Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural studies of the engrailed homeodomain

The structure of the Drosophila engrailed homeodomain has been solved by molecular replacement and refined to an R‐factor of 19.7% at a resolution of 2.1 Å. This structure offers a high‐resolution view of an important family of DNA‐binding proteins and allows comparison to the structure of the same protein bound to DNA. The most significant difference between the current structure and that of the 2.8‐Å engrailed‐DNA complex is the close packing of an extended strand against the rest of the protein in the unbound protein. Structural features of the protein not previously noted include a “herringbone” packing of 4 aromatic residues in the core of the protein and an extensive network of salt bridges that covers much of the helix 1‐helix 2 surface. Other features that may play a role in stabilizing the native state include the interaction of buried carbonyl oxygen atoms with the edge of Phe 49 and a bias toward statistically preferred side‐chain dihedral angles. There is substantial disorder at both ends of the 61 amino acid protein. A 51‐amino acid variant of engrailed (residues 6–56) was synthesized and shown by CD and thermal denaturation studies to be structurally and thermodynamically similar to the full‐length domain.
Effects of temperature and lipophilic agents on poliovirus formation and RNA synthesis in a cell-free system

The translation and primary processing events of poliovirus polyproteins in HeLa cell extracts were more efficient at 34 degrees C than at 30 or 36 degrees C. The cleavage products of P2 such as 2Apro, 2BC, and 2C appeared early in the reaction before the appearance of the cleavage products of P1 and of 3CDpro, an observation suggesting that P2 was cleaved in cis by 3CDpro. Proteolytic processing of the capsid precursor P1 into VP0, VP1, and VP3 was also more efficient at 34 degrees C than at either 30 or 32 degrees C. Surprisingly, processing of 3CDpro to 3Cpro and 3Dpol was almost completely inhibited at 36 degrees C. The synthesis of virus in the cell extract was greatly enhanced at 34 degrees C over that at 30 or 32 degrees C, whereas incubation at 36 degrees C yielded very little virus. Cerulenin, an inhibitor of lipid synthesis, did not appear to affect virus-specific translation or protein processing, but it almost completely inhibited viral synthesis in vitro. Oleic acid drastically inhibited in vitro translation at 100 microM and in vitro poliovirus synthesis at 25 microM. Addition of HeLa cell smooth membranes partially restored translation but not virus formation. Our observations suggest that in vitro translation, proteolytic processing, and virus formation require intact membranes. Analysis of the in vitro translation products revealed that viral RNA polymerase activity increased linearly during incubation of the translation mixture. RNA polymerase in the crude mixture was inhibited by oleic acid but not by cerulenin. Surprisingly, oleic acid had no direct effect on oligo(U)-primed, poly(A)-dependent poly(U) synthesis catalyzed by purified 3Dpol.
European consensus for the management of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma of the follicular epithelium.

European consensus for the management of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma of the follicular epithelium Furio Pacini, Martin Schlumberger, Henning Dralle, Rossella Elisei, Johannes W A Smit, Wilmar Wiersinga and the European Thyroid Cancer Taskforce Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Siena, Via Bracci, 53100 Siena, Italy, Service de Medicine Nucleaire, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, University of Halle, Germany, Department of Endocrinology, University of Pisa, Italy, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands and Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ISA Based Functional Test Generation with Application to Self-Test of RISC Processors

This paper presents a method for functional test generation, which aims self-test of RISC processors and processor cores. The method allows developing compact and quite effective software based tests if only the instruction set architecture (ISA) or ISA together with some micro architecture features are known. We have successfully applied this methodology to test a RISC processor core
Abductor pollicis longus tendon interposition for arthrosis in the first carpometacarpal joint

We have performed an interposition arthroplasty using the abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendon for arthrosis in the basal joint of the thumb in our department since 1995. Before this, we had been using an interposition with the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) tendon. We re-examined 47 patients (55 thumbs) after a median follow-up of 41 (16–60) months. The pain relief was excellent in 32 thumbs, and 25 patients improved their ability to perform daily tasks. Mobility was well preserved. Key pinch and grip strengths averaged 78% and 89%, respectively, of those in unaffected hands. An excellent general result was reported by 34 patients, while 4 patients would not have consented to the operation if they had known the outcome in advance.
Changing prevalence of upper gastrointestinal disease in 28 893 Koreans from 1995 to 2005

