Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mouse Macrophages Completely Lacking Rho Subfamily GTPases (RhoA, RhoB, and RhoC) Have Severe Lamellipodial Retraction Defects, but Robust Chemotactic Navigation and Altered Motility*

Background: RhoA is strongly implicated in cell motility. Results: Macrophages lacking RhoA or RhoB have mild phenotypes, whereas double mutants, which also lack RhoC, exhibit severe cytoskeletal defects, but robust chemotaxis. Conclusion: RhoA and RhoB have overlapping functions in tail and lamellipodial membrane retraction, but are not critical for motility. Significance: The Rho subfamily is largely redundant for “front end” functions of motility and chemotaxis. RhoA is thought to be essential for coordination of the membrane protrusions and retractions required for immune cell motility and directed migration. Whether the subfamily of Rho (Ras homolog) GTPases (RhoA, RhoB, and RhoC) is actually required for the directed migration of primary cells is difficult to predict. Macrophages isolated from myeloid-restricted RhoA/RhoB (conditional) double knock-out (dKO) mice did not express RhoC and were essentially “pan-Rho”-deficient. Using real-time chemotaxis assays, we found that retraction of the trailing edge was dissociated from the advance of the cell body in dKO cells, which developed extremely elongated tails. Surprisingly, velocity (of the cell body) was increased, whereas chemotactic efficiency was preserved, when compared with WT macrophages. Randomly migrating RhoA/RhoB dKO macrophages exhibited multiple small protrusions and developed large “branches” due to impaired lamellipodial retraction. A mouse model of peritonitis indicated that monocyte/macrophage recruitment was, surprisingly, more rapid in RhoA/RhoB dKO mice than in WT mice. In comparison with dKO cells, the phenotypes of single RhoA- or RhoB-deficient macrophages were mild due to mutual compensation. Furthermore, genetic deletion of RhoB partially reversed the motility defect of macrophages lacking the RhoGAP (Rho GTPase-activating protein) myosin IXb (Myo9b). In conclusion, the Rho subfamily is not required for “front end” functions (motility and chemotaxis), although both RhoA and RhoB are involved in pulling up the “back end” and resorbing lamellipodial membrane protrusions. Macrophages lacking Rho proteins migrate faster in vitro, which, in the case of the peritoneum, translates to more rapid in vivo monocyte/macrophage recruitment.
Effect of Dental Bleaching on the Composite Filling Materialâ€™s Color - An in vitro study

Introduction: Recent researchers have discovered that the two main bleaching products; carbamide peroxide (CP) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) have been affecting the physical conditions dental restorations for example, its surface roughness, ion leakage, hardness and color. Materials and methods: This is an experimental study, which aimed to assess the possible change in shades of A-1 and B-3 composite material. We selected two types of bleaching materials, with one consisting of 15% and the other with 22% carbamide peroxide. Results: The box plot shows the spread of color change for the two groups after bleaching with 15% and 22% carbamide peroxide through five statistics, minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum. Conclusion: The concentration and composition of bleaching materials have an effect on the possible color change of the composite filling materials.
Fingerprint Matching Using Dual Hilbert Scans

A new fingerprint matching algorithm using dual Hilbert scans is presented in this study. We treat the fingerprint matching as point pattern matching problem and Hilbert scans are used in two aspects of the matching problem: one is applied to the similarity measure and the other is used in search space reduction. The similarity measure named Hilbert Scanning Distance (HSD) can be computed fast by converting the 2-D coordinates of 2-D images into 1-D space information using Hilbert scan. On the other hand, the 3-D search space can be converted to a 1-D search space sequence. The proposed method has been tested on FVC2002 database. The experimental results show that our method can implement fingerprint matching robustly and efficiently. The performance evaluation EER (Equal-Error Rate) generally used is very low by our algorithm.
Isolated Tumor Cells in Sentinel Lymph Nodes of Invasive Breast Cancer: Cell Displacement or Metastasis?

