Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuropathological differences between rats and mice after spinal cord injury

To investigate the utility of noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols to demonstrate pathological differences between rats and mice after spinal cord injury (SCI). Rats and mice are commonly used to model SCI; however, histology and immunohistochemistry have shown differences in neuropathology between the two species, including cavity formation and scar/inflammatory responses.
Effect of educational outreach on general practice prescribing of antibiotics and antidepressants: A two-year randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objective. Prescribing of broad spectrum antibiotics and antidepressants in general practice often does not accord with guidelines. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of educational outreach in improving the prescribing of selected antibiotics and antidepressants, and whether the effect is sustained for two years. Design. Single blind randomized trial. Setting. Twenty-eight general practices in Leicestershire, England. Intervention. Educational outreach visits were undertaken, tailored to barriers to change, 14 practices receiving visits for reducing selected antibiotics and 14 for improving antidepressant prescribing. Main outcome measures. Number of items prescribed per 1000 registered patients for amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (co-amoxiclav) and quinolone antibiotics, and average daily quantities per 1000 patients for lofepramine and fluoxetine antidepressants, measured at the practice level for six-month periods over two years. Results. There was no effect on the prescribing of co-amoxiclav, quinolones, or fluoxetine, but prescribing of lofepramine increased in accordance with the guidelines. The increase persisted throughout two years of follow-up. Conclusion. A simple, group-level educational outreach intervention, designed to take account of identified barriers to change, can have a modest but sustained effect on prescribing levels. However, outreach is not always effective. The context in which change in prescribing practice is being sought, the views of prescribers concerning the value of the drug, or other unrecognised barriers to change may influence the effectiveness of outreach.
Effects of Maternal Supplementation With Omega-3 Precursors on Human Milk Composition

Background: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are important for newborn neurosensory development. Supplementation of breastfeeding mothers’ diets with omega-3 PUFAs, such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), may increase their concentration in human milk. Research aim: This study aimed to assess human milk composition after 15-day supplementation regimens containing either omega-3 PUFAs or olive oil, which does not provide ALA. Methods: A multicenter factorial randomized trial was conducted with four groups of breastfeeding women, with each group containing 19 to 22 women. After a 15-day ALA washout period, three groups received supplementation with omega-3 precursors for 15 days: an enriched margarine (M), a rapeseed oil (R), and a margarine and rapeseed oil (MR). The fourth was unexposed to omega-3 precursors (olive oil control diet, O). After 15 days, blind determination of human milk fatty acid (FA) composition was assessed by gas chromatography, and the FA composition was compared among groups using variance analyses. Results: Alpha-linolenic acid content, expressed as the mean (standard deviation) total human milk FA percentage, was significantly higher after diet supplementation with omega-3 PUFAs, with values of 2.2% (0.7%) (MR), 1.3% (0.5%) (R), 1.1% (0.4%) (M), and 0.8% (0.3%) (O at D30) (p < .003 for each comparison). The lowest LA–ALA ratio (5.5) was found in the MR group (p < .001). Docosahexaenoic acid and trans FA concentrations did not differ among groups. Conclusion: In lactating women, omega-3 supplementation via the combination of enriched margarine and rapeseed oil increased the ALA content of human milk and generated the most favorable LA–ALA ratio for LC-PUFA synthesis.
Weighted loss functions to make risk-based language identification fused decisions

Making a pattern recognition decision with the maximum-likelihood rule is a particular case of the risk-based Bayesian decision rule which is simplified when the loss function is zero-one symmetrical and classes are equally a priori probable. In the case the recognition system is composed of several experts, we can take into account their estimated performance at the class level as a key heuristic-like factor to weight the loss function and drive the recognition process while fusing their decisions. Such indices are formally computed by applying the discriminant factor analysis method. The experiments are carried out in the automatic language identification domain with a system composed of several identification experts. Fusion of expert decisions is achieved by building statistical classifiers.
Nursing Home Case Mix in Wisconsin: Findings and Policy Implications

Along with many other states, Wisconsin is considering a case mix approach to Medicaid nursing home reimbursement. To support this effort, a nursing home case mix model was developed from a representative sample of 410 Medicaid nursing home residents from 56 facilities in Wisconsin. The model classified residents into mutually exclusive groups that were homogeneous in their use of direct care resources, i.e., minutes of direct care time (weighted for nurse skill level) over a 7-day period. Groups were defined initially by intense, Special, or Routine nursing requirements. Within these nursing requirement categories, subgroups were formed by the presence/absence of behavioral problems and dependency in activities of daily living (ADL). Wisconsin's current Skilled/Intermediate Care (SNF/ICF) classification system was analyzed in light of the case mix model and found to be less effective in distinguishing residents by resource use. The case mix model accounted for 48% of the variance in resource use, whereas the SNF/ICF classification system explained 22%. Comparisons were drawn with nursing home case mix models in New York State (RUG-II) and Minnesota. Despite progress in the study of nursing home case mix and its application to reimbursement reform, methodologic and policy issues remain. These include the differing operational definitions for nursing requirements and ADL dependency, the inconsistency in findings concerning psychobehavioral problems, and the problem of promoting positive health and functional outcomes based on models that may be insensitive to change in resident conditions over time.
Malaria parasite‐specific Th1‐like T cells simultaneously reduce parasitemia and promote disease

