Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arthrometric measurement of ankle-complex motion: normative values.

CONTEXT Valid and reliable measurements of ankle-complex motion have been reported using the Hollis Ankle Arthrometer. No published normative data of ankle-complex motion obtained from ankle arthrometry are available for use as a reference for clinical decision making. OBJECTIVE To describe the distribution variables of ankle-complex motion in uninjured ankles and to establish normative reference values for use in research and to assist in clinical decision making. DESIGN Descriptive laboratory study. SETTING University research laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Both ankles of 50 men and 50 women (age = 21.78 ± 2.0 years [range, 19-25 years]) were tested. INTERVENTION(S) Each ankle underwent anteroposterior (AP) and inversion-eversion (I-E) loading using an ankle arthrometer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Recorded anterior, posterior, and total AP displacement (millimeters) at 125 N and inversion, eversion, and total I-E rotation (degrees) at 4 Nm. RESULTS Women had greater ankle-complex motion for all variables except for posterior displacement. Total AP displacement of the ankle complex was 18.79 ± 4.1 mm for women and 16.70 ± 4.8 mm for men (U = 3742.5, P < .01). Total I-E rotation of the ankle complex was 42.10 degrees ± 9.0 degrees for women and 34.13 degrees ± 10.1 degrees for men (U = 2807, P < .001). All variables were normally distributed except for anterior displacement, inversion rotation, eversion rotation, and total I-E rotation in the women's ankles and eversion rotation in the men's ankles; these variables were skewed positively. CONCLUSIONS Our study increases the available database on ankle-complex motion, and it forms the basis of norm-referenced clinical comparisons and the basis on which quantitative definitions of ankle pathologic conditions can be developed.
Complex physiological traits as biomarkers of the sub-lethal toxicological effects of pollutant exposure in fishes

Complex physiological traits, such as routine aerobic metabolic rate or exercise performance, are indicators of the functional integrity of fish that can reveal sub-lethal toxicological effects of aquatic pollutants. These traits have proved valuable in laboratory investigations of the sub-lethal effects of heavy metals, ammonia and various xenobiotics. It is not known, however, whether they can also function as biomarkers of the complex potential range of effects upon overall functional integrity caused by exposure to mixtures of chemicals in polluted natural environments. The current study used portable swimming respirometers to compare exercise performance and respiratory metabolism of fish exposed in cages for three weeks to either clean or polluted sites on three urban European river systems: the river Lambro, Milan, Italy; the rivers Blythe, Cole and Tame, Birmingham, UK; and the river Amstel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The UK and Italian rivers were variously polluted with high levels of both bioavailable heavy metals and organics, and the Amstel by mixtures of bioavailable organics at high concentrations. In both the UK and Italy, indigenous chub (Leuciscus cephalus) exposed to clean or polluted sites swam equally well in an initial performance test, but the chub from polluted sites could not repeat this performance after a brief recovery interval. These animals were unable to raise the metabolic rate and allocate oxygen towards exercise in the second trial, an effect confirmed in successive campaigns in Italy. Swimming performance was therefore a biomarker indicator of pollutant exposure in chub exposed at these sites. Exposure to polluted sites on the river Amstel did not affect the repeat swimming performance of cultured cloned carp (Cyprinus carpio), indicating either a species-specific tolerance or relative absence of heavy metals. However, measurements of oxygen uptake during swimming revealed increased rates of routine aerobic metabolism in both chub and carp at polluted sites in all of the rivers studied, indicating a sub-lethal metabolic loading effect. Therefore, the physiological traits of exercise performance and metabolic rate have potential as biomarkers of the overall sub-lethal toxic effects of exposure to complex mixtures of pollutants in rivers, and may also provide insight into why fish do not colonize some polluted environments.
Parallel Venous Channel as the Recipient Pouch in Transverse/Sigmoid Sinus Dural Fistulae

