Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mayo's Older Americans Normative Studies: Age- and IQ-Adjusted Norms for the Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised

ABSTRACT Normative data sets for standardized neuropsychometric instruments often include adjustments for subject variables. There are reasons to believe, however, that improvements in interpretive accuracy that result from such adjustments are less than optimal. In particular, “years of formal education” may be less closely related to test performances than is general intellectual functioning. In this third of four reanalyses of results from the Mayo Clinic's Older Americans Normative Studies (MOANS) databases, age-adjusted index and scaled scores for the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised were found to be more strongly associated with Mayo age-adjusted WAIS-R Full Scale IQ scores (rs = .271 to .631) than with education (rs = .089 to .310) for healthy older examinees between 56 and 99 years of age. These associations were strongest for Attention/Concentration and General Memory Index scores and, in general, for individuals with average intelligence (cf. Dodrill, 1997 1999). Tables of age- and IQ-adjusted percentile equivalents of Mayo age-adjusted WMS-R index scores and MOANS age-adjusted WMS-R subtest scaled scores are presented for eleven age ranges and seven IQ ranges.
Development of Circulating Tumor Cell-Endocrine Therapy Index in Patients with Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

Background: Endocrine therapy (ET) fails to induce a response in one half of patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and almost all will eventually become refractory to ET. Circulating tumor cells (CTC) are associated with worse prognosis in patients with MBC, but enumeration alone is insufficient to predict the absolute odds of benefit from any therapy, including ET. We developed a multiparameter CTC-Endocrine Therapy Index (CTC-ETI), which we hypothesize may predict resistance to ET in patients with HR-positive MBC. Methods: The CTC-ETI combines enumeration and CTC expression of four markers: estrogen receptor (ER), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2), and Ki67. The CellSearch System and reagents were used to capture CTC and measure protein expression by immunofluorescent staining on CTC. Results: The feasibility of determining CTC-ETI was initially established in vitro and then in a prospective single-institution pilot study in patients with MBC. CTC-ETI was successfully determined in 44 of 50 (88%) patients. Eighteen (41%), 9 (20%), and 17 (39%) patients had low, intermediate, and high CTC-ETI scores, respectively. Interobserver concordance of CTC-ETI determination was from 94% to 95% (Kappa statistic, 0.90–0.91). Inter- and cell-to-cell intrapatient heterogeneity of expression of each of the CTC markers was observed. CTC biomarker expression was discordant from both primary and metastatic tissues. Conclusions: CTC expression of ER, BCL-2, HER2, and Ki67 can be reproducibly measured with high analytical validity using the CellSearch System. The clinical implications of CTC-ETI, and of the heterogeneity of CTC biomarker expression, are being evaluated in an ongoing prospective trial. Clin Cancer Res; 21(11); 2487–98. ©2014 AACR. See related commentary by Mathew et al., p. 2421
The management of dyspnoea in chronic heart failure

Purpose of reviewTo identify current management options for dyspnoeic people with chronic heart failure (CHF). Recent findingsResearch in people with CHF studying dyspnoea as a primary endpoint remains sparse. However, attention is turning towards symptoms as well as survival, and the need for agreed outcome measurement is recognized. There is relevant recent work examining both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions, targeting breathlessness directly or indirectly.There is evidence to support exercise training and mindfulness based programmes. The safety of morphine for breathlessness in acute heart failure has been retrospectively analysed but controlled clinical trials are required.Sildenafil may be useful for dyspnoea in CHF due to reduction of peripheral muscle signalling. Rolophylline, relaxin, carperitide, nesiritide and steroids warrant further evaluation. Bronchodilator use for dyspnoea in acute heart failure in the absence of COPD should be used with caution. A recent Cochrane review highlights the importance of diuretic therapy for both symptom control and optimizing prognosis. SummaryBetter standardization of dyspnoea outcome measures should help comparison of future trials. Optimization of diuretic therapy and attempted correction of neurohormonal disturbance in CHF remain the therapeutic targets for the underlying cause in dyspnoea management.
Optimal Design of High-Order Passive-Damped Filters for Grid-Connected Applications

Harmonic stability problems caused by the resonance of high-order filters in power electronic systems are ever increasing. The use of passive damping does provide a robust solution to address these issues, but at the price of reduced efficiency due to the presence of additional passive components. Hence, a new method is proposed in this paper to optimally design the passive damping circuit for the LCL filters and LCL with multituned LC traps. In short, the optimization problem reduces to the proper choice of the multisplit capacitors or inductors in the high-order filter. Compared to existing design procedures, the proposed method simplifies the iterative design of the overall filter while ensuring the minimum resonance peak with a lower damping capacitor and a lower rated resistor. It is shown that there is only one optimal value of the damping resistor or quality factor to achieve a minimum filter resonance. The passive filters are designed, built, and validated both analytically and experimentally for verification.
Abnormal sleep and sleepiness in Parkinson's disease

