Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relapse rate in patients with actinic keratosis treated with diclofenac sodium 3% gel

Actinic keratosis (AKs) are dysplastic lesions limited to epidermal keratinocytes and are considered squamous cell carcinomas in situ. AKs affect individuals who have had chronic exposure to sunlight, particularly those with skin types 1 or 2 on the Fitzpatrick phototype scale. In this clinical trial topical therapy with diclofenac gel was demonstrated to be safe and effective overall for the treatment of actinic keratosis. A resolution of at least 50% of lesions was observed in 78% of patients with a high level of satisfaction in 85% of cases.
The Effect of Chronic Alveolar Hypoxia on Lung and Serum Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme Activity

Summary Mice exposed to chronic alveolar hypoxia showed elevations of serum and lung angiotensin I converting enzyme activity during the second week of exposure. The increment of activity of the lung and serum converting enzyme was of the same order of magnitude and occurred at approximately the same time. An increase in renal renin granules was closely correlated with both lung and serum converting enzyme activity.
Time-Domain Simulation of Nonlinear Circuits Through Implicit Runge–Kutta Methods

This paper presents a novel approach to the accurate time-domain simulation of nonlinear circuits that employs a class of high-order implicit Runge-Kutta (RK) formulas. The RK methods that are here considered are selected among the wide family of known RK methods as being particularly suited to the task of analog simulation. The properties of stability and accuracy of these RK methods are briefly reviewed while the implementation in the flow of an analog simulator is described in detail. When compared to standard multistep methods, the considered RK techniques reveal to be much more reliable and thus particularly suited to the analysis of those circuits, such as circuits for RF applications or sharply nonlinear switched circuits, that are critical for conventional integration methods
Neuritic Beading Induced by Activated Microglia Is an Early Feature of Neuronal Dysfunction Toward Neuronal Death by Inhibition of Mitochondrial Respiration and Axonal Transport*

Recent studies suggest that excitotoxicity may contribute to neuronal damage in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. Activated microglia have been observed around degenerative neurons in these diseases, and they are thought to act as effector cells in the degeneration of neural cells in the central nervous system. Neuritic beading, focal bead-like swellings in the dendrites and axons, is a neuropathological sign in epilepsy, trauma, ischemia, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases. Previous reports showed that neuritic beading is induced by various stimuli including glutamate or nitric oxide and is a neuronal response to harmful stimuli. However, the precise physiologic significance of neuritic beading is unclear. We provide evidence that neuritic beading induced by activated microglia is a feature of neuronal cell dysfunction toward neuronal death, and the neurotoxicity of activated microglia is mediated through N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor signaling. Neuritic beading occurred concordant with a rapid drop in intracellular ATP levels and preceded neuronal death. The actual neurite beads consisted of collapsed cytoskeletal proteins and motor proteins arising from impaired neuronal transport secondary to cellular energy loss. The drop in intracellular ATP levels was because of the inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV activity downstream of NMDA receptor signaling. Blockage of NMDA receptors nearly completely abrogated mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity. Thus, neuritic beading induced by activated microglia occurs through NMDA receptor signaling and represents neuronal cell dysfunction preceding neuronal death. Blockage of NMDA receptors may be an effective therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases.
Functions and preferred methods of receiving information related to radiotherapy: Perceptions of patients with cancer

A convenience sample of 83 patients with cancer were interviewed before and/or after a full course of radiotherapy, with 36 patients interviewed both times, to determine their perceptions about the functions served by the information received from standard care personnel Patients indicated the preferred sources of receiving information. The results indicate that information served three main functions. Active participation was the most frequently cited function, followed by anxiety reduction and preparation. There was no difference by gender, age, education, or socio economic status (SES) in type of functions cited. Disadvantages in receiving information were rarely cited but included receiving bad news and inaccurate or vague information. Many stated that they nevertheless still wanted the information. Verbal communication, especially from the physician, followed by written material, was the most popular choice for receiving information at pretreatment. Written material was more frequently cited as the preferred type of information at posttreatment. Nurses were mentioned as an information source more frequently at posttreatment than at pretreatment. Implications of the findings for practitioners working with patients with cancer are discussed. Patients with cancer.
A channel hopping technique II: simulation result

