Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV phenotype switching during antiretroviral therapy: emergence of saquinavir‐resistant strains with less cytopathogenicity

Objectives:The aim of the study was to investigate changes in virological characteristics of HIV strains isolated from 38 HIV-seropositive subjects during antiretroviral therapy. Design and methods:Patients with a CD4+ cell count ≤ 300 × 106/l were treated with zidovudine (12 individuals) and saquinavir (10 individuals) alone or in combination (16 individuals). CD4+ cell count, viral load, HIV biological phenotype and drug resistance were evaluated during the study period. Results:After 52 weeks, 28 subjects (74%) harboured drug-resistant strains. In patients with a syncytium-inducing (SI) strain, a decline of CD4+ cell count and an increase of viral load were observed aside from the emergence of drug resistance. Conversely, at the emergence of antiretroviral resistance, an immunological and virological deterioration was observed only in patients who had a non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) strain. During the study, a phenotype switching of HIV isolates was detected in eight (21%) patients and a temporal correspondence between the appearance of phenotype switching and the emergence of drug resistance was found in seven cases. Three patients harbouring saquinavir-resistant strains showed a switch from SI to NSI variants associated with a moderate increase in CD4+ cell count. Conclusions:The emergence of resistant strains during antiretroviral therapy may be associated with the selection of viral strains with less cytopathogenicity, while it could become a poor prognostic sign in patients with NSI isolates.
Age- and sex-related changes in vibrotactile sensitivity of hand and face in neurotypical adults

Abstract Sensory perception decreases with age, and is altered as a function of sex. Very little is known about the age- and sex-related changes in vibrotactile detection thresholds (VDTs) of the face relative to the glabrous hand. This study utilized a single-interval up/down (SIUD) adaptive procedure to estimate the VDT for mechanical stimuli presented at 5, 10, 50, 150, 250, and 300 Hz at two sites on the face, including the right non-glabrous surface of the oral angle and the right lower lip vermilion; and on the hand on the glabrous surface of the distal phalanx of the right dominant index finger. Eighteen right-handed healthy younger adults and 18 right-handed healthy older adults participated in this study. VDTs were significantly different between the three stimulus sites (p < 0.0001), and dependent on stimulus frequency (p < 0.0001) and the sex of the participants (p < 0.005). VDTs were significantly higher for older adults when compared to younger adults for the finger stimulation condition (p < 0.05). There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in cheek and lower lip VDTs between male and female subjects. Difference in the VDTs between the three stimulation sites is presumed to reflect the unique typing and distribution of mechanoreceptors in the face and hand. Age-related differences in finger skin sensitivity are likely due to changes in the physical structure of skin, changes in the number and morphology of the mechanoreceptors, differences in the functional use of the hand, and its central representation. Sex-related differences in the VDTs may be due to the differences in tissue conformation and thickness, mechanoreceptor densities, skin hydration, or temperature characteristics.
Cardiolipin Domains in Bacillus subtilis Marburg Membranes

ABSTRACT Recently, use of the cardiolipin (CL)-specific fluorescent dye 10-N-nonyl-acridine orange (NAO) revealed CL-rich domains in the Escherichia coli membrane (E. Mileykovskaya and W. Dowhan, J. Bacteriol. 182: 1172-1175, 2000). Staining of Bacillus subtilis cells with NAO showed that there were green fluorescence domains in the septal regions and at the poles. These fluorescence domains were scarcely detectable in exponentially growing cells of the clsA-disrupted mutant lacking detectable CL. In sporulating cells with a wild-type lipid composition, fluorescence domains were observed in the polar septa and on the engulfment and forespore membranes. Both in the clsA-disrupted mutant and in a mutant with disruptions in all three of the paralogous genes (clsA, ywjE, and ywiE) for CL synthase, these domains did not vanish but appeared later, after sporulation initiation. A red shift in the fluorescence due to stacking of two dye molecules and the lipid composition suggested that a small amount of CL was present in sporulating cells of the mutants. Mass spectrometry analyses revealed the presence of CL in these mutant cells. At a later stage during sporulation of the mutants the frequency of heat-resistant cells that could form colonies after heat treatment was lower. The frequency of sporulation of these cells at 24 h after sporulation initiation was 30 to 50% of the frequency of the wild type. These results indicate that CL-rich domains are present in the polar septal membrane and in the engulfment and forespore membranes during the sporulation phase even in a B. subtilis mutant with disruptions in all three paralogous genes, as well as in the membranes of the medial septa and at the poles during the exponential growth phase of wild-type cells. The results further suggest that the CL-rich domains in the polar septal membrane and engulfment and forespore membranes are involved in sporulation.
Preference of Aerosolized Pirfenidone to Oral Intake: An Experimental Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis by Paraquat.

