Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurogenic hyperalgesia: psychophysical studies of underlying mechanisms.

1. Psychophysical studies were made, in humans, of the sensory characteristics and underlying mechanisms of the hyperalgesia (often termed "secondary hyperalgesia") that occurs in uninjured skin surrounding a local cutaneous injury. The hyperalgesia was characterized by lowered pain thresholds and enhanced magnitude of pain to normally painful stimuli. The "injury" was produced by a single intradermal injection of 10 microliters of 100 micrograms of capsaicin, the algesic substance in hot chili peppers. 2. On injection of capsaicin into the volar forearm, the subjects experienced intense burning pain, accompanied immediately by the formation of three areas of hyperalgesia surrounding the injection site. The largest mean area (55 cm2) was hyperalgesic to a normally painful punctate stimulation of the skin. Nested within this was an area of tenderness to gentle stroking (38 cm2) and a much smaller area of hyperalgesia to heat (2 cm2). An area of analgesia to pinprick, approximately 4 mm in diameter and centered on the injection site, developed within minutes and typically disappeared within 24 h. The hyperalgesia to heat and to stroking disappeared within 1-2 h, whereas the hyperalgesia to punctate stimuli, although gradually decreasing in area, lasted from 13 to 24 h. 3. The radial spread of the mechanical hyperalgesia (to punctate and stroking stimuli) away from the injury was dependent on neural activity and not produced, for example, by algesic substances transported away from the injury. The injection of capsaicin into a small area of anesthetized skin did not produce hyperalgesia in the surrounding, unanesthetized skin. Also, the hyperalgesia in normal skin readily crossed a tight arm band that blocked the circulation of blood and lymph. 4. The spread of mechanical hyperalgesia away from the injury was peripherally mediated via cutaneous nerve fibers because it was blocked by a thin mediolateral strip of cutaneous anesthesia placed 1 cm away from the capsaicin injection site. Hyperalgesia developed normally on the capsaicin side of the strip but not on the other side. 5. Heat stimulation of the skin that produced pain that was equivalent in magnitude and time course to that produced by an injection of capsaicin (10 micrograms) resulted in much smaller areas of mechanical hyperalgesia. It was postulated that there exist special chemosensitive primary afferent nerve fibers that are more effective in producing mechanical hyperalgesia than are the known thermo- and mechanosensitive nociceptive nerve fibers. 6. Once developed, the mechanical hyperalgesia became only partially dependent on peripheral neural activity originating at the site of injury. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
HLA Class II Influences the Immune Response and Antibody Diversification to Ro60/Sjögren’s Syndrome-A: Heightened Antibody Responses and Epitope Spreading in Mice Expressing HLA-DR molecules1

Abs to Ro/SSA Ags in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome are influenced by the HLA class II genes. To investigate the role of individual HLA class II genes in immune responses to human Ro60 (hRo60), mice lacking murine class II molecules and carrying either HLA genes DR2(DRB1*1502), DR3(DRB1*0301), DQ6(DQA1*0103/DQB1*0601), or DQ8(DQA1*0301/DQB1*0302), were immunized with rhRo60. The results show that hRo60 induces strong T and B cell responses in DR2, DR3, and DQ8 mice in comparison to weaker responses in DQ6 mice. In all mice, the majority of the dominant T cell epitopes were located in the amino portion (aa 61–185) and the carboxy portion (aa 381–525) of the hRo60 molecules. In contrast, the early dominant B cell epitopes were located in the middle and carboxy portion of the hRo60 molecule (aa 281–315 and 401–538). In DR2, DR3, and DQ8 mice, the B cell epitopes subsequently spread to the amino and carboxy portion of the hRo60 molecule but were limited to the middle and carboxy portion in DQ6 mice. The DR2 and DR3 mice produced the highest titers of immunoprecipitating Abs against hRo60 and native mouse Ro60. In addition, only DR2 mice exclusively produced immunoprecipitating Abs to native mouse Ro52 and Abs to mouse La by slot blot analysis, whereas in other strains of mice Abs to mouse La were cross-reactive with the immunogen. The results of the present study demonstrate the importance of HLA class II in controlling the immune responses to the Ro-ribonucleoprotein.
Reported hearing protection use in young adults from Sweden and the USA: Effects of attitude and gender

The present study investigates differences between a Swedish and an American sample of young students regarding attitudes towards noise and the use of hearing protection at concerts. The study population was comprised of 179 participants from Sweden and 203 participants from the United States, who ranged in age from 17 to 21 years. Questionnaires were used to gather information on hearing symptoms and attitudes towards noise (Youth Attitude to Noise Scale). Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that attitudes towards noise differed significantly due to gender and country. Men had slightly more positive attitude towards noise than women, and men from the USA had more positive attitudes than men from Sweden. Least positive were the women from Sweden (except regarding attitudes towards the ability to concentrate in noisy environments). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the influence of attitudes towards noise and country on young people's use of hearing protection at concerts. The results indicated that attitudes and country explained 50% of the variance in use of hearing protection.
An Adaptive Bacterial Foraging Algorithm for color image enhancement

