Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age of onset of drinking and the use of alcohol in adulthood: a follow-up study from age 8-42 for females and males.

AIM To investigate longitudinally for both genders the relation between the age of onset of drinking and several indicators of alcohol use. DESIGN AND SETTING In the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, data have been collected by interviews, inventories, and questionnaires. Data on alcohol consumption was gathered at ages 14, 20, 27, 36 and 42 years; behavioural data at age 8. PARTICIPANTS A total of 155 women and 176 men; 90.4% of the original sample consisting of 12 complete school classes in 1968. MEASUREMENTS The age of onset of drinking was determined based on participants' responses that were closest to the actual age of onset of drinking. Four indicators of the adult use of alcohol were used: frequency of drinking, binge drinking, Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener (CAGE) and Malmö modified Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Mm-MAST). Socio-emotional behaviour at age 8 was assessed using teacher ratings and peer nominations. FINDINGS Early onset of drinking was related to the four indicators of the use of alcohol in adulthood both in men and women. The level of adult alcohol use and alcohol problems was significantly higher in men. The risk for heavy drinking was highest in men and women if drinking was started at less than age 16 years. Socio-emotional behaviour and school success at age 8 did not predict the age of onset of drinking. CONCLUSIONS Delaying the initiation of drinking from early adolescence to late adolescence is an important goal for prevention efforts. No clear risk group for early initiators of drinking could be identified on the basis of preceding behaviour among 8-year-olds.
Linkage Among Genes Controlling Inhibition of Lysis in a Bacterial Virus.

Experiments in which bacterial cells are simultaneously infected with two different viruses of the T2 serological group have suggested that both can grow in the same cell,' and that interaction between them produces new genetic types of virus.2' 3 Further experiments, in which the mixed clones of virus coming from single bacterial cells were examined, have confirmed these inferences, and indicate that the new types arise only in those bacteria in which both viruses succeed in growing freely. These experiments are being continued in an effort to learn something about the mechanism of genetic interaction, and will not be reported in further detail at this time. In this paper we wish to describe a new series of mutations in the bacterial virus T2H,1 discovered in connection with the experiments mentioned above, which point to the operation in this virus of a system of genetic linkage. The virus T2H, like all its relatives, exists in the form of a lysis-inhibiting wild type (r+) and an r (for rapidly lysing) mutant phenotype, which has lost the lysis-inhibiting character. ' The principal new finding to be reported here is that all the independently arising r mutants of T2H that we have examined are genetically different. The basic observations may be summarized as follows. A genetic difference between two r mutants is shown when bacteria infected with both liberate viral progeny containing a measurable proportion of lysis-inhibiting types, whereas bacteria infected with the same number of particles of either mutant alone yield only r viral progeny. The experimental procedure used is the one-step growth experiment of Delbruick and Luria, with mixed multiple infection, carried out as described earlier.1 For simplicity of language, we shall speak of this experiment as a cross, described as heterologous when new types appear among the yield of virus, and homologous when only the parent types are recovered. Certain details of the method require mention. First of all, one examines by it not the progeny of a genetic cross strictly speaking, but simply a mixed population of virus growing in the same community. The crosses reported in this paper were so arranged that the yield of virus examined came from about 40,000 mixedly infected bacteria. Variations in yields from individual bacteria4 are thus left out of account. Care was taken to ensure adequate and equal multiplicity of infection, with respect both to titers of VOL. 34, 1948 89
Chromosomal Location Plays a Role in Regulation of Aflatoxin Gene Expression in Aspergillus parasiticus

