Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential expression of cytokines in painful and painless neuropathies

Background: Pain is a common symptom in peripheral neuropathies. The factors determining why some peripheral neuropathies are painful and others are not are incompletely understood. Pro-inflammatory cytokines have been implicated to play a crucial role in the generation of pain. Objective: To investigate whether cytokine profiles differ between patients with painful or painless neuropathy. Methods: In this prospective study, we analyzed blood mRNA and protein levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF) and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 in 32 patients with painful neuropathy, 20 patients with painless neuropathy, and 38 healthy control subjects, using quantitative real-time PCR and ELISA. Results: Patients with a painful neuropathy had about twofold higher IL-2 mRNA (p = 0.001) and TNF mRNA (p < 0.0001) and protein levels (p = 0.009) than healthy control subjects and about twofold higher IL-2 and TNF mRNA (p = 0.03; p = 0.001) and protein levels (p = 0.04; p = 0.04) than patients with painless neuropathy. In contrast, mRNA levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were about twofold higher in patients with painless neuropathy than in patients with painful neuropathy (p = 0.001) and controls (p = 0.004). IL-4 protein levels were 20-fold higher in patients with painless neuropathy (p < 0.0001) and 17-fold higher in patients with painful neuropathy (p < 0.0001) than in healthy control subjects. Conclusions: A pro-inflammatory cytokine profile seems to be associated with pain in the setting of a peripheral neuropathy, corroborating findings in animal models with experimental painful neuropathies. This may have implications for future treatment strategies.
Longitudinal Associations Between Externalizing Problems and Symptoms of Depression in Children and Adolescents

The longitudinal links between symptoms of externalizing difficulties—oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD)—and symptoms of depression are unclear. Therefore, we were interested in examining the temporal relation of symptoms of ODD, CD, and depression across 7 years in a sample of 643 10-year-old children (M = 10.91, SD = 0.36) at Time 1 using cross-lagged path analysis. Although symptoms of ODD predicted depressive symptoms across most time points and CD at Time 1 negatively predicted depressive symptoms at Time 3, evidence of the inverse relation was also found for both ODD and CD. Sex differences did not emerge. These findings add to the mixed literature on the directionality of externalizing and internalizing difficulties in children and adolescents by suggesting the presence of a reciprocal relation.
Strong Cosmic Censorship for Surface‐Symmetric Cosmological Spacetimes with Collisionless Matter

This paper addresses strong cosmic censorship for spacetimes with self‐gravitating collisionless matter, evolving from surface‐symmetric compact initial data. The global dynamics exhibit qualitatively different features according to the sign of the curvature k of the symmetric surfaces and the cosmological constant Λ. With a suitable formulation, the question of strong cosmic censorship is settled in the affirmative if Λ=0 or k≤0, Λ > 0. In the case Λ > 0, k=1, we give a detailed geometric characterization of possible “boundary” components of spacetime; the remaining obstruction to showing strong cosmic censorship in this case has to do with the possible formation of extremal Schwarzschild–de Sitter‐type black holes. In the special case that the initial symmetric surfaces are all expanding, strong cosmic censorship is shown in the past for all k,Λ. Finally, our results also lead to a geometric characterization of the future boundary of black hole interiors for the collapse of asymptotically flat data: in particular, in the case of small perturbations of Schwarzschild data, it is shown that these solutions do not exhibit Cauchy horizons emanating from i + with strictly positive limiting area radius. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structural properties and classification of kinematic and dynamic models of wheeled mobile robots

