Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phosphodiesterase activation by photoexcited rhodopsin is quenched when rhodopsin is phosphorylated and binds the intrinsic 48-kDa protein of rod outer segments.

Each photoexcited rhodopsin (R*) molecule catalyzes binding of GTP to many copies of the guanine nucleotide-binding protein transducin, which, in its GTP-binding form, then activates cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDEase). Subsequent deactivation of this light-activated enzyme cascade involves hydrolysis of the GTP bound to transducin, as well as decay of the activating capacity of R*. We report here that deactivation of PDEase in rod outer segment suspensions is highly enhanced by addition of ATP and purified 48-kDa protein, which is an intrinsic rod outer segment protein that is soluble in the dark but binds to photolyzed rhodopsin that has been phosphorylated by rhodopsin kinase and ATP [Kühn, H. , Hall, S.W. & Wilden, U. (1984) FEBS Lett. 176, 473-478]. To analyze the mechanism by which ATP and 48-kDa protein deactivate PDEase, we used an ATP-free system consisting of thoroughly washed disk membranes, whose rhodopsin had been previously phosphorylated and chromophore-regenerated, and to which purified PDEase and transducin were reassociated. Such phosphorylated membranes exhibited a significantly lower (by a factor less than or equal to 5) light-induced PDEase-activating capacity than unphosphorylated controls. Addition of purified 48-kDa protein to phosphorylated membranes further suppressed their PDEase-activating capacity; suppression could be as high as 98% (as compared to unphosphorylated membranes), depending on the amount of 48-kDa protein and the flash intensity. Addition of ATP had little further effect. In contrast, PDEase activation or deactivation with unphosphorylated control membranes was not influenced by 48-kDa protein, even in the presence of ATP, provided rhodopsin kinase was absent. Our data suggest that 48-kDa protein binds to phosphorylated R* and thereby quenches its capacity to activate transducin and PDEase.
Critical Secret Disclosure in Psychotherapy With Korean Clients

Korean clients who had completed counseling in Korea and viewed the therapy as successful were interviewed about critical secret disclosure during their therapy. In-depth interviews along with grounded theory-informed analyses in a methodological hermeneutic framework revealed that many Korean clients reported that despite initial fears and needing to test their counselors, sharing their secrets was a powerful experience that deepened their connection to their counselor, facilitated positive life changes, and enhanced their relationships with others. We present a hierarchy of categories that explains the meaning and process of critical secret disclosure in therapy. The results are discussed in the context of Korean culture and how these findings can inform therapy with Korean clients.
Comparative Cognitive Effects of Levo-Dopa Plus Carbidopa and Dopamine Agonist as an Initial Therapy of Parkinson's Disease

Background: Cognitive impairments are common in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However little is known about the cognitive effects of dopaminergic therapy. Methods: The study was a single-blind prospective study of 21 patients with PD. Each patient had received either levodopa (Sinemet ® , n=8) or dopamine agonist (Requip ® , n =13) during 24 consecutive weeks. Neuropsychological battery, including Korean version of Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and frontal-executive function part of SNSB (Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery), were performed two times, before and after the 24 weeks of management. Patients also received quantitative ratings of motor symptom severity and functional status using Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) before and after the dopaminergic therapy. Results: After six months of treatment, motor scale improved in both groups (p 0.05). In ADAS-Cog testing, Requip ® group improved at more categories than Sinemet ® group but without statistical difference (p >0.05). The results of frontal-executive function test did not differ between the groups, either. Conclusions: Our study does not provide an evidence that dopaminergic treatment improves cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in the effect on cognition between the two tested drugs and no difference in the results of the above-list ed neuropsychological tests between the first and the last visits. J Korean Neurol Assoc 26(4):341-346, 2008
Overcoming limitations of the trackpad for 3d docking operations

