Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural substrates of low‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation during movement in healthy subjects and acute stroke patients. A PET study

The aim of the study was to investigate, with an rTMS/PET protocol, the after‐effects induced by 1‐Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of the primary motor cortex (M1) contralateral to that stimulated during a movement. Eighteen healthy subjects underwent a baseline PET scan followed, in randomized order, by a session of Real/Sham low‐frequency (1 Hz) subthreshold rTMS over the right M1 for 23 min. The site of stimulation was fMRI‐guided. After each rTMS session (real or sham), subjects underwent behavioral hand motor tests and four PET scans. During the first two scans, ten subjects (RH group) moved the right hand ipsilateral to the stimulated site and eight subjects (LH group) moved the left contralateral hand. All remained still during the last two scans (rest). Two stroke patients underwent the same protocol with rTMS applied on contralesional M1. Compared with Sham‐rTMS, Real‐rTMS over the right M1 was followed by a significant increase of rCBF during right hand movement in left S1M1, without any significant change in motor performance. The effect lasted less than 1 h. The same rTMS‐induced S1M1 overactivation was observed in the two stroke patients. Commissural connectivity between right dorsal premotor cortex and left M1 after real‐rTMS was observed with a psychophysiological interaction analysis in healthy subjects. No major changes were found for the left hand. These results give further arguments in favor of a plastic commissural connectivity between M1 both in healthy subjects and in stroke patients, and reinforce the potential for therapeutic benefit of low‐frequency rTMS in stroke rehabilitation. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The first use of an investigational multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB) in humans

Background: Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B is a well-recognized cause of bacterial meningitis and sepsis for which no broadly protective vaccine exists. Whole genome sequencing was used to identify three antigens: factor H binding protein (fHbp), Neisserial adhesin A (NadA), and Neisseria heparin binding antigen (NHBA) for an investigational vaccine candidate (rMenB). This was the first trial of an investigational multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB), containing rMenB and outer membrane vesicles (OMV) from the New Zealand epidemic strain in humans. Results: Seventy adults enrolled and received study vaccine. All vaccines were generally well tolerated. Immune responses were observed to multiple serogroup B strains following all investigational vaccines, suggesting the potential for broad coverage against this serogroup. Immunogenicity was enhanced by the addition of OMV; the 4CMenB displayed the optimal profile for further investigation. Methods: In a phase I, observer blind, randomized trial, healthy adults (18-40 years of age) were randomized 2:2:1 to receive 3 doses of 4CMenB, rMenB with OMV from the Norwegian outbreak strain, or rMenB alone. Pre- and postvaccination sera were evaluated in a serum bactericidal assay using human complement (hSBA) against a panel of 15 serogroup B strains, with titers ≥4 considered protective. Solicited injection site and systemic reactions were evaluated for 7 days following each vaccination and adverse events were reported throughout the study. Conclusion: In this trial, 4CMenB displayed a favorable profile for further clinical development. 4CMenB demonstrated immunogenicity against multiple heterologous serogroup B strains. All vaccines were generally well tolerated in this study.
In Vivo labeling of zebrafish motor neurons using an mnx1 enhancer and Gal4/UAS

The zebrafish spinal cord primary motor neurons are commonly used as an experimental model to study the molecular mechanisms that regulate axonal pathfinding and neuromuscular junction formation, and for the modeling of human neurodegenerative disorders. This study characterized a 125‐bp mnx1 enhancer to direct gene expression in spinal cord motor neurons. A promoter containing three copies of the 125‐bp mnx1 enhancer was generated in a Tol2 vector and used to drive enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression either directly or in combination with the Gal4/UAS transcriptional activation system. Both methods induced protein expression for up to 5 days after fertilization, allowing the observation of the dendritic tree and axonal arborization of single motor neurons within a somitic segment in fixed and live animals. The use of the 125‐bp mnx1 promoter for transient transgenic expression or for the generation of stable transgenic fish lines will facilitate the study of motor neuron development and neurodegenerative processes. genesis 49:543–554, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multi-Factor Dynamic Modelling and Forecasting of Interest Rates and Equity Markets

