Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring conformational states of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NavAb via molecular dynamics simulations

The X-ray structure of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NavAb has been reported in a conformation with a closed conduction pore. Comparison between this structure and the activated-open and resting-closed structures of the voltage-gated Kv1.2 potassium channel suggests that the voltage-sensor domains (VSDs) of the reported structure are not fully activated. Using the aforementioned structures of Kv1.2 as templates, molecular dynamics simulations are used to identify analogous functional conformations of NavAb. Specifically, starting from the NavAb crystal structure, conformations of the membrane-bound channel are sampled along likely pathways for activation of the VSD and opening of the pore domain. Gating charge computations suggest that a structural rearrangement comparable to that occurring between activated-open and resting-closed states is required to explain experimental values of the gating charge, thereby confirming that the reported VSD structure is likely an intermediate along the channel activation pathway. Our observation that the X-ray structure exhibits a low pore domain-opening propensity further supports this notion. The present molecular dynamics study also identifies conformations of NavAb that are seemingly related to the resting-closed and activated-open states. Our findings are consistent with recent structural and functional studies of the orthologous channels NavRh, NaChBac, and NavMs and offer possible structures for the functionally relevant conformations of NavAb.
Immunomodulatory effect of Nigella sativa seed extract in male rabbits treated with dexamethasone

The potent ameliorating effect o f ethanol extract o f N. sativa seed on the immune system has been assessed in dexa methasone-induced immune-suppressed male r abbits. Fifty mature male rabbits were randomly assigned into five equal groups (control and four treated groups). Animals were daily treated, for 42 days, as follow: C: was orally administered with drinking water; T 1: was orally administered with N.s . S.E. (1.5 g/ kg, b.w.); T 2: was injected with dexa methasone (2 mg/ kg, b.w., im); T 3: was combined treated concomitantly with N.s. S.E. and dexa methasone; T 4: was treated with dexamethasone for 21 days followed by N.s. S.E. for 21 days. The results of body weight gain revealed significant increase in T 1 and significant decrease in T 2 among the experimental groups. Submandibular lymph node weights of T 1, T 2 and T 3 were significantly higher than that of C. Kidneys weights in T 2 and T 3 r egistered significant increase co mpared with C. Bone weight in T 1 and T 4 groups was significantly higher than that of other groups. Liver weight in T 2 was significantly higher and in T 4 was significantly lower than other groups. Total leucocytes count and lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils percentages were significantly decreased in T 1, while showed no significant differ ences in T 2, T 3 and T 4 groups compared with that of control. P hagocytes activity and bone marrow mitotic index were significantly reduced in T 2 group, while returned to normal in T 1, T 3 and T 4 groups compared with control. Titers of IgM, IgA, C3, and C 4 showed no significant diffe rences a mong groups, while IgG titer was increased in T 1 and T 4 and decreased in T 2. On the basis of the results obtained, it can be concluded that the exa mined extract showed a ce rtain immuno modulating effect. O f the i mmunological aspects, cellular immunity was potentially a meliorated in intact and dexamethasone-induced immunosuppressed- male rabbits.
Routinised and compulsive-like behaviours in individuals with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND Increased intensities of routinised and compulsive-like behaviours are seen in those with intellectual disabilities and have sometimes been shown to be associated with worries. We used the Childhood Routines Inventory (CRI, Evans et al., 1997) with two samples of children and adults with Down syndrome: (1) to determine whether routinised and compulsive-like behaviours were associated with mental health problems and (2) to determine the factor structure of the CRI. METHOD Parents or carers completed the CRI for (1) 125 adults with Down syndrome (aged 18-43 years) who had been assessed for mental health problems; worries and fears were also rated by parents/carers and (2) 206 individuals with Down syndrome (aged 4.5-43 years, with verbal mental ages of 2 years and above). RESULTS (1) People with a psychiatric diagnosis had significantly more worries and fears than those without such a diagnosis, but there was no significant difference in CRI scores. Logistic regression indicated that the fear rating was the only significant predictor of a diagnosis. (2) Exploratory and confirmatory analyses showed a three-factor model (Just right, Repetitive behaviour and Clothes sensitivity) to be the best solution. Those with psychiatric diagnoses had significantly higher ratings on the Repetitive behaviour factor. CONCLUSION Increased levels of routinised and compulsive-like behaviours were shown by individuals with Down syndrome of all ages, were not associated with mental health problems, but were associated with worries and fears. Factor analysis found three factors, two of which (Just right and Repetitive behaviours), were similar to those identified in typically developing samples. This suggests that the behaviours have similar adaptive functions in individuals with developmental delays.
Exploring the user experience of three-dimensional virtual learning environments

