Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of mirror therapy on the management of phantom limb pain.

OBJECTIVES In the last two decades, mirror therapy has become a frequently used method of managing phantom limb pain (PLP). However, the role of nurses in mirror therapy has not yet been well defined. This study examined the effect of mirror therapy on the management of PLP, and discusses the importance of mirror therapy in the nursing care of amputee patients. METHODS This quasi-experimental study was conducted in the pain management department of a university hospital and a prosthesis clinic in İstanbul, Turkey, with 15 amputee patients who had PLP. Forty minutes of practical mirror therapy training was given to the patients and they were asked to practice at home for 4 weeks. Patients were asked to record the severity of their PLP before and after the therapy each day using 0-10 Numeric Pain Intensity Scale. RESULTS Mirror therapy practiced for 4 weeks provided a significant decrease in severity of PLP. There was no significant relationship between the effect of mirror therapy and demographic, amputation or PLP-related characteristics. Patients who were not using prosthesis had greater benefit from mirror therapy. CONCLUSION Mirror therapy can be used as an adjunct to medical and surgical treatment of PLP. It is a method that patients can practice independently, enhancing self-control over phantom pain. As mirror therapy is a safe, economical, and easy-to-use treatment method, it should be considered in the nursing care plan for patients with PLP.
Validation of an instrument to measure exercise of self-care agency.

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and construct validity of Kearney and Fleischer's (1979) Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale. The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) (Guglielmino, 1977) was used to test construct validity. Subjects consisted of 62 post-basic nursing students and 57 adult diabetic patients. The results showed significant correlations between the scales for both groups. However, the relationship was stronger for the student group (r = .505) than for the patient group (r = .302). The Exercise of Self-Control Agency Scale was significantly correlated with all eight factors of the SDLRS for the student group and with only three factors for the patient group. Split-half reliability for the former scale was similar for both groups (r = .78 and .74); test-retest reliability was lower for the patient group (r = .55) than for the student group (r = .76).
Brain Phosphorus Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Imaging of Sleep Homeostasis and Restoration in Drug Dependence

Numerous reports have documented a high occurrence of sleep difficulties in drug-dependent populations, prompting researchers to characterize sleep profiles and physiology in drug abusing populations. This mini-review examines studies indicating that drug-dependent populations exhibit alterations in sleep homeostatic and restoration processes in response to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is a principal sleep research tool that results in marked physiological challenge, which provides a means to examine sleep homeostatic processes in response to extended wakefulness. A report from our laboratory demonstrated that following recovery sleep from sleep deprivation, brain high-energy phosphates particularly beta–nucleoside triphosphate (beta-NTP) are markedly increased as measured with phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). A more recent study examined the effects of sleep deprivation in opiate-dependent methadone-maintained (MM) subjects. The study demonstrated increases in brain beta-NTP following recovery sleep. Interestingly, these increases were of a markedly greater magnitude in MM subjects compared to control subjects. A similar study examined sleep deprivation in cocaine-dependent subjects demonstrating that cocaine-dependent subjects exhibit greater increases in brain beta-NTP following recovery sleep when compared to control subjects. The studies suggest that sleep deprivation in both MM subjects and cocaine-dependent subjects is characterized by greater changes in brain ATP levels than control subjects. Greater enhancements in brain ATP following recovery sleep may reflect a greater disruption to or impact of sleep deprivation in drug dependent subjects, whereby sleep restoration processes may be unable to properly regulate brain ATP and maintain brain high-energy equilibrium. These studies support the notion of a greater susceptibility to sleep loss in drug dependent populations. Additional sleep studies in drug abusing populations are needed, particularly those that examine potential differential effects of sleep deprivation.
Portulaca oleracea Affects Muscarinic Receptors of Guinea Pig Tracheal Smooth Muscle

