Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Family History Studies. II Sex Differences and Alcoholism in Primary Affective Illness

In previous communications (6, 9) we have presented data indicating that affective disorder (manic depressive disease, involutional depressive reaction, neurotic depressive reaction, psychotic depressive reaction) is more frequent in females than in males. More specifically, in a total sample of 366 affective disorder probands there was a ratio of 1·9 females to every male; and in the parents of the probands a statistically significant excess of mothers as compared to fathers was found to have suffered from the same illness. Calculations done on the same proband group revealed that alcoholism was significantly more prevalent in the fathers and siblings of the affective disorder group than in a matched control series. It appeared that if one added the alcoholic fathers to the affectively disordered fathers one found a prevalence of psychiatric illness in fathers which was similar to the prevalence of affective disorder itself in the mothers. Thus, it seemed that the deficiency in affective disorder diagnoses in fathers was made up by alcoholism.
Assessing Effectiveness of Various Auditory Warning Signals in Maintaining Drivers' Attention in Virtual Reality-Based Driving Environments

Drivers' fatigue contributes to traffic accidents, so drivers must maintain adequate alertness. The effectiveness of audio alarms in maintaining driving performance and characteristics of alarms was studied in a virtural reality-based driving environment. Response time to the car's drifting was measured under seven conditions: with no warnings and with continuous warning tones (500 Hz, 1750 Hz, and 3000 Hz), and with tone bursts at 500 Hz, 1750 Hz, and 3000 Hz. Analyses showed the audio warning signals significantly improved driving. Further, the tones' spectral characteristics significantly influenced the effectiveness of the warning.
A CUDA-based parallel implementation of a test vectors encoding algorithm in compression-based scan designs

Compression-based scan designs, although widely adopted, are costly in power dissipation. Therefore, several techniques have been proposed to reduce power dissipation in compression-based reconfigurable scan architectures. Incorporating power reduction as an objective in selecting the configuration of reconfigurable scan architecture increases the computational runtime as all the encoding configurations must be evaluated rather than the first valid configuration. In this paper, we present a parallel implementation, using computed unified device architecture, to a test vectors encoding algorithm in compression-based scan designs. The proposed implementation exploits the independence of scan chains and test vectors to improve the performance. Experimental results indicate that the parallel algorithm can be seven times faster than the serial algorithm.
The Impact of Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy on Secondary Operations for Neuroblastoma

From January, 1969 through July, 1979, 37 children with neuroblastoma were cared for at the Oklahoma Children's Memorial Hospital. Nineteen patients with extensive disease were studied to examine the interrelationships of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and secondary surgery. Eleven children had secondary surgery in the abdomen or cervical region with one postoperative death. All patients had chemotherapy and ten had radiation therapy between the primary and secondary operation or death. Five children survived. Four of five survivors were less than one year of age at diagnosis and initial treatment. Fourteen of 15 patients, one year of age or older, died. Each case had pathologic examination of tumor before and after therapy. All survivors showed sequential maturation of tumor tissue but only one nonsurvivor had this finding. Unusual metastatic spread was found in patients having combined therapy. Multimodal therapy for advanced neuroblastoma accentuates the need for sensible timing and utilization of secondary operative procedures. The secondary procedures ideally eradicate the primary focus of tumor, and may also serve to excise selective areas of metastatic disease or to biopsy residual disease in aiding continuing therapy. Secondary surgery ought to follow the onset of radiation therapy by four to six weeks, or of chemotherapy by 12 to 24 weeks. This delay allows maximum control of primary and generalized disease, as well as maturation, differentiation, encapsulation and shrinkage of extensive initially unresectable primary tumors.
Lifestyle factors in monozygotic and dizygotic twins