In this thesis, several theoretical specifications and estimation techniques are employed towards the dynamic modelling and forecasting of the term structure of interest rates, both independently and in conjunction with equity markets. The first empirical investigation is motivated by the recent call for richer specifications following the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. In that regard, several existing multi-factor continuous-time models are extended to four and five factors to assess the benefit of richer models. The Gaussian estimation methods for dynamic Continuous-Time models yield insightful comparative results concerning the two different segments of the yield curve. The dynamics of the more volatile short-end of the yield curve are best explained by the most flexible models which consistently outperform all the other less complex models in terms of both in-sample and out-of-sample performance. For the long-end flatter segment, the benchmark discrete-time parsimonious models seem hard to beat, while the addition of extra factors has a minimal benefit in terms of forecasting performance. In a second empirical study, the term structures of three Scandinavian countries are modelled using multi-latent-factor models. The empirical results produced by Kalman filter estimation method indicate that the three-factor specification captures most of the changes over time in the shape of the yield curve for Denmark and Norway, while for Sweden the statistical tests do not reject the two-factor model against the three-factor formulation. Finally, the third investigation brings new empirical evidence of the impact of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on the return and volatility linkages between the U.S. - the country where the shock originated and other major economies using a multivariate methodology for the simultaneous modelling of interest rates and equity markets. During the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 the financial markets around the world have communicated through a more complex network of information transmission routes. The channels with most intensity of information transmission were the indirect international ones, bringing new evidence of the importance of this type of routes that has previously been investigated very little in the spillovers literature
Transplantation of livers from HBc Ab positive donors into HBc Ab negative recipients: a strategy and preliminary results

Here we describe a strategy for using livers from hepatitis B core antibody (anti‐HBc) positive donors in anti‐HBc negative recipients and report our preliminary results. Adult anti‐HBc negative recipients were immunized against hepatitis B virus (HBV) prior to transplantation. Liver biopsies from anti‐HBc positive, HBs Ag negative donors were performed at the time of procurement to rule out acute hepatitis or chronic liver disease. Donor serum and liver samples were collected for HBV DNA analysis by PCR.
Pooling health‐related quality of life outcomes in meta‐analysis—a tutorial and review of methods for enhancing interpretability

– Meta‐analyses of health‐related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes present difficulties in interpretation when studies use different instruments to measure the same construct. Presentation of results in standard deviation units (standardized mean difference) is widely used but is limited by vulnerability to differential variability in populations enrolled and interpretational challenges.
Bureaucratic autonomy and policy capacity in the implementation of capitation payment systems in primary healthcare: comparative case studies of three districts in Central Java, Indonesia

ABSTRACT Substantial variations in policy implementation at the subnational level have long plagued Indonesia – a vast developing country that has witnessed regional variations in policy performance since administrative decentralization took place. Using a comparative case study method, this study examined institutional factors that affected the implementation of capitation payment systems among primary healthcare providers in three districts in Indonesia. Though possessing jurisdictional similarities in terms of their sociocultural characteristics and political party dominance, differences in the degree of bureaucratic autonomy and policy capacity among local health actors at the district level engendered implementation variations in terms of the policy performance and implementation styles of local health actors. Both diagnostic and analytical insights derived from the findings of this study could pave the way towards better stakeholder engagement when contemplating local level capacity-building initiatives, making them better suited to local policy contexts in the future.
Comparison of SNOMED CT versus Medcin terminology concept coverage for mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

BACKGROUND Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a "signature" injury of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Structured electronic data regarding TBI findings is important for research, population health and other secondary uses but requires appropriate underlying standard terminologies to ensure interoperability and reuse. Currently the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses the terminology SNOMED CT and the Department of Defense (DOD) uses Medcin. METHODS We developed a comprehensive case definition of mild TBI composed of 68 clinical terms. Using automated and manual techniques, we evaluated how well the mild TBI case definition terms could be represented by SNOMED CT and Medcin, and compared the results. We performed additional analysis stratified by whether the concepts were rated by a TBI expert panel as having High, Medium, or Low importance to the definition of mild TBI. RESULTS SNOMED CT sensitivity (recall) was 90% overall for coverage of mild TBI concepts, and Medcin sensitivity was 49%, p < 0.001 (using McNemar's chi square). Positive predictive value (precision) for each was 100%. SNOMED CT outperformed Medcin for concept coverage independent of import rating by our TBI experts. DISCUSSION SNOMED CT was significantly better able to represent mild TBI concepts than Medcin. This finding may inform data gathering, management and sharing, and data exchange strategies between the VA and DOD for active duty soldiers and veterans with mild TBI. Since mild TBI is an important condition in the civilian population as well, the current study results may be useful also for the general medical setting.
Trending now: future directions in digital media for the public health sector.

BACKGROUND Digital media usage is expanding enormously and is starting to be used as a public health intervention and communication tool. It has an ability to increase the reach of public health research and communication, as well as drive measurable behaviour change. But there is an absence of both deep and wide understanding of the opportunities within digital media, i.e. most people think only of Facebook and Twitter when they think of social media; smart, strategic planning for its widespread use is not common practice and rigorous evaluative studies of its effectiveness are few and far between. METHODS This paper analyses the published literature on this topic and identifies the top 10 directions that use of digital media is likely to take in the medium term. RESULTS The analysis strongly supports the position that digital media needs to be taken seriously as a vehicle for public health activity in its own right and not merely as an adjunct to other campaigns. CONCLUSIONS Digital media will continue to develop and move from being an add-on to existing activity to being the major vehicle for significant elements of research, data collection and advocacy. It is important that public health leaders fully understand and engage in its development and use.
Appraising the quality of randomized controlled trials: inter-rater reliability for the OTseeker evidence database.

