Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Dissociation of the Acute Effects of Bupropion on Positive Emotional Processing and Reward Processing in Healthy Volunteers

Background: Previous research indicates that antidepressants can restore the balance between negative and positive emotional processing early in treatment, indicating a role of this effect in later mood improvement. However, less is known about the effect of antidepressants on reward processing despite the potential relevance to the treatment of anhedonia. In this study, we investigated the effects of an acute dose of the atypical antidepressant (dual dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor) bupropion on behavioral measures of emotional and reward processing in healthy volunteers. Methods: Forty healthy participants were randomly allocated to double-blind intervention with either an acute dose of bupropion or placebo prior to performing the Emotional Test Battery (ETB) and a probabilistic instrumental learning task. Results: Acute bupropion significantly increased the recognition of ambiguous faces as happy, decreased response bias toward sad faces and reduced attentional vigilance for fearful faces compared to placebo. Bupropion also reduced negative bias compared to placebo in the emotional recognition memory task (EMEM). There was no evidence that bupropion enhanced reward processing or learning. Instead, bupropion was associated with reduced likelihood to choose high-probability wins and increased score on a subjective measure of anhedonia. Conclusions: Whilst acute bupropion decreases negative and increases positive emotional processing, it has an adverse effect on reward processing. There seems to be a dissociation of the acute effects of bupropion on positive emotional processing and reward processing, which may have clinical implications for anhedonia early in treatment.
Rush and grab strategies in foraging marine endotherms: the case for haste in penguins

The speed at which air-breathing marine predators that forage by diving should swim is likely to depend on a variety of factors that differ substantially from those relevant in animals for which access to oxygen is unlimited. We used loggers attached to free-living penguins to examine the speed at which three species swam during periods searching for prey and compared this to their speeds during actual prey pursuit. All penguin species appeared to travel at similar speeds around 2 m/s during normal commuting between the surface and feeding depths, which accords closely with minimum costs of transport. However, Adelie penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae, slowed down to feed, Magellanic penguins, Spheniscus magellanicus, speeded up and king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, travelled at a variety of speeds, although mean speed did not change from normal commuting. Since energy expenditure, and therefore oxygen usage, in swimming animals increases with the cube of the speed, we hypothesized that prey escape speed (a function of prey size) and prey density would prove critical in determining optimum pursuit speeds in predators. Simple models of this type help explain why it is that some penguin species apparently benefit by increasing speed to capture prey while others benefit by decreasing speed.
Linking Nanoscale Dynamics of AMPA Receptor Organization to Plasticity of Excitatory Synapses and Learning

The spatiotemporal organization of neurotransmitter receptors in the postsynaptic membrane is a fundamental determinant of synaptic transmission and thus of information processing by the brain. The ionotropic AMPA subtype of glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the CNS. The number of AMPARs located en face presynaptic glutamate release sites sets the efficacy of synaptic transmission. Understanding how this number is set and regulated has been the topic of intense research in the last two decades. We showed that AMPARs are not stable in the synapse as initially thought. They continuously enter and exit the postsynaptic density by lateral diffusion, and they exchange between the neuronal surface and intracellular compartments by endocytosis and exocytosis at extrasynaptic sites. Regulation of these various trafficking pathways has emerged as a key mechanism for activity-dependent plasticity of synaptic transmission, a process important for learning and memory. I here present my view of these findings. In particular, the advent of super-resolution microscopy and single-molecule tracking has helped to uncover the intricacy of AMPARs' dynamic organization at the nanoscale. In addition, AMPAR surface diffusion is highly regulated by a variety of factors, including neuronal activity, stress hormones, and neurodegeneration, suggesting that AMPAR diffusion-trapping may play a central role in synapse function. Using innovative tools to understand further the link between receptor dynamics and synapse plasticity is now unveiling new molecular mechanisms of learning. Modifying AMPAR dynamics may emerge as a new target to correct synapse dysfunction in the diseased brain.
The Athlete’s Right Heart

The athlete’s heart is a known entity with morphological changes and a proportional physiological increase in chamber size. Even though, in the literature, the emphasis has been on the left heart, recent studies have described the effect of an intense exercise regimen on the right heart. Out-of-proportion, isolated, severe right atrium enlargement in athletes has not been described in the literature. This article reports 2 athletes with out-of-proportion, severe right atrium enlargement and discusses their presentations, baseline characteristics, and echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance findings.
Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Children: The Gobi Desert Children Eye Study.

