Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae: association with low back pain.

PURPOSE To assess the prevalence and degree of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) cohort, to assess whether LSTV correlates with low back pain (LBP) and buttock pain, and to assess the reproducibility of grading LSTV. MATERIALS & METHODS Institutional review board approval was obtained, and informed consent documentation was approved for the study protocol. Standard standing pelvic radiographs that included the transverse processes of L5 were graded according to Castellvi classification of LSTV in 4636 participants (1992 men and 2804 women; aged 45-80 years) from the OAI cohort. These data were correlated with prevalence and severity of LBP and buttock pain. RESULTS Prevalence of LSTV was 18.1% (841 of 4636), with a higher rate in men than in women (28.1% vs 11.1%, respectively; P<.001). Of the 841 individuals with LSTV, 41.72% were type I (dysplastic enlarged transverse process), 41.4% were type II (pseudoarticulation), 11.5% were type III (fusion), and 5.2% were type IV (one transverse process fused and one with pseudoarticulation). Of the participants without LSTV, 53.9% reported LBP, while the prevalence of LBP for types I, II, III, and IV was 46%, 73%, 40%, and 66%, respectively (P<.05, χ2 test). Types II and IV had higher prevalence and severity of LBP and buttock pain (P<.001). CONCLUSION LSTV types II and IV positively correlate with prevalence and severity of LBP and buttock pain.
Transverse Patterning Reveals a Dissociation of Simple and Configural Association Learning Abilities in Rats with 192 IgG-Saporin Lesions of the Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis

This experiment tests the hypothesis that the cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) is necessary for complex or configural association learning, but not elemental or simple association learning. Male Long-Evans rats with bilateral 192 IgG-saporin lesions of the NBM (n = 12) and sham-operated controls (n = 8) were tested in the transverse patterning problem, which provides a test of both simple and configural association learning. Rats were trained in phases to concurrently solve first one, then two, and finally three different visual discriminations; Problem 1 (A+ vs B- sign) and Problem 2 (B+ vs C-) could be solved using simple associations, whereas solving Problem 3 (C+ vs A-) required the ability to form configural associations. Consistent with our hypothesis, the NBM lesion group solved the simple discriminations in Problems 1 and 2 but showed impaired configural association learning in Problem 3. Additionally, when Problem 2 was introduced, previously high levels of performance on Problem 1 suffered more in the NBM lesion group than in the control group; this finding suggests an impairment in the ability of animals with NBM lesions to divide attention among multiple stimuli or to shift between strategies for solving different problems. Results support our argument that the NBM is critically involved in the acquisition of associative problems requiring a configural solution but not in problems that can be solved using only simple associations. The observed impairments in configural association learning and the apparent loss of cognitive flexibility or capacity are interpreted as reflecting specific attentional impairments resulting from NBM damage.
Application of phycoremediation technology in the treatment of food processing wastewater by freshwater microalgae Botryococcus sp.

The cultivating of freshwater microalgae namely Botryococcus sp. in outdoor conditions for phycoremediation of food processing wastewater was investigated. Dilution of wastewater and distilled water as pure sample (100%) and diluted sample (50%) of wastewater were examined. The highest growth of Botryococcus sp. in pure sample of food processing wastewater occurs at Day 12 at approximately 3.72×106 cell/mL with the highest removal of nitrate, phosphate, and total organic carbon are 86.62%, 78.23% and 76.66%, respectively. Diluted (50%) food processing wastewater, the Botryococcus sp. was able to reach maximum growth at Day 13 at cell concentration approximately at 9.7×105 cell/mL. Significantly reduction for some nutrients such as nitrate (78.78%), biochemical oxygen demand (69.03%) and total organic carbon (67.93%) were observed. This finding proved good indication of Botryococcus sp. grows in food processing wastewater. The information from these findings is potentially useful for biotechnology industries for further development of bio-based product from microalgae biomass.
Effect of body weight on net energy value of feeds for growing pigs.

