Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roles of Adenosine and Serotonin Receptors on the Antinociception of Sildenafil in the Spinal Cord of Rats

Purpose The phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor sildenafil has antinociceptive effects, mediated by an increase in cGMP. This study examined the role of spinal adenosine and serotonin receptors played in the antinociceptive effects of intrathecal sildenafil. Materials and Methods Intrathecal catheters were inserted into the subarachnoid space of Sprague-Dawley male rats as a drug delivery device. Pain was induced by injecting formalin into the plantar surface of rats and observing nociceptive behavior (flinching response) for 60 mininutes. Then, the effects of intrathecal adenosine and serotonin receptor antagonists on the antinociceptive activity of intrathecal sildenafil were examined. Results Intrathecal sildenafil suppressed the flinching response in a dose-dependent manner during phases 1 and 2 in the formalin test. Both CGS 15943 and dihydroergocristine decreased the antinociceptive effects of sildenafil during phases 1 and 2 in the formalin test. Conclusion Intrathecal sildenafil effectively attenuated the pain evoked by formalin injection. Both adenosine and serotonin receptors may be involved in the antinociceptive action of sildenafil at the spinal level.
GlobalMind - Bridging the Gap Between Different Cultures and Languages with Common-sense Computing

The need for more effective communication across different countries has increased as the interactions between them have been growing. Communication is often difficult because of both language differences and cultural differences. Although there have been many attempts to meet the communication need on the level of language with machine translators and dictionaries, many problems related to cultural and conceptual differences still remain. To improve traditional machine translators and cross-cultural communication aids, it is necessary to develop automated mechanisms to analyze cultural differences and similarities. This thesis approaches the problems with automatic computation of cultural differences and similarities. This thesis, GlobalMind, provides common-sense databases of various countries and languages and two inference modules to analyze and compute the cultural differences and similarities from the databases. I describe the design of GlobalMind databases, the implementation of its inference modules, the results of an evaluation of GlobalMind, and available applications. Thesis Supervisor: Walter Bender Title: Senior Research Scientist, MIT Media Laboratory
Estimation of Sparse Nonnegative Sources from Noisy Overcomplete Mixtures Using MAP

In this letter, we propose a new algorithm for estimating sparse nonnegative sources from a set of noisy linear mixtures. In particular, we consider difficult situations with high noise levels and more sources than sensors (underdetermined case). We show that when sources are very sparse in time and overlapped at some locations, they can be recovered even with very low signal-to-noise ratio, and by using many fewer sensors than sources. A theoretical analysis based on Bayesian estimation tools is included showing strong connections with algorithms in related areas of research such as ICA, NMF, FOCUSS, and sparse representation of data with overcomplete dictionaries. Our algorithm uses a Bayesian approach by modeling sparse signals through mixed-state random variables. This new model for priors imposes 0 norm-based sparsity. We start our analysis for the case of nonoverlapped sources (1-sparse), which allows us to simplify the search of the posterior maximum avoiding a combinatorial search. General algorithms for overlapped cases, such as 2-sparse and k-sparse sources, are derived by using the algorithm for 1-sparse signals recursively. Additionally, a combination of our MAP algorithm with the NN-KSVD algorithm is proposed for estimating the mixing matrix and the sources simultaneously in a real blind fashion. A complete set of simulation results is included showing the performance of our algorithm.
An Analysis of Organizational Performance Based on Hospital Specialization Level and Strategy Type

Introduction Hospitals are studying the focused factory concept and attempting to increase their power in a competitive industry by becoming more specialized. Methodology This study uses the information theory index (ITI) and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) to analyze the extent of specialization by Korean hospitals that receive national health insurance reimbursements. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to assess the impact of hospital specialization on the following four aspects of operational performance: productivity, profitability, efficiency and quality of care. Study Results The results show that a focused strategy (high HHI) improves the income and adjusted number of patients per specialist through the efficient utilization of human resources. However, a diversified strategy (high ITI) improves the hospital utilization ratio, income per bed and adjusted number of patients per bed (controlling for material resources such as beds). In addition, as the concentration index increases, case-mix mortality rates and referral rates decrease, indicating that specialization has a positive relationship with quality of care.
LH and FSH responsiveness to intravenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in children with hypothalamic or pituitary disorders: lack of effect of replacement therapy with human growth hormone.