Purpose Because there is a paucity of population-based data on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) for children, we measured the RNFLT and its associations in schoolchildren. Methods The population-based Gobi Desert Children Eye Study included all schoolchildren aged 6 to 21 years living in Ejina, Inner Mongolia. The children underwent a comprehensive ocular examination with cycloplegic refractometry and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography of the optic nerve head. The peripapillary RNFLT was measured on the optical coherence tomography images of a circular scan with a diameter of 3.4 mm. Results Out of 1565 participants, RNFLT data were available for 1440 (92.5%) children. The mean global RNFLT was 101.3 ± 9.2 μm in right eyes. The RNFLT was thickest in the temporal inferior sector (157.3 μm), followed by the temporal superior sector (143.8 μm), the nasal inferior sector (109.7 μm), the nasal superior sector (106.9 μm), temporal sector (85.2 μm), and the nasal sector (61.7 μm). In multivariate analysis, the RNFLT decreased with higher myopic refractive error (P < 0.001), male sex (P = 0.001), higher intraocular pressure (P = 0.002), and lower birth weight (P = 0.03). It was not significantly associated with age (P = 0.19), body mass index (P = 0.57), mean arterial blood pressure (P = 0.33), pulse rate (P = 0.28), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (P = 0.11). Conclusions The RNFLT in children showed a regional distribution, with the thickest part in the temporal inferior sector and the thinnest part located in the nasal sector. The overall RNLFT significantly decreased with higher myopic refractive error and male sex. In schoolchildren, in contrast to adults, the RNFLT did not decrease with older age. These findings may be considered when interpreting RNFLT data in children.
Design of Ensemble Stacked Auto-Encoder for Classification of Horse Gaits with MEMS Inertial Sensor Technology

This paper discusses the classification of horse gaits for self-coaching using an ensemble stacked auto-encoder (ESAE) based on wavelet packets from the motion data of the horse rider. For this purpose, we built an ESAE and used probability values at the end of the softmax classifier. First, we initialized variables such as hidden nodes, weight, and max epoch using the options of the auto-encoder (AE). Second, the ESAE model is trained by feedforward, back propagation, and gradient calculation. Next, the parameters are updated by a gradient descent mechanism as new parameters. Finally, once the error value is satisfied, the algorithm terminates. The experiments were performed to classify horse gaits for self-coaching. We constructed the motion data of a horse rider. For the experiment, an expert horse rider of the national team wore a suit containing 16 inertial sensors based on a wireless network. To improve and quantify the performance of the classification, we used three methods (wavelet packet, statistical value, and ensemble model), as well as cross entropy with mean squared error. The experimental results revealed that the proposed method showed good performance when compared with conventional algorithms such as the support vector machine (SVM).
Repeated Injections of Interferon-α A/D in Balb/c Mice: Behavioral Effects

Abstract Interferon/α decreases food intake and activity in mice and humans. The present study further explores parallels between effects of this protein in humans and mice, using a hybrid recombinant interferon-α A/D (INF-α A/D) that has antiviral and hepatic activity in mice. Measures of activity (open field), muscle strength (forelimb grip strength), and motor ability (swim posture and endurance with 0, 3, and 6% added weight) were examined in Balb/c mice injected with 1600 U/g of hybrid rhuIFN-α A/D daily for 5 days ( n = 9) or with IFN vehicle ( n = 11). Open field activity was significantly depressed in the group exposed to IFN. The number of times the nose dipped under the water when swimming with 3% added body weight was higher in the IFN-treated mice, while float time was decreased with 6% added weight. The IFN-treated mice were slower to adopt the new strategies necessary to swim with added weight. Depression of motor activity is a robust, general effect of IFN treatment observed in this as well as previously published studies. Together, these studies demonstrate activity decrements in two different strains of mice, two different activity measures, acute and chronic injections, and recombinant and nonrecombinant IFN preparations.
A Study on Clinical Profile & Management of Acute Intestinal Obstruction

Acute intestinal obstruction is a failure of aboral progression of intestinal contents. The overall mortality and morbidity of bowel obstruction is substantial. Therefore better understanding of pathophysiology, improvement in diagnostic techniques, fluid and electrolyte correction, much potent antibiotics and knowledge of intensive care is required. The present study was carried out to find out the common causes, variation in clinical features, morbidity and mortality rate related to intestinal obstruction. Results of the study showed that postoperative adhesions is most common cause of intestinal obstruction. Small bowel obstruction is more common than large bowel obstruction. Large bowel obstruction is more common in patients above 40 years than in younger group. Abdominal pain, vomiting, distension and constipation are the four cardinal features of intestinal obstruction, present in most of the cases. Plain x-ray abdomen taken in erect posture is the single most important investigation required for the patients. Intravenous fluids and electrolytes, gastrointestinal aspiration, antibiotics and then appropriate surgery are still the main stay of the treatment. Among the factors influencing the mortality and morbidity are age, state of hydration, nutritional status, viability of the bowel, etiology of obstruction, site of obstruction, delay in diagnosis and surgical intervention and associated medical illness. Therefore, early diagnosis of obstruction, skillful operative management, proper technique during surgery and intensive postoperative treatment carries a grateful result. WIMJOURNAL, Volume No. 4, Issue No. 1, 2017 pISSN 2349-2910, eISSN 2395-0684 Patil A M © Walawalkar International Medical Journal 11
Ratings of Emotion in Laterally Presented Faces: Sex and Handedness Effects

