Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COPD and Occupational Exposures: A Case-Control Study

Objective: Evidence demonstrates that occupational exposures are causally linked with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This case-control study evaluated the association between occupational exposures and prevalent COPD based on lifetime occupational history. Methods: Cases (n = 388) aged 45 years and older with COPD were compared with controls (n = 356), frequency matched on age, sex, and cigarette smoking history. Odds ratios for exposure to each of eight occupational hazard categories and three composite measures of exposure were computed using logistic regression. Results: Occupational exposures most strongly associated with COPD were diesel exhaust, irritant gases and vapors, mineral dust, and metal dust. The composite measures describing aggregate exposure to gases, vapors, solvents, or sensitizers (GVSS) and aggregate exposure to dust, GVSS, or diesel exhaust were also associated with COPD. In the small group of never-smokers, a similar pattern was evident. Conclusion: These population-based findings add to the literature linking occupational exposures to COPD.
Clavien-Dindo classification and risk factors of gastrectomy-related complications: an analysis of 1049 patients.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to explore the major risk factors of surgical complications using the Clavien-Dindo classification. METHODS The case-control design was used. A total of 1049 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy in Hunan Cancer Hospital between October 2010 and August 2014 were retrospectively analyzed, including 122 patients (11.6%) with complications and 927 patients (88.4%) with no complications. Risk factors were evaluated. RESULTS Following radical gastrectomy, 122 patients (11.6%) experienced a total of 151 complications. The incidence of Stages II, IIIa, IIIb, IVa, IVb and V complications was 9.6% (n = 101), 2.5% (n = 26), 1.0% (n = 11), 0.8% (n = 8), 0% (n = 0), and 0.5% (n = 5), respectively. The incidence of severe complications (Stage ≥ IIIa) was 4.8% (n = 50). Multivariate analysis showed that combined resection (Odds Ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.71~6.60, P < 0.01), perioperative blood transfusion (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.38-3.29, P < 0.01), and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2) (OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.16-3.40, P = 0.01) were independent risk factors of complications. CONCLUSIONS Combined resection, perioperative blood transfusion, and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2) are positively correlated with complications.
Reduced insular γ-aminobutyric acid in fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE Recent scientific findings have reinvigorated interest in examining the role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory central nervous system neurotransmitter, in chronic pain conditions. Decreased inhibitory neurotransmission is a proposed mechanism in the pathophysiology of chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia (FM). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that decreased levels of insular and anterior cingulate GABA would be present in FM patients, and that the concentration of this neurotransmitter would be correlated with pressure-pain thresholds. METHODS Sixteen FM patients and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent pressure-pain testing and a 3T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy session in which the right anterior insula, right posterior insula, anterior cingulate, and occipital cortex were examined in subjects at rest. RESULTS GABA levels in the right anterior insula were significantly lower in FM patients compared with healthy controls (mean ± SD 1.17 ± 0.24 arbitrary institutional units versus 1.42 ± 0.32 arbitrary institutional units; P = 0.016). There was a trend toward increased GABA levels in the anterior cingulate of FM patients compared with healthy controls (P = 0.06). No significant differences between groups were detected in the posterior insula or occipital cortex (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). Within the right posterior insula, higher levels of GABA were positively correlated with pressure-pain thresholds in the FM patients (Spearman's rho = 0.63; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION Diminished inhibitory neurotransmission resulting from lower concentrations of GABA within the right anterior insula may play a role in the pathophysiology of FM and other central pain syndromes.
Does Apgar score predict outcome in individual extremely preterm infants?

The threshold of viability for preterm infants has decreased by approximately 1 week every decade over the last 40– 50 years. In the 1960s survival below 28 weeks gestation was exceptional but in 2006 considerable numbers of babies survive below 24 weeks. As an example, in the period 2004–2005 at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, 4 out of 9 infants born between 23 weeks and 23 weeks 6 days, survived to go home. Although survival has progressively improved for babies below 26 weeks gestation, the high rate of disability in survivors has caused widespread concern (1). There is also anxiety about the very long periods of intensive care required for such babies and the pain, discomfort and stress involved (2). In some cases, intensive life support with endotracheal intubation and arterial and venous catheterisation, support for the circulation and sophisticated respiratory support are still insufficient to save the infant’s life but prolong the process of dying by days or weeks thus increasing the infant’s suffering. In other cases, injury to the preterm brain results in survival with disability severe enough for us to question whether intensive life support was in the child’s best interests. Surely all experienced neonatologists can look back on individual cases of slow lingering death or severe disability in tiny babies and wished that they had not been so active with resuscitation? If we were able to estimate the chances of intact survival in the first few minutes after birth, we would be better able to discuss with parents whether intensive resuscitation was likely to be futile or produce healthy survival. In this issue of Acta Paediatrica, Forsblad et al. describe the first population-based study of this subject in 92 infants at 25 weeks gestation. This population of Southern Sweden had optimal perinatal management with a very high rate of prenatal corticosteroid administration, liberal Caesarean section for fetal or maternal indications, referral to one central tertiary centre and routine active resuscitation. These in-
Combining Prediction of Human Decisions with ISMCTS in Imperfect Information Games

Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) has been extended to many imperfect information games. However, due to the added complexity that uncertainty introduces, these adaptations have not reached the same level of practical success as their perfect information counterparts. In this paper we consider the development of agents that perform well against humans in imperfect information games with partially observable actions. We introduce the Semi-Determinized-MCTS (SDMCTS), a variant of the Information Set MCTS algorithm (ISMCTS). More specifically, SDMCTS generates a predictive model of the unobservable portion of the opponent's actions from historical behavioral data. Next, SDMCTS performs simulations on an instance of the game where the unobservable portion of the opponent's actions are determined. Thereby, it facilitates the use of the predictive model in order to decrease uncertainty. We present an implementation of the SDMCTS applied to the Cheat Game, a well-known card game, with partially observable (and often deceptive) actions. Results from experiments with 120 subjects playing a head-to-head Cheat Game against our SDMCTS agents suggest that SDMCTS performs well against humans, and its performance improves as the predictive model's accuracy increases.
Bone-free: soft mechanics for adaptive locomotion.

Muscular hydrostats (such as mollusks), and fluid-filled animals (such as annelids), can exploit their constant-volume tissues to transfer forces and displacements in predictable ways, much as articulated animals use hinges and levers. Although larval insects contain pressurized fluids, they also have internal air tubes that are compressible and, as a result, they have more uncontrolled degrees of freedom. Therefore, the mechanisms by which larval insects control their movements are expected to reveal useful strategies for designing soft biomimetic robots. Using caterpillars as a tractable model system, it is now possible to identify the biomechanical and neural strategies for controlling movements in such highly deformable animals. For example, the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, can stiffen its body by increasing muscular tension (and therefore body pressure) but the internal cavity (hemocoel) is not iso-barometric, nor is pressure used to directly control the movements of its limbs. Instead, fluid and tissues flow within the hemocoel and the body is soft and flexible to conform to the substrate. Even the gut contributes to the biomechanics of locomotion; it is decoupled from the movements of the body wall and slides forward within the body cavity at the start of each step. During crawling the body is kept in tension for part of the stride and compressive forces are exerted on the substrate along the axis of the caterpillar, thereby using the environment as a skeleton. The timing of muscular activity suggests that crawling is coordinated by proleg-retractor motoneurons and that the large segmental muscles produce anterograde waves of lifting that do not require precise timing. This strategy produces a robust form of locomotion in which the kinematics changes little with orientation. In different species of caterpillar, the presence of prolegs on particular body segments is related to alternative kinematics such as "inching. " This suggests a mechanism for the evolution of different gaits through changes in the usage of prolegs, rather than, through extensive alterations in the motor program controlling the body wall. Some of these findings are being used to design and test novel control-strategies for highly deformable robots. These "softworm" devices are providing new insights into the challenges faced by any soft animal navigating in a terrestrial environment.
Hypoglycemic effect of plants used in Mexico as antidiabetics.

The objective of this work is to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of 12 "antidiabetic" plants used in Mexico. The studies were performed using 27 healthy rabbits with the gastric administration of water, tolbutamide or decoction of the "antidiabetic" plant before the induction of temporary hyperglycemia by subcutaneous injection of 50% dextrose solution (4 ml/kg of weight) at the beginning of the experiment and after 60 min. Blood glucose was determined every 60 min for a period of 5 h. Tolbutamide and eight of the studied plants decreased significantly the hyperglycemia as compared with control test (water) (p < 0.05). The strongest effect was yielded by Guaiacum coulteri, followed by Marrubium vulgare, Crataegus pubescens, Cynodon dactylon, Calea zacatechichi, Buddleia americana, Bauhinia divaricata and Coix lachryma. The decrease of hyperglycemia caused by Physalis phyladelphyca, Pavonia schiedeana and Eucaliptus globulus was not significant (p > 0.05). Urtica dioica increased glycemia slightly.
PS192. A study of tryptophan, kynurenine and serotonin transporter in first-episode, drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder

Objective: Early antidepressant response predicts later treatment outcome in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) [1]. MDD is characterized by changes to the behavioral and neuronal correlates of emotion processing [2]. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated that neuronal activity related to emotion processing allows for prediction of antidepressant response after 6–8 weeks [3, 4]. We aimed to investigate if emotion processing related fMRI activity predicts early response to antidepressant psychopharmacologic treatment. Methods: 23 MDD patients (16 female, mean age±SD=32.61 ± 9.44 years) were investigated once with fMRI (EPI-sequence, TE/TR=23/1400ms, matrix size 128x128 voxel, FOV 192x192 mm, 78 slices of 1mm with 0.25 mm gap, Siemens Magnetom 7T scanner), during which they performed a blockdesign emotion discrimination task (EDT). Standard preprocessing was carried out using SPM12. First level analysis comprised the contrast EDT vs. the control condition (object discrimination task, ODT). Following baseline fMRI, patients received Escitalopram in a flexible dose schema and were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Correlation analyses were performed using SPM12. Results: Deactivation of the posterior cingulate cortex at baseline correlated with change in HAM-D scores from baseline to 2-weeks after treatment start (p < 0.05 cluster level FWEcorrected). This correlation remained significant when correcting for baseline symptom severity, age, and sex (p < 0.05 cluster level FWE-corrected). Baseline EDT vs. ODT activity did not correlate with HAM-D change after four weeks of Escitalopram treatment. Conclusion: As an emotion-processing task, the EDT represents a promising target for fMRI response prediction studies, considering the integral nature of affective and emotional dysregulation to MDD. The lack of correlation between baseline fMRI activity and HAM-D reduction by 4 weeks suggests that neuronal processes related to early response may differ from those associated with more long-term outcome.
Prion protein region 23–32 interacts with tubulin and inhibits microtubule assembly

In previous studies we have demonstrated that prion protein (PrP) binds directly to tubulin and this interaction leads to the inhibition of microtubule formation by inducement of tubulin oligomerization. This report is aimed at mapping the regions of PrP and tubulin involved in the interaction and identification of PrP domains responsible for tubulin oligomerization. Preliminary studies focused our attention to the N‐terminal flexible part of PrP encompassing residues 23–110. Using a panel of deletion mutants of PrP, we identified two microtubule‐binding motifs at both ends of this part of the molecule. We found that residues 23–32 constitute a major site of interaction, whereas residues 101–110 represent a weak binding site. The crucial role of the 23–32 sequence in the interaction with tubulin was confirmed employing chymotryptic fragments of PrP. Surprisingly, the octarepeat region linking the above motifs plays only a supporting role in the interaction. The binding of Cu2+ to PrP did not affect the interaction. We also demonstrate that PrP deletion mutants lacking residues 23–32 exhibit very low efficiency in the inducement of tubulin oligomerization. Moreover, a synthetic peptide corresponding to this sequence, but not that identical with fragment 101–110, mimics the effects of the full‐length protein on tubulin oligomerization and microtubule assembly. At the cellular level, peptide composed of the PrP motive 23–30 and signal sequence (1–22) disrupted the microtubular cytoskeleton. Using tryptic and chymotryptic fragments of α‐ and β‐tubulin, we mapped the docking sites for PrP within the C‐terminal domains constituting the outer surface of microtubule. Proteins 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Limitations of using real-world, public servers to estimate jitter tolerance of first person shooter games

This paper quantitively evaluates the relevance of network jitter on player satisfaction and performance in multiplayer online games, particularly in comparison to overall network latency (or 'ping') times. We extend previously published work that showed Quake III players preferred servers less than 150-180ms away. Our modified, public Quake III server logged 20+ latency samples per second per client, from which we derived the jitter (instantaneous latency fluctuations) for each connected player. We found that using real-world traffic resulted in a highly correlated relationship between jitter and latency (jitter being generally one fifth, or less, of the path's latency), making it difficult to derive any independent relationship between jitter and player satisfaction. However, our results do demonstrate that absolute jitter over typical Internet paths is far less significant than the absolute latency for interactive games such as Quake III. This suggests Internet service providers (ISPs) should focus primarily on bringing latency within reasonable bounds.
Adaptation of the rat cardiac proteome in response to intensity‐controlled endurance exercise