BACKGROUND Inhalation drug delivery is a fast, effective, and safe route of delivering medication directly to the lungs. Thanks to the large surface area and highly vascularized epithelium in lung, pulmonary drug delivery has been considered as an effective route to deliver drugs to the systemic circulation. Pirfenidone (PF), an oral antifibrotic agent, has been shown to slow down the progression of the lung fibrosis. Inhalation or intrapulmonary delivery of PF appears to be a good alternative to optimize drug delivery and minimize the dosage, adverse and nonspecific effects. METHODS Pulmonary fibrosis was induced by paraquat in rats. After induction of fibrosis, PF was administered via oral and inhalation routes for 14 consecutive days. The efficacy of oral and inhalation routes were compared by evaluating morphological changes, hydroxyproline content, tissue oxidative stress parameters, and proinflammatory and profibrotic genes expression including transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) genes. RESULTS The results showed similar therapeutic effects and efficacy for both inhalation and oral routes; however, the dose of inhalation route was much less than that for oral administration. CONCLUSION In conclusion, PF offers great potential as an inhalation delivery formulation for treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.
Comparison of Postoperative Angiographic Appearance and Clinical Signs in Arterial Aneurysm of the Intracavernous Internal Carotid Artery

According to JEFFERSON (13) the first complete clinical picture of a nonfistulous intracavernous carotid aneurysm was described by BARTHOLOW (4) in 1872. In 1869 ADAMS (1) published "A case of aneurysm of the internal carotid artery in the cavernous sinus, causing paralysis of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth nerves". Many (5, 7, 8, 10, 13,20) since then have written ofthe syndrome of the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus. Certain radiological signs have been frequently seen with intracavernous aneurysms, and are considered by some to be classical (2). The earliest appreciated (5, 12, 19) changes were adventitious calcifications (as Albl's rings); later, the significance of associated erosive phenomenon was appreciated (2, 15, 16, 17, 18). LOMBARDI and his associates (15) recently summarized the changes noted in their series. Although it may not be true in all cases (15, 17), angiography generally offers the sine qua non in the establishment of the diagnosis ofan intracavernous aneurysm. It is frequently used to illustrate the response of the lesion to
Lack of Abcc 3 expression impairs bile-acid induced liver growth and delays hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy in mice

Background & Aims: Bile acids (BA) are increasingly recognized Conclusions: Lack of Abcc3 expression markedly impairs liver as important modulators of liver regeneration. Increased enterohepatic BA flux has been proposed to generate specific signals that activate hepatocyte proliferation after partial hepatectomy (PH). We have investigated the role of the BA membrane transporter Mrp3 (Abcc3), which is expressed in the liver and gut, in the hepatic growth response elicited by BA and in liver regeneration after PH. Methods: Liver growth and regeneration, and the expression of growth-related genes, were studied in Mrp3 and Mrp3 / mice fed a cholic acid (CA) supplemented diet and after 2/3 PH. Activation of the BA receptor FXR was measured in mice after in vivo transduction of the liver with a FXR-Luciferase reporter plasmid. BA levels were measured in portal serum and liver tissue by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Liver growth elicited by CA feeding was significantly reduced in Mrp3 / mice. These animals showed reduced FXR activation in the liver after CA administration and decreased portal serum levels of BA. Liver regeneration after PH was significantly delayed in Mrp3-deficient mice. Proliferation-related gene expression and peak DNA synthesis in Mrp3 / mice occurred later than in wild types, coinciding with a retarded elevation in intra-hepatic BA levels.
Improvement/Rehabilitation of Memory Functioning with Neurotherapy/QEEG Biofeedback

This article presents a new approach to the remediation of memory deficits by studying the electrophysiological functioning involved in memory and applying biofeedback techniques. A Quantitative EEG (QEEG) activation database was obtained with 59 right-handed subjects during two auditory memory tasks (prose passages and word lists). Memory performance was correlated with the QEEG variables. Clinical cases were administered the same QEEG activation study to determine their deviations from the values that predicted success for the reference group. EEG biofeedback interventions were designed to increase the value (to normal levels) of the specific electrophysiological variable that was related to successful memory function and deviant in the subject. Case examples are presented that indicate the successful use of this intervention style in normal subjects and in subjects with brain injury; improvement cannot be fully explained by spontaneous recovery, given the time postinjury. Five cases (two normal, two subjects with brain injury, and one subject who had stereotactic surgery of the hippocampus for seizure control) are presented. Improvements ranged from 68% to 181% in the group of patients with brain injury, as a result of the interventions.
Object segmentation and reconstruction via an oscillatory neural network: interaction among learning, memory, topological organization and γ-band synchronization

