Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Follow-up and immunologic findings in drug-induced myasthenia].

PATIENT AND METHOD We report 5 patients, who developed myasthenia, four of them after treatment on D-penicillamine, one after treatment on chloroquine. 3 patients suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, one from a psoriatic arthritis and one from cirrhosis of the liver. Three patients developed an ocular myasthenia, one patient an oculopharyngeal and one patient has had generalized myasthenic syndrome. RESULTS Four patients showed an improvement of clinical status within days up to 18 months following discontinuation of the therapy, whereas one patient deteriorated. The quickest improvement was observed in the patient with chloroquine induced myasthenia. Four patients had raised acetylcholine-receptor antibody titers. The patient with chloroquine induced myasthenia had had a normal acetylcholin-receptor antibody titer. The human leucocyte antigen type was compared with the results of literature. CONCLUSION To what extent human leucocyte antigen type HLA DR 4 has a correlation with the development of myasthenia following treatment on chloroquine can not yet be answered with respect to the very small number of cases at the moment.
Experience-Based Robot Task Learning and Planning with Goal Inference

Learning and deliberation are required to endow a robotwith the capabilities to acquire knowledge, perform a variety of tasks and interactions, and adapt to open-ended environments. This paper explores the notion of experience-based planning domains (EBPDs) for task-level learning and planning in robotics. EBPDs rely on methods for a robot to: (i) obtain robot activity experiences from the robot's performance; (ii) conceptualize each experience to a task model called activity schema; and (iii) exploit the learned activity schemata to make plans in similar situations. Experiences are episodic descriptions of plan-based robot activities including environment perception, sequences of applied actions and achieved tasks. The conceptualization approach integrates different techniques including deductive generalization, abstraction and feature extraction to learn activity schemata. A high-level task planner was developed to find a solution for a similar task by following an activity schema. In this paper, we extend our previous approach by integrating goal inference capabilities. The proposed approach is illustrated in a restaurant environment where a service robot learns how to carry out complex tasks.
Visceral hypersensitivity in non-erosive reflux disease

Non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is defined as the presence of classic symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in the absence of oesophageal mucosal injury (or Barrett’s oesophagus) as determined by inspection at upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.1 As such it is regarded as being one of the two main phenotypes of GORD, the other being erosive oesophagitis (EO) where ulceration or erosions are evident. GORD is common, with estimates of 20–44% of Western populations having symptoms of GORD at least once a month and 20% weekly.2 The proportion of such patients with NERD is estimated to be between 503 and 70%. 4 It is acknowledged that responses to standard acid suppressive treatments are 20–30% lower in patients with NERD than those with EO.5 Considering this, and the high prevalence of NERD, which is likely to increase in parallel with societal body mass index,6 the pathophysiological understanding of this condition remains a priority. The concept of visceral hypersensitivity (VH) is now well established in a variety of overtly inflammatory as well as functional gastrointestinal conditions.7 ,8 This review introduces the molecular and physiological basis of VH, particularly in respect of acid-sensing receptors, and presents the evidence that VH plays an important role in the pathophysiology of NERD. Within the spectrum of GORD, the pathophysiological relationship of EO and NERD remains the subject of debate.9 The classical and perhaps intuitive view that NERD is a mild form of GORD that might progress with time to EO is supported by some physiological, anatomical and histopathological findings. For instance, whilst demonstration of acid exposure is not a requirement for the definition of EO or NERD, there are studies that demonstrate that acid exposure as determined by 24 h pH studies is abnormal in only 45% of NERD patients …
Imaging studies on the functional organization and plasticity of human visual cortex

OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY P. O. BOX 11000, FI-00076 AALTO, www.aalto. fi Author Linda Henriksson Name of the dissertation Manuscript submitted 19.10. 2009 Manuscript revised 1.2. 2010 Date of the defence 19.2. 2010 Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Monograph
An Evaluation of the Farmer-Training Programme in Jamaica: Opportunities for use of ICTs in training delivery and in farming activities

