Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noise analysis of miniature IPSCs in adult rat brain slices: properties and modulation of synaptic GABAA receptor channels.

1. The properties of synaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor channels were resolved by using tight-seal, whole-cell recordings from granule cells of the dentate gyrus in adult rat hippocampal slices and by applying the technique of nonstationary noise analysis to study miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) recorded in the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), and D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D-AP5). This technique allowed us to extract information about the conductance, the number, and the kinetics of ligand gated channels underlying elementary synaptic currents. 2. To ascertain the validity of the nonstationary noise analysis method we have first tested it on computer simulated mIPSCs with different channel activation, lifetime kinetics, and opening probabilities. Using intraburst mean open times, shorter than the time to the first opening following activation, caused a large variance at the peak due to the stochastic channel properties. This resulted in a skewed mean current-variance relationship, which precluded proper estimation of unit conductance and especially the number of channels open at the peak of mIPSCs. Regardless of the probability of channel opening, accurate estimates of the unit conductance and the number of channels underlying each simulated mIPSC were obtained when channels had mean open times longer than the time to first opening. 3. Once the validity of the nonstationary analysis had been ascertained, it was used on mIPSCs recorded at 35 degrees C. The unit conductance of the synaptic GABAA channels was 28 +/- 1 (SE) pS and the average number of channels underlying mIPSCs was 46 +/- 4. The mean current-variance relationship was not skewed at higher amplitudes, suggesting that the intrinsic variance at the peak of the GABAA mIPSCs is low and that the open time of the channels is longer than the time to first opening. The estimated unit conductance of the channels was constant over a wide range of holding potentials. 4. The amplitude distribution of mIPSCs with rapid 10-90% rise times (290 +/- 20 microseconds) was clearly skewed towards low values. This skew was not due to filtering of electrotonically distant currents. Current-variance analysis revealed that the skewness resulted from differences in the number of GABAA receptor channels and not from the heterogeneity of unitary conductances at various synapses. Selection of mIPSCs with slower rise times yielded smaller unit conductance estimates. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Diet quality and subsequent cancer incidence and mortality in a prospective cohort of women.

BACKGROUND We have previously reported on the utility of the Recommended Foods Score (RFS), a measure of overall diet quality, in detecting associations between diet and mortality in a cohort of older women. Using additional follow-up, we have now extended our analysis to detailed studies of associations between RFS and the mortality and incidence from common cancers. METHODS The RFS, the sum of 23 recommended food items consumed at least weekly, was computed from a 62-item food frequency questionnaire completed at baseline by 42 254 women with a mean age of 61 years. Multivariate adjusted relative risk (RR) of cancer mortality and incidence of the cancers for which we were able to obtain data in relation to quartiles of RFS were examined using proportional hazards regression analyses after a median follow-up period of 9.5 years. RESULTS We observed that RFS was inversely associated with total mortality (RR = 0.8; P < 0.001) cancer mortality (RR = 0.74; P < 0.001) as well as mortality from cancers of the breast (RR = 0.75; P < 0.06), colon/rectum (RR = 0.49; P < 0.01) and lung (RR = 0.54; P < 0.001). The risk of incident lung cancer (RR = 0.62; P < 0.001) was reduced in women in the highest vs the lowest quartile of RFS; for incident cancers of the breast, colorectum, endometrium, ovaries, and bladder, there was no RFS association. CONCLUSION A dietary pattern reflecting a higher RFS was associated with decreased overall mortality in women, specifically cancers of the lung, colon/rectum, and to a lesser extent breast. Incidence was only decreased for lung cancers. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that a high RFS dietary pattern, or associated lifestyle factors, might affect cancer progression and survival.
Managing Workload of Academic Staff for Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Universities: A Study of University of Port Harcourt in South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

