Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Critical role for glucocorticoid receptors in stress- and ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization.

Locomotor sensitization, the augmentation of the locomotor-activating effects of stimuli with repeated exposure, is being evaluated as a partial model for several phenomena including drug addiction. Alteration of dopaminergic systems has been found in sensitized animals and dopamine neurotransmission appears to be crucial for the expression of sensitized behaviors. However, stress hormones, which are released after exposure to many of the stimuli that produce sensitization, may also be involved in the development of this phenomenon. Corticosterone appears to be important in the development of amphetamine sensitization and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) have been hypothesized to mediate this effect. The purpose of these experiments was first, to determine whether repeated restraint stress sensitizes DBA/2J mice to the activating effect of ethanol (EtOH), and second, to explore the role of GR in stress- and EtOH-induced sensitization with the GR antagonist, RU 38486. This antagonist was administered before restraint or i.p. EtOH (1.5 g/kg) on each of 10 consecutive days of pretreatment. In addition, plasma corticosterone levels were determined at various points throughout the pretreatment period and on test days. The results demonstrated that 10 consecutive days of 2-hr restraint sensitized mice to EtOH's locomotor-stimulating effect. Both stress- and EtOH-induced sensitization were attenuated by administration of RU 38486 during the pretreatment phase. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Response to Letter Regarding "REPLACE DARE (Death After Replacement Evaluation) Score: Determinants of All-Cause Mortality After Implantable Device Replacement Or Upgrade From the REPLACE Registry".

We were pleased to see the results of the validation work done by Barra et al1 in examining the performance of the REPLACE (Death After Replacement Evaluation) DARE score2 in their patient population. The DARE score results in their implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) replacement group of 228 patients yielded findings that were consistent, and, for some metrics, nearly identical, to those found in the REPLACE population of 1744 patients, despite a longer follow-up period (33 months versus 6 months in REPLACE). We also appreciated the additional efforts by Barra et al1 to compare the DARE score performance to the predictive model proposed by Bilchick et al,3 which was developed on a larger population of Medicare patients (n=17 991) receiving de novo ICD implantation for primary prevention. Although the final risk model of Bilchick et al3 was based on 7 predictor variables in a related but somewhat different patient population with a longer average follow-up (4.4 years), the concordance with 5 of the 6 predictor variables used …
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes in human frontal cortex: Changes in Alzheimer's disease

Molecular genetic and pharmacological studies have suggested that several subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors exist in the mammalian and avian brain. Combining 3H‐(−)‐nicotine, 125 I‐α‐bungarotoxin, and 125I‐κ‐bungarotoxin as ligands, we report here the first evidence for the existence in human frontal cortex of at least three different subtypes of nicotinic receptors. Autoradiographic analysis shows that specific 125I‐κ‐bungarotoxin binding sites are concentrated mainly in several cortical layers. We also show that κ‐bungarotoxin, but not κ‐bungarotoxin decreases the evoked release of 3H‐acetylcholine in rat cortical slices, indicating a likely presynaptic localization for some of the α‐bungarotoxin‐insensitive κ‐bungarotoxin sites in mammalian brain. The brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease show marked decreases in Bmax values for low‐affinity 125I‐κ‐bungarotoxin sites and both high‐ and low‐affinity 3H‐nicotine sites, whereas 125I‐κ‐bungarotoxin sites are not significantly different in number from age‐matched control brains. We conclude that Alzheimer's disease does not affect all subtypes of nicotinic receptors in the frontal cortex to the same extent.
Translational study of the Notch pathway in hypertensive nephropathy.

INTRODUCTION The Notch signalling pathway is activated in a wide variety of human renal diseases. We have recently demonstrated that the activation of this pathway is not involved in experimental renal fibrosis induced by angiotensin II or hypertension. OBJECTIVES To assess whether the Notch pathway is activated in renal fibrosis related to hypertensive nephrosclerosis. To test the hypothesis, various glomerular diseases characterised by tubulointerstitial fibrosis were analysed. METHOD Renal biopsies were performed on patients with hypertensive nephrosclerosis, in comparison with diabetic nephropathy and membranous nephropathy at various stages. Gene and protein expression were evaluated by in-situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry respectively. RESULTS In hypertensive nephrosclerosis low renal expression of notch-related proteins was observed. There was no link between tubulointerstitial fibrosis and the levels of these proteins. By contrast, in the glomerular diseases studied we observed high expression of the transcripts Jagged-1, HES-1 and TGF-β and the proteins Jagged-1 y Notch-1, localised primarily in tubuloepithelial cells. The levels of expression of the components of the Notch pathway correlate to the degree of tubulointerstitial fibrosis, which confirms the activation of this pathway in progressive nephropathies. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that the Notch pathway is not activated in the kidneys of patients with hypertensive nephropathy, which extends the results of experimental models of kidney damage related to hypertension to the realm of human pathology. Our studies provide new information on the complex regulation of the Notch pathway in the kidney.
Confident and optimistic forward-looking statements and the moderating influence of quantitative earnings forecasts