A new approach in spatial domain is presented for the enhancement of color images using an Adaptive Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (ABFA). The image may be classified as under-exposed or over-exposed depending upon the value of exposure. A new objective function is formulated which makes use of the fuzzy entropy. This objective function is optimized using ABFA which allows the step-size of the bacterial colony to vary dynamically over the generations. The lifetime of the bacterial colony is described by generations which are split into two phases; exploration and exploitation based on the value of step-size. Smaller step-sizes correspond to exploitation phases in which the entire bacterial colony is trying to exploit a region of interest while larger step-sizes correspond to exploration phases in which the entire bacterial colony is trying to explore the search space to find regions of interest which can then be exploited by reducing the step-size. This method is applicable on both over-exposed and under-exposed images. The proposed algorithm is found to be better and much more simplified than the existing Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (BFA) in fuzzy domain for color image enhancement upon comparison.
Prospective Clinical and Radiologic Evaluation of Patellofemoral Matrix-Induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation

Background: While matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) has demonstrated encouraging outcomes in the treatment of knee chondral defects, there remains little available research specifically investigating its use in the patellofemoral joint. Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the clinical and radiologic outcome of MACI in the patellofemoral joint. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: In 47 consecutive patients undergoing patellofemoral MACI, clinical (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, visual analog scale for pain, 6-minute walk test, knee range of motion, and strength assessment) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments were undertaken before and 3, 12, and 24 months after surgery. The MRI was performed to assess graft infill and determine an overall MRI composite score. Results were analyzed according to (1) the patient sample overall and (2) after stratification into 4 subgroups per implant location (patella or trochlea) as well as whether or not adjunct tibial tubercle transfer for patellofemoral malalignment was required. Results: The overall patient sample, as well as each of the 4 procedural subgroups, demonstrated clinically and statistically significant (P < .05) improvements over time for all clinical scores. Graft infill and the MRI composite score also demonstrated statistically significant (P < .05) improvements over time, with no evidence of a main effect for procedure group or interaction between procedure group and time. At 24 months after surgery, 40.4% (n = 19) of patients exhibited complete graft infill comparable with the adjacent native cartilage, with a further 6.4% (n = 3) demonstrating a hypertrophic graft. A further 31.9% (n = 15) of patients exhibited 50% to 100% tissue infill, and 17% (n = 8) demonstrated <50% tissue infill. Two patients (4.3%) demonstrated graft failure. At 24 months after surgery, 85% (n = 40) of patients were satisfied with the results of their MACI surgery. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that MACI provides improved clinical and radiologic outcomes to 24 months in patients undergoing treatment specifically for articular cartilage defects on the patella or trochlea, with and without concurrent realignment of the extensor mechanism if required.
Emerging modes of collective cell migration induced by geometrical constraints

The role of geometrical confinement on collective cell migration has been recognized but has not been elucidated yet. Here, we show that the geometrical properties of the environment regulate the formation of collective cell migration patterns through cell–cell interactions. Using microfabrication techniques to allow epithelial cell sheets to migrate into strips whose width was varied from one up to several cell diameters, we identified the modes of collective migration in response to geometrical constraints. We observed that a decrease in the width of the strips is accompanied by an overall increase in the speed of the migrating cell sheet. Moreover, large-scale vortices over tens of cell lengths appeared in the wide strips whereas a contraction-elongation type of motion is observed in the narrow strips. Velocity fields and traction force signatures within the cellular population revealed migration modes with alternative pulling and/or pushing mechanisms that depend on extrinsic constraints. Force transmission through intercellular contacts plays a key role in this process because the disruption of cell–cell junctions abolishes directed collective migration and passive cell–cell adhesions tend to move the cells uniformly together independent of the geometry. Altogether, these findings not only demonstrate the existence of patterns of collective cell migration depending on external constraints but also provide a mechanical explanation for how large-scale interactions through cell–cell junctions can feed back to regulate the organization of migrating tissues.
Information Technology for Assisted Living at Home: building a wireless infrastructure for assisted living

A heterogeneous wireless network to support a home health system is presented. This system integrates a set of smart sensors which are designed to provide health and security to the elder citizen living at home. The system facilitates privacy by performing local computation, it supports heterogeneous devices and it provides a platform and initial architecture for exploring the use of sensors with elderly people in the Information Technology for Assisted Living and Home project. The goal of this project is to provide alerts to care givers in the event of an accident or acute illness, and enable remote monitoring by authorized and authenticated care givers
Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus - a good candidate for an umbrella species in taiga forests