From notebook trackpads to mobile phones to tabletop surface computing, multitouch input surfaces have become one of the most dominant interfaces for human-computer interaction. Although these are clearly effective for interaction with 2D graphical user interfaces, we suspect that they are not as well suited for interaction requiring greater degrees of freedom (DoF). Here, we consider the possibility of exploiting two such surfaces, one for each hand, as a means of affording efficient control over higher dimensional tasks. We investigate performance on a 6 DoF task, comparing such a two-surface multitouch input device against the results obtained using a standard 2D mouse, a single multitouch surface, and a 6 DoF free-space device. Our results indicate that two multitouch surfaces significantly improve user performance compared to the mouse and to a single surface.
Acceptability and Conflict Regarding Suburban Deer Management Methods

Natural resource agencies and the public often agree on reasons to manage white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in suburban areas; however, there is frequent disparity regarding which deer management method is most acceptable. We surveyed 660 residents around 22 conservation areas in a suburban Illinois county to evaluate the acceptance and the potential for conflict regarding five deer management methods countywide, in urban and rural areas, and in high (≥11 deer/km2) and low (≤9 deer/km2) deer density areas. Archery hunting was the most acceptable method followed by gun hunting, sharpshooting, and fertility control; conducting no deer management was unacceptable (p < .001). Archery hunting and no deer management had the least conflict among residents; fertility control had the most conflict (.001 ≥ p ≤ .010). We recommend managers conduct surveys that incorporate public conflict regarding deer management methods to gain information that may guide education and resolve management disputes.
Molecular basis of muscle phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM‐M) deficiency in the Italian kindred

Human muscle phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM‐M) deficiency is associated with exercise intolerance, muscle cramps, chronic serum CK elevation, and recurrent episodes of myoglobinuria. Ten patients have been described: 7 African Americans, 1 African, and 2 Caucasians from the Italian kindred described here. Molecular genetic analysis has revealed three different mutations in the PGAM‐M gene. The propositus of the Italian family was homozygous for a unique point mutation at condon 90 in exon 1, a C‐to‐T transition converting an encoded arginine to tryptophan. His sister, who had similar complaints, was also homozygous for this mutation while the paternal grandfather, both parents, a brother and a nephew of the propositus were heterozygous for the mutation. Our studies exclude that PGAM‐M deficiency is limited to African Americans, and suggest that the molecular heterogeneity of this rare disorder may be due to a “founder effect” in different ethnic groups. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc Muscle & Nerve 19:1134–1137, 1996
Conceptual Graphs for a Data Base Interface

A data base system that supports natural language queries is not really natural if it requires the user to know how the data are represented. This paper defines a formalism, called conceptual graphs, that can describe data according to the user's view and access data according to the system's view. In addition, the graphs can represent functional dependencies in the data base and support inferences and computations that are not explicit in the initial query.
Can Narrative Fiction Reduce Prejudice Toward the Mentally Ill

This paper proposes an experimental study that will examine narrative fiction’s ability to reduce implicit and explicit prejudice toward the mentally ill through spontaneous perspectivetaking. The study will measure participants’ (n=100) opinions toward the mentally ill, contact with the mentally ill, and disposition to perspective-taking. It will then manipulate when and if the fictional narrative reveals the protagonist to be mentally ill. The character will be revealed as mentally ill either at the outset of the narrative, at the end of the narrative, or not at all. The study will then measure participants’ implicit and explicit prejudice and the extent they took the perspective of the protagonist while reading the narrative. It is hypothesized that the narrative will more effectively reduce prejudice toward the mentally ill if the protagonist is revealed to be mentally ill at the end of the narrative compared to at the outset because participants will be more able to take the perspective of the protagonist if they do not know he is mentally ill. Also, the narrative will more effectively reduce prejudice if the protagonist is revealed to be mentally ill compared to if the protagonist is not revealed to be mentally ill because participants in both reveal conditions will be able to take the perspective of the mentally ill protagonist to some extent. This study may provide insight into how narrative fiction can best be utilized to reduce prejudice toward marginalized groups.
Radiation combined with temozolomide contraindicated for young adults diagnosed with anaplastic glioma