In this paper, I examine the impact of confident-plus-optimistic qualitative forward-looking statements on investors’ judgments. I find that investors’ valuation judgments are less favorable when investors see a confident-plus-optimistic qualitative forward-looking statement in the earnings press release than when they see an optimistic-only qualitative forward-looking statement. I also find that the above-mentioned difference in judgments becomes smaller when managers bundle the earnings press release with a quantitative earnings forecast. Managers presumably use a confident-plus-optimistic qualitative forward-looking statement in order to elicit more favorable investor judgments. Nonetheless, by providing evidence of a less favorable reaction, my results indicate that investors end up reacting in a manner that deviates from how managers would ideally want investors to react. Overall, my results provide insights to managers, investors, regulators, and academic researchers. Table of
A decentralised DC optimal power flow model

The DC optimal power flow(DC-OPF) is at the heart of the actual centralized market clearing mechanisms used in Electrical Power Markets. Through the last decade several distributed clearing mechanisms have been proposed in order to decentralise it. A common link in these approaches is that they address this problem as a decomposition of the whole system into subareas. Based on this decomposition they propose alternative methods to reach the global solution. However, in order to achieve their solution they add some constraints to the original problem. This document proposes a decentralized model for the DC-OPF which works in a bottom-up fashion without any additional constraint. The system is decomposed into its basic components. Next, by using the auxiliary problem principle a decentralized solution to the OPF is proposed. The application of this decomposition has a positive side effect: the complexity of the system, as a result of the network interconnectivity, is converted into local intercommunication tasks.
Transcranial imaging of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity in a Taiwanese cohort of Parkinson's disease

Transcranial Doppler imaging (TCDI) has been used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to differentiate Parkinson's disease (PD) from atypical parkinsonism by detecting hyperechogenicity in the substantia nigra (SN). To our knowledge, no TCDI data are available for Asian populations, and TCDI sensitivity is uncertain across populations. Early‐onset PD (EOPD) represents a specific PD subtype based on clinical features and pathogenic mechanisms. It is not known if EOPD patients have abnormal echogenicity in SN comparable to late‐onset PD (LOPD) patients. We assessed the area of SN hyperechogenicity (hyper‐SN) and a ratio of hyper‐SN over ipsilateral midbrain (S/M ratio) with TCDI in 164 healthy Taiwanese, 40 EOPD patients, and 40 LOPD patients. The upper 95th percentile values for hyper‐SN and S/M ratio were 0.20 cm2 and 0.07. Our results indicate that S/M ratio is a more sensitive measure than hyper‐SN in diagnosing PD. Approximately 92.5% of the LOPD patients and 57.5% of the EOPD patients had S/M ratios ≥ 0.07. Enlarged hyperechogenicity of SN is a common finding in LOPD, but not in EOPD. Iron‐independent mechanisms of SN cell degeneration in EOPD distinct from that in LOPD might contribute to the sonographic findings. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society
Facilitating Inter-Domain Synergies in Ambient Assisted Living Environments

Current Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) environments lack integration of sensors and actuators of other sub-domains. Creating technical and organizational integration is addressed by the BASIS project (Build Automation by a Scalable and Intelligent System), which aims to build a cross-domain home bus system. The main objective of this paper is to present an overview of design, architecture and state of realization of BASIS by describing the requirements development process, underlying hardware design and software architecture. We built a distributed system of one independent building manager with several redundantly meshed segment controllers, each controlling a bus segment with any number of bus nodes. The software system layer is divided into logical partitions representing each sub-domain. Structured data storage is possible with a special FHIR based home centered data warehouse. The system has been implemented in six apartments running under daily living conditions. BASIS integrates a broad range of sub-domains, which poses challenges to all project partners in terms of a common terminology, and project management methods, but enables development of inter-domain synergies like using the same sensor and actuator hardware for a broad range of services and use cases.
Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Dental Research: A New Approach for Tissue Engineering