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the Rural Agricultural Development Authority’s (RADA) farmer-training programme, in order to ascertain the value to its clients. The Kirkpatrick evaluation approach was used to evaluate the training programme under four levels namely: reaction, learning, behaviour and results, guided by six evaluation questions. The sample size used in this study was n = 208 (200 farmers and eight extension specialists). Data collection methods included questionnaires, interviews, observations and document reviews. The findings showed that the majority of the farmers were satisfied with the training programme. More field demonstrations and an integrated model to improve the delivery of training, through the inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) were needed. It was recommended that a proper evaluation system along with an integrated (ICT) model to deliver training programmes be designed, in order to enhance the value of the training programme to more rural farmers.
Lethal and sublethal effects of ammonia to juvenile Lampsilis mussels (unionidae) in sediment and water‐only exposures

We compared the sensitivity of two juvenile unionid mussels (Lampsilis cardium and Lampsilis higginsii) to ammonia in 96‐h water‐only and sediment tests by use of mortality and growth measurements. Twenty mussels were placed in chambers buried 2.5 cm into reference sediments to approximate pore‐water exposure (sediment tests) or elevated above the bottom of the experimental units (water‐only tests). In the sediment tests, a pH gradient existed between the overlying water (mean 8.0), sediment–water interface (mean 7.7), and 2.5 cm depth (mean 7.4). We assumed that mussels were exposed to ammonia in pore water and report effect concentrations in pore water, but if they were exposed to the higher pH water, more of the ammonia would be in the toxic un‐ionized (NH3) form. The only differences in toxicity and growth between mussel species occurred in some of the water‐only tests. In sediment tests, median lethal concentrations (LC50s) ranged from 124 to 125 μg NH3‐N/L. In water‐only tests, LC50s ranged from 157 to 372 μg NH3‐N/L. In sediment tests, median effective concentrations (EC50s based on growth) ranged from 30 to 32 μg NH3‐N/L. Juvenile mussels in the water‐only tests grew poorly and did not exhibit a dose–response relation. These data demonstrate that growth is a sensitive and valuable endpoint for studies on ammonia toxicity with juvenile freshwater mussels and that growth should be measured via sediment tests.
Alabama Physicians and Accountable Care Organizations

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were designed to improve the quality of care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries while also halting the growth in Medicare spending. Many existing health systems in the Northeast, Midwest, and West have formed ACOs, whereas implementation in Southern states has been slower. The study team conducted a survey of all physician members of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama to determine the likelihood of their participation in an ACO and their attitudes toward some of the characteristics, such as quality measures, regulations, and risks versus rewards. The team found that many physicians reported a lack of knowledge about these areas. Physicians who reported that they were either likely or not likely to participate overwhelmingly held unfavorable attitudes about ACOs. It would be advantageous for Alabama physicians to become more knowledgeable about ACOs in the case that they become a more predominant form of care delivery in the future.
Substance abuse and family relationships of persons with severe mental illness.

OBJECTIVE The authors sought to determine how substance abuse affects family relationships of persons with severe mental illness. METHOD Patient reports of family relationships were compared between 101 psychiatric inpatients with a concurrent substance use disorder and 78 subjects with severe mental illness only. RESULTS Patients with comorbid substance abuse reported significantly lower family satisfaction and a greater desire for family treatment. Objective indicators of frequency of family contact did not differ. CONCLUSIONS Substance abuse is associated with low levels of satisfaction with family relationships among persons with severe mental illness. Family interventions would meet the stated needs of persons with mental illness and a comorbid substance use disorder and might help to engage them in treatment.
A CONSTRUÇÃO EMOCIONAL DAS MARCAS: O USO DE ARQUÉTIPOS E ESTEREÓTIPOS

Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratoiria sobre como a utilizacao de Arquetipos e Esteriotipos influenciam na criacao de afeto as marcas. A questao central deste trabalho e verificar se a utilizacao de imagens arquetipicas e estereotipadas na comunicacao gera maior envolvimento emocional com o consumidor, transferindo assim o afeto as marcas que as utilizam. O estudo foi desemvolvido por meio de pesquisa documental e bibliografica sobre psicologia comportamental e do consumidor, bem como na analise de algumas pecas comunicacionais. A principal constatacao foi de que a utilizacao de imagens arquetipicas, que remetem as inconsciente coletivo do consumidor, permitem maior aproximacao entre a marca e consumidor, criando elos afetivos que resultam em vendas e fidelidade as marcas que se utilizam destes artificios.
Promotion of growth and hydrogen ion efflux by auxin in roots of maize pretreated with ethylene biosynthesis inhibitors.

