Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Presence of Anterior Compression of the Spinal Cord After Laminoplasty Inhibits Upper Extremity Motor Recovery in Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Study Design. A retrospective single-center study. Objective. To investigate how functional recovery is influenced by anterior compression of the spinal cord (ACS) and instability at the level of ACS after laminoplasty in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Summary of Background Data. There have been many reports that patients whose spinal cord cannot be decompressed sufficiently after laminoplasty are likely to show unsatisfactory neurologic outcomes. Notably, postoperative ACS is well known to cause problems. Clinically, however, it remains unknown how functional recovery is inhibited by postoperative ACS. Methods. Sixty-four consecutive patients who underwent expansive laminoplasty for the treatment of myelopathy at our hospital between 1998 and 2005 were reviewed. All 64 patients were available for follow-up. The average follow-up period was 97 months (60–156 months). Patients were divided into 2 groups: the ACS(+) group comprised 16 patients who had ACS 3 years postoperatively, and the ACS(−) group comprised 48 patients with no ACS. Clinical outcome was compared in terms of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (mean total score, mean score of each item, and recovery rates). Results. Demographics were similar between the 2 groups. Mean Japanese Orthopaedic Association score at final follow-up was 12.1 points (recovery rate 34.0%) in the ACS(+) group and 13.8 points (recovery rate 56.6%) in the ACS(−) group, and there was a significant difference in recovery rate between the groups (P < 0.05). Notably, a significant difference was found between the 2 groups in improvement of upper extremity motor function (P < 0.05). In addition, we found that not only the presence of ACS but also postoperative hypermobility of the intervertebral segment with ACS influenced clinical outcome negatively. Conclusion. These results demonstrate that ACS after laminoplasty could be a risk factor for clinical outcome and might prevent improvement in upper extremity motor function in patients with myelopathy.
Trends of delays in tuberculosis case finding in Japan and associated factors.

SETTING Nationwide tuberculosis (TB) registry in Japan, 1987-2002. OBJECTIVE To clarify the trends of patient's delay (PD), doctor's delay (DD) and total delay (TD), their relation and factors associated with the delays. DESIGN Longitudinal study on trends in delays. Among patients with symptomatic smear-positive pulmonary TB, those with long PD (> or =2 months), DD (> or =1 month) and TD (> or =3 months) were analysed. RESULTS Long PD rates increased until around 1997, whereas long DD rates decreased markedly from 1995 to 1999. Long TD rates increased until 1997, and decreased slightly thereafter. Men aged 30-59 years had higher rates of long PD, and the long PD rates increased through the 16-year observation period. Day labourers receiving or applying for welfare benefit had the highest rate of long TD, 46.5% during 1995-2002. Teachers and medical doctors showed the greatest increase in long TD rates through the period. CONCLUSION Long TD was influenced more by PD than DD, and showed an upward trend. However, the long TD rate has declined slightly owing to the recent reduction in long DD. The reduction in DD since 1995 occurred immediately after the introduction of new technology in bacteriological examinations.
Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oils Extracted from Laurus nobilis L. Leaves by Using Solvent-Free Microwave and Hydrodistillation

In this study, laurel essential oils were obtained by using solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) and hydrodistillation (HD) methods from Laurus nobilis leaves and determined their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Extraction time was reduced by about 43% in SFME at 622 W and 67% in SFME at 249 W compared to hydrodistillation. Essential oil of laurel was extracted by SFME at 622 W (100%) and 249 W (40%) power levels and HD inhibited oxidation generated by ABTS radical by 93.88%, 94.13% and 92.06%, respectively. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacities (TEAC) of essential oils were 0.18 mM/mL oil for SFME at 622 W, 1.36 mM/mL oil for SFME at 249 W and 2.40 mM/mL oil for HD (p L. nobilis were extracted by SFME at 100% and 40% power levels and HD inhibited linoleic acid peroxidation by 70.57%, 63.53% and 89.18% respectively. Inhibition effects of laurel essential oils obtained by SFME at different power levels and HD on DPPH radical cation oxidation were not significantly different. The strongest antioxidant activity against DPPH radical was found in the essential oil obtained by SFME at 100% power level. Essential oils displayed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus 6538P, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium NRRL E 4463 except for Listeria monocytogenes. The inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus 6538P survival of laurel oil obtained from SFME by using lower power level was found to be lower than that obtained from SFME at 100% power level and HD (p
Lecture Notes on Chern-simons (super-)gravities Second Edition -february 2008

