Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cation-Ratio Dating: A New Rock Varnish Age-Determination Technique

Rock varnish coats many surfaces of geomorphic and archaeologic interest in arid lands. All varnish dating techniques are limited by the time lag between the exposure of a surface to subaerial processes and the onset of varnishing. They are valid only where manganese is not remobilized after deposition, for example, in most arid environments. The premise of a new age-determination method, cation-ratio dating, is that the ratio of the more mobile cations (e.g., K and Ca) to titanium in varnish decreases with time. Although there are many inherent assumptions and potential limitations, cation-ratio dating has been verified on relative age-sequences from a Death Valley debris cone, Negev Desert talus flatirons, and prehistoric lake levels at Searles Lake in California. Varnish cation ratios have been calibrated to independently dated surfaces in the Coso volcanic field and vicinity in California. Tentative absolute dates have been assigned to geomorphic surfaces in the Coso area. Cation ratios have been used to distinguish relative ages of archaeologic artifacts in southwestern North America and to demonstrate that varnish at the South Stoddard locality, Mojave Desert, did not form in 25 yr.
Soft contact lenses monovision and stereopsis

This investigation was structured to determine whether any of three specific measures of stereopsis improved with time following fitting with the monovision technique. Measurements were taken on nine presbyopic subjects with their habitual prescription as a baseline finding, then repeated with their monovision correction at dispensing, and at 2-day, one-week, and two-week follow-up s. While adaptation was not demonstrated there was a mark ed difference in performance on stereo tests based on add power. Adds below + 1. 75 resulted in significantly better performance than for higher adds.
Dietary intervention for oral allergy syndrome as a treatment in orofacial granulomatosis: a new approach?

BACKGROUND Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is a chronic granulomatous condition of the mouth, face and lips. Recent work demonstrates a high rate of atopy and silver birch sensitisation from skin prick testing (SPT). Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is an acute oro-pharyngeal IgE mediated reaction, triggered by foods that cross react with pollens, most commonly silver birch. The aim of this study was to determine if patients with OFG and positive SPT to common OAS associated pollens responded to avoidance of cross reactive foods. METHODS Patients with OFG and positive SPT to silver birch, grass, mugwort, ragweed and latex were required to avoid cross reacting foods, for 6 weeks and, in those who responded, for a total of 12 weeks. All had standardized oral examinations and were given severity scores (SS) at each appointment. RESULTS Twenty two of 47 (47%) patients had one or more positive SPT and 13/22 completed 6 weeks on the diet. No difference was seen in SS between weeks 0 (14.62 ± 11.16) and 6 (13.31 ± 10.33; P = 0.656). Six of 14 (43%) had significantly improved SS (week 0; 19.17 ± 12.95, week 6; 10.83 ± 4.99, P = 0.027). Five completed 12 weeks and no further improvement was seen (week 6; 11 ± 5.57, week 12; 10.4 ± 9.94; P = 0.068). Two patients required no further treatments. CONCLUSIONS On an intention to treat basis, only 2/14 patients improved and required no further intervention. Whilst this diet cannot be recommended routinely, the improvement seen in some patients raises questions about the role of OAS in patients with OFG.
Maillard Reaction in Milk - Effect of Heat Treatment

The Maillard reaction (nonenzymatic glycation) is a chemical reaction between amino group and carbonyl group; it is the extremely complex reaction that usually takes place during food processing or storage. In the case of milk, lactose reacts with the free amino acid side chains of milk proteins (mainly e-amino group of lysine residue) to proceed to early, intermediate, and advanced stages of Maillard reaction and forms enormous kinds of Maillard reaction products. The reactions of lactose and milk proteins have been frequently investigated and the formations of various Maillard reaction products in milk during heat treatment have been demonstrated [1]. In the general Maillard reaction, firstly an Amadori product is generated, and it progresses to the 3-deoxyosone or 1-deoxyosone route depending on the reaction pH. In the case of the Maillard reaction of disaccharides such as lactose, there is a third reaction route. It is the 4-deoxyosone route. A main carbohydrate in milk is lactose. Thus, the Maillard reaction in milk progresses via the above described three routes. Finally, the Maillard reaction results in the formation of melanoidins (browning compounds).
Neuronal Calcium Signaling Review