Low concentrations of auxin (e.g. 10(-10)m) do not promote the growth of intact seedling roots of maize (Zea mays L. Bear Hybrid WF 9 x 38). Higher concentrations are inhibitory. When the roots are pretreated with the ethylene biosynthesis inhibitors, cobalt and aminoethoxyvinylglycine, auxin (10(-10) to 10(-8)m) strongly promotes their growth. The promotion of growth by auxin in pretreated roots is preceded by enhanced hydrogen ion secretion from the roots. The data indicate that hormone-enhanced hydrogen ion secretion may play a role in the rapid promotion of root growth by auxin. The ability of auxin to promote the growth of intact roots is discussed in relation to the Cholodny/Went hypothesis of hormonal control of root geotropism.
A comparative analysis on cloud data security

Cloud computing a distributed network for sharing data over internet, serves as an online data backup with scalability. The paper describes various categories of clouds depending on the usage of cloud and also on the services provided by the cloud. Data security is one of the major challenges faced by cloud providers and cloud users. Cryptography is suggested as the appropriate solution for securing the cloud data. Review on some of the existing cryptographic methods for securing the data stored in the cloud is also included in this paper. The data owners can upload data on to the cloud; can also create permissions on the uploaded data to control its access by various types of users. Cryptographic techniques incorporated along with the traditional access control policies really enhances the security of data. The analysis on the review points to the insider threats in cloud security as one of the greatest issue in cloud computing.
Barriers to Antiretroviral Adherence for Patients Living with HIV Infection and AIDS in Botswana

Background: Botswana has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world, estimated at 36% among the population aged 15‐49 years. To improve antiretroviral (ARV) treatment delivery, we conducted a cross‐sectional study of the social, cultural, and structural determinants of treatment adherence. Methods: We used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including questionnaires and interviews with patients receiving ARV treatment and their health care providers to elicit principal barriers to adherence. Patient report and provider estimate of adherence (≥95% doses) were the primary outcomes. Results: One hundred nine patients and 60 health care providers were interviewed between January and July 2000; 54% of patients were adherent by self‐report, while 56% were adherent by provider assessment. Observed agreement between patients and providers was 68%. Principal barriers to adherence included financial constraints (44%), stigma (15%), travel/migration (10%), and side effects (9%). On the basis of logistic regression, if cost were removed as a barrier, adherence is predicted to increase from 54% to 74%. Conclusions: ARV adherence rates in this study were comparable with those seen in developed countries. As elsewhere, health care providers in Botswana were often unable to identify which patients adhere to their ARV regimens. The cost of ARV therapy was the most significant barrier to adherence.
Potential transmission of West Nile virus in the British Isles: an ecological review of candidate mosquito bridge vectors

Abstract. West Nile virus (WNV) transmitted by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) infects various vertebrates, being pathogenic for birds, horses and humans. After its discovery in tropical Africa, sporadic outbreaks of WNV occurred during recent decades in Eurasia, but not the British Isles * . WNV reached New York in 1999 and spread to California by 2003, causing widespread outbreaks of West Nile encephalitis across North America, transmitted by many species of mosquitoes, mainly Culex spp. The periodic reappearance of WNV in parts of continental Europe (from southern France to Romania) gives rise to concern over the possibility of WNV invading the British Isles.
Plasmid profile and drug resistance pattern of zoonotic Salmonella isolates from Indian buffaloes.

