julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Impact of Vitamin D Receptor VDR rs2228570 Polymorphism in Oldest Old
2013-01-01

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Background:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Calcitriol, a key player in the regulation of mineral metabolism, influences, directly or by increasing plasma Ca&lt;sup&gt;2+&lt;/sup&gt; and phosphate levels, a multitude of physiological functions, such as bone mineralization, cell proliferation, immune response, carbohydrate metabolism, blood pressure, platelet reactivity, gastric acid secretion, cognitive function and mood. Calcitriol is mainly effective by stimulation of the Vitamin D receptor VDR. The responsiveness of VDR may be affected by gene variants, such as the FokI polymorphism (rs2228570). The GG gene variant is expected to be more active than the GA or AA gene variant. The present study explored the impact of VDR rs2228570 on survival and health of oldest old individuals (&gt; 90 years). &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; 101 individuals &gt; 90 years were examined and genotyped. As a result, the prevalence of GG, GA &amp;#38; AA was 36 (10 &amp;#x2642;, 26&amp;#x2640;), 52 (24 &amp;#x2642;, 28&amp;#x2640;) and 13 (4 &amp;#x2642;, 9&amp;#x2640;), respectively, a prevalence not significantly different from the frequency in public available dbSNP and a population (n = 208) of young volunteers (average age 49 years). &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; As compared to carriers of GG, carriers of AA and/or GA displayed significantly (&lt;i&gt;p&lt;0.05&lt;/i&gt;) lower diastolic blood pressure (significant only in &amp;#x2642;), higher instrumental activity of daily life (IADL) score and more frequent hospital visits (significant only in &amp;#x2642;), significantly lower prevalence of depression (significant in &amp;#x2640;+&amp;#x2642;), renal disease (significant only in &amp;#x2640;), allergy, peptic ulcer and urolithiasis (significant only in &amp;#x2642;), as well as significantly higher prevalence of transitoric ischemic attacks. In a younger population a German version of the NEO-FFI, allowing reliable and valid assessment of personality, revealed decreased neuroticism (significant only in &amp;#x2642;) and increased extraversion in AA carriers. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; The Vitamin D receptor gene variant VDR rs2228570 has only little impact on life span but may affect a variety of pathophysiologically relevant functions including mood.
Detailed Joint Region Analysis of the 7-Joint Ultrasound Score: Evaluation of an Arthritis Patient Cohort over One Year
2013-01-01

Objective . The main objective of this study was to evaluate the 7-joint ultrasound (US7) score by detailed joint region analysis of an arthritis patient cohort. Methods . The US7 score examines the clinically most affected wrist, MCP and PIP II, III, MTP II, and V joints for synovitis, tenosynovitis/paratenonitis, and erosions. Forty-five patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (84.4%) and spondyloarthritis with polyarticular peripheral arthritis (PsA 13.3%; AS 2.2%) with a median disease duration of 6.5 yrs (range 7.5 mths–47.6 yrs) were included and examined at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months after starting or changing therapy (DMARD/biologic). In this study, detailed US7 score joint region analysis was firstly performed. Results . The joint region analysis performed at baseline disclosed synovitis in 95.6% of affected wrists in the dorsal aspect by greyscale (GS) US where Grade 2 (moderate) was most often (48.9%) detected. Palmar wrist regions presented Grade 1 (minor) capsule elevation in 40% and Grade 2 (moderate synovitis) in 37.8%. Tenosynovitis of the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendon was found in 40%, with PD activity in 6.6%. Most of the erosions in MCP II were detected in the radial (68.9%), followed by the dorsal (48.9%) and palmar (44.4%) aspects. In MTP V, erosions were seen in 75.6% from lateral. Conclusions . Synovitis in GSUS was more often detected in the wrist in the dorsal than in the palmar aspect. ECU tendon involvement was frequent. Most erosions were found in the lateral scan of MTP V and the medial (radial) scan of MCP II.
New Applications of Photodynamic Therapy in Biomedicine and Biotechnology
2013-01-01

1 Laboratory of Photodynamic Inactivation of Microorganisms, Department of Materials Science and Physics, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrase 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria 2 Department of Dermatology, Eberhard Karls University, Liebermeisterstrase 25, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany 3Department of Internal Medicine I, Paracelsus Medical University and Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK), Muellner Hauptstrasse 48, 5020 Salzburg, Austria 4 Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Paracelsus Medical University, Strubergasse 21, 5020 Salzburg, Austria 5 Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
Multiple faces of preferential market access: their causes and consequences
2013-01-01

