Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Ivy Sign on Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery Images Related to Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Cerebral Blood Flow in Moyamoya Disease: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Moyamoya disease is an idiopathic progressive cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disorder characterized by the formation of numerous collaterals called moyamoya vessels. Accurate evaluation of vascular status and CBF is needed for prompt treatment to prevent ischemic and/or hemorrhagic events. The pathogenesis of the ivy sign on fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images of moyamoya disease patients is unclear. We report a moyamoya disease case wherein the ivy sign changed in relation to SPECT-measured CBF during progression and following treatment. CASE DESCRIPTION A 49-year-old female presented with slight aphasia and right hemiparesis. MRI diffusion-weighted image revealed cerebral infarction in the left frontal lobe. Cerebral angiography images showed bilateral distal internal carotid artery stenosis and moyamoya vessels. FLAIR images exhibited the ivy sign. We performed superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery(STA-MCA) bypass surgery with encephalogaleosynangiosis(EGS) and encephalomyosynangiosis(EMS) on the left side 6 months after first presentation. After operation, left-side resting CBF gradually improved on SPECT and the ivy sign decreased. On the other hand, right-side CBF gradually deteriorated at rest, and the ivy sign increased. Therefore, we performed STA-MCA bypass with EGS and EMS on the right side 4 years after first presentation. After operation, resting CBF increased and ivy sign decreased. CONCLUSION The FLAIR ivy sign may be a useful indicator of both deterioration and improvement of CBF status without the need for CBF imaging using contrast material.
Replacement Overcomes Effects on the Metabolism of Cyclophosphamide and Efavirenz Caused by CYP 2 B 6 Variant with Arg 262

There are a number of reports indicating that CYP2B6*6 (c.516G>T and c.785A>G) is responsible for decreased clearance of efavirenz (EFV), although increased disposition of cyclophosphamide (CPA) in individuals with this polymorphism was observed. Thus, we hypothesized that the effects of the two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CYP2B6*6 on the metabolism of drugs might be considerably different between these two agents. To clarify this possibility, we expressed two major variants of this enzyme, CYP2B6.6 (Q172H and K262R) and CYP2B6.4 (K262R), and investigated metabolic activities of these variants toward EFV and CPA. Kinetic analyses clearly indicated that CYP2B6.4 possessed enhanced metabolic activity toward EFV compared with that of the wild-type enzyme (CYP2B6.1), whereas CPA was metabolized less efficiently by CYP2B6.4 than by CYP2B6.1. On the other hand, CYP2B6.6 showed a completely opposite character, suggesting that Q172H gives inverse effects on metabolic activities of CYP2B6 affected by K262R. Although it is recognized that effects of amino acid change in cytochrome P450 on the metabolic activity depend on substrates, this study revealed SNPs giving an opposite effect on the metabolism of two clinically important drugs currently used. Furthermore, this study provides the first evidence that Q172H can reverse the direction of the effect caused by K262R in CYP2B6 on the metabolism of certain drugs.
Roles , Characteristics , and Affordances of Spatialized Information

The appropriate use of space in interfaces varies greatly with system goals. Some systems use space to support the comprehension of structure; others use it to support navigation; and still others use space as a unique means to support expression through manipulation and modification. As a step towards the informed use of space in information systems, we will map some of the characteristics of spatial interfaces to the advantages they provide to the users.
International Regional Science Review

The International Regional Science Review (IRSR) is an appropriate journal for a memorial to Walter Isard. Walter founded the journal in 1975, and was its first editor, though only for a brief period. Walter had several motivations for founding the IRSR. First, the field of Regional Science had grown considerably since he formally founded it over twenty years earlier, and there was a need for more journals to disseminate the research in this field. Second, Walter saw the need for a journal with greater flexibility in approaches and topics than the Journal of Regional Science, for which he was the founding editor in 1958, and the Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association (now Papers in Regional Science) which he founded in 1954. Together with Åke Andersson, he also reorganized Regional Science and Urban Economics in 1975. His imprint is evident in the environmental theme of the inaugural issue of the IRSR and in the approaches and topics published in the journal over the years under leadership of its very able subsequent editors Andrew Isserman, Shelby Gerking, Luc Anselin, and Serge Rey. Walter Isard was honored in numerous ways over the course of his outstanding career, not only by the field of Regional Science but also by the fields of Economics, Geography, Planning, and Peace Science (which he also founded). His contributions are well known, and in fact Walter went so far as to discourage efforts to honor him
Validation and use of the FinometerTM for blood pressure measurement in normal, hypertensive and pre-eclamptic pregnancy