Many adult tissues contain a population of stem cells that have the ability to regenerate after trauma, disease or aging. Recently, there has been great interest in mesenchymal stem cells and their roles in maintaining the physiological structure of tissues. The studies on stem cells are thought to be very important and, in fact, it has been shown that this cell population can be expanded ex vivo to regenerate tissues not only of the mesenchymal lineage, such as intervertebral disc cartilage, bone and tooth-associated tissues, but also other types of tissues. Several studies have focused on the identification of odontogenic progenitors from oral tissues, and it has been shown that the mesenchymal stem cells obtained from periodontal ligament and dental pulp could have similar morphological and phenotypical features of the bone marrow mesenchymal cells. In fact a population of homogeneous human mesenchymal stem cells derived from periodontal ligament and dental pulp, and proliferating in culture with a well-spread morphology, can be recovered and characterized. Since these cells are considered as candidates for regenerative medicine, the knowledge of the cell differentiation mechanisms is imperative for the development of predictable techniques in implant dentistry, oral surgery and maxillo-facial reconstruction. Thus, future research efforts might be focused on the potential use of this cell population in tissue engineering. Further studies will be carried out to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in their maintenance and differentiation in vitro and in vivo.
Training Vegetable Parenting Practices Through a Mobile Game: Iterative Qualitative Alpha Test

Background Vegetable consumption protects against chronic diseases, but many young children do not eat vegetables. One quest within the mobile application Mommio was developed to train mothers of preschoolers in effective vegetable parenting practices, or ways to approach getting their child to eat and enjoy vegetables. A much earlier version of the game, then called Kiddio, was alpha tested previously, but the game has since evolved in key ways. Objective The purpose of this research was to alpha test the first quest, substantiate earlier findings and obtain feedback on new game features to develop an effective, compelling parenting game. Methods Mothers of preschool children (n=20) played a single quest of Mommio 2 to 4 times, immediately after which a semi-structured interview about their experience was completed. Interviews were transcribed and double coded using thematic analysis methods. Results Mothers generally liked the game, finding it realistic and engaging. Some participants had difficulties with mechanics for moving around the 3-D environment. Tips and hints were well received, and further expansion and customization were desired. Conclusions Earlier findings were supported, though Mommio players reported more enjoyment than Kiddio players. Continued development will include more user-friendly mechanics, customization, opportunities for environment interaction, and food parenting scenarios.
Willingness-To-Pay for Functional Dairy Products and the Influence of Starting Point Bias: Empirical Evidence for Germany

This study employs stated preference data from a choice experiment to address two issues related to consumer demand for functional dairy products: (1) Consumers’ preferences for functional dairy product attributes in Germany, and (2) are willingness-to-pay estimates obtained in the choice experiment affected by starting point bias? Based on a random parameter logit model, our results indicate that dairy products enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and bearing a health claim that is aimed at healthy blood vessels and healthy metabolism are highly valued. Furthermore, results reveal that willingness-to-pay is indeed susceptible to starting point bias. In a two-split sample approach, we find that varying the price levels displayed in the first choice set significantly affects respondents’ willingness-to-pay for functional dairy products.
Emotion Rendering in Plantar Vibro-Tactile Simulations of Imagined Walking Styles

This paper investigates the production and identification of emotional states of a walker using plantar vibro-tactile simulations. In a first experiment, participants were asked to render, according to imagined walking scenarios, five emotions (aggressive, happy, neutral, sad, and tender) by manipulating the parameters of synthetic footstep vibrations simulating various combinations of surface materials and shoes. Results allowed to identify, for the involved emotions and vibration conditions, the mean values and ranges of variation of two parameters, vibration amplitude and temporal distance between consecutive steps. Results were in accordance with those reported in previous studies on real walking, suggesting that the plantar vibro-tactile expression of emotions in walking is independent of the real or imagined motor activity. In a second experiment, participants were asked to identify the emotions portrayed by walking vibrations synthesized by setting the synthesis engine parameters to the mean values found in the first experiment. Results showed that the involved algorithms were successful in conveying the emotional information at a level comparable with previous studies. Results of both experiments revealed strong similarities with those of an analogous study on footstep sounds suggesting that emotionally expressive walking styles are consistently produced and recognized at auditory and plantar vibro-tactile level.
Analysis of Chromatin Dynamics during Glucocorticoid Receptor Activation

ABSTRACT Steroid hormone receptors initiate a genetic program tightly regulated by the chromatin environment of the responsive regions. Using the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as a model factor for transcriptional initiation, we classified chromatin structure through formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE). We looked at dynamic changes in FAIRE signals during GR activation specifically at regions of receptor interaction. We found a distribution of GR-responsive regions with diverse responses to activation and chromatin modulation. The majority of GR binding regions demonstrate increases in FAIRE signal in response to ligand. However, the majority GR-responsive regions shared a similar FAIRE signal in the basal chromatin state, suggesting a common chromatin structure for GR recruitment. Supporting this notion, global FAIRE sequencing (seq) data indicated an enrichment of signal surrounding the GR binding site prior to activation. Brg-1 knockdown showed response element-specific effects of ATPase-dependent chromatin remodeling. FAIRE induction was universally decreased by Brg-1 depletion, but to varying degrees in a target specific manner. Taken together, these data suggest classes of nuclear receptor response regions that react to activation through different chromatin regulatory events and identify a chromatin structure that classifies the majority of response elements tested.
Traumatic events and suicide-related outcomes among Mexico City adolescents.