Purpose Age is a major prognostic factor for malignant gliomas. However, few studies have investigated the management of gliomas in young adults. We determined the role of survival and treatment in young adults with advanced gliomas in a large population from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA). Methods This study included 726 adults (age ≥ 18) with histologically proven anaplastic glioma or glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The overall and progression-free survival was determined in young (age < 50) and older groups (age ≥ 50). Results The study included an older group (OP) of 264 patients and a younger group (YP) of 462patients. In the OP group with GBM and anaplastic glioma, patients treated with RT combined with temozolomide (TMZ) manifested significantly longer OS and PFS compared with patients assigned to RT alone (P < 0.05). In contrast, the YP group diagnosed with anaplastic glioma failed to show any survival advantage with RT plus TMZ compared with RT alone. Conclusions We observed no survival benefit in young adults (age < 50) with anaplastic glioma when treated with TMZ combined with RT. Our findings warrant further investigation of younger patients diagnosed with anaplastic glioma treated with radiotherapy plus TMZ chemotherapy.
Trees and co-trees with constant maximum degree in planar 3-connected graphs

This paper considers the conjecture by Gr\"unbaum that every planar 3-connected graph has a spanning tree $T$ such that both $T$ and its co-tree have maximum degree at most 3. Here, the co-tree of $T$ is the spanning tree of the dual obtained by taking the duals of the non-tree edges. While Gr\"unbaum's conjecture remains open, we show that every planar 3-connected graph has a spanning tree $T$ such that both $T$ and its co-tree have maximum degree at most 5. It can be found in linear time.
Mice and moles inhabiting mountainous areas of Shimane Peninsula as sources of infection with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

A total of 1,835 Yersinia spp. were isolated from 925 (60.5%) of 1,530 wild mice and from 139 (79.9%) of 174 moles living in mountainous areas of eastern Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The Yersinia spp. included 1,106 Yersinia enterocolitica, 26 Y. enterocolitica-like, 176 Yersinia mollaretii, 149 Yersinia frederiksenii, 70 Yersinia intermedia, 231 Yersinia kristensenii, 5 Yersinia aldovae, and 72 Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica was not isolated. Y. pseudotuberculosis was divided into 10 virulent 40- to 50-MDa plasmid-positive (P+) strains (serotypes 1b, 4b, and untypeable) and 62 plasmid-negative (P-) strains (serotypes 1b, 2b, 2c, 4a, 5a, 5b, 6, 7, and untypeable). P+ strains of serotypes 1b (two strains), 4b (seven strains), and untypeable (one strain) were isolated from nine Apodemus specious and one Apodemus argenteus. The isolates of Yersinia spp. were more frequently detected in newborn mice and during the breeding season. The P+ Y. pseudotuberculosis strains were recovered at less than 10(4) cells per g of the cecal contents. Thus, the prevalence of Yersinia spp. in small wild animals depends on the newborn animals born during the cold months, and wild mice in mountainous areas are important reservoirs of Y. pseudotuberculosis.
Family motivation card: An innovative tool for increasing case detection in a resource poor setting.

INTRODUCTION Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease, causing various physical disabilities and deformities. Even today, stigma leads to late detection of new cases. Household contacts are considered a primary focus for the spread of infection. AIM AND OBJECTIVE To find new cases among household contacts of leprosy patients by providing a family motivation card (FMC) to each leprosy patient, thereby enabling early diagnosis and treatment leading to a decrease in disease and disability burden in the community. MATERIALS AND METHODS 100 patients diagnosed with leprosy (both new and old cases) were enrolled in the study. All patients were provided with a family motivation card. The purpose of giving the card was discussed in detail with each patient. New family contacts brought by old patients were examined thoroughly for the presence of leprosy. Digital color photographs were taken of all family contacts. Data analysis was done. RESULTS 23 new cases of leprosy (15 (65%) MB and eight (35%) PB cases) were detected among family members of primary cases. Most cases belonged to the under 15 years (43.47%) and over 60 years (34.78%) age groups. CONCLUSION Adoption of a simple, cheap yet effective strategy such as the FMC could act as a bridge between intensive case-finding approaches, such as the Modified Leprosy Elimination Campaign (MLEC) and voluntary reporting.
Changes in bone mineral density of adolescent mothers during the 12-month postpartum period