This is intended to be a broad introduction to Chern-Simons gravity and supergravity. The motivation for these theories lies in the desire to have a gauge invariant system –with a fiber bundle formulation– in more than three dimensions, which could provide a firm ground for constructing a quantum theory of the gravitational field. The starting point is a gravitational action which generalizes the Einstein theory for dimensions D > 4 –Lovelock gravity. It is then shown that in odd dimensions there is a particular choice of the arbitrary parameters of the action that makes the theory gauge invariant under the (anti-)de Sitter or the Poincaré groups. The resulting lagrangian is a Chern-Simons form for a connection of the corresponding gauge groups and the vielbein and the spin connection are parts of this connection field. These theories also admit a natural supersymmetric extension for all odd D where the local supersymmetry algebra closes off-shell and without a need for auxiliary fields. No analogous construction is available in even dimensions. A cursory discussion of the unexpected dynamical features of these theories and a number of open problems are also presented. These notes were prepared for the Fifth CBPF Graduate School, held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2004, published in Portuguese [1]. These notes were in turn based on a lecture series presented at the Villa de Leyva Summer School 2001 [2], at the La Hechicera School 1999 in Mérida (Venezuela), and at the 20th Particles and Fields Meeting, Sao Lourenço, Brazil, Oct. 1999 [3]. This second edition contains a number of important corrections of errors and obscure points in the previous versions. A number of new references have been added to improve the text. e-mail: z[at]cecs[dot]cl
The phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway in normal and malignant B cells: activation mechanisms, regulation and impact on cellular functions

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is a central signal transduction axis controlling normal B cell homeostasis and activation in humoral immunity. The p110δ PI3K catalytic subunit has emerged as a critical mediator of multiple B cell functions. The activity of this pathway is regulated at multiple levels, with inositol phosphatases PTEN and SHIP both playing critical roles. When deregulated, the PI3K pathway can contribute to B cell malignancies and autoantibody production. This review summarizes current knowledge on key mechanisms that activate and regulate the PI3K pathway and influence normal B cell functional responses including the development of B cell subsets, antigen presentation, immunoglobulin isotype switch, germinal center responses, and maintenance of B cell anergy. We also discuss PI3K pathway alterations reported in select B cell malignancies and highlight studies indicating the functional significance of this pathway in malignant B cell survival and growth within tissue microenvironments. Finally, we comment on early clinical trial results, which support PI3K inhibition as a promising treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Una versione abbreviata del test di Stroop: dati normativi nella popolazione italiana

The Stroop Colour Word Test is a neuropsychological tool widely used in clinical practice to assess selective attention, cognitive flexibility and sensitivity to interference, abilities which have been linked to the frontal lobes. The aim of the present study was to collect normative data in an Italian population sample (including 248 participants well distributed across sex, education and age categories) on a shortened version of the Stroop test developed by Venneri et al. in 1993 2 0 , which is widely used in the assessment of patients with dementia. The Stroop effect was evaluated by computing a time interference effect (based on execution time) and an error interference effect (based on number of errors). Multiple regression analysis revealed significant effects of age and educational level on performance but no effect of sex. Inferential cut-offs have been determined and equivalent scores computed. The availability of equivalent scores for the Stroop test will prove useful in the clinical evaluation of patients' cognitive profiles. It will be, therefore, possible to compare performance on the Stroop test with that on other neuropsychological tests for which normative values collected with similar methods are already available for the Italian population.
Large-scale readability analysis of privacy policies

Online privacy policies notify users of a Website how their personal information is collected, processed and stored. Against the background of rising privacy concerns, privacy policies seem to represent an influential instrument for increasing customer trust and loyalty. However, in practice, consumers seem to actually read privacy policies only in rare cases, possibly reflecting the common assumption stating that policies are hard to comprehend. By designing and implementing an automated extraction and readability analysis toolset that embodies a diversity of established readability measures, we present the first large-scale study that provides current empirical evidence on the readability of nearly 50,000 privacy policies of popular English-speaking Websites. The results empirically confirm that on average, current privacy policies are still hard to read. Furthermore, this study presents new theoretical insights for readability research, in particular, to what extent practical readability measures are correlated. Specifically, it shows the redundancy of several well-established readability metrics such as SMOG, RIX, LIX, GFI, FKG, ARI, and FRES, thus easing future choice making processes and comparisons between readability studies, as well as calling for research towards a readability measures framework. Moreover, a more sophisticated privacy policy extractor and analyzer as well as a solid policy text corpus for further research are provided.
CONVERGENCE OF NUMERICAL SCHEMES FOR SHORT WAVE LONG WAVE INTERACTION EQUATIONS

We consider the numerical approximation of a system of partial differential equations involving a nonlinear Schrodinger equation coupled with a hyperbolic conservation law. This system arises in models for the interaction of short and long waves. Using the compensated compactness method, we prove convergence of approximate solutions generated by semi-discrete finite volume type methods towards the unique entropy solution of the Cauchy problem. Some numerical examples are presented.
Intention tremor of the head in patients with essential tremor