The capercaillie Tetrao urogallus is widely accepted as a species seriously suffering from fragmentation of forests and habitat loss. Foresters as well as conservationists agree on the need and principles for maintaining viable populations, but the proposed management means often differ. The approach currently favoured by Finnish foresters is to manage capercaillie leks and their surroundings using methods that differ from those used in intensive forestry. It may be desirable to prove that forests with capercaillie leks also favour other forest bird species and biodiversity in general. During the last 16 years (1987–2002), forest birds have been censused and capercaillie leks were mapped in the 465-km2 study area in southern Finland. Most of the study area consists of spruce-dominated mature forests. The remainder of the landscape is a mixture of variously aged forests, agricultural areas, lakes and scattered human settlements with a gradient from an agricultural-forest mosaic to forest-dominated areas. The old-growth forest bird species three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, pygmy owl Glaucidium passerinum and red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva were more abundant within 300 m and 1,000 m radii around capercaillie lek sites than in non-lek control sites. Also the overall species richness of breeding forest birds was higher in the vicinity of capercaillie leks. On a larger scale (100 × 100 km squares), using the wildlife triangle scheme developed in Finland, we show that the density of capercaillie closely coincides with a wildlife richness index describing the total abundance of 15 other forest-dwelling mammal and bird species with diverse ecology and habitat requirements. Capercaillie is a flagship species for foresters, and can be considered a good candidate for an umbrella species for wildlife in taiga forests.
Therapeutic Potential of SH 2 Domain-Containing Inositol-5 ′-Phosphatase 1 ( SHIP 1 ) and SHIP 2 Inhibition in Cancer

Inositol phospholipids play a crucial role in all aspects of cell biology, from cell survival, differentiation and migration, to immune function, organ development and tumor growth. Their production is carefully regulated by a wide range of lipid kinases and phosphatases (1,2). The most studied of these is phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), which produces the phosphoinositides (phosphatidyl inositol phosphates [PIPs]) PtdIns(3)P1, PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. The last phospholipid [PtdIns(3,4,5)P3] acts as second messenger by binding PH domain–containing proteins such as protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), implicated in cell survival. Many tumors, including breast cancer and hematological malignancies such as the plasma cell neoplasm multiple myeloma (MM), present with constitutive activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway (3). Activating mutations in the PI3K gene (PIK3CA) have been described, but constitutive PI3K signaling may also occur as a secondary effect (4). Activating mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases or Ras, oncogenic translocation products, and cytokine signaling loops have also been described as contributing factors (5,6). Regardless of the activating mechanism, targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway with specific inhibitors is believed to be a promising approach in treating cancer (7,8). PI3K signaling is generally thought to be counteracted by lipid phosphatases. One of these is the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), which hydrolyzes PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 to PtdIns(4,5)P2, thereby decreasing the PI3K-induced survival signal and acting as a tumor suppressor (reviewed in [9]). Others are the SH2-domain containing inositol 5′ polyphosphatases: SH2 domaincontaining inositol-5′-phosphatase 1 (SHIP1) and SHIP2, which dephosphorylate inositol lipids at the 5D position of the inositol ring, when a phosphate is present at the 3D position, thereby generating PtdIns(3,4)P2. SHIP1 and SHIP2 share 38% sequence homology, but may
Anti-swing control for overhead crane with neural compensation

This paper considers the problem of PD control of overhead crane in the presence of uncertainty associated with crane dynamics. By using radial basis function neural networks, these uncertainties can be compensated effectively. This new neural control can resolve the two problems for overhead crane control: 1) decrease steady-state error of normal PD control. 2) guarantee stability via neural compensation. Lyapunov method and input-to-state stability technique, we prove that these robust controllers with neural compensators are stable. Real-time experiments are presented to show the applicability of the approach presented in this paper.
Susceptibility of common bacterial respiratory pathogens to antimicrobial agents in outpatients from South Backa District.