The goal of this study was to determine whether the presence of isolated tumoral cells (ITCs) in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) after core needle biopsy (CNB) is related to the time interval between CNB and surgery and to histopathologic features of invasive breast cancer. Data from 633 consecutive patients with no micrometastasis or metastasis on both frozen sections and definitive pathologic examination of SLNs were retrieved from a prospective data base. No association was found between ITCs and the time interval between CNB and SLNB. The association was significant with tumor size, the tumor lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and the histologic type of the tumor. This study adds supplementary data to the association between tumoral LVI and ITCs in SLNs, The time interval between CNB procedure and SLNB was not related to affect presence of ITCs, which might not suggest the iatrogenic origin of these cells.
Intratympanic Steroid Injection for Bell’s Palsy: Preliminary Randomized Controlled Study

Objective To investigate adjuvant effect and safety of intratympanic steroid for the treatment of Bell’s palsy. Study Design Prospective, investigator blinded, randomized study. Setting Tertiary referral center. Patients Patients who received treatment for Bell’s palsy from December 2007 to March 2011 were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (n = 17) was treated with systemic steroid plus antiviral agent, and intratympanic steroid injection group (IT group, n = 14) received intratympanic steroid injection combined with medications. Facial functions were evaluated on a regular basis up to 6 months. Intervention Intratympanic steroid injection. Main Outcome Measures Facial nerve functions of initial presentation and follow-up were evaluated with House-Brackmann (H-B) system. Primary outcome was complete recovery rate of 6 months. Secondary outcomes included improvement of H-B grade within 3 weeks, time of first improvement in facial function, and cumulative recovery rate. In addition, subgroup analysis of H-B grade over than IV was performed. Results Complete recovery rate was not different between groups. Time of first improvement was shorter in IT group (p = 0.043). And IT group had a better cumulative recovery rate (p = 0.041) and showed the significant improvement in H-B grade within 3 weeks compared with control group (p = 0.045). In severe facial palsy, complete recovery rate of IT group and control group were 80% and 50% (p = 0.16), and IT groups showed the significant facial improvement within 3 weeks (p = 0.025). And there were no major adverse effects of intratympanic injection. Conclusion Intratympanic steroid injection might be a safe and useful adjuvant treatment modality for Bell’s palsy.
Bacterial L‐forms on tap: an improved methodology to generate Bacillus subtilis L‐forms heralds a new era of research

Bacterial L‐forms are cell wall‐less forms of bacteria that usually grow with a conventional cell wall. Despite being important for research, L‐forms are difficult to generate reproducibly and research in this area is challenging. Domínguez‐Cuevas et al. (2011 ) report a method to rapidly, quantitatively and reproducibly generate populations of L‐forms in Bacillus subtilis. Importantly, the methodology may be applicable to other bacteria heralding a new era of L‐form research. Moreover, the genetic requirements of this method provide insights into how Lipid II synthesis and autolysin expression/activity are normally balanced and the central role of the WalRK two‐component system in this process.
Anti‐high mobility group box 1 monoclonal antibody ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an established inflammatory mediator when released from cells. Recent studies have implicated extracellular HMGB1 in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. The objective of this study was to determine whether HMGB1 could be a therapeutic target for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In this study, an anti‐HMGB1 monoclonal antibody was injected intraperitoneally into a mouse model of EAE. We also measured serum cytokines levels in EAE and anti‐HMGB1 monoclonal antibody‐treated EAE. As a result, intraperitoneal injection of an anti‐HMGB1 monoclonal antibody ameliorated the clinical and pathological severity of EAE and attenuated interleukin‐17 up‐regulation in serum. In conclusion, HMGB1 is involved in EAE pathogenesis and could trigger inflammation in the central nervous system. The novel aspect of this study is the demonstration that anti‐HMGB1 ameliorates EAE. HMGB1 may be a novel therapeutic strategy for multiple sclerosis.
Serologic Screening for Herpes Simplex Virus Among University Students: A Pilot Study

