Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of marijuana use in adolescents before and after licit drug use: examination of the gateway hypothesis.

OBJECTIVE The authors investigated whether the transition from licit drug use to marijuana use is determined by particular risk factors, as specified by the gateway hypothesis. They also evaluated the accuracy of the "gateway sequence" (illicit drug use following licit drugs) for predicting a diagnosis of substance use disorder. METHOD Boys who consumed licit drugs only (N=99), boys who consumed licit drugs and then transitioned to marijuana use (gateway sequence) (N=97), and boys who used marijuana before using licit substances (alternative sequence) (N=28) were prospectively studied from ages 10-12 years through 22 years to determine whether specific factors were associated with each drug use pattern. The groups were compared on 35 variables measuring psychological, family, peer, school, and neighborhood characteristics. In addition, the utility of the gateway and alternative sequences in predicting substance use disorder was compared to assess their clinical informativeness. RESULTS Twenty-eight (22.4%) of the participants who used marijuana did not exhibit the gateway sequence, thereby demonstrating that this pattern is not invariant in drug-using youths. Among youths who did exhibit the gateway pattern, only delinquency was more strongly related to marijuana use than licit drug use. Specific risk factors associated with transition from licit to illicit drugs were not revealed. The alternative sequence had the same accuracy for predicting substance use disorder as the gateway sequence. CONCLUSIONS Proneness to deviancy and drug availability in the neighborhood promote marijuana use. These findings support the common liability model of substance use behavior and substance use disorder.
A plant solution to the CDK conundrum in the DNA damage response

To cope with DNA damage, proliferating cells have evolved sophisticated mechanisms including cell cycle arrest and activation of DNA repair. Paradoxically, various DNA damage response pathways are promoted by cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK) activity, while cell cycle remains arrested. New work in The EMBO Journal shows that plant cells have evolved intricate ways to resolve this dilemma, by utilizing distinct and specialized CDKs for cell cycle progression and homologous recombination.
Women's Preferences for Male Behavioral Displays Change Across the Menstrual Cycle

Women prefer both the scent of symmetrical men and masculine male faces more during the fertile (late follicular and ovulatory) phases of their menstrual cycles than during their infertile (e.g., luteal) phases. Men's behavioral displays in social settings may convey signals that affect women's attraction to men even more strongly. This study examined shifts in women's preferences for these behavioral displays. A sample of 237 normally ovulating women viewed 36 or 40 videotaped men who were competing for a potential lunch date and then rated each man's attractiveness as a short-term and a long-term mate. As predicted, women's preference for men who displayed social presence and direct intrasexual competitiveness increased on high-fertility days relative to low-fertility days, but only in a short-term, not a long-term, mating context. These findings add to the growing literature indicating that women's mate preferences systematically vary across the reproductive cycle.
Real-time restoration of white-light confocal microscope optical sections

Confocal microscopes (CM) are routinely used for building 3-D images of microscopic structures. Nonideal imaging conditions in a white-light CM introduce additive noise and blur. The optical section images need to be restored prior to quantitative analysis. We present an adaptive noise filtering technique using Karhunen-Loéve expansion (KLE) by the method of snapshots and a ringing metric to quantify the ringing artifacts introduced in the images restored at various iterations of iterative Lucy-Richardson deconvolution algorithm. The KLE provides a set of basis functions that comprise the optimal linear basis for an ensemble of empirical observations. We show that most of the noise in the scene can be removed by reconstructing the images using the KLE basis vector with the largest eigenvalue. The prefiltering scheme presented is faster and does not require prior knowledge about image noise. Optical sections processed using the KLE prefilter can be restored using a simple inverse restoration algorithm; thus, the methodology is suitable for real-time image restoration applications. The KLE image prefilter outperforms the temporal-average prefilter in restoring CM optical sections. The ringing metric developed uses simple binary morphological operations to quantify the ringing artifacts and confirms with the visual observation of ringing artifacts in the restored images.
Total occlusion versus hairline residual lumen of the internal carotid arteries: accuracy of single section helical CT angiography.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Routine carotid sonography and MR angiography cannot reliably detect the markedly reduced flow velocities associated with very severe carotid stenosis. In this study, we sought to evaluate the accuracy of single row detector helical CT angiography in distinguishing hairline residual lumen from total occlusion of severely stenosed internal carotid arteries (ICAs). METHODS From our departmental data base of single row detector CT angiography studies performed for evaluation of ICA occlusive disease, 21 cases were identified with evidence of either hairline residual lumen or total occlusion on correlative conventional catheter radiographic arteriograms; these included seven cases of proved hairline residual lumen and 14 cases of proved total occlusion. Two neuroradiologists, blinded to the radiographic arteriography results, graded the diseased ICA on each CT angiogram as definitely occluded, probably occluded, indeterminate, probably patent, or definitely patent. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated for each neuroradiologist. RESULTS At an operating point on the receiver operating characteristic curve corresponding to 90% sensitivity, the first reader achieved 95% specificity and the second reader achieved 80% specificity for distinguishing hairline residual lumen from total occlusion. Absolute accuracy rates were 95% and 85%, respectively. No significant difference in accuracy was observed between the two readers (P =.28, two-tailed t test). CONCLUSION Single row detector CT angiography can distinguish total ICA occlusion from hairline residual lumen with a high degree of accuracy. In equivocal cases, conventional catheter arteriography may be desirable to confirm the diagnosis.
Novel Molecular Events in Oral Carcinogenesis via Integrative Approaches

