Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Confabulation in schizophrenia: A neuropsychological study

Abstract Confabulation has been documented in schizophrenia, but its neuropsychological correlates appear to be different from those of confabulation in neurological disease states. Forty-five schizophrenic patients and 37 controls were administered a task requiring them to recall fables. They also underwent testing with a range of memory and executive tasks. The patients with schizophrenia produced significantly more confabulations than the controls. After correcting for multiple comparisons, confabulation was not significantly associated with memory impairment, and was associated with impairment on only one of eight executive measures, the Brixton Test. Confabulation scores were also associated with impairment on two semantic memory tests. Confabulation was correlated with intrusion errors in recall, but not false positive errors in a recognition task. The findings suggest that confabulation in schizophrenia is unrelated to the episodic memory impairment seen in the disorder. However, the association with a circumscribed deficit in executive function could be consistent with a defective strategic retrieval account of confabulation similar to that of Moscovitch and co-workers, interacting with defective semantic memory. (JINS, 2010, 16, 1018–1026.)
GABAergic and Glutamatergic Afferents in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus Mediate Morphine-Induced Increases in Serotonin Efflux in the Rat Central Nervous System

To characterize the effects of morphine on serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system, we used microdialysis in freely behaving rats. Subcutaneous injection of morphine sulfate produced a dose-dependent increase in extracellular 5-HT in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and a forebrain site, the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). To determine the site of action for this effect, the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone was infused into either the DRN or NAcc. Naltrexone infusion (300 μM) into the DRN but not the NAcc attenuated the increase in 5-HT elicited by systemic morphine (20 mg/kg). This suggests that morphine acts in the DRN to alter the activity of 5-HT neurons that project to NAcc. Consistent with this conclusion, infusion of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline (100 μM) into the DRN but not the NAcc also blocked the effect of systemic morphine. Similarly, the effect of systemic morphine was blocked by infusion into the DRN of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol (30 μM) and attenuated by the GABAB receptor agonist (±)-baclofen (100 μM). This provides evidence that morphine indirectly influences 5-HT release via opioid receptors on GABAergic neurons in the DRN. A new finding is that ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists [kynurenate or a mixture of (±)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid and 6,7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione] infused in the DRN also attenuated the effect of systemic morphine. These results suggest that morphine acts on GABAergic and glutamatergic afferents to indirectly influence the activity of 5-HT neurons in the DRN. Understanding the details of this neural circuitry may provide new leads for treatment of opiate addiction.
From Market Integration to Core State Powers: The Eurozone Crisis, the Refugee Crisis and Integration Theory

The Eurozone crisis and the refugee crisis are showcases of the problems associated with the EU’s shift from market integration to the integration of core state powers. The integration of core state powers responds to similar functional demand factors as market integration (interdependence, externalities and spill-over) but its supply is more tightly constrained by a high propensity for zero-sum conflict, a functional requirement for centralized fiscal, coercive and administrative capacities, and high political salience. We show how these constraints structured the initial design of EMU and Schengen, made them vulnerable to crisis, and shaped policy options during the crises: they made horizontal differentiation unattractive, re-regulation ineffective, centralized risk and burden sharing unfeasible and the externalization of adjustment burden to non-EU actors necessary by default. In conclusion, we explore possible escape routes from the trap.
Early results and medium-term follow-up of stent implantation for mild residual or recurrent aortic coarctation.

BACKGROUND Optimal timing and mode of treatment for patients with aortic coarctation remains controversial, particularly when the degree of obstruction is mild. Surgery, balloon dilatation, and stent implantation have all proven effective in the treatment of moderate or severe obstruction. In this report, we describe the use of stents to treat coarctation in a heterogeneous population, including patients with relatively mild obstruction. METHODS Retrospectively, we studied the results of stent implantation in 33 patients, children and young adults, who underwent catheterization for treatment of coarctation. Patients with isolated coarctation, as well as those with associated cardiac defects, were included. The median systolic pressure gradient of our patients was 25 mm Hg. RESULTS Patients had an acute decrease in systolic blood pressure gradient (25 mm Hg to 5 mm Hg, P <.001) and an increase in lumen diameter (8 mm to 13 mm, P <.001). When 16 patients were recatheterized during the follow-up period, gradients remained decreased (30 mm Hg to 14 mm Hg, P <.001) compared with prestent values. Ventricular end-diastolic pressure, which was increased in 82% of patients at the time of initial catheterization, decreased from 17 mm Hg to 14 mm Hg (P =.002). Although the procedure was generally safe, serious complications did occur. CONCLUSIONS Stent implantation represents a therapeutic option that can safely and effectively reduce gradient in challenging patients with mild postoperative coarctation. Furthermore, our data suggest that aortic obstruction often coexists with ventricular diastolic dysfunction in these patients and that relief of obstruction may play a role in improvement of function.
Relationship Between Plasma Leptin, Insulin and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha in Obese Children