CD4+ T cells have been implicated in immunity to the blood stages of malaria and cytokines associated with both monocyte and T cell activation have been implicated in disease. To determine whether specific T cells capable of inhibiting parasite growth can also mediate pathology we have transfused populations of Plasmodium berghei‐specific T cells into normal and immunodeficient naive mice. We observed that they could inhibit parasite growth but were unable to save the animals which exhibited significantly greater anaemia and weight loss than control infected animals receiving either no T cells or T cells specific for ovalbumin. T cell‐dependent tomour necrosis factor (TNF)α was a critical component in both parasite killing and disease promotion. Experiments with blocking antibodies demonstrated that all T‐cell mediated antiparasitic immunity and all T‐cell mediated weight loss was TNF‐dependent. Blocking TNF‐α in mice that received parasite‐specific T cells prolonged the survival of the mice. Nitic oxide demonstrated no antiparasite effect, but was involved in the regulation of T‐cell mediated weight loss. The data thus show that while parasite‐specific CD4+ T cells can significantly limit parasite growth, such an effect need not be beneficial to the host, and that TNF‐α and nitric oxide are critical effector molecules operating downstream of parasite‐specific T cells in both immunity and disease.
Robust threshold design for cooperative sensing in cognitive radio networks

The successful coexistence of cognitive radio systems and licensed systems requires the secondary users to have the capability of sensing and keeping track of primary transmissions. While existing spectrum sensing methods usually assume known distributions of the primary signals, such an assumption is often not true in practice. As a result, applying existing sensing methods directly will often lead to unreliable detection performance in practical networks. In this paper, we try to improve the sensing performance under the distribution uncertainty of primary signals. We formulate the optimal sensing design as a robust optimization problem, and propose an iterative algorithm to determine the optimal decision threshold for each user. Extensive simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.
Digital Identity, Social Presence Technologies, and Presence Learning

This chapter characterizes the way in which social presence technologies mediate digital identity, presence learning, and Presence Pedagogy (P2) in the context of higher education. It is argued that digital identity, presence learning, and P2 manifest themselves through the four social presence technologies in varying degrees. Against this backdrop, the chapter first provides a concise overview of digital identity, social presence, presence learning, and P2. Second, it presents seven projects to demonstrate how digital identity, presence learning, and P2 are mediated by these four social presence technologies. Third, the chapter outlines future trends likely to influence social presence technologies, digital identities, presence learning, and P2.
The Impact of Parents and Self-Selection on Child Survival among the Tsimane of Bolivia

The impact of the parental investment provided by a mother or father on the well-being of a child depends on many factors. The effect of fathers is of particular theoretical interest, as there has been considerable debate concerning the importance of fathers in the evolution of our species and of our reproductive strategies involving long-term pair bonds and biparental care. A common strategy for investigating the impact that parents have on child outcomes is to compare children raised in households without a mother or father to those raised in households with both parents. There is question, however, as to what degree any such effects are simply the result of covarying mortality hazards within families or through time and not necessarily a direct impact of parental absence. Here we explore the issue of self-selection in our investigation of the effects of fathers and mothers on offspring survival among the Tsimane, a forager-horticultural population of central Bolivia. We find strong associations between mother death and child death, while father death has a lesser although still significant effect. We also show the potential for self-selection in parent-absence studies and the need to control for family effects.
Willingness to Pay for CT Colonography: A Survey of Patient Preferences.

