Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ebselen in acute ischemic stroke: a placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Ebselen Study Group.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The effect of ebselen, a seleno-organic compound with antioxidant activity through a glutathione peroxidase-like action, on the outcome of acute ischemic stroke was evaluated in a multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial. METHODS Patients diagnosed as having acute ischemic stroke who could receive drug treatment within 48 hours of stroke onset were enrolled. Oral administration of ebselen granules suspended in water (150 mg BID) or placebo was started immediately after admission and was continued for 2 weeks. The major end points were the Glasgow Outcome Scale scores at 1 month and 3 months after the start of treatment. The modified Mathew Scale and modified Barthel Index scores at 1 month and 3 months were also studied as secondary outcome measures. RESULTS Three hundred two patients were enrolled in the trial. Intent-to-treat analysis of 300 patients (151 given ebselen and 149 given placebo) revealed that ebselen treatment achieved a significantly better outcome than placebo at 1 month (P = .023, Wilcoxon rank sum test) but not at 3 months (P = .056, Wilcoxon rank sum test). The improvement was significant in patients who started ebselen within 24 hours of stroke onset but not in those who started treatment after 24 hours. There was a corresponding improvement in the modified Mathew Scale and modified Barthel Index scores. CONCLUSIONS Early treatment with ebselen improved the outcome of acute ischemic stroke. Ebselen may be a promising neuroprotective agent.
Zirconium-labeled monoclonal antibodies and their distribution in tumor-bearing nude mice.

UNLABELLED A method to label monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with 88Zr and 89Zr has been developed and tested on the MAbs 323/A3 and E48. METHODS The bifunctional chelating agent desferal (Df) was linked through a thioether bond to the MAbs. Labeling was accomplished by addition of the premodified antibodies to isolated Zr. The retention of the in vivo behavior of the MAbs was determined by comparing the biodistribution of 88Zr-labeled MAbs with those of 123I and 99mTc in mice bearing tumor xenografts. RESULTS The labeling was simple and the yields were high (above 90%). The obtained conjugates retained their immunoreactivity (> 80%). The blood clearance and biodistribution of Zr-labeled MAbs resembled those of the reference conjugates. The Zr-Df-MAb conjugates showed a specific tumor accumulation. Zirconium-89-labeled 323/A3 could be visualized with a PET camera. The absence of large amounts of Zr present in the bone pointed to a good in vivo stability of the Zr-Df-MAb conjugates. CONCLUSION This method is well suited for labeling MAbs with Zr isotopes. Using 89Zr, the biodistribution of the radioimmunoconjugate can easily be visualized with a PET camera.
Systemic administration of IGF-I enhances oxidative status and reduces contraction-induced injury in skeletal muscles of mdx dystrophic mice.

The absence of dystrophin and resultant disruption of the dystrophin glycoprotein complex renders skeletal muscles of dystrophic patients and dystrophic mdx mice susceptible to contraction-induced injury. Strategies to reduce contraction-induced injury are of critical importance, because this mode of damage contributes to the etiology of myofiber breakdown in the dystrophic pathology. Transgenic overexpression of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) causes myofiber hypertrophy, increases force production, and can improve the dystrophic pathology in mdx mice. In contrast, the predominant effect of continuous exogenous administration of IGF-I to mdx mice at a low dose (1.0-1.5 mg.kg(-1). day(-1)) is a shift in muscle phenotype from fast glycolytic toward a more oxidative, fatigue-resistant, slow muscle without alterations in myofiber cross-sectional area, muscle mass, or maximum force-producing capacity. We found that exogenous administration of IGF-I to mdx mice increased myofiber succinate dehydrogenase activity, shifted the overall myosin heavy chain isoform composition toward a slower phenotype, and, most importantly, reduced contraction-induced damage in tibialis anterior muscles. The deficit in force-producing capacity after two damaging lengthening contractions was reduced significantly in tibialis anterior muscles of IGF-I-treated (53 +/- 4%) compared with untreated mdx mice (70 +/- 5%, P < 0.05). The results provide further evidence that IGF-I administration can enhance the functional properties of dystrophic skeletal muscle and, compared with results in transgenic mice or virus-mediated overexpression, highlight the disparities in different models of endocrine factor delivery.
Contingency planning for automated vehicles

Automated driving is a safety critical process, which requires complex decision making. In order to validate driving decisions, it is possible to maintain at all times a contingency maneuver, which transfers the vehicle to a safe standstill, if other decision making processes fail. In this paper we present a motion planner, which computes contingency maneuvers for an automated vehicle in a 0.1[s] time frame. A discrete set of motion primitives is assembled in a heuristic best-first search. In order to speed up the search, an obstacle sensitive heuristic is applied, which maintains properties of bounded sub-optimality and completeness. A run-time comparison with and without the obstacle sensitive heuristic is presented on two exemplary collision avoidance scenarios.
TIPSem (English and Spanish): Evaluating CRFs and Semantic Roles in TempEval-2