Objective Although a large variety of automated blood pressure devices are available, only some have been validated for use in clinical practice. The British Hypertension Society (BHS) recommends separate validation of automated devices in special subgroups, e.g. the elderly and pregnant women. The aim of this study was to compare the FinometerTM (FM) and the earlier validated SpaceLabs 90207TM (SL) with standard auscultatory blood pressure measurements in normal, pre-eclamptic and hypertensive pregnancy, following the guidelines of the BHS and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Methods The total study group consisted of 123 pregnant women, of whom were 54 normotensive, 31 pre-eclamptic and 38 hypertensive. Automated readings with the FM and SL were compared with auscultatory blood pressure measurements. Bland–Altman plots, BHS grades, mean pressure differences and 95% limits of agreement were used for analysis. Results Bland–Altman plots showed a wide scatter of the pressure differences between auscultatory and automated measurements. FM achieved BHS grades C/D, C/B, D/D and D/D in the total, normotensive, pre-eclamptic and hypertensive group, respectively. The AAMI criteria were only met for diastolic blood pressure in the normotensive group. For SL almost identical BHS grades and 95% limits of agreement as compared to our earlier study were found. Conclusions The accuracy and precision of the FinometerTM are not sufficient for determination of absolute blood pressure levels in individual pregnant women. Our present findings on the SpaceLabs 90207TM reconfirm our earlier results.
Exploring Chinese Women’s Perception of Cervical Cancer Risk as It Impacts Screening Behavior: A Qualitative Study

Background: Chinese women rarely undergo regular cervical screening. Women’s decisions about cervical screening may be influenced by their perception of the risk of cervical cancer. Therefore, understanding how women perceive the risk of cervical cancer, how personal risk factors are interpreted, and the influence of cultural issues on cervical screening behavior is important. Objective: The aim of this study is to understand cervical cancer risk perception and the role of personal risk factors as they influence screening behavior among Chinese women. Method: An exploratory qualitative research design was used. We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews of 27 women in Changsha, a medium-size city in Hunan province, China. Results: Participants identified that cervical cancer had serious consequences, but they distanced themselves psychologically from the disease because they felt that “cervical cancer is a shameful and deadly disease. ” Although women identified some of the risk factors for the disease, they had little specific knowledge of human papillomavirus infection, its association with cervical cancer, and the importance of cervical screening. Conclusion: This study contributes new knowledge to the understanding of cervical screening behavior within a specific social and cultural context. Better efforts should be made to educate Chinese women on the risk of cervical cancer and emphasize that effective cancer treatments are available and that there is a good chance of survival. Implications for Practice: Nurses working with Chinese women should ensure that the information they provide is culturally sensitive, particularly by acknowledging the normative beliefs of this population group.
Financial Implications of Local and Nonlocal Rival Isomorphism

We develop an isomorphism-signaling framework to explain the likelihood of isomorphic behavior (and nonconformity) by a focal firm toward local rivals and nonlocal rivals and then predict financial performance associated with the action. In the presence of asymmetric information, we predict a causal relationship between rival isomorphism and financial performance that reveals a paradox—that is, we theorize and show conditions in which “conforming” reflected by rival isomorphic behavior is a signal that “separates” high-quality from low-quality firms. We consider a firm’s costs and benefits of local and nonlocal rival isomorphism and assert that a firm can signal its quality, which affects financial performance of the equity offering. We test and find support for our hypotheses using a sample of firms raising capital abroad from 1994 to 2005.
DVS for buffer-constrained architectures with predictable QoS-energy tradeoffs

We present a new scheme for dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVS) for processing multimedia streams on architectures with restricted buffer sizes. The main advantage of our scheme over previously published DVS schemes is its ability to provide hard QoS guarantees while still achieving considerable energy savings. Our scheme can handle workloads characterized by both, the data-dependent variability in the execution time of multimedia tasks and the burstiness in the on-chip traffic arising out of multimedia processing. Many previous DVS algorithms capable of handling such workloads rely on control-theoretic feedback mechanisms or prediction schemes based on probabilistic techniques. Usually it is difficult to provide QoS guarantees with such schemes. In contrast, our scheme relies on worst-case interval-based characterization of the workload. The main novelty of our scheme is a combination of offline analysis and runtime monitoring to obtain worst case bounds on the workload and then improving these bounds at runtime. Our scheme is fully scalable and has a bounded application-independent runtime overhead.
A pro-fibrotic role for interleukin-4 in cardiac pressure overload.

