Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Miniarthroscopy of metacarpophalangeal joints in rheumatoid arthritis. Rating of diagnostic value in synovitis staging and efficiency of synovial biopsy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate miniarthroscopy (MA) (needle arthroscopy) of involved joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the early detection and staging of synovitis and its application in visual guided synovial biopsies. METHODS 1.0 and 1.9 mm (0 degree/30 degrees) arthroscopes were used in a 2 portal technique. MA performance was developed and evaluated first on hand cadavers (n = 20) and then transferred to metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints under local anesthesia conditions. Joints of 20 patients with RA with different disease activity and duration were scoped and rated according to scores adapted from arthroscopy of other joints. RESULTS In 20/20 cases MA provided visualizing and magnification of intraarticular features of MCP joints in RA and allowed grading of synovial alterations, chondromalacia, and bony alterations. Synovial surface changes, thickness, and fibrosis were related to disease duration, as was damage to cartilage and bone. The degree of acute inflammatory reactions like vascularity and hyperemia varied independently of chronic changes; synovial proliferation was reflected to some extent by C-reactive protein. In 2 patients with early RA, synovitis criteria were found macroscopically and histologically. In 18/20 joints, biopsies were taken under visual control; in the other 2, progression of disease (Larsen score >3) limited arthroscopy to 1.0 scope imaging only. Sampling sizes were sufficient for histologic and molecular analysis. CONCLUSION The developed standardized procedure of MCP arthroscopy is minimally invasive, practicable, and well tolerated by patients, and may allow synovitis monitoring, staging, and biopsy in patients with early as well as chronic arthritis.
Comparisons of patient self-report, neurologic examination, and functional impairment in MS

Objective: To compare the recently developed Guy’s Neurologic Disability Scale (GNDS), based on patient self-report, with both neurologist rating of neurologic examination abnormalities using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and observations of functional impairment on the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC) in the assessment of disease impact in MS. Methods: Two hundred ninety MS patients were recruited at an outpatient clinic. Impairment and disability were assessed using GNDS, EDSS, and MSFC. Correlations between GNDS, EDSS, MSFC, and their corresponding components were studied for the total population, MS phenotypes, and three disability strata. Results: Mean scores were 4.6 (SD, 2.0) for EDSS, 0.0 (SD, 0.8) for MSFC, and 14.6 (SD, 7.9) for GNDS. Good correlations were found between GNDS and EDSS (r = 0.73), between GNDS and MSFC (r = −0.68), and between different subcategories of the GNDS and EDSS, MSFC, and their corresponding components. Remarkably good correlations were found between lower limb function and all three scales. Poor correlations were also found, especially between different measurements focusing on cognitive function. Conclusion: The good correlations between GNDS and both EDSS and MSFC were mainly due to the importance of spinal-cord–related neurologic functions in all three scoring systems. A marked discrepancy was found for the assessment of cognition between objective measurements and subjective complaints. Because patients’ self-reporting correlates well with results of physical examination, GNDS can offer a valuable way to measure disease impact in MS. However, GNDS is not an adequate screen of cognitive dysfunction.
An Inhibitory Anti-factor IX Antibody Effectively Reduces Thrombus Formation in a Rat Model of Venous Thrombosis

Summary An inhibitory anti-factor IX/IXa antibody (BC2) has been investigated as an anti-thrombotic agent in a rat venous thrombosis model. The treatment of rats post-injury with a single bolus dose of BC2 (3mg/kg, iv.) resulted in an ~4 fold reduction in venous thrombus mass (P = 0.043). This efficacy was matched by a minimal (<2.5 fold) prolongation of the aPTT and had no effect on the prothrombin time (PT). Heparin by comparison, given as a bolus followed by continuous infusion, at doses comparable in efficacy at reducing thrombus formation, prolonged the aPTT >50 fold. These results demonstrate that the anti-factor IX/IXa antibody (BC2), when compared to heparin, can effectively reduce venous thrombosis with less disruptive consequences on blood clotting.
Interferon‐alpha and interferon‐gamma modulate Fas‐mediated apoptosis in mitomycin‐C‐resistant human Tenon's fibroblasts