Sixteen right-handed participants (8 male and 8 female students) and 16 left-handed participants (8 male and 8 female students) were presented with cartoon faces expressing emotions ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. A forced-choice paradigm was used in which the participants were asked to rate the faces as either positive or negative. Compared to men, women rated faces more positively, especially in response to right visual field presentations. Women rated neutral and mildly positive faces more positively in the right than in the left visual field, whereas men rated these faces consistently across visual fields. Handedness did not affect the ratings of emotion. The data suggest a positive emotional bias of the left hemisphere in women.
Consumption process implied by an efficient credit contract, the

In this paper we explain why markets in noncontingent debt securities might be a stable form of market organization for intermediation to households. Efficient-contract allocation might be supported by these markets because households' relationships with their intermediaries do not exactly parallel the explicit form of the noncontingent contracts that they explicitly sign with one another. Also we show that the efficient-contract model can be distinguished from alternative models within the time-series framework that has been widely used to study households' consumption patterns.
From molecular manipulation of domesticated Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to survival in nature

In the mid-20th century, the unicellular and genetically tractable green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was first developed as a model organism to elucidate fundamental cellular processes such as photosynthesis, light perception and the structure, function and biogenesis of cilia. Various studies of C. reinhardtii have profoundly advanced plant and cell biology, and have also impacted algal biotechnology and our understanding of human disease. However, the 'real' life of C. reinhardtii in the natural environment has largely been neglected. To extend our understanding of the biology of C. reinhardtii, it will be rewarding to explore its behavior in its natural habitats, learning more about its abundance and life cycle, its genetic and physiological diversity, and its biotic and abiotic interactions.
Evolution of female colour polymorphism in damselflies: testing the hypotheses

Abstract The existence of several female colour morphs is a conspicuous characteristic of many damselflies that show one male-like (androchrome) and several nonmale-like (gynochrome) morphs. We tested several adaptive hypotheses and the null model for the maintenance of female polychromatism (one androchrome and two gynochromes) in the damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum . We tested the null model by comparing the degree of genetic differentiation between the colour locus and a set of 19 neutral RAPD loci in five populations. Our results indicate that selection is acting to maintain similar frequencies between populations at the colour locus. Using mark–recapture techniques we found that mating success is not dependent on female coloration. We tested the mimicry hypothesis by presenting live and dead models to males. Dead models were highly attractive irrespective of coloration. In contrast, with live models males could not distinguish between androchromes and other males, and were more attracted to gynochrome females. Despite this, within populations morph frequencies remained constant over time and mating was at random with respect to female coloration. However, there was a positive relationship between male density and androchrome frequency in a comparative study of eight populations. We discuss our results in the framework of sexual conflict theory and suggest that andro- and gynochrome females are using different strategies to control their number of matings. The different morphs might be maintained in a balanced polymorphism by a combination of density- and frequency-dependent mechanisms. Copyright 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
The changing face of treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction: Since late 1990’s therapy of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients has changed considerable, and the combination of doublet or triplet chemotherapy and a targeted agent are now routinely used. With the introduction of more intensified regimens, it has become even more important to identify patients that will benefit from and can tolerate therapy. Furthermore, the increasing understanding of the biology of mCRC has led to the discovery of new potential targets. Therefore, therapy of patients with mCRC has undergone considerable change from ‘one strategy fits all’ towards a more personalized therapy. Areas covered: We present an overview of the recent literature on approved systemic treatment of mCRC however with focus on how the treatment strategy has changed based on clinical and molecular parameters that presently are used routinely in the clinical situation. Expert commentary: The face of treatment of mCRC has changed from ‘one strategy fits all’ to a personalized approach in which both clinical, molecular parameters and the aim of therapy have to be taking into account when planning the optimal treatment strategy for the individual mCRC patient. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02563002.
Alcohol and narcotics use in inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of this study was to evaluate alcohol consumption and narcotics use among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Medline using relevant keywords. The references of the retrieved articles were also searched to identify additional articles. Only English-language studies that provided evidence on alcohol consumption and/or narcotics use among non-hospitalized IBD patients were included in the present review. Twelve studies were included that examined the use of alcohol among IBD patients. The prevalence of alcohol consumption among IBD patients appeared to be similar to that of the general population. The majority of the studies reported worsening of IBD symptoms among patients who consumed alcoholic beverages. Four studies were identified that evaluated narcotics use as analgesia among IBD patients. Narcotics use was prevalent among IBD patients and correlated with a longer disease duration and comorbid mental illnesses. The available evidence suggests that alcohol consumption may have a deleterious effect on IBD symptoms. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of IBD patients are reported to use a narcotic as analgesia and this was correlated with their mental health status. Further studies are needed to address these important facets of IBD.
Flocking is an effective anti-predation strategy in redshanks, Tringa totanus


