Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auras Are Frequent in Patients with Generalized Epilepsy

Commentary An aura is usually considered to be the initial component of a seizure that occurs prior to alteration or loss of consciousness. It is distinguished from a premonitory or prodromal sensation largely in the time domain: auras immediately precede a developing seizure, while prodromal experiences occur well in advance of the seizure—more than 30 minutes by some definitions. The term “aura” is often further restricted to the subjective experience of a developing seizure, excluding conscious, objective motor symptoms. Often, the terms “aura” and “simple partial seizure” are considered synonymous; an aura is the recalled subjective experience of the beginning of a focal seizure. The specific experience of the aura is largely determined by the locus of onset of the focal seizure. Despite a general consensus regarding this terminology, it has been long recognized that generalized from onset seizures may present exceptions to the “rule” that generalized seizures are not preceded by auras. Just how commonly these exceptions occur has not been clear. The distinction is more than purely academic, as the presence of an aura is often taken as evidence of a focal epilepsy, with implications for diagnostic testing, treatment choices, and prognosis for a patient with new onset seizures. Interpreting subjective experiences reported by patients and drawing the correct conclusions from them is not an exact science. Nearly 25 years ago, van Donselaar and colleagues examined the usefulness of auras for epilepsy classification (1). They studied 149 patients with new onset generalized seizures, 67 of whom reported a sensation prior to loss of consciousness. The patients’ own descriptions of these sensations were presented to a panel of six neurologists, who were asked to address two questions: First, was the sensation the aura of a focal seizure or a nonspecific symptom? Second, on the basis of this report, was the seizure more likely a secondarily generalized tonic–clonic seizure, a generalized from onset seizure, or indeterminate? The agreement among the neurologists was relatively poor, with kappa statistics in the neighborhood of 0.25. Seizure classifications based on the aura frequently conflicted with the ultimate classification made with the benefit of EEG, imaging, and other data. Patients with feelings that preceded their seizure were more likely to have generalized spike wave abnormalities on EEG, even for those in whom the neurologists judged the feelings to be a specific aura. The authors concluded that interpretation of auras was subject to substantial inter-rater variability, and not a reliable way to distinguish primary and secondarily generalized seizures. Over the years, other work supported this theme. Nakken and colleagues reported on the occurrence and characterisAuras in Generalized Epilepsy.
Integrity of Energy Stores in Cat Papillary Muscle

Although isolated cat papillary muscles have proved useful in a variety of physiologic and pharmacologic studies, the energy integrity of this preparation has been questioned. Accordingly, papillary muscles (avg diam = 1.3 mm) were either placed in oxygenated Krebs solution for 1 hour at 26°C at rest or were made to contract at various frequencies and temperatures and for various durations. In addition, samples of right ventricular muscle were obtained from living cats. Specimens were frozen in liquid nitrogen-cooled isopentane for determination of ATP and creatine phosphate (CP). In vivo CP + ATP of right ventricular muscle was 12.9±0.8 μmoles/g. In papillary muscles at rest, CP + ATP was 16.7±0.6 μmoles/g, significantly higher than right ventricular muscle in vivo (P <.01). In vitro at 12 contractions/minute, CP + ATP was 16.0±1.0 μmoles/g, not different from resting papillary muscles but higher than in vivo stores in right ventricular muscle. At 30 or 60 contractions/minute, CP + ATP was reduced to 13.7±1.1 and 11.1±0.7 μmole/g. Neither increasing the in vitro temperature from 26° to 37°C, nor extending the duration of stimulation from 1 to 3 hours at 12/minute significantly altered CP + ATP. It is concluded that the energy stores in papillary muscles, even of moderately large diameter, are intact for at least 3 hours while contracting at frequencies of 12/minute at 26°C. Further, energy stores of papillary muscle are even greater than those found in right ventricular muscle in vivo. While muscle is contracting at 30 or 60/minute, its energy stores may be slightly limited.
Identification of Potential Environmentally Adapted Campylobacter jejuni Strain, United Kingdom

