Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modulation of monosynaptic excitation in the neonatal rat spinal cord.

1. The effects of high-frequency (5-50 Hz) stimulation of dorsal root afferents on monosynaptic excitation of alpha motoneurons was studied in the in vitro spinal cord preparation of the neonatal rat, using sharp-electrode intracellular recordings. 2. Double pulse stimulation of dorsal root afferents induced severe depression of testing excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) at each of the tested interstimulus intervals (15 ms-5 s). After perfusion of the preparation with low-calcium, high-magnesium Krebs saline, the amplitude of the conditioning EPSPs was markedly decreased and the testing EPSPs exhibited substantial facilitation that was maximal at the 20-ms interval and that was accompanied by depression at intervals > or = 60-100 ms. 3. Short-duration stimulus trains applied to dorsal root afferents normally induced tetanic depression of the intracellularly recorded monosynaptic EPSPs. Switching the bathing solution to low-calcium, high-magnesium saline decreased the control EPSP and induced facilitation and then tetanic potentiation (TP) of the EPSPs within the applied train. The magnitude of potentiation (% potentiation) of these EPSPs depended on the interpulse interval of the short stimulus train and on the degree of attenuation of the unpotentiated control EPSP after the solution was changed from normal- to low-calcium Krebs solution. 4. Long-duration stimulus trains applied to dorsal root afferents at 5-10 Hz induced marked depression of monosynaptic EPSPs during the train. The depression was alleviated after cessation of the tetanic stimulation and was followed in some cases by slight posttetanic potentiation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Work environment and disability pension – an 18-year follow-up study in a Norwegian working population

Aims: To investigate the associations between work environment indicators and health- related work disability. Methods: A health survey of 5,749 working 40–42-year-old Norwegians from Nordland County were linked to a national register for disability pension during a follow-up of over 18 years. The risk for disability pension following various self-reported physical and psychosocial work environmental exposures (individual and cumulative) were estimated using Cox regression analysis. Results: Both cumulative physical and psychosocial work environmental exposures were associated with an increased risk for disability pension, although this association was attenuated for most variables after adjusting for health and education. An increase in five poor psychosocial work environmental exposures was associated with a 22% increased risk for disability (adjusted hazard ratio, aHR, 1.22, 95% CI 1.04–1.44), whereas a similar increase in five poor physical work environmental exposures was associated with a 29% increased risk (aHR, 1.29, 95% CI 1.16-1.44). There were no indications of statistical interaction between either sex or education and work exposures. Conclusions: People who report a poor work environment are at a higher risk for subsequent work disability. This finding suggests that improving working conditions may be an area of intervention in order to reduce the number of people who leave the labour market with a disability pension.
NEAR-INFRARED METALLICITIES, RADIAL VELOCITIES, AND SPECTRAL TYPES FOR 447 NEARBY M DWARFS

We present metallicities, radial velocities, and near-infrared (NIR) spectral types for 447 M dwarfs determined from moderate resolution (R ≈ 2000) NIR spectra obtained with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF)/SpeX. These M dwarfs are primarily targets of the MEarth Survey, a transiting planet survey searching for super Earths around mid-to-late M dwarfs within 33 pc. We present NIR spectral types for each star and new spectral templates for the IRTF in the Y, J, H, and K-bands, created using M dwarfs with near-solar metallicities. We developed two spectroscopic distance calibrations that use NIR spectral type or an index based on the curvature of the K-band continuum. Our distance calibration has a scatter of 14%. We searched 27 NIR spectral lines and 10 spectral indices for metallicity sensitive features, taking into account correlated noise in our estimates of the errors on these parameters. We calibrated our relation using 36 M dwarfs in common proper pairs with an F-, G-, or K-type star of known metallicity. We validated the physical association of these pairs using proper motions, radial velocities, and spectroscopic distance estimates. Our resulting metallicity calibration uses the sodium doublet at 2.2 μm as the sole indicator for metallicity. It has an accuracy of 0.12 dex inferred from the scatter between the metallicities of the primaries and the estimated metallicities of the secondaries. Our relation is valid for NIR spectral types from M1V to M5V and for −1.0 dex < [Fe/H] < +0.35 dex. We present a new color–color metallicity relation using J − H and J − K colors that directly relates two observables: the distance from the M dwarf main sequence and equivalent width of the sodium line at 2.2 μm. We used radial velocities of M dwarf binaries, observations at different epochs, and comparison between our measurements and precisely measured radial velocities to demonstrate a 4 km s−1 accuracy.
Rapid warfarin reversal in anticoagulated patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage reduces hemorrhage progression and mortality.