AIMS The mechanisms underlying cardiac fibrosis in hypertension are yet to be defined, although inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, and cytokines have been implicated. Here, we investigated the role of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in cardiac fibrosis, which is elevated in the hypertensive heart. IL-4 has been shown to be pro-fibrotic in the liver and the lung, but its role in cardiac fibrosis has not been investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS Cardiac fibrosis was induced in mice by constricting the aorta between the two carotid arteries. Fourteen days later marked left ventricular fibrosis developed together with expression of IL-4. Anti-IL-4 neutralizing antibodies attenuated this fibrosis without affecting blood pressure or expression of the transforming growth factor-beta system. The reduction in fibrosis was associated with reductions in interstitial fibroblasts and macrophages together with reductions in proliferating cells and expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Since mast cells are a source of IL-4, we also assessed their role in fibrosis. Cromolyn, a mast cell inhibitor attenuated mast cell degranulation as well as IL-4 mRNA expression and cardiac fibrosis without affecting blood pressure. Treatment with Cromolyn also reduced interstitial fibroblasts and macrophages in regions of developing fibrosis as well MCP-1 expression. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates for the first time that IL-4, most likely produced by mast cells in the heart during pressure overload, is a significant contributor to cardiac fibrosis. Targeting this cytokine may be a useful therapeutic strategy to limit cardiac fibrosis.
Laser-based people tracking by multiple mobile robots

This paper presents laser-based people tracking by a group of mobile robots located near each other. Each robot finds moving people in its own laser scan images using an occupancy-grid-based method. It then tracks the detected people via Kalman filter and Global-nearest-neighbor-based data association. Tracking data are broadcasted to multiple robots through intercommunication and are combined using the Covariance intersection method. In our tracking method, all the robots share tracking data with each other; hence, they can always recognize people who are invisible to any other robot. The method is validated by the results of an experiment in which two walking people are tracked by three mobile robots.
Functionally Distinct Dopamine Signals in Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell in the Freely Moving Rat

Dynamic signaling of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons has been implicated in reward learning, drug abuse, and motivation. However, this system is complex because firing patterns of these neurons are heterogeneous; subpopulations receive distinct synaptic inputs, and project to anatomically and functionally distinct downstream targets, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core. The functional roles of these cell populations and their real-time signaling properties in freely moving animals are unknown. Resolving the real-time DA signal requires simultaneous knowledge of the synchronized activity of DA cell subpopulations and assessment of the down-stream functional effect of DA release. Because this is not yet possible solely by experimentation in vivo, we combine computational modeling and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry data to reconstruct the functionally relevant DA signal in DA neuron subpopulations projecting to the NAc core and shell in freely moving rats. The approach provides a novel perspective on real-time DA neuron firing and concurrent activation of presynaptic autoreceptors and postsynaptic targets. We first show that individual differences in DA release arise from differences in autoreceptor feedback. The model predicts that extracellular DA concentrations in NAc core result from constant baseline DA firing, whereas DA concentrations in NAc shell reflect highly dynamic firing patters, including synchronized burst firing and pauses. Our models also predict that this anatomical difference in DA signaling is exaggerated by intravenous infusion of cocaine. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Orchestrated signaling from mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons is important for initiating appropriate behavior in response to salient stimuli. Thus, subpopulations of mesolimbic DA neurons show different in vitro properties and synaptic inputs depending on their specific projections to the core and shell subterritories of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the functional consequence of these differences is unknown. Here we analyze and model DA dynamics in different areas of the NAc to establish the real-time DA signal. In freely behaving animals, we find that the DA signal from mesencephalic neurons projecting to the NAc shell is dominated by synchronized bursts and pauses, whereas signaling is uniform for core-projecting neurons; this difference is amplified by cocaine.
Screening tests for geriatric depression

Contends that the diagnosis of depression in aged patients is the responsibility of both psychologists, and non-psychologists, for it is the latter that is most likely to make initial contact with an elder in need of help. Describes problems in the use of psychometric tests to identify geriatric depression. Reviews the advantages and disadvantages and limitations of scales currently employed. Introduces a new Geriatric Depression Scale and demonstrates how it compares favorably with the Zung and Hamilton scales. Suggests appropriate cutoff scores on each of the three scales when they are used with older patients.
The search for social cohesion: from Durkheim to the European Commission

In the search for social cohesion there is a consistent tendency for some sociologists, both classical and contemporary, to become prophets manqués. They regularly affirm that there has been some fall from grace and that the morality of their times is confused and impoverished. The golden age of traditional morality is, typically, not very precisely described and nor, for that matter, are the future consequences for society of its ‘relinquished common morality’ (Wilson 1983: 332) specified very clearly. I do not want to spend much time in documenting this tendency but a few examples may illustrate well enough the position I have in mind.
Isolation, Culture and Characterization of Cardiac Progenitor Cells Derived from Human Embryonic Heart Tubes