the two membranes are bound together (Rosenbluth, Introduction 1962). Indeed, the two membranes are separated by a Calcium plays an important role in regulating a great fuzzy material with a distinct periodicity reminiscent of variety of neuronal processes. Like other cells, neurons the triadic junction of muscle cells (Henkart et al., 1976). use both extracellular and intracellular sources of calIn the axonal initial segment of certain neurons (e.g., cium. The mechanisms responsible for regulating the cortical principal cells, spiny stellate cells, and dentate influx of external calcium are well established (Figure granule cells) the subsurface cisternae appear as multi1). For example, voltage-operated channels are used layered structures called cisternal organelles (Peters et to trigger the release of neurotransmitter at synaptic al., 1968; Kosaka, 1980; Takei et al., 1992; Benedeczky junctions and they contribute to dendritic action potenet al., 1994). In the case of the initial segment of CA3 tials. In addition, neurotransmitters can induce an influx hippocampal neurons, both subsurface cisternae and cisof calcium using receptor-operated channels such as ternal organelles coexist (Kosaka, 1980). These subsurthe NMDA receptors located primarily at postsynaptic face cisternae and cisternal organs may play an imporsites. While much is known about these influx pathways, tant role in regulating neuronal excitability (see below). there is less information on the mechanism and role Within the axon, the endoplasmic reticulum consists of the intracellular supply of calcium stored within the of connecting tubules running parallel with the axon endoplasmic reticulum of neurons. Inositol 1,4,5-tris(Droz et al., 1975; Broadwell and Cataldo, 1984; Lindsay phosphate receptors (InsP3Rs) or ryanodine receptors and Ellisman, 1985). Occasionally the tubules connect (RYRs) distributed throughout the endoplasmic reticuto hypolemmal cisternae, which are flattened sheets that lum are responsible for releasing Ca from this internal lie close to the plasma membrane and thus resemble store (Figure 1). Since the endoplasmic reticulum is a the subsurface cisternae. This axonal endoplasmic recontinuous network distributed throughout the cell, it ticulum network extends into the synapse where it is may be considered as a neuron-within-a-neuron, a conoften closely associated with a mitochondrion (Bird, cept that becomes all the more interesting because the 1978; McGraw et al., 1980; Westrum and Gray, 1986).
The incidence of thromboembolic events in surgically treated ankle fracture.