ABSTRACT The nor-1 gene in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus parasiticus encodes a ketoreductase involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis. To study environmental influences on nor-1 expression, we generated plasmid pAPGUSNNB containing a nor-1 promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) (encoded by uidA) reporter fusion with niaD (encodes nitrate reductase) as a selectable marker. niaD transformants of A. parasiticus strain NR-1 (niaD) carried pAPGUSNNB integrated predominantly at the nor-1 or niaD locus. Expression of the native nor-1 and nor-1::GUS reporter was compared in transformants grown under aflatoxin-inducing conditions by Northern and Western analyses and by qualitative and quantitative GUS activity assays. The timing and level of nor-1 promoter function with pAPGUSNNB integrated at nor-1 was similar to that observed for the native nor-1 gene. In contrast, nor-1 promoter activity in pAPGUSNNB and a second nor-1::GUS reporter construct, pBNG3.0, was not detectable when integration occurred at niaD. Because niaD-dependent regulation could account for the absence of expression at niaD, a third chromosomal location was analyzed using pAPGUSNP, which contained nor-1::GUS plus pyrG (encodes OMP decarboxylase) as a selectable marker. GUS expression was detectable only when pAPGUSNP integrated at nor-1 and was not detectable at pyrG, even under growth conditions that required pyrG expression. nor-1::GUS is regulated similarly to the native nor-1 gene when it is integrated at its homologous site within the aflatoxin gene cluster but is not expressed at native nor-1 levels at two locations outside of the aflatoxin gene cluster. We conclude that the GUS reporter system can be used effectively to measure nor-1 promoter activity and that nor-1 is subject to position-dependent regulation in the A. parasiticus chromosome.
Kuhn, Hennrich, and Rempe Reply:

Reply to the comment of H. J. Kimble [quant-ph/0210032] on the experiment realizing a "deterministic single-photon source for distributed quantum networking" by Kuhn, Hennrich, and Rempe [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 067901 (2002), quant-ph/0204147].
Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth--isolation, long term cultivation and phenotypical analysis.

AIMS Our aims were to isolate stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED), to cultivate them in vitro and to investigate their basic biological properties, phenotype and to compare our findings with dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) isolated from permanent teeth. METHODS Dental pulp was gently evacuated from exfoliated teeth. After enzymatic dissociation of dental pulp, SHED were cultivated in modified cultivation media for mesenchymal adult progenitor cells containing 2% FCS and supplemented with growth factors and insulin, transferrin, sodium (ITS) supplement. Cell viability and other biological properties were examined using a Vi-Cell analyzer and a Z2-Counter. DNA analyses and phenotyping were performed with flow cytometry. RESULTS We were able to cultivate SHED over 45 population doublings. Our results showed that SHED cultivated under same conditions as DPSC had longer average population doubling time (41.3 hrs for SHED vs. 24.5 hrs for DPSC). Phenotypic comparison of cultivated SHED to that of cultivated DPSC showed differential expression CD29, CD44, CD71, CD117, CD 166. During long-term cultivation, SHED did not showed any signs of degeneration or spontaneous differentiation. CONCLUSIONS We isolated stem cells from exfoliated teeth. In comparison to DPSC, SHED proliferation rate was about 50% slower, and SHED showed slightly different phenotype. These cells may be extremely useful for stem cell tissue banking, further stem cell research and future therapeutic applications.
Sensitivity and Specificity of the Medical Priority Dispatch System in Detecting Cardiac Arrest Emergency Calls in Melbourne