For pt.I see ibid., p.229-33. In mobile systems, the frequency selective fading channel impairs CDMA signals by the MAI (multi access interference) resulting from non-zero cross-correlations among the relative delayed signals. This interference increases with the number of the active channels, i.e. the number of codes, and limits the capacity strongly. To address this problem, the channel hopping technique was developed; it can transmit more information bits for a given number of the codes. Alternatively, for a given value of throughput, the proposed technique can reduce effectively the number of codes and, therefore, increase capacity by reducing the MAI. The predicted advantage is verified by simulation based on the platform of a modified TDD-WCDMA standard. The results confirm the theoretical result in terms of a better BER performance.
A proxy caching system for MPEG-4 video streaming with a quality adaptation mechanism

In this paper, we propose, design, implement, and evaluate a proxy caching system for MPEG- 4 video streaming services for heterogeneous users. In our system, a video stream is divided into blocks for efficient use of the cache buffer and the bandwidth. A proxy retrieves a block from a server, deposits it in its local cache buffer, and provides a requesting client with the block in time. It maintains the cache with limited capacity by replacing unnecessary cached blocks with a newly retrieved one. It also prefetches video blocks that are expected to be required in the near future. In addition, the proxy server adjusts the quality of block appropriately, because clients are heterogeneous, in terms of the available bandwidth, end-system performance, and so on. Through evaluations, we proved that our proxy caching system could provide users with a continuous and high-quality video streaming service in a heterogeneous environment.
Influence of Ethanol on Probiotic and Culture Bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus within a Therapeutic Product

Probiotic bacteria in plain yogurt namely of Lactobacillus ssp. have been reported to treat thrush, diarrhea, athlete’s foot, jock itch and vaginal yeast infections. Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgarius (LB-12) and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST-M5) are lactic acid bacteria widely used in the manufacture of yogurt. Alcohol is used in manufacture of some medications such as cough syrups and some products such as eggnog and rum-raisin ice cream. The objectives were to study the effect of food grade ethanol on the growth of yogurt culture bacteria and the physico-chemical characteristics of therapeutic yogurt. The treatments were 0% (control), 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5% v/v ethanol in plain yogurt. The ethanol was incorporated by stirring it into one day old plain yogurt. Product characteristics were studied weekly for a month of refrigerated (4? C) storage. Data were analyzed using Proc Mixed model of Statistical Analysis System. The ethanol amount × storage period interaction effect was significant for Lactobacillus bulgaricus counts while the ethanol amount × storage period effect was not significant for Streptococcus thermophilus counts, viscosity, pH and titratable acidity (TA). Therapeutic yogurts with ethanol, at these concentrations, can successfully be manufactured without adversely influencing counts of its probiotic bacteria over product shelf life.
Both TRIF and IPS-1 Adaptor Proteins Contribute to the Cerebral Innate Immune Response against Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection

ABSTRACT Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and RNA helicases (RLHs) are important cell sensors involved in the immunological control of viral infections through production of type I interferon (IFN). The impact of a deficiency in the TRIF and IPS-1 adaptor proteins, respectively, implicated in TLR3 and RLH signaling pathways, was investigated during herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) encephalitis. TRIF−/−, IPS-1−/−, and C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) mice were infected intranasally with 7.5 × 105 PFU of HSV-1. Mice were monitored for neurological signs and survival over 20 days. Groups of mice were sacrificed on days 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 postinfection for determination of brain viral replication by quantitative PCR (qPCR), plaque assay, and immunohistochemistry and for alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) levels and phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factors 3 and 7 (IRF-3 and -7) in brain homogenates by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting, respectively. TRIF−/− and IPS-1−/− mice had higher mortality rates than WT mice (P = 0.02 and P = 0.09, respectively). Viral antigens were more disseminated throughout the brain, correlating with a significant increase in brain viral load for TRIF−/− (days 5 to 9) and IPS-1−/− (days 7 and 9) mice compared to results for the WT. IFN-β production was reduced in brain homogenates of TRIF−/− and IPS-1−/− mice on day 5 compared to results for the WT, whereas IFN-α levels were increased on day 7 in TRIF−/− mice. Phosphorylation levels of IRF-3 and IRF-7 were decreased in TRIF−/− and IPS-1−/− mice, respectively. These data suggest that both the TRIF and IPS-1 signaling pathways are important for the control of HSV replication in the brain and survival through IFN-β production.
Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Wear Debris Generated in Vivo and in Laboratory Tests; the Influence of Counterface Roughness