This paper presents TIPSem, a system to extract temporal information from natural language texts for English and Spanish. TIPSem, learns CRF models from training data. Although the used features include different language analysis levels, the approach is focused on semantic information. For Spanish, TIPSem achieved the best F1 score in all the tasks. For English, it obtained the best F1 in tasks B (events) and D (event-dct links); and was among the best systems in the rest.
Minimum redundancy maximum relevancy versus score-based methods for learning Markov boundaries

Feature subset selection is increasingly becoming an important preprocessing step within the field of automatic classification. This is due to the fact that the domain problems currently considered contain a high number of variables, and some kind of dimensionality reduction becomes necessary, in order to make the classification task approachable. In this paper we make an experimental comparison between a state-of-the-art method for feature selection, namely minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance, and a recently proposed method for learning Markov boundaries based on searching for Bayesian network structures in constrained spaces using standard scoring functions.
3-D/2-D registration of CT and MR to X-ray images

A crucial part of image-guided therapy is registration of preoperative and intraoperative images, by which the precise position and orientation of the patient's anatomy is determined in three dimensions. This paper presents a novel approach to register three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) images to one or more two-dimensional (2-D) X-ray images. The registration is based solely on the information present in 2-D and 3-D images. It does not require fiducial markers, intraoperative X-ray image segmentation, or timely construction of digitally reconstructed radiographs. The originality of the approach is in using normals to bone surfaces, preoperatively defined in 3-D MR or CT data, and gradients of intraoperative X-ray images at locations defined by the X-ray source and 3-D surface points. The registration is concerned with finding the rigid transformation of a CT or MR volume, which provides the best match between surface normals and back projected gradients, considering their amplitudes and orientations. We have thoroughly validated our registration method by using MR, CT, and X-ray images of a cadaveric lumbar spine phantom for which "gold standard" registration was established by means of fiducial markers, and its accuracy assessed by target registration error. Volumes of interest, containing single vertebrae L1-L5, were registered to different pairs of X-ray images from different starting positions, chosen randomly and uniformly around the "gold standard" position. CT/X-ray (MR/X-ray) registration, which is fast, was successful in more than 91% (82% except for Ll) of trials if started from the "gold standard" translated or rotated for less than 6 mm or 17/spl deg/ (3 mm or 8.6/spl deg/), respectively. Root-mean-square target registration errors were below 0.5 mm for the CT to X-ray registration and below 1.4 mm for MR to X-ray registration.
Constraint-based Data Streaming Algorithm for Human-Assisting Robotic Teams

Teams of autonomous robots are becoming a part of the field operations like disaster relief or battlefield. Although the situation drives towards the use of completely autonomous robotic teams, humans still remain inevitable part of those teams. Number of communication protocols for data streaming in mobile ad-hoc networks was developed, but they are usually suitable for communication among autonomous robots rather than for communication with human team members. In this paper a constraint-based data streaming algorithm that provides the reliable communication among autonomous robots and humans is presented. This algorithm is based on the use of social knowledge about other team members and ensures delivery of the ondemand data streams to human team members while allowing the robots to fulfill their tasks at the same time.
Impact of Intellectual Property Protection on Foreign Direct Investment of Southern Firms

This paper makes pioneering attempts to explore the impact of intellectual property protection (IPP) on the technology-seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) by firms in less-developed countries (southern firms). Introducing the patent-racing idea into Gournot model, the paper develops an original model of technology- seeking FDI decision made by southern firms influenced by IPP. We found that stronger IPP in less-developed countries (the South) increases the possibility of technology-seeking FDI by southern firms; an appropriate IPP degree depends crucially on the IPP degree in developed countries (the North), R&D resource abundance of the South compared with the North and the technology nature. Case study of China's information equipment industry and automobile industry is chosen to justify the model empirically.
Values, faith and professional practice

Commitments to certain values lie at the foundation of a profession and serve to shape individual roles and careers of its practitioners. These values are expressed or represented in ideal images of what constitutes true worth, power, and meaning in the lives of participants. The profession of social work began in the 19th century with some religious commitments that often placed it in tension with other values prevalent in this society. However, in more recent years, we have adopted more culturally compatible images of individual success. These changes have led to emphasis on techniques rather than shared purposes and on self‐interest rather than mutual responsibilities. Drawing upon a developmental perspective, this article argues that reclaiming the spiritual heritage of our profession can provide the foundation needed for us to affirm values that transcend the individual and to sustain meaningful roles as catalysts for a moral community.
Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells Are Broadly Unresponsive to Toll-Like Receptor 2-Dependent Bacterial Ligands: Implications for Host-Microbial Interactions in the Gut 1

Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) interact with a high density of Gram-positive bacteria and are active participants in mucosal immune responses. Recognition of Gram-positive organisms by Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 induces proinflammatory gene expression by diverse cells. We hypothesized that IEC are unresponsive to Gram-positive pathogen-associated molecular patterns and sought to characterize the functional responses of IEC to TLR2-specific ligands. Human colonic epithelial cells isolated by laser capture microscopy and IEC lines (Caco-2, T84, HT-29) were analyzed for expression of TLR2, TLR6, TLR1, and Toll inhibitory protein (Tollip) mRNA by RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Response to Gram-positive bacterial ligands was measured by NF-κB reporter gene activation and IL-8 secretion. TLR2 protein expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. Colonic epithelial cells and lamina propria cells from both uninflamed and inflamed tissue demonstrate low expression of TLR2 mRNA compared with THP-1 monocytes. IECs were unresponsive to TLR2 ligands including the staphylococcal-derived Ags phenol soluble modulin, peptidoglycan, and lipotechoic acid and the mycobacterial-derived Ag soluble tuberculosis factor. Transgenic expression of TLR2 and TLR6 restored responsiveness to phenol soluble modulin and peptidoglycan in IEC. In addition to low levels of TLR2 protein expression, IEC also express high levels of the inhibitory molecule Tollip. We conclude that IEC are broadly unresponsive to TLR2 ligands secondary to deficient expression of TLR2 and TLR6. The relative absence of TLR2 protein expression by IEC and high level of Tollip expression may be important in preventing chronic proinflammatory cytokine secretion in response to commensal Gram-positive bacteria in the gut.
Smoking Motivation Factors

A checklist of the main occasions for smoking was administered to representative national samples of adolescent and adult smokers and ex-smokers. Factor analysis yielded the same seven factors for both adolescents and adults. Five factors labelled ‘nervous irritation’, ‘relaxation’, ‘smoking alone’, ‘activity accompaniment’ and ‘food substitution’ were related, in different degrees, to amount of smoking, indices of addiction, attitude to the helpfulness of smoking, and the ability to give up smoking. Two further factors covered social aspects. Social smoking, as such, first increases in adolescence and then declines during adulthood, but smoking for reasons of Social Confidence, at its highest in early adolescence, declines consistently with age. There was no consistent relation between scores on the first five factors and age/sex differences in amount of smoking. Even while still light smokers, adolescents very quickly acquire the habits of ‘nervous irritation’ smoking, which is most closely correlated with addiction. Relaxation smoking requires a more extended learning process. But addiction is highest among those who are both ‘nervous irritation’ and ‘relaxation’ smokers. This finding, among others, provides support for a model of smoking motivation, developed by Tomkins. Some implications for research on methods of breaking the smoking habit are discussed.
METALLOTHIONEIN genes encoding ROS scavenging enzymes are down-regulated in the root cortex during inducible aerenchyma formation in rice

ABSTRACT Under waterlogged conditions, roots of gramineous plants form lysigenous aerenchyma (internal gas spaces) by inducing the death of cortical cells. Rice (Oryza sativa) roots induce aerenchyma formation through ethylene- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated signaling. Metallothionein (MT) is a small, cysteine-rich protein that acts as a ROS scavenger. In rice roots, the expression of MT1a, MT1b, MT1c and MT1Ld were higher than those of the other MT genes. In the root cortex, where aerenchyma forms exclusively, the expression of MT1a, MT1b and MT1Ld was reduced prior to aerenchyma formation. These findings suggest that ROS accumulation in the cortex, which is aided by downregulation of MT1 genes, is needed for aerenchyma formation in rice roots.
Reliability and validity evidence of scores on the Achievement Goal Tendencies Questionnaire in a sample of Spanish students of compulsory secondary education