Objective: The authors examined the feasibility of conducting serologic testing for the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) among university students and assessed the psychosocial impact of an HSV-2 diagnosis. Methods: The authors recruited a convenience sample of 100 students (aged 18-39 years) without a history of genital herpes from 1 university between September 2004 and March 2006. Participants received HSV-2 antibody testing by Focus ELISA and Western Blot assays and completed a questionnaire that addressed psychological functioning. Twenty-eight participants completed the questionnaire again at a 3-month follow-up visit. Results: The study revealed (1) low test-reliability in the student population, (2) that positive test results may cause a decline in psychological well-being, and (3) that substantial resources are required to support students with positive HSV-2 results. Conclusions: Test performance, psychological impact, and availability of resources for counseling students with positive diagnoses should be considered before implementing HSV testing programs.
Survival during fasting may depend on fat as well as protein stores.

The determinants of length of survival during total fasting are unknown. Media reports of hunger strikers in Northern Ireland have provided some basis for evaluating this question. Such "data" combined with standard concepts of body composition, fuel homeostasis, and responses to therapeutic fasts suggest that death occurred when fat stores were approaching exhaustion. Thus, fat stores may play a central role. ( JAMA 1982;248:2306-2307)
A Clarification of the Proper-Integral Form for the Gaussian  $Q$-Function and Some New Results Involving the  $F$-Function

We discuss the origin of the well-known integral form for the Gaussian Q-function. Although this form is originally attributed to Craig in his 1991 paper, it actually was inferred in previous communications theory references in the literature by Weinstein, and explicitly stated by Pawula, Rice and Roberts. Specifically, this form can be seen as a particular case of the general F-function, that is related to the distribution of the phase angle between two vectors perturbed by Gaussian noise. We show that the F-function includes as particular cases the one- and two-dimensional Gaussian Q-functions, and is connected with a class of confluent hypergeometric functions through the multivariate Φ1(n) function. This connection generalizes the existing relation between the Gaussian Q-functions and this family of hypergeometric functions.
Hysterectomy for Benign Uterine Pathology Among Women Without Previous Vaginal Delivery

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and the complication rate of vaginal hysterectomy in benign uterine pathology (except for uterine prolapse) among patients without previous vaginal delivery. METHODS: A review of the medical records in patients without previous vaginal delivery who underwent hysterectomies between January 1995 and June 2004 was carried out. Patients were divided into two different groups: group 1 included patients with first-intention abdominal hysterectomy; group 2 included patients with vaginal approach further stratified into 2a without and 2b with laparoscopic assistance. RESULTS: Three hundred patients without previous vaginal delivery underwent hysterectomy during this period. Vaginal hysterectomy was planned in 75.7% of cases. Success rate for planned vaginal hysterectomies was 92.1%. The mean weight of uteri extracted by vaginal and abdominal approaches were 326 g and 1,047 g, respectively (P<.001). The mean operative time was significantly longer in the laparoscopic-assisted approach (160 minutes) than in the abdominal approach (120 minutes), and significantly shorter in exclusively vaginal (75 minutes) than in other procedures (P<.001). The use of the laparoscopic assistance in hysterectomy decreased significantly over the period of the study (P<.001). The mean duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter in group 2 than in group 1 (3.8 days compared with 6.2 days, P<.001), but no differences were noted between subgroups 2a and 2b. CONCLUSION: Vaginal hysterectomy should not be contraindicated in patients lacking previous vaginal delivery. In these particular patients, most of the procedures can be performed by vaginal approach, with the benefit of limiting the costs and the duration of hospital stay. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
SphK1 Regulates Proinflammatory Responses Associated with Endotoxin and Polymicrobial Sepsis

