Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHosphatidylethanol (PEth) concentrations in blood are correlated to reported alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent patients.

AIMS Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an abnormal phospholipid formed only in the presence of ethanol by the enzyme phospholipase D. PEth in blood is a promising new marker for ethanol abuse. None of the biological markers used at the present time is sensitive and specific enough for the diagnosis of alcoholism. METHODS The most frequently used alcohol markers [carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV)] were studied together with PEth in actively drinking alcohol-dependent patients (inpatients and outpatients), with regard to correlation to ethanol intake and diagnostic sensitivity of the markers. The relation between the markers was also studied. RESULTS PEth, CDT, and GGT correlated to ethanol intake, with the strongest correlation found for PEth. The diagnostic sensitivity for PEth was 99%, and for other markers it varied between 40 and 77%. Only when CDT was combined with GGT was a sensitivity of 94% reached. PEth correlated to CDT and GGT but not to MCV. CDT did not correlate to GGT or MCV. CONCLUSIONS Blood concentrations of PEth are highly correlated to ethanol intake, and the present results indicate that its diagnostic sensitivity is higher than that for previously established alcohol markers.
Mortality of elderly individuals with TBI in the first 5 years following injury.

INTRODUCTION Although there has been a decline in the incidence of TBI in the general population, the rate of TBI in older adults has increased. Increased age has been long recognized as a predictor of worse outcomes after TBI. Despite the growing number of TBI in the elderly, our understanding of the long-term consequences of TBI is quite limited. METHODS Chart review; individuals 55 years and older, who completed inpatient acute rehabilitation during the period 2003-2009 and who died one to four years after injury, were compared to matched patients who did not die. RESULTS There were a significantly higher proportion of deceased subjects with a diagnosis of Abnormality of Gait (53%), respiratory medications at admission (32%) and discharge (17%). Deceased participants were more likely to be prescribed diabetes medication at discharge (35%) while controls were more likely to be prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications (27%) at admission. Deceased patients were discharged with significantly more medications, CONCLUSIONS The results suggest the need for medical and lifestyle interventions for selected elderly TBI patients. The factors related to death following TBI in the elderly are in need of more research.
Gelsolin-actin interaction and actin polymerization in human neutrophils

The fraction of polymerized actin in human blood neutrophils increases after exposure to formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fmlp), is maximal 10 s after peptide addition, and decreases after 300 s. Most of the gelsolin (85 +/- 11%) in resting ficoll-hypaque (FH)-purified neutrophils is in an EGTA resistant, 1:1 gelsolin-actin complex, and, within 5 s after 10(-7) M fmlp activation, the amount of gelsolin complexed with actin decreases to 42 +/- 12%. Reversal of gelsolin binding to actin occurs concurrently with an increase in F-actin content, and the appearance of barbed-end nucleating activity. The rate of dissociation of EGTA resistant, 1:1 gelsolin-actin complexes is more rapid in cells exposed to 10(-7) M fmlp than in cells exposed to 10(-9) M fmlp, and the extent of dissociation 10 s after activation depends upon the fmlp concentration. Furthermore, 300 s after fmlp activation when F-actin content is decreasing, gelsolin reassociates with actin as evidenced by an increase in the amount of EGTA resistant, 1:1 gelsolin- actin complex. Since fmlp induces barbed end actin polymerization in neutrophils and since in vitro the gelsolin-actin complex caps the barbed ends of actin filaments and blocks their growth, the data suggests that in FH neutrophils fmlp-induced actin polymerization could be initiated by the reversal of gelsolin binding to actin and the uncapping of actin filaments or nuclei. The data shows that formation and dissociation of gelsolin-actin complexes, together with the effects of other actin regulatory proteins, are important steps in the regulation of actin polymerization in neutrophils. Finally, finding increased amounts of gelsolin-actin complex in basal FH cells and dissociation of the complex in fmlp-activated cells suggests a mechanism by which fmlp can cause actin polymerization without an acute increase in cytosolic Ca++.
The split hand sign