The structure of the kinematic and dynamic models of wheeled mobile robots is analyzed. It is shown that, for a large class of possible configurations, they can be classified into five types, characterized by the generic structures of the model equations. For each class, problems of irreducibility of the model, configuration of the motorization and feedback equivalence are addressed. <<ETX>>
Prolonged Treatment Time Deteriorates Positioning Accuracy for Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Introduction The accuracy of radiation delivery is increasingly important as radiotherapy technology continues to develop. The goal of this study was to evaluate intrafractional motion during intracranial radiosurgery and the relationship between motion change and treatment time. Methods and Materials A total of 50 treatment records with 5988 images, all acquired during treatments with the CyberKnife Radiosurgery System, were retrospectively analyzed in this study. We measured translation and rotation motion including superior-inferior (SI), right-left (RL), anterior-posterior (AP), roll, tilt and yaw. All of the data was obtained during the first 45 minutes of treatment. The records were divided into 3 groups based on 15-min time intervals following the beginning of treatment: group A (0-15 min), group B (16-30 min) and group C (31-45 min). The mean deviations, systematic errors, random errors and margin for planning target volume (PTV) were calculated for each group. Results The mean deviations were less than 0.1 mm in all three translation directions in the first 15 minutes. Greater motion occurred with longer treatment times, especially in the SI direction. For the 3D vector, a time-dependent change was observed, from 0.34 mm to 0.77 mm (p=0.01). There was no significant correlation between the treatment time and deviations in the AP, LR and rotation axes. Longer treatment times were associated with increases in systematic error, but not in random error. The estimated PTV margin for groups A, B and C were 0.86 / 1.14 / 1.31 mm, 0.75 / 1.12 / 1.20 mm, and 0.43 / 0.54 / 0.81 mm in the SI, RL, and AP directions, respectively. Conclusions During intracranial radiosurgery, a consistent increase in the positioning deviation over time was observed, especially in the SI direction. If treatment time is greater than 15 minutes, we recommend increasing the PTV margins to ensure treatment precision.
What Is the Highest Plausible Redshift of Luminous Quasars?

The recent discoveries of luminous quasars at high redshifts imply that black holes more massive than a few billion solar masses were already assembled when the universe was less than a billion years old. We show that the existence of these black holes is not surprising in popular hierarchical models of structure formation. For example, the black hole needed to power the quasar SDSS 1044-0125 at z = 5.8 could arise naturally from the growth of stellar-mass seeds forming at z > 10, when typical values are assumed for the radiative accretion efficiency (~0.1) and the bolometric accretion luminosity in Eddington units (~1). Nevertheless, SDSS 1044-0125 yields a nontrivial constraint on a combination of these parameters. Extrapolating our model to future surveys, we derive the highest plausible redshift for quasars that are not lensed or beamed, as a function of their apparent magnitude. We find that at a limiting magnitude of K ~ 20, quasar surveys can yield strong constraints on the growth of supermassive black holes out to z ~ 10.
Effects of thrice‐weekly in‐center nocturnal vs. conventional hemodialysis on integrated backscatter of myocardial tissue

Ultrasonic tissue characterization with integrated backscatter (IBS) offers a promising method for the noninvasive assessment of myocardial fibrosis and contractile performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thrice‐weekly in‐center nocturnal hemodialysis (INHD) and conventional hemodialysis (CHD) on myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular function in end‐stage renal disease patients. Thirty‐two INHD and 58 matched CHD patients were enrolled; baseline and 12‐month measures of blood pressure (BP), serum calcium and phosphorus, echocardiographic left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and left ventricular function, the myocardial calibrated IBS (C‐IBS), and systodiastolic cyclical variations in IBS (CV‐IBS) were collected. The baseline characteristics were similar between groups, except that serum phosphorus and calcium × phosphorus were higher in the INHD group. At 12‐month follow‐up, there was a significant decrease in the mean C‐IBS (−20.2 ± 3.7 to −28.1 ± 4.0 dB, P<0.01) and a significant increase in CV‐IBS (5.0 ± 1.5 to 7.1 ± 1.6 dB, P<0.01) in INHD patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the mean C‐IBS was positively related to SBP, DBP, LVMI, serum phosphorus, and left atrial volume index and inversely related to midwall fractional shortening, transmitral E/A ratio, and Em. The mean CV‐IBS was positively correlated with left ventricular midwall fractional shortening, E/A ratio, Em and inversely correlated with SBP, DBP, LVMI, serum phosphorus, E/Em, and left atrial volume index. There was no significant change in the mean C‐IBS, mean CV‐IBS, and LVMI in the CHD group. Compared with CHD, INHD improves myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular function, and control of serum phosphorus is associated with the improvement of myocardial fibrosis. Improvement of myocardial fibrosis contributes to the reduction of left ventricle hypertrophy.
A Wideband Implantable Antenna for Continuous Health Monitoring in the MedRadio and ISM Bands