Patients with essential tremor (ET) have kinetic arm tremor; this tremor can also have an intentional component. We are unaware of reports of intention tremor of the head in ET. Our aims were to describe, provide electrophysiological data and video documentation of, and estimate the prevalence of intention tremor of the head in our sample. Ten (9.0%; 95% confidence interval = 4.7%–14.3%) of 111 patients had intention tremor of the head; in 7 it involved the neck and in 3 the chin. These patients trended toward having more severe kinetic arm tremor and they had more severe intention tremor of the arms. These observations provide further support for the evolving view that the cerebellum may be involved in ET. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society
Genetic Parameters of Body weight and Some Carcass Traits In Two Quail Strains

In order to estimate genetic parameters for body weights and carcass yield of 2 strains of quails; 32 pairs of Japanese quail (coturnix Japanese) and 26 pairs of range quail (coturnix ypisilophorus) randomly were selected from the base populations of parents. Produced progenies (650 birds) were used to estimate the genetic parameters of body weights and carcass characteristics traits. Body weights at 35, 42 and 49 days of ages were significantly different, while there was no significant difference for body weights at 63 days of age (p>0.05). Carcass weight, carcass percent, breast weight and thigh percent were significantly affected by strain source of variations (p<0.1). Estimated heritabilities for different traits were from 0.030±0.090 for breast weight of coturnix Japanese to 0.787±0.406 for thigh weight of coturnix ypisilophorus. Genetic correlation among body weights at 35, 42, 49, 63 days of age and among carcass traits (carcass weight, breast weight and thigh weight) were all positive and high, while genetic correlation for breast percent, and carcass percent were low. Genetic correlation of thigh percent with the other considered traits was negative except body weight at 42 days of age, which tended to be low.
Performance of an Adjustable Strength Permanent Magnet Quadrupole

An adjustable strength permanent magnet quadrupole suitable for use in Next Linear Collider has been built and tested. The pole length is 42cm, aperture diameter 13mm, peak pole tip strength 1.03Tesla and peak integrated gradient length (GL) is 68.7 Tesla. This paper describes measurements of strength, magnetic CL and field quality made using an air bearing rotating coil system. The magnetic CL stability during -20% strength adjustment proposed for beam based alignment was < 0.2 microns. Strength hysteresis was negligible. Thermal expansion of quadrupole and measurement parts caused a repeatable and easily compensated change in the vertical magnetic CL. Calibration procedures as well as CL measurements made over a wider tuning range of 100% to 20% in strength useful for a wide range of applications will be described. The impact of eddy currents in the steel poles on the magnetic field during strength adjustments will be reported.
Electrical and fluidic microbumps and interconnects for 3D-IC and silicon interposer

High-density electrical microbumps (25 μm diameter and 50 μm pitch) and fluidic microbumps are important to support high-bandwidth signaling, power delivery and microfluidic cooling of high-performance high-power chips in 3DICs and silicon interposer. Simultaneous fabrication of electrical and fluidic microbumps is demonstrated in this paper. Test vehicles are also fabricated for assembly. Four-point resistance measurements and preliminary fluidic testing demonstrate assembly results.
Traffic visualization in helmet-mounted displays in synchronization with navigation displays

One of the major challenges for helicopter pilots are low level flights and landings in degraded visual environments. Without proper assistance systems, the pilots are prone to lose their situational awareness when fog, heavy precipitation, limited sunlight and stirred-up sand or snow degrades their view. In recent years, various synthetic and enhanced vision systems were developed so as to assist the pilots in these demanding situations. We enhance the existing systems by proposing a concept for the visualization of traffic information in head-mounted displays. The intuitive representation provides additional cues about the environment and decreases the pilots' workload, especially during flights in offshore windparks or while search and rescue operations with many other vehicles operating within a small range.
Substitutions in the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase inhibitor T7 Gp2 that allow inhibition of transcription when the primary interaction interface between Gp2 and RNA polymerase becomes compromised

The Escherichia coli-infecting bacteriophage T7 encodes a 7 kDa protein, called Gp2, which is a potent inhibitor of the host RNA polymerase (RNAp). Gp2 is essential for T7 phage development. The interaction site for Gp2 on the E. coli RNAp is the β′ jaw domain, which is part of the DNA binding channel. The binding of Gp2 to the β′ jaw antagonizes several steps associated with interactions between the RNAp and promoter DNA, leading to inhibition of transcription at the open promoter complex formation step. In the structure of the complex formed between Gp2 and a fragment of the β′ jaw, amino acid residues in the β3 strand of Gp2 contribute to the primary interaction interface with the β′ jaw. The 7009 E. coli strain is resistant to T7 because it carries a charge reversal point mutation in the β′ jaw that prevents Gp2 binding. However, a T7 phage encoding a mutant form of Gp2, called Gp2β, which carries triple amino acid substitutions E24K, F27Y and R56C, can productively infect this strain. By studying the molecular basis of inhibition of RNAp from the 7009 strain by Gp2β, we provide several lines of evidence that the E24K and F27Y substitutions facilitate an interaction with RNAp when the primary interaction interface with the β′ jaw is compromised. The proposed additional interaction interface between RNAp and Gp2 may contribute to the multipronged mechanism of transcription inhibition by Gp2.
Error analysis of FIR filters implemented with 1-digit 2-dimensional logarithmic number systems