Sepsis Protection Sepsis is a serious medical condition characterized by an uncontrolled inflammatory response to infection. Sepsis often results in organ failure and/or death, and current treatments are not very effective. Puneet et al. (p. 1290) now show that the enzyme sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) may represent an important therapeutic target for the treatment of sepsis. SphK1 expression increased on human phagocytes in response to bacterial products and was also highly expressed on phagocytes from septic patients. Inhibition of SphK1 reduced the production of inflammatory mediators in vitro by human phagocytes stimulated with bacterial products. In vivo, pretreatment with small interfering RNA against SphK1 or a specific SphK1 inhibitor protected mice from death in two lethal models of sepsis. Protection was also seen when mice were treated with the SphK1 inhibitor up to 8 hours after sepsis induction, and this protection was enhanced if mice were given a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Blockade of an enzyme that promotes inflammation results in protection from lethal sepsis. During sepsis, activation of phagocytes leads to the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, causing systemic inflammation. Despite substantial information regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms that lead to sepsis, several elements in the pathway remain to be elucidated. We found that the enzyme sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) is up-regulated in stimulated human phagocytes and in peritoneal phagocytes of patients with severe sepsis. Blockade of SphK1 inhibited phagocyte production of endotoxin-induced proinflammatory cytokines. We observed protection against sepsis in mice treated with a specific SphK1 inhibitor that was enhanced by treatment with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. These results demonstrated a critical role for SphK1 in endotoxin signaling and sepsis-induced inflammatory responses and suggest that inhibition of SphK1 is a potential therapy for septic shock.
Characterization of supercooled droplet by Laser-Induced Fluorescence: Temperature and ice fraction

An extension and new application of the Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) is here developed for supercooled droplet characterization (temperature and solidification). In a first step, the choice of fluorescent dyes is determined by the study of fluorescent spectra at different temperatures. A couple of two fluorescent dyes has been identified allowing a temperature measurement. The water (with both dyes) was then calibrated in temperature using a suspended droplet up to a temperature of −17°i µi° and a sensitivity of 2.56%/°i µi° was obtained. The measurement technique is then used to determine the droplet temperature in free fall in a cold environment. An experimental setup consisting of a column with a height of 79i µi±i µi± whose internal temperature can be controlled up to a temperature of −54°i µi° is used. Two configurations of drops were tested: individual drops generated by a syringe pump and a mono-sized droplet chain. In parallel, numerical simulations were carried out for both configurations (taking into account the internal circulation of the liquid within the drops and the drop-drop interactions) possible to set up a second fluorescence ratio that is very sensitive to phase change. This second ratio was tested on a suspended droplet and in an experimental setup that allows a following of the phase change more precisely. It appears an almost proportional evolution between the evolution of the ratio and the evolution of ice in the water. Finally, measurements of Raman spectroscopy and MRI have been performed in order to confirm that LIF is a relevant technique to detect and estimate the ice fraction.
Defects in Two Dimensional Colloidal Crystals

of “ Defects in Two Dimensional Colloidal Crystals ” by Lichao Yu, Ph.D., Brown University, May 2015 We use digital video microscopy to study the defects in two-dimensional colloidal crystals (2DCC). A crystalline solid, different from its liquid state, preserves longwavelength shear rigidity and broken symmetry. Questions about how shear rigidity and long-range order disappear during melting, are unresolved in terms of the complication of defect structures and their roles in crystal melting, especially in two dimension. Colloidal crystals (CC) serve as a promising model system to directly observe the defects under optical microscope. In our first study, we report the effects of vacancies and interstitials on the phonon modes in a 2DCC. By applying the equipartition theorem, we extract the dispersion relation of the lattice vibrations using real-time video microscopy. We find that both longitudinal and transverse modes in the spectrum are softened by the existence of point defects. Second, we investigate the diffusion process of interstitials in a 2DCC. The motion is viewed as gliding of both edge dislocations along one of the crystalline axes. The microscopic process is equivalently a point mass overcoming Peierls barrier with an exponential escaping time. We also establish a new criterion to determine the ergodicity of a defect system and discover the nonergodic behavior of di-interstitials.
Disease-specific survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma: an audit of a large series from Korea.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the question of whether or not young age is an independent prognostic factor for disease-specific survival in Korean patients with renal cell carcinoma. METHODS A total of 785 patients with an age range of 22-84 years (median, 56) were included in the study. Patients were categorized according to age; 40 years or less (n = 93), 41-60 years (n = 416) and older than 60 years (n = 276). RESULTS Patients 40 years or less at diagnosis differed significantly from older patients for the following parameters: smaller tumour diameter (P = 0.001), less advanced stage (P = 0.002), lower Fuhrman nuclear grade (P = 0.017) and fewer clear cell carcinomas (P < 0.001). Five-year disease-specific survival rate in patients 40 years or younger was also higher than that of older patients (92.7% versus 86.0% versus 69.2%; P < 0.001). When subgroup analysis was performed, only in patients with tumour diameter 4.1-7.0 cm (P = 0.018), pT1-pT2,N0,M0 (P = 0.001) or clear cell type carcinoma (P < 0.001), disease-specific survival probability for patients 40 years or younger was higher than that of older patients. When the Cox proportional hazards model was applied, age at diagnosis was not an independent prognostic predictor of disease-specific survival. CONCLUSIONS Tumours found in young adults show more favourable histological features than those found in older adults. However, according to results from multivariate analysis, young patients do not have higher disease-specific survival rate after adjusting for clinical and pathological variables.
The Security of the Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code