Synchronization of neuronal activity in the γ-band has been shown to play an important role in higher cognitive functions, by grouping together the necessary information in different cortical areas to achieve a coherent perception. In the present work, we used a neural network of Wilson-Cowan oscillators to analyze the problem of binding and segmentation of high-level objects. Binding is achieved by implementing in the network the similarity and prior knowledge Gestalt rules. Similarity law is realized via topological maps within the network. Prior knowledge originates by means of a Hebbian rule of synaptic change; objects are memorized in the network with different strengths. Segmentation is realized via a global inhibitor which allows desynchronisation among multiple objects avoiding interference. Simulation results performed with a 40 x 40 neural grid, using three simultaneous input objects, show that the network is able to recognize and segment objects in several different conditions (different degrees of incompleteness or distortion of input patterns), exhibiting the higher reconstruction performances the higher the strength of object memory. The presented model represents an integrated approach for investigating the relationships among learning, memory, topological organization and γ-band synchronization.
Examining self-efficacy perception and attitudes of introduction to programming course students with respect to gender and course language

The purpose of this study is to examine generalized self-efficacy and attitudes of the F.M. V. Işık University Engineering Faculty students of Introduction to Programming Course (CSE101) with respect to student gender and course language (Turkish-English). A total of 114 university students, 40 female and 74 male, participated in the research. In order to measure students' self-efficacy perceptions, General Self-Efficacy scale was used and open-ended questions were asked for evaluation of course outcomes (success and failure) and basic demographic information such as age and gender were collected. The open-ended questions were examined by qualitative analysis method. The quantitative analysis revealed a significant relation between the self-efficacy scores of the students with the General Grade Point Average (GPA); and a non-significant relation with the CSE101 end of term grade average. In addition, it was seen that students' self-efficacy scores did not significantly differ with respect to the gender and language (Turkish-English). The motivation scores of the students do not differ according to the course language. In qualitative analysis, we observed that the frequency percentages of the answers given by the students changed according to their genders. By revealing the gender difference in attitudes towards programming course, it is expected that this study will contribute to the process of determining the variables that predict student success in engineering programming education.
Amygdalar volume and emotional memory in Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE Everyday experience suggests that highly emotional events are often the most memorable. Experimental work in animals and humans has demonstrated that the amygdaloid complex plays a crucial role in emotional memory, i.e., memory of events arousing strong emotions. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between medial temporal damage and impaired memory of real-life emotional events in patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHOD In 36 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease who experienced the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, memories of events surrounding the earthquake were examined as an index of emotional memory with the use of a semistructured interview, and amygdalar and hippocampal volumes were quantified by magnetic resonance imaging. The effects of the atrophy of these structures on recall performance were determined by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS Irrespective of generalized brain atrophy and cognitive impairments, emotional memory was correlated more with normalized amygdalar volume (right and left averaged) than with normalized hippocampal volume. General knowledge of the earthquake was correlated with neither amygdalar nor hippocampal volume. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that impairment of emotional event memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease is related to intensity of amygdalar damage and provide evidence of the amygdala's involvement in emotional memory in humans.
Nonlinear chiral imaging of twisted-cross gold nano-objects

Chirality, i.e., lack of reflection symmetry, is a property of materials which leads to optical activity (OA) effects [1]. Chiral materials occur in two enantiomers, which are mirror images of each other. In recent years, chiral metamaterials based on metal nanostructures have been shown to lead to greatly enhanced OA effects in the linear optical response [2,3]. On the other hand, second-harmonic generation (SHG) from ideally achiral metal nanostructures is extremely sensitive to chiral symmetry breaking due to surface defects [4]. It is therefore important to study whether nonlinear techniques can be used as a probe of the handedness of chiral metamaterials fabricated using state-of-the art techniques. Here we demonstrate that SHG microscopy with circularly-polarized light possesses an unambiguous sensitivity to the handedness of twisted-cross metamaterials to the level of individual subwavelength-sized nano-objects.
The effect of Assertive Community Treatment in Japan

Ito J, Oshima I, Nishio M, Sono T, Suzuki Y, Horiuchi K, Niekawa N, Ogawa M, Setoya Y, Hisanaga F, Kouda M, Tsukada K. The effect of Assertive Community Treatment in Japan.
Paris en chiffres les premiers atlas statistiques de Paris

