Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical characterization, distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Drosophila melanogaster ryanodine and IP3 receptors, and thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ ATPase

We characterized the biochemistry, distribution and phylogeny of Drosophila ryanodine (RyR) and inositol triphosphate (IP3R) receptors and the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) by using binding and enzymatic assays, confocal microscopy and amino acid sequence analysis. [3H]-ryanodine binding in total membranes was enhanced by AMP-PCP, caffeine and xanthine, whereas Mg2+, Ruthenium Red and dantrolene were inhibitors. [3H]-ryanodine binding showed a bell-shaped curve with increasing free [Ca2+], without complete inhibition at millimolar levels of [Ca2+]. [3H]-IP3 binding was inhibited by heparin, 2-APB and xestospongin C. Microsomal Ca2+-ATPase activity was inhibited by thapsigargin. Confocal microscopy demonstrated abundant expression of ryanodine and inositol triphosphate receptors and abundant Ca2+-ATPase in Drosophila embryos and adults. Ryanodine receptor was expressed mainly in the digestive tract and parts of the nervous system. Maximum parsimony and Neighbour Joining were used to generate a phylogenetic classification of Drosophila ryanodine and insitol triphosphate receptors and Ca2+-ATPase based on 48 invertebrate and vertebrate complete sequences. The consensus trees indicated that Drosophila proteins grouped with proteins from other invertebrates, separately from vertebrate counterparts. Despite evolutionary distances, our functional results demonstrate that Drosophila ryanodine and inositol triphosphate receptors and Ca2+-ATPase are reasonably similar to vertebrate counterparts. Our protein expression data are consistent with the known functions of these proteins in the Drosophila digestive tract and nervous system. Overall, results show Drosophila as a valuable tool for intracellular Ca2+ dynamics studies in eukaryotes.
Reconstruction of Lateral Skull Base Defects after Tumor Ablation

Neoplasms located in the lateral skull base region present a challenge for evaluation and management due to their difficult anatomic location and the complex reconstruction that is required following extensive tumor resection. Repair following tumor ablation requires a watertight dural seal, obliteration of the dead space, and coverage with vascularized soft tissue. Advances in radiologic imaging, diagnostic pathology, and surgical techniques and a multidisciplinary team for tumor ablation and reconstruction have significantly improved the treatment of these patients, minimized the occurrence of postoperative complications, and maximized patient outcome and quality of life. In this article, we present our experience in the reconstruction of extensive lateral skull base defects after tumor ablation.
Internet Acceptable Use Policies: Navigating the Management, Legal, and Technical Issues

Abstract During the past few years, providing employees with access to the Internet has become a critical factor in the success of most corporations and other large organizations in the United States and around the globe. Many companies have openly embraced the widespread use of the World Wide Web, Internet e-mail, and file transfer mechanisms as highly efficient communications and research tools to boost employee productivity. In addition, a rapidly growing number of organizations are instituting private intranets and extranets to enhance their employees' internal communications and to streamline interaction with external customers and partners.
Malignancy‐associated pruritus