BACKGROUND We report the prevalence and associations between traumatic events and suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts among Mexican adolescents. METHODS The data are from a representative multistage probability household survey of 3,005 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years residing in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area that was carried out in 2005. We used discrete time survival analyses to model the net impact of retrospectively reported prior occurrence of traumatic events on ideation, plans and attempts, taking into account the onset of psychiatric disorders. RESULTS Prevalence of suicidality was high among respondents with traumatic events, ranging from a 43% prevalence of suicidal ideation among those with a history of 'Being raped' to a 25% prevalence of suicide attempts among those that reported 'Purposely injured, tortured or killed someone. ' In cross-sectional estimates, any traumatic event was associated with an increase of 3.2 times the odds of suicide ideation, 5.1 times the odds of a plan and 6.6 times the odds of an attempt. Number of events was also associated with increasing suicidality such that those with three or more events were 13.7 times more likely to report a suicide attempt than those with none. Multivariate discrete time survival models that took into account a large number of demographic, suicide-related and psychiatric disorder variables reduced in strength but did not alter these basic relationships. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that traumatic events such as rape and sexual assault have a profound impact upon suicidality and that this relationship is not entirely explained by the onset of psychiatric disorders. Comprehensive interventions for adolescent victims of traumatic events, especially those with a history of cumulative events, should include, but not be restricted to, treatment of any associated psychiatric disorder.
Health seeking and perceived causes of tuberculosis among patients in Manila, Philippines

Summary Inefficient case finding is an important stumbling block to successful control of tuberculosis (TB). Multiple health seeking may account for delayed case finding. Health‐seeking behaviour, health seeking delay, perceived causes, and perceived quality of care related to TB were studied in interviews with 319 sputum smear‐positive TB patients. The patients were treated in 22 governmental health centres of Malabon, a municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. Only 29% of the respondents had gone first to a health centre after onset of TB‐related symptoms, and more than half (53%) had initially consulted a private doctor. A chest X‐ray was obtained for nearly everyone (97%). Two thirds of the patients (66%) had received a prescription for drugs, and 29% had purchased and taken anti‐TB drugs for at least three weeks before they came to a governmental health centre. Concerning community interactions, 36% said they knew at least one person who had been treated for TB without success. The health seeking delay after symptom onset was relatively short – 64% of the respondents said they went to a health facility within 1 month. Case studies illustrate the rationale for health seeking and explain delayed initiation of appropriate treatment for many patients. Findings underscore the need for and indicate approaches to health communication for improved control of TB. Our findings from interview narratives also suggest that improved interpersonal skills of health centre staff and co‐ordination between the private doctors and the health centres may substantially improve services for TB patients.
[PSA doubling time in prostate cancer relapsed after endocrine therapy].

PURPOSE The PSA level of prostate cancer patients generally declines after endocrine therapy, but elevates when the cancer relapses in most cases. However, the rate of elevation differs with the case. We investigated the PSA doubling time (PSA-DT) of the prostate cancer patients whose PSA declined after endocrine therapy and later re-elevated, and investigated the relationship with other parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS We investigated 55 prostate cancer patients who underwent endocrine therapy between 1991 and 1998. Their PSA re-elevated continuously after their PSA fell below 10 ng/ml after the endocrine therapy as the first line treatment. First, the correlation coefficients with time and PSA were calculated in order to decide whether their PSA elevation was exponential or linear. PSA-DT was calculated thereafter, and compared with the clinical stage, pathological differentiation, clinical relapse style, time from the beginning of the therapy to PSA relapse, pre-treatment PSA value, and prognosis. The relationship between PSA-DT and each clinical parameter was tested using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Differences in survival rates and PSA-DT were calculated using the log-rank test. RESULTS PSA elevated exponentially after cancer relapsed. PSA-DT in all cases ranged from 0.5 to 26.3 months, with an average of 4.4 +/- 4.8 (S.D.) months and the median was 2.5 months. PSA-DT was significantly (p < 0.01) short when the pre-treatment clinical stage was high, the time from the beginning of the therapy to PSA relapse was short, or the pre-treatment PSA value was high. PSA-DT tended to be short when the pre-treatment pathological differentiation was low, but not significantly. PSA-DT tended to be short when the cancer relapsed as distant metastasis rather than regional relapse, but not significantly. Prognosis from the initial treatment and PSA relapse was significantly poor when the PSA-DT was short. CONCLUSIONS PSA elevated exponentially in the relapsed prostate cancer patients after the endocrine therapy. PSA-DT was distributed in a very wide range, and this value was considered to reflect the malignant potential and prognosis of the cancer. PSA-DT may be useful for determining the strategy after relapse.