Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proximal junctional kyphosis in adult reconstructive spine surgery results from incomplete restoration of the lumbar lordosis relative to the magnitude of the thoracic kyphosis.

BACKGROUND PROXIMAL JUNCTIONAL KYPHOSIS (PJK) IS DEFINED AS: 1) Proximal junction sagittal Cobb angle >≥10°, and 2) Proximal junction sagittal Cobb angle of at least 10° greater than the pre-operative measurement PJK is a common complication which develops in 39% of adults following surgery for spinal deformity. The pathogenesis, risk factors and prevention of this complication are unclear. METHODS Of 54 consecutive adults treated with spinal deformity surgery (age≥59.3±10.1 years), 19 of 54 (35%) developed PJK. The average follow-up was 26.8 months (range 12 - 42). Radiographic parameters were measured at the pre-operative, early postoperative (4-6 weeks), and final follow-up visits. Sagittal alignment was measured by the ratio between the C7-plumbline and the sacral-femoral distance. Binary logistic regression model with predictor variables included: Age, BMI, C7-plumbline, and whether lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis and sacral slope were present RESULTS Patients who developed PJK and those without PJK presented with comparable age, BMI, pelvic incidence and sagittal imbalance before surgery. They also presented with comparable sacral slope and lumbar lordosis. The average magnitude of thoracic kyphosis was significantly larger than the lumbar lordosis in the proximal junctional kyphosis group, both at baseline and in the early postoperative period, as represented by [(-lumbar )lordosis - (thoracic kyphosis)]; no- PJK versus PJK; 6.6°±23.2° versus -6.6°±14.2°; p≥0.012. This was not effectively addressed with surgery in the PJK group [(-LL-TK): 6.2°±13.1° vs. -5.2°±9.6°; p≥0.004]. This group also presented with signs of pelvic retroversion with a sacral slope of 29.3°±8.2° pre-operatively that was unchanged after surgery (30.4°±8.5° postoperatively). Logistic regression determined that the magnitude of thoracic kyphosis and sagittal balance (C7-plumbline) was the most important predictor of proximal junctional kyphosis. CONCLUSIONS Proximal junctional kyphosis developed in those patients where the thoracic kyphosis remained greater in magnitude relative to the lumbar lordosis, and where the sagittal balance seemed corrected, but part of thise correction was secondary to pelvic retroversion. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic case-control study - Level III.
The architecture of actin filaments and the ultrastructural location of actin-binding protein in the periphery of lung macrophages

A highly branched filament network is the principal structure in the periphery of detergent-extracted cytoskeletons of macrophages that have been spread on a surface and either freeze or critical point dried, and then rotary shadowed with platinum-carbon. This array of filaments completely fills lamellae extended from the cell and bifurcates to form 0.2-0.5 micron thick layers on the top and bottom of the cell body. Reaction of the macrophage cytoskeletons with anti-actin IgG and with anti-IgG bound to colloidal gold produces dense staining of these filaments, and incubation with myosin subfragment 1 uniformly decorates these filaments, identifying them as actin. 45% of the total cellular actin and approximately 70% of actin-binding protein remains in the detergent-insoluble cell residue. The soluble actin is not filamentous as determined by sedimentation analysis, the DNAase I inhibition assay, and electron microscopy, indicating that the cytoskeleton is not fragmented by detergent extraction. The spacing between the ramifications of the actin network is 94 +/- 47 nm and 118 +/- 72 nm in cytoskeletons prepared for electron microscopy by freeze drying and critical point drying, respectively. Free filament ends are rare, except for a few which project upward from the body of the network or which extend down to the substrate. Filaments of the network intersect predominantly at right angles to form either T-shaped and X-shaped overlaps having striking perpendicularity or else Y-shaped intersections composed of filaments intersecting at 120-130 degrees angles. The actin filament concentration in the lamellae is high, with an average value of 12.5 mg/ml. The concentration was much more uniform in freeze-dried preparations than in critical point-dried specimens, indicating that there is less collapse associated with the freezing technique. The orthogonal actin network of the macrophage cortical cytoplasm resembles actin gels made with actin-binding protein. Reaction of cell cytoskeletons and of an actin gel made with actin- binding protein with anti-actin-binding protein IgG and anti-IgG-coated gold beads resulted in the deposition of clusters of gold at points where filaments intersect and at the ends of filaments that may have been in contact with the membrane before its removal with detergent. In the actin gel made with actin-binding protein, 75% of actin-fiber intersections labeled, and the filament spacing between intersections is consistent with that predicted on theoretical grounds if each added actin-binding protein molecule cross-links two filaments to form an intersection in the gel. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic effects of nanoparticle-mediated delivery of a natural angiogenic inhibitor.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of the nanoparticle-mediated delivery of plasminogen kringle 5 (K5) on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and retinal inflammation. METHODS CNV was induced by laser in adult rats. Nanoparticles with an expression plasmid of K5 (K5-NP) were injected into the vitreous. K5 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry. The CNV area was measured after fluorescein angiography. Retinal vascular permeability was quantified with Evans blue as a tracer. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 was measured by Western blot analysis or ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS Intense K5 expression was detected in the retina 2 weeks after the injection of K5-NP. Areas of CNV were significantly decreased in the K5-NP treatment group compared with that in the control-NP group. The K5-NP injection also significantly reduced vascular permeability. The expression of VEGF was downregulated by K5-NP at both the protein and mRNA levels. Moreover, K5-NP also inhibited expression of TNF-α and ICAM-1. Similarly, K5-NP decreased retinal levels of total β-catenin. In cultured cells, K5-NP suppressed hypoxia-induced secretion of MCP-1 and TNF-α. CONCLUSIONS K5 has a novel anti-inflammatory activity. K5-NP mediates a sustained inhibitory effect on CNV and thus has therapeutic potential for age-related macular degeneration.
The resolution threshold of a direction-finding algorithm for diversely polarized arrays