Lecturers are the greatest assets as well as major stakeholders in the university industry. Their main work is to teach and bring up the young generation of students to acquire skills and knowledge for growth and development. Teaching is a difficult task and demands serious commitment to be effective. Teaching involves adequate preparation of what to be taught through researches, regularity and punctuality to the class to implement what had been prepared. Teaching extends to evaluating the students through test, assignments and examinations, and particularly teaching extends to marking of examination scripts and production of results.
Nosocomial Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, United Kingdom, 2009–2010

To determine clinical characteristics of patients hospitalized in the United Kingdom with pandemic (H1N1) 2009, we studied 1,520 patients in 75 National Health Service hospitals. We characterized patients who acquired influenza nosocomially during the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 outbreak. Of 30 patients, 12 (80%) of 15 adults and 14 (93%) of 15 children had serious underlying illnesses. Only 12 (57%) of 21 patients who received antiviral therapy did so within 48 hours after symptom onset, but 53% needed escalated care or mechanical ventilation; 8 (27%) of 30 died. Despite national guidelines and standardized infection control procedures, nosocomial transmission remains a problem when influenza is prevalent. Health care workers should be routinely offered influenza vaccine, and vaccination should be prioritized for all patients at high risk. Staff should remain alert to the possibility of influenza in patients with complex clinical problems and be ready to institute antiviral therapy while awaiting diagnosis during influenza outbreaks.
Trust Repair after Opportunistic Behaviors in the Chinese Construction Projects

Developing the trust of contractors is important for subcontractors since the trust can help subcontractors obtain a sound reputation and more chances of subcontracting. Nonetheless, the trust can be broken by opportunistic behaviors. Thus, subcontractors should utilize effective trust repair strategies to repair trust after it is violated, so as to maintain the role of trust. As a result, this study compares denial, apology, and penance as strategies for trust repair, after subcontractors demonstrate opportunistic behaviors to violate contractors’ trust in construction projects. And this study also discusses the effect of the frequency of opportunistic behaviors on the three trust repair strategies in construction projects. Scenario-based experiments are utilized as a research methodology. According to the experimental results, when a subcontractor demonstrates a single opportunistic behavior to break a contractor’s trust, the most effective strategy to repair trust is penance. The least effective strategy is denial. However, when a subcontractor has repeated opportunistic behaviors to break contractor’s trust, denial, apology, or penance has only a very limited effectiveness in trust repair. In addition, the effectiveness of the three trust repair strategies does not have significant differences. This study benefits the development of a trust repair theory applicable to construction projects. Moreover, this study offers information to assist subcontractors in utilizing the most efficient strategy to repair the trust that has been violated by opportunistic behaviors in Chinese subcontractors.
Impact of different models of agriculture on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions: A sectoral approach

It is estimated that farm practices are responsible for as much as 25–30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The scale of such emissions from agriculture depends on the model to which that sector conforms. The aim of this study was to investigate how the attributes of particular models of agriculture (i.e. labour, capital, land productivity, machinery, chemical, energy and water inputs) affect GHG emissions at the sectoral level. We test the hypothesis that the productivity of capital and labour as well as the intensity of inputs affect GHG emissions differently in countries with varying levels of economic development. The results indicate that in the poorest countries, a significant barrier to sustainable development is mechanization. In moderately wealthy countries there is a lack of stimuli to implement energy-saving technologies, while in the richest countries it is desirable that mechanization and chemicalization be reduced in favour of energy-saving technologies.
[Assessment of a rapid diagnostic test for malaria in rural health care facilities in Senegal].