Purpose of reviewSleep problems are frequent and disabling in patients with Parkinson's disease. Recent data provide major advances in the mechanisms and consequences of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders, insomnia and narcolepsy-like daytime sleepiness. Recent findingsA large series confirms that rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders may precede parkinsonism or dementia (particuarly, but not exclusively, Lewy bodies dementia) for several years. In Parkinson's disease, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders expose patients to higher risks of dementia and hallucinations. Surprisingly, parkinsonism disappears during rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders, suggesting basal ganglia are bypassed. The interest for structures controlling atonia during rapid eye movement sleep switches from the pedunculopontine nuclei to the locus subcoeruleus. The neuropathology of hypothalamus in Parkinson's disease indicates a massive hypocretin loss, probably underlying the narcolepsy phenotype. The benefit of the new, 24-h long acting ropinirole and transdermal rotigotine on sleep and sleepiness is modest. Eventually, the dopamine release in the mesocorticolimbic pathway is increased during rapid eye movement sleep, supporting its role in dopaminergic-induced vivid dreams. SummaryIn clinical practice, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders should be looked at as heralding neurodegenerative diseases in patients with mild cognitive impairment and as a risk factor for dementia and hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease.
Circulating MicroRNA-21 Is Involved in Lymph Node Metastasis in Cervical Cancer by Targeting RASA1

Objective The aims of this study were to discover if increased circulating microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression in serum is associated with lymph node metastasis in patients with cervical cancer and look further into the molecular mechanism of these. Whole-blood samples from 89 patients who have been histopathologically confirmed as having cervical cancer and 20 control subjects were collected, and then the association between lymph node metastasis and the level of circulating miR-21 was compared. Then cervical cancer cell lines HeLa (HPV-18 DNA+, E6/E7RNA+) and HT-3 (HPV DNA−, E6/E7RNA−) were used to confirm the interaction between miR-21 and RASA1. The role of RASA1 in cervical cancer cell migration was also studied in HeLa. Increased circulating miR-21 expression in serum is associated with lymph node metastasis in patients with cervical cancer. MicroRNA-21 reduces RASA1 expression in cervical cancer cell lines and promotes cervical cancer cell migration via RASA1. Furthermore, Ras-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition contributes to miR-21/RASA1 axis promoting cervical cancer cell migration. Circulating miR-21 in serum could be a promising biomarker in auxiliary diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer, and inhibition of miR-21/RASA1 axis could be a possible strategy to restrain migration of cervical cancer.
An Empirical Approach to Develop Near-Field Limit for Radiated-Emission Compliance Check

Based on measurements from a near-field scanner and far-field measurements obtained in a semi-anechoic chamber, a statistical relationship is established between a magnetic field in the near field and an electric field in the far field. The relationship makes it possible to transform a radiated-emission regulatory limit from the far-field to the near-field zone. The transformed near-field limit can allow efficient prediction of radiated-emission compliance for high-speed printed circuit boards. The presented results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method for a quick radiated-emission precompliance check without heavy equipment investment.
Thinking Relationships Through Water

With this collection, we hope to contribute to a more explicitly relational study of water in society. Water is not just the object of social relationships, or merely a natural resource on which claims are made, to which meanings are attached, and over which political conflicts erupt. We suggest that if we study how social and hydrological relationships are interconnected and mutually constitutive, a much deeper understanding of the role of water in human social lives can be gained, and significantly better management and policy can be designed. This collection is thus an argument for considering the hydrological and the social together: for thinking relationships through water. Previous research on water has suggested a need to reconsider the relationships between society and natural resources (Strang 2009; Linton 2010). Simultaneously an element, a flow, a means of transport, a life-sustaining substance, and a life-threatening force, the subject, object, and often the very means of social and cultural activity (Hahn, Cless, and Soentgen 2012; Krause and Strang 2013), water inspires novel ways of thinking about key aspects of social relations, including exchange, circulation, power, community, and knowledge. At the same time, watery relationships challenge assumptions about nature and resources, questioning their conceptual and material boundedness and stability and furthering our understandings of the human and nonhuman aspects of their production. Today, water has a prominent place in academic research, due in part to a widening awareness of multiple global water crises, in which water is increasingly scarce, destructive or polluted. As water is perceived as endangered or dangerous, researchers are rediscovering the profound implications of water for human societies and cultures. Just as biophysical life is unthinkable without water, so too is social and cultural life.
Backtrack search algorithms and the maximal common subgraph problem