Abstract Introduction: In Australia, cardiac arrest kills 142 out of every 100,000 people each year; with only 3–4% of out-of-hospital patients with cardiac arrest in Melbourne surviving to hospital discharge. Prompt initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, and advanced cardiac care greatly improves the chances of survival from cardiac arrest. A critical step in survival is identifying by the emergency ambulance dispatcher potential of the probability that the person is in cardiac arrest. The Melbourne Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) uses the computerized call-taking system, Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), to triage incoming, emergency, requests for ambulance responses. The MPDS is used in many emergency medical systems around the world, however, there is little published evidence of the system's efficacy. Objective: This study attempts to undertake a sensitivity/specificity analysis to determine the ability of MPDS to detect cardiac arrest. Methods: Emergency ambulance dispatch records of all cases identified as suspected cardiac arrest by MPDS were matched with ambulance, patient-care records and records from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry to determine the number of correctly identified cardiac arrests. Additionally, cases that had cardiac arrests, but were not identified correctly at the point of call-taking, were examined. All data were collected retrospectively for a three-month period (01 January through 31 March 2003). Results: The sensitivity of MPDS in detecting cardiac arrest was 76.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 73.6%–79.8%) and specificity was 99.2% (95% CI: 99.1–99.3%). These results indicate that cardiac arrests are correctly identified in 76.7% of cases. Conclusion: Although the system correctly identified 76.7% of cardiac arrest cases, the number of false negatives suggests that there is room for improvement in recognition by MPDS to maximize chances for survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study provides an objective and comprehensive measurement of the accuracy of MPDS cardiac-arrest detection in Melbourne, as well as providing a baseline for comparison with subsequent changes to the MPDS.
Rôles du couple TrkB/BDNF et de l’autophagie dans la survie de cellules de cancer colorectal

Le cancer colorectal (CCR) est le premier cancer digestif dans les pays occidentaux. Malgre les progres therapeutiques realises au cours des deux dernieres decennies, la survie relative a 5 ans ne depasse pas 56%, et s’abaisse a 11,3% pour les patients metastatiques. Le pronostic est lie au stade de developpement de la maladie au moment du diagnostic. Les deces sont en rapport avec une resistance primaire de la masse tumorale aux therapies, ou la survenue de recidive, en rapport avec une maladie microscopique residuelle, non controlee par les therapies systemiques adjuvantes. Le travail realise au sein de notre laboratoire portant sur deux voies de signalisation met en leurs roles dans le CCR : les neurotrophines (NTs, facteurs de croissance impliques dans la survie des cellules cancereuses) et l’autophagie (processus de recyclage cellulaire implique dans la resistance au stress). Le but de cette etude a ete d’analyser la part de ces deux voies dans la survie des cellules du cancer colo-rectal et l’impact de leur inhibition sur le devenir cellulaire et l’evolution tumorale. L’etude a ete menee sur deux lignees cellulaires provenant du meme patient : SW480 (tumeur primaire) et SW620 (invasion ganglionnaire), aussi utilisees pour la realisation de greffes sous cutanees sur le modele murin Nude. De plus, la presence de principales proteines des NTs (TrkB) et de l’autophagie (LC3) a ete analysee dans les tissus de patients. Des travaux precedents menes sur des cultures de CCR ont montre que la surexpression de TrkB etait associee a la survie cellulaire. Nous avons donc choisi d’inhiber la voie des NTs avec le K252a (100nM). Sur culture cellulaire de CCR, in vitro, l’inactivation de la voie PI3K / AKT, induit une activation de l’autophagie. A l’oppose, le blocage du flux autophagique par une approche pharmacologique (avec la chloroquine, CQ ; 25µM) ou par une approche transcriptomique (siRNA anti-ATG5) induit une suractivation de la signalisation des NTs, via le couple TrkB/BDNF. Ainsi, les deux voies de survie se compensent mutuellement et la double inhibition permet l’amelioration de l’effet des simples traitements. L’utilisation des deux inhibiteurs in vivo induit une reduction spectaculaire du volume tumoral (voire meme la disparition dans certains cas). Finalement, la presence de la forme active du TrkB (phospho TrkB) et de la forme active de la LC3 (LC3II), demontrant l’activation de ces deux voies dans les tissus de patients, a ete observee. L’ensemble de ces resultats montre que l’activation des voies des NTs et de l’autophagie contribue a la survie des cellules de CCR. L’approche qui consiste a la double inhibition des NTs et de l’autophagie pourrait etre un point majeur pour le developpement de nouvelles therapies dans le CCR.
Transformerless Three-Level DC-DC Buck Converter with a High Step-Down Conversion Ratio