BACKGROUND Buffalo is the major source of animal protein in south-east Asia, including India; therefore, the presence of multiple drug resistance in Salmonella strains of buffalo meat and milk products is of immense public health concern. METHODOLOGY Forty-six strains of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica belonging to eight serovars (S. Anatum, 13; S. Weltevreden, 13; S. Rostock, 6; S. Typhimurium, 5; S. Gallinarum, 5; S. Stockholm, 1; S. Dublin, 1; and S. Orion, 2), isolated from buffalo meat and diseased buffaloes were studied for their antibiotic sensitivity and plasmid profile. RESULTS All except six strains of Salmonella had one or more plasmids. Virulence plasmid of ~35MdA was present in 39 isolates while 19 strains had one to six additional plasmids with molecular weight ranging from 1 Mda > 35 Mda. A plasmid-free S. Anatum strain was resistant to seven drugs including fluoroquinolones, while strains having six to seven plasmids were resistant to fewer antimicrobial drugs. One S. Anatum isolate, resistant to 11 antibiotics, had only one plasmid. Eight serovars of Salmonella could be divided into 28 resistotypes on the basis of antimicrobial sensitivity assay. Most strains were resistant to streptomycin (84.8%) followed by kanamycin (58.7%), gentamicin (52.2%), ampicillin (50%) and oxytetracycline (50%). Few strains were resistant to cefotaxime (2.2%), amoxycillin (2.2%) and newer fluoroquinolones (6.5%). CONCLUSION Multiple drug resistance was common among Salmonella isolates of buffalo origin, particularly against aminoglycosides, oxytetracycin, ampicillin and cephalexin. Presence of plasmids is not mandatory for occurrence of multiple drug resistance in S. enterica strains.
Baicalin induces NAD(P)H:quinone reductase through the transactivation of AP-1 and NF-&kgr;B in Hepa 1c1c7 cells

Baicalin (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone-7-O-D-glucuronic acid, BA) is a flavone isolated from Scutellariae radix. In our previous report BA was a major active principle of NAD(P)H:quinone reductase (QR) induction mediated by Scutellariae radix extract and the induction was related to the transcriptional activation of the QR gene in Hepa 1c1c7 cells. The primary aim of the present study was to determine the molecular mechanism of QR gene expression by baicalin. The antioxidant or electrophile response element (ARE/EpRE) found at the 5′-flanking region of phase II genes may play an important role in mediating their induction by xenobiotics, including chemopreventive agents. In accordance, to study the molecular mechanisms of QR gene expression by BA, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), using nuclear extracts of treated and untreated cells against ARE, activator protein-1 (AP-1) or nuclear factor-&kgr;B (NF-&kgr;B) binding sites, showed that BA increased the binding levels of the parameters in a dose-dependent manner. Further, Hepa 1c1c7 cells were transiently transfected with a plasmid containing three copies of the AP-1- or NF-&kgr;B-binding site linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Using the CAT reporter gene assay, a dose-dependent transactivation of AP-1- or NF-&kgr;B-mediated CAT expression was observed with the treatment of BA. These results clearly indicate that BA induces the QR gene expression and activity by transactivation of AP-1 and NF-&kgr;B, and thus BA may be considered as a potential cancer chemopreventive agent with the induction of phase II detoxification enzyme.
Modeling and Using Context for System Development: Lessons from Experience

Over ten years a community on context has emerged. There is now series of conference on context, a web site and a mailing list. The number of web pages containing the word “context” has been multiplied by four in the last five years (more than two millions up to now). Being among the main instigators of the use of context in artificial intelligence and in decision support system, we present in this paper the evolution of our thoughts over the last ten years and the results obtained about context representation. This experience leads us to introduce the notion of contextual graphs which are used in an application called SART. Moreover, this paper sums up and gives some comments on the papers we published during these last years.
Evaluation of Electron Beam Tomographic Coronary Arteriography with Three-Dimensional Reconstruction in Healthy Subjects