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to determine the accuracy of a rapid diagnostic test in confirming presumptive malaria diagnosis in a rural zone of Senegal. Thick blood smear was used as the reference technique for comparison. METHOHDOLOGY: Testing was conducted on children between the ages of 1 and 14 years at three health care facilities located in the Niakhar are from August 2006 to June 2007. If malaria was suspected by the nurse based on clinical findings, two thick smears and one rapid diagnostic test (Core Malaria Pf) were performed. Blood slides were stained in Niakhar and read in Dakar. RESULTS A total of 474 patients were examined. Three-fourths (75%) of these patients were seen during the rainy season. Malaria was suspected in 335 patients (71%). Rapid tests and thick smears were obtained in 330 of these patients with positive results in 194 (59%) and 180 (55%) respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the rapid test were 96%, 87%, 90% and 95% respectively. CONCLUSION Our data show that the rapid diagnostic test used in this study exhibits good sensitivity and positive predictive value. Despite its cost this test could be helpful in confirming malaria diagnosis in outlying health care facilities without the necessary resources to perform blood smears. Confirmation is necessary to avoid unwarranted prescription of malaria treatment due to inaccurate clinical diagnosis
Nanocapsular Dispersion of Thymol for Enhanced Dispersibility and Increased Antimicrobial Effectiveness against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes in Model Food Systems

ABSTRACT Essential oils are marginally soluble in water, making it challenging to evenly disperse them in foods and resulting in an increased tendency to bind with food lipids and proteins, resulting in lowered antimicrobial efficacy. In the current study, free and nano-dispersed (ND) thymol were compared in terms of their antimicrobial efficacies against Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43889 and 43894 and Listeria monocytogenes strains Scott A and 101 in apple cider and 2% reduced-fat milk. Apple cider was adjusted to pHs 5.5 and 3.5, and antimicrobial tests were performed at 0.3-, 0.5-, 0.75-, and 1.0-g/liter thymol concentrations at 35, 32, 25, and 4°C. Overall, 0.5 and 1.0 g/liter thymol in nano-dispersion and along with free thymol were inhibitory and bactericidal, respectively, against bacterial strains under all treatment conditions. At pH 5.5, 0.5 g/liter ND thymol was bacteriostatic against L. monocytogenes and E. coli for up to 48 h. At pH 3.5, L. monocytogenes controls did not survive beyond 12 h but E. coli survived and was inhibited by 0.5 g/liter ND thymol after 12 and 48 h in apple cider. E. coli strains were significantly sensitive to 4°C and pH 3.5 (P < 0.05). When bacteria were tested in 2% reduced-fat milk at 35 or 32°C, ND and free thymol demonstrated inhibition at 4.5 g/liter. Thus, the current technology seems to be promising and novel, enabling thymol-containing nano-dispersions that are not only transparent but also effective against pathogens in food applications, especially in clear beverages.
Variations in clinical presentation, frequency of hemophagocytosis and clinical behavior of intravascular lymphoma diagnosed in different geographical regions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study explored variations in the clinical manifestations of intravascular lymphoma (IVL) on the bases of the association with hemophagocytosis and the country where the diagnosis was made. DESIGN AND METHODS The clinical features of 50 Western patients with IVL were compared with those of 123 patients with IVL diagnosed in Eastern countries (87 diagnosed in Japan and 36 in other Asian countries), previously reported in English literature, and collected by an electronic bibliographic search. RESULTS Hemophagocytosis was absent in Western patients, but reported in 38 (44%) Japanese patients (p=0.00001) and in seven (19%) patients from other Asian countries (p=0.002). No clinical differences were evident between patients with hemophagocytosis-negative IVL diagnosed in Western countries, Japan and other Asian Countries. Conversely, Japanese and non-Japanese patients with hemophagocytosis-related IVL more frequently had stage IV disease, fever, hepato-splenic involvement, marrow infiltration, dyspnea, anemia, and thrombocytopenia, and rarely exhibited cutaneous or central nervous system involvement. Lymph node and peripheral blood involvement was uncommon in all subgroups. In Western patients, anthracycline-based chemotherapy was associated with a 52% remission rate, and a 2-year overall survival of 46%. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS The clinical features of IVL vary according to the association with hemophagocytosis, regardless of the country in which the diagnosis is made. Western, Japanese and other Asian patients with hemophagocytosis-negative IVL display similar clinical characteristics and should be considered as having classical IVL. Patients with hemophagocytosis-related IVL show significantly different clinical features. Both forms have a poor prognosis. Extensive molecular studies are needed to explore whether these clinical differences might reflect discordant biological entities within IVL.
Long-term effects of home rehabilitation after hip fracture – 1-year follow-up of functioning, balance confidence, and health-related quality of life in elderly people