In a study of Campylobacter infection in northwestern England, 2003–2006, C. jejuni multilocus sequence type (ST)–45 was associated with early summer onset and was the most prevalent C. jejuni type in surface waters. ST-45 is likely more adapted to survival outside a host, making it a key driver of transmission between livestock, environmental, and human settings.
The Region between Amino Acids 245 and 265 of the Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) Tax Protein Restricts Transactivation Not Only via the BLV Enhancer but Also via Other Retrovirus Enhancers

ABSTRACT Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is associated with enzootic bovine leukosis and is closely related to human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The Tax protein of BLV acts through the 5′ long terminal repeat (LTR) of BLV and activates the transcription of BLV. In this study, we amplified tax genes from BLV-infected cattle using PCR. We cloned the genes and monitored the transcriptional activities of the products. Seven independent mutant Tax proteins, with at least one amino acid substitution between residues 240 and 265, exhibited a markedly stronger ability to stimulate the viral LTR-directed transcription than the wild-type Tax protein. Analysis of chimeric Tax proteins derived from wild-type and mutant Tax proteins clearly demonstrated that a single substitution between residue 240 and 265 might be critical for the higher activities of the Tax mutant proteins. Furthermore, it appeared that transient expression of a Tax mutant protein was better able to increase the production of viral proteins and particles from a defective recombinant proviral clone of BLV than was wild-type Tax. Analysis of mutations within the U3 region of the LTR revealed that a cyclic AMP-responsive element in Tax-responsive element 2 might be sufficient for the enhanced activation mediated by the mutant proteins. In addition to the LTR of BLV, other viral enhancers, such as the enhancers of HTLV-1 and of mouse mammary tumor virus, which cannot be activated by wild-type BLV Tax protein, were activated by a Tax mutant protein. Our observations suggest that the transactivation activity and target sequence specificity of BLV Tax might be limited or negatively regulated by the region of the protein between amino acids 240 and 265.
Exponential Growth of Distance between Nearby Rays due to Multiple Gravitational Scatterings

We give an estimate of the relative error in the angular measurement of observations for high redshift objects induced by gravitational scatterings (lensing). Gunn (1967) concluded that the gravitational scatterings by galaxies induce the relative error of a few percent in the observations for objects at $z=1$. This estimate has been considered as a fundamental limitation of accuracy of the angular measurements in the observational cosmology. In multiple graviational scatterings, bending angle of single ray grows through the random work process. Gunn (1967) assumed that the difference of nearby rays also grows through the random walk process. However, distance between nearby photons grows exponentially because the two rays suffer coherent scatterings by the same scattering object. This exponential growth continues as long as the scattering is coherent. In the case of scattering by individual galaxies, the exponential growth continues until the angular distance reaches an arcminute or so. The relative error of the angular measurements under an arcminute due to the exponential growth is $\sim 30\%$ at $z=1$ and exceeds $100\%$ at $z=3$, in the case that the density parameter of galaxies is 0.2. The effects of clusters of galaxies or superclusters are more difficult to estimate accurately, but might be significant. In the case of supercluster the angular measurements up to a few degrees could be affected.
Hybrids of Gold Nanoparticles with Core-Shell Hyperbranched Polymers: Synthesis, Characterization, and Their High Catalytic Activity for Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol

Hyperbranched core-shell structure can be constructed by the modification of hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI) with different amide shells. Functionalized HPEI with acetic amide (HPEI-ACAm), propionic amide (HPEI-PRAm), butyric amide (HPEI-BUAm) and isobutyric amide (HPEI-IBAm) shells have been successfully prepared and used as protectors for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Novel AuNP composites were obtained through the non-covalent interaction between HPEI-XXAm and gold nanoparticles (XXAm represents ACAm, PRAm, BUAm or IBAm). The resulted AuNP composites can catalyze the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol by NaBH4. Interestingly, the catalytic activity of the AuNPs mainly depends on the structure of protectors and the degree of carbon chain arrangement denseness, which should affect the diffusivity of the reactants. In addition, the order of reaction rate is HPEI10K-IBAm0.80 > HPEI10K-ACAm0.80 > HPEI10K-PRAm0.82 > HPEI10K-BUAm0.83. It was found that the increase of the concentrations of the capping HPEI-XXAm polymers can enhance both the reaction rate and the turnover frequency (TOF) values. Furthermore, the reaction rate was accelerated with increasing the reaction temperature for AuNPs-HPEI10K-ACAm0.80 and AuNPs-HPEI10K-PRAm0.82 systems. Interestingly, the reaction rate was accelerated with elevating reaction temperature at the beginning but reached a plateau or decreased sharply for AuNPs-HPEI10K-IBAm0.80 and AuNPs-HPEI10K-BUAm0.82 systems, owing to the thermoresponsivity of the corresponding AuNP composites. As a consequence, the catalytic activity could be controlled by adjusting the different shells of the hyperbranched polyethylenimine.
The radial profiles of the different mass components in galaxy clusters

Aims. To derive the mass profiles of the di fferent luminous and dark components in clusters. Methods. The cluster mass profile is determined by using the Jeans equa tion applied to the projected phase-space distribution of a bout 3000 galaxies members of 59 nearby clusters from the ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey. The baryonic and subhaloes mass components are determined from the galaxies’ luminosity-density profiles through scaling relations between luminosities and baryonic and dark halo masses. The baryonic mass component associated with the intra-cluster gas is determined using X-ray data from ROSAT. Results. The baryon-to-total mass fraction decreases from a value of≃ 0.12 near the center to≃ 0.08 at the distance of≃ 0.15 virial radii, then it increases again, to reach a value of≃ 0.14 at the virial radius. Diffuse, cluster-scale dark matter dominates at all radii, but i ts contribution to the total mass content decreases outwards to the virial ra dius, where the dark matter in subhaloes may contribute up to≃ 23%, and the baryons≃ 14% of the total mass. The dark mass and diffuse dark mass profiles are well fit by both cuspy and cored model s. The subhalo mass distribution is not fit by either model.
Multiclass classification based on binary classifiers: On coding matrix design, reliability and maximum number of classes

In this paper, we consider the multiclass classification problem based on independent set of binary classifiers. Each binary classifier represents the output of quantized projection of training data onto a randomly generated orthonormal basis vector thus producing a binary label. The ensemble of all binary labels forms an analogue of a coding matrix. The properties of such kind of matrices and their impact on the maximum number of uniquely distinguishable classes are analyzed in this paper from an information-theoretic point of view. We also consider a concept of reliability for such kind of coding matrix generation that can be an alternative way for other adaptive training techniques and investigate the impact on the bit error probability. We demonstrate that it is equivalent to the considered random coding matrix without any bit reliability information in terms of recognition rate.
Sustainable Wastewater Management: Is it Possible to Regulate Micropollution in the Future by Learning from the Past? A Policy Analysis

This paper applies a policy analysis approach to the question of how to effectively regulate micropollution in a sustainable manner. Micropollution is a complex policy problem characterized by a huge number and diversity of chemical substances, as well as various entry paths into the aquatic environment. It challenges traditional water quality management by calling for new technologies in wastewater treatment and behavioral changes in industry, agriculture and civil society. In light of such challenges, the question arises as to how to regulate such a complex phenomenon to ensure water quality is maintained in the future? What can we learn from past experiences in water quality regulation? To answer these questions, policy analysis strongly focuses on the design and choice of policy instruments and the mix of such measures. In this paper, we review instruments commonly used in past water quality regulation. We evaluate their ability to respond to the characteristics of a more recent water quality problem, i.e., micropollution, in a sustainable way. This way, we develop a new framework that integrates both the problem dimension (i.e., causes and effects of a problem) as well as the sustainability dimension (e.g., long-term, cross-sectoral and multi-level) to assess which policy instruments are best suited to regulate micropollution. We thus conclude that sustainability criteria help to identify an appropriate instrument mix of end-of-pipe and source-directed measures to reduce aquatic micropollution.
A Privacy Measure for Data Disclosure to Publish Micro Data using (n, t)-Closeness