OBJECTIVES 1. To evaluate the relationship between plasma leptin and TNFalpha concentrations in obese children and to assess the differences between hyperinsulinemic and normoinsulinemic groups. 2. To evaluate the relationship between plasma leptin and insulin levels in obese children. 3. To investigate the TNFalpha G308A mutation in obese children. METHODS Body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels, oral glucose tolerance test results, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) results, and plasma leptin and TNFalpha concentrations were evaluated in obese children (n = 45) and age- and gender-matched, lean healthy controls (n = 40). RESULTS In obese children the fasting insulin, HOMA-IR results, plasma leptin and TNFalpha concentrations were significantly higher than in controls (p <0.05). Furthermore, obese females showed higher plasma leptin and insulin resistance compared to obese males. While plasma leptin, TNFalpha levels and HOMA-IR results were similar in the prepubertal and pubertal groups, insulin levels were significantly higher in the pubertal group. Plasma leptin and TNFalpha concentrations were similar in hyperinsulinemic and normoinsulinemic obese children. In control children, plasma leptin concentrations showed a positive correlation with BMI, age, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR results. In obese children, plasma leptin levels did not correlate with BMI, fasting insulin or TNFalpha. CONCLUSION Plasma leptin concentrations did not show any correlation with TNFalpha levels in obese children. Furthermore, plasma leptin and TNFalpha concentrations were similar in hyperinsulinemic and normoinsulinemic obese children.
Genetic and biochemical evaluation of eucaryotic membrane protein topology: multiple transmembrane domains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase

Both 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase isozymes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are predicted to contain seven membrane-spanning domains. Previous work had established the utility of the histidinol dehydrogenase protein domain, encoded by HIS4C, as a topologically sensitive monitor that can be used to distinguish between the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum and the cytoplasm. This study directly tested the structural predictions for HMG-CoA reductase by fusing the HIS4C domain to specific sites in the HMG-CoA reductase isozymes. Yeast cells containing the HMG-CoA reductase-histidinol dehydrogenase fusion proteins grew on histidinol-containing medium if the HIS4C domain was present on the cytoplasmic side of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane but not if the HIS4C domain was targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen. Systematic exchanges of transmembrane domains between the isozymes confirmed that both isozymes had equivalent membrane topologies. In general, deletion of an even number of putative transmembrane domains did not interfere with the topology of the protein, but deletion or duplication of an odd number of transmembrane domains inverted the orientation of the protein. The data confirmed the earlier proposed topology for yeast HMG-CoA reductase, demonstrated that the yeast enzymes are core glycosylated, and provided in vivo evidence that the properties of transmembrane domains were, in part, dependent upon their context within the protein.
Budgeting Beyond Budgeting

While for quite a long time the budget was considered a crucial management tool, it has always been subject to criticism. The criticism has become stronger in the past couple of decades, with an alternative system going by the trade name Beyond Budgeting. In this paper, we review the history and foundations of budgeting to show how, typically, criticism of budgeting has addressed a bad management style and not the technique itself. Then an example is given of how budgeting can be used to a firm's advantage in many fields but mainly so it can avoid unpleasant surprises, create trust between the firm's different hierarchical levels, and enhance learning in the positive sense. This allows the firm to avoid the vicious circles that are often found in budgeting practice because of bad management, not because of the budgets themselves.
Theory of Q‐ball imaging redux: Implications for fiber tracking

Q‐ball imaging is widely used to determine fiber directions for fiber tracking. In q‐ball imaging the directional dependence of water diffusion in tissue is described by Tuch's orientation distribution function (ODF); a different function, the q‐ball orientation distribution function, is measured using high angular resolution magnetic resonance diffusion imaging (HARDI). Tuch's ODF is assumed to be well approximated by the q‐ball ODF. In this study it is shown that: 1) the q‐ball ODF is not a good approximation to Tuch's ODF; 2) the properties of the q‐ball ODF depend strongly on q, the area of the diffusion sensitization gradients; and 3) the q‐ball ODF for a composite system is the weighted average of the q‐ball ODFs for each subsystem, but the weighting factor is the product of the percent composition and a renormalization factor. In addition, a derivation is presented of the q‐ball ODF for a system described by a Gaussian distribution and expressions are derived for both the dependence of the angular resolution on q and for the relation between the angular resolution and the signal loss. These findings might be useful in the design and interpretation of fiber‐tracking experiments. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Role of autophagy and mTOR signaling in neural differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Autophagy is involved in cell differentiation. We present evidence that autophagy is activated during β‐mercaptoethanol (β‐ME)‐induced neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), in which mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is important. mTOR activity declined after being transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Using 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) and rapamycin to regulate the activity of mTOR, it was found that the efficiency of neuronal differentiation was affected.
Total lymphocyte count as a surrogate for CD4+ lymphocyte count in African patients coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis.

