Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research on cerebral electrotherapy (electrosleep): some suggestions.

The author discusses the methodological shortcomings of previous studies on cerebral electrotherapy (CET) and suggests various methodological and design procedures that need to be incorporated into future studies if the question of the therapeutic effectiveness and applicability of CET is to be conclusively settled. Among the procedures he recommends are double-blind methods of research and improved techniques of evaluation and follow-up.
Anti‐inflammatory effects of selective glucocorticoid receptor modulators are partially dependent on up‐regulation of dual specificity phosphatase 1

It is thought that the anti‐inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) are largely due to GC receptor (GR)‐mediated transrepression of NF‐κB and other transcription factors, whereas side effects are caused by activation of gene expression (transactivation). Selective GR modulators (SGRMs) that preferentially promote transrepression should retain anti‐inflammatory properties whilst causing fewer side effects. Contradicting this model, we found that anti‐inflammatory effects of the classical GC dexamethasone were partly dependent on transactivation of the dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) gene. We wished to determine whether anti‐inflammatory effects of SGRMs are also mediated by DUSP1.
A Toxicologist's Guide to the Preclinical Assessment of Hepatic Microsomal Enzyme Induction

The assessment of hepatic microsomal enzyme induction at the completion of preclinical toxicology studies in rodents and large mammals provides a wealth of information to the toxicologist and pharmacokineticist regarding how the drug-metabolizing system of the hepatocyte endoplasmic reticulum responded to high-dose levels of a xenobiotic designed for a specific pharmacological target in any of several target organs. The interpretation of these data can be greatly enhanced by a clear understanding of how this system functions and what the immediate and long-term ramifications are to organs and organ systems. This review focuses on how drugs modify the hepatic cytochrome P450 system, how those modifications are detected, the various consequences of these modifications, and some differences in the induction response among species.
Non‐A, Non‐B Hepatitis

Merely one decade ago, viral hepatitis was thought to be caused primarily by two hepatotropic agents, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), with occasional cases resulting from infection by the Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus. Since then, however, the application of specific serologic tests for the diagnosis of infections caused by HAV and HBV has led to the conclusion that significant numbers of cases of acute and chronic hepatitis in humans occur in the absence of infection with any known serologically identifiable virus. These cases have been tentatively designated non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis to indicate that the diagnosis is based on exclusion of infection caused by HAV or HBV. Furthermore, the term non-A, non-B, rather than hepatitis C, was chosen to reflect the likelihood that more than one etiologic agent may ultimately be identified. In the 10 years since the recognition of NANB hepatitis as an entity, the infectious nature of the causative agent(s) has been clearly established by transmission of the disease to chimpanzees. For example, recent infectivity studies show transmission of a hepatitis-like illness by such agents even in the presence of preexisting antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) (1-4). Progress has been made in defining the epidemiologic and clinical features of NANB hepatitis, including its important contribution to sporadic hepatitis and its principal role in posttransfusion hepatitis. Epidemiologic studies suggest NANB hepatitis shares many features with hepatitis B with respect to clinical severity, transmission by blood products or close personal contact, a chronic carrier state with or without evidence of ongoing liver injury, a relatively long incubation period (>4 to 5 weeks) in most instances, and the tendency to progress to chronic liver diseases and/or cirrhosis (4-9). NANB hepatitis has indeed been identified as the primary impediment to the delivery of safe blood. Despite intensive efforts to isolate and characterize the agents responsible for NANB hepatitis, however, no NANB hepatitis virus has yet been unequivocally demonstrated ultrastructurally or serologically, and this represents one of the greatest challenges in hepatitis research. Why then have NANB hepatitis agents escaped definitive isolation and characterization despite 6 or 7 years of intensive effort? There are several possible explanations: (i) NANB hepatitis virus, like most viral infections in man, may exist primarily at the site of tissue injury (i.e., in hepatocytes) with only a minute amount of viral antigen or intact virus in the blood under most circumstances; (ii) these agents may be fragile and thus de-
Violence and delusions: data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study.

OBJECTIVE Previous work has suggested that delusions are associated with a higher risk of violence, particularly delusions in which patients believe that people are seeking to harm them or that outside forces are controlling their minds (denoted as "threat/control override" delusions). This study explores the relationship between delusions and violence among patients recently discharged from acute psychiatric hospitalization. METHOD Data were drawn from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, a study of violence in the community that followed 1,136 recently discharged psychiatric patients for 1 year. Interviews at discharge and at five 10-week intervals gathered clinical, historical, situational, and dispositional information, including the presence and nature of delusional thoughts. Violence was ascertained from reports of subjects, collateral informants, and official records. RESULTS Neither delusions in general nor threat/control override delusions in particular were associated with a higher risk of violent behavior. Comparisons with prior studies suggest that reliance on subject self-reports of delusional symptoms may result in mislabeling as delusions other phenomena that can contribute to violence. CONCLUSIONS Although delusions can precipitate violence in individual cases, these data suggest that they do not increase the overall risk of violence in persons with mental illness in the year after discharge from hospitalization.
CSTG: An Effective Framework for Cost-sensitive Sparse Online Learning