BACKGROUND A prospective cohort study at our institution demonstrated a 48% mortality rate in warfarin anticoagulated trauma patients sustaining intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) compared with a 10% mortality rate in nonanticoagulated patients. Forty percent of patients demonstrated progression of their ICH, despite anticoagulation reversal, with a resultant 65% mortality rate. Seventy-one percent of these patients initially presented with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score > or = 14 and a 'minor' ICH. We postulated that early diagnosis of ICH and rapid anticoagulation reversal would reduce ICH progression rates and mortality. METHODS All anticoagulated patients with known or suspected head trauma were entered into the Coumadin protocol. The protocol ensured immediate triage and physician evaluation, head computed tomography (CT) scan, and fresh frozen plasma administration in patients with documented ICH. RESULTS Eighty-two patients were entered into the protocol with ICH documented in 19 (23%). Sixteen of 19 patients (84%) presented with GCS > or = 14. Median international normalized ratio (INR) for treated patients with ICH was 2.7 versus 2.5 for patients without ICH (p = 0.546). Mean time to initiate warfarin reversal was 1.9 hours for protocol patients versus 4.3 hours for preprotocol patients (p < 0.001). Two of 19 (10%) protocol patients with ICH died. However, both patients presented >10 hours after injury with a severe ICH. This 10% mortality rate is significantly less than the 48% mortality rate seen previously (p < 0.001) and is now consistent with that observed in similarly injured patients not on anticoagulation. CONCLUSION Neither the initial GCS nor INR in anticoagulated trauma patients reliably identifies patients with ICH. Rapid confirmation of ICH with expedited head CT scan combined with prompt reversal of warfarin anticoagulation with fresh frozen plasma decreases ICH progression and reduces mortality.
2 MERGERS AND INNOVATION IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

Conflicting trends confound the pharmaceutical industry. The productivity of pharmaceutical innovation has declined in recent years. At the same time, the cohort of large companies who are the leading engines of pharmaceutical R&D has become increasingly concentrated. The concurrent presence of these trends is not sufficient to determine causation. In response to lagging innovation prospects, some companies have sought refuge in mergers and acquisitions to disguise their dwindling prospects or gain R&D synergies. On the other hand, the increased concentration brought on by recent mergers may have contributed to the declining rate of innovation. In this paper, we consider the second of these causal relationships: the likely impact of the recent merger wave among the largest pharmaceutical companies on the rate of innovation. In other words, have recent mergers, which may have been taken in response to lagging innovation, represented a selfdefeating strategy that only made industry outcomes worse?
The State of Social and Personality Science: Rotten to the Core, Not So Bad, Getting Better, or Getting Worse?

The scientific quality of social and personality psychology has been debated at great length in recent years. Despite research on the prevalence of Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) and the replicability of particular findings, the impact of the current discussion on research practices is unknown. The current studies examine whether and how practices have changed, if at all, over the last 10 years. In Study 1, we surveyed 1,166 social and personality psychologists about how the current debate has affected their perceptions of their own and the field’s research practices. In Study 2, we coded the research practices and critical test statistics from social and personality psychology articles published in 2003–2004 and 2013–2014. Together, these studies suggest that (a) perceptions of the current state of the field are more pessimistic than optimistic; (b) the discussion has increased researchers’ intentions to avoid QRPs and adopt proposed best practices, (c) the estimated replicability of research published in 2003–2004 may not be as bad as many feared, and (d) research published in 2013–2014 shows some improvement over research published in 2003–2004, a result that suggests the field is evolving in a positive direction.
Peer-Led Seeking Safety: Results of a Pilot Outcome Study with Relevance to Public Health