Closeness is described as a privacy measure and its advantages are illustrated through examples and experiments on a real dataset. In this Paper the closeness can be verified by giving different values for N and T. Government agencies and other organizations often need to publish micro data, e.g., medical data or census data, for research and other purposes. Typically, such data are stored in a table, and each record (row) corresponds to one individual. Generally if we want to publish micro data A common anonymization approach is generalization, which replaces quasi-identifier values with values that are less-specific but semantically consistent. As a result, more records will have the same set of quasi-identifier values. An equivalence class of an anonymized table is defined to be a set of records that have the same values for the quasi-identifiers To effectively limit disclosure, the disclosure risk of an anonymized table is to be measured. To this end, k-anonymity is introduced as the property that each record is indistinguishable with at least k-1 other records with respect to the quasi-identifier i.e., k-anonymity requires that each equivalence class contains at least k records. While k-anonymity protects against identity disclosure, it is insufficient to prevent attribute disclosure. To address the above limitation of k-anonymity, a new notion of privacy, called l-diversity is introduced, which requires that the distribution of a sensitive attribute in each equivalence class has at least l “well represented” values. One problem with l-diversity is that it is limited in its assumption of adversarial knowledge. This assumption generalizes the specific background and homogeneity attacks used to motivate l-diversity. The k-anonymity privacy requirement for publishing micro data requires that each equivalence class contains at least k records. But k-anonymity cannot prevent attribute disclosure. The notion of l-diversity has been proposed to address this; l-diversity requires that each equivalence class has at least l well-represented values for each sensitive attribute. L-diversity has a number of limitations. In particular, it is neither necessary nor sufficient to prevent attribute disclosure. Due to these limitations, a new notion of privacy called “closeness” is proposed. First the base model t-closeness is presented, which requires that the distribution of a sensitive attribute in any equivalence class is close to the distribution of the attribute in the overall table. Then a more flexible privacy model called (n, t)-closeness is proposed. The rationale for using
Amnion graft for treatment of congenital absence of the vagina

The successful alication of an amniotic membrane graft in the treatment of congenital absence of the vagina is described. Follow up with vaginal smears and vaginal biopsies revealed that amnion when used alone with mesenchyme alied to the host gives protection to the underlying granulation tissue and facilitates epithelialization.
Distributed Cost Boosting and Bounds on Mis-classification Cost

Many classification algorithms (such as Adaboost) aim to minimize training error, that is, the ratio of the number of mis-classified examples to the total number of examples. However, it is often desirable to minimize a more general cost metric, where distinct examples have different costs. For example, in industrial inspection, the cost of clearing a defective part is substantially greater than the cost of incorrectly alarming on a good part. Further, defects themselves vary in severity and, hence, cost. Extending boosting algorithms to account for this variable cost (cost-sensitive boosting) has been attempted by a number of investigators, resulting in a number of Adaboost variants, including AdaCost, Asymboost, CSB0, CSB1, and CSB2. These algorithms all focus only on the distribution update step in Adaboost-leaving the error computation step unchanged (or only indirectly modified). In this paper, we present a novel algorithm, termed "distributed cost boosting" (DCB), that incorporates the cost metric into the error computation step, rather than merely adjusting the distribution update step. DCB produces large empirical reductions in total cost when compared to current state-ofthe- art cost-sensitive Adaboost variants. Further, we show that distributed cost boosting provides error bounds on misclassification cost similar to AdaBoost’s bounds on training error rate.
Role of Histone H3 Lysine 27 Methylation in Polycomb-Group Silencing