This paper suggests an integrated approach to study selection into and consequences of five modes of preferential economic integration agreements (PEIAs): goods trade agreements (GTAs), services trade agreements (STAs), double taxation treaties (DTTs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs), and currency unions as well as currency pegs (CUAs). A detailed descriptive analysis reveals typical integration patterns, with DTTs and BITs often being first steps towards deeper integration. We consider the effects of PEIAs on bilateral goods trade, services trade, and FDI and provide conclusive evidence that single and combined PEIAs are associated with positive effects not only on single outcome but typically on all outcomes. Investment liberalization through DTTs and BITs seems to be particularly beneficial since concluding them alone or in any combination with other agreements encourages goods trade even more than the liberalization of goods trade per se— Peter Egger and Georg Wamser
Neuromotor Speech Impairment: It's All in the Talking
2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to explicate the uniqueness of the motor activity implied in spoken language production and to emphasize how important it is, from a theoretical and a clinical perspective, to consider the motor events associated with speaking as domain-specific, i.e., as pertaining to the domain of linguistic expression. First, phylogenetic data are reviewed demonstrating the specificity of the human vocal tract motor network regarding (i) the entrenchment of laryngeal motor skills within the organization of vocal tract movements, (ii) the evolution of a neural basis for skill acquisition within this system, and (iii) the integration of this system into an auditory-motor network. Second, ontogenetic evidence and existing knowledge about the experience-dependent plasticity of the brain are reported to explicate that during speech acquisition the vocal tract motor system is constrained by universal properties of speech production and by the specific phonological properties of the speaker's ambient language. Third, clinical data from dysarthria and apraxia of speech provide the background for a discussion about the theoretical underpinnings of domain-general versus domain-specific views of speech motor control. The article ends with a brief sketch of a holistic neurophonetic approach in experimental inquiries, assessment, and treatment of neuromotor speech impairment.
Comparison of movement related cortical potential in healthy people and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients
2013-01-01

The comparison between healthy people and ALS patients provides a way to explain the movement disorder through brain electrical signal. In addition, the characteristics of MRCP could be used to monitor and guide brain plasticity in patients.
The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Sequence of Buran-Kaya III (Crimea, Ukraine): New Stratigraphic, Paleoenvironmental, and Chronological Results
2013-01-01

Buran-Kaya III is a rockshelter located in Crimea (Ukraine). It provides an exceptional stratigraphic sequence extending from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Nine Paleolithic layers have been attributed to the Streletskaya or eastern Szeletian, Micoquian, Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Swiderian cultural traditions. Human remains from the richest Gravettian layer (6-1) are radiocarbon dated to 31.9 ka BP, and therefore represent, with Peştera cu Oase (Romania), one of the oldest anatomically modern humans in Europe. The aim of this study is to obtain a controlled stratigraphic sequence of Buran-Kaya III with new 14 C dates from faunal and human bones, in their paleoenvironmental context. During our new excavations (2009–2011), sediments, bones, and teeth from the stratigraphical layers were sampled for sedimentological, geochemical, and 14 C analyses. Fossil bones from the 2001 excavations were also analyzed. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dating, including cross-dating, was performed at Groningen, Saclay/Gif-sur-Yvette, and Oxford. Biogeochemical analysis was used to test the integrity of the bone collagen. Dates were modeled using a Bayesian approach. The sedimentological, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data are mutually consistent and show that the Paleolithic human occupations at Buran-Kaya III range from the end of MIS 3 to early MIS 1. These results provide a new chronological and paleoenvironmental framework for the human settlements in eastern Europe during the late Middle and the Upper Paleolithic.
A dual role for the βPS integrin myospheroid in mediating Drosophila embryonic macrophage migration
2013-01-01

Throughout embryonic development, macrophages not only constitute the first line of defense against infection but also help to sculpt organs and tissues of the embryo by removing dead cells and secreting extracellular matrix components. Key to their function is the ability of embryonic macrophages to migrate and disperse throughout the embryo. Yet despite these important developmental functions, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic macrophage migration in vivo. Integrins are key regulators of many of the adult macrophage responses, but their role in embryonic macrophages remains poorly characterized. Here, we have used Drosophila macrophages (haemocytes) as a model system to address the role of integrins during embryonic macrophage dispersal in vivo. We show that the main βPS integrin, myospheroid, affects haemocyte migration in two ways; by shaping the 3-dimensional environment in which haemocytes migrate and by regulating the migration of haemocytes themselves. Live imaging reveals a requirement for myospheroid within haemocytes for coordinating the microtubule and actin dynamics, and in enabling haemocyte developmental dispersal, contact repulsion and inflammatory migration towards wounds.
Guidelines and quality measures for the diagnosis of optic ataxia
2013-01-01