To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic usefulness of the GnRH test, gonadotropin responses to iv GnRH (Parke-Davis) were determined in 82 young patients (2,5 mo.-21 yr.) and 6 normal men. After extensive evaluation, 40 patients (31 boys and 9 girls) were considered "endocrinologically normal. " Repeat tests were performed in 17 patients at 6-12 mo. intervals. Nine patients with presumed isolated hGH deficiency and 3 patients with multiple pituitary deficiencies were studied before and at the end of 12 mo. of hGH therapy. Serial blood samples were obtained before and after an iv bolus injection of GnRH (2.5 mug/kg, 74 tests, or 10 mug/m2, 36 tests). LH and FSH were determined by radioimmunoassay. Maximum concentration, maximum increment (deltamax), and response area were compared with degree of skeletal maturation to evaluate responses. Clinically, the most useful determination was the deltamax LH. All "normal" children with bone ages greater than 12 yr had LH responses in or slightly above the range of the values of the 6 normal men: deltamax LH, 39 +/- 8 (SE) mIU/ml; range 13-57. Severely blunted or absent responses were seen in 14/15 patients (bone ages 3 mo.-14 yr.) with multiple pituitary deficiencies. Boys with isolated hGH deficiency and bone ages of less than 10 yr had significantly lower responses than "short normal" boys with similar skeletal maturation: deltamax LH, 4.8 +/- 0.9 vs 8 +/- 1.3 mIU/ml, P is less than . 05. Although the mean growth velocity of hGH-treated children increased from 3.2 to 8.9 cm/yr, LH and FSH responses were unchanged. These studies indicate that 1) children with idiopathic hypopituitarism (including those with presumed isolated hGH deficiency) have significantly decreased responsiveness to GnRH which does not respond to 6 to 12 months of hGH treatment; and 2) decreased responsiveness to GnRH in patients with bone ages of greater than 12 yr is presumptive evidence of gonadotropin deficiency.
Organization and management of care for military veterans with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.

OBJECTIVE As the largest provider of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome health care services, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a national quality improvement program. As a first step, an assessment of how care for veterans with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was organized was conducted. METHODS Structured surveys were administered to senior HIV clinicians in 118 VA facilities, about local approaches to structuring, staffing, and delivering HIV health services. RESULTS HIV care was chiefly delivered in special VA-based HIV clinics. HIV-related services were widely available on site, with non-VA referrals being more commonly needed to meet long-term care needs. Urban VA facilities had greater HIV caseloads, were more likely to have separate HIV clinics, and had greater access to HIV expertise, whereas rural practices focused on primary care-based models and tended to rely on off-site VA HIV experts. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the organization and management of VA-based HIV services will help design systematic quality improvement efforts and meet the treatment needs of HIV-infected veterans.
Optogenetic Stimulation of the Basolateral Amygdala Increased Theta-Modulated Gamma Oscillations in the Hippocampus