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins play important roles in maintaining the silent state of HOX genes. Recent studies have implicated histone methylation in long-term gene silencing. However, a connection between PcG-mediated gene silencing and histone methylation has not been established. Here we report the purification and characterization of an EED-EZH2 complex, the human counterpart of theDrosophila ESC-E(Z) complex. We demonstrate that the complex specifically methylates nucleosomal histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3-K27). Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we show that H3-K27 methylation colocalizes with, and is dependent on, E(Z) binding at an Ultrabithorax (Ubx) Polycomb response element (PRE), and that this methylation correlates withUbx repression. Methylation on H3-K27 facilitates binding of Polycomb (PC), a component of the PRC1 complex, to histone H3 amino-terminal tail. Thus, these studies establish a link between histone methylation and PcG-mediated gene silencing.
Modulatory Role of Nitric Oxide/cGMP System in Endothelin-1-Induced Signaling Responses in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important vasoprotective molecule that serves not only as a vasodilator but also exerts antihypertrophic and antiproliferative effects in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The precise mechanism by which the antihypertrophic and antiproliferative responses of NO are mediated remains obscure. However, recent studies have suggested that one of the mechanisms by which this may be achieved includes the attenuation of signal transduction pathways responsible for inducing the hypertrophic and proliferative program in VSMC. Endothelin-1 is a powerful vasoconstrictor peptide with mitogenic and growth stimulatory properties and exerts its effects by activating multiple signaling pathways which include ERK 1/2, PKB and Rho-ROCK. Both cGMP-dependent and independent events have been reported to mediate the effect of NO on these pathways leading to its vasoprotective response. This review briefly summarizes some key studies on the modulatory effect of NO on these signaling pathways and discusses the possible role of cGMP system in this process.
Identification of Gastric Cancer Stem Cells Using the Cell Surface Marker CD44

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been defined as a unique subpopulation in tumors that possess the ability to initiate tumor growth and sustain tumor self‐renewal. Although the evidence has been provided to support the existence of CSCs in various solid tumors, the identity of gastric CSCs has not been reported. In this study, we have identified gastric cancer‐initiating cells from a panel of human gastric cancer cell lines using cell surface marker CD44. Among six gastric cancer cell lines, three lines MKN‐45, MKN‐74, and NCI‐N87 had a sizeable subpopulation of CD44(+) cells, and these cells showed spheroid colony formation in serum‐free media in vitro as well as tumorigenic ability when injected into stomach and skin of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice in vivo. The CD44(+) gastric cancer cells showed the stem cell properties of self‐renewal and the ability to form differentiated progeny and gave rise to CD44(−) cells. CD44 knockdown by short hairpin RNA resulted in much reduced spheroid colony formation and smaller tumor production in SCID mice, and the CD44(−) populations had significantly reduced tumorigenic ability in vitro and in vivo. Other potential CSC markers, such as CD24, CD133, CD166, stage‐specific embryonic antigen‐1 (SSEA‐1), and SSEA‐4, or sorting for side population did not show any correlation with tumorigenicity in vitro or in vivo. The CD44(+) gastric cancer cells showed increased resistance for chemotherapy‐ or radiation‐induced cell death. These results support the existence of gastric CSCs and may provide novel approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer. Stem Cells 2009;27:1006–1020
The Value of New Parent Groups in Child and Family Health Nursing

A reorganization of child and family health nursing services followed policy changes in New South Wales, Australia, in the late 1990s. However, the introduction of universal and sustained home visiting to all new parents limited resources available to provide support groups for new parents. This qualitative research study used a case study approach to examine the impact of new parents’ group attendance on mothers and on mothers’ interactions with their baby. Key findings demonstrated that attendance at a group created an opportunity, the overarching theme, for both the mothers and infants. New Parent groups appear to be as important as other modes of nursing service delivery to children and parents and serve a different purpose to center-based or home visits.