M. HASHEMZEHI, M. R. KHAZDAIR1,2, M. KIYANMEHR1, V. R. ASKARI3 AND M. H. BOSKABADY1* Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, 1Neurogenic Inflammation Research Centre and Dept. of Physiology, School of Medicine, 2Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 3Student Research Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
DISCOVERY OF A LOW-MASS COMPANION AROUND HR 3549

We report the discovery of a low-mass companion to HR 3549, an A0V star surrounded by a debris disk with a warm excess detected by WISE at 22 μm (10σ significance). We imaged HR 3549 B in the L band with NAOS-CONICA, the adaptive optics infrared camera of the Very Large Telescope, in January 2013 and confirmed its common proper motion in 2015 January. The companion is at a projected separation of ≃80 AU and position angle of ≃157°, so it is orbiting well beyond the warm disk inner edge of r > 10 AU. Our age estimate for this system corresponds to a companion mass in the range 15–80 MJ, spanning the brown dwarf regime, and so HR 3549 B is another recent addition to the growing list of brown dwarf desert objects with extreme mass ratios. The simultaneous presence of a warm disk and a brown dwarf around HR 3549 provides interesting empirical constraints on models of the formation of substellar companions.
Ventilatory control in humans: constraints and limitations

Below the lactate threshold (θL), ventilation responds in close proportion to CO2 output to regulate arterial partial pressure of CO2 . While ventilatory control models have traditionally included proportional feedback (central and carotid chemosensory) and feedforward (central and peripheral neurogenic) elements, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Regardless, putative control schemes have to accommodate the close dynamic ‘coupling’ between and . Above θL, is driven down to constrain the fall of arterial pH by a compensatory hyperventilation, probably of carotid body origin. When requirements are high (as in highly fit endurance athletes), can attain limiting proportions. Not only does this impair gas exchange at these work rates, but there may be an associated high metabolic cost for generation of respiratory muscle power, which may be sufficient to divert a fraction of the cardiac output away from the muscles of locomotion to the respiratory muscles, further compromising exercise tolerance.
Intraoperative Monitoring of Myogenic Motor-Evoked Potentials From the External Anal Sphincter Muscle to Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

Study Design. Motor-evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter were analyzed using transcranial electrical stimulation during spinal surgery in patients under general anesthesia. Objective. To investigate whether motor-evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter could be elicited by transcranial electrical stimulation under general anesthesia. Summary of Background Data. Lumbosacral surgery often places nerve rootlets at risk for injury during operative dissection. Specifically, injury for sacral rootlets can result in bowel and bladder dysfunction, but the techniques for monitoring bowel and bladder function are limited. Methods. Thirty patients who underwent elective spinal surgery were studied. Patients were anesthetized with 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen, fentanyl, and 4 mg/kg/h of propofol (n = 19) or 1 mg/kg/h of ketamine (n = 11). The level of neuromuscular blockade, assessed by recording the M-response from the right abductor pollicis brevis muscle, was maintained at an M-response amplitude of 40–50% of control. Motor-evoked potentials in response to a multipulse transcranial electrical stimulation at stimulus sites of C3–C4 or Fz–Cz were recorded from the skin over the subcutaneous part of the external anal sphincter using a plug-type electrode probe. The success rate of motor-evoked potentials’ recording and peak-to-peak amplitude and the onset latency of motor-evoked potentials were evaluated. Results. Success rates of motor-evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter were 73% and 53% after transcranial stimulation at stimulus sites of C3–C4 and Cz–Fz, respectively. Amplitudes of motor-evoked potentials after C3–C4 stimulation were significantly greater than those after Cz–Fz stimulation. Motor-evoked potential latency from the external anal sphincter was 18.6 ± 1.5 and 19.0 ± 2.7 msec after C3–C4 and Cz–Fz stimulation, respectively. Conclusions. The results suggest that, using a transcranial multipulse stimulation, monitoring of motor-evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter is feasible during ketamine- and propofol-based anesthesia. However, further improvement of techniques would be required for intraoperative elicitation of motor-evoked potentials from the external anal sphincter.
Assessment of disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The number and the size of joints matter.

