ACE inhibitors is good.
Regulation of Amino Acid Metabolism in Dairy and Beef Cattle

Summary Dairy cattle • In cows fed well-balanced rations, mammary uptake of amino acids is influenced more by metabolic demand than by arterial supply. • Changes in mammary blood flow accommodate changes in metabolic demand for amino acids but are unlikely to be the primary regulator of mammary uptake and utilization of amino acids or other substrates. • Capacity of Na + -dependent and Na + -independent systems for membrane transport of amino acids is unlikely to be limiting for mammary amino acid supply. • Several hormones directly or indirectly regulate mammary uptake and utilization of amino acids. Specific roles and mechanisms remain to be elucidated. • The bovine mammary gland has greater metabolic capacity for milk protein synthesis than is normally expressed under optimal nutrition and management conditions. Management strategies to take advantage of this knowledge have yet to be developed.
Herpes zoster in Australia

To the Editor : In their article 'Herpes zoster in Australia : evidence of increase in incidence in adults attributable to var-icella immunization ? ' Jardine et al. [1] undertook a preliminary investigation into trends in herpes zoster (HZ) incidence since government funding of the varicella vaccine began in 2005, using national and state-based (New South Wales) data. However, given the ecological nature of these studies we believe it is important to consider HZ rates prior to any use of varicella vaccine in Australia, as the vaccine was available for private purchase from 2000. We have previously published an analysis of hospital admissions and Melbourne Medical Deputizing Service (MMDS, a locum service for general practices) consultations in another Australian state, Victoria [2]. In our study we identified increases in HZ hospital admissions in patients aged >50 years from 1998, 2 years before the private availability of varicella vaccine. We also noted that HZ hospitalization rates in those aged o80 years in 2006 were similar to those in 1995, indicating substantial fluctuation over time. Without historical data it is difficult to put recent HZ trends into context. It seems likely that a number of factors – such as availability of acyclovir and other treatments, changes in hospital admission, treatment and coding practices, an ageing population and repeated admission of susceptible individuals – may influence hospitalization with HZ. Indeed an increase in community-based consultations for HZ was seen in MMDS data from 2000, suggesting different factors may influence serious zoster illness requiring hospitalization and less severe illness managed in the community. Jardine et al. reported an increase in HZ-specific antivirals (acyclovir, famciclovir, valacivlovir) in national prescribing data from November 2005 to March 2009 [1]. In addition to the treatment of zoster, these antiviral drugs have a number of indications for other herpes viruses. These include the treatment of herpes shingles and herpes genital infections. Ecological data based on the use of these drugs may not therefore correspond to zoster incidence. The increase in the summer use of these drugs may be related to one of the other indications. The oldest age group used by Jardine et al. was o60 years, even though HZ is typically a disease of older people and the HZ vaccine in Australia is indicated for HZ prevention and reduction of acute and chronic zoster-associated pain in individuals aged 60–79 years. Those aged o80 years experienced the most substantial increase …
Developing Wax-Based Granule Formulations for Mating Disruption of Oriental Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Turfgrass

Abstract Oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis Waterhouse (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is a pest of turfgrass that may be controlled by applications of synthetic pheromone (Z)-/(E)-7-tetradecen-2-one to disrupt mating. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine release profiles of pheromone from experimental wax-based granules, a proprietary wax granule, and rubber septa commonly used in pheromone traps. Rubber septa loaded with 10, 100, and 300 μg per septum provided steady rates of pheromone release (zero-order) over 4 wk of laboratory evaluation (total = 1.1, 9.0, and 26.9 μg/4 wk, respectively). Septa with 1,000 μg per septum had a significant decline in the rate of pheromone release for this 4-wk exposure time (total = 119 μg/4 wk). A large proprietary wax granule (44 mg per granule, 25% wt:wt pheromone) provided a steady rate of pheromone release (total = 2,347 μg/4 wk per granule). Experimental granules (16 mg per granule) made of soywax with higher pheromone loads (10% wt:wt) approached zero-order release (steady state) (total = 69 μg/4 wk per granule), whereas smaller granules (4 mg per granule) with less pheromone (0.1% wt:wt) provided first-order release profiles (decreasing rate with longer exposure time) (total = 0.35 μg/4 wk per granule). A field trial in turfgrass demonstrated the potential of selected granular formulations to provide effective mating disruption for up to 4 wk, as measured by pheromone trap shutdown. Documenting pheromone release profiles for these experimental granules and rubber septa provides valuable information that will support future field evaluations of mating disruption as a control strategy.
In : Equine Respiratory Diseases