In examining genetic influences on biological variables using twins, it may be important to examine the distribution between and within twin pairs of demographic and lifestyle factors that may themselves affect the biological variable being studied. We explored the distribution of demographic and lifestyle factors that may affect blood lipid levels or ischaemic heart disease (IHD) risk among a sample of 106 monozygotic (MZ) and 94 like‐sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. In our sample, MZ twins were statistically significantly different from DZ twins only in marital status, cigarette smoking habits, and the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat (P:S ratio) in their dietary intake. The latter variable was among many dietary variables examined (using 4‐day weighed food diaries), and the size of the difference in intake was small. When comparisons were made of the similarities within twin pairs, we found members of MZ twin pairs to be statistically significantly closer than DZ twins in educational achievement, occupation, cigarette smoking, and exercise habits, and the number of days a week on which alcohol was consumed. These last three variables were consistently closer among twins with closer contact than among those with a smaller degree of current shared environment. For 12 of the 13 nutrients examined, the within‐pair correlations were higher for MZ than for DZ twins, although our test for significant genetic variance showed statistical significance only for intake of complex carbohydrates. We conclude that MZ twins share demographic and lifestyle factors that might influence the risk of IHD and blood lipid levels to a greater degree than do DZ twins, although it is difficult to say if these similarities in lifestyle result from genetic influences or not. Nevertheless, ascribing differences between correlations in MZ and DZ twin pairs for lipid levels as being purely “genetic”–as implicit in conventional measures of heritability–is likely to overestimate the influence of genetic factors.
Analog Baseband Chain in a 0.18 μm Standard Digital CMOS Technology for IEEE802.15.3a (UWB) Receiver

Today UWB (ultra-wideband) communication is gaining a great attention from consumer electronic-industry and is expected to be adopted for many WPAN (wireless personal area network) applications. UWB (Ultra- wideband) communication standard is based the form of direct sequence or OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) for high-date-rate application like IEEE 802.15. 3a [1]. This paper demonstrates a successful implementation and experimental verification of a CMOS analog baseband chain - variable gain amplifier and low pass filter - for a UWB wireless PAN (personal area network) receiver in a 0.18 μm CMOS process. The experiments features 40 dB linear scaled output gain and a total current of 30 mA.
Spinal Cord Regeneration

A paper in this week's issue of Science (Cheng and Olson, p. 510) reports the first hint that truly functional regeneration of the adult spinal cord may be possible, at least in the rat. In his Perspective, Young describes why this demonstration of regeneration is so important but cautions that we have much more work to do before the procedure could be applied to humans.
CpG island methylation of microRNAs is associated with tumor size and recurrence of non‐small‐cell lung cancer

We investigated whether the CpG island methylation of certain microRNAs was associated with the clinicopathological features and the prognosis of non‐small‐cell lung cancer. The methylation of mir‐152, ‐9‐3, ‐124‐1, ‐124‐2, and ‐124‐3 was analyzed in 96 non‐small‐cell lung cancer specimens using a combined bisulfite restriction analysis. The median observation period was 49.5 months. The methylation of mir‐9‐3, ‐124‐2, and ‐124‐3 was individually associated with an advanced T factor independent of age, sex, and smoking habit. Moreover, the methylation of multiple microRNA loci was associated with a poorer progression‐free survival in a univariate analysis. Our result enlightens the accumulation of aberrant DNA methylation which occurs in concordance with the tumor progression. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 2126–2131)
Laryngeal Morbidity and Quality of Tracheal Intubation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Vocal cord sequelae and postoperative hoarseness during general anesthesia are a significant source of morbidity for patients and a source of liability for anesthesiologists. Several risk factors leading to laryngeal injury have been identified in the past. However, whether the quality of tracheal intubation affects their incidence or severity is still unclear. Methods Eighty patients were randomized in two groups (n = 40 for each) to receive a propofol–fentanyl induction regimen with or without atracurium. Intubation conditions were evaluated with the Copenhagen Score; postoperative hoarseness was assessed at 24, 48, and 72 h by a standardized interview; and vocal cords were examined by stroboscopy before and 24 and 72 h after surgery. If postoperative hoarseness or vocal cord sequelae persisted, follow-up examination was performed until complete restitution. Results Without atracurium, postoperative hoarseness occurred more often (16 vs. 6 patients;P = 0.02). The number of days with postoperative hoarseness was higher when atracurium was omitted (25 vs. 6 patients;P < 0.001). Similar findings were observed for vocal cord sequelae (incidence of vocal cord sequelae: 15 vs. 3 patients, respectively, P = 0.002; days with vocal cord sequelae: 50 vs. 5 patients, respectively, P < 0.001). Excellent intubating conditions were less frequently associated with postoperative hoarseness compared to good or poor conditions (11, 29, and 57% of patients, respectively; excellent vs. poor:P = 0.008). Similar findings were observed for vocal cord sequelae (11, 22, and 50% of patients, respectively; excellent vs. poor:P = 0.02). Conclusions The quality of tracheal intubation contributes to laryngeal morbidity, and excellent conditions are less frequently associated with postoperative hoarseness and vocal cord sequelae. Adding atracurium to a propofol–fentanyl induction regimen significantly improved the quality of tracheal intubation and decreased postoperative hoarseness and vocal cord sequelae.
Performance-based financing: the same is different