Amyotrophic Lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease characterized by pure motor asymmetric wasting of various muscles with associated upper motor neuron signs. The split hand sign, which is because of dissociated muscle weakness in the hands (thenar muscles disproportionately wasted as compared to the hypothenar muscles) is a useful clinical sign for bed side diagnosis of ALS.
Emerging Functions of SRSF1, Splicing Factor and Oncoprotein, in RNA Metabolism and Cancer

Serine/Arginine Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) is the archetype member of the SR protein family of splicing regulators. Since its discovery over two decades ago, SRSF1 has been repeatedly surprising and intriguing investigators by the plethora of complex biologic pathways it regulates. These include several key aspects of mRNA metabolism, such as mRNA splicing, stability, and translation, as well as other mRNA-independent processes, such as miRNA processing, protein sumoylation, and the nucleolar stress response. In this review, the structural features of SRSF1 are discussed as they relate to the intricate mechanism of splicing and the multiplicity of functions it performs. Similarly, a list of relevant alternatively spliced transcripts and SRSF1 interacting proteins is provided. Finally, emphasis is given to the deleterious consequences of overexpression of the SRSF1 proto-oncogene in human cancers, and the complex mechanisms and pathways underlying SRSF1-mediated transformation. The accumulated knowledge about SRSF1 provides critical insight into the integral role it plays in maintaining cellular homeostasis and suggests new targets for anticancer therapy. Mol Cancer Res; 12(9); 1195–204. ©2014 AACR.
Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in colorectal adenocarcinoma: an immunohistochemical and histopathological study.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immunoreactivity in colorectal adenocarcinomas and to find correlations with different pathological features. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 35 cases of colorectal carcinoma for which surgical colectomy specimens were collected. Immunohistochemical staining of COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) is done by using the Streptavidin-biotin technique. RESULTS This work reveals that COX-2 is positive in most cases of colorectal carcinoma and negative in normal colon tissue with statistically non significant relations between COX-2 immunostaining and different pathological features. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest overexpression of COX-2 protein in colorectal carcinoma in contrast to normal mucosa, with a possible role in cell proliferation in carcinogenesis.
Comparison of the Community Integration Questionnaire, the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique, and the Disability Rating Scale in Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective:To examine the concurrent validity of the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) in assessing outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) by comparing it with two widely used and well-validated measurements of rehabilitation outcome. Design:A retrospective relational study of the concurrent validity of the CIQ, Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), and Disability Rating Scale (DRS). Setting:A postacute rehabilitation facility. Participants:Seventy patients with a medical diagnosis of TBI admitted between April 1996 and October 1998 participated in the study. Results:CIQ and CHART provide ratings that are similar in several areas to those provided by the DRS. Correlation (r) among total scores and subscales for all three instruments ranged from 0.021 to 0.671 (P < .01). Correlation between CIQ and CHART is stronger than that between CIQ and DRS or between CHART and DRS, and the correlation between CHART and DRS is stronger than that between CIQ and DRS. Conclusion:The CIQ appears to be the most appropriate instrument in quantifying rehabilitation outcome in patients with TBI at the participatory (handicap) level. The findings of this study can help clinicians gain a greater understanding of the nature, redundancy, and gaps among functional outcome measures. Monitoring outcomes can also help clinicians better understand the effectiveness of interventions.
Pushing the limits of ATC user interface design beyond S&M interaction: the DigiStrips experience

Most designs proposed for air traffic control workstations are based on user interface designs from the early 1980s, though research in user interaction has produced innovations since then. Project Toccata federates a series of research held at CENA on new user interfaces and services for ATC. Virtuosi and DigiStrips are two prototypes developed for Toccata, which make use of touch screens and served as a basis for research on the use of graphical design techniques in user interfaces. This paper describes the lessons learnt in that experience and argues that techniques such as animation, font design, careful use of graphical design techniques can augment the possibilities of user interface design and improve the usability of systems. We finally analyze the possible implications on ATC workstation design.
Whole-Genome Scans Provide Evidence of Adaptive Evolution in Malawian Plasmodium falciparum Isolates