Abstract There is a rich history of peer-led recovery efforts related to substance use disorder (SUD). Yet we know of no peer-led approaches for co-occurring SUD and trauma-related problems. This combination is widespread, has impact on multiple life domains, and presents major recovery challenges. In this pilot, we evaluated peer-led Seeking Safety (SS). SS is the most evidence-based and widely implemented therapy for SUD with co-occurring PTSD or other trauma-related problems. Eighteen women in residential substance-abuse treatment participated. All met SUD criteria (primarily opiate and cocaine dependence); most had a comorbid mental health disorder; and they had elevated trauma-related symptoms. The 25 SS topics were conducted twice-weekly. Participants were assessed at baseline and end-of-treatment, with some measures also collected monthly. Results showed significant positive outcomes in trauma-related problems (the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40); psychopathology (the Brief Symptom Inventory); functioning (the BASIS-32, including impulsive-addictive behavior); self-compassion (the Self-Compassion Scale); and SS coping skills. Effect sizes were consistently large. SS satisfaction and fidelity ratings were high. Substance use levels could not be assessed due to the residential setting. Qualitative data indicated enthusiasm for peer-SS by both peers and staff. Study limitations, future research, and public health relevance are discussed.
The Superpowers: A Short History

1. Inheritance: nations and empires, before 1898 2. Conception: the First World War and revolution, 1898-1921 3. Gestation: new world orders and the Second World War, 1921-45 4.Youth: Cold War and decolonisation, 1945-68 5. Maturity: Cold War and the Third World, 1968-91 6. The legacy: death or rebirth? 1991-
Structure : in science and art

Introduction Wendy Pullan 1. The structure of life Simon Conway Morris 2. Models of structure A. H. Cottrell and D. G. Pettifor 3. The body in space: structures in dance Shobana Jeyasingh 4. The structures of landscape John Dixon Hunt 5. Microscopic structure: minerals, gemstones and their derivatives and applications John Meurig Thomas 6. Engineering structures: why do they fail? John Knott 7. The structure of conflict Mary Caldor 8. The structure of the imagination: darkness visible in the mind's eye Marina Warner Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Index.
Chronic acquired demyelinating motor neuropathy

ABSTRACT A patient with chronic, acquired, demyelinating, pure or predominantly motor asymmetric neuropathy is described. Electrophysiological tests showed multifocal conduction block in motor nerves. The sensory system was intact and the first signs of slight trival involvement appeared after 4 years of disease duration. The antiganglioside antibodies were present in serum and the patient responded to immunosuppressive therapy (azathioprine). Distinction of such cases from motor neuron disease is critical since motor demyelinating neuropathy is treatable in most cases.
Integrated Systems and Technologies AMPK a Modulation in Cancer Progression : Multilayer Integrative Analysis of the Whole Transcriptome in Asian Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in Asia and most developing countries. Despite the use of multimodality therapeutics, it remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. To identify the molecular underpinnings of gastric cancer in the Asian population, we applied an RNA-sequencing approach to gastric tumor and noncancerous specimens, generating 680 million informative short reads to quantitatively characterize the entire transcriptome of gastric cancer (includingmRNAs andmiRNAs). Amultilayer analysis was then developed to identify multiple types of transcriptional aberrations associated with different stages of gastric cancer, including differentially expressed mRNAs, recurrent somatic mutations, and key differentially expressed miRNAs. Through this approach, we identified the central metabolic regulator AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)a as a potential functional target in Asian gastric cancer. Furthermore, we experimentally showed the translational relevance of this gene as a potential therapeutic target for early-stage gastric cancer in Asian patients. Together, our findings not only provide a valuable information resource for identifying and elucidating themolecular mechanisms of Asian gastric cancer, but also represent a general integrative framework to develop more effective therapeutic targets. Cancer Res; 1–10. 2012 AACR.
Prognostic factors observed in current clinical trials