Although it is increasingly acknowledged within the Performance-Based Financing (PBF) research community that PBF is more than just payments based on outputs verified for quality, this narrow definition of PBF is still very present in many studies and evaluations. This leads to missed opportunities, misunderstandings and an unhelpful debate. Therefore, we reinforce the claim that PBF should be viewed as a reform package focused on targeted services with many different aspects that go beyond the health worker level. Failing to acknowledge the importance of the different elements of PBF negatively influences the task of practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike. After making the case for this wider definition, we propose three research pathways (describing, understanding and framing PBF) and give a short and tentative starting point for future research, leaving the floor open for more in-depth discussions. From these three vantage points it appears that when it comes to PBF 'the same is different'. Notwithstanding the increased complexity due to the use of the wider definition, progress on these three different research pathways will strongly improve our knowledge, lead to better adapted PBF programs and create a more nuanced debate on PBF.
Ambulatory blood pressure, blood pressure variability and the prevalence of carotid artery alteration: the Ohasama study

Objectives To investigate the association between ambulatory blood pressure (BP) variables (level, short-term variability, circadian variation and morning pressor surge) and carotid artery alteration in a general population. Methods We measured ambulatory BP every 30 min in 775 participants (mean age 66.2 ± 6.2 years, 68.8% women) from the Japanese general population. Short-term BP variability during the daytime and night-time were estimated as within-subject standard deviation of daytime and night-time BP, respectively. Circadian BP variation was calculated as the percentage decline in nocturnal BP. Morning pressor surge was defined as morning BP minus pre-waking BP. The extent of carotid artery alteration was evaluated as the average of common carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) and the presence of focal carotid plaque. Results Daytime and night-time BP values were more closely associated with carotid artery alteration than casual BP. With mutual adjustment for daytime and night-time BP, the latter (P < 0.0001) was more closely associated with IMT, which represents diffuse arterial thickening and arteriosclerosis, than daytime BP (P = 0.2). Night-time systolic BP variability was positively associated with carotid plaque (focal atherosclerotic lesions) independently of possible confounding factors, including night-time systolic BP (P = 0.01). A diminished nocturnal decline in systolic BP was associated with a greater IMT after adjustment for confounding factors (P = 0.03). A morning pressor surge was not associated with carotid artery alteration. Conclusion Ambulatory BP levels and BP variability were closely associated with carotid artery alteration, suggesting that these parameters are independent risk factors or predictors of carotid artery alteration.
Decline in total T cell count is associated with onset of AIDS, independent of CD4(+) lymphocyte count: implications for AIDS pathogenesis.

We previously reported that blind T cell homeostasis, in which the total T cell count is maintained but the CD4(+) and CD8(+) subset composition of the T cells can vary, fails approximately 1.5 to 2.5 years before the onset of AIDS. The present study was premised on the hypothesis that if failure of T cell homeostasis (i.e., a decline in total T cell counts) is important in the pathogenesis of AIDS, it should be a significant predictor of AIDS after controlling for the CD4(+) lymphocyte count. Data from 1556 homosexual men with sufficient sequential T cell subset measurements were evaluated, representing 11,988 person-visits in men with known clinical outcomes over a period of more than 10 years. Using regression models that incorporated CD4(+) lymphocyte count and HIV-related symptoms (fever, thrush), it was determined that a yearly decline of more than 300 T cells/microliter of peripheral blood was an independent predictor of the onset of AIDS for subjects with CD4(+) lymphocyte counts of <500 cells/microliter. The results support an important role for failure of T cell homeostasis in the pathogenesis of AIDS.
Sampling plan for the analysis of aflatoxin in peanuts and corn: an update