Since the first description of a systematic mis-reaching by Bálint in 1909, a reasonable number of patients showing a similar phenomenology, later termed optic ataxia (OA), has been described. However, there is surprising inconsistency regarding the behavioral measures that are used to detect OA in experimental and clinical reports, if the respective measures are reported at all. A typical screening method that was presumably used by most researchers and clinicians, reaching for a target object in the peripheral visual space, has never been evaluated. We developed a set of instructions and evaluation criteria for the scoring of a semi-standardized version of this reaching task. We tested 36 healthy participants, a group of 52 acute and chronic stroke patients, and 24 patients suffering from cerebellar ataxia. We found a high interrater reliability and a moderate test-retest reliability comparable to other clinical instruments in the stroke sample. The calculation of cut-off thresholds based on healthy control and cerebellar patient data showed an unexpected high number of false positives in these samples due to individual outliers that made a considerable number of errors in peripheral reaching. This study provides first empirical data from large control and patient groups for a screening procedure that seems to be widely used but rarely explicitly reported and prepares the grounds for its use as a standard tool for the description of patients who are included in single case or group studies addressing optic ataxia similar to the use of neglect, extinction, or apraxia screening tools.
Directed Forgetting in Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder: A Study of Refugee Immigrants in Germany
2013-01-01

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often suffer from memory disturbances. In particular, previous studies suggest that PTSD patients perform atypically on tests of directed forgetting, which may be mediated by an altered emotional appraisal of the presented material. Also, a special role of dissociative symptoms in traumatized individuals' memory performance has been suggested. Here, we investigate these issues in traumatized immigrants in Germany. In an item-method directed forgetting task, pictures were presented individually, each followed by an instruction to either remember or forget it. Later, recognition memory was tested for all pictures, regardless of initial instruction. Overall, the PTSD group's discrimination accuracy was lower than the control group's, as PTSD participants produced fewer hits and more false alarms, but the groups did not differ in directed forgetting itself. Moreover, the more negatively participants evaluated the stimuli, the less they were able to discriminate old from new items. Participants with higher dissociation scores were particularly poor at recognizing to-be-forgotten items. Results confirm PTSD patients' general discrimination deficits, but provide no evidence for a distinct directed forgetting pattern in PTSD. Furthermore, data indicate that, in general, more negatively perceived items are discriminated with less accuracy than more positively appraised ones. Results are discussed in the larger context of emotion and stress-related modulations of episodic memory, with particular focus on the role of dissociative symptoms.
Quality of life, emotion regulation, and heart rate variability in individuals with intellectual disabilities and concomitant impaired vision
2013-01-01

Background\\n\\nPositive associations have been found between quality of life, emotion regulation strategies, and heart rate variability (HRV) in people without intellectual disabilities. However, emotion regulation and HRV have rarely been investigated in people with intellectual disabilities. Assessment of subjectively reported quality of life and emotion regulation strategies in this population is even more difficult when participants are also visually impaired.\\n\\nMethods\\n\\nSubjective and objective quality of life, emotion regulation strategies, and HRV at rest were measured in a sample of people with intellectual disabilities and concomitant impaired vision (N = 35). Heart rate was recorded during a 10 min resting period. For the assessment of quality of life and emotion regulation, custom made tactile versions of questionnaire-based instruments were used that enabled participants to grasp response categories.\\n\\nResults\\n\\nThe combined use of reappraisal and suppression as emotion regulation strategies was associated with higher HRV and quality of life. HRV was associated with objective quality of life only. Emotion regulation strategies partially mediated the relationship between HRV and quality of life.\\n\\nConclusions\\n\\nResults replicate findings about associations between quality of life, emotion regulation, and HRV and extend them to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that quality of life and emotion regulation could be assessed in such populations even with concomitant impaired vision with modified tactile versions of established questionnaires. HRV may be used as a physiological index to evaluate physical and affective conditions in this population.
Light-induced phase transitions of colloidal monolayers with crystalline order
2013-01-01