Cancer is now viewed as a systems biology disease, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) can be viewed in a similar fashion. In this paper, we highlight some of the novel molecular events in OSCC, revealed through an integrative strategy of systems biology based on high-throughput omics analysis such as genomics and/or proteomics, the most powerful hypothesis-generating means available today. These approaches have resulted not only in the identification of novel genes for OSCC, but also in more comprehensive networks that describe the mechanisms by which those identified events work, with the promise of developing this knowledge into biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of therapeutic responses in OSCC patients. Long-term, population-based prospective studies of OSCC patients, and those at high risk of developing OSCC, will then be needed to validate these biomarkers.
Comparison of factors influencing trichloroethylene degradation by toluene-oxidizing bacteria

The degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) by toluene-oxidizing bacteria has been extensively studied, and yet the influence of environmental conditions and physiological characteristics of individual strains has received little attention. To consider these effects, the levels of TCE degradation by strains distinguishable on the basis of toluene and nitrate metabolism were compared under aerobic or hypoxic conditions in the presence and absence of nitrate and an exogenous electron donor, lactate. Under aerobic conditions with toluene-induced cells, strains expressing toluene dioxygenases (Pseudomonas putida F1, Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150, Pseudomonas fluorescens CFS215, and Pseudomonas sp. strain W31) degraded TCE at low rates, with less than 12% of the TCE removed in 18 h. In contrast, strains expressing toluene monooxygenases (Burkholderia cepacia G4, Burkholderia pickettii PKO1, and Pseudomonas mendocina KR1) degraded 36 to 67% of the TCE over the same period. Under hypoxic conditions (1.7 mg of dissolved oxygen per liter) or when lactate was added as an electron donor, the extent of TCE degradation by toluene-induced cells was generally lower. In the presence of lactate, degradation of TCE by denitrifying strain PKO1 was enhanced by nitrate under conditions in which dissimilatory nitrate reduction was observed. The results of experiments performed with strains F1, G4, PKO1, and KR1 suggested that TCE or an oxidation product induces toluene degradation and that TCE induces its own degradation in the monooxygenase strains. The role of TCE as an inducer of toluene oxygenase activity in PKO1 was confirmed by performing a promoter probe analysis, in which we found that TCE activates transcription from the PKO1 3-monooxygenase operon promoter.
Etude des gestes conventionnels chez des enfants autistes à partir d'une analyse de films familiaux

Nous avons effectue un releve de 6 mois en 6 mois des gestes conventionnels et de leurs precurseurs dans le developpement chez 7 garcons autistes âges de 12 a 36 mois a partir de films familiaux.L’analyse est menee a l’aide d’une grille d’observation (ANAGESTE). Les resultats indiquent que ces gestes sont presents entre 12 et 23 mois. De plus, nous constatons que la frequence totale des gestes conventionnels de chaque enfant est directement liee a son Quotient de Developpement Global.Ces constats qui ne s’accordent pas avec les theories actuelles portant sur la periode pre-linguistique, temoignent d’une capacite relationnelle gestuelle dans l’autisme dont la disparition apres 23 mois serait un signe clinique notable.
THE NATURE OF THE IMMUNOLOGIC INADEQUACY OF NEONATAL RABBITS

It has been shown that cells from neonatal rabbits are capable of producing considerable amounts of antibody after exposure to antigen in vitro and transfer to x-radiated adult recipients. This suggests that the immunological inadequacy of these neonates is not dependent primarily upon the lack of cells capable of antibody formation. Both in vitro sensitized neonatal lymphoid cells and in vivo sensitized adult lymphoid cells made much more antibody after transfer to x-rayed adult recipients than to neonatal recipients. Possible reasons for and significance of these observations are pointed out in the discussion.
Castleman's disease in the orbit. A 20-year follow-up.