For high power high step-down dc-dc conversion applications, conventional three-level dc-dc converters are subject to extreme duty cycles or increased volume and cost due to the use of transformers. In this paper, a transformerless three-level dc-dc buck converter with a high step-down conversion ratio is proposed. The converter comprises two asymmetrical half bridges, which are of the neutral point clamped structures. Therefore, the output pulse voltage of the converter can be obtained in terms of the voltage difference between the two half bridges. In order to realize harmonious switching of the converter, a modulation strategy with capacitor voltages self balance is presented. According to the deduced output dc voltage function, transformerless operation without extreme duty cycles can be implemented. Experimental results from a 1kW prototype verify the validity of the proposed converter. It is suitable for ship electric power distribution systems.
Medial entorhinal cortex activates in a traveling wave

Traveling waves of cortical activity are hypothesized to organize cortical information processing and support interregional communication. Yet, it remains unknown whether interacting areas exhibit the matched traveling waves necessary to support this hypothesized form of interaction. Here, we show that the strongly-interacting medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and hippocampus exhibit matched traveling waves. We demonstrate that both the field potential and spiking in the MEC exhibit prominent 6-12 Hz ‘theta’ traveling waves matching those of the hippocampus. The theta phase shifts observed along the MEC were accounted for largely by variation in waveform asymmetry. From this, we hypothesize that that gradients in local physiology underlie both the generation of MEC traveling waves and the functional variations observed previously across the MEC.
The Future of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Specific Antigens/Peptides in Tuberculin Skin Testing for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

Copyright: © 2014 Mustafa AS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. A large proportion (about 80%) of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden is found in industrializing and poor countries of Asia and Africa, and children are the most vulnerable part of the population [1]. In these regions, and among the disadvantaged group of people, it is not easy to obtain blood samples and performhighly sophisticated in vitro laboratory tests that may not improve the diagnostic efficacy already established by using tuberculin skin test (TST) [2]. Since TST requires minimum laboratory facilities, skin testing remains an attractive alternative in countries with high endemicity of TB. Furthermore, the TST is commonly performed in these settings, and healthcare professionals in these countries are already experienced in injecting the reagents and reading results. Therefore, availability of improved and specific skin test reagents, to be used in TST, is expected to enhance TB control in developing and high burden countries.
Pheochromocytoma with reversible renal artery stenosis.

Pheochnomocytoma is a well-recognized cause of renal artery stenosis with at least 25 cases reported in the English literature. In approximately 75% of these cases the pheochnomocytoma arose from the lumbar sympathetic chain on the side of the stenosis and in the region of the renal hilum. In the others the tumor involved the ipsilateral adrenal gland and often extended into the renal hilum. The stenoses were frequently attributed to compression on stretching of the renal artery by the tumor. We describe a patient in whom renal artery stenosis regressed following treatment with propranolol and phenoxybenzamine , suggesting an adnenergic mechanism as the cause.
Declarative and interrogative Mandarin intonation by native speakers and Cantonese L2 learners

This study compared sentence intonation of L1 Mandarin by native speakers and L2 Mandarin by Cantonese learners, with both acoustic analysis and perceptual experiment. Three types of sentences (i.e., statement, intonation question, and particle question) ending with different tones and in different lengths were investigated. The perceptual experiment showed that declarative intonation in L2 speech was better identified than in L1 speech, which could be explained by the more prominent F0 declination in L2 speech. In contrast, interrogative intonation in L2 speech had a lower rate of identification than in L1 speech, and the differences in rate varied with the sentence-final tone. Acoustic analysis showed that global F0 raising for questions was weaker in L2 speech than in L1 speech, especially in longer sentences, while sentence-final F0 raising was relatively well maintained in L2 speech. Perceptual and acoustic studies showed consistent results on L2 intonation errors, which could be explained by the limited language abilities and language transfer effects.
ChaNgEs aND CyTOkERaTIN 14 DIsTRIbUTION IN aMElOblasTs Of DIabETIC RaTs ’ MaNDIbUlaR INCIsOR

