Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variations in the levels of oxidative stress and antioxidants during early acute pancreatitis.

AIM Acute pancreatitis (AP) is fatal when severe and oxidative stress (OS) is postulated to play an important role in its pathophysiology and the development of complications. OS and antioxidant status therefore need to be profiled during early AP. METHODS Patients presenting to the Gastroenterology wards with early AP i.e. within 72 hours of onset of pain were included in the study. Also samples from 50 healthy controls were obtained for comparison. OS was estimated by levels of blood superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; TBARS) and antioxidant status (AOS) by the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and vitamin C at days 1, 3, and 7 of admission. RESULTS OS was significantly higher in cases as compared with controls (p<0.001) on all days and showed a gradual decrease from day 1 to 7 (p<0.05). TBARS showed a higher fall in mild AP and better clinical outcome (p<0.003). Regarding the AOS, FRAP was significantly lower in cases (p<0.001) and decreased significantly from day 1 to 3 (p=0.017). CONCLUSIONS High OS was observed during early phase of AP and a gradually improving AOS was associated with a better clinical outcome in patients with AP.
Two Experiences in Software Dynamics

This paper presents an outline of a formal model management framework that provides breakthroughs for legacy systems recovery (RELS) and for data migration (ADAM). To recover a legacy system, we use an algebraic approach by using algebras in order to represent the models and manipulate them. RELS also generates automatically a data migration plan that specifies a data transfer process to save all the legacy knowledge in the new recovered database. The data migration solution is also introduced as a support for the O-O conceptual schemas evolution where their persistent layers are stored by means of relational databases, in the ADAM tool. Contents and structure of the data migration plans are specified using an abstract data migration language. Our past experience in both projects has guided us towards the model management research field. We present a case study to illustrate our proposal.
Neuroendocrine modulation sustains the C. elegans forward motor state

Neuromodulators shape neural circuit dynamics. Combining electron microscopy, genetics, transcriptome profiling, calcium imaging, and optogenetics, we discovered a peptidergic neuron that modulates C. elegans motor circuit dynamics. The Six/SO-family homeobox transcription factor UNC-39 governs lineage-specific neurogenesis to give rise to a neuron RID. RID bears the anatomic hallmarks of a specialized endocrine neuron: it harbors near-exclusive dense core vesicles that cluster periodically along the axon, and expresses multiple neuropeptides, including the FMRF-amide-related FLP-14. RID activity increases during forward movement. Ablating RID reduces the sustainability of forward movement, a phenotype partially recapitulated by removing FLP-14. Optogenetic depolarization of RID prolongs forward movement, an effect reduced in the absence of FLP-14. Together, these results establish the role of a neuroendocrine cell RID in sustaining a specific behavioral state in C. elegans.
MARD: a new method to detect differential gene expression in treatment-control time courses

MOTIVATION Characterizing the dynamic regulation of gene expression by time course experiments is becoming more and more important. A common problem is to identify differentially expressed genes between the treatment and control time course. It is often difficult to compare expression patterns of a gene between two time courses for the following reasons: (1) the number of sampling time points may be different or hard to be aligned between the treatment and the control time courses; (2) estimation of the function that describes the expression of a gene in a time course is difficult and error-prone due to the limited number of time points. We propose a novel method to identify the differentially expressed genes between two time courses, which avoids direct comparison of gene expression patterns between the two time courses. RESULTS Instead of attempting to 'align' and compare the two time courses directly, we first convert the treatment and control time courses into neighborhood systems that reflect the underlying relationships between genes. We then identify the differentially expressed genes by comparing the two gene relationship networks. To verify our method, we apply it to two treatment-control time course datasets. The results are consistent with the previous results and also give some new biologically meaningful findings. AVAILABILITY The algorithm in this paper is coded in C++ and is available from http://leili-lab.cmb. usc.edu/yeastaging/projects/MARD/
Perception of College Students' Motives for Shoplifting

Motivational patterns for shoplifting among college students were assessed using a projective questionnaire. Of the various motives offered for shoplifting, “poverty” and “self-indulgence” were the most prevalent. The third most frequent reason given was some variant of “fun” or “thrill,” indicating that some shoplifters may engage in this form of larceny for pleasure and excitement. A number of respondents indicated that revenge or diffusion of responsibility also play a significant role. The relationship between the shoplifter and the company from which one steals may be an important element in shoplifting. Finally, sex differences were explored among respondents. Of the different shoplifting categories studied, the only difference that emerged was within “self-indulgence. ” Although this finding needs to be interpreted with caution because the number of comparisons undertaken were large, there may be motivational differences between male and female shoplifters.
Performance of lung ultrasonography for the diagnosis of communityacquired pneumonia in hospitalized children.