The amygdala can modulate declarative memory. For example, previous research in rats and humans showed that brief electrical stimulation to the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) prioritized specific objects to be consolidated into long term memory in the absence of emotional stimuli and without awareness of stimulation. The capacity of the BLA to influence memory depends on its substantial projections to many other brain regions, including the hippocampus. Nevertheless, how activation of the BLA influences ongoing neuronal activity in other regions is poorly understood. The current study used optogenetic stimulation of putative glutamatergic neurons in the BLA of freely exploring rats to determine whether brief activation of the BLA could increase in the hippocampus gamma oscillations for which the amplitude was modulated by the phase of theta oscillations, an oscillatory state previously reported to correlate with good memory. BLA neurons were stimulated in 1-s bouts with pulse frequencies that included the theta range (8 Hz), the gamma range (50 Hz), or a combination of both ranges (eight 50-Hz bursts). Local field potentials were recorded in the BLA and in the pyramidal layer of CA1 in the intermediate hippocampus. A key question was whether BLA stimulation at either theta or gamma frequencies could combine with ongoing hippocampal oscillations to result in theta-modulated gamma or whether BLA stimulation that included both theta and gamma frequencies would be necessary to increase theta–gamma comodulation in the hippocampus. All stimulation conditions elicited robust responses in BLA and CA1, but theta-modulated gamma oscillations increased in CA1 only when BLA stimulation included both theta and gamma frequencies. Longer bouts (5-s) of BLA stimulation resulted in hippocampal activity that evolved away from the initial oscillatory states and toward those characterized more by prominent low-frequency oscillations. The current results indicated that one mechanism by which the amygdala might influence declarative memory is by eliciting neuronal oscillatory states in the hippocampus that benefit memory.
The JBotSim Library

JBotSim is a java library that offers basic primitives for prototyping, running, and visualizing distributed algorithms in dynamic networks. With JBotSim, one can implement an idea in minutes and interact with it (e.g., add, move, or delete nodes) while it is running. JBotSim is well suited to prepare live demonstrations of your algorithms to colleagues or students; it can also be used to evaluate performance at the algorithmic level (number of messages, number of rounds, etc.). Unlike most tools, JBotSim is not an integrated environment. It is a lightweight library to be used in your program. In this paper, we present an overview of its distinctive features and architecture.
CODEBOOK BASED HANDWRITTEN AND PRINTED ARABIC TEXT ZONE CLASSIFICATION

In this work, we present a method for classifying handwritte n and printed Arabic text zones in noisy document images. We use Three-Adjacent-Segment (TAS) [8] based features which capture properties of a script. We construct two different codebooks of the local shape features extracted from a set of handwritten and printed Arabic documents and use it to train both Support Vector Machine and Fisher’s linear discrimina nt classifiers using normalized histograms. Due to robustness of TAS features to noise the proposed classification scheme is suitable for noisy document images where performance of other methods degrades drastically. Our experiments show that we can achieve 90–95% classification accuracy. This method is also robust to segmentation results which may contain segments at word, line or paragraph level.
Generativity: transforming and transmitting midwifery practice

Objective: To explore midwives' perceptions of developing their practice knowledge and skills, concerning maternal postnatal genital tract assessment. To highlight how midwives pass on their practice knowledge and skills to student midwives. Design: A constructionist grounded theory methodology was employed to guide the design and processes. Ethical approval was gained from the regional research ethics committee and the research and development committee at the data collection site. Sampling was purposeful and data were collected using narrative style in depth interviews involving fourteen midwives. Setting: A small maternity unit providing midwifery care to childbearing women in both the hospital and community setting in the North East of England. Findings: The findings of this study suggest midwives engage in two processes: transforming practice and transmitting practice. Transforming practice involved the midwives progressively changing their practice over time. The principal factor which affected the midwives transforming their practice was engaging in diverse practice experiences, which facilitated competence and confidence with a range of assessment methods. Transmitting practice involved the midwives creating learning opportunities for student midwives and articulating their clinical reasoning. However, the midwives voiced concerns that changes to maternity services provision limited the contact midwives and student midwives had with women postnatally. They considered this impacted upon the ability to develop and pass on their practice knowledge and skills concerning maternal postnatal genital tract assessment. The findings suggest midwives engage in generativity, a process in which adults attempt to develop a future legacy by initiating change in the thoughts and actions of themselves and others. Conclusions: This study provides a rich understanding, from the midwives' perspective, of how and why their midwifery practice knowledge and skills concerning maternal postnatal genital tract assessment has changed. The significance of opportunities to engage in diverse experiences and opportunities for discourse and reflection to transform experience into learning is highlighted.
SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-REFERENTIAL PROCESSING IN MEMORY DISORDERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION

Damage to the brain can affect the core of the individual, i.e. the self. Results from a small number of studies with amnesic individuals indicate that patients’ ability to show preserved knowledge of self may vary. The present study explored self-knowledge in patients with memory impairment as a result of confabulation, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and acquired brain damage. We found that different memory disorders differentially affected patients’ self-knowledge. At least some patients showed a preserved sense of self, and were able to acquire information about another person that they had met postmorbidly. Frontal function and stability of cognitive impairments over time appear to be two variables important in determining whether patients can have a consistent and updated sense of self. We also explored the extent to which self-referential and other-referential processing might enhance memory in individuals with memory-impairment. The self-reference effect (SRE) and otherreference effect (ORE) have been consistently found in normal adults. Results indicated that patients showed a normal SRE and ORE. The SRE and ORE appeared to be at least partly dependent on degree of knowledge of the person being referenced, and were also related to general memory and frontal function. Only the SRE, however, was also related to patients’ ability to improve memory as a result of emotional processing. These findings may have important implications for caregivers and healthcare professionals working with memory-impaired patients, and may pave the way to novel memory rehabilitation methods.
Multiple Coronary Artery Thrombosis in 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Mutation

A 42-year-old man presented at our attention with chest pain. His cardiac risk factors were smoking habit and family history of coronary artery disease. At the ECG, a mild ST-segment elevation in the inferior leads was shown. A normal left ventricular function was demonstrated at the echocardiography. An emergency coronary angiography was performed, and an extensive thrombosis of the right coronary artery and midleft anterior descending coronary artery was visualized. A primary angioplasty with thrombus aspiration and direct stenting of both sites followed. Biochemical analysis revealed a high plasma homocysteine level with a homozygotic anomaly of the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Currently, a nine-month followup negative for cardiac events is recorded.
Occupational allergy to Spagulax®(Plantago ovata seed).

Summary We report the case of a 36-year-old male pharmaceutical laboratory worker. On handling Spagulax® sachets whose content is a laxative called Plantago ovata, he immediately presented rhinoconjunctivitis. Methods. Specific allergy study included SDS-PAGE with Western Blot and specific nasal challenge to Plantago ovata extract. Results. Prick by prick for Spagulax® was negative. Total IgE: 126.5 U/mL. Western Blot recognized two proteins of 15 and 20 kDa in the extract of Plantago ovata and three proteins of 15, 18 and 50 kDa in the extract of Plantago lanceolata. Conclusions. We present a case of occupational allergy due to inhalation of and/or contact with Plantago ovata seeds.
An Inverse Problem Approach for Content Popularity Estimation

The Internet increasingly focuses on content, as exemplified by the now popular Information Centric Networking paradigm. This means, in particular, that estimating content popularities becomes essential to manage and distribute content pieces efficiently. In this paper, we show how to properly estimate content popularities from a traffic trace. Specifically, we consider the problem of the popularity inference in order to tune content-level performance models, e.g. caching models. In this context, special care must be brought on the fact that an observer measures only the flow of requests, which differs from the model parameters, though both quantities are related by the model assumptions. Current studies, however, ignore this difference and use the observed data as model parameters. In this paper, we highlight the inverse problem that consists in determining parameters so that the flow of requests is properly predicted by the model. We then show how such an inverse problem can be solved using Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Based on two large traces from the Orange network and two synthetic datasets, we eventually quantify the importance of this inversion step for the performance evaluation accuracy.
Gemini observations of Wolf-Rayet stars in the Local Group starburst galaxy IC 10