AbstrAct Complications of diabetes mellitus that affect the different body organs represent an increasing threat because of the increasing prevalence of this condition worldwide. As rodent incisors are continuously growing teeth that include all stages of amelogenesis, they could be used as a model for the effect of diabetes on tooth development. In the present experimental study, we analyzed the ameloblasts and the enamel surface of the mandibular incisors of rats with Streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Materials and Methods: Groups consisted of 30 streptozotocin induced diabetic albino rat and 15 controls in which sterile saline solution was administered instead of streptozotocin. The enamel surface of the rats’ mandibular incisor was analyzed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The ameloblasts were examined histollogically by the light microscope and immunohistochemically by Cytokeratin 14 (K14) detection. Results: By SEM the enamel surface showed variable degrees of hypoplasia ranging from mild to severe hypoplasia. By the light microscopy, the ameloblasts demonstrated shrinkage, cytoplasmic vacuolization and smaller nuclei than those of the control group. There was also widening of the intercellular spaces. In addition, the immunohistochemical staining pattern for K14 was altered in ameloblasts of the diabetic rats. Conclusions: Diabetes may have a detrimental influence on the function of ameloblasts in laying down enamel causing morphological changes in enamel and suggesting a reduction in secretion and mineralization.
The administration of anesthetic in the thyroid pericapsular region increases the possibility of side effects during percutaneous laser photocoagulation of thyroid nodules

Nodular thyroid disease is very frequent in iodine‐deficient areas affecting at least 50% of the population. Percutaneous laser ablation (LA) represents an effective method and an alternative to conventional surgery. Since the first description of the LA methodology for thyroid nodules, various studies have suggested some modifications to increase the percentage of volume reduction of the nodules. One of these alternatives involves the injection of anesthetic in the pericapsular thyroid space with detachment of the capsule itself from the surrounding tissue. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate whether using local anesthetic during LA is more effective in reducing volume size of treated nodules, and whether it causes fewer side effects than using no local anesthesia.
LightCycler®‐based quantitative real‐time PCR monitoring of patients with follicular lymphoma receiving rituximab in combination with conventional or high‐dose cytotoxic chemotherapy

Abstract: Objectives: Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a suitable method to measure residual disease in hematological malignancies. Our objective was to assess a LightCycler®‐based qPCR for t(14;18)(q32;q21)(IgH/bcl‐2)‐positive cells quantification in the context of clinical and morphopathological characteristics of patients with follicular lymphoma treated with rituximab (R) in combination with conventional or high‐dose chemotherapy. Methods: A total of 270 bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) samples collected from 52 patients with follicular lymphoma at diagnosis or at relapse before or sequentially during therapy were examined by qPCR and nested‐PCR. Results: A greater amount of t(14;18)‐positive cells was observed in BM in comparison with PB in 76% of paired samples. The presence and number of t(14;18)‐positive cells in BM and PB correlated with lymphoma activity. Significantly higher numbers of lymphoma cells were found in patients under non‐remission compared with patients in clinical remission. During non‐remission, 10‐fold higher numbers were measured at relapse than at diagnosis. During remission, significantly higher levels were found in partial compared with complete remission. During first‐line therapy, R/cyclophosphamide/adriamycin/vincristine/prednisone (CHOP) had higher in vivo purging ability than R/fludarabine/mitoxantrone (FM). After R/high‐dose cytosine‐arabinoside and mitoxantrone (HAM) or R/carmustine/etoposide/cytarabine/melphalan (BEAM), the level of t(14;18)‐positive cells dropped below the detection limit in 80% of patients. Conclusions: LightCycler® qPCR is a reliable method for quantitative molecular monitoring of t(14;18)‐positive cells in BM and PB of patients with follicular lymphoma. It reflects the clinical characteristics of patients and allows assessment of response to different treatment regimens on a molecular level.