Adjuvant therapy of breast cancer has evolved over the past 15 years from an interesting clinical experiment to the standard of care for many patients. The toxicities of different treatments vary from those with minimal side effects, such as tamoxifen, to those with potentially life‐threatening side effects. Current clinical trials are evaluating increasingly higher risk treatments, such as high‐dose chemotherapy autologous bone marrow rescue. Chemotherapy is being used in groups that have previously been treated only with hormonal interventions or who have received no adjuvant therapy. The delineation of risk, such that the risks of treatment can be closely tied to the risk of recurrence is thus a desirable goal for clinical‐laboratory research. Prognostic factors identified in treated patients, however, may be measures of treatment resistance versus treatment sensitivity rather than some underlying biologic characteristic defining a tumor's malignant potential.
Performance evaluation of an improved PRMA protocol for low earth orbit mobile communication systems

Future mobile communication systems will be characterized by the interworking of several networks that will be integrated into a unique system. The satellite component and the terrestrial one will use as far as possible the same protocols. This work is concerned with Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols. In particular, Packet Reservation Multiple Access (PRMA) has been considered as a good candidate for terrestrial cellular systems, since it allows high multiplexing gains, dynamic PRMA carrier allocation to cells, easy management of integrated voice and data traffic and a near-transparent behaviour with respect to user mobility. The main aim of this preliminary work is to investigate the suitability of the PRMA protocol for application to Low Earth Orbit Mobile Satellite Systems (LEO-MSSs). Moreover, we have proposed a novel version of the PRMA protocol, named PRMA with Hindering States (PRMA-HS), that is particularly suitable for application in LEO systems. This new technique has shown very promising results in terms of both packet dropping probability and throughput. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Homolog interaction during meiotic prophase I in Arabidopsis requires the SOLO DANCERS gene encoding a novel cyclin‐like protein

Interactions between homologs in meiotic prophase I, such as recombination and synapsis, are critical for proper homolog segregation and involve the coordination of several parallel events. However, few regulatory genes have been identified; in particular, it is not clear what roles the proteins similar to the mitotic cell cycle regulators might play during meiotic prophase I. We describe here the isolation and characterization of a new Arabidopsis mutant called solo dancers that exhibits a severe defect in homolog synapsis, recombination and bivalent formation in meiotic prophase I, subsequently resulting in seemingly random chromosome distribution and formation of abnormal meiotic products. We further demonstrate that the mutation affects a meiosis‐specific gene encoding a novel protein of 578 amino acid residues with up to 31% amino acid sequence identity to known cyclins in the C‐terminal portion. These results argue strongly that homolog interactions during meiotic prophase I require a novel meiosis‐specific cyclin in Arabidopsis.
New OFDM structure with parallel combinatory code

We propose a promising property for the transmitter using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Based on this property and parallel combinatory (PC) code, we propose a new parallel combinatory OFDM system. For different design requirements such as peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction or BER performance improvement, the system can select appropriate phase sets for all modulated subcarriers for each PC code. Compared with the original BPSK modulated OFDM system, the proposed system will achieve better PAPR characteristics or promising BER performance which also decreases the cost of handsets.
Developmental wave of Brn3b expression leading to RGC fate specification is synergistically maintained by miR‐23a and miR‐374