OBJECTIVE CT colonography (CTC) has received mixed reviews both in the radiology literature and in clinical practice. CTC is less invasive than optical colonoscopy (OC), is better for identifying polyps, and does not require sedation. However, its cost-effectiveness has been called into question, and there is a residual need for OC if the CTC findings are positive. Some radiologists are hesitant to perform CTC because of the time-intensive nature of its interpretation. Results of willingness-to-pay surveys can be informative about preferences and value placed on intangibles. The purpose of this study was to use such a survey to elicit the preferences of radiologists about CTC versus OC. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A vignette was presented in which the insurer covered OC at no charge but required out-of-pocket payment for CTC. The strengths and weaknesses of OC and CTC were listed. The respondents were asked how much they would be willing to pay for CTC; for CTC with perfect sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy; and for CTC that required no bowel preparation. RESULTS Twenty-eight of 42 radiologists preferred OC to CTC. One radiologist was indifferent. Four radiologists would reverse their preference and choose CTC if it had 100% sensitivity. Sixteen radiologists said they would prefer CTC if it had 100% specificity. If CTC eliminated the need for bowel preparation, 57% would prefer it to OC. Thirty-one (74%) radiologists preferred perfect sensitivity to perfect specificity. CONCLUSION Despite the less invasive nature of CTC, most radiologists who responded to the survey preferred OC for colorectal cancer screening, mostly because of the definitive nature of OC due to the capability of immediate biopsy of suspicious lesions and the lack of requirement for a second round of bowel preparation.
A NOVEL MYCOPLASMA DETECTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH UPPER RESPIRATORY DISEASE SYNDROME IN FREE-RANGING EASTERN BOX TURTLES (TERRAPENE CAROLINA CAROLINA) IN VIRGINIA

Clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease-like syndrome (URTD-LS) were observed in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from Virginia, USA (May 2001–August 2003), some of which also had aural abscesses. After a Mycoplasma sp. was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a study was undertaken to better define the range of clinical signs of disease and to distinguish mycoplasma-associated URTD-LS from other suspected causes of URTD-LS and aural abscessation in box turtles. Nasal and/or ocular swabs (from turtles possessing URTD-LS) or nasal washes (from asymptomatic turtles) were collected from turtles May 2001–August 2003; samples were assayed for Mycoplasma spp. , chelonian herpesvirus, and iridoviruses by PCR testing. A partial DNA sequence (933 bases) of the small ribosomal subunit (16S rRNA) of the box turtle Mycoplasma sp. was analyzed to determine its phylogenetic relatedness to other Mycoplasma spp. of veterinary interest. Mycoplasma sp. was detected in seven (six with clinical signs of URTD-LS; one asymptomatic) of 23 fortuitously collected animals from six of 11 Virginia counties. Clinical signs in Mycoplasma sp. –infected animals included unilateral to bilateral serous to mucopurulent nasal discharge, epiphora, ocular edema, and conjunctival injection. Five Mycoplasma sp. –positive animals possessed aural abscesses; two did not. Analysis of the mycoplasma 16S rRNA gene sequence from one asymptomatic and three symptomatic animals representing four counties revealed a consensus Mycoplasma sp. sequence closely related to, but distinct from, M. agassizii. None of the samples collected contained viral DNA of chelonian herpesviruses or invertebrate and vertebrate (including FV3) iridoviruses. In conclusion, a new Mycoplasma sp. was associated with URTD-LS in native box turtles from Virginia that was not codetected with other suspected causes of chelonian upper respiratory disease; there was no proof of a direct relationship between aural abscessation and the Mycoplasma sp.
Bowel habit in relation to age and gender. Findings from the National Health Interview Survey and clinical implications.

BACKGROUND Constipation is widely considered to be a common problem among the elderly, as evidenced by the high rate of laxative use in this population. Yet, age-related prevalence studies of constipation generally do not distinguish between actual alteration in bowel movement frequency and subjective self-report of constipation. OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between advancing age and bowel habit. METHODS We employed data collected on 42,375 subjects who participated in the National Health Interview Survey on Digestive Disorders based on interviews with a random nationwide sample of US households. We examined the following characteristics reported by this population according to selected age groupings by decade: constipation, levels of laxative use, and two bowel movements per week or less. RESULTS Contrary to conventional wisdom, there was no age-related increase in the proportion of subjects reporting infrequent bowel movements. Nonetheless, the prevalence of self-report of constipation increased with advancing age, with a greater proportion of women reporting this symptom than men across all age groups. Laxative use also increased substantially with aging; while women were more likely to use laxatives than men, this effect attenuated with advancing age. A U-shaped relationship was observed between advancing age and bowel habit in men and women; 5.9% of individuals younger than 40 years reported two bowel movements per week or less compared with 3.8% of those aged 60 to 69 years and 6.3% of those aged 80 years or older. This relationship persisted after adjusting for laxative use. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that a decline in bowel movement frequency is not an invariable concomitant of aging. In elderly patients who report being constipated, it is essential to take a careful physical, psychological, and bowel history rather than to automatically assume the need for laxative use.
Econometrics III: Financial Time Series