Subspace-based algorithms for narrowband direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation require detailed knowledge of the array response (the array manifold) and assume that the noise covariance matrix is known up to a scaling factor. In practice, these quantities are not known precisely. Resolution and estimation accuracy can degrade significantly when the array response or the noise covariance deviate from their nominal values. We examine the resolution threshold of a recently proposed subspace-based algorithm for direction finding with diversely polarized arrays. We study finite sample effects, and the effects of modeling errors (errors in the array manifold or the noise covariance), on the resolution threshold. A comparison is made between the resolution thresholds of the MUSIC algorithm (for uniformly polarized arrays) and the proposed algorithm (for diversely polarized arrays). >
THE RELATION OF SERUM BICARBONATE CONCENTRATION TO MUSCLE COMPOSITION.

Knowledge which enables one to predict the composition of intracellular as well as extracellular fluids is necessary for rational therapy of disturbances in body water and electrolyte. The present paper shows that, when the kidneys reach adjustment in the presence of a deficit of sodium or chloride or potassium, there is a predictable relationship between the concentration of bicarbonate in serum and the composition of rat muscle. At present, treatment of acidosis is guided chiefly by information that low concentration of bicarbonate in serum is explained by an absolute or relative deficiency of the sodium in extracellular fluids. Similarly, the therapy of alkalosis is based on knowledge that relative or absolute deficiency of chloride in extracellular fluids leads to high concentration of bicarbonate in serum. Although the changes in body electrolyte are not confined to extracellular electrolyte, knowledge of the quantitative aspects of the changes in intracellular fluids is just beginning to be developed. Darrow (1) has presented some of the known changes in composition of intracellular and extracellular fluids in a form which permits quantitative comparison of the changes in the two chief categories of body fluid and has discussed some of the implications of these quantitative relationships. The present paper expands and defines these relationships at biological equilibrium. The experiments were designed to show the changes in composition of both serum and muscle which accompany certain types of deficit of potassium, in acidosis produced by deficit of sodium and in alkalosis produced by deficit of chloride. In each type of experiment, the analyses present the compositions after the kidneys have reached the adjustment which is attained in the presence of a deficit of one of the ions-sodium, chloride
Protective and Enhancing HLA Alleles, HLA-DRB1*0901 and HLA-A*24, for Severe Forms of Dengue Virus Infection, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome

Background Dengue virus (DV) infection is one of the most important mosquito-borne diseases in the tropics. Recently, the severe forms, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), have become the leading cause of death among children in Southern Vietnam. Protective and/or pathogenic T cell immunity is supposed to be important in the pathogenesis of DHF and DSS. Methodology/Principal Findings To identify HLA alleles controlling T cell immunity against dengue virus (DV), we performed a hospital-based case control study at Children's Hospital No.2, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and Vinh Long Province Hospital (VL) in Southern Vietnam from 2002 to 2005. A total of 211 and 418 patients with DHF and DSS, respectively, diagnosed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, were analyzed for their characteristic HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 alleles. Four hundred fifty healthy children (250 from HCMC and 200 from VL) of the same Kinh ethnicity were also analyzed as population background. In HLA class I, frequency of the HLA-A*24 showed increased tendency in both DHF and DSS patients, which reproduced a previous study. The frequency of A*24 with histidine at codon 70 (A*2402/03/10), based on main anchor binding site specificity analysis in DSS and DHF patients, was significantly higher than that in the population background groups (HCMC 02-03 DSS: OR = 1.89, P = 0.008, DHF: OR = 1.75, P = 0.033; VL 02-03 DSS: OR = 1.70, P = 0.03, DHF: OR = 1.46, P = 0.38; VL 04-05 DSS: OR = 2.09, P = 0.0075, DHF: OR = 2.02, P = 0.038). In HLA class II, the HLA-DRB1*0901 frequency was significantly decreased in secondary infection of DSS in VL 04-05 (OR = 0.35, P = 0.0025, Pc = 0.03). Moreover, the frequency of HLA-DRB1*0901 in particular was significantly decreased in DSS when compared with DHF in DEN-2 infection (P = 0.02). Conclusion This study improves our understanding of the risk of HLA-class I for severe outcome of DV infection in the light of peptide anchor binding site and provides novel evidence that HLA-class II may control disease severity (DHF to DSS) in DV infection.
Financial Leverage, Corporate Investment and Stock Returns