Abstract Objective Bone mineral density (BMD) loss has been described in adult women in the 12-month postpartum period. However, little is known about the precise BMD pattern in adolescent mothers. The present study aimed to evaluate BMD in Argentinean adolescent mothers followed up during the 12-month postpartum period. Design Analytical, prospective clinical trial. BMD and body composition were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; bone mineral content (BMC) and BMD were measured in the lumbar spine (L2–L4), femoral neck (FN), femur trochanter (TR), total hip (TH) and total body. Changes in BMD and BMC were analysed using ANOVA for pairwise comparisons. Other comparisons were performed with the paired-sample t test and Wilcoxon test; Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to analyse the relationship among continuous variables. Setting La Plata, Argentina. Subjects Adolescent mothers (n 35; 17 years old or less) were recruited within 15 d after delivery. Studies and follow-up were performed at 15 d and 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum. Results BMD and BMC losses at 3 and 6 months and recovery at 12 months fitted a quadratic curve (ANOVA) at the three sites studied (FN, TH, TR), in total-body BMD (P = 0·000) and BMC (P = 0·038). At hip sites, BMD loss occurred at 3 months (FN, P = 0·000; TR, P = 0·000; TH, P = 0·000) and 6 months (FN, P = 0·000; TR, P = 0·000; TH, P = 0·000) compared with basal values. Percentage BMD loss immediately after delivery up to 6 months was about 5 %. Conclusions Adolescents showed significant BMD and BMC losses at 6 months postpartum, with an almost total recovery at 12 months in all sites studied.
What it Means to be a (Facebook) Friend: Navigating Friendship on Social Networking Sites

The development of social networks online and offline of college students were assessed for both quantity and quality . A survey ( n =234) was administered to Facebook users regarding the size and quality of offline networks, Facebook networks, and what they used Facebook for. Results indicated the number of close friends perceived by participants was significantly lower than the number of Facebook friends and that a variety of individuals , shy and popular , use the site as an additive to their every day maintenance of networks. Questions regarding Facebook use suggested that users find the anonymity of the site useful to “track” and “check- up ” on users of the site, as well as a place to go to distract/procrastinate from every day tasks.
Using an iPad2® With Systematic Instruction to Teach Shared Stories for Elementary-Aged Students With Autism

Literacy skills are important for accessing all areas of academic content as well as for increasing quality of life. The use of shared stories to teach early literacy skills to students with extensive support needs, including students with autism, is an evidence-based practice. This project extends the research by examining the effects of systematic instruction, including constant time delay and a modified system of least prompts, paired with an iPad2® to teach grade-appropriate literature in a shared story format for students with limited verbal ability. The participants in this intervention were four elementary-aged male students with autism and limited to no verbal ability. A 10-step task analysis was developed to guide the shared story process. Results indicated that the participants were able to increase the number of independent correct responses on the task analysis from baseline to intervention. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Disclosure of HIV seropositivity and social support: general patterns in Greece