OBJECTIVEThe most common location for dural arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs) is the transverse/sigmoid sinus. We describe our prospective analysis of data for 10 patients with recipient fistulae parallel to the transverse/sigmoid sinus. Recognition of this entity allows embolization of the fistula with preservation of the parent sinus. This report reviews the presentation and angiographic characteristics of the “parallel venous channel” and the treatment results for this series of patients. METHODSBetween 1995 and June 2002, at the medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, we identified 10 patients with a parallel venous channel as the recipient pouch for all arterial input into a transverse/sigmoid sinus AVF. The clinical presentations, angiographic features, endovascular treatments, and outcomes are described. Angiographic follow-up monitoring was performed for 1 to 6 years for all patients with cortical venous drainage (5 of 10 patients). Clinical follow-up periods ranged from 1 to 7 years. RESULTSAll patients presented with pulsatile tinnitus disruptive to sleep. Other symptoms included severe headaches, papilledema and visual disturbances, hemiparesis, and mastoid pain. All 10 parallel venous channels communicated with the transverse or sigmoid sinus. Cortical venous drainage was present in 50% of cases. Endovascular ablative procedures, using either coils or ethanol, were performed for all patients. The parallel venous channel was successfully embolized, with preservation of the transverse/sigmoid sinus, for all 10 patients. There were no major complications. All patients experienced resolution of their symptoms, with no recurrence. CONCLUSIONThe existence of a parallel venous channel as the recipient pouch for all arterial inflow in a series of 10 transverse/sigmoid sinus AVFs is described. Endovascular obliteration of the parallel channel, with preservation of the parent sinus, was successfully performed for all 10 patients. Recognition of the parallel venous channel is clinically important for the treatment of transverse/sigmoid AVFs.
On the crossing statistics of phase processes and random FM noise in Nakagami-q mobile fading channels

The crossing statistics of phase processes and random frequency modulation (FM) noise are studied for Nakagami-q fading channels. Closed-form expressions are first derived for the probability density function (PDF) and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of random FM noise. The crossing rate of the phase process is then obtained for any crossing level of the phase. Moreover, the conditional PDF of random FM noise and envelope processes-conditioned on the crossings of an arbitrary level of the phase-are investigated. Since the Rayleigh fading channel is a special case of the Nakagami-q fading channel, the derived expressions are verified by comparison with results known for Rayleigh fading channels. In addition, it is shown that the derived analytical results are in excellent agreement with those obtained by computer simulations. The presented results are useful, for example, for studying the statistics of noise spikes occurring in limiter-discriminator FM receivers and for investigating the cycle slipping phenomenon in phase-locked-loop schemes when considering the transmission over Nakagami-q mobile fading channels.
Fabrication of electrospun nonwoven mats of polyvinylidene fluoride/polyethylene glycol/fumed silica for use as energy storage materials

Nonwoven mats were fabricated from a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/polyethylene glycol 1000 Da (PEG 1000) blend by the electrospinning process. PEG 1000 is a low-temperature phase change material that acts as a heat storage material, while PVDF serves as a supporting material to afford a mechanically strong form-stable structure. Addition of fumed silica to electrospun (e-spun) PVDF/PEG 1000 nanofibers helped prevent the leakage of molten PEG 1000 during the solid–liquid phase change, as confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. It was also found that the addition of fumed silica helps improve the mechanical strength of the PVDF/PEG 1000 nonwoven mats. The thermal properties of PVDF/PEG 1000 and PVDF/PEG 1000/fumed silica composite nonwoven mats were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. There were no significant changes in the melting temperature and heat of fusion of PEG 1000 after 100 heating/cooling cycles, thereby confirming that these nonwoven mats have high thermal stability. The fumed-silica-incorporated PVDF/PEG 1000 nonwoven mats had large energy storage capacity and excellent mechanical strength. Hence, the aforementioned types of mats are thought to have various applications in energy storage and in the manufacture of thermoregulating textiles. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
3GPP streaming over GPRS Rel '97

Mobile streaming is thought to be mainly a 3G service offered with guaranteed bit rates, error rates and delay bounds. In this paper we analyze the feasibility of streaming services in a 2.5G environment. GPRS Rel. '97 allows enough bandwidth for streaming, but it cannot guarantee bit rates or delays. We study different QoS parameter configurations to find optimal values for streaming over GPRS Rel. '97. Its error protection is good enough, if the correct QoS profile is chosen. GPRS cell reselections cause additional problems for streaming, since several seconds of data can be lost Results show that despite all the limitations, streaming is possible in a GPRS environment and this service can be started even before the deployment of 3G networks.
A Recurrent Latent Variable Model for Sequential Data