INTRODUCTION Acute infections of the upper respiratory tract are the most common reasons why patients visit general practitioners. Overuse of antibiotics in treatment of these conditions is extremely common practice although these infections are most frequently caused by viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution and susceptibility of common pathogens to antimicrobial agents that cause infections of the upper respiratory tract in outpatients and to determine whether the results obtained from the examined sample were in accordance with the recommendations of the current National Guideline. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 945 strains isolated from the throat and nasal swabs from January 1st to March 31st, 2008, as well as from 330 strains isolated from January 1st to March 31st, 2013 in South Backa District, Serbia. Susceptibility tests were performed by the standard disc diffusion method and according to the criteria recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. RESULTS The most commonly isolated strains were Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Branchamella catarrhalis, and Haemophilus influenzae. Susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes, Branchamella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae to examined antibiotics did not substantially change over the two study periods. None of the isolates of Staphylococcus aures demonstrated resistance to methicillin in 2008, while the percentage of resistant strains was 5.93% in 2013. Susceptibility rates of Staphylococcus pneumoniae isolates to erythromycin and clindamycin were lower in 2013 than in 2008. CONCLUSION The investigation results follow the recommendations of the National Guideline for the usage of natural penicillin in the treatment of tonsillopharyngitis. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid is recommended for the treatment of rhinosinusitis, and second generation cephalosporins are the second choice.
Reduction of residual dipolar interaction in cartilage by spin‐lock technique

The influence of radiofrequency (RF) spin‐lock pulse on the laminar appearance of articular cartilage in MR images was investigated. Spin‐lock MRI experiments were performed on bovine cartilage plugs on a 4.7 Tesla small‐bore MRI scanner, and on human knee cartilage in vivo on a 1.5 Tesla clinical scanner. When the normal to the surface of cartilage was parallel to B0, a typical laminar appearence was exhibited in T2‐weighted images of cartilage plugs, but was absent in T1ρ‐weighted images of the same plugs. At the “magic angle” orientation (when the normal to the surface of cartilage was 54.7° with respect to B0), neither the T2 nor the T1ρ images demonstrated laminae. At the same time, T1ρ values were greater than T2 at both orientations throughout the cartilage. T1ρ dispersion (i.e., the dependence of the relaxation rate on the spin‐lock frequency ω1) was observed, which reached a steady‐state value of close to 2 kHz in both parallel and magic‐angle orientations. These results suggest that residual dipolar interaction from motionally‐restricted water and relaxation processes, such as chemical exchange, contribute to T1ρ dispersion in cartilage. Further, one can reduce the laminar appearance in human articular cartilage by applying spin‐lock RF pulses, which may lead to a more accurate diagnosis of degenerative changes in cartilage. Magn Reson Med 52:1103–1109, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Where to Focus: Deep Attention-based Spatially Recurrent Bilinear Networks for Fine-Grained Visual Recognition

Fine-grained visual recognition typically depends on modeling subtle difference from object parts. However, these parts often exhibit dramatic visual variations such as occlusions, viewpoints, and spatial transformations, making it hard to detect. In this paper, we present a novel attention-based model to automatically, selectively and accurately focus on critical object regions with higher importance against appearance variations. Given an image, two different Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are constructed, where the outputs of two CNNs are correlated through bilinear pooling to simultaneously focus on discriminative regions and extract relevant features. To capture spatial distributions among the local regions with visual attention, soft attention based spatial Long-Short Term Memory units (LSTMs) are incorporated to realize spatially recurrent yet visually selective over local input patterns. All the above intuitions equip our network with the following novel model: two-stream CNN layers, bilinear pooling layer, spatial recurrent layer with location attention are jointly trained via an end-to-end fashion to serve as the part detector and feature extractor, whereby relevant features are localized and extracted attentively. We show the significance of our network against two well-known visual recognition tasks: fine-grained image classification and person re-identification.
A randomized linear algorithm for clock synchronization in multi-agent systems

In this paper a randomized linear protocol for time synchronization of clocks in a multi-agent scenario is considered. Clocks are allowed to have different offsets and different rates, and they communicate through an asymmetric broadcast protocol. The contribution of this paper is twofold. It is first shown that, under very mild conditions on the communication graph, it is possible to tune a protocol parameter in such a way that synchronization is achieved in mean-square. Then, via numerical simulations, the proposed strategy is compared with other fully distributed strategies recently proposed in the literature. While being slightly slower to reach the asymptotic synchronization, the proposed strategy significantly outperforms the other strategies in terms of robustness against process and measurement noises and time-varying clock drifts.
Pain management for elderly patients with cancer at home

Background. Pain is an important problem for patients with cancer and is particularly important for elderly patients with cancer and their family care givers. Increasingly, cancer is managed on an outpatient basis with pain management responsibility assumed by the family at home. This study evaluated a structured pain education program that included three components: basic pain management principles and assessment, pharmaco‐logic interventions, and nondrug treatments.
Paradigm: a highly scalable shared-memory multicomputer architecture

Paradigm (parallel distributed global memory), a shared-memory multicomputer architecture that is being developed to show that one can build a large-scale machine using high-performance microprocessors, is discussed. The Paradigm architecture allows a parallel application program to execute any of its tasks on any processor in the machine, with all the tasks in a single address space. The focus is on novel design techniques that support scalability. The key performance issues are identified, and some results to date from this work and experience with the VMP architecture design on which it is based are summarized. <<ETX>>