Backtrack algorithms are applicable to a wide variety of problems. An efficient but readable version of such an algorithm is presented and its use in the problem of finding the maximal common subgraph of two graphs is described. Techniques available in this application area for ordering and pruning the backtrack search are discussed. This algorithm has been used successfully as a component of a program for analysing chemical reactions and enumerating the bond changes which have taken place.
trans complementation of cap-independent translation directed by poliovirus 5' noncoding region deletion mutants: evidence for RNA-RNA interactions

Poliovirus (PV) RNA is translated by a cap-independent mechanism involving the internal entry of ribosomes onto the 5' noncoding region (NCR). Using the vaccinia virus-T7 RNA polymerase transient expression system, we showed previously that deletion of certain individual predicted secondary structures within the PV 5' NCR rendered the element defective in directing internal initiation when assayed alone. However, these defective 5' NCRs were functional when coexpressed within cells with full-length PV cDNA (N. Percy, G. J. Belsham, J. K. Brangwyn, M. Sullivan, D. M. Stone, and J. W. Almond, J. Virol. 66:1695-1701, 1992). We have extended the study to demonstrate that when these predicted secondary structures are deleted in combination, the enhanced activity in the presence of the full-length PV cDNA is still observed. Indeed, a poliovirus 5' NCR devoid of all predicted secondary structures is capable of initiating protein synthesis under these conditions. Surprisingly, we also found that this enhancement of activity requires neither any PV protein nor the inhibition of cap-dependent translation. The results indicate that the defective PV 5' NCR elements can be complemented in trans by functional 5' NCRs in a highly sequence specific manner.
Catheter Ablation of Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Tachycardia: Value of Defining Coronary Anatomy

Introduction: Thermal damage to coronary arteries during catheter ablation has been previously reported. Coronary artery damage during LV outflow tract ventricular tachycardia is well recognized. However, the relationship of the coronary arteries to the RV outflow tract during catheter ablation has not been delineated. The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between the RV outflow tract and the coronary arteries utilizing arteriography, echocardiography, CT angiography, and gross anatomic pathology.
The inhibitory effect of rolipram on TNF-alpha production in mouse blood ex vivo is dependent upon the release of corticosterone and adrenaline.

Intraperitoneal administration of the phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitor rolipram (1-30 mg/kg) caused a dose-dependent increase in the circulating levels of both corticosterone and adrenaline in male Balb/c mice. These increases were maximal 0.5-1 h after administration of rolipram and had declined to control levels by 4 h. Rolipram (10 mg/kg i.p.) substantially inhibited the production of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) ex vivo in blood from normal mice but was ineffective in adrenalectomized mice, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of rolipram is dependent on intact adrenal function. The corticosterone antagonist, RU 486, and the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, propranolol, both partially reversed the inhibitory activity of rolipram while the combination of RU 486 and popranolol abrogated the effect of the rolipram to the same degree as adrenalectomy. These data suggest the release of both corticosterone and adrenaline contribute to the ability of rolipram to inhibit TNF-alpha production in mouse blood ex vivo.
The accuracy of tympanic temperature measurement in children.

PURPOSE To evaluate the accuracy and consistency of tympanic temperature measurement in children. METHODOLOGY A correlational study compared tympanic temperature measurements with oral, axillary, and rectal measurements. A convenience sample of 209 hospitalized children ages newborn to 12 years was stratified according to age. Cross tabulation by fever was analyzed for sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS Tympanic measurements were significantly correlated to oral, axillary, and rectal measurements. The correlation between axillary and tympanic in newborns was lowest. Tympanic measures identified fevers more often than oral or axillary measurements when compared to rectal measurements. CONCLUSIONS Tympanic measurement in newborns was not sufficiently accurate. Tympanic measurements may be used routinely in children older than 3 years.
Affinity Purification of Antibodies Specific for 1,4‐Dihydropyridine Ca2+ Channel Blockers

High-affinity antibodies specific for the 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers have been produced in sheep and affinity purified using a dihydropyridine-Sepharose affinity column. Dihydropyridine-Sepharose affinity matrix was synthesized by reaction of amlnohexyl-Sepharose with an affinity analogue of nifedipine, dimethyl l,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-isothiocyanatophenyl)-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate. Residual amine groups were then blocked by carbodiimide-catalyzed acetylation. [3H]Nitrendiplne-binding activity in serum was specifically absorbed by the dihydropyridine-Sepharose affinity column. The bound antibody was eluted with diethylamine (pH 11.5) in 10percent; dioxane or with a low-affinity dihydropyridine ligand (diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,4,6-trimethyl-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate), pH 7.4. Thirty-six milligrams of highly pure IgG antibody, as demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, was isolated from 50 ml hyperimmune sheep serum. The affinity-purified anti-dihydropyridine antibodies have been shown to have high affinity (Kd ~ 0.1 nM) and specificity for the 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers and, therefore, exhibit dihydropyridine-binding properties similar to the membrane receptor for the 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers. Immunoblot staining of an azidopine-bovine serum albumin conjugate with affinity-purified anti-dihydropyridine antibodies demonstrated that the anti-dihydropyridine antibodies recognize the 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers when covalently coupled to protein and, therefore, should be useful in the identification and purification of receptors covalently labelled with 1,4-dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel blockers.
Guidance of Axons by Local Coupling of Retrograde Flow to Point Contact Adhesions