Objectives Changes in the pattern of gastrointestinal diseases in a population tend to be influenced by changes in diet and lifestyle. Shifts in gastrointestinal disease from 1995 to 2005 in Korea were evaluated, retrospectively. Methods Seventeen nationwide medical centers participated in this study. The cross-sectional review of endoscopic findings in 28 893 patients included 8441 patients from 1995, 10 350 patients from 2000, and 10 102 patients from 2005. Results The prevalence of reflux esophagitis increased from 1.8% in 1995 to 5.9% in 2000 and 9.1% in 2005 (P<0.001, the P value was only for the comparison between 1995 and 2005, the followings were as same). The prevalence of peptic ulcer diseases was 18.0% in 1995, 19.1% in 2000, and 20.2% in 2005 (P<0.001). Although no significant differences were noted in duodenal ulcers (8.4, 8.7, and 8.2%, P=0.449), gastric ulcers showed an increasing trend (9.6, 10.5, and 12.0%, P<0.001). The prevalence of gastric cancer increased from 3.4% in 1995 to 4.5% in 2000 (P<0.001), but then decreased to 2.4% in 2005 (P<0.001). The incidence of advanced gastric cancer was 2.5, 3.2, and 1.3%, respectively (P<0.001), and that of early gastric cancer remained constant with rates of 0.8%, 1.3, and 1.1%, respectively (P=0.056). Conclusion The cross-sectional review of data collected in 1995, 2000, and 2005 showed an increase in reflux esophagitis and peptic ulcer diseases. Meanwhile, the prevalence of gastric cancer increased until 2000, but decreased in 2005.
Chemoradiotherapy for organ preservation in oral and pharyngeal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES To use concurrent chemoradiotherapy as primary treatment for resectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to (1) demonstrate the feasibility of an organ preservation approach for nonlaryngeal sites; (2) evaluate the toxic reactions and response to a new combination of two platinum compounds; and (3) monitor the effect of therapy on oral and pharyngeal function. DESIGN Case series, a prospective single-armed trial. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Twenty-two patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, and hypopharynx for whom surgery would significantly compromise function were entered in this trial. INTERVENTION Standard fractionation external-beam radiation therapy (2 Gy/Fx; total, 70 Gy) was given during a 9-week period, including a 2-week break after 40 Gy, concurrently with eight weekly doses of carboplatin and three doses of cisplatin (100 mg/m2) at 3-week intervals. A biopsy was performed 12 weeks after the completion of chemoradiotherapy to assess clinical response. All patients presenting with nodes greater than 3 cm had planned neck dissection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Tumor response, toxic reactions, survival, and oral and pharyngeal function. RESULTS Overall complete response was 86%. Estimated overall 2-year survival was 64%, and disease-specific survival was 71% (median follow-up time, 25 months). Five patients have died of disease and two of unrelated causes. Treatment was completed by all, with toxic reactions including myelosuppression, mucositis, and dysphagia. Half of the patients required gastrostomy. CONCLUSIONS Concurrent chemoradiotherapy using two platinum analogues was tolerated with good local control and survival. Notable dysphagia was common. This study provides pilot data for randomized clinical trials to confirm the usefulness of chemoradiotherapy for nonlaryngeal organ preservation.
Life events and depression in a community sample of siblings