Sparse online learning and cost-sensitive learning are two important areas of machine learning and data mining research. Each has been well studied with many interesting algorithms developed. However, very limited published work addresses the joint study of these two fields. In this paper, to tackle the high-dimensional data streams with skewed distributions, we introduce a framework of cost-sensitive sparse online learning. Our proposed framework is a substantial extension of the influential Truncated Gradient (TG) method by formulating a new convex optimization problem, where the two mutual restraint factors, misclassification cost and sparsity, can be simultaneously and favorably balanced. We theoretically analyze the regret and cost bounds of the proposed algorithm, and pinpoint its theoretical merit compared to the existing related approaches. Large-scale empirical comparisons to five baseline methods on eight real-world streaming datasets demonstrate the encouraging performance of the developed method. Algorithm implementation and datasets are available upon request.
Specific Effects of Depression, Panic, and Somatic Symptoms on Illness Behavior

Objective: In terms of restricted financial resources, the contribution of mental disorders to health care use and illness behavior is highly relevant. However, the specific contributions of panic disorder, depression, and somatic complaints to illness behavior in unselected samples is unclear. Methods: A representative sample of 2507 inhabitants of Germany was selected and grouped into people with panic disorder (30), somatic syndrome (102), major depression (24), depressive syndrome (77), and controls (2269). Assessment instruments were the complete version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), the Scale for the Assessment of Illness Behavior (SAIB) as well as measures of health care use. Results: Although all clinical groups showed increased illness behavior, their impact was independent and specific. Subjects fulfilling the criteria of panic disorder showed the highest scores for illness behavior and health care use. People with mental disorders showed a greater increase in visits to general practitioners and medical specialists than to psychiatrists or psychologists. Regression analysis revealed that somatic complaints and depression have independent associations with illness behavior and health care use. Conclusions: Different mental and psychosomatic disorders contribute independently to health care use and other aspects of illness behavior. PHQ = Patient Health Questionnaire; SAIB = scale for the assessment of illness behavior; GP = general practitioner.
Exploring the Next Neighbourhood Relationship in Metallic Glasses utilizing the Atom Probe Tomography

The chemical short range order in rod of Pd40.5Cu40. 5P19 bulk amorphous alloy is investigated using the next neighborhood evaluation (NNE), an algorithm developed to extract information about next neighborhood from 3D tomographic atom probe data. NNE algorithm is processed for 10times10times10 nm3 volume chosen from the centre of the analyzed volume of cast sample. Selecting only Cu-Cu elemental correlation, histograms are drawn for the first five neighbors with distances exhibiting a Gaussian distribution. The algorithm is successfully utilized to elucidate next neighborhood
Lack of xenoestrogen-induced vitellogenin in male olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Olive ridley sea turtles ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) distribute widely throughout Eastern Pacific (EP) waters. During reproduction these animals aggregate near coastal waters where they may be exposed to industrial or agrochemical environmental pollutants that may disrupt the endocrine system of these reptiles. One group of compounds of concern is the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some of which have been detected in Costa Rican waters. Some of these POPs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT and its metabolites, exhibit estrogenic activity in reptiles. It is unknown whether olive ridleys are exposed to endocrine disruptive doses of these POPs throughout their life in EP waters. Consequently, this study was conducted to determine whether there is evidence of exposure of male olive ridleys to estrogenic compounds. During the study a total of 35 males were hand-captured while mating off the coast of Ostional, Costa Rica, a major nesting beach for this species. The captured turtles were brought aboard a small boat, and blood samples taken with a hypodermic syringe. Turtles were carefully released in the water after the blood samples were taken. In the laboratory, blood collected from these males was analyzed by Western blot using an antibody developed against red-eared slider turtle vitellogenin. Vitellogenin is a female-specific protein that is induced by estrogen during gonadal recrudescence. Estrogenic compounds have been shown to induce this protein in reptilian species. Results of this study indicate the lack of evidence of vitellogenin in the blood of olive ridley males as shown by Western blot analysis. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the slider’s vitellogenin antibody to detect the presence of the protein in the olive ridley sea turtle, L. olivacea . Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (Suppl. 4): 49-57. Epub 2009 June 30.
Block Diagonalization with user antenna selection for multiuser MIMO systems

Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) improves the system channel capacity by employing the transmission between a base station and multiple user terminals (UT). Block Diagonalization (BD) has been proposed in order to realize MU-MIMO broadcast. The BD algorithm cancels inter-user interference by creating the weights so that the channel matrixes for the other users are set to be zero matrixes. However, when the number of transmit antennas is equals to the total number of received antennas, the transmission rate by the BD algorithm is decreased. In this paper, we propose the antenna selection method to reduce the number of nulls for the other users except an intended user by the BD algorithm. It is verified that the proposed method is effective compared to the conventional BD algorithm, especially, when the number of users is increased with a low bit rate.
Unsupervised multiscale speckle filtering

In this paper a new speckle filter for SAR images is proposed, based on a wavelet decomposition. The N-levels decomposition of the initial image with a filter bank provides high frequency images containing wavelet coefficients and low frequency images. This analysis tool allows us to separate details, edges, . from low frequency information (intensity averages). High frequency images are treated specifically in order to keep only significant wavelet coefficients. An adaptive filter is applied on the low frequency images during the reconstruction stage so as to eliminate the residual speckle.
Rapid subtyping of dengue viruses by restriction site-specific (RSS)-PCR.

Dengue is a major public health problem worldwide. It is caused by four dengue virus serotypes, each further divided into distinct genetic subtypes. Strain typing is important for understanding the epidemiology and viral factors associated with disease transmission. However, most of the existing subtyping methods are expensive and technically unwieldy for timely, practical applications in developing countries. Here we describe a simple, rapid, PCR-based subtyping method, restriction site-specific (RSS)-PCR, which we used to analyze dengue virus serotypes 2 and 3. For each serotype, four primers targeted to sequences spanning polymorphic endonuclease restriction sites in the envelope gene were used to reverse transcribe and amplify viral RNA. These RT-PCR products generated distinct electrophoretic band patterns for different strains. Analysis of 73 dengue-2 strains and 54 dengue-3 strains representing a broad geographic distribution over several decades revealed that the RSS-PCR fingerprints reproducibly fell into 7 and 3 groups, respectively. These groups correlated well with previous phylogenetic classifications. This one-step assay should be widely accessible and allow more detailed epidemiologic investigations in dengue-endemic countries. This novel PCR approach to subtyping organisms based on restriction site polymorphisms should be applicable to other pathogens.
Antibodies to cell envelope proteins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients

Many vaccines containing somatic and secreted antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been reported. The vaccines containing lipopolysaccharide have been found to provide type-specific protection, but the endotoxin content of these vaccines does not make it feasible to use them in patients who are already debilitated. Outer membrane proteins could be effective as vaccines, as they can be purified free of lipopolysaccharide, and also because they are common to all serotypes of P. aeruginosa. To be effective as a vaccine, such proteins must be immunogenic and accessible from the outside of the intact bacterial cell. In this study, we showed that systemic antibodies were produced frequently to two cell envelope proteins with masses of 58,500 and 37,500 daltons and occasionally to 34,000-dalton protein of P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic lung infections. In rabbits immunized with whole, fixed cells of P. aeruginosa, antibodies were also produced against the 58,500-dalton proteins. Thus, the 58,500-dalton cell envelope protein of P. aeruginosa was the only immunogenic protein that was accessible to the immune system when whole, fixed cells were used for immunization. These serum antibodies did not protect the cystic fibrosis patients against further lung infection with P. aeruginosa.
Aplicação da hidroinformática na gestão sustentável de sistemas estuarinos

RESUMO Os estuarios sao sistemas hidricos que desde sempre favoreceram o desenvolvimento de aglomerados urbanos importantes, por propiciarem actividades com grande impacto socio-economico e sustentarem uma intensa actividade biologica, sendo autenticos viveiros e maternidades de peixes, crustaceos e bivalves A descarga excessiva e descontrolada de nutrientes, associada a varias accoes antropogenicas, pode originar graves desequilibrios na cadeia trofica destes ecossistemas e estimular a ocorrencia de florescencias macroalgais, conduzindo a uma significativa degradacao dos habitats e reducao da sua biodiversidade. Os dados recolhidos nas ultimas decadas no estuario do rio Mondego confirmam que as condicoes hidrodinâmicas podem influenciar decisivamente os processos de eutrofizacao em sistemas estuarinos. O tempo de residencia (da agua e/ou de nutrientes) nestes sistemas, caracterizados pela alternância do sentido do escoamento, tem sido amplamente reconhecido como um parâmetro-chave na avaliacao da vulnerabilidade dos estuarios a eutrofizacao. Este trabalho teve como objectivos o desenvolvimento duma ferramenta hidroinformatica (o modelo MONDEST), integrando tres modulos principais: hidrodinâmico; de transporte (adveccao e dispersao); e de calculo de tempos de residencia (TempResid), e a sua aplicacao ao caso do estuario do rio Mondego (Portugal). Os resultados obtidos permitem avaliar a influencia das condicoes hidrodinâmicas e o impacto das caracteristicas das descargas de nutrientes na variacao da distribuicao espacial dos valores dos tempos de residencia estuarinos, mostrando que este modelo pode ser extremamente util na definicao criteriosa de praticas de gestao adequadas a sustentabilidade destes complexos ecossistemas aquaticos, incluindo a seleccao de medidas de adaptacao a alteracoes climaticas.
The role of exopolysaccharides in dual species biofilm development