Background Selection by host immunity and antimalarial drugs has driven extensive adaptive evolution in Plasmodium falciparum and continues to produce ever-changing landscapes of genetic variation. Methods We performed whole-genome sequencing of 69 P. falciparum isolates from Malawi and used population genetics approaches to investigate genetic diversity and population structure and identify loci under selection. Results High genetic diversity (π = 2.4 × 10−4), moderately high multiplicity of infection (2.7), and low linkage disequilibrium (500-bp) were observed in Chikhwawa District, Malawi, an area of high malaria transmission. Allele frequency–based tests provided evidence of recent population growth in Malawi and detected potential targets of host immunity and candidate vaccine antigens. Comparison of the sequence variation between isolates from Malawi and those from 5 geographically dispersed countries (Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cambodia, and Thailand) detected population genetic differences between Africa and Asia, within Southeast Asia, and within Africa. Haplotype-based tests of selection to sequence data from all 6 populations identified signals of directional selection at known drug-resistance loci, including pfcrt, pfdhps, pfmdr1, and pfgch1. Conclusions The sequence variations observed at drug-resistance loci reflect differences in each country's historical use of antimalarial drugs and may be useful in formulating local malaria treatment guidelines.
A data-rate limited view of adaptive control

This paper addresses the problem of adaptively controlling a plant with unknown parameters using communication-limited feedback. Assuming known dynamics, expressions have recently been obtained for the minimum average feedback data rate required for asymptotic stabilisability. The main purpose of this work is to demonstrate that this minimum rate does not increase if the plant parameters are unknown, and the key elements of a stabilizing, minimum-rate policy are explicitly discussed. By regarding the uncertain plant as a higher-dimensional, nonlinear plant with unknown initial condition, it is shown that this result agrees with the recent concept of local topological feedback entropy. Extensions to the case of uncertain nonlinear plants are discussed.
Post‐influenzal psychiatric disorder in adolescents

The association between influenza and psychiatric disorder in adolescents was studied at a time when both were highly prevalent concurrently. First 505 secondary school pupils aged 15–18 completed questionnaires, including a symptom inventory derived from the SCL‐90‐R. Subsequently, 113 blood samples were examined for influenza antibody titers of five virus strains. Statistical analysis showed that adolescents who had been ill with influenza in the previous six months had significantly more psychiatric disorder than those who had not been ill with influenza in that period.
PENGARUH NORMA SUBYEKTIF, PERSEPSI KONTROL PERILAKU, DAN SIKAP WIRAUSAHATERHADAP MINAT BERWIRAUSAHA SISWA SMK