In this study, the authors evaluated the performance characteristics of contrast-enhanced electron-beam tomography (EBT) with three-dimensional reconstruction in defining the coronary artery lumen in healthy subjects. Thirty patients with normal coronary angiograms by selective coronary arteriography (SCA) underwent contrast-enhanced EBT examination. Measured parameters included degree of luminal enhancement, intravascular contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and diameter and length of visualized lumen. Ventricular cavity, aortic blood pool, and coronary artery attenuation were found to be significantly different before and after intravenous injection of contrast material (p < 0.001). CNR decreased from proximal to distal segments within each vessel (p < 0.001), with a peak of 11.2 ±2.3 occurring in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) to a low of 4.8 2.0 in the distal left circumflex (LCX). Luminal diameters visualized by EBT had no significant difference with that of SCA (p > 0.05). Therefore, EBT angiography with three-dimensional reconstruction allows for noninva sive coronary arteriography revealing long segments of the major coronary arteries in normal subjects.
Elevated Expression of Heat Shock Factor (HSF) 2A Stimulates HSF1-induced Transcription during Stress*

Heat shock factor 2 (HSF2) belongs to a family of structurally related transcription factors, which share the property of binding to heat shock elements in the promoters of hsp molecular chaperone genes. However, unlike HSF1, which is essential for hsp gene transcription, the cellular functions of HSF2 are not well known. Here we show that human HSF2, although an ineffective activator of the hsp70 promoter in vitro and in vivo in the absence of stress, participates in the activation of the hsp70 promoter by heat shock. HSF2 was not, however, activated by heat shock in cells deficient in functional HSF1, suggesting a requirement for HSF1 in HSF2-mediated transcriptional enhancement. In addition, HSF2 regulation involves differential activity of two isoforms, HSF2A and HSF2B, which arise from alternative splicing of a common hsf2 gene. Under basal conditions, both HSF2 isoforms are ineffective in activating the hsp70 transcription. However, heat shock differentially activates HSF2A in vivo. This phenomenon appears to be physiologically significant, as human myeloprogenitor cells differentiating along the erythroid lineage express HSF2A de novo and undergo a large increase in capacity to activate the hsp70 promoter. Our experiments further show that HSF1 is physically associated with HSF2 in the cell and that such binding is enhanced by heat shock. Our data suggest a mechanism involving the formation of heterocomplexes between HSF1 and HSF2 with enhanced activity to activate the hsp70 promoter when compared with HSF1 or HSF2 homotrimers.
The replication-competent oncolytic herpes simplex mutant virus NV1066 is effective in the treatment of esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND The oncolytic herpes simplex-1 virus, NV1066, is a replication-competent virus that has been engineered to infect and lyse tumor cells selectively and to carry a transgene for enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The purpose of this study was to determine viral cytotoxicity in an esophageal cancer cell line and to determine whether EGFP expression could be used as a marker of viral infection. METHODS BE3 esophageal adenocarcinoma cells were infected with NV1066 in vitro to determine cell kill and viral replication. EGFP expression was assessed by flow cytometry. The in vivo anti-tumor activity of NV1066 was tested in subcutaneous and intraperitoneal xenograft models. EGFP expression was localized in vivo by fluorescent microscopy and fluorescent laparoscopy. RESULTS NV1066 effectively replicated within and killed BE3 cells in vitro and in vivo. EGFP expression identified infected tumor cells. After NV1066 treatment in vivo, EGFP expression localized to the tumor. In an intraperitoneal tumor model, EGFP could be visualized endoscopically using a laparoscope with a fluorescent filter. CONCLUSIONS NV1066 has oncolytic activity against the BE3 cell line and may be a useful therapy against esophageal cancer. EGFP expression localizes the virus and may help to identify tumor deposits in vivo. Oncolytic activity with NV1066 against gastrointestinal cancers may potentially be tracked by endoscopy.
Travelling Through Pitch Space Speeds up Musical Time

SEVERAL MODELS OF TIME ESTIMATION HAVE BEEN developed in psychology; a few have been applied to music. In the present study, we assess the influence of the distances travelled through pitch space on retrospective time estimation. Participants listened to an isochronous chord sequence of 20-s duration. They were unexpectedly asked to reproduce the time interval of the sequence. The harmonic structure of the stimulus was manipulated so that the sequence either remained in the same key (CC) or travelled through a closely related key (CFC) or distant key (CGbC). Estimated times were shortened when the sequence modulated to a very distant key. This finding is discussed in light of Lerdahl9s Tonal Pitch Space Theory (2001), Firmino and Bueno9s Expected Development Fraction Model (in press), and models of time estimation.