A plasmid encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) of Aequorea victoria was transformed into a biofilm‐forming strain of Enterobacter agglomerans originally isolated from an industrial environment. The transformed strain, EntGFP, could then be identified in dual species biofilms by direct visualization, plate counts and quantitiative fluorescence measurements. A variety of cell constituents and products may be involved in the adhesion and accumulation process and exopolysaccharides (EPS) represent one of these factors. The involvement of EPS in the initial adhesion events and the role in dual species biofilm development was investigated. Cells of EntGFP and Klebsiella pneumoniae Gl interact forming biofilms more successfully in a mixture than in isolation. The co‐resistance results in enhanced biofilm formation and increased resistance to disinfection. Microscopic examination showed that the two species were often closely juxtaposed in microcolonies, suggesting the interactions involve surface‐associated macromolecules. Fluorescence was used to measure the adhesion of EntGFP cells to Kleb, pneumoniae Gl (Gl) EPS. The results showed EntGFP adhered better to Gl EPS that Ent EPS. Polysaccharde depolymerases isolated from a bacteriophage for Ent. agglomerans were used to degrade Ent EPS specifically. Following polysaccharase treatment, the adhaesion of EntGFP to Gl cells was reduced. This suggests both types of EPS mediate adhesion. The two types of EPS were dissolved in dimethylsulphoxide and when mixed, their viscosity increased, reaching a maximum after ∼+40 min. This may partially explain the increased protection of dual species biofilms from disinfectants. The depolymerases were used to treat dual species biofilms and this resulted in the effective removal of both species from the surface. This may suggest Ent contributes more EPS to the biofilm matrix. The EPS play an important role in EntGFP and Gl dual species biofilm formation both as adhesins and as the EPS interact, changing their physical properties.
Inpatient quality metrics in neurology

The need to ensure quality in medicine has become paramount in the current environment of health care accountability, affordability, and access. There are many tools that are used to ensure quality, including peer review, continuing medical education, maintenance of certification, formal disease-specific guidelines,1 and quality measures.2 The lines between these various tools can sometimes be blurred and lead to confusion for the clinical neurologist.
Augur: Incorporating Hidden Dependencies and Variable Granularity in Change Impact Analysis

Software change impact analysis (CIA) methods enable developers to understand potential impacts of a code change so that the change can be executed confidently without affecting reliability of the software. However, existing CIA approaches do not support CIA for all source code granularities. Additionally, they lack support for inter-granular change impact queries and hidden dependencies. This paper introduces Augur, an automated static code analysis-based CIA approach that addresses these shortcomings. Augur infers and maintains semantic and environment dependencies along with data and control dependencies between source code entities across granularities. Additionally, Augur uses Change Impact Query Language, a novel query language for impact analysis proposed in this paper, to support inter-granular CIA queries with batch querying feature. Augur has been realized as a Visual Studio extension called Augur-Tool. We have conducted quantitative evaluation on two open-source and two industrial projects to assess the accuracy of the tool. Results from the evaluation indicate that Augur provides CIA with high accuracy (average precision 55% and average recall 85%).
Molecular Temporal Bone Pathology: II. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (Herpes Zoster Oticus)

In 1907 J. Ramsay Hunt suggested that herpes zoster oticus resulted from a geniculate ganglionitis; however, many contemporary authors believe that this disorder represents a neuritis or polycranial neuropathy. Herpes varicella‐zoster viral (VZV) DNA was identified, using the polymerase chain reaction, in archival celloidin‐embedded temporal bone sections from two patients who clinically had Ramsay Hunt syndrome (herpes zoster oticus). The presence of VZV was confirmed by sequencing the PCR products. These experiments demonstrated that VZV genomic DNA was present in the geniculate ganglion of the side with facial paralysis and cutaneous recrudescence in both patients and in the clinically unaffected side in patient 1. In addition, patient 2 had a sudden hearing loss and was found to have VZV genomic DNA in sections from the affected side containing the spiral ganglion, Scarpa's ganglion, organ of Corti, and macula of the saccule. No VZV genomic DNA was identified in temporal bone sections from five patients with Bell's palsy and ten patients without evidence of otologic disease. In this study, the histopathology of these two cases yielded complementary information regarding the role of VZV in herpes zoster oticus. These data suggest that in patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, latent VZV is located in the geniculate ganglia and may be present in the auditory and vestibular primary afferent ganglia in some patients.