Pulmonary function tests are emerging as an essential tool in equine referral practice. Indications include intermittent cough, excess mucus, abnormal breathing pattern, presence of wheezes or crackles on auscultation, or exercise intolerance. Since non-infectious airway obstruction and inflammation are the most common problems encountered in the lower respiratory tract of horses, tests are largely aimed at describing the severity, anatomical pattern, stability (reactivity) and reversibility of airway constriction. A comprehensive approach often requires multiple tests, since the information gained from each method is different. Four important tests of mechanical function are discussed in this chapter. They include (1) conventional lung mechanics using pleural pressure measurements, (2) forced oscillatory mechanics, (3) flowmetrics ("boxless" plethysmography) and (4) forced expiratory maneuvers. The implementation of bronchoprovocation to assess airway reactivity is reviewed. The flowmetric test can be employed in the field, while the other methods are suitable for specialists and researchers in the pulmonary laboratory. The importance of pulmonary function testing to the early diagnosis of lower airway obstruction is emphasized, since this is the widest application.
Implementation and Evaluation of the Enhanced Header Compression ( IPHC ) for 6 LoWPAN

6LoWPAN defines how to carry IPv6 packets over IEEE 802.15. 4 low power wireless or sensor networks. Limited bandwidth, memory and energy resources require a careful application of IPv6 in a LoWPAN. The IEEE 802.15. 4 standard defines a maximum frame size of 127 bytes that decreases to 102 bytes considering the header overhead. A further reduction is due to the security, network and transport protocols header overhead that, in case of IPv6 and UDP, leave only 33 bytes for application data. A compression algorithm is necessary in order to reduce the overhead and save space in data payload. This paper describes and compares the proposed IPv6 header compression mechanisms for 6LoWPAN environments.
When Everyone Runs for the Exit

The dangers of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater are well understood, but the dangers of rushing to the exit in the financial markets are more complex. Yet, the two events share several features, and I analyze why people crowd into theaters and trades, why they run, what determines the risk, whether to return to the theater or trade when the dust settles, and how much to pay for assets (or tickets) in light of this risk. These theoretical considerations shed light on the recent global liquidity crisis and, in particular, the quant event of 2007.
The Vaccinia Virus A33R Protein Provides a Chaperone Function for Viral Membrane Localization and Tyrosine Phosphorylation of the A36R Protein

ABSTRACT The products of the A33R and A36R genes of vaccinia virus are incorporated into the membranes of intracellular enveloped virions (IEV). When extracts of cells that had been infected with vaccinia virus and labeled with H332PO4 were immunoprecipitated with antibodies against the A33R protein, two prominent bands were resolved. The moderately and more intensely labeled bands were identified as phosphorylated A33R and A36R proteins, respectively. The immunoprecipitated complex contained disulfide-bonded dimers of A33R protein that were noncovalently linked to A36R protein. Biochemical analysis indicated that the two proteins were phosphorylated predominantly on serine residues, with lesser amounts on threonines. The A36R protein was also phosphorylated on tyrosine, as determined by specific binding to an anti-phosphotyrosine antibody. Serine phosphorylation and A33R-A36R protein complex formation occurred even when virus assembly was blocked at an early stage with the drug rifampin. Tyrosine phosphorylation was selectively reduced in cells infected with F13L or A34R gene deletion mutants that were impaired in the membrane-wrapping step of IEV formation. In addition, tyrosine phosphorylation was specifically inhibited in cells infected with an A33R deletion mutant that still formed IEV. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy indicated that in the absence of the A33R protein, the A36R protein was localized in Golgi membranes but not in IEV. In the absence of the A36R protein, however, the A33R protein still localized to IEV membranes. These studies together with others suggest that the A33R protein guides the A36R protein to the IEV membrane, where it subsequently becomes tyrosine phosphorylated as a signal for actin tail formation.
The Rise and Fall of Disability Insurance Enrollment in the Netherlands.