This study examines the users' experiences with three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments to investigate the areas of development as a learning application. For the investigation, the modified technology acceptance model (TAM) is used with constructs from expectation-confirmation theory (ECT). Users' responses to questions about cognitive perceptions and continuous use were collected and analysed with factors that were modified from TAM and ECT. Whilst the findings confirm the significant roles by users' cognitive perceptions, the findings also shed light on the possibility of 3D application serving as an enabler of learning tools. In the extended model, the moderating effects of confirmation/satisfaction and demographics of the relationships amongst the variables were found to be significant.
Longitudinal Study of the Amniotic Fluid Index in Post-Dates Pregnancy

Amniotic fluid (AF) was measured in 511 post-dates pregnancies (at least 41 weeks of gestational age) with the use of the AF index. Ultrasonographic evaluations were conducted on a semiweekly basis. Only patients with reliable gestational ages calculated from certain last menstrual period and confirmed by early sonographic estimates participated in the study. Oligohydramnios (AF index of 5.0 cm or less) was detected in 11.5% of the study population. Longitudinal data were available from 121 patients who demonstrated a mean 25% decrease in AF index per week beyond 41 weeks' gestation. The longitudinal change in AF index was statistically significant (P <.0005). Amniotic fluid index measurements ranged from 1.7-24.6 cm, with a mean of 12.4 at 41 weeks' gestation. Compared with previous cross-sectional studies, this longitudinal study provides a more accurate estimate of changes in AF levels as a function of gestational age.
Three‐dimensional ambient noise tomography across the Taiwan Strait: The structure of a magma‐poor rifted margin

Rifting along southeastern Eurasia in the Late Cenozoic led to the formation of a magma‐poor rifted margin facing the South China Sea to the southeast and the Philippine Sea to the east. Further rifting along the outer part of the margin during the middle to late Miocene was accompanied by an extensive episode of intraplate flood volcanism that formed the Penghu Archipelago. Previous geophysical studies in the area of the strait have focused primarily on the shallow structures of the rift basins and the depth to the Moho. In this study we present the regional‐scale 3‐D S wave structure of the Taiwan Strait that is derived from a joint Chinese and Taiwanese 3‐D ambient noise tomography study. The S wave model shows a thinning of the crust beneath the rift basins where, locally, thin high‐velocity layers suggest the presence of intrusive bodies. The rift basin and the foreland basin along the west coast of Taiwan are imaged as low‐velocity zones with thicknesses between 5 and 10 km and extending eastward beneath the Taiwan mountain belt. In the upper 10 km of the crust, the basaltic rocks of the Penghu Archipelago are imaged as a high‐velocity zone that, with depth, becomes a relatively low‐velocity zone. We interpret this low‐velocity zone in the lower crust and upper mantle beneath the Penghu Archipelago to image a thermal anomaly related to the still cooling magma feeding system and the melt reservoir area that fed the flood basalts at the surface.
Low dose HP-hMG in an antagonist protocol for IVF in ovulatory and anovulatory patients with high AMH

Abstract Women with high-AMH levels have an increased risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Studies have suggested that highly purified menotropin (HP-hMG) Menopur® reduces the risk. We, therefore, studied use of low-dose (112.5 IU/day) HP-hMG in ovulatory and anovulatory patients with high AMH (>32 pmol/L). The primary endpoint was the distribution of patients with appropriate, excessive, and inadequate response (5–14, ≥15, and ≤4 oocytes). Another endpoint was frequency of OHSS. Totally 115 women were included and 78 (67.8%) had an appropriate, 8 (7.0%) an excessive, and 29 (25.2%) an inadequate response. The number of oocytes was independent on AMH levels and ovulatory status but declined significantly with increasing bodyweight (R2 = 0.07, p < .01). The ongoing pregnancy rate per started cycle was 47.0%. Three (2.6%) developed OHSS, two had cancelation of the cycle and seven patients had GnRH agonist triggering to prevent OHSS. Selective use of a low dose of HP-hMG in patients with high levels of AMH provides 5–14 oocytes in more than two-thirds of the patients and is safe with low risk of OHSS. The number of aspirated oocytes was independent of AMH levels and ovulatory status, but inversely related to body weight.
Modeling and transient simulation of FACTS in multi-machine power systems

The present paper describes the modeling of 3-level Unified Power Flow Controllers (UPFC) with their control systems for studying the steady-state and transient behavior of electrical networks equipped with FACTS devices. The control features of these devices and their interaction with the network are presented and analyzed through detailed time-domain simulations carried out on different model power systems (multi-machine systems including the IEEE-14 bus test system).
Transient characteristics of wind turbine grounding