Digestible (DE), metabolizable (ME), and net (NE) energy values of seven diets were measured in castrated male pigs of 45 (Stage 1), 100 (Stage 2), or 150 (Stage 3) kg BW. Diets were prepared from a basal diet supplemented with cornstarch, or sucrose, or a protein mixture (referred to here as protein), or rapeseed oil, or a mixture of fibrous ingredients (referred to as fiber), or rapeseed oil+fiber. Diets were fed at similar levels (x maintenance) at the three stages. Heat production at different feeding levels, as measured by indirect calorimetry, allowed calculation of energy retained by each pig (equal to ME intake minus heat production) and an estimate of fasting heat production of all pigs (360 kcal/kg BW.42). Net energy intake was then calculated for each pig as retained energy plus 360 x BW.42. The amounts of DE digested before the end of the ileum (DEi) and in the hindgut (DEh) were measured. Formulation of diets allowed calculation of energy values of the ingredients added to the basal diet. Digestibility and metabolizability of diets increased significantly from Stages 1 to 3, with higher variations for low-energy diets. The NE:ME ratio (k, %) and dietary NE content were not affected (P > .05) by stage of growth. On average, k was 75%, with higher values for diets containing rapeseed oil or starch (77%) and lower estimates for the fiber diet (72%). As a consequence, k was approximately 90, 82, 80, 72, and 60% for rapeseed oil, cornstarch, sucrose, protein, and fiber, respectively. These values are consistent with the lower k value for ME from DEh (57 vs 78% for DEi). Present data confirm that the hierarchy between feeds is dependent on the energy system (DE vs ME vs NE) and that the NE concept is superior in predicting the "true" energy value. The present results combined with previous ones show that, under practical conditions, the same NE prediction equations based on digestible nutrient contents, or preferably DE or ME contents, can be applied at all stages of growth in pigs. However, attention should be paid to factors such as BW or feeding level that affect digestibility and metabolizability of feeds markedly. The effects are the most important for ingredients.
Effect of Flushing Hair Sheep Ewes During the Dry and Wet Seasons in the U.S. Virgin Islands

St. Croix White hair sheep ewes were used to evaluate the effect of supplemental nutrition prior to breeding during the dry and wet seasons on St. Croix. Beginning 21 d prior to breeding ewes were fed supplement in addition to grazing guineagrass pasture (FEED). Other ewes in the flock grazed pasture only (CONTROL). This study was conducted during the dry (June and July) and wet seasons (October and November). Data were analyzed by SAS using treatment and season as main effects. Days to estrus was greater (P 0.10) in days to conception (11.6 ± 1.4 vs 9.2 ± 1.4 d, re spectively). There was no effect (P > 0.10) of treatment or season on ovulation rate. Progesterone after estrus was higher (P < 0.0001) during the wet than the dry season (14.3 ± 0.4 vs 11.1 ± 0.4 ng/mL, respectively). The FEED ewes in the wet season gave birth to more lambs (P < 0.03) than FEED ewes in the dry season (2.2 ± 0.2 vs 1.6 ± 0.2 lambs, respectively) but there was no effect of season on the CONTROL ewes. Flushing of hair sheep ewes under tropical conditions does not appear to enhance ovulation rate during either the dry or wet seasons. The increase in the number of lambs born to ewes flushed during the wet season may be due to the natural occurrence of higher ovulations rates in ewes at that time of the year on St. Croix.
Pancreatic Beta Cell Function in Offspring of Conjugal Diabetic Parents. Assessment by IRI and C-Peptide Ratio

Serum C-peptide and insulin responses to oral glucose load were measured in 69 offspring of conjugal diabetic parents (OCDP). The insulin responses were varied. The non obese OCDP showed higher mean insulin levels than non obese controls while the obese OCDP did not have significant differences in the mean insulin responses compared to obese controls. The C-peptide levels were, however, low in both obese and non-obese OCDP. The IRI/CP ratios were elevated in both groups of OCDP. These results suggest that OCDP have low beta cell function and also possibly a change in the metabolism of insulin at the hepatic level, which is more pronounced in non obese OCDP.
Superposition coding cooperative relaying communications: Outage performance analysis