In South Africa researchers compared the concurrent total lymphocyte counts (TLCs) and CD4+ T cell counts of 128 HIV positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) with those of 703 HIV positive patients without TB to determine the practicality of TLCs as a marker of severe immunosuppression in patients with HIV and TB. They decided to examine this possibility because CD4+ T cells increase markedly in HIV infected people after standard TB therapy. The positive predictive value (PPV) of a low TLC for <200 CD4+ T cells/cu. mm in the presence of TB was significantly higher than that in the absence of TB (0.97 vs. 0.77; p < 0.001). A predominant decrease of CD4+ T cells caused by TB relative to CD8+ T cells might account for the increased PPV. In HIV patients with TB a TLC of <1250 cells/cu. mm has a better PPV than that of <1500 cells/cu. mm (0.96 vs. 0.27; p < 0.001). Thus a TLC of <1250 cells/cu. mm is the more appropriate surrogate marker for CD4+ T lymphopenia. This is especially relevant in developing countries where few facilities have access to flow cytometry and TB is a common opportunistic infection in HIV infected persons.
Refugee Versus Economic Immigrant Labor Market Assimilation in the United States: A Case Study of Vietnamese Refugees

The United States has long been the leading destination for immigration. In 2014, there were more than 42 million immigrants in the US, which constitutes 13.3% of the total population in the country (Zong & Batalova, 2016). Of these different immigrant groups, one group in particular has received increasing attention from labor economists: refugees. Unlike economic immigrants who moved to the United States for better economic opportunities, refugees fled to the United States to escape persecution in their home country. In other words, economic immigrants chose to come to the US under their free will, whereas refugees did not have much liberty to choose when and where they would be resettled for humanitarian purposes. Hence, economic immigrants and refugees differ primarily based on the length of time and variety of resources they have at their home country to prepare for settlement in the United States, namely acquiring English skills to increase the likelihood of employment. Refugees are likely to have less time and fewer resources to gain such US-specific skills prior to immigration and therefore be disadvantaged in the US labor market. It is hence important for policymakers to understand how the refugees fare in the United States to formulate better humanitarian resettlement programs. This paper aims to investigate how refugees perform in the US labor market in relation to economic immigrants, while controlling for demographic and human capital variables. The paper is organized in the following order: literature review, theoretical model, data/ empirical model, empirical results, and conclusion. This article is available in The Park Place Economist: https://digitalcommons.iwu. edu/parkplace/vol25/iss1/19
Effect of organic production and fertilizer variables on the sensory properties of pac choi (Brassica rapa var. Mei Qing Choi) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. Bush Celebrity).

BACKGROUND The increased popularity of organic production has amplified the need for research that will help in understanding how this production system affects the final quality of vegetables. The effects of organic and conventional production on the sensory characteristics of pac choi (often called bok choy) and tomato were studied. Samples were grown in high tunnel and field environments at the Kansas State University Horticulture Research Center located in Olathe, Kansas. Highly trained descriptive panelists from the Sensory Analysis Center at Kansas State University used previously developed flavor lexicons for tomatoes and leafy greens to evaluate the samples. RESULTS ANOVA at a 95% confidence level was used to detect significant differences between treatments for individual attributes. Crispness, green-grassy/leafy, piney, and pungent attributes were normally higher in conventional pac choi only for the field samples. Pac choi grown in high tunnels showed slight differences only at individual amounts of fertilizer. Organic tomatoes grown in the field were generally juicier and less mealy compared to conventionally grown tomatoes. In the high tunnel, organic tomatoes were generally stronger in the characteristic tomato aroma. However, all differences generally were very small. CONCLUSION It can be concluded that organic and conventional production systems do not create major sensory differences in the vegetables evaluated. The few differences that do exist are so small they may not be of practical importance.
Ultrasensitive Plasmonic Imaging Sensor Based on Graphene and Silicon

We propose an ultrasensitive, accurate, and cost effective surface plasmon resonance sensor based on graphene-on-aluminum and silicon. An angular interrogation method has been theoretically used to study the performance of the sensor in terms of imaging sensitivity, which quantifies the rate of change of slopes of the reflectance curve close to resonance angle. Different optimized design parameters have been reported. It is found that the imaging sensitivity of an aluminum-based sensor is 750% greater than gold, the most widely used SPR active metal. However, graphene-on-aluminum not only prevents the aluminum oxidation but, a monolayer of graphene-on-aluminum exhibits ~400% larger imaging sensitivity compared to that of a conventional gold-film based SPR sensor.
Child-Mediated Stroke Communication: Findings From Hip Hop Stroke