The present study examined the impact of HIV on the families of Greek seropositive individuals. We investigated which people Greek HIV-infected individuals include in their definition of ‘close family’, to which of these people they disclosed their medical condition, the nature of changes that occurred after disclosure, and the relationship between disclosure and provision of social support by ‘close family’ members. Sixty-four Greek HIV-positive people participated in the study. They were recruited from a non-governmental organization and a public hospital. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. The majority of the respondents included in their definitions of ‘close family’ people from their family of origin (mainly mothers, fathers, brothers/sisters and children), as well as people from their family of choice (mainly friends and partners). With respect to disclosure of seropositivity, no significant difference was obtained in patterns of disclosure between the two kinds of family. After disclosure, significantly more positive changes were reported by participants than negative ones. The study revealed that disclosure of HIV has a significant impact on the family in terms of relationship changes and provision of social support.
Theoretical mass loss rates of cool main-sequence stars

Context. The stellar mass loss rate is important for the rotational evolution of a star and for its interaction with the circumstellar environment. The analysis of astrospheric absorption features enables an empirical determination of mass loss rates of cool stars other than the Sun. Aims. We develop a model for the wind properties of cool main-sequence stars, which comprises their wind ram pressures, mass fluxes, and terminal wind velocities. Methods. The wind properties are determined through a polytropic magnetised wind model, assuming power laws for the dependence of the thermal and magnetic wind parameters on the stellar rotation rate. We use the empirical data to constrain theoretical wind scenarios, which are characterised by different rates of increase of the wind temperature, wind density, and magnetic field strength. Results. Scenarios based on moderate rates of increase yield wind ram pressures in agreement with most empirical constraints, but cannot account for some moderately rotating targets, whose high apparent mass loss rates are inconsistent with observed coronal X-ray and magnetic properties. For fast magnetic rotators, the magneto-centrifugal driving of the outflow can produce terminal wind velocities far in excess of the surface escape velocity. Disregarding this aspect in the analyses of wind ram pressures leads to overestimations of stellar mass loss rates. The predicted mass loss rates of cool main-sequence stars do not exceed about ten times the solar value. Conclusions. Our results are in contrast with previous investigations, which found a strong increase of the stellar mass loss rates with the coronal X-ray flux. Owing to the weaker dependence, we expect the impact of stellar winds on planetary atmospheres to be less severe and the detectability of magnetospheric radio emission to be lower then previously suggested. Considering the rotational evolution of a 1 M o star, the mass loss rates and the wind ram pressures are highest during the pre-main sequence phase.
Serum γ-Glutamyltransferase, Alanine Aminotransferase and Aspartate Aminotransferase Activity in Healthy Blood Donor of Different Ethnic Groups in Gorgan.

INTRODUCTION Measure of liver enzymes may help to increase safety of blood donation for both blood donor and recipient. Determination of liver enzymes may prepare valuable clinical information. AIM To assess serum γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) activities in healthy blood donors in different ethnic groups in Gorgan. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was performed in 450 healthy male blood donors, in three ethnic groups (Fars, Sistanee and Turkman) who attended Gorgan blood transfusion center. Liver enzymes (GGT, ALT and AST) were determined. RESULTS Serum AST and ALT in three ethnic groups were significant except for serum GGT levels. There was significant correlation between family histories of liver disease and systolic blood pressure and AST in Fars, and GGT in Sistanee ethnic groups. CONCLUSION Several factors, such as age, family history of diabetes mellitus, family history of liver disease and smoking habit had no effect on some liver enzymes in different ethnic groups in this area. Variation of AST, ALT, and GGT enzyme activities in healthy subjects was associated with some subjects in our study groups. According to our study, it suggests that screening of AST and GGT enzymes in subjects with family history of liver disease is necessary in different ethnic groups.
The Leontovich boundary value problem for the time‐harmonic Maxwell equations

The limiting behavior of the unique solution to Maxwell equations in an exterior domain with a Leontovich boundary condition as the impedance tends to zero is investigated. This is accomplished by reducing the impedance boundary value problem for the Maxwell equations to a system of three integral equations. It is shown that the Leontovich boundary condition leads to a singular perturbation problem for the Maxwell equations. A specific numerical treatment is required to achieve a sufficient accuracy.