Background. The overall aim of the GENESiS project is to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for anxiety/depression, and to examine the interaction between these loci and psychosocial adversity. Here we present life-events data with the aim of clarifying: (i) the aetiology of life events as inferred from sibling correlations; (ii) the relationship between life events and measures of anxiety and depression, as well as neuroticism; and (iii) the interaction between life events and neuroticism on anxiety/depression indices. Methods. We assessed the occurrence of one network and three personal life-event categories and multiple indices of anxiety/depression including General Health Questionnaire, Anhedonic Depression, Anxious Arousal and Neuroticism in a large community-based sample of 2150 sib pairs, 410 trios and 81 quads. Liability threshold models and raw ordinal maximum likelihood were used to estimate within-individual and between-sibling correlations of life events. The relationship between life events and indices of emotional states and personality were assessed by multiple linear regression and canonical correlations. Results. Life events showed sibling correlations of 0·37 for network events and between 0·10 and 0·19 for personal events. Adverse life events were related to anxiety and depression and, to a less extent, neuroticism. Trait-vulnerability (as indexed by co-sib's neuroticism, anxiety and depression) accounted for 11% and life events for 3% of the variance in emotional states. There were no interaction effects. Conclusions. Life events show moderate familiality and are significantly related to symptoms of anxiety and depression in the community. Appropriate modelling of life events in linkage and association analyses should help to identify QTLs for depression and anxiety.
A modified genetic algorithm PTS technique for PAPR reduction in OFDM systems

In this paper, we propose a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction method for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system by combining the improved genetic algorithm used the partheno-crossover operator (PCGA) with partial transmit sequence (PTS) scheme, called PCGA-PTS. Recently, the genetic algorithm based PTS scheme (GA-PTS) is a novel PAPR reduction method, which has lower computational load than the PTS technique and is a suboptimal PAPR reduction method. However, how to further improve the PAPR performance of GA-PTS in OFDM systems is still an active research. Therefore, this paper proposes a new PAPR reduction method to improve the PAPR performance of GA-PTS, based on the same computational complexity. Our proposed method uses a two-step crossover operator and a mutation operator to generate the offspring, and then selects the proper candidates from the offspring to be the individuals of new population, where the two-step crossover operator is composed of a crossover operator and a partheno-crossover operator. In simulation results, our proposed method has better PAPR performance than the GA-PTS technique in OFDM systems.
Evaluation of intrastromal corneal ring segments for treatment of post-LASIK ectasia patients with a mechanical implantation technique

Aim: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of Keraring segment implantation in patients with post- laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) ectasia, using a mechanical implantation technique. Materials and Methods: Twelve eyes of 10 patients with post-LASIK ectasia were enrolled. Intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) were implanted after dissection of the tunnel using Tunc's specially designed dissector under suction. A complete ophthalmic examination was performed, including uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), spherical equivalent, keratometric (K) readings, inferosuperior asymmetry index (ISAI), and ultrasound pachymetry. All 3, 6, and 12-month follow-ups were completed, and statistical analysis was performed. Results: The mean preoperative UDVA for all eyes was 1.28 ± 0.59 logMAR. At 12 months, the mean UDVA was 0.36 ± 0.19 logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (logMAR) (P=0.002), and the mean preoperative CDVA was 0.58 ± 0.3 logMAR, which improved to 0.15 ± 0.12 (P=0.002) at 1 year. There was a significant reduction in cylindrical refractive and spherical equivalent refractive error from –5.29 ± 2.47 diopters (D) and –5.54 ± 5.04 D preoperatively to –1.47 ± 0.71 D and –0.74 ± 1.07 D (P=0.001, P=0.002), respectively, at 1 year. In the same period, the mean K- readings improved from 47.93 ± 4.84 D to 40.87 ± 2.36 D (P=0.002), and the mean ISAI improved from 5.34 ± 3.05 to 2.37 ± 1.68 (P=0.003). No significant changes in mean central corneal thickness were observed postoperatively. There were no major complications during or after surgery. Conclusion: ICRS implantation using a unique mechanical dissection technique is a safe and effective treatment for post-LASIK ectasia. All parameters showed improvement at 1-year follow-up.
Effectiveness of a presentation on infant oral health care for parents.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate an infant oral health education programme, using a pre-post test design, for parents attending a paediatric clinic. METHODS The subjects were parents attending the well baby appointments at 3, 6, and 9 months of age. The study participants were men and women, all with an infant between 3 and 12 months of age. A 16 question assessment in the form of a questionnaire was completed immediately before and after the introduction of a 30 min educational intervention in the form of a PowerPoint presentation and a video of infant oral hygiene for parents. The parents completed the questionnaire twice (pre-post test design) in the same visit. Recruited parents attended only one presentation. The presentation educated parents about infant oral health and provided anticipatory guidance. RESULTS Forty-seven parents or caretakers participated in the study. On the pre-test 28% had a score of 70% or less, and on the post-test 87% got a score of 88% or better. On the pre-test, 72% had a score of 70% or higher, and on the post-test 87% got a score of 88% or higher. Most parents (80%) reported that the presentation was helpful and indicated that the information would change the way they care for their baby's teeth at home. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a 30 min PowerPoint and Video presentation in improving the oral health knowledge of parents caring for an infant.
Electrophysiological and oviposition responses of Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), to compounds rinsed from the surfaces of sugarcane and maize leaves

The Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, is one of the most important pests of maize (Zea mays) in China. However, the mechanism by which intercropping sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and maize controls this pest via compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces is still unclear. Electrophysiological and oviposition responses of the Asian corn borer to compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces of sugarcane and maize were studied. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses revealed that O. furnacalis responds to 21 compounds, which are present in both the compounds rinsed from leaf surfaces of sugarcane and maize. The effects of these compounds in concentrations of 5 × 10-3 g/mL or 5 × 10-4 g/mL on female oviposition behaviour were tested. They were attracted to oviposit on substrates coated with most of the test compounds, except nonanal. It is suggested that the compounds from the leaf surfaces of sugarcane induced O. furnacalis females to oviposit because most of them are similar to maize's leaf surface compounds, which results in a reduction in the number of egg masses laid on maize leaves.
A subtraction based method for the construction of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes of girth eight

This article presents a simple, less computational complexity method for constructing exponent matrix (3, K) having girth at least 8 of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes based on subtraction method. The construction of code deals with the generation of exponent matrix by three formulas. This method is flexible for any block-column length K. The simulations are shown in comparison with some existing appreciable work. The codes with girth 8 are constructed with circulant permutation matrix (CPM) size P ≥ max{a2,r, a2,r,. a2,k} + 1.
FACTORES DETERMINANTES DE LA ACEPTACIÓN TECNOLÓGICA DEL E-COMMERCE EN PAÍSES EMERGENTES

Los modelos TAM y TPB han sido ampliamente utilizados para explicar el comportamiento de aceptacion tecnologica de los usuarios de los servicios electronicos, sin embargo, pocos estudios han hecho uso integrado de los dos modelos. El presente trabajo propone un modelo teorico que integra ambos, junto con los constructos de seguridad, confianza e “innovativeness” para explicar el fenomeno de la aceptacion tecnologica del e-Commerce en paises emergentes, en los cuales los usuarios conocen de la existencia de la tecnologia pero no poseen total acceso a ella dadas las tasas de penetracion. El modelo teorico fue contrastado, empiricamente, con una muestra de 497 usuarios del Area Metropolitana de la ciudad de Medellin; posteriormente, se desarrollo un Analisis Factorial Confirmatorio para garantizar la fiabilidad y validez del modelo de medida y luego se procedio a estimar el modelo definitivo mediante sistemas de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados permitieron evidenciar la pertinencia de los modelos TAM y TPB para explicar el comportamiento de adopcion por parte de los usuarios del e-Commerce, confirmando que los constructos “norma subjetiva” y “control percibido” pertenecientes al TPB, se constituyen en antecedentes relevantes de los constructos “utilidad percibida” y “facilidad de uso” del TAM, respectivamente. La “confianza percibida” se constituye en el principal antecedente directo de la “intencion de usar el e-Commerce”. El estudio realizado contribuye al cierre de la brecha existente en la investigacion de los paises emergentes acerca de la aceptacion de tecnologias, especialmente, del comercio electronico, en relacion a la existente en los paises en desarrollo.
Maintenance of the relative proportion of oligodendrocytes to axons even in the absence of BAX and BAK