OBJECTIVE Variables for assessment of disease activity of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were studied, in order to develop a disease activity score for children with JIA. METHODS One randomly chosen hospital visit was studied for each of 312 patients with JIA, with regard to disease activity variables. The physician global assessment score visual analog scale (physician GA) was used as a dependent variable in comparisons between potential disease activity variables. Previous studies have shown this variable to be the most sensitive to changes in JIA disease activity and to be comparable between patients. RESULTS Based on Spearman's rank order correlation the number of active joints had a strong association with the physician GA. The median physician GA score rose markedly for each active large joint, but less for small joints, although small joints were also statistically important in assessing disease activity. Among the laboratory data, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, and platelet count showed weak correlations to the physician GA. CONCLUSION In preparation of a disease activity score for children with JIA the importance of both the number and size of joints involved needs further evaluation.
Effective work function engineering by sacrificial lanthanum diffusion on HfON-based 14 nm NFET devices

In this paper, the impact of metallic lanthanum (La) deposited by Radio-Frequency PVD on effective work function (WFeff) of HfON-based NFET devices in a sacrificial metal gate-first approach is evaluated for the first time. Engineering of WFeff towards N+ without leakage degradation is demonstrated by tuning both the pedestal TiN thickness and the as-deposited metallic La dose. WFeff shift is related to a La-induced interfacial dipole (5), whose value has been correlated to the effective La dose into HfON/SiON stack after diffusion annealing, which has been accurately measured through a spectroscopic method based on La X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF).
Granulocyte marker protein is increased in stools from rats with azoxymethane-induced colon cancer.

BACKGROUND We wanted to investigate the relationship between the fecal levels of granulocyte marker protein (GMP) and the presence of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and colorectal cancer in rats given injections of azoxymethane (AOM) and fed either of two different diets, a basal diet plus 20% corn oil or 20% beef suet, respectively. METHODS The rats received intraperitoneal injections of AOM, 15 mg/kg, once weekly for 6 weeks and were killed after 22 weeks. RESULTS In the group fed beef suet 17 of 19 rats developed colon cancer, whereas in the group fed corn oil 4 of 14 rats developed cancer. None of the 20 control rats fed either the beef suet or corn oil diets developed cancer or aberrant crypts, and GMP remained unchanged. Surprisingly, the numbers of ACF were significantly higher (467 versus 295; P = 0.004) in the group fed corn oil than in the group fed beef suet. On the other hand, the size (crypts/focus) of the ACF was significantly higher (P = 0.03) in the beef suet group. Furthermore, fecal GMP was significantly higher in the beef suet group than in the corn oil group after 18 weeks, and this difference increased further toward the end of the study. GMP was greatly increased in all rats with colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS Fecal GMP may have provided us with a valuable tool for further studies of the induction and progression of neoplasia in rats and, possibly, in mice, since the anti-GMP antibody cross-reacts with feces extracts from mice.
Homocysteine measurements in geriatric patients

Objective. Homocysteine measurements may be relevant in geriatric medicine as homocysteine has been identified as an independent risk factor for prevalent disorders such as occlusive arterial vascular disease, cognitive impairment and dementia. The aim of the present study was to study diagnostic correlates of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) in geriatric in‐patients. Material and methods. Blood samples for the analysis of tHcy and related factors like serum vitamin B12, serum folate, red blood cell folate and clinical data were collected from geriatric patients (n = 114) in stable clinical condition. Results. Almost 40 % of the patients had tHcy values above 20 µmol/L. tHcy correlated significantly with serum folate, serum vitamin B12, serum creatinine and congestive heart failure, but not with red blood cell folate, cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease or cognitive impairment. Conclusions. Hyperhomocysteinaemia seems to be frequent in geriatric patients and might primarily be an indicator of low folate and high creatinine values.
Modulation of prostate cancer growth in bone microenvironments

