Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of conservative treatment and timing of surgical intervention for mild forms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy

The optimal management approach for patients with mild forms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) has not been well established. The aim of the present study was to investigate the outcome of conservative treatment, identify prognostic factors and provide evidence for the timing of surgical intervention. A total of 90 patients with MCSM attending hospital between February 2007 and January 2009 were prospectively enrolled. Initially, all patients received conservative treatment and were followed up periodically. When a deterioration in myelopathy was clearly identified, surgical treatment was conducted. Clinical and radiological factors correlating with the deterioration were examined, and final clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score. At the end of January 2012, follow-ups of >3 years were completed. Seventy-eight patients were available for data analysis. Only 21 patients (26.9%) deteriorated and underwent surgery thereafter (group A), while the remaining 57 patients (73.1%) were treated conservatively throughout (group B). Statistical analysis revealed that segmental instability and cervical spinal stenosis were adverse factors for the prognosis of conservative treatment. Although the JOA scores of the patients in group A declined initially, following surgical intervention, no significant differences were identified in JOA scores between the two groups at the time of the final follow-up (P=0.46). In summary, conservative treatment is effective in MCSM patients. Patients with segmental instability and cervical spinal stenosis have a tendency to deteriorate, but conservative treatment remains the recommendation for the first action. If the myelopathy deteriorates during conservative treatment, timely surgical intervention is effective.
Retention of tocilizumab and anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives: The retention of the anti-rheumatic agent tocilizumab (TCZ) has not been well documented in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We conducted an observational study to compare the retention of TCZ and anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) drugs in the treatment of patients with RA. Method: We reviewed continuation rates and causes of discontinuation of biological agents (biologics) by assessing medical records of patients with RA who were administered biologics at our institute from September 1999 to April 2012, using the Osaka University Biologics for Rheumatic Diseases (BiRD) registry. Results: A total of 401 patients were included. TCZ, infliximab (IFX), etanercept (ETN), and adalimumab (ADA) were administered to 97, 103, 143, and 58 patients, respectively. There were some differences between the baseline characteristics of the groups. The median duration (range) of TCZ, IFX, ETN, and ADA administration was 2.5 (0.1–12.6), 1.9 (0.0–7.7), 2.9 (0.0–11.3), and 1.3 (0.0–3.4) years, respectively. Continuation rates for TCZ and ETN were significantly higher than those for IFX and ADA. Multivariate analyses showed that discontinuation due to lack or loss of efficacy was significantly less common in the TCZ group than in the other groups. Discontinuation due to overall adverse events was not significantly different between treatment groups. Conclusion: TCZ and ETN show better retention than IFX or ADA in the treatment of RA.
Climate change 2014 : mitigation of climate change

This is the third part of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — Climate Change 2013/2014 — and was prepared by its Working Group III. The volume provides a comprehensive and transparent assessment of relevant options for mitigating climate change through limiting or preventing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as activities that reduce their concentrations in the atmosphere.
Characterization of Full Genome of Rat Hepatitis E Virus Strain from Vietnam

We amplified the complete genome of the rat hepatitis E virus (HEV) Vietnam strain (V-105) and analyzed the nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The entire genome of V-105 shared only 76.8%–76.9% nucleotide sequence identities with rat HEV strains from Germany, which suggests that V-105 is a new genotype of rat HEV.
Impact of essential oils on growth rate, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol production by Fusarium graminearum under different temperature and water activity conditions in maize grain

Aims: The effect of five essential oils (oregano, cinnamon, lemongrass, clove and palmarose) on growth rate, zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) production by Fusarium graminearum strains was assessed.
New treatment option for partial-onset seizures: efficacy and safety of lacosamide

More than 30% of epilepsy patients remain refractory despite the advent of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) over two decades. Although a small percentage of these refractory patients may become seizure free when a new AED is added, combined administration of AEDs or the application of novel AEDs is the most common therapeutic option when surgical treatment cannot be offered. The most recently approved AED in Europe and the USA is lacosamide (LCM), which offers new mechanisms of action and favorable safety profiles. This article reviews LCM’s molecular mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic profiles as well as efficacy and safety from phase II and III clinical trials. In addition, comparison between LCM and other existing AEDs is discussed.
Asynchronous performance analysis of a single-phase capacitor-start, capacitor-run permanent magnet motor