PURPOSE To report a case of localized orbital Castleman's disease of mixed cell type with a follow-up of 20 years. METHODS A female patient presented at the age of 12 years with constitutional symptoms and left-sided proptosis. Laboratory tests revealed marked hypergammaglobulinaemia and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), suggesting an immunological disturbance. A CT scan and MRI showed an infiltrating orbital mass lateral to and behind the eye. RESULTS Histological examination of orbital biopsies showed a lymphoid lesion consistent with Castleman's disease of the mixed cell type. The patient was treated with systemic steroids, immunosuppressives and irradiation. She is now 33 years old and has been without relapse for the last 7 years. CONCLUSION Orbital involvement in Castleman's disease is very rare. The clinical course, good prognosis and histological picture of the present case favour the diagnosis of localized Castleman's disease of mixed cell type. The successful medical treatment suggests that such a regime may substitute for surgery when the latter proves difficult.
Improved method for assessing iron stores in the bone marrow

Background: Bone marrow iron microscopy has been the “gold standard” method of assessing iron deficiency. However, the commonly used method of grading marrow iron remains highly subjective. Aim: To improve the bone marrow grading method by developing a detailed protocol that assesses iron in fragments, in macrophages around fragments and in erythroblasts. Methods: A descriptive study of marrow aspirates of 303 children (aged 6–60 months) with severe anaemia and 22 controls (children undergoing elective surgery) was conducted at hospitals in southern Malawi (2002–04). Results: Using an intensive marrow iron grading method, 22% and 39% of cases and controls had deficient iron stores, and 40% and 46% had functional iron deficiency, respectively. Further evaluation of the iron status classification by the intensive method showed that functional iron deficiency was associated with significantly increased C-reactive protein concentrations (126.7 (85.6) mg/l), and iron stores deficiency with significantly increased soluble transferrin receptor concentrations (21.7 (12.5) μg/ml). Conclusions: Iron assessment can be greatly improved by a more intense marrow examination. This provides a useful iron status classification which is of particular importance in areas where there is a high rate of inflammatory conditions.
Personality and motivations for playing online games

Using the five-factor model of personality and a previously theorized motivation typology, the authors investigated the relationship between personality and motivation for playing online games. The results indicated that openness was positively related to discovery and role- playing motivation, and conscientiousness was positively related to escapism motivation. In addition, extraversion was positively related to teamwork motivation, and agreeableness was positively related to advancement motivation. However, neuroticism was negatively related to teamwork motivation. These findings have several implications and could provide further research directions.
Ethical Issues in Treatment and Intervention Research With Children and Adolescents With Behavioral and Mental Disorders

Large numbers of children and adolescents in the United States and worldwide are affected by behavioral and mental disorders that result in a substantial burden of suffering for them and their families, impairments in functioning and quality of life, and costs to society from lost productivity (Kazdin & Weisz, 2003). The cumulative impact of childhood mental disorders on lifetime functioning and costs to society is substantial (Kazdin, 2000). For this reason, there is a need to develop treatments that are effective in reducing behavioral and psychological symptoms; limiting the course of behavioral and mental disorders; and reducing functional impairment, burden of suffering, and costs to society. Over the last several decades, research has resulted in substantial progress in the development of effective behavioral and pharmacological treatments for a wide range of childhood disorders (Hibbs & Jensen, 1996; Kazdin & Weisz, 2003; Phelps, Brown, & Power, 2002). Despite such progress, limitations in scientific knowledge and continuing controversies concerning treatment of child and adolescent mental disorders (Leo, 2006) create an imperative to conduct research to establish the efficacy of treatment (Kazdin & Weisz, 2003; Phelps et al., 2002). However, the design and imETHICS & BEHAVIOR, 18(2–3), 119–126 Copyright © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1050-8422 print / 1532-7019 online DOI: 10.1080/10508420802063822
Metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 autoantibody-associated cerebellitis: a primary autoimmune disease?

OBJECTIVES To report the third case of subacute cerebellar ataxia associated with metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 autoantibodies (mGluR1-Abs), an uncommon syndrome known to be part of the group of paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration syndromes linked to antineuronal antibodies and previously reported in only 2 other patients with long-term remission of Hodgkin lymphoma, and to discuss the underlying immunopathogenesis. DESIGN Case report. SETTING University hospital. PATIENT A 50-year-old woman admitted for acute severe isolated static and kinetic cerebellar syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed diffuse abnormal hyperintensity in the whole cerebellum on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion sequences. RESULTS Results of the biological workup were negative for general inflammation, vitamin deficiency, and bacterial and viral infections. Immunohistochemical analysis of the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of the patient demonstrated staining for Purkinje cell bodies and the molecular layer of the cerebellum. Finally, mGluR1-Abs were detected in serum and cerebrospinal fluid by a cell-based assay. Complete clinical examination, thoracoabdominal-pelvic computed tomography, and whole-body fludeoxyglucose F 18-positron emission tomography failed to show any underlying tumor, including Hodgkin lymphoma. The disease was stabilized after a course of intravenous immunoglobulins and continuous mycophenolate mofetil treatment during a follow-up of 40 months. CONCLUSIONS Cerebellitis associated with mGluR1-Abs should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with subacute cerebellar ataxia. This first case without any tumor found suggests a possible idiopathic autoimmune rather than a paraneoplastic mechanism. In consideration of this possible primitive autoimmune ataxia involving the directly pathogenic mGluR1-Abs, immunoactive therapy should be initiated as early as possible.
Organization of Human Papillomavirus Productive Cycle during Neoplastic Progression Provides a Basis for Selection of Diagnostic Markers