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of counterface roughness and lubricant on the morphology of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear debris generated in laboratory wear tests, and to compare this with debris isolated from explanted tissue. Laboratory tests used UHMWPE pins sliding against stainless steel counterfaces. Both water and serum lubricants were used in conjunction with rough and smooth counterfaces. The lubricants and tissue from revision hip surgery were processed to digest the proteins and permit filtration. This involved denaturing the proteins with potassium hydroxide (KOH), sedimentation of any remaining proteins, and further digestion of these proteins with chromic acid. All fractions were then passed through a 0.2 μm membrane, and the debris examined using scanning electron microscopy. The laboratory studies showed that the major variable influencing debris morphology was counterface roughness. The rougher counter-faces produced larger numbers of smaller particles, with a size range extending below 1 μm. For smooth counterfaces there were fewer of these small particles, and evidence of larger platelets, greater than 10 μm in diameter. Analysis of the debris from explanted tissues showed a wide variation in the particle size distribution, ranging from below 1 μm up to several millimetres in size. Of major clinical significance in relation to osteolysis and loosening is roughening of the femoral components, which may lead to greater numbers of the sub-micron-sized particles.
Dış ticaret ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki nedensellik ilişkisi: Türkiye örneği

Dis ticaret kavrami mallarin ve sermayenin ulke sinirlarinin disina akisiyla ilgili bir kavram olup, ulkenin reel gelirinde yildan yila meydana gelen artislardan ibaret olan ekonomik buyume olgusu ile yakindan ilgilidir. Yillara ve ulkelerin yapisal ozelligine gore bu iki degisken arasindaki iliskinin yonu ve onemi de degisiklik gostermektedir. Bu cercevede bu calismanin amaci Turkiye ekonomisinde dis ticaret ve ekonomik buyume arasindaki nedensellik iliskisinin varliginin incelenmesidir. Bu sebeple 2002:01-2016:02 donemine ait ucer aylik ihracat, ithalat ve GSYH verileri kullanilarak analiz gerceklestirilmistir. Yapilan Granger nedensellik analizi sonucuna gore 2002:01-2016:02 doneminde Turkiye‘ de ithalattan ekonomik buyumeye dogru tek yonlu nedensellik iliskisi saptanmistir. Ayrica ithalattan da ihracata dogru tek yonlu nedensellik iliskisi tespit edilmistir. Bu durum Turkiye ekonomisi icin “ithalat Itisli Buyume “ve “Ithalata Dayali Ihracat “ hipotezlerinin gecerli oldugunu kanitlar niteliktedir.
Crustal Dilatation Observed by GRACE After the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake

We report the detection of an earthquake by a space-based measurement. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites observed a ±15-microgalileo gravity change induced by the great December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. Coseismic deformation produces sudden changes in the gravity field by vertical displacement of Earth's layered density structure and by changing the densities of the crust and mantle. GRACE's sensitivity to the long spatial wavelength of gravity changes resulted in roughly equal contributions of vertical displacement and dilatation effects in the gravity measurements. The GRACE observations provide evidence of crustal dilatation resulting from an undersea earthquake.
Responsiveness and Minimally Important Difference of the 6-Minute Stepper Test in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: The validity and reproducibility of the 6-minute stepper test (6MST) have already been demonstrated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness of the 6MST to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with COPD, to determine a minimal important difference (MID) for the 6MST, and to compare the 6MST and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Methods: Sixty-two patients with COPD were included in a prospective experimental study. Participants underwent a 3-week inpatient PR program. The primary outcome was the change in the number of steps during the 6MST measured before and after PR. The secondary outcome included the change in the 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) pulse oximetry, heart rate, dyspnea, and leg discomfort during the tests measured before and after PR. MID was determined by anchor-based and distribution approaches. Results: After PR, we observed a significant increase in the number of steps during the 6MST (22.5 steps; 95% CI 13.8-31.3; p < 0.0001) and in the 6MWD (26.6 m; 95% CI 17.6-35.5; p < 0.0001). The 6MST and 6MWT were improved by 10.1 and 6.5%, respectively. The number of steps during the 6MST was significantly correlated with the 6MWD before (r = 0.72; p < 0.0001) and after PR (r = 0.66; p < 0.0001). MID was estimated to be around 20 steps. Conclusion: The 6MST appears to be as responsive as the 6MWT in assessing functional improvement during PR in patients with COPD. The 6MST is a low-cost assessment and requires limited space.
Percutaneous sacroplasty for the treatment of sacral insufficiency fractures.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to illustrate the effectiveness and utility of percutaneous sacroplasty in the treatment of sacral insufficiency fractures. We also outline the technical considerations in performing the procedure. CONCLUSION Percutaneous sacroplasty is an effective treatment for sacral insufficiency fractures. Most patients experience significant relief within the first 48 hr.
Panser avec les animaux : Sociologie du soin par le contact animalier

Que peut bien faire un chien dans une chambre d’hopital ? Pourquoi fait-on monter un enfant handicape a cheval ? Qu’est-ce que la therapie assistee par l’animal ? Depuis plusieurs annees, certains espaces de soin se peuplent d’animaux, qui y sont mobilises comme supports affectifs, instruments de prise en charge ou d’accompagnement, mediateurs…Le developpement de ces formes de soin eclaire les evolutions recentes des rapports entre humains et animaux dans les societes occidentales. Dans ces pratiques, l’animal est en effet considere comme une personne et, a ce titre, il fait l’objet d’une grande bienveillance. Le soin avec animal temoigne ainsi des nouvelles modalites relationnelles que beaucoup souhaitent aujourd’hui partager avec certains animaux. En se mettant au service d’un projet humaniste (ameliorer la sante humaine), le soin par le contact animalier rend ces types de relations socialement legitimes. Pourtant, il n’est pas simple de revaloriser ainsi l’attachement aux animaux.Convoquant les apports de la sociologie pragmatique et de l’anthropologie symetrique, ce livre propose une exploration des univers sociaux qui gravitent autour de ces activites. Il montre comment s’est construite une connaissance scientifique sur les interactions avec l’animal a but therapeutique ; il decrit les reseaux d’acteurs (veterinaires, militants, industriels de l’alimentation pour animaux de compagnie, journalistes, medecins, infirmieres, etc.) qui ont fait emerger ces savoirs et ces pratiques ; il raconte les seances de soin et les pratiques in situ, par une approche ethnographique. Au terme de ce parcours, on pourra mesurer l’energie qu’il faut deployer pour faire evoluer les roles traditionnellement attribues aux animaux.A la croisee de la sociologie des sciences, de la sociologie de la sante, des professions, et des theories du care, l’auteur met en œuvre une sociologie non reductionniste des relations humains/animaux.
A new staphylococcal sigma factor in the conserved gene cassette: functional significance and implication for the evolutionary processes

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen and causes a serious hospital infection due to the acquired multidrug resistance. Unlike the well‐studied bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, which have seven and 18 sigma factors, respectively, only two sigma factors have been known for S. aureus. We searched for possible sigma factor genes by examining the S. aureus genome with a special attention to the gene arrangement around the sigma factor genes of a close relative, B. subtilis.
Polydextrose in Lipid Metabolism