Purpose. To investigate the long-term effects of home rehabilitation (HR) after hip fracture in elderly people. Method. A randomized, controlled longitudinal study on geriatric hospital-based HR was compared with conventional care (CC) in 102 patients. Independence in activities of daily living (ADL), frequency of activity, basic physical performance, balance confidence, health-related quality of life, mood and perceived recovery were measured 6 and 12 months after discharge. Results. One year post-discharge the HR participants reported significantly higher degree of independence in self-care and locomotion, as well as of balance confidence in stairs and instrumental activities and perceived physical function, than the CC group. One year after discharge 14 persons (29%) in the HR group and five persons (9%) in the CC group considered themselves fully recovered. Conclusions. The positive long-term effects were more pronounced among the participants in the HR group than among those who received CC, possibly due to the early start of the HR programme in hospital and its focus on self-efficacy and training of daily activities. However, one year after discharge a mojority of participants in both groups did not consider themselves to be fully recovered when they compared to their situation before the fracture.
Carisbamate acutely suppresses spasms in a rat model of symptomatic infantile spasms

Purpose: Infantile spasms are the signature seizures of West syndrome. The conventional treatments for infantile spasms, such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and vigabatrin, are not always effective, especially in symptomatic infantile spasms (SIS). We tested the efficacy of carisbamate, a novel neurotherapeutic drug, to suppress spasms in the multiple‐hit rat model of SIS, and compared it with phenytoin to determine if its effect is via sodium‐channel blockade.
Activation of Cardiac c-Jun NH2-Terminal Kinases and p38-Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases With Abrupt Changes in Hemodynamic Load

Abstract—The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways as signal transduction intermediates of hemodynamic stress leading to cardiac hypertrophy in the adult heart is not fully established. In a rat model of pressure-overload hypertrophy, we examined whether activation of MAPK pathways, namely, the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and the p38-MAPK pathways, occurs during rapid changes in hemodynamic load in vivo. A slight activation of ERK2 and marked increases in JNK1 and p38-MAPK activities were observed 30 minutes after aortic banding. The increase in p38-MAPK activity was accompanied by an increase in the phosphorylation of the p38 substrate MAPK-activated protein kinases 2 and 3. Activation of these kinases was coincident with an increase in phosphorylation of c-Jun and activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2) and enhanced DNA binding of activator protein-1 factors. Thus, hemodynamic stress of the adult rat heart in vivo results in rapid activation of several parallel MAPK kinase cascades, particularly stress-activated MAPK and p38-MAPK and their target transcription factors c-Jun and ATF-2.
FORESST: fold recognition from secondary structure predictions of proteins

MOTIVATION A method for recognizing the three-dimensional fold from the protein amino acid sequence based on a combination of hidden Markov models (HMMs) and secondary structure prediction was recently developed for proteins in the Mainly-Alpha structural class. Here, this methodology is extended to Mainly-Beta and Alpha-Beta class proteins. Compared to other fold recognition methods based on HMMs, this approach is novel in that only secondary structure information is used. Each HMM is trained from known secondary structure sequences of proteins having a similar fold. Secondary structure prediction is performed for the amino acid sequence of a query protein. The predicted fold of a query protein is the fold described by the model fitting the predicted sequence the best. RESULTS After model cross-validation, the success rate on 44 test proteins covering the three structural classes was found to be 59%. On seven fold predictions performed prior to the publication of experimental structure, the success rate was 71%. In conclusion, this approach manages to capture important information about the fold of a protein embedded in the length and arrangement of the predicted helices, strands and coils along the polypeptide chain. When a more extensive library of HMMs representing the universe of known structural families is available (work in progress), the program will allow rapid screening of genomic databases and sequence annotation when fold similarity is not detectable from the amino acid sequence. AVAILABILITY FORESST web server at http://absalpha.dcrt. nih.gov:8008/ for the library of HMMs of structural families used in this paper. FORESST web server at http://www.tigr.org/ for a more extensive library of HMMs (work in progress). CONTACT valedf@tigr.org; munson@helix.nih.gov; garnier@helix.nih.gov
Yersinia pestis Ail recruitment of C4b‐binding protein leads to factor I‐mediated inactivation of covalently and noncovalently bound C4b