Dans le dernier quart du XIXe siecle, les figures de statistique, cartes et diagrammes, sont de plus en plus nombreuses dans les publications officielles, en reponse aux voeux emis lors des congres internationaux de statistique (La Haye, 1869, ou Saint-Petersbourg, 1872). En France, l'Album de statistique graphique du ministere des Travaux publics, publie des 1879 sous la direction d'Emile Cheysson, sert de modele a plusieurs administrations. Ainsi le service de la statistique municipale parisienne, dirige par le docteur Jacques Bertillon, engage en 1889 la publication annuelle d'un Atlas de statistique graphique. Les planches de cet atlas composent un ensemble original de statistique figuree a l'echelle d'une grande ville. Par la variete des themes et des procedes graphiques mis en oeuvre, l'Atlas de Bertillon figure au rang des travaux les plus accomplis de la statistique graphique francaise. Pourtant, en raison d'une realisation complexe et couteuse, il s'interrompt apres deux tomes.
Sensitive periods for adolescent alcohol use initiation: predicting the lifetime occurrence and chronicity of alcohol problems in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the association between age at alcohol use onset and adult alcohol misuse and dependence by testing the sensitive-period hypothesis that early adolescence (11-14) is a vulnerable period of development during which initiating alcohol use is particularly harmful. METHOD Data came from a longitudinal panel of 808 participants recruited in 1981. Participants were followed through age 33 in 2008 with 92% retention. RESULTS Onset of alcohol use before age 11 (late childhood), when compared with initiation during early adolescence, was related to an increased chronicity of adult alcohol dependence, even after accounting for sociodemographic controls and other substance use in adolescence. The present study finds no evidence that early adolescence is a particularly sensitive period for the onset of alcohol use. Findings related to the onset of regular alcohol use and the chronicity of alcohol dependence suggest that the onset of regular drinking before age 21 is problematic, but no one adolescent period is more sensitive than others. Specifically, although all age groups that started drinking regularly before age 21 had a greater rate of alcohol dependence in adulthood, initiation of regular use of alcohol at or before age 14 was not related to greater chronicity of alcohol dependence than the initiation of regular use of alcohol in middle or late adolescence. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest the importance of delaying the onset of alcohol use through prevention efforts as early as the elementary grades. In addition, prevention efforts should focus on preventing the onset of regular drinking before age 21.
Brain Diffusion after Single Seizures

Summary: Purpose: Diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) after focal status epilepticus has demonstrated focal alterations of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the epileptogenic zone. We hypothesized that localized dynamic alterations of brain diffusion during the immediate postictal state will be detectable by serial DWI and correlate with the epileptogenic zone.
Topical acetylsalicylic acid in the treatment of allergic pollinosic conjunctivitis.

The pharmacological treatment of allergic conjunctivitis includes the use of topical antiinflammatory drugs, i.e. steroids and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs), such as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). However, steroids are not suitable in prolonged treatment, as well as in pollinosis in the Mediterranean area, because of their side effects. The present double-blind study evaluates the topical use of acetylsalicylic acid eye drops (1% solution) compared to placebo in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis during the period June-July 1990. The patients were randomized and treated with ASA eye drops or placebo eye drops, both applied as one drop in each eye q.i. d. for 14 days. The severity of symptoms was evaluated before and after treatment by the investigator and the patient. An overall judgement of therapeutic response was expressed independently by the patient and the investigator at the end of the treatment. The ASA-treated group improved significantly compared to the placebo-treated group. No serious side effects were observed. The results confirm the clinical efficacy and safety of topical ASA in the treatment of pollen-induced allergic conjunctivitis.
Evidence, from combined segregation and linkage analysis, that a variant of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene controls plasma ACE levels.

The hypothesis of a genetic control of plasma angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) level has been suggested both by segregation analysis and by the identification of an insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene, a polymorphism contributing much to the variability of ACE level. To elucidate whether the I/D polymorphism was directly involved in the genetic regulation, plasma ACE activity and genotype for the I/D polymorphism were both measured in a sample of 98 healthy nuclear families. The pattern of familial correlations of ACE level was compatible with a zero correlation between spouses and equal parent-offspring and sib-sib correlations (.24 +/- .04). A segregation analysis indicated that this familial resemblance could be entirely explained by the transmission of a codominant major gene. The I/D polymorphism was associated with marked differences of ACE levels, although these differences were less pronounced than those observed in the segregation analysis. After adjustment for the polymorphism effects, the residual heritability (.280 +/- .096) was significant. Finally, a combined segregation and linkage analysis provided evidence that the major-gene effect was due to a variant of the ACE gene, in strong linkage disequilibrium with the I/D polymorphism. The marker allele I appeared always associated with the major-gene allele s characterized by lower ACE levels. The frequency of allele I was . 431 +/- . 025, and that of major allele s was . 557 +/- . 041. The major gene had codominant effects equal to 1.3 residual SDs and accounted for 44% of the total variability of ACE level, as compared with 28% for the I/D polymorphism. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)