The goal of the analysis in this paper is twofold. First, we analyze the influence of different grounding electrode arrangements on the transient ground potential rise in case of direct lightning strokes. Particularly, we analyze the influence of the integration of the metallic foundation reinforcement with the grounding system. In addition we analyze the influence of long (30 m) vertical electrodes and additional ring electrode. Next, we analyze soil ionization effects. We compute the distribution of the electric field in the earth in time domain (for typical lightning current pulses) looking for the volume within which the magnitude of the electric field is above the critical strength (300 kV/m). Then we look for the possibility to apply a simple formula to account for the soil ionization effects. The parameters in the analysis are varied for low and highly resistive earth and for lightning current pulses related to the first and subsequent return strokes. We apply a rigorous electromagnetic model for frequency dependent analysis and an approximate model to account for soil ionization effects. Both models have been previously validated by comparison with experiments.
A study of cognitive vulnerability-stress model of depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.

The objective of the present study is to test the validity of the integrated cognitive model of depression proposed by Kwon and Oei (1994) with a Chinese adolescent sample. A two-wave panel design was used. We hypothesized that the interaction between dysfunctional attitudes measured at time 1 and adolescents' negative life events experienced between times 1 and 2 would predict changes in the frequency of automatic thoughts between times 1 and 2. We further hypothesized that changes in the frequency of automatic thoughts would, in turn, predict changes in the severity of depressive symptoms. Participants were 329 Chinese adolescents. As a comparison, we tested three other competing models: linear mediation, alternative aetiologies and symptom models. All participants completed the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale on two occasions-5 months apart. Path analysis was used to test all models. Results of the path analysis indicated that the integrated cognitive model showed an adequate fit for the Chinese adolescent data. During phases of increased depression, dysfunctional attitudes were common cognitive moderators of depression, whereas automatic thoughts were specific cognitive mediators of depression.
Effects in Anemia Management of Dialysis Patients

This study set out to determine whether there is a center effect on anemia management in hemodialysis patients. The US Renal Data System and Medicare standard analysis files were analyzed. Between-center variation and within-facility correlations in hematocrit values were examined in two separate data sets (years 2000 and 2001) and compared with simulated samples that were composed of random values that assumed no center effect. Mixed-effect models were used to adjust for multiple factors and quantify the within-facility correlation in hematocrit values. Expected hematocrit values were compared in patients who underwent dialysis at poor and superior performing facilities with fixed characteristics including epoetin dosing. There was a wider center variation in hematocrit for the actual versus simulated data and a coefficient of variation of 4.1% for the former versus 1.7% for the latter, in both years. The within-facility correlation for hematocrit was 0.053 (95% confidence interval 0.050 to 0.056; P < 0.001) in 2000 with similar values in 2001 but no within-facility correlation in the simulated data. The impact of these findings was demonstrated with a difference in expected hematocrit for a patient who was treated with fixed-dosage epoetin in the poorest versus best performing units (mean difference in expected hematocrit 3.06; 95% confidence interval 3.03 to 3.09; P < 0.001). Key attributes of a center effect on anemia management in hemodialysis have been identified. The presence of a center effect suggests that there are facility-specific processes that influence performance in dialysis anemia management and are independent of commonly titrated inputs, such as dosing of erythropoietic agents. J Am Soc Nephrol 18: 646–653, 2007. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2006050433
Interactions between oral antineoplastic agents and concomitant medication: a systematic review

Introduction: In recent years, the number of oral antitumoral agents has considerably increased. Oral administration increases the risk of interactions, because most oral anticancer drugs are taken on a daily basis. Interactions can increase exposure to antitumoral agents or cause treatment failure. Many antitumoral drugs undergo enzymatic metabolism by cytochrome P450. As some act as inducers or inhibitors of one or more isoenzymes, they can lead to decreases or increases in plasma concentrations of concomitant drugs. Hence, cytostatic drugs can act not only as victims but also as perpetrators. P-glycoprotein, an efflux transporter, can also be involved in pharmacokinetic interactions. Areas covered: A Medline search was performed to summarize the available evidence of the most clinically relevant interactions between oral chemotherapy agents and other drugs. The search covered the period from 1966 until August 2012 for each antitumoral drug using the medical subject headings ‘Drug Interactions' OR ‘Pharmacokinetics'. While the present review is not exhaustive, it aims to increase clinicians' awareness of potential drug–drug interactions. Expert opinion: As cancer patients are often polymedicated and treated by different physicians, the risk of drug interactions between antitumoral agents and other medications is high. More clinical interaction studies are encouraged to ensure appropriate antineoplastic pharmacokinetics in clinical practice.
Evaluation of a community mental health carepath for early psychosis.