Saat ini penelitian mengenai minat berwirausaha tengah berkembang. Berbagai variabel dimasukkan untuk memprediksi minat berwirausaha. perkembangan tersebut karena anggapan bahwa kewirausahaan mampu menjadi kunci atas keberhasilan pertumbuhan ekonomi, pengangguran yang lebih rendah, peningkatan lapangan pekerjaan, dan stabilisasi ekonomi. Keyakinan pemerintah untuk mengembangkan kewirausahaan di Indonesia dianggap pilihan tepat mengingat fakta yang amat memprihatinkan mengenai tingginya jumlah pengangguran di Indonesia yang secara individual didominasi oleh mereka yang merupakan lulusan SMK. Karenanya, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengidentifikasi berbagai prediktor yang diduga memiliki hubungan terhadap minat berwirausaha pada siswa SMK dengan jalan mengomparasikan berbagai prediktor tersebut berdasarkan lintas budaya yang berbeda antar siswa SMK. Tujuan Penelitian adalah untuk memperoleh gambaran dan membuktikan, 1) Pengaruh norma subyektif terhadap persepsi kontrol perilaku siswa SMK. 2) Pengaruh norma subyektif terhadap sikap wirausaha siswa SMK. 3) Pengaruh norma subyektif, persepsi kontrol perilaku, dan sikap wirausaha terhadap minat berwirausaha siswa SMK. Penelitian ini menggunakan analisis Model Persamaan Struktural. Penggunaan analisis ini dimaksudkan agar dapat menganalisis persamaan pengukuran, serta persamaan struktural. Sampel yang terlibat dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa SMK Muhammadiyah I Kadungora sebanyak 147 orang yang dipilih secara random dari populasi sebesar 233. Dan siswa SMKN 12 Garut sebanyak 128 orang yang dipilih secara random dari populasi sebesar 188. Berdasarkan analisis data dan pengujian hipotesis menunjukkan bahwa hasil penelitian secara umum menjelaskan bahwa faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi minat berwirausaha, berbeda antara SMK Muhammadiyah I Kadungora dan SMKN 12 Garut. Perbedaan ini secara khusus dapat dikemukakan sebagai berikut: 1) norma subyektif yang dimiliki siswa SMK Muhammadiyah I Kadungora berpengaruh positif terhadap persepsi kontrol perilaku wirausaha dan sikap wirausaha. Sementara hasil penelitian yang diujikan kepada siswa SMKN 12 Garut menunjukkan norma subyektif tidak berpengaruh positif terhadap persepsi kontrol perilaku wirausaha dan sikap wirausaha. 2) norma subyektif, persepsi kontrol perilaku wirausaha, dan sikap wirausaha yang dimiliki siswa SMK Muhammadiyah I Kadungora tidak berpengaruh positif terhadap minat berwirausaha baik secara individual maupun simultan. Sedangkan hasil penelitian yang diujikan kepada siswa SMKN 12 Garut menunjukkan bahwa) norma subyektif, persepsi kontrol perilaku wirausaha, dan sikap wirausaha tidak berpengaruh positif terhadap minat berwirausaha secara simultan, namun secara individual persepsi kontrol perilaku dan sikap wirausaha berpengaruh positif terhadap minat berwirausaha siswa SMKN 12 Garut.
“Running Water Won't Freeze”: How people with advanced Parkinson's disease experience occupation

Abstract Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition often resulting in significant disability and impacting on one's ability to participate in an occupation. The present study aimed to explore how people with advanced Parkinson's disease experience the phenomenon of occupation in their daily lives in order to inform the practice of occupational therapy in palliative care. Method: Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of 10 people in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. These interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and subsequently analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach. The study received approval from the relevant university ethics committee, as well as the research network of Parkinson's UK. Results: The experience of occupation emerged as being physical, psychological, social, and spiritual with related subthemes. Within each of these themes, participants described their experience of occupation that they valued and that were important to their daily lives. They also identified the strategies they employed to continue participating in certain occupations and described others they were no longer able to engage in and the impact of that loss. Significance of Results: Participants' experiences crossed the domains of palliative care and suggest that adopting a palliative care approach would enhance an enhanced quality of life, experienced in terms of meaningful and valuable occupation. Disruption to participation in occupation caused them distress and frustration, suggesting that access to occupation-focused therapy would significantly improve quality of life for people with PD. As there is a strong link between the ethos of occupational therapy and palliative care, it is proposed that there is a valuable role for occupational therapy intervention to play within palliative care.
Conversational virtual character for the Web