Multi-dimensional logarithmic number system (MDLNS) is a recently developed number representation that is very efficient for implementing the inner product step processor (IPSP). The effects of data mapping and conversion in finite-impulse response (FIR) digital filters implemented with 1 digit 2-dimensional logarithmic number (2-DLNS) are examined. Expressions for the ratio of output variance with errors to output variance without errors are derived. The simulation results indicate that the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical results. It is shown that the FIR filters implemented using 2-DLNS result in lower error-to-signal variance than that implemented using LNS and FPNS as well as potential hardware reduction of the entire filter
I despise them! I detest them! Franchise relocation and the expanded model of organizational identification.

When it comes to fans of professional sport teams who are left behind when their favorite team relocates to a new city, the authors argue that there are a variety of ways in which these fans can identify with the relocated team. This runs against the traditional conception of how left-behind fans view the franchise in its new home. Fans are thought to follow two paths: They either cheer for the team in the new city, or they stop cheering for the team altogether. The authors have found that this conception of fans is inadequate. Using the expanded model of organizational identification (EMOI), the authors find that after a team relocates there are at least five different ways a fan can identify with the relocated team: identification, disidentification, schizoidentification, neutral identification, and nonidentification. These are illustrated by fitting the stories of 23 Hartford Whalers fans into the model.
VisANT: data-integrating visual framework for biological networks and modules

VisANT is a web-based software framework for visualizing and analyzing many types of networks of biological interactions and associations. Networks are a useful computational tool for representing many types of biological data, such as biomolecular interactions, cellular pathways and functional modules. Given user-defined sets of interactions or groupings between genes or proteins, VisANT provides: (i) a visual interface for combining and annotating network data, (ii) supporting function and annotation data for different genomes from the Gene Ontology and KEGG databases and (iii) the statistical and analytical tools needed for extracting topological properties of the user-defined networks. Users can customize, modify, save and share network views with other users, and import basic network data representations from their own data sources, and from standard exchange formats such as PSI-MI and BioPAX. The software framework we employ also supports the development of more sophisticated visualization and analysis functions through its open API for Java-based plug-ins. VisANT is distributed freely via the web at and can also be downloaded for individual use.
Online Belongings: Fantasy, Affect and Web Communities

What does it mean to 'belong' to an online community? What happens to the body in cyberspace? How has the Internet been theorised: as a site of liberation, duplicity, threat? In her reading of cyberculture studies after the affective turn, the author argues for a new cyberculture studies that goes beyond dominant cultural narratives of the Internet as dystopian or utopian space, and pays attention to the ways in which online culture has become embedded in everyday lives. The book intervenes in narratives of virtual reality to propose that the Internet can be re-read as a space of fantasy. This book draws on readings of the everyday, taken-for-granted sites of digital culture that have often been overlooked by cyberculture studies. Specific themes include religious fundamentalist sites and hate speech, online mourning, vampire homepages, virtual fashion and food shopping sites, and pro-anorexic communities. The book is attentive to the continuities and disruptions between online and offline experience. The author examines the ways in which bodies, subjects and communities are produced and reproduced through the stories we tell about online belongings.
Catalpol Suppresses Proliferation and Facilitates Apoptosis of OVCAR-3 Ovarian Cancer Cells through Upregulating MicroRNA-200 and Downregulating MMP-2 Expression

Catalpol is expected to possess diverse pharmacological actions including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic properties. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is closely related to the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. In addition, microRNA-200 (miR-200) can modulate phenotype, proliferation, infiltration and transfer of various tumors. Here, OVCAR-3 cells were employed to investigate whether the effect of catalpol (25, 50 and 100 μg/mL) promoted apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells and to explore the potential mechanisms. Our results demonstrate that catalpol could remarkably reduce the proliferation and accelerate the apoptosis of OVCAR-3 cells. Interestingly, our findings show that catalpol treatment significantly decreased the MMP-2 protein level and increased the miR-200 expression level in OVCAR-3 cells. Further, microRNA-200 was shown to regulate the protein expression of MMP-2 in OVCAR-3 cells. It is concluded that catalpol suppressed cellular proliferation and accelerated apoptosis in OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells via promoting microRNA-200 expression levels and restraining MMP-2 signaling.