In this paper, we explore the inclusion of latent random variables into the hidden state of a recurrent neural network (RNN) by combining the elements of the variational autoencoder. We argue that through the use of high-level latent random variables, the variational RNN (VRNN)1 can model the kind of variability observed in highly structured sequential data such as natural speech. We empirically evaluate the proposed model against other related sequential models on four speech datasets and one handwriting dataset. Our results show the important roles that latent random variables can play in the RNN dynamics.
Transplacental Passage and Hemodynamic Effects of Esmolol in the Gravid Ewe

Using a chronic maternal-fetal sheep preparation, the authors determined the transplacental passage and the hemodynamic changes consequent to maternal administration of esmolol. Fifteen experiments were performed in six chronically instrumented pregnant ewes near term. Each animal received esmolol iv, 500 μg. kg−1·min−1, for 4 min and then 300 μg. kg−1·min−1 for 6 min. Maternal and fetal blood esmolol concentrations (mean ± SEM) were 1.2 ± 0.28 and 0.1 ± 0.03 μg/ml. respectively, at the completion of the infusion, and 0.03 ± 0.01 μg/ml in the mother and not detectable in the fetus 10 min after stopping the infusion. Despite the relatively low blood esmolol concentration in the fetus compared to the mother, the hemodynamic effects in the fetus were similar to those in the mother. The maximal decrease of maternal mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were 7 ± 2 and 14 ± 3% (mean ± SEM), respectively (P < .05). The maximal decrease of fetal MAP and HR were 7 ± 2 and 12 ± 3%, respectively (P < .05). No changes were seen in maternal or fetal acid-base variables, and intra-amniotic pressure was not affected. The authors conclude that esmolol has a rapid but relatively small transplacental passage, and it is climinated rapidly from both maternal and fetal plasma.
Race and Ethnicity and the Identification of Special Needs Children

Increasingly, Medicaid and Title XXI Programs are using survey-based approaches to identify children with special health care needs (CSHCN) for quality assurance monitoring and program referrals. However, little work has been done examining how well instruments, like the Questionnaire for Identifying Children with Chronic Conditions and the CSHCN Screener, identify CSHCN among black and Hispanic families. Differences in item interpretation and in response styles could influence the identification of CSHCN from these groups. Our results suggest that children who are black or Hispanic with special health care needs may be underidentified relative to white or non-Hispanic children using currently available survey tools.
Structural Domains of the CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor That Contribute to Constitutive Activity and G-Protein Sequestration

The CB1 cannabinoid receptor is a constitutively active receptor that can sequester Gi/o-proteins and prevent other Gi/o-coupled receptors from signaling (Bouaboula et al., 1997; Pan et al., 1998; Vasquez and Lewis, 1999). G-protein sequestration occurs because the population of CB1 cannabinoid receptors exists in both an inactive G-protein-precoupled RGGDP state and a constitutively active R*GGTPstate. We tested the hypothesis that the distal C-terminal tail acts to prevent G-protein activation. We found that truncation of the distal C-terminal tail of the CB1 receptor (CB1–417) enhanced both the constitutive activity and the ability of the receptor to sequester G-proteins. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that the conserved aspartate (D2.50) in the second transmembrane domain of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor is crucial for constitutive activity and G-protein sequestration. We found that the mutation of aspartate to asparagine (CB1-D164N) abolished G-protein sequestration and constitutive receptor activity without disrupting agonist-stimulated activity. We conclude that the CB1-D164N mutation and the C-terminal truncation shift the population of receptors in opposite directions. The CB1-D164N mutation shifts the receptor into an inactive R state upcoupled from G-proteins, whereas the C-terminal truncation (CB1–417) shifts the receptor into the active R*GGTP state. Thus the distal C-terminal tail acts to constrain the receptor from activating G-proteins, whereas the aspartate (D2.50) in the second transmembrane domain stabilizes the receptor in both the inactive RGGDP state and the active R*GGTP state.
Using the Hands to Represent Objects in Space: Gesture as a Substrate for Signed Language Acquisition