O objetivo deste trabalho foi atualizar a metodologia de amostragem para analise de micotoxinas em graos, anteriormente publicada pelo autor. As alteracoes propostas tiveram por base a experiencia adquirida na sua utilizacao e em recomendacoes da FAO. Esta atualizacao restringe a aplicacao do metodo anterior e estabelece um plano de amostragem para analise de aflatoxina em amendoim e em milho por meio de formulas modificadas, o minimo de sacos ou pontos (quando a granel) dos quais devem ser retiradas amostras incrementais para constituir uma amostra. Expoentes fracionarios (raiz quadrada) das formulas diminuem proporcionalmente o numero de sacos/pontos a serem amostrados, a medida que o lote aumenta de tamanho. Curvas de operacao caracteristica (OC) desenvolvidas para amendoim em casca e descascado e milho, bem como curvas de tendencia dos coeficientes de variacao, para diferentes tamanhos de amostra (peso), sao apresentadas.
Glycoprotein complex anchoring dystrophin to sarcolemma.

We found six groups of proteins, A0-A5, besides dystrophin itself in a dystrophin preparation obtained by the reported method [Campbell, K.P. & Kahl, S.D. (1989) Nature 338, 259-262] with some modifications. Their molecular weights were 94, 62, 52, 43, 36, and 24 kDa, respectively. Their molar ratios to dystrophin were 0.14, 2.2, 0.88, 0.90, 1.7, and 0.34, respectively. Each of A1, A3, and A4 was split into several bands. But each group of bands except A3 seemed to behave like the same kind of protein. The doublet of A3 was subdivided into A3a and A3b in the decreasing order of molecular weight. All the A-proteins except A2 were cross-linked with dystrophin molecule by a cross-linker, bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)suberate, suggesting them to be dystrophin-associated proteins. When dystrophin preparation was treated with KI, which is known to break membrane cytoskeletal interactions, as described by Campbell and Kahl, A2, A3, and A4 were absorbed by wheat germ lectin (WGL) Sepharose, but the dystrophin molecule and A1 were not absorbed. On the other hand, A2 and A3b reacted with biotinyl WGL but A3a and A4 did not in blotting analysis. This apparent discrepancy can be explained if we postulate that A3a and/or A4 would associate with A2 and/or A3b. On the basis of these results including stoichiometric considerations, we are of the opinion that the complex of A2.A4 among various possible ones is the most important to anchor dystrophin to sarcolemma. In this A2.A4 complex, A4 but not A2 is directly associated with dystrophin.
What is the accuracy of an early third trimester sonogram for identifying LGA infants born to GDM patients diagnosed with the one-step approach?

Abstract Purpose: The one-step approach for screening of GDM will increase the incidence 2- to 3-fold. These larger cohorts may need to target high-morbidity subsets to be cost-effective. We asked whether ultrasound could stratify the GDM patients with the highest risk for a large for gestational age (LGA) infant. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 413 GDM patients diagnosed using the one-step approach. Ultrasound data from 28 weeks 0 day to 34 weeks 6 days was studied. The abdominal circumference (AC) and EFW at thresholds between 70 and 95% were examined for their prognostic utility. The primary outcome was an LGA infant. Results: Both the AC and EFW at all gestational ages were predictive of a LGA infant. The AC and EFW at 28–32 weeks 6 days using a threshold of ≥70% showed the following test characteristics: sensitivity (73 versus 66%), specificity (61 versus 77%), positive predictive value (PPV) (30 versus 40%), and negative predictive value (NPV) (91 versus 91%). The specificity of the EFW was significantly higher than the AC (p < .001). Conclusion: Among GDM patients diagnosed using the one-step approach, an elevated AC and EFW in the early third trimester are predictive of a LGA infant. This is a possible cost-effective way to stratify the one-step GDM pregnancies at highest risk for neonatal morbidity.
Lysine oxidation by growing pigs receiving diets containing free and protein-bound lysine.