RATIONALE AND AIMS 'OTseeker' is an online database of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews relevant to occupational therapy. RCTs are critically appraised and rated for quality using the 'PEDro' scale. We aimed to investigate the inter-rater reliability of the PEDro scale before and after revising rating guidelines. METHODS In study 1, five raters scored 100 RCTs using the original PEDro scale guidelines. In study 2, two raters scored 40 different RCTs using revised guidelines. All RCTs were randomly selected from the OTseeker database. Reliability was calculated using Kappa and intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC (model 2,1)]. RESULTS Inter-rater reliability was 'good to excellent' in the first study (Kappas >or= 0.53; ICCs >or= 0.71). After revising the rating guidelines, the reliability levels were equivalent or higher to those previously obtained (Kappas >or= 0.53; ICCs >or= 0.89), except for the item, 'groups similar at baseline', which still had moderate reliability (Kappa = 0.53). In study 2, two PEDro scale items, which had their definitions revised, 'less than 15% dropout' and 'point measures and variability', showed higher reliability. In both studies, the PEDro items with the lowest reliability were 'groups similar at baseline' (Kappas = 0.53), 'less than 15% dropout' (Kappas <or= 0.68) and 'point measures and variability data' (Kappas <or= 0.68). CONCLUSION The PEDro scale is a reliable instrument for rating the quality of RCTs. Revised rating guidelines are provided for scale items that are difficult to rate, and helped to improve inter-rater reliability.
Fast Collision Detection for Fracturing Rigid Bodies

In complex scenes with many objects, collision detection plays a key role in the simulation performance. This is particularly true in fracture simulation for two main reasons. One is that fracture fragments tend to exhibit very intensive contact, and the other is that collision detection data structures for new fragments need to be computed on the fly. In this paper, we present novel collision detection algorithms and data structures for real-time simulation of fracturing rigid bodies. We build on a combination of well-known efficient data structures, namely, distance fields and sphere trees, making our algorithm easy to integrate on existing simulation engines. We propose novel methods to construct these data structures, such that they can be efficiently updated upon fracture events and integrated in a simple yet effective self-adapting contact selection algorithm. Altogether, we drastically reduce the cost of both collision detection and collision response. We have evaluated our global solution for collision detection on challenging scenarios, achieving high frame rates suited for hard real-time applications such as video games or haptics. Our solution opens promising perspectives for complex fracture simulations involving many dynamically created rigid objects.
2,6-Diaminopyridinium bis(4-hydroxypyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato-κ3 O 2,N,O 6)chromate(III) dihydrate

The reaction of chromium(III) nitrate hexahydrate, pyridine-2,6-diamine and 4-hydroxypyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid in a 1:2:2 molar ratio in aqueous solution resulted in the formation of the title compound, (C5H8N3)[Cr(C7H3NO5)2]·2H2O or (pydaH)[Cr(hypydc)2]·2H2O (where pyda is pyridine-2,6-diamine and hypydcH2 is 4-hydroxypyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid). Each CrIII atom is hexacoordinated by four O and two N atoms from two (hypydc)2− fragments, which act as tridentate ligands, in a distorted octahedral geometry. The O—Cr—O—C torsion angles between the two planes of the (hypydc)2− fragments [−99.81 (17) and 97.77 (17)°] indicate that these two units are almost perpendicular to one another. In the crystal structure, extensive O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds with D⋯A distances ranging from 2.560 (2) to 3.279 (3) Å, ion pairing, C—O⋯π [O⋯π = 3.166 (2) Å] and π–π stacking interactions between (hypydc)2− and (pydaH)+ rings [with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.3353 (14) Å] contribute to the formation of a three-dimensional supramolecular structure.
Comparison of electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy procedures in children.

OBJECTIVES Although previous studies have examined the electrosurgical pulpotomy technique for primary teeth, no well-controlled, clinical human trials have been published. The purpose of this study was to prospectively compare electrosurgical pulpotomies vs. formocresol pulpotomies in human vital primary molar teeth. DESIGN Fifty children were randomly divided into two groups, 25 receiving an electrosurgical pulpotomy and 25 receiving a formocresol pulpotomy. RESULTS After at least 5 months postoperative observation time, the clinical and radiographic success rates for the electrosurgical groups were 96 and 84%, respectively; and for the formocresol group, 100 and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSION There were no statistically significant differences between the success rates for the two groups at the P < 0.05 level as tested by Fisher's exact test. This study failed to demonstrate a difference in the success rate between the electrosurgical and formocresol pulpotomy techniques.
Constitutive c-Met signaling through a nonautocrine mechanism promotes metastasis in a transgenic transplantation model.