The aim of the study was to investigate, using a native mitomycin‐C‐resistant human Tenon's fibroblast cell line, the possibility that interferon‐alpha and gamma could be used with Fas agonists as an alternative anti‐fibrotic strategy to mitomycin‐C in trabeculectomy.
Response inhibition and reward anticipation in medication‐naïve adults with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A within‐subject case‐control neuroimaging study

Background: Previous research suggests that ADHD patients are characterized by both reduced activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during response inhibition tasks (such as the Go‐NoGo task), and reduced activity in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation tasks (such as the Monetary‐Incentive‐Delay [MID] task). However, no prior research has applied either of these paradigms in medication‐naïve adults with ADHD, nor have these been implemented in an intrasubject manner. Methods: The sample consisted of 19 medication‐naïve adults with ADHD and 19 control subjects. Main group analyses were based on individually defined regions of interest: the IFG and the VStr for the Go‐NoGo and the MID task respectively. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between the two measures, as well as between these measures and the clinical symptoms of ADHD. Results: We observed reduced bilateral VStr activity in adults with ADHD during reward anticipation. No differences were detected in IFG activation on the Go‐NoGo paradigm. Correlation analyses suggest that the two tasks are independent at a neural level, but are related behaviorally in terms of the variability of the performance reaction time. Activity in the bilateral VStr but not in the IFG was associated negatively with symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity. Conclusions: Results underline the implication of the reward system in ADHD adult pathophysiology and suggest that frontal abnormalities during response inhibition performance may not be such a pivotal aspect of the phenotype in adulthood. In addition, our findings point toward response variability as a core feature of the disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 33:2350–2361, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Prosodic and individual influences on the interpretation of "only"

This study investigates factors that influence the interpretation of ambiguous sentences containing the word only. When only appears preverbally in simple SVO constructions, it can be interpreted as associating with the direct object, the verb, or the entire verb phrase. An auditory sentence completion task was used to probe native-speaking English listeners for overall biases in the interpretation of only, as well as for the influence of accentuation and individual differences on the extent of any such biases. Results show a strong preference for only to associate with the direct object overall, although this preference is reduced when the direct object is less (relatively) prominent. Finally, the effect of accentuation was itself modulated by individual differences related to cognitive processing style.
Medicinal plant knowledge of the Panchase region in the Middle Hills of the Nepalese Himalayas

Use of plants as medicine has been practiced all over the world since the dawn of human civilisation. In the Himalayas, many medicinal plants yield essential ecosystem services/ benefi ts for the subsistence farmers, many of which grow in the forest ecosystem. However, documentation of traditional medicine and medicinal plants used by local communities is rather poor in Nepal. Panchase forest, Central Nepal, is home of many wild plants, used in traditional medicine, and a livelihood source for many ethnic groups. This study was conducted to document medicinal plant knowledge and plant use in the treatment of different ailments. To explore the ethnobotanical knowledge interviews were conducted with local healers, plant traders and knowledgeable villagers. The study provides information on 45 plant species, belonging to 32 families under 44 genera. The studied medicinal plants were found to be useful for treating 34 different ailments. The study which has 57% resemblance with previous studies. We conclude that a wealth of ethnobotanical knowledge still persists in the Panchase region. However, due to land use change and migration it needs to be preserved for the future through extensive publications and disseminations. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/banko.v21i2. 9127 Banko Janakari Vol. 21, NO. 2, 2011 Page:31-39 Uploaded date: 10 November, 2013
Nucleotide sequence and genetic organization of the Bacillus subtilis comG operon