The main objective of this letter is to present a small-size, dual-wideband implantable antenna operating in the Medical Device Radiocommunications Service (MedRadio) (401-406 MHz) and Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) (2.4-2.48 GHz) bands. The proposed antenna has a 71.6% reduction in size with respect to the previous similar dual-band implantable antenna. The measured -10-dB bandwidths are 56% (278 MHz) for the MedRadio and 33% (870 MHz) for the ISM bands, respectively. The antenna is in vitro tested in a tissue-mimicking gel approximating the electrical properties of human skin tissue. Results are compared to simulations.
Reevaluation of the Usefulness of Systematic Bone Scanning in Initial Staging and follow-up of Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Taking into Account the Serum Levels of Neuron-Specific Enolase

The prescription of bone scans (BS) in the initial staging and follow-up of small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is a traditional attitude. The availability of the serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) assay and budget limitations led us to evaluate retrospectively, in 57 patients, the consequences of a more selective attitude, namely to perform BS only in those patients with abnormal serum NSE levels. Both BS and NSE assays were performed in 47 patients referred for initial staging of SCLC; NSE levels were normal in 8 but in 2 of these cases (25%) secondary bone localizations with great clinical significance were discovered at BS. During follow-up, 59 BS were performed in conjunction with NSE assays; 45 NSE levels were in the normal range whereas 17 (38%) corresponding BS were suggestive of bone metastases. In conclusion, due to the frequent occurrence of false-negative results in patients with bone metastases, serum NSE levels proved to be useless in the selection for BS of patients suffering from SCLC.
Effect of Osmolality on the Hydraulic Permeability Coefficient of Red Cells

The osmotic water permeability coefficient, Lp, for human and dog red cells has been measured as a function of medium osmolality, and found to depend on the osmolality of the bathing medium. In the case of human red cells Lp falls from 1.87 x 10-11 cm3/dyne sec at 199 mOSM to 0.76 x 10-11 cm3/dyne sec at 516 mOSM. A similar decrease was observed for dog red cells. Moreover, Lp was independent of the direction of water movement and the nature of the solute used to provide the osmotic pressure gradient; it depended only on the final osmolality of the medium. Furthermore, Lp was not affected by pH in the range of 6 to 8 nor by the presence of drugs such as valinomycin (1 x 10-6 M) and tetrodotoxin (3.2 x 10-6 M). The instantaneous nature of the response to changes in external osmolality suggests that the hydraulic conductivity of the membrane is controlled by a thin layer at the outer face of the membrane.
Ovarian capillary hemangioma and stromal luteinization: a case study with hormonal receptor evaluation.

BACKGROUND Ovarian hemangiomas are rare tumors, most of them asymptomatic, and of the cavernous type. Six of the reported cases were accompanied by stromal luteinization. There is a debate whether these luteinized cells promote the growth of the vascular lesion or just represent a stromal reaction. CASE A 71-year-old female was incidentally found to have a small capillary hemangioma in her left ovary, surrounded by a rim of luteinized stromal cells. Immunohistochemical investigation revealed the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors in the endothelial cells of the lesion. CONCLUSION Our histological and immunohistochemical findings, as well as data from the literature, support the view that at least some vascular lesions may result from hormonal stimulation.
The Effect of DNS on Tor's Anonymity