We present Gemini-N GMOS and CFHT MOS spectroscopy of Wolf-Rayet candidates in the Local Group dwarf galaxy IC 10 that were previously identified by Massey et al. and Royer et al. From the present spectroscopic survey, the WC/WN ratio for IC 10 remains unusually high, given its low metallicity, although none of the WC9 stars suspected from narrow-band imaging are confirmed. Our spectroscopy confirms 9 newly discovered Wolf-Rayet candidates from Royer et al., whilst spectral types of 14 Wolf-Rayet stars previously observed by Massey & Armandroff are refined here. In total, there are 26 spectroscopically confirmed Wolf-Rayet stars in IC 10. All but one of the fourteen WC stars are WC4-6 stars, the exception being # 10 from Massey et al., a broad-lined, apparently single WC7 star. There are a total of eleven WN stars, which are predominantly early WN3-4 stars, but include a rare WN10 star, # 8 from Royer et al. # 5 from Massey et al. is newly identified as a transition WN/C star. Consequently, the WC/WN ratio for IC10 is 14/11similar to1.3, unusually high for a metal-poor galaxy. Re-evaluating recent photometric data of Massey & Holmes, we suggest that the true WC/WN ratio may not be as low as similar to0.3. Finally, we present ground-based finding charts for all confirmed WR stars, plus HST/WFPC2 charts for twelve cases.
Organization and development of corticocortical associative neurons expressing the orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1

The developmental mechanism that contributes to the highly organized axonal connections within the cerebral cortex is not well understood. This is partly due to the lack of molecular markers specifically expressed in corticocortical associative neurons during the period of circuit formation. We have shown previously that latexin, a carboxypeptidase A inhibitor, is expressed in intrahemispheric corticocortical neurons from the second postnatal week in the rat (Arimatsu et al. [1999] Cereb. Cortex 9:569–576). In the present study, we first demonstrate in the adult rat that the orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 is coexpressed in latexin‐expressing neurons located in layer V, sublayer VIa, and the white matter of the lateral sector of the neocortex, and also in latexin‐negative early born neurons in sublayer VIb of the entire neocortex. Virtually all Nurr1‐expressing neurons exhibit immunoreactivity for phosphate‐activated glutaminase but not for γ‐aminobutyric acid, suggesting that they are glutamatergic‐excitatory neurons. By combining Nurr1 immunohistochemistry and 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine‐birthdating, we then show that Nurr1 is expressed in (early born) subplate neurons and (later born) presumptive latexin‐expressing neurons from embryonic day 18 onward. Finally, by combination of Nurr1 immunohistochemistry and retrograde tracing, we show that Nurr1‐expressing neurons, including those in sublayer VIb, contribute predominantly to long‐range intrahemispheric corticocortical projections. These results raise the possibility that Nurr1 plays a role in the establishment and maintenance of normal corticocortical circuitry and function. J. Comp. Neurol. 466:180–196, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Intravenous Treatment of Chronic Peripheral Occlusive Arterial Disease: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Multicenter Trial of Pentoxifylline

A multicenter, prospective, pla cebo-controlled, double-blind trial was conducted to investigate the effi cacy of intravenous infusion therapy with pentoxifylline over fourteen days in patients suffering from angio graphically confirmed chronic pe ripheral occlusive arterial disease, Fontaine stage II, with at least a six- month history. After a washout phase of one week, the patients received in accordance with a randomization scheme either an i.v. infusion of 300 mg of pentoxifylline (15 mL am poules) or 15 mL of a 0.9% NaCl so lution in 250 mL of 5% laevulose, administered over three hours twice daily. The main efficacy parameters were treadmill-assessed initial claudi cation distance (ICD) and absolute claudication distance (ACD). Base line testing revealed a mean ICD of 131 m in the pentoxifylline group and 126 m in the placebo cohort; mean ACD values were 239 m and 225 m respectively. The group of patients treated with pentoxifylline (n=75) displayed a significantly greater im provement (p < 0.0001) in ICD (+70%) and ACD (+60%) than the placebo group did (+33% and 32%, respectively) (n=79). The infusions were well tolerated in both groups.