ABSTRACT The productive cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) can be divided into discrete phases. Cell proliferation and episomal maintenance in the lower epithelial layers are followed by genome amplification and the expression of capsid proteins. These events, which occur in all productive infections, can be distinguished by using antibodies to viral gene products or to surrogate markers of their expression. Here we have compared precancerous lesions caused by HPV type 16 (HPV16) with lesions caused by HPV types that are not generally associated with human cancer. These include HPV2 and HPV11, which are related to HPV16 (supergroup A), as well as HPV1 and HPV65, which are evolutionarily divergent (supergroups E and B). HPV16-induced low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (CIN1) are productive infections which resemble those caused by other HPV types. During progression to cancer, however, the activation of late events is delayed, and the thickness of the proliferative compartment is progressively increased. In many HPV16-induced high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (CIN3), late events are restricted to small areas close to the epithelial surface. Such heterogeneity in the organization of the productive cycle was seen only in lesions caused by HPV16 and was not apparent when lesions caused by other HPV types were compared. By contrast, the order in which events in the productive cycle were initiated was invariant and did not depend on the infecting HPV type or the severity of disease. The distribution of viral gene products in the infected cervix depends on the extent to which the virus can complete its productive cycle, which in turn reflects the severity of cervical neoplasia. It appears from our work that the presence of such proteins in cells at the epithelial surface allows the severity of the underlying disease to be predicted and that markers of viral gene expression may improve cervical screening.
Effects of the Acyl Coenzyme A:Cholesterol Acyltransferase Inhibitor Avasimibe on Human Atherosclerotic Lesions

Background—Inhibition of the acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) enzyme may prevent excess accumulation of cholesteryl esters in macrophages. The ACAT inhibitor avasimibe was shown to reduce experimental atherosclerosis. This study was designed to investigate the effects of avasimibe on human coronary atherosclerosis. Methods and Results—This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessed the effects of avasimibe at dosages of 50, 250, and 750 mg QD on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis as assessed by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). All patients received background lipid-lowering therapy if necessary to reach a target baseline LDL level <125 mg/dL (3.2 mmol/L). IVUS and coronary angiography were performed at baseline and repeated after up to 24 months of treatment. Approximately equal percentages of patients across groups received concurrent statin therapy (87% to 89%). The mean total plaque volume at baseline was ≈200 mm3, and the least squares mean change at end of treatment was 0.7 mm3 for placebo and 7.7, 4.1, and 4.8 mm3 for the avasimibe 50, 250, and 750 mg groups, respectively (adjusted P=0.17 [unadjusted P=0.057], 0.37, and 0.37, respectively). Percent atheroma volume increased by 0.4% with placebo and by 0.7%, 0.8%, and 1.0% in the respective avasimibe groups (P=NS). LDL cholesterol increased during the study by 1.7% with placebo but by 7.8%, 9.1%, and 10.9% in the respective avasimibe groups (P<0.05 in all groups). Conclusions—Avasimibe did not favorably alter coronary atherosclerosis as assessed by IVUS. This ACAT inhibitor also caused a mild increase in LDL cholesterol.
Effects of perceived musical rhythm on respiratory pattern.

The effects of rhythmic input on breath period (TT) under constant metabolic drive were assessed in 10 musically trained and 10 untrained subjects. They tapped to a metronome and then to four musical segments, each for 5 min. Ten of these subjects (5 from each group) also listened to the selections without tapping. TT, beat period (TB), and phase coupling (PC) were assessed during the last 20 breaths of each presentation. TT coefficient of variation decreased significantly (P less than 0.001) in all subjects (base line = 23%; listening = 15%; listening and tapping = 10%). Significant correlation between rhythm and TT, indicating relative entrainment, was found in half of the subjects (r greater than 0.45; P less than 0.01). Significant integer TT/TB ratio and PC, both indicating tight entrainment between rhythm and breathing, were observed in 12 subjects (though not consistently in each one). These data advance the following hypothesis: musical rhythm can be a zeitgeber (i.e., pacemaker), with its ability to entrain respiration dependent on the strength of its signal relative to spurious signals from the higher neural centers that introduce noise into the central pattern generator. Tapping reinforces the zeitgeber, increasing its signal-to-noise ratio and thereby promoting entrainment.