Dietary fiber include fibers from natural sources (such as fruits, vegetables, and wholegrain cereals), fibers that are extracted or obtained by other means from food material, and synthetic carbohydrate polymers, that have been shown to possess physiological health benefits [1, 2]. Dietary fiber can be classified analytically as soluble and insoluble based on their solubility in water, but can also be characterized as viscous or non-viscous and fermentable or non-fermentable depending upon the physiological characteristics the fiber might have [2]. Insoluble dietary fiber includes cellulose, part of hemicellulose, and lignin, whereas soluble fibers include components such as pectin, some hemicelluloses, lignin, gums and mucilage [2, 3]. Whilst there have been difficulties in achieving a global definition for dietary fiber, it is now generally accepted that dietary fiber can be defined as carbohydrate polymers with a degree of polymerization of 3 or more monomeric units which are not hydrolysed in the small intestine by the endogenous enzymes [4]. As fiber is resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine, it enters the colon where it can be partially or completely fermented [5].
Dissociable dorsal and ventral frontostriatal working memory circuits: Evidence from subthalamic stimulation in Parkinson's disease

In this study, we investigated the neural substrates involved in visual working memory (WM) and the resulting effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation in Parkinson's disease (PD). Cerebral activation revealed by positron emission tomography was compared among Parkinson patients with (PD‐ON) or without (PD‐OFF) STN stimulation, and a group of control subjects (CT) in two visual WM tasks with spatial (SP) and nonspatial (NSP) components. PD‐OFF patients displayed significant reaction time (RT) deficits for both memory tasks. Although there were no significant differences in RT between patients with PD‐ON and ‐OFF stimulation, patients with PD‐ON stimulation performed comparably to controls. The memory tasks were executed with normal error rates in PD‐ON and ‐OFF stimulation. In contrast to these behavioral results, whether the corresponding prefrontal activation was differentially affected by deep brain stimulation status in patients depended on whether the WM modality was SP versus NSP. Thus, SP WM was associated with (1) abnormal reduction in dorsolateral prefrontal activity in PD‐OFF and ‐ON stimulation and (2) abnormal overactivation in parieto‐temporal cortex in PD‐OFF and in limbic circuits in PD‐ON stimulation. In NSP WM, normal activation of the ventral prefrontal cortex was restored in PD‐ON stimulation. In both visual modalities the posterior cerebral regions including fusiform cortex and cerebellum, displayed abnormally reduced activity in PD. These results indicate that PD induces a prefrontal hypoactivation that STN stimulation can partially restore in a modality selective manner by additional recruitment of limbic structures in SP WM or by recovery of the ventral prefrontal activation in NSP WM. Hum Brain Mapp 35:552–566, 2014. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Use of pulsed-field agarose gel electrophoresis to size genomes of Campylobacter species and to construct a SalI map of Campylobacter jejuni UA580

To determine the physical length of the chromosome of Campylobacter jejuni, the genome was subjected to digestion by a series of restriction endonucleases to produce a small number of large restriction fragments. These fragments were then separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with the contour-clamped homogeneous electric field system. The DNA of C. jejuni, with its low G+C content, was found to have no restriction sites for enzymes NotI and SfiI, which cut a high-G+C regions. Most of the restriction enzymes that were used resulted in DNA fragments that were either too numerous or too small for genome size determination, with the exception of the enzymes SalI (5' . G decreases TCGAG . 3'), SmaI (5' . CCC decreases GGG . 3'), and KpnI (5' . GGTAC decreases C . 3'). With SalI, six restriction fragments with average values of 48.5, 80, 110, 220, 280, and 980 kilobases (kb) were obtained when calibrated with both a lambda DNA ladder and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome markers. The sum of these fragments yielded an average genome size of 1.718 megabases (Mb). With SmaI, nine restriction fragments with average values ranging from 39 to 371 kb, which yielded an average genome size of 1.726 Mb were obtained. With KpnI, 11 restriction fragments with sizes ranging from 35 to 387.5 kb, which yielded an average genome size of 1.717 Mb were obtained. A SalI restriction map was derived by partial digestion of the C. jejuni DNA. The genome sizes of C. laridis, C. coli, and C. fetus were also determined with the contour-clamped homogeneous electric field system by SalI, SmaI, and KpnI digestion. Average genome sizes were found to be 1.714 Mb for C. coli, 1.267 Mb for C. fetus subsp. fetus, and 1.451 Mb for C. laridis.