This course focuses exclusively on financial time series analysis or financial econometrics. I am aiming at equipping the students with proper tools for advanced empirical work and lay the foundation for future theoretical research in this area. After a quick review of stochastic process and time series modeling, I start the econometric analysis with volatility modeling. Univariate GARCH and stochastic volatility comes first, followed by multivariate volatility models. Extreme values analysis and VaR are the second main topic. High frequency financial econometrics comprises the third and credit risk modeling the fourth. If time permits, I shall cover the event study methodology as it is very useful. In additional to econometric analysis, I also emphasize computational aspects of these complicated econometric techniques. R, is the statistical packages used in this course.
Trk retrograde signaling requires persistent, Pincher-directed endosomes

Target-derived neurotrophins use retrogradely transported Trk-signaling endosomes to promote survival and neuronal phenotype at the soma. Despite their critical role in neurotrophin signaling, the nature and molecular composition of these endosomes remain largely unknown, the result of an inability to specifically identify the retrograde signaling entity. Using EGF-bound nanoparticles and chimeric, EGF-binding TrkB receptors, we elucidate Trk-endosomal events involving their formation, processing, retrograde transport, and somal signaling in sympathetic neurons. By comparing retrograde endosomal signaling by Trk to the related but poorly neuromodulatory EGF-receptor, we find that Trk and EGF-receptor endosomes are formed and processed by distinct mechanisms. Surprisingly, Trk and EGF-receptors are both retrogradely transported to the soma in multivesicular bodies. However, only the Trk-multivesicular bodies rely on Pincher-dependent macroendocytosis and processing. Retrograde signaling through Pincher-generated Trk-multivesicular bodies is distinctively refractory to signal termination by lysosomal processing, resulting in sustained somal signaling and neuronal gene expression.
Tolerating multiple faults in wdm networks withoutwavelength conversion

This paper addresses the problem of tolerating as many faults as possible in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks without the capability of wavelength conversion. The problem of finding the maximum number of faults that can be tolerated is modeled as a constrained ring cover set problem, which is a decomposition problem with exponential complexity. The Face Decomposition Algorithm (FDA) that can tolerate one or more faults is proposed. From the results, we know that the maximum number of faults tolerated can be extended from one significantly under various network topologies.
Comparison of the Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and Low-Level Laser Therapy on Drug-Resistant Temporomandibular Disorders

Statement of the Problem: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a clinical term used for clinical signs and symptoms that affect the temporomandibular joints, masticatory muscles, and associated structures. Surgical and non-surgical treatments can be used for management of TMD. Non-surgical route is the main part of the treatment, since clinicians prefer non-aggressive treatment for TMD such as pharmacological and physical therapy. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) are the main procedures in physical therapy. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of TENS and LLLT in treatment of TMD patients who did not respond to pharmacological therapy. Materials and Method: This clinical trial was performed on 45 patients who randomly received either TENS or LLLT for 8 sessions. LLLT was applied with diode laser (Ga-Al-As, 980nm, dose 5j/cm2) and TENS by using two carbon electrodes with 75 Hz frequency (0.75 msec pulse width). Helkimo index and visual analogue scale (VAS) were measured during the treatment period and throughout the follow-up sessions. Results: Significant reduction in the VAS and Helkimo index was observed in both TENS and LLLT group. There was no significant difference between the two methods during the treatment; however, TENS was more effective in pain reduction in follow-ups. Conclusion: This study justified the use of TENS therapy as well as LLLT in drug-resistant TMD. Both were useful in relieving the pain and muscles tenderness, although, TENS was more effective than LLLT.
Moment Analysis of Microflow Histogram in Focal Ischemic Lesion to Evaluate Microvascular Derangement after Small Pial Arterial Occlusion in Rats

The authors' high-spatial-resolution optical method was used to examine microvascular derangement in a focal cerebral cortex lesion in 12 Sprague-Dawley rats anesthetized with α-chloralose-urethane. A pial artery (approximately 40- to 50-μm diameter) was occluded by laser-beam cauterization (n = 6). Diluted carbon black suspension was injected into the internal carotid artery, and images in a 2-mm x 2-mm region of interest during tissue dye-dilution were recorded. Sequential frames were analyzed with Matlab software to evaluate blood distribution and mean transit time, affording a two-dimensional microflow map and histogram with first, second, third, and fourth moments. In the early phase of ischemia, blood distribution and average flow decreased (both P < 0.01), and the second moment (microflow heterogeneity) and third moment (skew to the left owing to increase in low-flow components) increased (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). At approximately 2 hours, blood distribution decreased further in 3 cases, apparently because capillary stasis prevented carbon black filling. However, average microflow unexpectedly increased in 4 of 5 rats, presumably due to exclusion of unper-fused (low flow at the earlier stage) channels from the calculation. The authors conclude that flow in ischemic tissue is quite heterogeneous and that an averaged flow value tends to smear important information about ischemic microvascular derangement.