Background and Purpose— Low thrombolysis rates for acute ischemic stroke are linked to delays in seeking immediate treatment due to low public stroke awareness. We aimed to assess whether “Child-Mediated Stroke Communication” could improve stroke literacy of parents of children enrolled in a school-based stroke literacy program called Hip Hop Stroke. Methods— Parents of children aged 9 to 12 years from 2 public schools in Harlem, New York City, were recruited to participate in stroke literacy questionnaires before and after their child's participation in Hip Hop Stroke, a novel Child-Mediated Stroke Communication intervention delivered in school auditoriums. Parental recall of stroke information communicated through their child was assessed 1-week after the intervention. Results— Fifth and sixth grade students (n=182) were enrolled into Hip Hop Stroke. One hundred two parents were approached in person to participate; 75 opted to participate and 71 completed both the pretest and post-test (74% response rate and 95% retention rate). Parental stroke literacy improved after the program; before the program, 3 parents of 75 (3.9%) were able to identify the 5 cardinal stroke symptoms, distracting symptom (chest pains), and had an urgent action plan (calling 911) compared with 21 of 71 parents (29.6%) postintervention (P<0.001). The FAST mnemonic was known by 2 (2.7%) of participants before the program versus 29 (41%) after program completion (P<0.001). Conclusions— Knowledge of stroke signs and symptoms remains low among residents of this high-risk population. The use of Child-Mediated Stroke Communication suggests that school children aged 9 to 12 years may be effective conduits of critical stroke knowledge to their parents.
Pathological Aging of the Brain: An Overview

The number of elderly people is increasing rapidly and, therefore, an increase in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disorders causing dementia is expected. Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia are the most frequent causes after AD, but a large proportion of patients have a combination of degenerative and vascular brain pathology. Characteristic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings can contribute to the identification of different diseases causing dementia. The MR imaging protocol should include axial T2-weighted images (T2-WI), axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) or proton density-weighted images, and axial gradient-echo T2*-weighted images, for the detection of cerebrovascular pathology. Structural neuroimaging in dementia is focused on detection of brain atrophy, especially in the medial temporal lobe, for which coronal high resolution T1-weighted images perpendicular to the long axis of the temporal lobe are extremely important. Single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography may have added value in the diagnosis of dementia and may become more important in the future, due to the development of radioligands for in vivo detection of AD pathology. New functional MR techniques and serial volumetric imaging studies to identify subtle brain abnormalities may also provide surrogate markers for pathologic processes that occur in diseases causing dementia and, in conjunction with clinical evaluation, may enable a more rigorous and early diagnosis, approaching the accuracy of neuropathology.
An mHealth Recommender for Smoking Cessation Using Case Based Reasoning

The possible cause of many life-threatening diseases such as lung cancer and cardiac myopathy lies in the addiction to tobacco. Apart from being responsible for premature deaths, early diseases and reduced immunity, smoking also inhibits physiological and psychological problems in children born from addicted mothers. Though many developed countries have consciously made efforts to curb smoking, for the developing countries, the trend is still on the rise. The promising factor is that there are many people who are willing to quit smoking and are resorting to technology and electronic media for the same. In this paper, we have proposed a unique smoking intervention plan with the help of mobile phones that uses a Case Based Recommender system. Our model resorts to generating finely customized motivational messages depending on the patient profile and delivery of the same via mobile phones.
Developmental changes in expression and subcellular localization of the DNA repair glycosylase, MYH, in the rat brain

Mammalian cells employ a network of DNA repair pathways. DNA repair is required during development to ensure accuracy of DNA replication in the rapidly dividing embryonic cells and to maintain genomic integrity in the mature organism. An enzyme involved in repair of replication errors generated on either normal or oxidatively damaged DNA templates, is the mammalian ortholog of the Escherichia coli MutY DNA glycosylase (MYH). We show that levels of MYH isoform, detected at the E14 embryonic stage, decrease during embryonic and neonatal rat development, while new isoforms appear and gradually increase in the neonate and adult brain. The temporally declining expression of embryonic MYH resembles the pattern of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) decline during this period. Immunohistochemical analyses of the embryonic brain show that cells staining for MYH initially coincide with cells staining for PCNA. At later stages PCNA declines, while MYH is detected primarily outside the nucleus. MutY‐like glycosylase activity for adenines misincorporated opposite oxidized guanines is detected in both, embryonic and adult brain extracts. Together, these findings suggest that in proliferating embryonic cells, MYH might be primarily involved in post replicative repair of nuclear DNA, whereas in post mitotic neurons, in the repair of mitochondrial DNA.