Differential regulation of Brn3b is essential for the Retinal Ganglion Cell (RGC) development in the two phases of retinal histogenesis. This biphasic Brn3b regulation is required first, during early retinal histogenesis for RGC fate specification and secondly, during late histogenesis, where Brn3b is needed for RGC axon guidance and survival. Here, we have looked into how the regulation of Brn3b at these two stages happens. We identified two miRNAs, miR‐23a and miR‐374, as regulators of Brn3b expression, during the early stage of RGC development. Temporal expression pattern of miR‐23a during E10–19, PN1–7, and adult retina revealed an inverse relation with Brn3b expression. Though miR‐374 did not show such a pattern, its co‐expression with miR‐23a evidently inhibited Brn3b. We further substantiated these findings by ex vivo overexpression of these miRNAs in E14 mice retina and found that miR‐23a and miR‐374 together brings about a change in Brn3b expression pattern in ganglion cell layer (GCL) of the developing retina. From our results, it appears that the combined expression of these miRNAs could be regulating the timing of the wave of Brn3b expression required for early ganglion cell fate specification and later for its survival and maturation into RGCs. Taken together, here we provide convincing evidences for the existence of a co‐ordinated mechanism by miRNAs to down regulate Brn3b that will ultimately regulate the development of RGCs from their precursors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 74: 1155–1171, 2014
Gammaretroviral Integration into Nucleosomal Target DNA In Vivo

ABSTRACT Some of the earliest studies of retroviral integration targeting reported that sites of gammaretroviral DNA integration were positively correlated with DNase I-hypersensitive sites in chromatin. This led to the suggestion that open chromatin was favorable for integration. More recent deep sequencing experiments confirmed that gammaretroviral integration sites and DNase I cleavage sites are associated in genome-wide surveys. Paradoxically, in vitro studies of integration show that nucleosomal DNA is actually favored over naked DNA, raising the question of whether integration target DNA in chromosomes is wrapped in nucleosomes or nucleosome free. In this study we examined gammaretroviral integration by infecting primary human CD4+ T lymphocytes with a murine leukemia virus (MLV)-based retroviral vector or xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), and isolated 32,585 unique integration sites using ligation-mediated PCR and 454 pyrosequencing. CD4+ T lymphocytes were chosen for study because of the particularly dense genome-wide mapping of chromatin features available for comparison. Analysis relative to predicted nucleosome positions showed that gammaretroviruses direct integration into outward-facing major grooves on nucleosome-wrapped DNA, similar to the integration pattern of HIV. Also, a suite of histone modifications correlated with gene activity are positively associated with integration by both MLV and XMRV. Thus, we conclude that favored integration near DNase I-hypersensitive sites does not imply that integration takes place exclusively in nucleosome-free regions.
MEDUSA: A Fuzzy Expert System for Medical Diagnosis of Acute Abdominal Pain

Abstract: Even today, the diagnosis of acute abdominal pain represents a serious clinical problem. The medical knowledge in this field is characterized by uncertainty, imprecision and vagueness. This situation lends itself especially to be solved by the application of fuzzy logic. A fuzzy logic-based expert system for diagnostic decision support is presented (MEDUSA). The representation and application of uncertain and imprecise knowledge is realized by fuzzy sets and fuzzy relations. The hybrid concept of the system enables the integration of rulebased, heuristic and casebased reasoning on the basis of imprecise information. The central idea of the integration is to use casebased reasoning for the management of special cases, and rulebased reasoning for the representation of normal cases. The heuristic principle is ideally suited for making uncertain, hypothetical inferences on the basis of fuzzy data and fuzzy relations.
Distributed Stopping for Average Consensus in Digraphs

We consider how iterative strategies for asymptotic average consensus in directed graphs (digraphs) can be adapted so that the nodes can determine, in a distributed fashion, a stopping criterion that allows them to terminate the execution of the iteration when approximate average consensus has been reached. The nodes are said to have reached approximate average consensus when each of them has a value that is close (in a way that we precisely define) to the desirable average. In a digraph, the absence of bidirectional communication links makes this task particularly challenging, due to the presence of asymmetric information (for a pair of nodes, only one of them may be aware of a discrepancy and may have no direct way of informing the other). The proposed algorithms can be used to cap the number of transmissions that are required in order to reach (approximate) average consensus, and we provide simulation studies that analyze performance with respect to this metric, and provide comparisons against existing work.