A series of Tn917lac insertions define the comG region of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome. comG mutants are deficient in competence and specifically in the binding of exogenous DNA. The genes included in the comG region are first expressed during the transition from the exponential to the stationary growth phase. From nucleotide sequence information, it was concluded that the comG locus contains seven open reading frames (ORFs), several of which overlap at their termini. High-resolution S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension were used to identify the 5' terminus of the comG mRNA. The sequence upstream from the comG start site closely resembled the consensus recognition sequence for the major B. subtilis vegetative RNA polymerase holoenzyme. Complementation analysis confirmed that the comG ORF1 protein is required for the ability of competent cultures to resolve into two populations with different cell densities on Renografin (E. R. Squibb & Sons, Princeton, N.J.) gradients, as well as for full expression of comE, another late competence locus. The predicted comG ORF1 protein showed significant similarity to the virB ORF11 protein from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which is probably involved in T-DNA transfer. The N-terminal sequences of comG ORF3 and, to a lesser extent, the comG ORF4 and ORF5 proteins were similar to a class of pilin proteins from members of the genera Bacteroides, Pseudomonas, Neisseria, and Moraxella. All of the comG proteins except comG ORF1 possessed hydrophobic domains that were potentially capable of spanning the bacterial membrane. It is likely that these proteins are membrane associated, and they may comprise part of the DNA transport machinery. When present in multiple copies, a DNA fragment carrying the comG promoter was capable of inhibiting the development of competence as well as the expression of several late com genes, suggesting a role for a transcriptional activator in the expression of those genes.
Mesenchymal nuclear transcription factors in nitrofen-induced hypoplastic lung.

BACKGROUND Nitrofen-induced pulmonary hypoplasia (PH) with or without coexistent congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in animals mimics the human condition. We have demonstrated reduced steroid-thyroid-retinoid receptors in hypoplastic lungs. Therefore, we hypothesize that expression of two additional mesenchymally derived nuclear transcription factors, retinoid X receptor alpha (RXR-alpha) and homeobox b-5 (Hoxb-5), would also be altered in hypoplastic lungs. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used timed-pregnant CD-1 mice either untreated or gavaged with nitrofen on gestational day (Gd) 8. Normal lungs were compared with hypoplastic lungs with severe left PH and CDH at Gd 14, 16, and 19 and from neonates. We performed immunoblotting for RXR-alpha and Hoxb-5 proteins and immunohistochemistry for Hoxb-5 protein. RESULTS Almost 70-80% of nitrofen-exposed mice had no apparent external phenotypic abnormalities, such as craniofacial defects. Fetal body and lung weights were reduced. RXR-alpha and Hoxb-5 proteins were highest at Gd 14 and decreased as development progressed. Densitometric analysis of RXR-alpha or Hoxb-5 proteins in normal and hypoplastic lungs showed no significant difference; however, the immunolocalization pattern of Hoxb-5 protein differed. Hoxb-5 protein was primarily in mesenchymal cells of normal lungs on Gd 14; however, by Gd 19, it appeared to be mainly in the epithelial cells of prealveolar structures and in adjacent subepithelial mesenchymal cells. In hypoplastic lungs no significant changes were observed in Hoxb-5 staining in mesenchymal cells at Gd 14 nor at Gd 16; however, Hoxb-5 expression persisted in mesenchyme and epithelium at Gd 19 and in neonatal hypoplastic lungs, unlike normal lungs. CONCLUSIONS (1) Unaltered RXR-alpha protein implies that despite altered retinoic acid receptors (RARs) in hypoplastic lungs, the mechanisms of nitrofen-induced PH may be independent of RXR-alpha pathways. (2) In hypoplastic lungs, the persistent mesenchymal expression of Hoxb-5, in later stages of development and at birth, suggests delayed development and maturation compared to normal lungs. We speculate that nitrofen induces PH via RAR-dependent but RXR-independent interactions, which may be downstream of the Hoxb-5 gene or may involve other more anteriorly expressed Hox genes.
Detection of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil within the Lao People's Democratic Republic

ABSTRACT Clinical cases of melioidosis caused by the saprophyte Burkholderia pseudomallei were first noted in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) in 1999. In this study, 36% of 110 soil samples in northern Lao PDR were positive for B. pseudomallei, providing further evidence for the presence of melioidosis in this country.
Activation in Primary Auditory Cortex during Silent Lipreading Is Determined by Sex