PURPOSE To implement a carepath for early psychosis across all community mental health centres through the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme in the Fraser South Area of British Columbia, Canada. METHODS Prior to developing the carepath, chart reviews and interviews were performed to assess for adherence to published guidelines for early psychosis intervention. This assessment revealed the inadequacies of narrative recording and that core psychosocial interventions were inconsistently provided. The carepath developed included prompts for interventions and standardized assessments and ultimately replaced the charting system used in the mental health centres for early psychosis clients. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS One-year evaluation revealed some improvements in clinical practice but also identified other areas that require further improvement. This project demonstrated that it is possible to successfully implement a carepath in community mental health and that doing so provides a standardized method for ongoing improvements in care.
Enriching Information Technology Course Materials by Using Youtube

IT offers some benefits and collaborations in various sectors. This research focuses on exploring higher education subjects via social technology, YouTube. YouTube is the world largest video based contents application in the world. Current learning materials are not only in text and images, but included video contents. This research enriching students learning materials may involving YouTube as learning sources. The study observed 118 sophomore students in computer science faculty. The results show that, involving YouTube in enriching students course material able to create conductive learning environment. This strategy increases students understanding in their field of study.
Civic Education and the Mobilization of Political Participation in Developing Democracies

This article examines the effect of adult civic education programs on political participation in two developing democracies, the Dominican Republic and South Africa. I first develop hypotheses about the effects of civic education on participation from theories of political culture and recent work on recruitment and group mobilization. Using survey data collected on participants in numerous civic education programs as well as control groups in both countries, I then show that civic education has significant and substantively meaningful effects on local-level political participation in four of the seven programs studied in South Africa and the Dominican Republic and that the results hold after controlling for potential biases related to the individual's self-selection into the programs. The effects of civic education on participation are largely conditional in nature, dependent on the frequency and nature of the civic education "treatment," and the individual's store of prior political and participatory resources. The results suggest that civic education and other group mobilization processes are highly complementary in both countries; civic education training stimulates individual political behavior in much the same way as does participation in other kinds of secondary group activities.
Radical Embodied Cognitive Science

This paper briefly introduces radical embodied cognitive science (RECS) and places it in historical perspective. Radical embodied cognitive science is an interdisciplinary approach to psychology that combines ideas from the phenomenological tradition with ecological psychology and dynamical systems modeling. It is argued that radical embodied cognitive science has a long history; it is as a direct descendent of the Jamesian functionalist approach to psychology. This approach to psychology is contrasted with the current trend of supplementing standard cognitive psychology with occasional references to the body. In contrast with these trends, radical embodied cognitive science is skeptical of the explanatory usefulness of mental representations. The future prospects of radical embodied cognitive science and the broader functionalist framework are discussed.
Stochastic consensus of linear multi-agent systems: Communication noises and Markovian switching topologies

This paper studies the mean square and almost sure consensus of discrete-time linear multi-agent systems with communication noises under Markovian switching topologies. By a sophisticated stochastic-approximation type protocol, the closed-loop dynamics of this linear multi-agent system can be transformed into a discrete-time first-order integral multi-agent system. It is proved that if all roots of a polynomial, whose coefficients are the parameters in the gain vector of the proposed protocol, are in the unit circle, there is certain equivalence between the consensus of original linear multi-agent system and the consensus of transformed first-order integral multi-agent system. Then some sufficient conditions on the mean square/almost sure consensus of linear multi-agent systems can be obtained accordingly. Finally, theoretical analysis is verified by simulation examples.
Platelet tyrosine-specific protein phosphorylation is regulated by thrombin

Intact human platelets, terminally differentiated cells with no growth potential, were found to possess unusually high levels of tyrosine-specific protein phosphorylation. The physiological platelet activator thrombin transiently elevated platelet phosphotyrosine content, apparently through stimulation of one or more tyrosine-specific protein kinases. Immunoblotting with antiphosphotyrosine antiserum showed that thrombin caused dramatic changes in the tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of individual protein bands and that these changes occurred in three distinct temporal waves. Most but not all of the protein bands phosphorylated at tyrosine in response to thrombin were also tyrosine phosphorylated in response to chilling or the combination of ionophore A23187 and tetradecanoylphorbol acetate. Thrombin stimulated the phosphorylation of the tyrosine kinase pp60c-src, primarily at Ser-12 and Tyr-527, although the effects of these phosphorylations on platelet pp60c-src function were not apparent. Together, these results suggest that tyrosine-specific protein kinases of uncertain identity are involved in signal transduction in platelets.
Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the pleura: clinical and radiologic features.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to describe the clinical and radiologic features of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the pleura. CONCLUSION Pleural epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is an uncommon malignancy that typically affects older men, who present with chest pain and dyspnea. This lesion manifests on chest radiographs and CT scans with unilateral pleural fluid and nodular pleural thickening and appears similar to diffuse pleural carcinomatosis or mesothelioma.