User cooperative is a powerful tool to combat fading and to increase robustness for communications over wireless channels. For cooperative relaying communications, the outage probability and the expected rate (throughput) can be greatly improved when the superposition coding relaying (SC‐relaying) strategy is employed. Under the assumption of high signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), this work contributes to a comprehensive investigation on the outage probability and the throughput of cooperative relaying communications system with only two‐level rate SC. Through strict mathematical process and deduction, the approximated close‐form expressions of the outage probabilities and the throughput of system are obtained for the first time. Based on the results, the impact of power and channel allocation fractions on system performance is carried out. With the aim of maximal throughput, a set of optimal solutions of system parameters are obtained by employing difference evolution arithmetic. The comparative numerical analyses show that the approximation results are feasible and correct. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Uterine fibronectin mRNA content and localization are modulated during implantation

Fibronectin mRNA and protein content were examined during embryonic implantation in the rat uterus. Content of total fibronectin mRNA at day 6 of pregnancy increased relative to the non‐pregnant uterus. In contrast, fibronectin protein content of the subepithelial stroma was relatively decreased except in the region directly surrounding the lumen, and this fibronectin immunoreactivity was sensitive to hyaluronidase treatment. These changes are likely to reflect the degradation and subsequent remodeling of the previously stable uterine extracellular matrix in preparation for embryonic implantation. A+,B‐,V+ fibronectin mRNAs were present in both the non‐pregnant and day 6 pregnant uterus with increased content of A+ and V+ fibronectin mRNAs in the latter. A+ fibronectin mRNA was distributed throughout the endometrial stroma of the non‐pregnant uterus and content of the subepithelial stroma increased by day 4 of pregnancy, coincident with progesterone action on the endometrium. On day 6 of pregnancy, fibronectin mRNAs encoding the V95 and A regions were preferentially localized to the mesometrial zone of the subepithelial stroma. Accumulation of these mRNA splicing variants at the mesometrial zone was dependent upon decidualization, but the embryo was not required. Thus, there are two major changes in uterine fibronectin gene expression as a result of pregnancy: increased fibronectin mRNA content and mesometrial localization. These changes suggest a key function for fibronectin in implantation and imply the operation of a regulatory program of fibronectin gene expression which depends on hormonal sensitization and a nidatory stimulus. © 1992 Wiley‐liss, Inc.
A Characterization of Energy-Preserving Methods and the Construction of Parallel Integrators for Hamiltonian Systems

High order energy-preserving methods for Hamiltonian systems are presented. For this aim, an energy-preserving condition of continuous stage Runge--Kutta methods is proved. Order conditions are simplified and parallelizable conditions are also given. The computational cost of our high order methods is comparable to that of the average vector field method of order two.
Secured Communication Key Establishment for Cluster-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

The resource-constraint nature of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has caused the security one of biggest challenges. An efficient key management scheme is the pre-requisite to ensure security in WSN. In this paper the authors present two versions of a secured key management scheme adopted on cluster-based topology of sensor network. The proposed schemes use partial key pre-distribution and symmetric cryptography techniques, and shows high resilience to different security attacks. Whereas one version of the proposed protocol uses shared partial keys in a cluster, the other version uses private partial keys. Both versions of the proposed key management scheme outperform other random key pre- distribution protocols in the sense that it requires lower space, lower communication overhead and offers very high session key candidates.
Changing perspectives on the organizational consequences of information technology

Early predictions of the impact of computers on organizations ranged from 'human - computer symbiosis' to automation and the collapse of jobs. The findings from impact research show that there was evidence for all predictions that were made. This demonstrated that the technology is very flexible and can be deployed to facilitate many different organizational outcomes. However, more recent research shows that the design processdespite significant progress in the adoption of user-centred methodsremains technocentric and organizational outcomes are often unplanned and unwanted. The paper concludes that current predictions about the development of virtual organizations are likely to be over simplistic and that the usage of methods to assess organizational options and design socio-technical systems are necessary if emerging forms of technology are to be effectively deployed.
Heart rate variability and arrhythmias evaluated with Holter in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease

Cardiac diseases promote alterations in the autonomic control of the heart, leading to an increase in heart rate and, as a result, a decrease in heart rate variability (HRV). The aim of this study was to evaluate if the development of heart failure secondary to degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) concurs with changes in autonomic modulation of heart rhythm which are assessed by long electrocardiography examination (Holter). Dogs were evaluated by clinical examination and echocardiography in order to be categorized into the following groups: Control (healthy; n=6), DMVD (disease without heart failure; n=8), and DMVD heart failure (disease with heart failure; n=13). Arrhythmias and frequency domain HRV were determined by Holter. Diseased animals, when compared to healthy, had significantly lower total power, which indicates overall HRV. DMVD heart failure dogs also showed other disturbances such as high incidence of supraventricular arrhythmias, high heart rate, little amount of pauses (2.0s long between consecutive heartbeats), longer time in tachycardia, shorter time in bradycardia, low high frequency (parasympathetic control), and high low frequency (sympathetic and parasympathetic control) when compared to control (p<0.05). In DMVD dogs, Holter-derived variables changed with the development of heart failure.
Late spectral-domain optical coherence tomography findings in sub-internal limiting membrane hemorrhage.

PURPOSE To report spectral-domain optical coherence tomographic (OCT) findings during the natural history of a sub-internal limiting membrane (sub-ILM) hemorrhage. METHODS Observational case report of a 20-year-old man with myeloid acute leukemia who presented a spontaneous resolution of a premacular hemorrhage, which was demonstrated by OCT. During the 12-month follow-up, periodic ophthalmologic and OCT examinations were performed. RESULTS A premacular hemorrhage was revealed in fundus examination, and spectral-domain OCT demonstrated a highly hyperreflective band just above the premacular hemorrhage consistent with the ILM. At 6-month follow-up, the macula was free of blood. The OCT scans after spontaneous resolution of the hemorrhage showed a thickened hyperreflective membrane (ILM) and a prominent hyporeflective premacular cavity. Six months later, this premacular cavity had resolved. CONCLUSION These late OCT findings in sub-ILM hemorrhage have not been described in spontaneous evolution and confirm the sub-ILM location of a premacular hemorrhage.
Evidence of immediate activation of gender information from a social role name

Two experiments investigated whether the stereotypical gender of a character is encoded immediately into the discourse representation and influences later comprehension. In Experiment 1 people read, and were confused by, a short story in which an incongruity arises at the end if the gender of a character introduced by a social role name has been inferred. In Experiment 2 online measures confirmed that readers were slower to read the final clause of the passage. In addition, a follow-up verification question revealed that these readers did not immediately resolve the inconsistency by inferring the appropriate gender for the role term. These findings provide strong evidence for gender activation at the time that a role name is encoded. The implications of these results for the mental representation of gender information and for constraints on inference during text comprehension are discussed.
In vitro NK‐activity and in vivo resistance to leukemia: Studies of beige, beige/nude and wild‐type hosts on C57BL background