An ongoing issue of interest in second language research concerns what transfers from a speaker's first language to their second. For learners of a sign language, gesture is a potential substrate for transfer. Our study provides a novel test of gestural production by eliciting silent gesture from novices in a controlled environment. We focus on spatial relationships, which in sign languages are represented in a very iconic way using the hands, and which one might therefore predict to be easy for adult learners to acquire. However, a previous study by Marshall and Morgan (2015) revealed that this was only partly the case: in a task that required them to express the relative locations of objects, hearing adult learners of British Sign Language (BSL) could represent objects' locations and orientations correctly, but had difficulty selecting the correct handshapes to represent the objects themselves. If hearing adults are indeed drawing upon their gestural resources when learning sign languages, then their difficulties may have stemmed from their having in manual gesture only a limited repertoire of handshapes to draw upon, or, alternatively, from having too broad a repertoire. If the first hypothesis is correct, the challenge for learners is to extend their handshape repertoire, but if the second is correct, the challenge is instead to narrow down to the handshapes appropriate for that particular sign language. 30 sign-naïve hearing adults were tested on Marshall and Morgan's task. All used some handshapes that were different from those used by native BSL signers and learners, and the set of handshapes used by the group as a whole was larger than that employed by native signers and learners. Our findings suggest that a key challenge when learning to express locative relations might be reducing from a very large set of gestural resources, rather than supplementing a restricted one, in order to converge on the conventionalized classifier system that forms part of the grammar of the language being learned.
Ideal topologies, local cohomology and connectedness

Let [afr ] be an ideal of a local ring (R, [mfr ]) and let N be a finitely generated R-module of dimension d: It is shown that Hd[afr ](N) ≃ Hd[mfr ](N)/[sum ]n∈ℕ〈[mfr ]〉 (0: Hd[mfr ](N)[afr ]n); where for an Artinian R-module X we put 〈[mfr ]〉X = ∩n∈ℕ[mfr ]nX. As a consequence several vanishing and connectedness results are deduced.
Mucocele of the appendix, therapeutic attitude

The appendicular mucocele is a rarely encountered pathology in clinical practice, with an occurrence rate of 0.2% of all appendectomies, it usually affects people older than 50 years. We present the case of a patient, 40 years old, with no significant pathological and heredocolaterale history, which was hospitalized in our clinic for abdominal pain in the right iliac fossa, and finally we remember the principles of the terapeutical attitude for the appendicular mucocele.
Anti-keratin Monoclonal Antibodies for Identifying Animal Hair Fibers

Type II keratins from cashmere are used as antigens to produce species-specific monoclonal antibodies for fiber identification purposes. Balb/c mice are immunized with the keratins purified by two-dimensional preparative gel electrophoresis. Hybridoma clones showing high immunological responses are subcloned by limiting dilution and then expanded to obtain antibodies in large amounts. When the antibodies are screened by two-dimensional immunoblotting for immunoreactivity with keratins isolated from cash mere and wool, several differences are detected, both quantitative and qualitative. Al though further work is needed to develop routine analytical protocols, the preliminary results reported in this paper appear to be extremely promising, and our approach could contribute to solving the problem of the objective identification of cashmere and other speciality animal fibers.
SHORT HYPOCOTYL1 Encodes a SMARCA3-Like Chromatin Remodeling Factor Regulating Elongation1[OPEN]