This work presents a detailed analysis of the asynchronous torque components (average cage, magnet braking torque and pulsating) for a single-phase capacitor-start, capacitor-run permanent magnet motor. The computed envelope of pulsating torque superimposed over the average electromagnetic torque leads to an accurate prediction of starting torque. The developed approach is realized by means of a combination of symmetrical components and d-q axes theory and it can be extended for any m-phase AC motor - induction, synchronous reluctance or synchronous permanent magnet. The resultant average electromagnetic torque is determined by superimposing the asynchronous torques and magnet braking torque effects.
Immersion and invariance control for reference trajectory tracking of autonomous vehicles

This paper presents design and validation of a vehicle lateral controller for autonomous trajectory following based on Immersion and Invariance (I&I) principle. The aim is to minimize the lateral displacement of the autonomous vehicle with respect to a given reference trajectory. The control input is the steering angle and the output is the lateral displacement error. A first version of this controller based on I&I principle has been proposed previously by the authors in [1], but it suffers from a lack of robustness in some critical situations, near the nonlinear zones. In this paper, we propose a considerable improvement in the used model and the control synthesis. To validate the control strategy, the closed-loop system simulated on Matlab-Simulink has been compared to the experimental data acquired on the vehicle DYNA of Heudiasyc laboratory, a Peugeot 308, according to several real driving scenarios. The validation shows robustness and good performances of the proposed control approach, and puts in evidence the improvement with regard to the previous I&I control strategy proposed in [1].
Effect of Network Architecture on Synchronization and Entrainment Properties of the Circadian Oscillations in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus constitutes the central circadian pacemaker. The SCN receives light signals from the retina and controls peripheral circadian clocks (located in the cortex, the pineal gland, the liver, the kidney, the heart, etc.). This hierarchical organization of the circadian system ensures the proper timing of physiological processes. In each SCN neuron, interconnected transcriptional and translational feedback loops enable the circadian expression of the clock genes. Although all the neurons have the same genotype, the oscillations of individual cells are highly heterogeneous in dispersed cell culture: many cells present damped oscillations and the period of the oscillations varies from cell to cell. In addition, the neurotransmitters that ensure the intercellular coupling, and thereby the synchronization of the cellular rhythms, differ between the two main regions of the SCN. In this work, a mathematical model that accounts for this heterogeneous organization of the SCN is presented and used to study the implication of the SCN network topology on synchronization and entrainment properties. The results show that oscillations with larger amplitude can be obtained with scale-free networks, in contrast to random and local connections. Networks with the small-world property such as the scale-free networks used in this work can adapt faster to a delay or advance in the light/dark cycle (jet lag). Interestingly a certain level of cellular heterogeneity is not detrimental to synchronization performances, but on the contrary helps resynchronization after jet lag. When coupling two networks with different topologies that mimic the two regions of the SCN, efficient filtering of pulse-like perturbations in the entrainment pattern is observed. These results suggest that the complex and heterogeneous architecture of the SCN decreases the sensitivity of the network to short entrainment perturbations while, at the same time, improving its adaptation abilities to long term changes.
Do Participants and Observers Assess Intentions Differently During Bargaining and Conflict

Political actors in settings of bargaining and conflict often find themselves uncertain about the motives of their counterparts. This paper explores the psychology of motive assessment using a novel experimental design involving imperfect-information versions of the ultimatum and dictator bargaining games. Subjects are randomly assigned to one of three roles { the traditional proposer and recipient roles in these games, and a novel impartial observer role. Recipients and observers are given identical, but ambiguous, information about proposers' offers, and make post-play assessments of proposers' intentions that are rewarded based on accuracy. When uncertainty is sufficiently high, recipients' assessments of proposers' intentions are significantly lower than observers' assessments in the ultimatum game, in stark contrast to Bayesian predictions, but there is no evidence of any difference in the dictator game. The results suggest that individuals' perceptions can be directly affected by the set of strategic alternatives they possess, independent of access to information. One interpretation is that the power to accept or reject may prime individuals to be more critical or negative in forming assessments than they otherwise would be. If correct, this interpretation has important implications for theories of bargaining and con? ict, and for the design of institutions for conflict resolution.
From Attire to Assault: Clothing, Objectification, and De-humanization – A Possible Prelude to Sexual Violence?