Growth cones interact with the extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrin receptors at adhesion sites termed point contacts. Point contact adhesions link ECM proteins to the actin cytoskeleton through numerous adaptor and signaling proteins. One presumed function of growth cone point contacts is to restrain or “clutch” myosin-II-based filamentous actin (F-actin) retrograde flow (RF) to promote leading edge membrane protrusion. In motile non-neuronal cells, myosin-II binds and exerts force upon actin filaments at the leading edge, where clutching forces occur. However, in growth cones, it is unclear whether similar F-actin-clutching forces affect axon outgrowth and guidance. Here, we show in Xenopus spinal neurons that RF is reduced in rapidly migrating growth cones on laminin (LN) compared with non-integrin-binding poly-d-lysine (PDL). Moreover, acute stimulation with LN accelerates axon outgrowth over a time course that correlates with point contact formation and reduced RF. These results suggest that RF is restricted by the assembly of point contacts, which we show occurs locally by two-channel imaging of RF and paxillin. Further, using micropatterns of PDL and LN, we demonstrate that individual growth cones have differential RF rates while interacting with two distinct substrata. Opposing effects on RF rates were also observed in growth cones treated with chemoattractive and chemorepulsive axon guidance cues that influence point contact adhesions. Finally, we show that RF is significantly attenuated in vivo, suggesting that it is restrained by molecular clutching forces within the spinal cord. Together, our results suggest that local clutching of RF can control axon guidance on ECM proteins downstream of axon guidance cues. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Here, we correlate point contact adhesions directly with clutching of filamentous actin retrograde flow (RF), which our findings strongly suggest guides developing axons. Acute assembly of new point contact adhesions is temporally and spatially linked to attenuation of RF at sites of forward membrane protrusion. Importantly, clutching of RF is modulated by extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and soluble axon guidance cues, suggesting that it may regulate axon guidance in vivo. Consistent with this notion, we found that RF rates of spinal neuron growth cones were slower in vivo than what was observed in vitro. Together, our study provides the best evidence that growth cone–ECM adhesions clutch RF locally to guide axons in vivo.
An Increase in Antimycobacterial Th1-Cell Responses by Prime-Boost Protocols of Immunization Does Not Enhance Protection against Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase (CyaA) toxoid is a powerful nonreplicative immunization vector targeting dendritic cells, which has already been used successfully in prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination in various preclinical animal models. Here, we investigated the potential of CyaA, harboring strong mycobacterial immunogens, i.e., the immunodominant regions of antigen 85A or the complete sequence of the 6-kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) protein, to induce antimycobacterial immunity. By generating T-cell hybridomas or by using T cells from mice infected with mycobacteria, we first demonstrated that the in vitro delivery of 85A or ESAT-6 to antigen-presenting cells by CyaA leads to processing and presentation, by major histocompatibility complex class II molecules, of the same epitopes as those displayed upon mycobacterial infection. Importantly, compared to the recombinant protein alone, the presentation of ESAT-6 in vitro was 100 times more efficient upon its delivery to antigen-presenting cells in fusion to CyaA. Immunization with CyaA-85A or CyaA-ESAT-6 in the absence of any adjuvant induced strong antigen-specific lymphoproliferative, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) cytokine responses, in the absence of any IL-4 or IL-5 production. When used as boosters after priming with a BCG expressing ESAT-6, the CyaA-85A and CyaA-ESAT-6 proteins were able to strikingly increase the sensitivity and intensity of proliferative and Th1-polarized responses and notably the frequency of antigen-specific IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells. However, immunization with these CyaA constructs as subunit vaccines alone or as boosters did not allow induction or improvement of protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. These results question the broadly admitted correlation between the frequency of IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells and the level of protection against tuberculosis.
Women and Power in Postconflict Africa

The book explains an unexpected consequence of the decrease in conflict in Africa after the 1990s. Analysis of cross-national data and in-depth comparisons of case studies of Uganda, Liberia, and Angola show that postconflict countries have significantly higher rates of women’s political representation in legislatures and government compared with countries that have not undergone major conflict. They have also passed more legislative reforms and made more constitutional changes relating to women’s rights. The study explains how and why these patterns emerged, tying these outcomes to the conjuncture of the rise of women’s movements, changes in international women’s rights norms, and, most importantly, to gender disruptions that occur during war. This book will help scholars, students, women’s rights activists, international donors, policy makers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and others better understand some of the circumstances that are most conducive to women’s rights reform today.