Previous attacks that link the sender and receiver of traffic in the Tor network ("correlation attacks") have generally relied on analyzing traffic from TCP connections. The TCP connections of a typical client application, however, are often accompanied by DNS requests and responses. This additional traffic presents more opportunities for correlation attacks. This paper quantifies how DNS traffic can make Tor users more vulnerable to correlation attacks. We investigate how incorporating DNS traffic can make existing correlation attacks more powerful and how DNS lookups can leak information to third parties about anonymous communication. We (i) develop a method to identify the DNS resolvers of Tor exit relays; (ii) develop a new set of correlation attacks (DefecTor attacks) that incorporate DNS traffic to improve precision; (iii) analyze the Internet-scale effects of these new attacks on Tor users; and (iv) develop improved methods to evaluate correlation attacks. First, we find that there exist adversaries who can mount DefecTor attacks: for example, Google's DNS resolver observes almost 40% of all DNS requests exiting the Tor network. We also find that DNS requests often traverse ASes that the corresponding TCP connections do not transit, enabling additional ASes to gain information about Tor users' traffic. We then show that an adversary who can mount a DefecTor attack can often determine the website that a Tor user is visiting with perfect precision, particularly for less popular websites where the set of DNS names associated with that website may be unique to the site. We also use the Tor Path Simulator (TorPS) in combination with traceroute data from vantage points co-located with Tor exit relays to estimate the power of AS-level adversaries who might mount DefecTor attacks in practice.
miR‐372 Regulates Glioma Cell Proliferation and Invasion by Directly Targeting PHLPP2

MicroRNAs are known to be involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in glioma. Recently, microRNA‐372 (miR‐372) has been proved to play a substantial role in several human cancers, but its functions in glioma remain unclear. In this study, we confirmed that miR‐372 was commonly upregulated in glioma cell lines and tissues. Downregulation of miR‐372 markedly inhibited cell proliferation and invasion and induced G1/S arrest and apoptosis. Consistently, the xenograft mouse model also unveiled the suppressive effects of miR‐372 knockdown on tumor growth. Further studies revealed that miR‐372 modulated the expression of PHLPP2 by directly targeting its 3′‐untranslated region (3′‐UTR) and that miR‐372 expression was inversely correlated with PHLPP2 expression in glioma samples. Silencing of PHLPP2 could rescue the inhibitory effect of miR‐372 inhibitor. Moreover, miR‐372 knockdown suppressed the phosphorylation levels of the major components of PI3K/Akt pathway including Akt, mTOR, and P70S6K. Taken together, our results suggest that miR‐372 functions as an oncogenic miRNA through targeting PHLPP2 in glioma. J. Cell. Biochem. 116: 225–232, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Study on the Expression of BCR-ABL Transcript in Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia (MPAL) Cases Using the Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Reaction Assay (RT-PCR) and its Correlation with Hematological Remission Status Post Initial Induction Therapy

Introduction: The MPAL comprise 2–5% of all acute leukemia. The present WHO 2008 classification has separated two groups in MPAL based on t(9;22) positivity and MLL rearrangement. Aims & Objectives: The aim of the present pilot study is to note the frequency of BCR-ABL transcript in MPAL cases using the RT-PCR assay and to correlate the status with hematological remission post induction. Materials & Methods: A total of 10 MPAL cases classified on Flow-cytometry based on the current WHO 2008 criteria were enrolled. In all the cases Bone marrow or peripheral blood sample in EDTA was processed for molecular studies and the RT-PCR reaction carried out using primers specific to the t (9;22) and t(4;11) translocation. The post induction check marrow slides were also reviewed. Results: Out of the total 10 MPAL cases, 7/10 (70%) were adult and 3/10 (30%) pediatric cases. A total of 4/10 (40%) cases showed positivity for the t(9;22) transcript and none for t (4;11). Of the 4 positive cases, 3/10(30%) were adult cases and 1/10(10%) pediatric case. The BCR-ABL transcript type in adult cases was b3a2 (p210) in 2/3 (66%) and e1a2 (p190) in 1/3 (33.3%) case. The single pediatric case was positive for b3a2 transcript. Discussion & Conclusion: All the 4 positive MPAL cases presented with high TLC and low platelet count (p<0.05). The positive cases also showed hematological remission at post induction check marrow (blasts<5%). This could partly be explained due to good response to the imatinib added to the treatment protocol.
PEP-FOLD: an updated de novo structure prediction server for both linear and disulfide bonded cyclic peptides