Endurance training improves cardiac function and protects against heart disease. The rodent intensity‐controlled running model replicates endurance exercise in humans and can be used to investigate molecular adaptations in the heart. Rats (n = 6, 280 ± 3 g) performed exercise tests to measure their peak oxygen uptake ($\ { \dot V} { O}_{ 2} { peak}$) and training was prescribed at 70–75% $\ { \dot V} { O}_{ 2} { peak}$ for 30 min, 4 days/wk. Hearts were isolated 4 h after a final $\ { \dot V} { O}_{ 2} { peak}$ test and left ventricle proteomes compared to weight‐matched control animals (n = 6, 330 ± 2 g) using differential analysis of 2‐D gels. Proteins were identified by searching MS and MS/MS spectra against Swiss‐Prot using MASCOT (www.matrixscience.com). Average $\ { \dot V} { O}_{ 2} { peak}$ increased 23% (p = 0.008) over the 6‐week regimen and 23 gel spots differed (p<0.05) between exercised and control hearts. Expression of myofibrillar proteins (e.g. α‐myosin heavy chain and cardiac α‐actin) and proteins associated with fatty acid metabolism (e.g. heart fatty acid binding protein, acetyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase and mitochondrial thioesterase‐1) increased. In addition, this work discovered a novel increase in phosphorylation of heat shock protein 20 at serine 16. Previously this modification has been associated with improved cardiomyocyte contractility and protection against apoptosis.
RAS-converting enzyme 1-mediated endoproteolysis is required for trafficking of rod phosphodiesterase 6 to photoreceptor outer segments

Prenylation is the posttranslational modification of a carboxyl-terminal cysteine residue of proteins that terminate with a CAAX motif. Following prenylation, the last three amino acids are cleaved off by the endoprotease, RAS-converting enzyme 1 (RCE1), and the prenylcysteine residue is methylated. Although it is clear that prenylation increases membrane affinity of CAAX proteins, less is known about the importance of the postprenylation processing steps. RCE1 function has been studied in a variety of tissues but not in neuronal cells. To approach this issue, we generated mice lacking Rce1 in the retina. Retinal development proceeded normally in the absence of Rce1, but photoreceptor cells failed to respond to light and subsequently degenerated in a rapid fashion. In contrast, the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layers were unaffected. We found that the multimeric rod phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE6), a prenylated protein and RCE1 substrate, was unable to be transported to the outer segments in Rce1-deficient photoreceptor cells. PDE6 present in the inner segment of Rce1-deficient photoreceptor cells was assembled and functional. Synthesis and transport of transducin, and rhodopsin kinase 1 (GRK1), also prenylated substrates of RCE1, was unaffected by Rce1 deficiency. We conclude that RCE1 is essential for the intracellular trafficking of PDE6 and survival of photoreceptor cells.
Neurophysiologic evidence for a central sensitization in patients with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether abnormalities of peripheral and central nociceptive sensory input processing exist outside areas of spontaneous pain in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) as compared with controls, by using quantitative sensory testing (QST) and a neurophysiologic paradigm independent from subjective reports. METHODS A total of 164 outpatients with FM who were attending a self-management program were invited to participate in the study. Data for 85 patients were available and were compared with those for 40 non-FM controls matched for age and sex. QST was performed using thermal, mechanical, and electrical stimuli at locations of nonspontaneous pain. Pain assessment was 2-fold and included use of subjective scales and the spinal nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), a specific physiologic correlate for the objective evaluation of central nociceptive pathways. Questionnaires regarding quality of life and the impact of FM were available. RESULTS Participants were mainly middle-aged women, with a mean disease duration of 8 years. Between-group differences were significant for neurophysiologic, clinical, and quality of life measures. In patients with FM, peripheral QST showed significantly altered cold and heat pain thresholds, and tolerance to cold pain was radically reduced. The median NFR threshold in patients with FM (22.7 mA [range 17.5-31.7]) was significantly decreased compared with that in controls (33 mA [range 28.1-41]). A cutoff value of <27.6 mA for NFR provided sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 80% for detecting central allodynia in the setting of FM. CONCLUSION Our results strongly, although indirectly, point to a state of central hyperexcitability of the nociceptive system in patients with FM. The NFR can be used to assess central allodynia in FM. It may also help discriminate patients who may benefit from use of centrally acting analgesics.
From Excuses to Encouragements: Confronting and Overcoming the Barriers to Early Childhood Outdoor Learning in Canadian Schools

Drawing on outdoor education literature, this paper aims to address issues related to outdoor learning, and to confront some of the potential barriers and concerns that educators, administrators, parents, and researchers may have with regards to outdoor learning. While forest and nature-based programs provide an ideal educational setting for children to connect and interact with the natural world, they are not always easily accessible or practical for a majority of young Canadians. There are, however, approaches and ideas that can be drawn from these specialized outdoor early years programs and applied more broadly in contemporary urban and rural Canadian schools. A conceptual shift from a culture of excuses to a model of encouragement is presented, suggesting that educators should view outdoor learning as a pedagogical and problem-solving exercise.