We experimentally study the phase behavior of a charge-stabilized two-dimensional colloidal crystal which is subjected to a one-dimensional periodic light field. Such light fields are created by a scanned optical line tweezer which allows the variation of the periodicity without optical realignments. In order to realize a wide range of line spacings relative to the lattice constant, we use a suspension of silica particles in bromobenzene. This colloidal system has a Debye screening length of about 4.6 μm which results in the formation of crystals with lattice constants up to 20 μm. Because the refractive index of bromobenzene is larger than that of the colloids, optical gradient forces lead to the attraction of particles at regions where the intensity is smallest. Depending on the depth and periodicity of the optical potential, we observe the light-induced assembly of colloids into triangular, rhombic and square phases.
Intui2: A Prototype System for Question Answering over Linked Data.
2013-01-01

Abstract. An ever increasing amount of Linked Data is made available every day. Public triple stores offer the possibility of querying hundreds of millions of triples. But this information can only be retrieved using specialized query languages like SPARQL, so for the majority of Inter-net users, it is still unavailable. This paper presents a prototype system aimed at streamlining the access to the information stored as RDF. The system takes as input a natural language question formulated in English and generates an equivalent SPARQL query. The mapping is based on the analysis of the syntactic patterns present in the input question. In the initial evaluation results, against the 99 questions in the QALD-3 DBpedia test set, the system provides a correct answer to 30 questions and a partial answer for another 3 questions, achieving an F-measure of
Multilateral Economic Cooperation and the International Transmission of Fiscal Policy
2013-01-01

Abstract The problem of fiscal policy coordination across countries has been thrust into the spotlight by the Great Recession The authors attack this question using both theory and empirics, and find evidence that, using standard identification methods, US fiscal shocks do generate quite large spillovers across the Atlantic. In theory it is quite hard to generate large cross-border spillovers: the "financial channel" matters, but doubts about solvency would undermine the mechanism. Thus international coordination may be helpful if it creates and sustains "fiscal space" so that truly solvent countries avoid self-fulfilling sovereign crises.
Auditory habituation to simple tones: reduced evidence for habituation in children compared to adults
2013-01-01

Habituation-the response decrement to repetitively presented stimulation-is a basic cognitive capability and suited to investigate development and integrity of the human brain. To evaluate the developmental process of auditory habituation, the current study used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate auditory habituation, dishabituation and stimulus specificity in children and adults and compared the results between age groups. Twenty-nine children (M age = 9.69 years, SD ± 0.47) and 14 adults (M age = 29.29 years, SD ± 3.47) participated in the study and passively listened to a habituation paradigm consisting of 100 trains of tones which were composed of five 500 Hz tones, one 750 Hz tone (dishabituator) and another two 500 Hz tones, respectively while focusing their attention on a silent movie. Adults showed the expected habituation and stimulus specificity within-trains while no response decrement was found between trains. Sensory adaptation or fatigue as a source for response decrement in adults is unlikely due to the strong reaction to the dishabituator (stimulus specificity) and strong mismatch negativity (MMN) responses. However, in children neither habituation nor dishabituation or stimulus specificity could be found within-trains, response decrement was found across trains. It can be speculated that the differences between children and adults are linked to differences in stimulus processing due to attentional processes. This study shows developmental differences in task-related brain activation and discusses the possible influence of broader concepts such as attention, which should be taken into account when comparing performance in an identical task between age groups.
Surface chemistry study of the interactions of hyaluronic acid and benzalkonium chloride with meibomian and corneal cell lipids
2013-01-01

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a non-surface active water soluble anionic polyelectrolyte found in sub-nanomolar levels in human tears and implemented in substitutes of human tears' aqueous layer. In the current work we studied the interactions of high molecular weight (Mw 1 × 106 Da) HA with films of ocular surface lipids and investigated the potential of HA to modify the interactions of the lipid films with the low Mw cationic surfactant dodecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (C12-BAC) known for its adverse effects on tear film compounds. The interactions of HA and/or C12-BAC with meibomian and corneal lipid films were examined using a Langmuir surface balance. The film morphology was monitored by Brewster Angle Microscopy. The HA/C12-BAC interactions at the air/water interface and in the solution bulk were also examined. HA interacted with meibomian lipids and enhanced the structure and the rheological properties of the meibum films. HA bound C12-BAC in bulky polymer/surfactant complexes and at ≥0.1% HA neutralized the capability of C12-BAC to penetrate the lipid layers and to disrupt their integrity and viscoelasticity. The results were correlated with the capability of HA to maintain the viability of C12-BAC treated corneal cells. Our study suggests a possible novel implementation of high Mw anionic polyelectrolytes like HA: the polymers can be instilled on the ocular surface together with cationic surfactant containing drugs, and increase the biocompatibility of the ophthalmic formulations. A molecular scale mechanism is proposed for the interactions of HA with tear lipids and cationic surfactants.