AIMS The objective of the study was to assess the performance of lung ultrasonography (LUS) as compared to chest radiography and the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of pneumonia in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective study in which data were collected from medical files of 81 children admitted with a clinical suspicion of pneumonia in which both an LUS and a chest radiograph during the hospitalization were performed. Reference standard used for the diagnosis of pneumonia were chest radiographs (consolidation, parenchymal infiltrates, and interstitial infiltrate) and clinical criteria. LUSfindings were reported as normal, parenchymal consolidations and pleural effusions. RESULTS Radiological pneumonia was reported in 72 of the 81 patients (88.9%). LUS identified parenchymal consolidations in 62 cases. LUS correctly identified radiological pneumonia with a sensitivity of 79.2% and a specificity of 44.4%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 91.9% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 21.0%. When clinical criteria were used as reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of correctly identifying clinical pneumonia cases by LUS (only consolidations) were 80.0%, 66.7%, 96.8% and 21.0%. When indicative for the presence of pneumonia either the ultrasound consolidation or the ultrasound detected pleural effusion were considered when the sensitivity, PPV and NPV increased to 96.0% (95%CI: 88.8-99.2), 97.3% (95%CI: 92.0-99.1), and 57.1% (95%CI: 27.7-82.2), respectively. CONCLUSIONS In our opinion, our findings together withprevious ones available in the literature recommend LUS as a valuable investigation for the diagnosis of community-acquiredpneumonia in children.
Public Management in the Shadow of the Constitution

An unresolved issue in American constitutional governance is the role of public officials in a Madisonian scheme of separated institutions sharing power. Proposed answers range from broad delegation with reliance on expertise and professionalism to minimal delegation with formal checks on official discretion. In between are various pragmatic or realist views that accept discretion as both necessary and inevitable and offer normative principles of administrative conduct to guard against official abuse of power. None of these answers, however, satisfies criteria of constitutional legitimacy. The authors argue that such criteria can be derived by combining insights from traditional, normative literatures of public administration and from positive political theory and political economics. If the role of public managers is defined as maintaining a credible commitment to performing their duties pursuant to a precept of managerial responsibility that incorporates accountability, judgment, balance, and rationality, then, the authors argue, the Madisonian scheme of government embraced in the Constitution is complete.
[Expression and significance of IGF-1R and VEGF in gastric carcinoma].

AIM To analyze the expression of IGF-1R and VEGF in human gastric carcinoma, and evaluate the relationship between their expression and tumor's invasion and metastasis. METHODS 56 cases with gastric carcinoma, 20 cases of atypical hyperplasia tissues of adjacent carcinoma and 28 normal gastric mucosa membrane tissues were examined for the expression of IGF-1R and VEGF by SABC immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The positive rates of IGF-1R protein in gastric carcinoma tissues, atypical hyperplasia tissues of adjacent carcinoma and normal gastric mucosa membrane tissues are 87.50%, 55.00% and 17.86%, respectively, and the difference between any two groups was significant (P<0.01); the positive rates of IGF-1R protein in the tissues of metastasis and non-metastasis are 97.06% and 72.73%, respectively(P<0.05); the positive rates of IGF-1R protein in the gastric carcinoma tissues of invaded submucosa, muscular and outer layers are 66.67%, 92.59% and 100%, respectively (P<0.05). The positive rates of VEGF protein in gastric carcinoma tissues, atypical hyperplasia tissues of adjacent carcinoma and normal gastric mucosa are 69.64%, 45.00% and 25.00%, respectively, and the difference between any two groups is significant (P<0.05); the positive rates of VEGF protein in the tissues of metastasis and non-metastasis are 85.29% and 45.45%, respectively (P<0.01); the positive rates of VEGF protein in the gastric carcinoma tissues of invaded submucosa, muscular and outer layers are 40.00%, 74.07% and 85.71%, respectively (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The results suggest that the expression of IGF-1R or VEGF may be related to the development, invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.
Improved Prosody Module in a Text-to-Speech System

The newly-developed prosody module of our text-to-speech (TTS) system is described in the paper. We present two main works on it’s establishment and improvement. On the basis of potential factors influencing prosody parameters, inclusive of duration, pitch and intensity, the prosody model is built as groundwork of this module which is superior to the former rule-based one in generation of natural prosody. In addition, due to the current model’s flaw in prediction of the pitch contour, we further employ an technique named “Soft Template Mark-up Language“(STEM-ML) to improve the smoothness of intonation which has the crucial influence on the naturalness of synthetic speech. Results of the evaluation indicate that the new prosody model is precise enough to predict reliable prosody parameters’ values and with the STEM-ML technique, the prosody module can further yield 14.75% reduction in the root mean square (RMS) error of the predicted pitch contour.
Sepsis severity predicts outcome in community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia

Easily performed prognostic rules are helpful for guiding the intensity of monitoring and treatment of patients. The aim of the present study was to compare the predictive value of the sepsis score and the Confusion, Respiratory rate (≥30 breaths·min−1), Blood pressure (systolic value <90 mmHg or diastolic value ≤60 mmHg) and age ≥65 yrs (CRB-65) score in 105 patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia. In addition, the influence of timing of the antimicrobial treatment on outcome was investigated. The sepsis and the CRB-65 scores were used to allocate patients to subgroups with low, intermediate and high risk. Comparable, highly predictive values for mortality were found for both scores (sepsis score versus CRB-65): 1) low-risk group, 0 versus 0%; 2) intermediate-risk group, 0 versus 8.6%; 3) high-risk group, 30.6 versus 40%, with an area under the curve of 0.867 versus 0.845. Patients with ambulatory antibiotic pre-treatment had less severe disease with a lower acute physiology score, lower white blood cell count and a faster decline of C-reactive protein levels. No pre-treated patient died. In summary, both scores performed equally well in predicting mortality. The prediction of survival in the intermediate-risk group might be more accurate with the sepsis score. Pre-hospital antibiotic treatment was associated with less severe disease.
Disease course of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2: a 5-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 2 is the axonal variant of an inherited, sensorimotor polyneuropathy. To our knowledge, the clinical course of CMT type 2 has never been prospectively studied in a large group of patients. OBJECTIVE To prospectively evaluate the disease course of patients with CMT type 2. METHODS We prospectively evaluated the disease course in patients with CMT type 2. Forty-three patients (24 men) of 27 families with CMT type 2 were included. All patients were analyzed by the same investigator at entry and after 5 years. The standardized protocol included manual muscle testing, which could lead to a motor sum score of 140 points, and quantification of sensory deficit. Disability was assessed using the modified Rankin scale, and quality of life was assessed using the RAND 36-item health survey questionnaire. Eighteen families were tested for known mutations in the MPZ, PMP22, and GJB1 genes. RESULTS At entry, the mean +/- SD age of the patients was 52 +/- 14 years, and the mean +/- SD duration of disease was 12 +/- 8 years. The median motor sum score deteriorated from 135 to 128 points (P =.02). Progression was never rapid. There was no sensory deterioration. The Rankin score decreased by 1 point in 16 patients. At follow-up, more patients needed walking aids, but most patients remained ambulant. The number of patients with claw toes increased, whereas the number of patients with foot deformities such as pes cavus and short calf muscles remained stable. There was no correlation between deterioration and age. Analysis of quality of life did not show any changes. In one family, a mutation in the GJB1 gene was found. CONCLUSION This prospective study shows a slow deterioration of muscle strength and increase in disability in CMT type 2 during a 5-year follow-up period.
The Pacific Ocean Virome (POV): A Marine Viral Metagenomic Dataset and Associated Protein Clusters for Quantitative Viral Ecology

Bacteria and their viruses (phage) are fundamental drivers of many ecosystem processes including global biogeochemistry and horizontal gene transfer. While databases and resources for studying function in uncultured bacterial communities are relatively advanced, many fewer exist for their viral counterparts. The issue is largely technical in that the majority (often 90%) of viral sequences are functionally ‘unknown’ making viruses a virtually untapped resource of functional and physiological information. Here, we provide a community resource that organizes this unknown sequence space into 27 K high confidence protein clusters using 32 viral metagenomes from four biogeographic regions in the Pacific Ocean that vary by season, depth, and proximity to land, and include some of the first deep pelagic ocean viral metagenomes. These protein clusters more than double currently available viral protein clusters, including those from environmental datasets. Further, a protein cluster guided analysis of functional diversity revealed that richness decreased (i) from deep to surface waters, (ii) from winter to summer, (iii) and with distance from shore in surface waters only. These data provide a framework from which to draw on for future metadata-enabled functional inquiries of the vast viral unknown.
Stemming in Spanish: A First Approach to its Impact on Information Retrieval

Most models and techniques employed in Information Retireval at some time or other use frecuency counts of the terms appearing in both documents and queries. Many words that derive from the same stem have a close semantic content. Locating stems common to several words and grouping them by replacing them with the corresponding stem can improve the working of these systems. Stemming procedures differ, however, depending on the different languages. We describe a stemmer for Spanish and the tests carried out by applying it to Information Retrieval.
L’évaluation de la mémoire rétrograde dans la population Québécoise âgée: Le PUB-40 et le PUB-12