Bone remains one of the major sites, and most lethal host organs, for prostate cancer metastasis. Prostate cell spread and establishment in bone depends on multiple reciprocal modifications of bone stromal and epithelial cancer cell behaviors. This review focuses on recent advances in the characterization of cell–cell and cell–matrix interplay, effects on cell growth, adhesion and invasion, and several therapeutic possibilities for co‐targeting prostate cancer cells and bone stroma. We address the topic from three main perspectives: (1) the normal and aging bone stromal environment, (2) the “reactive” bone stromal environment, and (3) the cancerous prostate epithelial cells themselves. First, normal, and especially aging, bones provide uniquely rich and “fertile soil” for roaming cancer cells. The interactions between prostate cancer cells and insoluble extracellular matrices, soluble growth factors, and/or sex steroid hormones trigger bone remodeling, through increased osteoclastogenesis and furthur matrix metalloproteinase activity. Second, after cancer cell arrival and establishment in the bone, host stromal cells respond, becoming “reactive” in a process again involving extracellular matrix remodeling, together with growth factor and steroid receptor signaling this process ultimately enhances cancer cell migration, stromal transdifferentiation, and invasion of the cancer tissues by stromal, inflammatory, and immune‐responsive cells. Third, prostate cancer cells also respond to supportive bone microenvironments, where soluble and matrix‐associated molecules affect cancer cell growth and gene expression, especially altering cancer cell surface receptor and integrin‐mediated cell signaling. We discuss both integrin cell–matrix and gap junctional cell–cell communication between cancer cells and their microenvironments during prostate cancer progression. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Does the “Do-It-Yourself Approach” Reduce Digital Inequality? Evidence of Self-Learning of Digital Skills

The development of individuals’ digital skills has received much attention as a remedy for digital inequality. Although some researchers favor courses and guided learning for skills development, others propose learning by trial-and-error. Unfortunately, studies examining the value of the so-called “do-it-yourself approach” for the development of digital skills remain lacking. One difficulty lies in the vicious circle of lack of skill leading to infrequent Internet usage and vice versa, which limits the value of cross-sectional data for assessing the impact of this approach. We present longitudinal data on a random sample of Internet users in a Dutch city, which show that more frequent Internet use leads to more digital skills, but not the other way around. However, contrary to expectations about the potential of trial-and-error learning to reduce inequality, results also suggests that this approach is not always more beneficial to the “have-little” as compared to the “have-more. ” The only inequality-reducing effect of this approach is that that older users profit more from it than younger users do.
NCoR 1 Mediates Papillomavirus E 8 E 2 C Transcriptional Repression †

NCoR1 Mediates Papillomavirus E8 E2C Transcriptional Repression † Maria L. C. Powell, Jennifer A. Smith, Mathew E. Sowa, J. Wade Harper, Thomas Iftner, Frank Stubenrauch, and Peter M. Howley* Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, and Sektion Experimentelle Virologie, Institut fuer Medizinische Virologie und Epidemiologie der Viruskrankheiten, Universitaetsklinikum Tuebingen, D72076 Tuebingen, Germany
Effective inhibition of melanoma by BI‐69A11 is mediated by dual targeting of the AKT and NF‐κB pathways

In melanoma, the activation of pro‐survival signaling pathways, such as the AKT and NF‐κB pathways, is critical for tumor growth. We have recently reported that the AKT inhibitor BI‐69A11 causes efficient inhibition of melanoma growth. Here, we show that in addition to its AKT inhibitory activity, BI‐69A11 also targets the NF‐κB pathway. In melanoma cell lines, BI‐69A11 inhibited TNF‐α‐stimulated IKKα/β and IκB phosphorylation as well as NF‐κB reporter gene expression. Furthermore, the effective inhibition of melanoma growth by BI‐69A11 was attenuated upon NF‐κB activation. Mechanistically, reduced NF‐κB signaling by BI‐69‐A11 is mediated by the inhibition of sphingosine kinase 1, identified in a screen of 315 kinases. Significantly, we demonstrate that BI‐69A11 is well tolerated and orally active against UACC 903 and SW1 melanoma xenografts. Our results demonstrate that BI‐69A11 inhibits both the AKT and the NF‐κB pathways and that the dual targeting of these pathways may be efficacious as a therapeutic strategy in melanoma.
A progeria mutation reveals functions for lamin A in nuclear assembly, architecture, and chromosome organization