BACKGROUND Thromboembolic events occur following musculoskeletal injury, and some have serious sequelae, including death. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of thromboembolic events and its relationship with risk factors in ambulatory patients with ankle fracture requiring open reduction and internal fixation. METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review of 2478 patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation of an ankle fracture at any one of three university hospitals between January 1, 1997, and April 30, 2005. One thousand five hundred and forty patients meeting the inclusion criteria and with complete records (minimum follow-up, six months) were identified. The median age of the patients at the time of surgery was forty-six years, and there was an equal proportion of male and female patients. Fracture types included 45% unimalleolar fractures, 31% bimalleolar, and 24% trimalleolar. Charts were reviewed to identify thromboembolic events, risk factors (neoplasia, hormone use, pregnancy, blood dyscrasia, history of a previous thromboembolic event, a current history of smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia, atherosclerotic vascular disease, or paralysis), and use of thromboprophylactic agents. A thromboembolic event was defined as symptomatic when deep venous thrombosis was confirmed with use of Doppler ultrasonography or when pulmonary embolism was confirmed with use of ventilation and perfusion scintigraphy or helical computed tomography. RESULTS The incidence of thromboembolic events was 2.99% (forty-six patients), with 2.66% (forty-one patients) involving a deep venous thrombosis and 0.32% (five patients) involving a nonfatal pulmonary embolism. There were no fatal pulmonary emboli recorded. The incidence did not differ among hospitals. Of the 1540 patients, 16.43% received thromboprophylaxis during their hospital stay and for six weeks (for the 10.78% taking low-molecular-weight heparin) or three months (for the 5.65% taking warfarin) after discharge without significantly modifying the incidence of thromboembolic events (2.56% vs. 2.37%, relative risk = 0.91). However patients with one or more risk factors had a greater risk of a thromboembolic event than did patients with no risk factors (3.59% vs. 2.38%, respectively; relative risk = 0.66). The use of thromboprophylaxis had no apparent impact on the occurrence of thromboembolic events in patients who did or did not have risk factors (3.68% vs. 3.55%, respectively; relative risk = 0.96). No significant correlation could be identified between the occurrence of thromboembolic events and fracture types, age, or sex. CONCLUSIONS Clinically detectable thromboembolic events after surgical treatment of ankle fractures are uncommon and do not appear to be influenced by the use of thromboprophylaxis. Patients with risk factors appear to be at higher risk for these events, but there is a need for prospective studies to determine the efficacy of thromboprophylaxis after surgical treatment of ankle fractures.
Residual β-cell function and the insulin-like growth factor system in Danish children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

CONTEXT C-peptide-positive adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have higher circulating total and free IGF-1 and lower IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) than C-peptide-negative patients. Whether this is also the case in children remains unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to examine the IGF system in children/adolescents with and without residual β-cell function (RBF). DESIGN AND PATIENTS This was a cross-sectional study containing 136 prepubertal (hereof 15 RBF positive) and 206 pubertal (hereof 42 RBF positive) children/adolescents with T1D for 3-6 years as well as 40 prepubertal and 30 pubertal healthy controls. RBF was evaluated by meal-stimulated C-peptide. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Fasting serum levels of bioactive IGF (ie, the ability of serum to activate the IGF-1 receptor in vitro), total IGF-1, total IGF-2, and IGFBP-1 and -3. RESULTS Irrespective of pubertal status, patients with T1D showed lower bioactive IGF and total IGF-1, but higher IGFBP-1 as compared with controls (P < .05). When stratified according to RBF status, a positive RBF was associated with normalization of all IGF-related peptides but IGFBP-1 in prepubertal children (P < .05), whereas none of the IGF components were normalized in prepubertal, RBF-negative children. In pubertal children, total IGF-1 and bioactive IGF remained subnormal and IGFBP-1 supranormal, irrespective of RBF status (P < .05). CONCLUSION Independent of pubertal status, T1D was associated with an abnormal IGF system. However, a positive RBF status appeared important but only in prepubertal children, in whom all IGF components but IGFBP-1 were normalized. We speculate that the pubertal GH surge induces insulin resistance, which overrides the stimulatory effect that an RBF may exert on the liver-derived IGF system.
Irritable bowel syndrome and its psychological management

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and disabling gastrointestinal problem that affects psychosocial functioning as well as the quality of life. This case study reports the utility of cognitive behavior therapy as a psychological intervention procedure in a chronic case of IBS. The use of psychological intervention was found to result in a reduction of anxiety; amelioration of the symptoms associated with IBS and improved functioning.
Examination of the similarity between a new Sigmoid function-based consensus ranking method and four commonly-used algorithms