ABSTRACT Memory assessment represents an important part of the clinical neuropsychologist’s duties in a geriatric context. In fact, in Canada, about one-third of seniors report memory complaints, with different causes. Based on the underlying etiology, different components of memory may be affected in older adults. Nonautobiographical retrograde memory (public or semantic) is an important aspect of memory to assess; nevertheless, there is currently no reliable and standardized clinical tool to evaluate this aspect of memory in the elderly Quebecer population. The aims of this research were therefore: (1) to develop a protocol specifically aimed at assessing non-autobiographical retrograde memory in this population, the PUB-40; (2) to obtain reference data among 105 healthy subjects; and (3) to develop a short version based on the items which discriminated a group of 20 patients with amnestic Mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from older healthy subjects. RÉSUMÉ L’évaluation de la mémoire représente une partie importante du travail des neuropsychologues cliniciens œuvrant en gériatrie. En effet, au Canada, environ le tiers des aînés rapporte une plainte mnésique dont les causes sont variées. Selon l’étiologie, différentes composantes du système mnésique peuvent être atteintes; toutefois, l’évaluation de la mémoire rétrograde non autobiographique (publique ou sémantique) n’est souvent effectuée que de manière superficielle, puisqu’aucun outil d’évaluation fiable, valide et standardisé n’est disponible pour la population québécoise vieillissante. Les objectifs de cette recherche étaient donc (1) d’élaborer un protocole d’évaluation de la mémoire rétrograde non autobiographique spécifiquement adapté à cette population, le PUB-40, (2) de recueillir des données de référence auprès de 105 participants âgés sains et (3) de développer une version abrégée à partir des items permettant de discriminer un groupe de 20 patients atteints de troubles cognitifs légers de type amnésique (TCLa) des participants âgés sains.
Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy with Mefloquine in HIV-Infected Women Receiving Cotrimoxazole Prophylaxis: A Multicenter Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Clara Menéndez and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial among HIV-positive pregnant women in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania to investigate the safety and efficacy of mefloquine as intermittent preventative therapy for malaria in women receiving cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and long-lasting insecticide treated nets. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary
Histone Deacetylase 8 Safeguards the Human Ever-Shorter Telomeres 1B (hEST1B) Protein from Ubiquitin-Mediated Degradation

ABSTRACT Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that regulate the functions of histones as well as nonhistones by catalyzing the removal of acetyl groups from lysine residues. HDACs regulate many biological processes, including the cell division cycle and tumorigenesis. Although recent studies have implicated HDAC8 in tumor cell proliferation, the molecular mechanisms linking HDAC8 to cell growth remain unknown. Here, we report that the human ortholog of the yeast ever-shorter telomeres 1B (EST1B) binds HDAC8. This interaction is regulated by protein kinase A-mediated HDAC8 phosphorylation and protects human EST1B (hEST1B) from ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Phosphorylated HDAC8 preferentially recruits Hsp70 to a complex that inhibits the CHIP (C-terminal heat shock protein interacting protein) E3 ligase-mediated degradation of hEST1B. Importantly, HDAC8 regulation of hEST1B protein stability modulates total telomerase enzymatic activity. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which HDAC8 contributes to tumorigenesis by regulating telomerase activity.
What is the nature of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and What is it Not?

Since about 60 years a phenomenon now called permeability transition is known in mitochondria. It involves a large pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane, the permeability transition pore (PTP) whose molecular structure is still unknown. Year after year, new hypotheses have been developed how this pore could look like and which proteins cold be structural elements. Enormous progress was made in understanding function, rich pharmacology, and possible biochemical modulation of the PTP. However, many of the structural hypotheses that seemed to be well established by experiments had to be rejected later after their falsification by further experiments. The aim of this review is to give a brief insight into confirmed and less known details of the nature of the pore and of its function. Thereafter, this review will critically report about some of the unknown elements and hypotheses that had to be rejected. © 2013 IUBMB Life, 65(3):255–262, 2013.
Global Warming and Sociology

Escalating climate change, partly induced by human activity, has made its way into public awareness, yet most sociologists, outside the specialism of environmental sociology, have had surprisingly little to say about the possible future social trajectories it may portend. Wary of accepting the truth claims of natural science, but aware of our own inability to judge the validity of their claims, we have generally preferred to look the other way, although these developments can affect the very core of our discipline's concerns. We need a cooperative multidisciplinarity of social and natural scientists working together.
Implantable wireless power receiver with self-displayed power meter

A prototype for inductive wireless power telemetry with implantable self-displayed power meter is presented. The prototype can display the power received after being implanted with LEDs, which provides great convenience of observing and measuring of the power efficiencies in testing animals. The implantable circuit is packaged in the bio-compatible package and implanted into the animal (rabbit). The impact from bio-packaging on the power efficiency is also described in this paper. Power of 0.5∼65 milliwatt level can be delivered through air within a range of 0.5–2cm. In air, the experimental results show a maximum power efficiency of 45% at 0.7cm with 125 kHz carrier frequency.