This paper presents a dynamic model of the firm with risk-free debt contracts, investment irreversibility, and debt restructuring costs. The model fits several stylized facts of corporate finance and asset pricing: First, book leverage is constant across different book-to-market portfolios, whereas market leverage differs significantly. Second, changes in market leverage are mainly caused by changes in stock prices rather than by changes in debt. Third, when the model is calibrated to fit the cross-sectional distribution of book-to-market ratios, it explains the return differences across different firms. The model also shows that investment irreversibility alone cannot generate the cross-sectional patterns observed in stock returns and that leverage is the main source of the value premium.
Replication techniques for speeding up parallel applications on distributed systems

Most methods for programming loosely coupled systems are based on message‐passing. Recently, however, methods have emerged based on ‘virtually’ sharing data. These methods simplify distributed programming, but are hard to implement efficiently, as loosely coupled systems do not contain physical shared memory. We introduce a new model, the shared data‐object model, that eases the implementation of parallel applications on loosely coupled systems, but can still be implemented efficiently. In our model, shared data are encapsulated in passive data‐objects, which are variables of user‐defined abstract data types. To speed up access to shared data, data‐objects are replicated. This ability to replicate objects is a significant difference with other object‐based models (e.g. Emerald and Amber). Also, by replicating logical objects rather than physical pages, our model has many advantages over shared virtual memory systems. This paper discusses the design choices involved in replicating objects and their effect on performance. Important issues are: how to maintain consistency among different copies of an object; how to implement changes to objects; which strategy for object replication to use. We have implemented several options to determine which ones are the most efficient. Copyright © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Behavioral Modeling and Linearization of Crosstalk and Memory Effects in RF MIMO Transmitters

This paper proposes three novel models for behavioral modeling and digital pre-distortion (DPD) of nonlinear 2 × 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmitters in the presence of crosstalk. The proposed models are extensions of the single-input single-output generalized memory polynomial model. Three types of crosstalk effects were studied and characterized as linear, nonlinear, and nonlinear & linear crosstalk. A comparative study was performed with previously published models for the linearization of crosstalk in a nonlinear 2 × 2 MIMO transmitter. The experiments indicate that, depending on the type of crosstalk, the selection of the correct model in the transmitter is necessary for behavioral modeling and sufficient DPD performance. The effects of coherent and partially noncoherent signal generation on the performance of DPD were also studied. For crosstalk levels of -30 dB, the difference in the normalized mean square error and adjacent channel power ratio was found to be 3-4 dB between coherent and partially noncoherent signal generation.
A CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDY OF STOP PLACE PERCEPTION

Perceptual salience may motivate phonological processes such as consonant place assimilation. This paper reports on an experiment designed to test the perceptual salience of consonant place of articulation by listeners who are native speakers of Korean and by listeners who are native speakers of American English. The results, when averaged across vowels and language, reveal dorsal and labial consonants to be highest on the salience ranking with coronals lowest. However, it was also found that phonetic salience of stop place depends on vowel environment. Speakers of Korean and American English also showed somewhat different patterns of confusions and overall sensitivity to place information in bursts and transitions.
Hole traps in silicon dioxides. Part I. Properties

As the downscaling of gate oxides continues, trap density in the oxide bulk will reduce, but positive charges formed near to the SiO/sub 2//Si interface become relatively important. For gate oxides used in industry, hole trapping is the most important process for positive charge formation. Apart from as-grown hole traps, we recently reported that new hole traps were generated by electrical stresses. Information on these hole traps, however, is still limited. In part I of this work, properties of both generated and as-grown hole traps are investigated. For the first time, it will be clearly shown that generated hole traps consist of two components; cyclic positive charges (CPC) and antineutralization positive charges (ANPC). The charging and discharging rates of CPC are similar, while the neutralization of ANPC is much more difficult than its charging. Differences between them are also observed in generation kinetics and dependence on measurement temperature. Efforts will be made to explain their differences in terms of energy levels and to link them with positive charges reported in earlier works. We will also show that as-grown traps, regardless their distance from the interface, are not responsible for either ANPC or CPC. This is to say that generated hole traps are not the same as as-grown traps and their differences will be highlighted. In part II, hole trap generation mechanisms will be investigated.
Subunit composition of the human cytoplasmic dynein-2 complex