The problem of aggregating individual rankings to create an overall consensus ranking representative of the group is of longstanding interest in group decision making. The problem arises in situations where a group of k Decision Makers (DMs) are asked to rank order n alternatives. The question is how to combine the DMs' rankings into one consensus ranking. Several different approaches have been suggested to aggregate DM responses into a compromise or consensus ranking, however, none is generally recognised as being the best and the similarity of consensus rankings generated by these algorithms is largely unknown. In this paper, we propose a new Weighted-sum ordinal Consensus ranking Method (WCM) with the weights derived from a Sigmoid function. We run Monte Carlo simulation across a range of k and n to compare the similarity of the consensus rankings generated by our method with the best-known method of Bordaâ€“Kendall (BAK; Kendall, M. (1962) Rank correlation methods. New York, NY: Hafner) and two other commonly used techniques proposed by Beck, M.P. and Lin, B.W. (1983) 'Some heuristics for the consensus ranking problem', Computers and Operations Research, Vol. 10, pp.1â€“7 and Cook, W.D. and Kress, M. (1985) 'Ordinal rankings with intensity of preference', Management Science, Vol. 31, pp.26â€“32. WCM and BAK yielded the most similar consensus rankings (mean tau-x = .91). As the number of alternatives to be ranked increased, the similarity of rankings generated by the four algorithms decreased. Although consensus rankings generated by different algorithms were similar, differences in rankings among the algorithms were of sufficient magnitude that they often cannot be viewed as interchangeable from a practical perspective.
The Toxic Effects of S(+)-Ketamine on Differentiating Neurons In Vitro as a Consequence of Suppressed Neuronal Ca2+ Oscillations

BACKGROUND: In the immature brain, neuronal Ca2+ oscillations are present during a time period of high plasticity and regulate neuronal differentiation and synaptogenesis. In this study we examined the long-term blockade of hippocampal Ca2+ oscillations, the role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and the effects of S(+)-ketamine on neuronal synapsin expression. METHODS: Hippocampal neurons were incubated at day 15 in culture with the specific NMDA receptor antagonists dizocilpine (MK 801, 100 &mgr;M) or S(+)-ketamine (3 &mgr;M to 25 &mgr;M) for 24 hours. Terminal-deoxynucleotidyl-transferase (TUNEL) and activated caspase3 were used to detect apoptotic neurons. Ca2+ oscillations were detected after loading the neurons with the Ca2+-sensitive dye fura-2AM, and dual wavelength excitation fluorescence microscopy was performed. Ca2+/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) was measured using Western blots. Synapsin was identified with confocal antisynapsin immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Blocking the NMDA receptor with MK 801 or 25 &mgr;M S(+)-ketamine resulted in a significant increase in apoptotic neurons. MK 801 led to a significant increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and reduction of the amplitude and frequency of the Ca2+ oscillations. Similar to MK 801, the long-term application of S(+)-ketamine resulted in a significant increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration 24 hours after washout. This was associated with a down-regulation of the CaMKII and a reduction of the synapsin 24 hours after washout. CONCLUSION: Neuronal Ca2+ oscillations mediate neuronal differentiation and synaptogenesis via activating CaMKII. By acting via the NMDA receptor, S(+)-ketamine exerts its toxic effect through the suppression of neuronal Ca2+ oscillations, down-regulation of the CaMKII, and consecutively reduced synaptic integrity.
Competing with the Empirical Risk Minimizer in a Single Pass

In many estimation problems, e.g. linear and logistic regression, we wish to minimize an unknown objective given only unbiased samples of the objective function. Furthermore, we aim to achieve this using as few samples as possible. In the absence of computational constraints, the minimizer of a sample average of observed data -- commonly referred to as either the empirical risk minimizer (ERM) or the $M$-estimator -- is widely regarded as the estimation strategy of choice due to its desirable statistical convergence properties. Our goal in this work is to perform as well as the ERM, on every problem, while minimizing the use of computational resources such as running time and space usage. We provide a simple streaming algorithm which, under standard regularity assumptions on the underlying problem, enjoys the following properties: * The algorithm can be implemented in linear time with a single pass of the observed data, using space linear in the size of a single sample. * The algorithm achieves the same statistical rate of convergence as the empirical risk minimizer on every problem, even considering constant factors. * The algorithm's performance depends on the initial error at a rate that decreases super-polynomially. * The algorithm is easily parallelizable. Moreover, we quantify the (finite-sample) rate at which the algorithm becomes competitive with the ERM.
An adversarial model for distributed dynamic load balancing