Numerous mutations in the human A-type lamin gene (LMNA) cause the premature aging disease, progeria. Some of these are located in the α-helical central rod domain required for the polymerization of the nuclear lamins into higher order structures. Patient cells with a mutation in this domain, 433G>A (E145K) show severely lobulated nuclei, a separation of the A- and B-type lamins, alterations in pericentric heterochromatin, abnormally clustered centromeres, and mislocalized telomeres. The induction of lobulations and the clustering of centromeres originate during postmitotic nuclear assembly in daughter cells and this early G1 configuration of chromosomes is retained throughout interphase. In vitro analyses of E145K-lamin A show severe defects in the assembly of protofilaments into higher order lamin structures. The results show that this central rod domain mutation affects nuclear architecture in a fashion distinctly different from the changes found in the most common form of progeria caused by the expression of LAΔ50/progerin. The study also emphasizes the importance of lamins in nuclear assembly and chromatin organization.
Multiple antibiotics produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens HV37a and their differential regulation by glucose

Pseudomonas fluorescens HV37a inhibited growth of the fungus Pythium ultimum on potato dextrose agar (PDA). An antibiotic activity produced under these conditions was fractionated and partially characterized. Extracts prepared from the PDA on which HV37a was grown revealed a single peak of antibiotic activity on thin-layer chromatograms. Similar extracts were prepared from mutants of HV37a. Their analysis indicated that the antibiotic observed in thin-layer chromatograms was responsible for fungal inhibition observed on PDA. The production of the PDA antibiotic required the presence of glucose, whereas two other antibiotic activities were produced only on potato agar without added glucose. Two mutants (denoted AfuIa and AfuIb) previously characterized as deficient in fungal inhibition on PDA showed altered regulation of the production of all three antibiotics in response to glucose. These mutants were also deficient in glucose dehydrogenase. Mutants isolated as deficient in glucose dehydrogenase were also deficient in fungal inhibition and were grouped into two classes on the basis of complementation analysis with an AfuI cosmid. Glucose regulation of antibiotic biosynthesis therefore involves at least two components and requires glucose dehydrogenase.
Speeding molecular recognition by using the folding funnel: the fly-casting mechanism.

Protein folding and binding are kindred processes. Many proteins in the cell are unfolded, so folding and function are coupled. This paper investigates how binding kinetics is influenced by the folding of a protein. We find that a relatively unstructured protein molecule can have a greater capture radius for a specific binding site than the folded state with its restricted conformational freedom. In this scenario of binding, the unfolded state binds weakly at a relatively large distance followed by folding as the protein approaches the binding site: the "fly-casting mechanism. " We illustrate this scenario with the hypothetical kinetics of binding a single repressor molecule to a DNA site and find that the binding rate can be significantly enhanced over the rate of binding of a fully folded protein.
Body Weight and Shape Control: Examining Component Behaviours

Relationship between body weight and the performance of five weight-related behaviours (limiting amount of food and drink at meals, avoid unnecessary fat, taking regular exercise, drinking little or no alcohol, avoiding calories in snacks) is examined in a sample of 165 normal-weight individuals. Each of these behaviours was commonly performed, particularly when trying to control body weight and shape. Avoiding alcohol, while being viewed as the least effective means of controlling weight, is found to be the only behaviour significantly related to lower current body weight. None of the five behaviours significantly correlate with amount lost in last effort to reduce weight. Self-reported intentions and previous performance of each behaviour are significantly predicted by components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The results are discussed in relation to implications for body weight and shape control and the prediction of behaviours and goal achievement.