Talking virtual characters are graphical simulations of real or imaginary persons capable of human-like behaviour, most importantly talking and gesturing. Coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, the virtual characters are expected to represent the ultimate abstraction of a human-computer interface, the one where the computer looks, talks and acts like a human. Such an interface would include audio/video analysis and synthesis techniques combined with AI, dialogue management and a vast knowledge base in order to be able to respond quasi-intelligently to the users by: speech, gesture and even mood. While this goal lies further on in the future, we present an architecture that reaches towards it, at the same time aiming for a possibility of practical applications in the nearer future. Our architecture is aimed specifically at the Web. It involves a talking virtual character capable of involving in a fairly meaningful conversation with the user who types in the input.
Acetylcholinesterase promotes the aggregation of amyloid-beta-peptide fragments by forming a complex with the growing fibrils.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, consistently colocalizes with the amyloid deposits characteristic of Alzheimer's disease and may contribute to the generation of amyloid proteins and/or physically affect fibril assembly. In order to identify the structural domains of the amyloid-beta-peptide (Abeta) involved in the aggregation induced by AChE, we have studied the effect of this cholinergic enzyme on Abeta peptide fragments of different sizes. AChE enhanced the aggregation of the Abeta(12-28) and Abeta(25-35) peptides but not of the Abeta(1-16) fragment. The inductive effect of AChE on the aggregation of Abeta(12-28) was abolished by the presence of either Abeta(1-16) or Abeta(9-21). The effect of the enzyme was also analysed using two different mutant fragments, possessing a low and the other a high capacity for fibrillogenesis. The fragments used were Abeta(12-28)Val18-->Ala and Abeta(12-28)Glu22-->Gln, respectively. AChE was able to promote the aggregation of these fragments in a very specific way and both mutant peptides were able to form amyloid fibrils, as revealed by negative staining under the electron microscope. Binding assays indicated that AChE was bound to Abeta(12-28), as well as to the Abeta(1-16) peptide. AChE was seen to form strong complexes with the Abeta(12-28) fibrils as such complexes stained positively for both thioflavine-T and AChE activity, were resistant to high ionic strength treatment, and were partially sensitive to detergents, suggesting that hydrophobic interactions may play a role in the stabilization of the AChE-Abeta complex. Our results suggest that such amyloid-AChE complexes are formed when AChE interacts with the growing amyloid fibrils and accelerates the assembly of Abeta peptides. This is consistent with the fact that AChE is known to be present within Abeta deposits including the pre-amyloid diffuse and mature senile plaques found in Alzheimer's brain.
Optimal sleep-state control of energy-aware M/G/1 queues

We study the problem of optimally controlling the use of sleep states in an energy-aware M/G/1 queue. In our model, we consider a family of policies where the server upon becoming idle can wait for a random period before entering, potentially randomly, any of a finite number of possible sleep states to save energy. The server becomes busy again after a possibly random number of jobs have arrived. However, jobs are served only after a random setup time. This kind of an energy-aware queuing system has been analyzed in recent papers under specific assumptions regarding the cost metrics and the distributions of the random variables. In this paper, we consider an essentially more general model. Notably we show that the optimal control of the idle time and sleep states is deterministic and does not benefit from randomization: either the system only uses the idle state and no sleep states, or the idle state is not used at all and the server immediately goes to some fixed sleep state and waits until a fixed number of jobs have arrived before starting the setup. We prove this result for two popular cost metrics, namely weighted sum of energy and response time (ERWS) and their product ERP.
Computer-aided detection (CAD) of breast masses in mammography: combined detection and ensemble classification

We propose a novel computer-aided detection (CAD) framework of breast masses in mammography. To increase detection sensitivity for various types of mammographic masses, we propose the combined use of different detection algorithms. In particular, we develop a region-of-interest combination mechanism that integrates detection information gained from unsupervised and supervised detection algorithms. Also, to significantly reduce the number of false-positive (FP) detections, the new ensemble classification algorithm is developed. Extensive experiments have been conducted on a benchmark mammogram database. Results show that our combined detection approach can considerably improve the detection sensitivity with a small loss of FP rate, compared to representative detection algorithms previously developed for mammographic CAD systems. The proposed ensemble classification solution also has a dramatic impact on the reduction of FP detections; as much as 70% (from 15 to 4.5 per image) at only cost of 4.6% sensitivity loss (from 90.0% to 85.4%). Moreover, our proposed CAD method performs as well or better (70.7% and 80.0% per 1.5 and 3.5 FPs per image respectively) than the results of mammography CAD algorithms previously reported in the literature.