SHORT HYPOCOTYL1 (SH1), a chromatin remodeler, regulates hypocotyl elongation in cucumber through modulating the UVR8-mediated UVB signaling pathway. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the UVR8-mediated signaling pathway is employed to attain UVB protection and acclimation to deal with low-dosage UVB (LDUVB)-induced stresses. Here, we identified SHORT HYPOCOTYL1 (SH1) in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), which regulates LDUVB-dependent hypocotyl elongation by modulating the UVR8 signaling pathway. We showed that hypocotyl elongation in cucumbers carrying the recessive sh1 allele was LDUVB insensitive and that Sh1 encoded a human SMARCA3-like chromatin remodeling factor. The allele frequency and distribution pattern at this locus among natural populations supported the wild cucumber origin of sh1 for local adaptation, which was under selection during domestication. The cultivated cucumber carries predominantly the Sh1 allele; the sh1 allele is nearly fixed in the semiwild Xishuangbanna cucumber, and the wild cucumber population is largely at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the two alleles. The SH1 protein sequence was highly conserved among eukaryotic organisms, but its regulation of hypocotyl elongation in cucumber seems to be a novel function. While Sh1 expression was inhibited by LDUVB, its transcript abundance was highly correlated with hypocotyl elongation rate and the expression level of cell-elongation-related genes. Expression profiling of key regulators in the UVR8 signaling pathway revealed significant differential expression of CsHY5 between two near isogenic lines of Sh1. Sh1 and CsHY5 acted antagonistically at transcriptional level. A working model was proposed in which Sh1 regulates LDUVB-dependent hypocotyl elongation in cucumber through changing the chromatin states and thus the accessibility of CsHY5 in the UVR8 signaling pathway to promoters of LDUVB-responsive genes for hypocotyl elongation.
CYP2C8 polymorphism among the Portuguese

Abstract Cytochrome P450 2C8 (CYP2C8) is a polymorphic phase I drug-metabolising enzyme involved in the metabolism of a wide variety of xenobiotics, as well as a proposed player in the regulation of vascular tone. Polymorphisms in this gene may have an impact on the metabolism of therapeutic drugs such as paclitaxel and verapamil. In this report we have determined the frequencies of the main non-synonymous CYP2C8 alleles, 805A>T (CYP2C8*2), 416G>A/1196A>G (CYP2C8*3) and 792C>G (CYP2C8*4) in a sample representative of Portuguese Caucasians. The allelic frequencies determined were 1.2%, 19.8%, and 6.4% for CYP2C8*2, CYP2C8*3, and CYP2C*4, respectively. The observed CYP2C8*3 prevalence is significantly different from the frequencies previously reported in North European populations.
Evolution of parasitism and mutualism between filamentous phage M13 and Escherichia coli

Background. How host-symbiont interactions coevolve between mutualism and parasitism depends on the ecology of the system and on the genetic and physiological constraints of the organisms involved. Theory often predicts that greater reliance on horizontal transmission favors increased costs of infection and may result in more virulent parasites or less beneficial mutualists. We set out to understand transitions between parasitism and mutualism by evolving the filamentous bacteriophage M13 and its host Escherichia coli. Results. The effect of phage M13 on bacterial fitness depends on the growth environment, and initial assays revealed that infected bacteria reproduce faster and to higher density than uninfected bacteria in 96-well microplates. These data suggested that M13 is, in fact, a facultative mutualist of E. coli. We then allowed E. coli and M13 to evolve in replicated environments, which varied in the relative opportunity for horizontal and vertical transmission of phage in order to assess the evolutionary stability of this mutualism. After 20 experimental passages, infected bacteria from treatments with both vertical and horizontal transmission of phage had evolved the fastest growth rates. At the same time, phage from these treatments no longer benefited the ancestral bacteria. Conclusions. These data suggest a positive correlation between the positive effects of M13 on E. coli hosts from the same culture and the negative effects of the same phage toward the ancestral bacterial genotype. The results also expose flaws in applying concepts from the virulence-transmission tradeoff hypothesis to mutualism evolution. We discuss the data in the context of more recent theory on how horizontal transmission affects mutualisms and explore how these effects influence phages encoding virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria.
Non‐covalent presentation of sulfamethoxazole to human CD4+ T cells is independent of distinct human leucocyte antigen‐bound peptides

Background It has been shown that drugs comprise a group of non‐peptide antigens that can be recognized by human T cells in the context of HLA class II and that this recognition is involved in allergic reactions. Recent studies have demonstrated a MHC‐restricted but processing‐ and metabolism‐independent pathway for the presentation of allergenic drugs such as lidocaine and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) to drug‐specific T cells. However, there is little information so far on the precise molecular mechanisms of this non‐covalent drug presentation.