The bg mutation in C57BL mice causes a partial impairment of NK activity, and has therefore been proposed as a model to evaluate the in vivo function of NK cells. In thepresent report, we studied natural resistance against the ascitic lines of one chemically and two virally induced syngeneic leukemias in C57BL bg/bg mice and their phenotypically normal heterozygous +/ bg littermates. S.c. threshold inocula of all three leukemia lines grew faster and caused death earlier in bg/bg than in +/bg mice, and two of the lines were rejected completely at a significantly higher frequency in +/bg control animals. The +/bg mice also eliminated [125]‐IdUrd‐labelled leukemia cells at a faster rate than bg/bg mice, as measured by pulmonary, hepatic and splenic radioactivity retained 18‐30 h after i.v. injection Direct splenic killing of 51Cr‐labelled leukemia cells was also studied in vitro, and was found to be severely depressed in bg/bg compared to +/bg. This natural killer activity was independent of adherent cells and showed a rapid, but transient, increase after inoculation of the tumor cell doses used in the transplantation tests. It was also possible to study the bg mutation in T‐cell‐free mice, by combining it with the nu mutation on a C57BL background. The NK activity of such beige‐nude mice was found to be partially impaired compared to nude (non‐beige) or wild‐type animals, but higher than that of beige (non‐nude) mice. Our results suggest that NK cells may be responsible for elimination of small numbers of tumor cells in the intact syngeneic host. The further use of beige and beige‐nude mice in studies of transplanted and primary tumors is discussed.
CD8+, CD57+ T cells from healthy elderly subjects suppress neutrophil development in vitro: implications for the neutropenia of Felty's and large granular lymphocyte syndromes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the ability of CD8+,CD57+ large granular lymphocytes (LGL) from normal individuals and from Felty's syndrome (FS) or LGL syndrome patients to suppress allogeneic neutrophil precursor development. METHODS Six FS patients, 5 LGL syndrome patients, and 13 elderly controls were studied. CD8+,CD57+ T cells were cocultured with cord blood-derived stem cells, and percentage inhibition was calculated. Recombinant chemokines and Fas-stimulating molecules were used in separate cultures to address possible mechanisms of suppression. Proliferation after stimulation with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and anti-CD3 was assessed. RESULTS Significant (79%) suppression of colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) by the CD8+,CD57+ subset was shown by 1 FS patient. None of the CD8+,CD57+ cells from LGL syndrome patients had any effect. Six of 13 controls studied showed >40% inhibition of CFU-GM, and all but 2 showed at least some suppression. The suppressive effect was not mediated by Fas/Fas ligand interactions or by the chemokines macrophage inhibitory protein 1alpha or IL-8. LGL from both patients and controls were largely CD28- and had reduced proliferative capacity. CONCLUSION In a subset of FS patients, expansion of CD8+,CD57+ T cells in the bone marrow may be responsible for neutropenia by suppressing neutrophil precursors. This effect is also seen with normal LGL, which are likely to have an important function in neutrophil homeostasis.
The Non-Aerobes of Post-Extraction Bacteremia

SYNOPSIS IN INTERLINGUA LE NON-AEXOSIOS DE BACTERIEMIA POST EXTRACTION. -Con le objectivo de investigar le rolo de anaerobios in bacteriemia post chirurgia, culturationes sanguinee de ante e post extraction esseva effectuate in 100 patientes. Le culturationes de ante le extraction se provava sterile, sed in 64 casos illos de post le extraction esseva positive. Le lineas isolate esseva 67 lineas aerobie e 88 non-aerobies. Le lineas non-aerobie include 5 organismos strictemente dependente de CO2, 46 anaerobios obligatori, e 37 crescente tanto anaerobiemente como etiam in aere con un contento de 5 pro cento de CO2. Tres aliquots de omne specimen individual esseva incubate in tres differente atmospheras gasose. Le precision del studios esseva promovite additionalmente per le meticulose uso de bottilias anaerobie con bouillon "Liquoid. "
Epidemiology meets cultural studies: Studying and understanding youth cultures, clubs and drugs

The public perceptions of clubs and drugs reveal the existence of two opposing discourses. One, an official discourse, characterizes dance events and taking drugs as spaces of excess risk, which need to be controlled and regulated. The other, as exemplified in accounts of the participants themselves, emphasizes the pleasures and importance of these activities. The dichotomous nature of the discourses is not that surprising as many researchers have noted that adult concerns with youthful practices have been witnessed many times before. What is more surprising is the extent to which a division between perspectives on and approaches to understanding raves and drug use can be found not just in the contrast between official/government approaches and dance event participants, but also within scholarly work. Scholarship on raves, the dance scenes, and club drugs can be divided into two immensely differing traditions: epidemiological and cultural studies approaches. The cultural studies approach acts as a much-needed corrective to the epidemiological research through its introduction of a focus on pleasure, subjectivity, and social context and by more fully attending to youth perspectives. However, the cultural studies scholarship, itself, has important blindspots, particularly in its underemphasis on the role of drugs within the dance and rave scenes. We will argue for a third approach that utilizes the theoretical and methodological strengths of the cultural studies approach, while combining it with perspectives that allow us to comprehend the role that drugs play within these scenes and the roles of pleasure and risk within them.