Malignancy‐associated pruritus can be the result of a neoplasm's local effect on tissue or due to the systemic reaction to malignancy. A systemic reaction to malignancy has been termed ‘paraneoplastic itch’ and can be the first sign of an underlying malignancy. Paraneoplastic itch is most commonly caused by lymphoproliferative malignancies, and severity of itch correlates with stage of disease in Hodgkin's lymphoma and polycythemia vera. Non‐melanoma skin cancer is the most common type of malignancy‐associated pruritus, and recent data indicate that pruritus is associated with more than one‐third of non‐melanoma skin cancers. Cutaneous T‐cell lymphomas (CTCL), particularly more advanced stages, cause intractable pruritus and recent investigations into the pathophysiology of CTCL‐associated itch have implicated cyotokine interleukin‐31 as a putative mediator. Treatments that reduce itch in CTCL patients, such as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), Mogamulizumab, a novel monoclonal antibody against chemokine receptor type‐4, and oral corticosteroids, have demonstrated a correlation between their anti‐pruritic effect and reduced serum levels of interleukin‐31.
Implant and prosthodontic survival rates with implant fixed complete dental prostheses in the edentulous mandible after at least 5 years: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND The treatment of mandibular edentulism with implant fixed complete dental prostheses (IFCDPs) is a routinely used treatment option. PURPOSE The study aims to report the implant and prosthodontic survival rates associated with IFCDPs for the edentulous mandible after an observation period of a minimum 5 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS An electronic MEDLINE/PubMED search was conducted to identify randomized controlled clinical trials and prospective studies with IFCDPs for the edentulous mandible. Clinical studies with at least 5-year follow-up were selected. Pooled data were statistically analyzed and cumulative implant- and prosthesis survival rates were calculated by meta-analysis, regression, and chi-square statistics. Implant-related and prosthesis-related factors were identified and their impact on survival rates was assessed. RESULTS Seventeen prospective studies, including 501 patients and 2,827 implants, were selected for meta-analysis. The majority of the implants (88.5% of all placed implants) had been placed in the interforaminal area. Cumulative implant survival rates for rough surface ranged from 98.42% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 97.98-98.86) (5 years) to 96.86% (95% CI: 96.00-97.73) (10 years); smooth surface implant survival rates ranged from 98.93% (95% CI: 98.38-99.49) (5 years) to 97.88% (95% CI: 96.78-98.98) (10 years). The prosthodontic survival rates for 1-piece IFCDPs ranged from 98.61% (95% CI: 97.80-99.43) (5 years) to 97.25% (95% CI: 95.66-98.86) (10 years). CONCLUSION Treatment with mandibular IFCDPs yields high implant and prosthodontic survival rates (more than 96% after 10 years). Rough surface implants exhibited cumulative survival rates similar to the smooth surface ones (p > .05) in the edentulous mandible. The number of supporting implants and the antero-posterior implant distribution had no influence (p > .05) on the implant survival rate. The prosthetic design and veneering material, the retention type, and the loading protocol (delayed, early, and immediate) had no influence (p > .05) on the prosthodontic survival rates.
The extent of visual recovery from early monocular or binocular visual deprivation in kittens.

1. The rate and extent of recovery of vision was studied in the deprived eye of kittens that had been monocularly deprived from near birth for periods that lasted from 6 weeks to 18 months. Recovery was measured in the two situations, where either both eyes were open following the initial deprivation (binocular recovery), or else the non‐deprived eye was occluded so as to force the animal to employ its deprived eye (reverse occlusion). 2. Measurements were made of the visual acuity of the deprived eye for gratings at frequent intervals during recovery by means of a simple behavioural technique. 3. The acuity that the deprived eye eventually attained declined with increasing length of deprivation in a manner that could be approximated by a simple exponential decay. Only minimal visual recovery was observed in animals deprived beyond 1 year of age; only two of six animals recovered sufficient vision to enable measurement of visual acuity. In general, animals that were reverse occluded recovered better vision than did those that had both eyes open during recovery. 4. The recovery of vision in the deprived eye of monocularly deprived kittens was compared to that observed following equivalent periods of two forms of binocular deprivation, namely dark‐rearing and binocular eyelid suture. 5. The recovery from the two forms of binocular deprivation was quite different. Whereas the extent of recovery from dark‐rearing was considerably greater than that observed after equivalent periods of monocular deprivation, the recovery of a limited sample of cats that were binocularly deprived by eyelid suture was worse. 6. These findings suggest that some plasticity remains in the visual pathways for a longer time than indicated by experiments that examine the physiological effects of monocular deprivation on various visual cortical structures.
Menopausal status and risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Abstract Peters HW, Westendorp ICD, Hak AE, Grobbee DE, Stehouwer CDA, Hofman A, Witteman JCM (Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam; Utrecht University, Utrecht; Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Menopausal status and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. J Intern Med 1999; 246: 521–528.
Tumor-Derived Heat Shock Protein 70 Peptide Complexes Are Cross-Presented by Human Dendritic Cells1