In the context of objectification and violence, little attention has been paid to the perception neuroscience of how the human brain perceives bodies and objectifies them. Various studies point to how external cues such as appearance and attire could play a key role in encouraging objectification, dehumanization and the denial of agency. Reviewing new experimental findings across several areas of research, it seems that common threads run through issues of clothing, sexual objectification, body perception, dehumanization, and assault. Collating findings from several different lines of research, this article reviews additional evidence from cognitive and neural dynamics of person perception (body and face perception processes) that predict downstream social behavior. Specifically, new findings demonstrate cognitive processing of sexualized female bodies as object-like, a crucial aspect of dehumanized percept devoid of agency and personhood. Sexual violence is a consequence of a dehumanized perception of female bodies that aggressors acquire through their exposure and interpretation of objectified body images. Integrating these findings and identifying triggers for sexual violence may help develop remedial measures and inform law enforcement processes and policy makers alike.
Evidence for Muscle-Dependent Neuromuscular Synaptic Site Determination in Mammals

Recent evidence challenges the prevalent view that neural factors induce the formation of a de novo postsynaptic apparatus during development of the vertebrate neuromuscular junction. The latest experiments suggest an alternative model in which the muscle fiber induces a nascent postsynaptic apparatus and sets the location of the future synapse. On axonal contact, these sites, laid out in a prepattern in the central area of developing muscle fibers, mature into synapses by the combined action of neural factors such as agrin and ACh. We sought to test in mammals these two models of neuromuscular synaptogenesis. Previously, we showed that continuous prenatal muscle expression of constitutively active ErbB2 (CAErbB2) led to synaptic loss, exuberant axonal sprouting, and lethality at birth. Here, we transiently induced CAErbB2 during midgestation and examined synapse restoration after inducer withdrawal. Centrally enriched ACh receptor (AChR) transcription and clustering were abolished after transient CAErbB2 induction. After inducer withdrawal, synapses were restored but were distributed widely over the entire diaphragm muscle. Under the nerve-dependent model, this distribution is explained by the wide pattern of axonal sprouting triggered by CAErbB2. Yet, in the absence of the nerve, introduced in our animals by mating to Hb9+/− mice, a very similar, wide distribution of aneural AChR clusters resulted. Thus, transient expression of CAErbB2 in skeletal muscles leads to reprogramming of the endogenous muscle AChR prepattern. This, and not the nerve, seems primarily responsible for the widely distributed pattern of synapses in our experimental animals.
Widespread Albedo Decreasing and Induced Melting of Himalayan Snow and Ice in the Early 21st Century

Background The widely distributed glaciers in the greater Himalayan region have generally experienced rapid shrinkage since the 1850s. As invaluable sources of water and because of their scarcity, these glaciers are extremely important. Beginning in the twenty-first century, new methods have been applied to measure the mass budget of these glaciers. Investigations have shown that the albedo is an important parameter that affects the melting of Himalayan glaciers. Methodology/Principal Findings The surface albedo based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data over the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH) glaciers is surveyed in this study for the period 2000–2011. The general albedo trend shows that the glaciers have been darkening since 2000. The most rapid decrease in the surface albedo has occurred in the glacial area above 6000 m, which implies that melting will likely extend to snow accumulation areas. The mass-loss equivalent (MLE) of the HKH glacial area caused by surface shortwave radiation absorption is estimated to be 10.4 Gt yr-1, which may contribute to 1.2% of the global sea level rise on annual average (2003–2009). Conclusions/Significance This work probably presents a first scene depicting the albedo variations over the whole HKH glacial area during the period 2000–2011. Most rapidly decreasing in albedo has been detected in the highest area, which deserves to be especially concerned.
Anti-HBs antibody status and some of its associated factors in dental health care workers in Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Background Dental health care providers are at risk of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Dentists can occupationally become infected with HBV through needle sticks or exposure to blood and other body fluids. Objectives To evaluate anti-HBs antibody titer in students, professors, clinical assistants and non-clinical staff of Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), and to investigate the probable correlation between the level of immunity and a number of associated factors. Patients and Methods 230 participants who had a history of previous HBV vaccination (receiving at least two doses of HBV vaccine) and a negative history of being infected with HBV were studied. Participants' data were recorded using a checklist, and the level of antibody was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results While there existed statistically significant correlations between age, occupation, smoking, complete and scheduled vaccination and time of the last vaccination with the level of anti-HBs antibody, the correlation between gender and level of the antibody was not significant. Multiple regression analysis revealed significant association between immune response and age and time of the last vaccination. Conclusions Due to the significant correlation between younger age and anti-HBs antibody titer in our study, it makes sense to establish a mandatory complete and scheduled vaccination program for all members of dental society younger than 40 years.
Increased Placental Phospholipid Levels in Pre-Eclamptic Pregnancies