Anti-predator behaviour in overwintering redshanks on an estuary in south-east Scotland was studied in the context of a very high mortality rate due almost entirely to predation by raptors. Attacks on redshank flocks of different sizes and by different species of raptor were observed frequently. Flocking reduced an individual redshank's probability of being killed by sparrowhawks, Accipiter nisus, and peregrines, Falco peregrinus. Larger flocks were preferentially attacked, but an attack was significantly more likely to succeed on a smaller flock. Within a larger flock a redshank was less at risk through the 'dilution' effect, vigilance effects (which were a direct consequence of flock size) and probably also the 'confusion' effect. A large redshank flock was less likely to fly immediately than a small flock on appearance of a sparrowhawk. Redshanks did not gain any foraging benefits within larger flocks; the number of swallows per unit time remained approximately constant while the number of unsuccessful picks at the ground increased with flock size. Reduced individual risk of predation appeared to be the main reason for flocking.
Occupational Stress Experienced by Nurses Working in a Greek Regional Hospital: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Occupational stress is both psychologically and physically challenging and may lead to high rates of absenteeism, burnout, and turnover. Nursing is considered as one of the most stressful and demanding professions. This study aims to measure perceived stress levels among nurses in a Greek public general hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 157 nurses and nursing assistants took part. A self-administered questionnaire including sociodemographics and Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS) for stress assessment was used. Analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: Total stress mean(SD) score ranged in medium levels [136.27 (47.80)]. The most stressful situations were dealing with death and dying [18.29 (5.59)]; patients' and their families' demands [20.90 (7.12)], and uncertainty concerning treatment [22.19 (9.07)]. Discrimination [4.40 (4.25)] and conflicts with peers [12.07 (5.10)] provoked less stress. There was a statistically significant relationship between age and total stress (F = 4.23, p < 0.001) and all distinct stressors. Nurses between 30 and 34 years expressed higher stress in all cases except patients' and their families' demands stressor. Those nurses who were divorced expressed higher stress in death and dying subscale (F = 2.93, p = 0.035). Nursing assistants expressing higher stress as far as workload (t = −2.40, p = 0.017), conflicts with physicians (t = −2.19, p = 0.033), and problems with peers (t = −2.63, p = 0.009) were concerned, compared to nurses. Conclusions: The findings of the study are in line with other researchers' findings concerning stressors among nursing personnel in Greece. Appropriate measures for the prevention and management of specific stressors must therefore be taken.
Biochemical and thermodynamic analyses of energy conversion in extremophiles

ABSTRACT A variety of extreme environments, characterized by extreme values of various physicochemical parameters (temperature, pressure, salinity, pH, and so on), are found on Earth. Organisms that favorably live in such extreme environments are called extremophiles. All living organisms, including extremophiles, must acquire energy to maintain cellular homeostasis, including extremophiles. For energy conversion in harsh environments, thermodynamically useful reactions and stable biomolecules are essential. In this review, I briefly summarize recent studies of extreme environments and extremophiles living in these environments and describe energy conversion processes in various extremophiles based on my previous research. Furthermore, I discuss the correlation between the biological system of electrotrophy, a third biological energy acquisition system, and the mechanism underlying microbiologically influenced corrosion. These insights into energy conversion in extremophiles may improve our understanding of the “limits of life”. Abbreviations: PPi: pyrophosphate; PPase: pyrophosphatase; ITC: isothermal titration microcalorimetry; SVNTase: Shewanella violacea 5ʹ-nucleotidase; SANTase: Shewanella amazonensis 5ʹ-nucleotidase Graphical Abstract Energy conversions in extremophiles proceed under harsh condition. Understanding the systems may connect to understand “limits of life. ”