Knowledge of amino acid availability in feedstuffs is central to accurate diet formulation. Dietary lysine oxidation was evaluated as a means of predicting dietary lysine availability. Growing pigs (30 kg) were offered control (1.43% lysine), free lysine-supplemented soybean meal-, or cottonseed meal-supplemented diets. Supplemented diets provided equivalent total lysine (approximately 24.2 g/d at 30 kg BW) but availabilities of lysine, determined by slope-ratio assay, in the free lysine, soybean meal, and cottonseed meal were 100, 90, and 30%, respectively. Feed was offered in eight equally spaced meals per day to achieve three times maintenance energy intake. Following a meal containing L-[U-14C]lysine (1 mu Ci/kg BW), lysine oxidation, as 14CO2 expired, was lower (P < .05) for the control diet but not different between the other three diets, contrary to the hypothesis. Lysine oxidation following an intravenous bolus dose was lowest (P < .05) for pigs fed the control, highest (P < .05) for pigs fed the cottonseed diet, and intermediate (P < .05) for pigs fed the free lysine-supplemented diet (27.1, 80.2, and 47.5, dpm/kg x 10(-2), respectively). Plasma lysine concentration was lower (P < .05) and lysine specific radioactivity tended to be higher (P < .10) following a meal containing cottonseed than following a meal containing free lysine, indicating that the lysine pool was smaller in pigs receiving the cottonseed-meal diet. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Anxiety Reporting and Culturally Associated Interpretation Biases and Cognitive Schemas: A Comparison of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American Families

This study examined whether Mexican (n = 53), Mexican American (n = 50), and European American (n = 51) children differed in their reporting of anxiety symptoms and whether parental influence and specific cognitive schemas associated with Mexican culture were related to differences in anxiety reporting. As expected, Mexican and Mexican American children reported significantly more physiological and worry symptoms than the European American children. Mexican and Mexican American children endorsed collectivism as a cultural value more strongly than European American children, and the Mexican children evidenced greatest use of social strategies reflecting simpatia. In family discussions of ambiguous, potentially anxiety-arousing situations, Mexican and Mexican American parents verbalized a greater percentage of somatic interpretations than the European American parents. Results indicate potential linkages between cultural values, socialization practices, and anxiety reporting.
Selection of dinB Alleles Suppressing Survival Loss upon dinB Overexpression in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli strains overproducing DinB undergo survival loss; however, the mechanisms regulating this phenotype are poorly understood. Here we report a genetic selection revealing DinB residues essential to effect this loss-of-survival phenotype. The selection uses strains carrying both an antimutator allele of DNA polymerase III (Pol III) α-subunit (dnaE915) and either chromosomal or plasmid-borne dinB alleles. We hypothesized that dnaE915 cells would respond to DinB overproduction differently from dnaE+ cells because the dnaE915 allele is known to have an altered genetic interaction with dinB+ compared to its interaction with dnaE+. Notably, we observe a loss-of-survival phenotype in dnaE915 strains with either a chromosomal catalytically inactive dinB(D103N) allele or a low-copy-number plasmid-borne dinB+ upon DNA damage treatment. Furthermore, we find that the loss-of-survival phenotype occurs independently of DNA damage treatment in a dnaE915 strain expressing the catalytically inactive dinB(D103N) allele from a low-copy-number plasmid. The selective pressure imposed resulted in suppressor mutations that eliminated growth defects. The dinB intragenic mutations examined were either base pair substitutions or those that we inferred to be loss of function (i.e., deletions and insertions). Further analyses of selected novel dinB alleles, generated by single-base-pair substitutions in the dnaE915 strain, indicated that these no longer effect loss of survival upon overproduction in dnaE+ strains. These mutations are mapped to specific areas of DinB; this permits us to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying the DinB-mediated overproduction loss-of-survival phenotype.