Recent studies investigating whether the primary auditory cortex (PAC) is involved in silent lipreading gave inconsistent results. We used positron emission tomography to identify which areas in the temporal lobe process visible speech, with a focus on the PAC. Subjects were tested on lipreading numbers and only the best lipreaders were included in the study (n = 18; 9 female, 9 male). Each subject was scanned while either watching a movie with a speaker silently articulating numbers (lipreading condition) or watching a static image of the same speaker (baseline condition). Subjects were instructed to repeat internally the number seen or the number ‘1’. Compared to the baseline condition, silent lipreading activated temporal areas in both hemispheres with the largest activation clusters in the left hemisphere. When the whole group was examined, no activation in the PAC was found. But when investigating the two sexes separately, the female group demonstrated activation of the left PAC. There was no significant activation in the right female PAC or in the left and right male PAC. Since both groups had similar performances in lipreading, differential activity in the PAC has no effect on lipreading scores. These results may explain previous inconsistent results where no differentiation for sex was made.
Expression and subcellular localization of myogenic regulatory factors during the differentiation of skeletal muscle C2C12 myoblasts

It is known that the MyoD family members (MyoD, Myf5, myogenin, and MRF4) play a pivotal role in the complex mechanism of skeletal muscle cell differentiation. However, fragmentary information on transcription factor‐specific regulation is available and data on their post‐transcriptional and post‐translational behavior are still missing. In this work, we combined mRNA and protein expression analysis with their subcellular localization. Each myogenic regulator factor (MRF) revealed a specific mRNA trend and a protein quantitative analysis not overlapping, suggesting the presence of post‐transcriptional mechanisms. In addition, each MRF showed a specific behavior in situ, characterized by a differentiation stage‐dependent localization suggestive of a post‐translational regulation also. Consistently with their transcriptional activity, immunogold electron microscopy data revealed MRFs distribution in interchromatin domains. Our results showed a MyoD and Myf5 contrasting expression profile in proliferating myoblasts, as well as myogenin and MRF4 opposite distribution in the terminally differentiated myotubes. Interestingly, MRFs expression and subcellular localization analysis during C2C12 cell differentiation stages showed two main MRFs regulation mechanisms: (i) the protein half‐life regulation to modulate the differentiation stage‐dependent transcriptional activity and (ii) the cytoplasmic retention, as a translocation process, to inhibit the transcriptional activity. Therefore, our results exhibit that MRFs nucleo‐cytoplasmic trafficking is involved in muscle differentiation and suggest that, besides the MRFs expression level, also MRFs subcellular localization, related to their functional activity, plays a key role as a regulatory step in transcriptional control mechanisms. J. Cell. Biochem. 108: 1302–1317, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
IgG Autoantibody to Human Serum Albumin Studied by the ELISA‐Technique

ELISA was applied for analysis of the HSA‐human IgG autoantibody system responsible for the immunoelectrophoretic “Tailing Albumin” (TA) phenomenon induced in most of the TA patients by prolonged nitrofurantoin therapy. Both hyperimmune porcine anti‐HSA and autoimmune human anti‐HSA antibodies of the IgC class were detectable by ELISA. The presence of autologous or added HSA had some inhibitory effect upon the detectability of the anti‐HSA antibodies. Partial elimination of the autologous HSA by sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation or salt precipitation increased or unmasked the anti‐HSA activity of some TA sera. The sensitivity of the ELISA as detector of the anti‐HSA autoantibodies of whole human sera was roughly equal to that of the immunoelectrophoretic TA phenomenon. The analogy of The anti‐HSA autoantibodies and the rheumatoid factors and the theoretical interest of both of them is stressed.
Neuroscience of decision making: from goal-directed actions to habits