Our study demonstrates that tumor-derived heat shock protein (HSP)70 chaperones a tyrosinase peptide and mediates its transfer to human immature dendritic cells (DCs) by receptor-dependent uptake. Human tumor-derived HSP70 peptide complexes (HSP70-PC) thus have the immunogenic potential to instruct DCs to cross-present endogenously expressed, nonmutated, and tumor antigenic peptides that are shared among tumors of the melanocytic lineage for T cell recognition. T cell stimulation by HSP70-instructed DCs is dependent on the Ag bound to HSP70 in that only DCs incubated with HSP70-PC purified from tyrosinase-positive (HSP70-PC/tyr+) but not from tyrosinase-negative (HSP70-PC/tyr−) melanoma cells resulted in the specific activation of the HLA-A*0201-restricted tyrosinase peptide-specific cytotoxic T cell clone. HSP70-PC-mediated T cell stimulation is very efficient, delivering the tyrosinase peptide at concentrations as low as 30 ng/ml of HSP70-PC for T cell recognition. Receptor-dependent binding of HSP70-PC and active cell metabolism are prerequisites for MHC class I-restricted cross-presentation and T cell stimulation. T cell stimulation does not require external DC maturation signals (e.g., exogenously added TNF-α), suggesting that signaling DC maturation is an intrinsic property of the HSP70-PC itself and related to receptor-mediated binding. The cross-presentation of a shared human tumor Ag together with the exquisite efficacy are important new aspects for HSP70-based immunotherapy in clinical anti-cancer vaccination strategies, and suggest a potential extension of HSP70-based vaccination protocols from a patient-individual treatment modality to its use in an allogeneic setting.
Measuring wrist muscle strength.

The purpose of the study was to design and evaluate a clinically acceptable method of objectively measuring wrist muscle strength. Static and dynamic wrist muscle strength measures for the wrist flexors, extensors, radial deviators, and ulnar deviators of 30 college-age students were recorded on the Cybex II(R). The Cybex II and testing methods devised for using it demonstrated an acceptable consistency of measurement; the average reliability coefficients for the tests conducted were r = 0.881 and 0.892. The findings indicate isometric torque and low velocity isokinetic torque are highly related. The dominant wrist muscle strength was greater than nondominant, but the two measures exhibited similar patterns of variance across muscle groups and test speeds. Statically and dynamically, the wrist flexors produced the greatest mean, peak torque followed by the radial deviators, ulnar deviators, and wrist extensors in decreasing order of strength. Aside from cost, the Cybex II and testing method employed proved to be a feasible means of objectively measuring wrist muscle strength.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1983;4(4):217-228.
A performance comparison of adaptive and static load balancing in heterogeneous distributed systems

This paper focuses on using simulation to compare the performances of adaptive and static load balancing policies in a heterogeneous distributed system model. All the hosts (nodes) an the system are assumed to have the same function but possibly different processing capacities. The overheads and the delays for both job transfer and system state-information exchange are assumed to be nonnegligible. Simulation results show that both adaptive and static policies improve performance dramatically, and that the performance provided by static policies is not much inferior to that provided by adaptive policies. They also show that when overheads are nonnegligibly high at heavy system loads, static policies can provide performance more stable and better than that provided by adaptive policies. <<ETX>>
Enhancement of anatomical learning and developing clinical competence of first‐year medical and allied health profession students