Highly purified oligodendroglial lineage cells from mice lacking functional bax and bak genes were resistant to apoptosis after in‐vitro differentiation, indicating an essential role of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in apoptosis of oligodendrocytes in the absence of neurons (axons) and other glial cells. These mice therefore provide a valuable tool with which to evaluate the significance of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in regulating the population sizes of oligodendrocytes and oligodendroglial progenitor cells. Quantitative analysis of the optic nerves and the dorsal columns of the spinal cord revealed that the absolute numbers of mature oligodendrocytes immunolabeled for aspartoacylase and adult glial progenitor cells expressing NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan were increased in both white matter tracts of adult bax/bak‐deficient mice and, to a lesser extent, bax‐deficient mice, except that there was no increase in NG2‐positive progenitor cells in the dorsal columns of these strains of mutant mice. These increases in mature oligodendrocytes and progenitor cells in bax/bak‐deficient mice were unexpectedly proportional to increases in numbers of axons in these white matter tracts, thus retaining the oligodendroglial lineage to axon ratios of at most 1.3‐fold of the physiological numbers. This is in contrast to the prominent expansion in numbers of neural precursor cells in the subventricular zones of these adult mutant mice. Our study indicates that homeostatic control of cell number is different for progenitors of the oligodendroglial and neuronal lineages. Furthermore, regulatory mechanism(s) operating in addition to apoptotic elimination through the intrinsic pathway, appear to prevent the overproduction of highly mitotic oligodendroglial progenitor cells.
Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation

Human mitochondrial DNA is widely used as tool in many fields including evolutionary anthropology and population history, medical genetics, genetic genealogy, and forensic science. Many applications require detailed knowledge about the phylogenetic relationship of mtDNA variants. Although the phylogenetic resolution of global human mtDNA diversity has greatly improved as a result of increasing sequencing efforts of complete mtDNA genomes, an updated overall mtDNA tree is currently not available. In order to facilitate a better use of known mtDNA variation, we have constructed an updated comprehensive phylogeny of global human mtDNA variation, based on both coding‐ and control region mutations. This complete mtDNA tree includes previously published as well as newly identified haplogroups, is easily navigable, will be continuously and regularly updated in the future, and is online available at http://www.phylotree. org. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparison of quality of life, work productivity and medical resource utilization of peginterferon alpha 2a vs the combination of interferon alpha 2b plus ribavirin as initial treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Summary. The on‐treatment impact of interferon‐based therapies on quality of life (QOL), work productivity, and medical resource utilization has not been systematically studied. We evaluated the effects of treatment with peginterferon alpha (pegIFNα) 2a monotherapy and the combination of interferon alpha (IFNα) 2b plus ribavirin (RBV) on health‐related QOL, work productivity and resource utilization. A total of 412 patients with hepatitis C infection were randomized to open‐label treatment with either pegIFNα 2a (n = 206) or IFNα 2b/RBV (n = 206). PegIFNα 2a was administered subcutaneously at a dose of 180 μg once weekly for 48 weeks; and IFNα 2b/RBV at doses of 3 MU thrice weekly subcutaneously and 1000–1200 mg/day orally. Outcome measures included the SF‐36 Health Survey Questionnaire and additional generic and specific scales. During treatment, for all SF‐36 summary and Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (HQLQ)‐specific scales, the pegIFNα 2a group experienced less impairment than did the IFNα 2b/RBV patients. The between‐treatment differences were significant for many of the scores particularly in the first 24 weeks of treatment. Across all measures of work functioning and productivity at each visit, patients randomized to pegIFNα 2a treatment showed less impairment relative to the group treated with IFNα 2b/RBV. Hence treatment with pegIFNα 2a relative to IFNα 2b/RBV minimizes the adverse impact of therapy on health‐related QOL. Patients randomized to pegIFNα 2a had improved work productivity, less activity impairment, decreased need for prescription drugs to treat adverse effects, and better adherence to therapy.