Normal cells are dependent on exogenous, receptor-mediated growth stimulation for cell cycle entry and progression, providing a critical homeostatic mechanism regulating cellular proliferation. In contrast, tumor cells acquire some degree of growth signal autonomy, often through their ability to produce growth factors as well as their receptors (autocrine signaling). Recently, data have begun to emerge implicating heterotypic signaling between diverse cell types within a tumor in the genesis and progression of cancer; however, current experimental approaches in vivo have not adequately addressed this critical relationship. Here we used transgenic mice overexpressing hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), or its growth antagonist NK2, as genetically modified hosts for transplantation of tumor cells expressing their receptor, c-Met, to directly assess the contribution of heterotypic signaling to metastatic colonization. We demonstrate that metastatic potential under nonautocrine signaling conditions (i.e., where tumor cells expressing c-Met are transplanted into transgenic hosts producing HGF/SF) rivaled that observed under conditions of autocrine signaling (i.e., where tumor cells expressing both HGF/SF and c-Met are transplanted into wild-type hosts). HGF/SF and NK2 were not functionally equivalent in vivo. Attenuation of NK2-associated growth inhibition by the presence of an HGF/SF-Met autocrine loop uncovered a shift in metastatic site preference from lung to liver only in NK2-transgenic hosts, a qualitative behavioral alteration likely detectable only through the genetic approach used here. Our data demonstrate that growth factors not intrinsic to malignant cells can have profound effects on metastatic efficiency in vivo and provide experimental support of a role for heterotypic signaling in tumor progression.
Distribution of interleukin-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889) genetic variations in a Thai population group.

BACKGROUND The severe form of chronic periodontitis (CP) has been reported to be strongly associated with the presence of allele 2 of composite IL-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889) genetic polymorphisms (genotype positive). However, other studies have reported conflicting findings, not only on the association between the composite IL-1 gene polymorphisms and CP, but also the link between IL-1 gene polymorphisms and aggressive periodontitis (AgP). These might have resulted from differences in ethnic background and disease entities. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of IL-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889) genetic polymorphisms in a group of Thai subjects based on their periodontal status, including CP, AgP, and healthy groups. METHODS A total of 123 Thai subjects were clinically and radiographically assessed for their periodontal status. Blood samples were collected by fingerstick and adsorbed onto filter paper. The IL-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889) genotypes were performed by polymerase chain reaction, digested with restriction enzymes, and separated by gel electrophoresis. RESULTS The distribution of allele 1 homozygous genotype was 97.6% and 84.6% for IL-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889), respectively. No allele 2 homozygous genotype was detected in either of these two gene loci. Only 1.6% (2 out of 123) of the subjects were genotype positive, which was too low to determine the association between the composite genotype of IL-1beta(+3954) and IL-1alpha(-889) and severe forms of periodontal disease. CONCLUSION Genetic polymorphism of IL-1 genes in these two loci may not be useful in predicting the severity of periodontal disease in the Thai ethnic group.
Achievability of the Paris Agreement targets in the EU: demand-side reduction potentials in a carbon budget perspective

ABSTRACT Limiting global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C is an integral part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. To achieve these aims, cumulative global carbon emissions after 2016 should not exceed 940 – 390 Gt of CO2 (for the 2°C target) and 167 – −48 Gt of CO2 (for the 1.5°C target) by the end of the century. This paper analyses the EU’s cumulative carbon emissions in different models and scenarios (global models, EU-focused models and national carbon mitigation scenarios). Due to the higher reductions in energy use and carbon intensity of the end-use sectors in the national scenarios, we identify an additional mitigation potential of 26–37 Gt cumulative CO2 emissions up to 2050 compared to what is currently included in global or EU scenarios. These additional reductions could help to both reduce the need for carbon dioxide removals and bring cumulative emissions in global and EU scenarios in line with a fairness-based domestic EU budget for a 2°C target, while still remaining way above the budget for 1.5°C. Key policy insights Models used for policy advice such as global integrated assessment models or EU models fail to consider certain mitigation potential available at the level of sectors. Global and EU models assume significant levels of CO2 emission reductions from carbon capture and storage to reach the 1.5°C target but also to reach the 2°C target. Global and EU model scenarios are not compatible with a fair domestic EU share in the global carbon budget either for 2°C or for 1.5°C. Integrating additional sectoral mitigation potential from detailed national models can help bring down cumulative emissions in global and EU models to a level comparable to a fairness-based domestic EU share compatible with the 2°C target, but not the 1.5°C aspiration.