Physiological pregnancy is associated with an increase in lipids from the first to the third trimester. This is a highly regulated response to satisfy energy and membrane demands of the developing fetus. Pregnancy disorders, such as pre-eclampsia, are associated with a dysregulation of lipid metabolism manifesting in increased maternal plasma lipid levels. In fetal placental tissue, only scarce information on the lipid profile is available, and data for gestational diseases are lacking. In the present study, we investigated the placental lipid content in control versus pre-eclamptic samples, with the focus on tissue phospholipid levels and composition. We found an increase in total phospholipid content as well as changes in individual phospholipid classes in pre-eclamptic placental tissues compared to controls. These alterations could be a source of placental pathological changes in pre-eclampsia, such as lipid peroxide insult or dysregulation of lipid transport across the syncytiotrophoblast.
Common and Unique Gene Expression Signatures of Human Macrophages in Response to Four Strains of Mycobacterium avium That Differ in Their Growth and Persistence Characteristics

ABSTRACT Classification of pathogenic species according to the distinct host transcriptional responses that they elicit may become a relevant tool for microarray-based diagnosis of infection. Individual strains of Mycobacterium avium, an opportunistic pathogen in humans, have previously been shown to differ in terms of growth and persistence. In order to cover a wide spectrum of virulence, we selected four M. avium isolates (2151SmO, 2151SmT, SE01, TMC724) that have distinct intramacrophage replication characteristics and cause differential activation in human macrophages. Following infection with each of these strains, the expression of 12,558 genes in human macrophages was systematically analyzed by microarray technology. Fifty genes (including genes encoding proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, signaling, and adhesion molecules) were differentially expressed more than twofold in response to all of the M. avium isolates investigated and therefore constitute a common macrophage signature in response to M. avium. The magnitude of regulation of most of these genes was directly correlated with the host cell-activating capacity of the particular M. avium strain. The regulation of a number of genes not previously associated with mycobacterial infections was apparent; these genes included genes encoding lymphocyte antigen 64 and myosin X. In addition, individual response patterns typical for some M. avium isolates could be defined by the pronounced upregulation of interleukin-12p40 (IL-12p40) (in the case of 2151SmO) or the specific upregulation of SOCS-1 and IL-10 (in the case of SE01) in macrophages. TMC724, a strain of avian origin, could not be classified by any one of these schemes, possibly indicating the limits of pathogen categorization solely by immune response signatures.
Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in women from three clinical settings

Prevalence of 27 human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes was assessed in 1,331 women in three clinical settings: Family planning clinic (low‐risk HIV−, n = 202, 21.3% HPV+), colposcopy clinic (high‐risk HIV−, n = 854, 34.3% HPV+), and HIV outpatient clinic (HIV+, n = 275, 48.7% HPV+). Compared to women from both family planning and colposcopy clinics, HIV+ women revealed significantly higher prevalence of infection with oncogenic, non‐oncogenic, and multiple HPV types. HPV types 52 and 51 were most prevalent in the low‐risk HIV− women, whereas in the high‐risk HIV− women, HPV types 16, 52, 58, and 35 were most prevalent. Interestingly, in the HIV+ women, less characterized types 83, 53, and 54 were most prevalent. The distinct profiles of genotype prevalence persisted after stratification by Pap smear status. After adjustment for concurrent infections with other types, HPV type 51 in the low‐risk HIV− women, and types 16, 35, 39, 45, 52, and 58 in the high‐risk HIV− women were significantly associated with cytologic abnormalities (exact P < 0.05). In HIV+ women across CD4 cell count strata, HPV types 42, 16, and 82 revealed significant decreasing trends with increasing CD4 counts (exact P for trend < 0.05). These data suggest distinct genotypic prevalence profiles in women at diverse risk for cervical cancer. The association of several genotypes with cytologic abnormalities underscores the need for vaccines targeting a wide range of HPV types. J. Med. Virol. 75:105–113, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FFECT OF THE SEPARATION WALL IN THE MIXING PROPERTIES OF COAXIAL JETS

The velocity and mixing field of two coaxial jet configurations has been experimentally characterized by means of hotand cold-wire anemometry to investigate the effect of the initial conditions on the flow development, and to determine the leading processes in the “mixing transition” of the two streams. Amongst the possible operating conditions, four configurations with different inner and outer jet bulk velocity pairs (Ui, Uo) have been spatially characterized in terms of velocity and mixing field covering a region where 0.5 ≤ ru = Uo/Ui ≤ 3 with two different separation wall geometries, namely a sharp and a thick separating wall. For high velocity ratios the difference between the two geometries appears small and inside the experimental accuracy. On the other hand, for nearly unitary velocity ratio and with the thick wall configuration, the presence of a strong wake instability increases the interpenetration between the two streams enhancing the mixing process.