In the context of the renewed interest of peptides as therapeutics, it is important to have an on-line resource for 3D structure prediction of peptides with well-defined structures in aqueous solution. We present an updated version of PEP-FOLD allowing the treatment of both linear and disulphide bonded cyclic peptides with 9–36 amino acids. The server makes possible to define disulphide bonds and any residue–residue proximity under the guidance of the biologists. Using a benchmark of 34 cyclic peptides with one, two and three disulphide bonds, the best PEP-FOLD models deviate by an average RMS of 2.75 Å from the full NMR structures. Using a benchmark of 37 linear peptides, PEP-FOLD locates lowest-energy conformations deviating by 3 Å RMS from the NMR rigid cores. The evolution of PEP-FOLD comes as a new on-line service to supersede the previous server. The server is available at: http://bioserv.rpbs. univ-paris-diderot.fr/PEP-FOLD.
Behavioral impairments in animal models for zinc deficiency

Apart from teratogenic and pathological effects of zinc deficiency such as the occurrence of skin lesions, anorexia, growth retardation, depressed wound healing, altered immune function, impaired night vision, and alterations in taste and smell acuity, characteristic behavioral changes in animal models and human patients suffering from zinc deficiency have been observed. Given that it is estimated that about 17% of the worldwide population are at risk for zinc deficiency and that zinc deficiency is associated with a variety of brain disorders and disease states in humans, it is of major interest to investigate, how these behavioral changes will affect the individual and a putative course of a disease. Thus, here, we provide a state of the art overview about the behavioral phenotypes observed in various models of zinc deficiency, among them environmentally produced zinc deficient animals as well as animal models based on a genetic alteration of a particular zinc homeostasis gene. Finally, we compare the behavioral phenotypes to the human condition of mild to severe zinc deficiency and provide a model, how zinc deficiency that is associated with many neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorders might modify the disease pathologies.
Adaptation of Grapevine Flowers to Cold Involves Different Mechanisms Depending on Stress Intensity

Grapevine flower development and fruit set are influenced by cold nights in the vineyard. To investigate the impact of cold stress on carbon metabolism in the inflorescence, we exposed the inflorescences of fruiting cuttings to chilling and freezing temperatures overnight and measured fluctuations in photosynthesis and sugar content. Whatever the temperature, after the stress treatment photosynthesis was modified in the inflorescence, but the nature of the alteration depended on the intensity of the cold stress. At 4°C, photosynthesis in the inflorescence was impaired through non-stomatal limitations, whereas at 0°C it was affected through stomatal limitations. A freezing night (−3°C) severely deregulated photosynthesis in the inflorescence, acting primarily on photosystem II. Cold nights also induced accumulation of sugars. Soluble carbohydrates increased in inflorescences exposed to −3°C, 0°C and 4°C, but starch accumulated only in inflorescences of plants treated at 0 and −3°C. These results suggest that inflorescences are able to cope with cold temperatures by adapting their carbohydrate metabolism using mechanisms that are differentially induced according to stress intensity.
Practical output tracking of switched nonlinear systems in p-normal form with unstable subsystems

This paper studies practical output tracking of switched nonlinear systems in p-normal form. No solvability of the practical output tracking problem for subsystems is required. A constructive scheme to solve the problem for a switched nonlinear system is set up by exploiting the single Lyapunov function method and the tool of adding a power integrator. Also, we design a proper switching law and construct state-feedback controllers of subsystems. A two inverted pendulums as a practical example, which cannot be handled by the existing approaches, illustrates our theoretical result.
Tempting Today, Troubling Tomorrow: The Roots of the Precarious Couple Effect

The precarious couple effect occurs when men pair with women who are both critical and more verbally disinhibited than them. Evidence that dissatisfaction runs high in such relationships makes one ask why people enter them in the first place. In Study 1, respondents recalled that past partners who were verbally disinhibited were relatively active in initiating the relationship. In Study 2, verbally inhibited men evidenced ambivalence in that they disliked disinhibited women more than inhibited ones but these feelings of disliking did not translate into expectations of feeling tense during the interaction. Study 3 revealed that initial interactions between inhibited men and disinhibited women go smoothly unless (a) the women are critical and (b) the pair discusses a stressful topic. The authors suggest that members of precarious couples are drawn to one another because, in initial encounters, their communication styles are relatively symbiotic. Alas, this initial chemistry does not always endure.