Let F be some block cipher (eg., DES) with block length l. The cipher block chaining message authentication code (CBC MAC) specifies that an m-block message x=x1? xm be authenticated among parties who share a secret key a for the block cipher by tagging x with a prefix of ym, where y0=0l and yi=Fa(mi? yi? 1) for i=1, 2, ? , m. This method is a pervasively used international and U.S. standard. We provide its first formal justification, showing the following general lemma: cipher block chaining a pseudorandom function yields a pseudorandom function. Underlying our results is a technical lemma of independent interest, bounding the success probability of a computationally unbounded adversary in distinguishing between a random ml-bit to l-bit function and the CBC MAC of a random l-bit to l-bit function.
The role of extracellular histones in haematological disorders

Over the past decades, chromosomal alterations have been extensively investigated for their pathophysiological relevance in haematological malignancies. In particular, epigenetic modifications of intra‐nuclear histones are now known as key regulators of healthy cell cycles that have also evolved into novel therapeutic targets for certain blood cancers. Thus, for most haematologists, histones are DNA‐chained proteins that are buried deep within chromatin. However, the plot has deepened with recent revelations on the function of histones when unchained and released extracellularly upon cell death or from activated neutrophils as part of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Extracellular histones and NETs are increasingly recognized for profound cytotoxicity and pro‐coagulant effects. This article highlights the importance of recognizing this new paradigm of extracellular histones as a key player in host defence through its damage‐associated molecular patterns, which could translate into novel diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers in various haematological and critical disorders.
Static test sequence compaction based on segment reordering and accelerated vector restoration

Vector restoration based static compaction techniques report significant compaction. In this paper we propose a new technique for static compaction which gives comparable or better compaction and runs 10 to 50 times faster than the fastest method. The new technique solves the problem of compaction by dividing it into small subproblems (referred to as segments). The solutions to these segments (or subproblems) are then dynamically merged providing excellent speed up without compromising on compaction efficiency. Further speed up is achieved by compacting the individual segments using an accelerated vector-restoration based compaction technique. If a fault requires a sequence of length n to be detected, in our approach the number of vectors that need to be simulated for restoring the sequence is O(n logan), while the prevailing approaches require simulation on O(n/sup 2/) vectors. Experimental results demonstrate substantial speedups compared to the prevailing vector restoration based techniques, while giving comparable or better compaction. When compared to the fastest method, our method was 5 to 30 times faster on ISCAS circuits and 10 to 50 times faster on real-life production circuits. For example, on one of the production circuits, our method gave 27 percent compaction in 188 seconds, while an improved version of the fastest method gave 25 percent compaction in 10200 seconds. In addition, our method could successfully process large industrial designs which could not be completed by earlier techniques in 2 CPU days.