ABSTRACT Cytoplasmic dynein-2 is the motor for retrograde intraflagellar transport (IFT), and mutations in dynein-2 are known to cause skeletal ciliopathies. Here, we define for the first time the composition of the human cytoplasmic dynein-2 complex. We show that the proteins encoded by the ciliopathy genes WDR34 and WDR60 are bona fide dynein-2 intermediate chains and are both required for dynein-2 function. In addition, we identify TCTEX1D2 as a unique dynein-2 light chain that is itself required for cilia function. We define several subunits common to both dynein-1 and dynein-2, including TCTEX-1 (also known as DYNLT1) and TCTEX-3 (also known as DYNLT3), roadblock-1 (also known as DYNLRB1) and roadblock-2 (also known as DYNLRB2), and LC8-1 and LC8-2 light chains (DYNLL1 and DYNLL2, respectively). We also find that NudCD3 associates with dynein-2 as it does with dynein-1. By contrast, the common dynein-1 regulators dynactin, LIS1 (also known as PAFAH1B1) and BICD2 are not found in association with dynein-2. These data explain why mutations in either WDR34 or WDR60 cause disease, as well as identifying TCTEX1D2 as a candidate ciliopathy gene.
Rhythmic auditory cueing to improve walking in patients with neurological conditions other than Parkinson’s disease – what is the evidence?

Purpose: To investigate whether synchronising over-ground walking to rhythmic auditory cues improves temporal and spatial gait measures in adults with neurological clinical conditions other than Parkinson’s disease. Method: A search was performed in June 2011 using the computerised databases AGELINE, AMED, AMI, CINAHL, Current Contents, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and PUBMED, and extended using hand-searching of relevant journals and article reference lists. Methodological quality was independently assessed by two reviewers. A best evidence synthesis was applied to rate levels of evidence. Results: Fourteen studies, four of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), met the inclusion criteria. Patient groups included those with stroke (six studies); Huntington’s disease and spinal cord injury (two studies each); traumatic brain injury, dementia, multiple sclerosis and normal pressure hydrocephalus (one study each). The best evidence synthesis found moderate evidence of improved velocity and stride length of people with stroke following gait training with rhythmic music. Insufficient evidence was found for other included neurological disorders due to low study numbers and poor methodological quality of some studies. Conclusion: Synchronising walking to rhythmic auditory cues can result in short-term improvement in gait measures of people with stroke. Further high quality studies are needed before recommendations for clinical practice can be made. Implications for Rehabilitation Gait training using synchronisation of walking to rhythmic auditory cues may improve stride length and velocity in people with stroke. Further research is needed before recommendations regarding the use of rhythmic auditory cueing for patients with neurological disorders other than Parkinson’s disease can be made.
Nucleosomal promoter variation generates gene expression noise

Significance Transcription is affected, in part, by the spooling of promoter DNA in nucleosomes. EM analysis of single PHO5 gene molecules from budding yeast revealed a surprising degree of variation in the promoter nucleosome configuration between individual molecules. This variation could be explained on the theory of random transitioning between alternative configurations, suggesting that genes flicker between transcriptionally conducive and unconducive states. What is the origin of this random behavior? Here, we show that the nucleosomal promoter variation cannot be reduced to molecular variation in the gene’s intracellular surroundings, that is, it is intrinsically stochastic and thus, a cause of stochastic transcription rather than its consequence). Gene product molecule numbers fluctuate over time and between cells, confounding deterministic expectations. The molecular origins of this noise of gene expression remain unknown. Recent EM analysis of single PHO5 gene molecules of yeast indicated that promoter molecules stochastically assume alternative nucleosome configurations at steady state, including the fully nucleosomal and nucleosome-free configuration. Given that distinct configurations are unequally conducive to transcription, the nucleosomal variation of promoter molecules may constitute a source of gene expression noise. This notion, however, implies an untested conjecture, namely that the nucleosomal variation arises de novo or intrinsically (i.e., that it cannot be explained as the result of the promoter’s deterministic response to variation in its molecular surroundings). Here, we show—by microscopically analyzing the nucleosome configurations of two juxtaposed physically linked PHO5 promoter copies—that the configurational variation, indeed, is intrinsically stochastic and thus, a cause of gene expression noise rather than its effect.
Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 is associated with cognitive outcome in infantile spasms

Purpose: The molecular mechanisms that lead to long‐term consequences of infantile spasms (IS) are poorly understood. Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) is regulated by insults that might be stressful to the brain, and is crucial for early brain development. The aim of the present study was to correlate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of IGF‐1 with antecedent insults and cognitive outcome.