As recently as 15 years ago, the high level of Disability Insurance (DI) enrollment was considered to be one of the major social and economic problems of the Netherlands; indeed, the Netherlands was characterized as the country with the most out-of-control disability program of OECD countries. But since about 2002, the Netherlands has seen a spectacular decline in its Disability Insurance enrollment rate. Radical reforms to the Dutch DI system were implemented over the period 1996 to 2006. We cluster these reforms in three broad categories: 1) reducing the incentives of employers to move workers to disability; 2) increased gatekeeping; and 3) tightening disability eligibility criteria while enhancing worker incentives. The reforms appear to have been very effective. Since 2002, yearly DI inflow rates dropped from 1.5 percent in 2001 to about 0.5 percent of the insured population in 2012. We argue that particularly the interaction of employer incentives and formal employer obligations has contributed to the substantial decrease in DI inflow. On the downside, however, it seems workers with bad health have sorted into temporary employment—without employers bearing the financial responsibility of their benefit costs.
Cytologic identification of serous neoplasms in peritoneal fluids

Recognition of serous neoplasms in peritoneal fluids and their subclassification into serous borderline tumors (SBT) and serous carcinomas (SCA) may be difficult. The objective of this study was to determine whether morphologic criteria can distinguish reactive mesothelial cells (RM), SBT, and SCA (grades 1–3) in peritoneal fluids.
A influência da religiosidade no conviver com o HIV

Abordam-se as correlacoes entre saude e espiritualidade, no campo do adoecimento cronico, visando compreender como os individuos buscam subsidios para se fortalecer diante das adversidades impostas pela doenca. Emprega-se metodologia qualitativa para se discutirem questoes sobre religiosidade que emergiram na fala de pessoas que convivem com o HIV. Com base na narrativa desses sujeitos, foram analisados o relato sobre religiosidade e suas influencias no processo saude-adoecimento, realizando uma analise tematica. Foram observadas algumas relacoes que apontam para: enfrentamentos religiosos positivos e/ou negativos no adoecimento, mudancas de pensamento e comportamentos religiosos, assim como a importância da vivencia religiosa na maneira como os individuos elaboram suas narrativas de adoecimento. Chama-se atencao para a necessidade de os profissionais de saude estarem atentos ao surgimento de tais conteudos, pois trazem aspectos que envolvem questoes terapeuticas - como adesao, apoio social, conflitos e singularidades individuais - que podem auxiliar no enfrentamento da doenca.
A Framework to Personalise Open Learning Environments by Adapting to Learning Styles

This paper presents an adaptive framework to personalise open learning environments. The design of the framework has been grounded in cognitive science and learning principles. The theory of learning styles, and more specifically the model of Felder and Silverman, has been considered and applied. The developed framework has two main functions. First, it automatically identifies the learnersâ learning styles by tracking their behaviours and interactions with the provided learning objects. Secondly, it provides adaptive navigational support based on the identified learning styles. Sorting learning materials based on learnersâ preferences and hiding the least preferred materials are the two techniques of navigational support that have been applied in the proposed framework. Detailed descriptions of the framework functionalities and different components are presented in this paper. Future piloting and evaluation will test and verify this proposed framework.
Self-protection in adolescents in foster care.

PROBLEM Adolescents in long-term foster care experience significant health and mental health problems. Little is known about their perceptions of the impact of foster care. METHOD Seventeen adolescents were interviewed in their foster group homes. Dimensional analysis was used to develop theory on the impact of foster care. FINDINGS Adolescents in foster care engaged in self-protection strategies secondary to experiences of devaluation and uncertainty in foster care, including guarding foster child status, maintaining a defensive posture, distancing self, and keeping relationships superficial. Self-protection resulted in a veneer of self-reliance and social detachment. CONCLUSIONS Strategies are suggested to address devaluing experiences and promote positive identity development in foster care.