We study the problem of balancing the load on processors of an arbitrary network. If jobs arrive or depart during the process of load balancing, we have the dynamic load balancing problem; otherwise, we have the static load balancing problem. While static load balancing on arbitrary and special networks has been well studied, very little is known about dynamic load balancing. The difficulty lies in modeling the arrivals and departures of jobs in a clean manner. In this paper, we initiate the study of dynamic load balancing by modeling job traffic using an adversary. Our main result is that a simple, local control distributed load balancing algorithm maintains the load of the network within a stable level against this powerful adversary. Our results hold for different models of traffic patterns and processor communication.
Subdivision of Large Introns in Drosophila by Recursive Splicing at Nonexonic Elements

Many genes with important roles in development and disease contain exceptionally long introns, but special mechanisms for their expression have not been investigated. We present bioinformatic, phylogenetic, and experimental evidence in Drosophila for a mechanism that subdivides many large introns by recursive splicing at nonexonic elements and alternative exons. Recursive splice sites predicted with highly stringent criteria are found at much higher frequency than expected in the sense strands of introns >20 kb, but they are found only at the expected frequency on the antisense strands, and they are underrepresented within introns <10 kb. The predicted sites in long introns are highly conserved between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila pseudoobscura, despite extensive divergence of other sequences within the same introns. These patterns of enrichment and conservation indicate that recursive splice sites are advantageous in the context of long introns. Experimental analyses of in vivo processing intermediates and lariat products from four large introns in the unrelated genes kuzbanian, outspread, and Ultrabithorax confirmed that these introns are removed by a series of recursive splicing steps using the predicted nonexonic sites. Mutation of nonexonic site RP3 within Ultrabithorax also confirmed that recursive splicing is the predominant processing pathway even with a shortened version of the intron. We discuss currently known and potential roles for recursive splicing.
Drug-related problems in elderly patients admitted to Tayside hospitals, methods for prevention and subsequent reassessment.

INTRODUCTION although drug-related problems (DRPs) are known to be prevalent in elderly patients, the literature on prevention of iatrogenic disease is sparse. The present study addresses this requirement. OBJECTIVES to assess the incidence of DRPs in elderly patients admitted to Tayside hospitals before (phase I) and after (phase II) implementation of preventive strategies. DESIGN all elderly people admitted to hospital were screened by a pharmacist; individual case reviews were prepared for all those with a potential DRP and reviewed by a three-member panel which made a final decision on the presence of a DRP and its contribution to admission. SETTING all hospital wards admitting elderly patients in the Tayside region of Scotland. SUBJECTS 1011 elderly patient admissions over a 9-month period (phase I); 857 elderly patient admissions over an 8-month period (phase II). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES incidence of DRPs before and after targeted intervention strategies (information bulletin for general practitioners, patient information leaflet, oral presentation to trainee general practitioners). RESULTS in phase I, the incidence of DRPs was 144/1011 (14.2%), with 54/1011 (5.3%) of the admissions identified as being definitely or probably drug-related. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the main drug group involved, being responsible for 15/54 (28%) of admissions primarily due to a DRP. Over 66% of admissions due to adverse effects of NSAIDs were considered to be definitely preventable. In phase II, after targeted intervention strategies, there was no significant reduction in total incidence of DRPs or incidence of DRPs related to NSAIDs. However, there appeared to be an improvement in the first 4 months, and a significant drop in NSAID prescribing in Tayside compared with the rest of Scotland was observed. CONCLUSION DRPs remain a significant problem in elderly patients and NSAIDs are the major contributor. The intervention strategies used in the study were not demonstrably effective, but a continuous programme of education may be necessary to limit NSAID use.