The outer membrane protein Ail of Yersinia pestis mediates several virulence functions, including serum resistance. Here, we demonstrate that Ail binds C4b‐binding protein (C4BP), the primary fluid‐phase regulator of the classical and lectin pathways. Non‐covalent binding of C4 and C4b to Ail was also observed. C4BP bound to Ail can act as a cofactor to the serine protease factor I (fI) in the cleavage of fluid‐phase C4b. Employing a panel of C4BP alpha‐chain mutants, we observed that the absence of complement control protein domain 6 and 8 reduced binding to Ail. Immunoblot analysis of normal human serum (NHS)‐treated bacteria revealed minimal C4b alpha’‐chain complexes with bacterial outer membrane targets. Addition of the anti‐C4BP monoclonal antibody MK104 to NHS restored C4b‐alpha’ chain target complexes, suggesting that C4b binds covalently to targets on the Y. pestis surface. C4b bound to Ail noncovalently was also cleaved in a C4BP and fI‐dependent manner, leaving the C4c fragment bound to Ail. MK104 also prevented the cleavage of noncovalently bound C4b. Collectively, these data suggest that when C4BP is bound to Ail, fI can cleave and inactivate C4b that has bound covalently to bacterial surface structures as well as C4b bound noncovalently to Ail.
Age estimation using maxillary central incisors: A radiographic study

Background: In the field of forensic dentistry, secondary changes in teeth with advancing age have been used as reliable predictors of age in various studies. Aim: The purpose of the present study was to present a method for assessing the chronological age based on the relationship between age and morphological parameters of maxillary central incisors. Materials and Methods: Fifty subjects between 20-70 years of age were included in the study. Intraoral periapical radiographs were taken in relation to maxillary central incisors using paralleling technique. The following measurements were recorded: lengths of tooth, pulp, root and width of root and pulp at three different points. Regression formulas were used to calculate the dental age. Results: The mean estimated age showed no statistically significant difference from the actual mean age (P > 0.05). Also, maximum difference was seen for root length variable (-1.035 ± 1.86 years).
Lessons learned from quality assurance: errors in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis on ultrasound and CT.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to study errors in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis reported in the online departmental quality assurance (QA) database. MATERIALS AND METHODS The departmental QA database was searched from October 2005 to April 2010 for cases of acute cholecystitis. Errors were classified into overcalls and undercalls. RESULTS We identified 14 cases of misdiagnosis involving acute cholecystitis. Three cases were classified as overcalls (21%) and eleven as undercalls (79%). Eight cases of misdiagnosis involved ultrasound studies (57%) and six cases involved CT studies (43%). Cases of overcall on ultrasound showed gallbladder wall edema, but none portrayed distention of the gallbladder. The final diagnosis in these cases included hepatitis, sepsis, and a case of chronic cholecystitis. All misinterpretations of CT cases were classified as undercalls. Contributing factors to misdiagnosis were lack of recognition of wall edema (n = 6), gallbladder distention (n = 4), absence of gallbladder wall edema (n = 1), lack of conclusion in the report (n = 2), and hospitalization in the ICU (n = 2). A possible case clustering was observed just after July almost every year. CONCLUSION An important pitfall in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis is lack of recognition of gallbladder wall edema on CT. A relaxed (nondistended) gallbladder provides important evidence against the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Intensive care patients with sepsis often have no specific signs for diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, making diagnosis especially challenging.