Action-outcome and stimulus-response processes are two important components of behavior. The former evaluates the benefit of an action in order to choose the best action among those available (action selection) while the latter is responsible for automatic behavior, eliciting a response as soon as a known stimulus is present. Such habits are generally associated (and mostly opposed) to goal-directed actions that require a deliberative process to evaluate the best option to take in order to reach a given goal. Using a computational model, we investigated the classic hypothesis of habits formation and expression in the basal ganglia and proposed a new hypothesis concerning the respective role for both the basal ganglia and the cortex. Inspired by previous theoretical and experimental works (Leblois et al., 2006; Guthrie et al., 2013), we designed a computational model of the basal ganglia-thalamus-cortex that uses segregated loops (motor, cognitive and associative) and makes the hypothesis that basal ganglia are only necessary for the acquisition of habits while the expression of such habits can be mediated through the cortex. Furthermore, this model predicts the existence of covert learning within the basal ganglia ganglia when their output is inhibited. Using a two-armed bandit task, this hypothesis has been experimentally tested and confirmed in monkey. Finally, this works suggest to revise the classical idea that automatism is a subcortical feature.
Treatment of idiopathic menorrhagia with tranexamic acid.

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of tranexamic acid in the treatment of idiopathic menorrhgia and to investigate the effect of medical treatment with tranexamic acid on the quality of life of the women with idiopathic menorrhagia. DESIGN Open, non-comparative study. SETTING Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. SUBJECTS 40 women with idiopathic menorrhagia was confirmed by menstrual blood loss greater than 80 ml/ cycle (PBAC score > 100) and mid-luteal serum progesterone concentration greater than 5 pg/ml. INTERVENTION Treatment with tranexamic acid 1 g orally, three times daily, for five days from day 1 of the menstruation for two consecutive menstrual periods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Menstrual blood loss was measured using the pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC). Hematological assessments were made at the beginning, after the first treatment cycle and at the end of the study. Questionnaires were given to assess subjective endpoint, quality of life. Patients were asked to report any adverse event during the study period. RESULTS Tranexamic acid reduces the mean PBAC score by 49%, from 350.5 to 178.6. Regarding the change in the quality of life measures, the proportion of women who felt a considerable degree of impairment during the menstruation was reduced from nearly 60% to less than 5% during their third menstruation. No serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION Tranexamic acid is a safe and effective form of medical therapy in women with menorrhagia; also increases quality of life in these women.
The Influence of Fibrin Crosslinking on the Kinetics of Urokinase‐Induced Clot Lysis *

Summary. The effect of fibrin crosslinking on the lysis of plasma clots was investigated with plasma from a patient congenitally deficient in plasma factor XIII (fibrin stabilizing factor). The thrombin‐activated plasma factor XIII was found to render clots more resistant to fibrinolysis when urokinase (UK) was used to induce plasminogen activation. Incorporation of UK in the clot by addition to plasma immediately before clotting resulted in a log‐log relationship when lysis time was plotted against UK concentration, with greater differences between normal and factor‐XIII deficient clots at lower UK concentrations. Addition of UK to the clot externally, after preincubation of the clot, gave linear plots on rectangular coordinates when either plasma or euglobulin fraction was used; and the difference in lysis time between factor‐XIII deficient and normal clots was nearly constant over the range of UK concentrations tested. When the fluorescent amine, dansylcadaverine, was used to measure factor‐XIII activity quantitatively, plasma clot lysis times were found to be directly proportional to amine‐incorporating activity over a wide range of activities at low UK concentrations. The range of proportionality was reduced when UK concentration was increased. Addition of purified factor XIII to the patient's plasma restored the resistance of these clots to within the normal range.
Introduction of the Asian Language Treebank

This paper introduces our project for developing Asian Language Treebank (ALT). The ALT project aims to advance the state-of-the-art Asian natural language processing (NLP) techniques through the open collaboration for developing and using ALT. The project is a joint effort of six institutes for making a parallel treebank for seven languages: English, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Malay, Myanmar, and Vietnamese. The process of building ALT began with sampling about 20,000 sentences from English Wikinews, and then these sentences were translated into the other six languages. ALT will have word segmentation, part-of-speech tags, syntactic analysis annotations, together with word alignment links among these languages.
Atomic structure and ordering in semiconductor alloys.

Application of a first-principles local-density total-energy minimization method to both ordered and random models of a III-V semiconductor alloy shows a bimodal distribution of anion-cation bond lengths despite a close adherence to Vegard's rule and predicts ordered intermediate phases to be the thermodynamically stable low-temperature ground state, whereas the disordered phase is shown to be metastable.