A variety of studies have reported on the isolation and expansion of cardiac stem cells from adult hearts. However, there is little information concerning cardiac stem/progenitor cells derived from embryonic hearts/heart tubes. To provide more evidence for embryonic heart-derived stem/progenitor cells, Nkx2.5+ human cardiac progenitorcells (hCPCs) were isolated and cloned from human heart tubes. The cells stained positive for Nkx2.5 and Oct-4, and negative for α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), cytokeratin, factor-VIII, α-sarcomeric actin and c-Kit. GATA-4 expression of Nkx2.5+ hCPCs was higher than that of embryonic limb bud mesenchymal cells of the control group (p < 0.05). These cells were passaged continuously for >3 months (23 passages) and proliferated actively in vitro. After being treated with 5-azacytidine, Nkx2.5+ hCPCs underwent cardiomyogenic differentiation. Ultrastructural observation confirmed that the longitudinal section of these cardiomyogenic differentiation cells clearly revealed typical sarcomeres and intercalated discs. α-MHC, α-sarcomeric actin and GATA-4 levels were increased in Nkx2.5+ hCPCs treated with 5-azacytidine compared to untreated cells. Nkx2.5+ hCPCs exhibited positive staining and had a higher expression for α-SMA when cocultured with canine vascular endothelial cells. After Nkx2.5+ hCPCs were treated with endothelin-1, all cells displayed spontaneous electrical activity and spontaneous beating. Connexin-40 and -45 were stained positive in the treated cells. In conclusion, Nkx2.5+ hCPCs derived from heart tubes have been isolated and cloned in vitro. These cells are capable of long-term self-renewal and possess a potential to differentiate into cardiac muscle-like cells, cardiac pacemaking cells and smooth muscle-like cells. They could have a significant impact on cardiac regeneration medicine and developmental biology.
Chaordic systems thinking for learning organizations : Reflections and some suggestions for use

In this concluding paper the guest editors reflect on the contents of this special issue, and give some suggestions for future use of the CST framework. An interesting disclosure is that in chaos‐and‐complexity research the unit of measurement is not the individual human being, but the collective (i.e. dyad, team, or group), seen as a holon. Another important observation is that human interactions – ranging from the individual to the collective levels – are the “carriers of learning” in CST. In order to guide future research with CST, ten levels of abstraction are delineated which were borrowed from research on general design theory.
Risk Taking as Developmentally Appropriate Experimentation for College Students

Researchers have suggested that experimentation may be a necessary, constructive component of identity formation. However, these researchers have also noted the paradox of risk taking; an individual may experience both positive and negative precursors and consequences of risk taking. The present investigation used qualitative methods to explore the personal meaning of experimentation behaviors and of this paradox to college students. A stratified sample of 12 community college students (6 female) and 20 university students (10 female) was interviewed. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Students described a deliberate and functional process of experimenting with a variety of risk behaviors. This included articulating the ways in which the college culture promotes participation in risk behaviors as developmentally appropriate experimentation.
The neuropeptide neuromedin U promotes inflammation by direct activation of mast cells

Neuromedin U (NMU) is a neuropeptide that is expressed in the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system. NMU interacts with two G protein–coupled receptors, NMU-R1 and NMU-R2. Whereas NMU-R2 localizes predominantly to nerve cells, NMU-R1 is expressed in peripheral tissues including lymphocytes and monocytes, suggesting a role of NMU in immunoregulation. However, the functions of NMU in peripheral tissues have not been clarified. In this study, using NMU-deficient mice, we first demonstrated that NMU plays an important role in mast cell-mediated inflammation. Complete Freund's adjuvant-induced mast cell degranulation as well as edema and neutrophil infiltration, which occurred weakly in mast cell–deficient WBB6F1-W/W v mice, did not occur in NMU-deficient mice. Moreover, intraplantar injection of NMU into paws induced early inflammatory responses such as mast cell degranulation, vasodilation, and plasma extravasation in WT mice but not in WBB6F1-W/W v mice. NMU-R1 was highly expressed in primary mast cells, and NMU induced Ca2+ mobilization and degranulation in peritoneal mast cells. These data indicate that NMU promotes mast cell–mediated inflammation; therefore, NMU receptor antagonists could be a novel target for pharmacological inhibition of mast cell–mediated inflammatory diseases.
Multi-copy data dissemination with probabilistic delay constraint in mobile opportunistic device-to-device networks

Device-to-device (D2D) is a new paradigm that enhances network performance by offering a wide variety of advantages over traditional cellular networks, e.g., efficient spectral usage and extended network coverage. Efficient data dissemination is indispensable for supporting many D2D applications such as content distribution and location-aware advertisement. In this work, we study the problem of multi-copy data dissemination with probabilistic delay constraint in mobile opportunistic D2D networks. We first formally formulate the problem and introduce a centralized heuristic algorithm which aims to discover a graph for multicasting, in order to meet delay constraint and achieve low communication cost. While the centralized solution can be adapted to a distributed implementation, it is inefficient in a mobile opportunistic D2D network, since it intends to apply a deterministic transmission strategy in a nondeterministic network by delivering all data packets via a predetermined route. Based on such observation, we develop a distributed online algorithm based on the optimal stopping strategy that makes an efficient decision on every transmission opportunity. Extensive simulations under real-world traces and random walk mobility model are carried out to learn the performance trend of the proposed schemes under various network settings.