Hands‐on educational experiences can stimulate student interest, increase knowledge retention, and enhance development of clinical skills. The Lachman test, used to assess the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is commonly performed by health care professionals and is relatively easy to teach to first‐year health profession students. This study integrated teaching the Lachman test into a first‐year anatomy laboratory and examined if students receiving the training would be more confident, competent, and if the training would enhance anatomical learning. First‐year medical, physician assistant and physical therapy students were randomly assigned into either the intervention (Group A) or control group (Group B). Both groups received the course lecture on knee anatomy and training on how to perform the Lachman test during a surface anatomy class. Group A received an additional 15 minutes hands‐on training for the Lachman test utilizing a lightly embalmed cadaver as a simulated patient. One week later, both groups performed the Lachman test on a lightly embalmed cadaver and later completed a post‐test and survey. Students with hands‐on training performed significantly better than students with lecture‐only training in completing the checklist, a post‐test, and correctly diagnosing an ACL tear. Students in Group A also reported being more confident after hands‐on training compared to students receiving lecture‐only training. Both groups reported that incorporating clinical skill activities facilitated learning and created excitement for learning. Hands‐on training using lightly embalmed cadavers as patient simulators increased confidence and competence in performing the Lachman test and aided in learning anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 7: 181–190. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.
The Cured Immune Phenotype Achieved by Treatment of Visceral Leishmaniasis in the BALB/c Mouse with a Nonionic Surfactant Vesicular Formulation of Sodium Stibogluconate Does Not Protect against Reinfection

ABSTRACT Single-dose treatment with sodium stibogluconate solution (SSG) and treatment with a nonionic surfactant vesicular formulation of sodium stibogluconate (SSG-NIV) were compared for the ability to protect BALB/c mice against infection with Leishmania donovani.Prophylactic treatment with SSG-NIV protected against infection, although its effects were time and organ dependent; protection was not obtained with SSG. Protection against reinfection with L. donovani was observed only in mice cured by treatment with SSG-NIV. However, this protective effect was probably due to the presence of residual drug rather than an immune effect, since prophylactic SSG-NIV treatment gave similar results. Transfer of enriched spleen T-cell populations from L. donovani-infected mice or from infected SSG-NIV-treated mice gave no protection against L. donovani infection in the recipients. T cells from infected mice, but not from infected SSG-NIV-treated mice, were infectious to recipients. SSG-NIV treatment was equally effective against visceral leishmaniasis in immunocompetent and SCID mice, whereas SSG treatment was less effective in the latter. The results of this study suggest that the high antileishmanial activity of SSG-NIV is due to favorable modification of SSG delivery and does not require a fully functional immune response. Cure of visceral leishmaniasis by SSG-NIV treatment in the BALB/c mouse did not protect against reinfection.
Towards Designing Cooperative and Social Conversational Agents for Customer Service

The idea of interacting with computers through natural language dates back to the 1960s, but recent technological advances have led to a renewed interest in conversational agents such as chatbots or digital assistants. In the customer service context, conversational agents promise to create a fast, convenient, and cost-effective channel for communicating with customers. Although numerous agents have been implemented in the past, most of them could not meet the expectations and disappeared. In this paper, we present our design science research project on how to design cooperative and social conversational agents to increase service quality in customer service. We discuss several issues that hinder the success of current conversational agents in customer service. Drawing on the cooperative principle of conversation and social response theory, we propose preliminary meta-requirements and design principles for cooperative and social conversational agents. Next, we will develop a prototype based on these design principles.
Structural, material and economic influences on the food‐purchasing choices of socioeconomic groups

Abstract: Australian and overseas studies have found that respondents in low socioeconomic groups are least likely to purchase food that accords with recommendations in dietary guidelines. British and United States researchers have proposed that this consistently observed association is partly due to structural, material and economic factors that differentially affect socioeconomic groups. This study tested that proposition. Specifically, this study examined the notion that socioeconomic variability in food‐purchasing choices are in part a function of the availability, accessibility and affordability of food recommended by dietary guidelines. Data collected from socioeconomic groups in the general community, and information provided by welfare recipients living in low‐income areas of Brisbane and Logan city provided little support for this notion. Although significant differences were found between socioeconomic groups in terms of their food‐purchasing choices, most respondents from all socioeconomic groups shopped at large supermarkets where recommended food was readily available, few reported difficulties obtaining access to these facilities, and the price difference between recommended and regular foods was, in most cases, small or nonexistent. This evidence leaves largely unanswered the question of why socioeconomic groups differ in their food‐purchasing behaviours.
A prognostic model for predicting waiting-list mortality for a total national cohort of adult heart-transplant candidates