This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the Spanish version of the Achievement Goal Tendencies Questionnaire (AGTQ) using a sample of 2,022 (51.1% boys) Spanish students from grades 7 to 10. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the correlated three-factor structure of the AGTQ in this sample: Learning Goals (LG), Social Reinforcement Goals (SRG), and Performance Goals (PG). The AGTQ yields relatively reliable scores for Spanish students. Logistic regression analyses were used to provide additional validity evidence of AGTQ scores on academic success (general, Spanish, and mathematics). Results indicated that general academic success was 15% and 5% more likely every time that scores on LG and PG scales increased 1 point, respectively, although general academic success was 9% less likely every time that scores on SRG scale increased 1 point. These results were similar for Spanish and mathematics. However, the score on the LG scale did not forecast success in both subjects. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mainstream End-tidal Carbon Dioxide Monitoring in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background. Continuous noninvasive monitoring of arterial carbon dioxide (CO2) in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients would help clinicians avoid complications of hypocarbia and hypercarbia. End-tidal CO2monitoring has not been used in this population to date, but recent technical advances and the introduction of surfactant therapy, which improves ventilation-perfusion matching, might improve the clinical utility of end-tidal monitoring. Objective. To determine the accuracy and precision of end-tidal CO2 monitoring in NICU patients. Design. Nonrandomized recording of simultaneous end-tidal and arterial CO2 pairs. Setting. Two university NICUs. Patients. Forty-five newborn infants receiving mechanical ventilation who had indwelling arterial access, and a predefined subsample of infants who were <1000 g birth weight, <8 days of age, and who received surfactant therapy (extremely low birth weight [ELBW] <8). Outcome Measures. The correlation coefficient, degree of bias, and 95% confidence interval were determined for both the overall population and the ELBW <8 subgroup. Those factors which significantly influenced the bias were identified. The ability of the end-tidal monitor to alert the clinician to instances of hypocarbia or hypercarbia was determined. Results. There were 411 end-tidal/arterial pairs analyzed from 45 patients. The correlation coefficient was 0.833 and the bias was −6.9 mm Hg (95% confidence interval, ±11.5 mm Hg). The results did not differ markedly in the ELBW <8 infants. Measures of the degree of lung disease, the ventilation index and the oxygenation index, had small influences on the degree of bias. This type of capnometry identified 91% of the instances when the arterial CO2 pressure was between 34 and 54 mm Hg using an end-tidal range of 29 to 45 mm Hg. End-tidal values outside this range had a 63% accuracy in predicting hypocarbia or hypercarbia. Conclusion. End-tidal CO2 monitoring in NICU patients is as accurate as capillary or transcutaneous monitoring but less precise than the latter. It may be useful for trending or for screening patients for abnormal arterial CO2 values.
Processing (un-)predictable word stress: ERP evidence from Turkish

This paper investigates the way the predictability of prosodic patterns in a particular language influences the processing of stress information by native speakers of that language. We extend previous findings where speakers of languages with predictable stress had difficulties to process and represent stress information when confronted with a language with distinctive stress and investigate how the co-existence of a predictable stress pattern and exceptions to that regularity within a single language influences prosodic processing. The stress system of Turkish constitutes an instructive test case since it employs predictable stress on the final syllable of a prosodic word (e.g., mısır “corn”) and some exceptional nonfinal stress (e.g., mısır “Egypt”). Results from an event-related potential (ERP) study on stress violations in Turkish trisyllabic words showed asymmetrical ERP responses for different stress violations: Stress violations with final stress produced an N400 effect whereas violations with nonfinal stress produced a P300 effect. The application of the predictable pattern to words with lexical stress led to lexical costs and the application of exceptional stress to words with default stress to effects reflecting the evaluation of this pattern. Although final stress constitutes no alternative pattern for words with exceptional stress, participants have difficulties to judge this pattern as incorrect. In contrast, exceptional stress patterns are detected easily when applied incorrectly to words that normally receive final stress. These findings demonstrate nicely the co-existence of two phonological processing routines in Turkish speakers. Furthermore, the variability of stress patterns does not affect prosodic processing in general but instead leads to differential effects in stress perception. We conclude that stress predictability does not homogenously result in the so-called “stress deafness” effects in stress processing, but that it rather emerges only for the default stress pattern.
Internet skill levels increase, but gaps widen: a longitudinal cross-sectional analysis (2010–2013) among the Dutch population

In the current contribution, we investigated how (1) the levels of operational, formal, information, and strategic internet skills changed between 2010 and 2013, and how (2) the observed skill patterns differ across gender, age, and education. All internet skills are measured among representative samples of the Dutch population in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Cross-sectional data are repeated to consider patterns of change at the aggregate level. The levels of operational and formal internet skills increased most. Information internet skill remained more or less consistent, and strategic internet skills only revealed a very small increase. Policies related to internet skills are largely aimed at improving basic skills among specific target groups. Future policies should shift towards improving information and strategic skills, which will be a more difficult challenge. Gender, age, and educational background are all important variables related to skill inequalities. As age increases, internet skill levels decrease. Information internet skills only increased for people aged over 65 years between 2010 and 2013. It seems that the gain in operational and formal internet skills among older people results in a better performance on information internet skills. The higher educated, the higher the levels of all four internet skills. The skills gap between the higher educated, on the one hand, and lower and middle educated, on the other hand, increased, while the gap between low and middle educated decreased. We expect that a particular share of inequality concerning information and strategic internet skills will remain and that these inequalities are long lasting.
Polyploidy alters advertisement call structure in gray treefrogs

Whole–genome duplication is believed to have played a significant role in the early evolution and diversification of vertebrate animals. The establishment of newly arisen polyploid lineages of sexually reproducing animals requires assortative mating between polyploids. Here, we show that genome duplication can directly alter a phenotypic trait mediating mate choice in the absence of genotypic change. Our results suggest that the direct effect of polyploidy on behaviour is a consequence of increased cell size.