Background. Current trends in medical management of advanced heart failure and transplant medicine and the enactment of a national transplant law forced a change toward allocation driven by disease severity. Objective. The aim of this study was to create a model for predicting waiting-list survival on the basis of simple clinical parameters. Methods. The clinical profiles of all patients registered for heart transplantation in Germany in 1997 (n=889) were used as a derivation set, and the total German 1998 cohort (n=897) was used as a validation set. The model was validated by the c statistic and by comparison of risk stratified mortality rates. The validated model was fine tuned by the appropriate calibration procedures. The data were first classified into physiologic subscores: an urgency score, a left ventricular heart failure score, a right ventricular heart failure score, and a systemic heart failure score. A stepwise modeling procedure was undertaken using these subscores as factors as well as the recipient’s age, ABO blood group, and body surface area. Results. The urgency and the left ventricular subscore were found to be significantly associated with waiting-list mortality. A summary index termed German Transplant Society (GTS) score was then calculated on the basis of seven parameters contained in these two subscores. The GTS score was able to predict waiting-list mortality risks for the 1998 cohort: 1-year mortality before transplantation was 71%, 34%, 11% for the high, medium, and low risk groups, respectively. Conclusion. The use of this continuous disease severity index may improve the selection of cardiac transplant candidates.
Dynamic Bonus Pools

We study the properties of long-term bonus pools (BPs) with rollover provision in a multiperiod moral hazard setting, where the principal uses subjective information to privately assess the agent’s performance and the agent is protected by limited liability (LL). To provide incentives, the principal funds a multiperiod BP with a fixed payment that may be distributed over time to the agent and a third party. We find that the optimal long-term BP contract features performance targets that are contingent on past performance. Specifically, high subjective performance implies an easy target, and low subjective performance implies a difficult target. To implement the long-term BP contract, the principal provides nondichotomous performance reports. The study contributes to the literature that discusses the mechanisms that make subjective performance information useful for incentive contracting. JEL Classifications: D82; M52; M54.
SPITZER IRAC PHOTOMETRY FOR TIME SERIES IN CROWDED FIELDS

We develop a new photometry algorithm that is optimized for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Spitzer time series in crowded fields and that is particularly adapted to faint or heavily blended targets. We apply this to the 170 targets from the 2015 Spitzer microlensing campaign and present the results of three variants of this algorithm in an online catalog. We present detailed accounts of the application of this algorithm to two difficult cases, one very faint and the other very crowded. Several of Spitzer's instrumental characteristics that drive the specific features of this algorithm are shared by Kepler and WFIRST, implying that these features may prove to be a useful starting point for algorithms designed for microlensing campaigns by these other missions.
Corneal Effects of High Plus Hydrogel Lenses

&NA; Five aphakic patients and five phakic patients were fitted with high plus Bausch & Lomb Soflenses®. We evaluated corneal edema, staining, vertical striae, and corneal thickness before and after a 5‐hr wearing period. The high plus lenses produced average cornealthickness changes of 9.6% and 7.1% for the phakic and aphakic groups, respectively. Biomicroscope examination showed moderate amounts of vertical striae, epithelial staining, and corneal edema for both groups. The amounts of edema, staining, and striae were higher than when regular and thin minus lenses were worn. It is likely that the thickness of the high plus lenses reduces the oxygen supply to the corneal epithelium, causing relatively marked edema.