Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distraction Laminoplasty With Interlaminar Lumbar Instrumented Fusion (ILIF) for Lumbar Stenosis With or Without Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis: Technique and 2-Year Outcomes

Study Design. Prospective, nonrandomized cohort. Objective. Describe the surgical technique and clinical outcome of distraction lumbar laminoplasty with allograft bone block augmentation and interlaminar lumbar instrumented fusion (ILIF) Summary of Background Data. ILIF is a recently described technique that may offer a less invasive alternative to traditional posterior pedicle screw fixation for stabilization during posterior or posterolateral lumbar fusion after decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods. Data from two sites of a prospective, multicenter clinical study is described in this report and includes 37 patients over age 40 with single-level degenerative disc disease between L1-2 and L4-5 with neurogenic claudication. Subjects were treated with lumbar decompression using a distraction laminoplasty procedure followed by insertion of a preshaped allograft bone block and interspinous stabilization with a fixation device. BMP-2 was not used. Follow-up clinical evaluation was performed at baseline and at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, including perioperative complications, visual analog pain score, Oswestry Disability Index, Zurich Claudication Questionnaire scores and return to activity and work. Radiographic evaluation of fusion and segmental and regional lumbar lordosis were performed to 2 years. Results. Thirty-three patients (89%) of mean age 71 years (17% woman) met all follow-up criteria at 2 years. Levels treated were L4-5 (78.4%), L3-4 (16.2%), or L2-3 (5.4%). Thirty-two of 37 (86%) of patients had a grade-1 spondylolisthesis. Mean hospital length of stay (LOS) was 2 days. Complications included one dural tear, one new neuro deficit that resolved by 6 weeks, one implant failure, one seroma, and one case of cancer diagnosis. At 2 years, 67% had >2 cm improvement on visual analog pain score and 73% had >12.4% Oswestry Disability Index improvement. Symptom severity and physical function subset scores of Zurich Claudication Questionnaire improved by >0.5 cm in 76 and 73% of patients, respectively. At 2 years 94% of patients were off all narcotics and NSAIDS and 94% reported satisfaction with the procedure. Mean lumbar lordosis at baseline and 2 years was 53 ± 14° and 53 ± 13°, respectively. Seventy-two percent of subjects met strict fusion criterion of <3° motion on flexion/extension XRAY and bridging bone; 97% met criteria for stability by independent surgeon evaluation. Conclusion. Distraction laminoplasty with allograft bone block augmentation and ILIF may provide a less-invasive alternative to traditional pedicle screw fixation after decompression and posterolateral fusion. The present study describes this technique, and demonstrates excellent clinical outcomes and an acceptable rate of radiographic fusion success. Level of Evidence: NA
Arsenic Trioxide Uptake by Hexose Permeases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae*

Arsenic trioxide is a toxic metalloid and carcinogen that is also used as an anticancer drug, and for this reason it is important to identify the routes of arsenite uptake by cells. In this study the ability of hexose transporters to facilitate arsenic trioxide uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was examined. In the absence of glucose, strains with disruption of the arsenite efflux gene ACR3 accumulated high levels of 73As(OH)3. The addition of glucose inhibited uptake by ∼80%. Disruption of FPS1, the aquaglyceroporin gene, reduced glucose-independent uptake by only about 25%, and the residual uptake was nearly completely inhibited by hexoses, including glucose, galactose, mannose, and fructose but not pentoses or disaccharides. A strain lacking FPS1, ACR3, and all genes for hexose permeases except for HXT3, HXT6, HXT7, and GAL2 exhibited hexose-inhibitable 73As(OH)3 uptake, whereas a strain lacking all 18 hexose transport-related genes (HXT1 to HXT17 and GAL2), FPS1 and ACR3, exhibited <10% of wild type 73As(OH)3 transport. When HXT1, HXT3, HXT4, HXT5, HXT7, or HXT9 was individually expressed in that strain, hexose-inhibitable 73As(OH)3 uptake was restored. In addition, the transport of [14C]glucose was inhibited by As(OH)3. These results clearly demonstrate that hexose permeases catalyze the majority of the transport of the trivalent metalloid arsenic trioxide.
Utility of inflammation-based prognostic scoring in patients given systemic chemotherapy first-line for advanced inoperable bladder cancer.

OBJECTIVE Our intent was to investigate the impact of specific parameters-clinical status, performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)), C-reactive protein, serum albumin, and inflammation (Glasgow Prognostic Score)-on progression-free survival and overall survival in patients given systemic chemotherapy as the first-line treatment of advanced bladder cancer. METHODS A total of 67 patients treated for advanced bladder cancer in a 7-year period (2004-10) were reviewed. Prior to administration of first-line chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin), baseline ECOG performance status, C-reactive protein, albumin, Glasgow Prognostic Score and clinical status were assessed. Patients with both elevated C-reactive protein (>1.0 mg/dl) and low albumin (<3.5 mg/dl) were assigned a Glasgow Prognostic Score of 2, while lesser scores were set when one (Glasgow Prognostic Score 1) or both levels (Glasgow Prognostic Score 0) were within the normal range. To evaluate relationships to progression-free survival and overall survival, univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. RESULTS By multivariate analysis, ECOG performance status (hazard ratio = 3.48, 95% confidence interval 1.87-6.45, P = 0.001) and hypoalbuminemia (hazard ratio = 2.04, 95% confidence interval 1.10-3.78, P = 0.023) were found to be factors independently associated with reduced progression-free survival. Factors independently associated with shortened overall survival were ECOG performance status (hazard ratio = 5.32, 95% confidence interval 2.22-12.71, P = 0.001) and Glasgow Prognostic Score 2 (hazard ratio = 7.00, 95% confidence interval 2.53-19.36, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS These outcomes indicate that a systemic inflammatory response coupled with hypoalbuminemia (Glasgow Prognostic Score 2) correlates significantly with shortened overall survival and may thus be useful as a prognostic index in this setting.
Heat flow in the Nipigon arm of the Keweenawan rift, northwestern Ontario, Canada

In the Archean Superior Province, the Nipigon Embayment, in the area of Lake Nipigon north of Lake Superior, is covered by MidProterozoic sediments intruded by Keweenawan diabase sills. It has been interpreted as a failed arm of the ca. 1100 Ma Keweenawan rift. Six new heat flow values in this area show that the region of low heat flow associated with the Keweenawan rift in Lake Superior extends northwards along the western margin of the Nipigon Embayment. The average heat flow in the Nipigon area (39 ± 5 mWm−2) is only slightly lower than that of the adjacent western Superior Province (42 ± 8 mWm−2), indicating that the volume of Keweenawan mafic intrusives in the Nipigon crust is small.
Can a galaxy redshift survey measure dark energy clustering

A wide-field galaxy redshift survey allows one to probe galaxy clustering at largest spatial scales, which carries invaluable information on horizon-scale physics complementarily to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Assuming the planned survey consisting of $z\ensuremath{\sim}1$ and $z\ensuremath{\sim}3$ surveys with areas of 2000 and $300\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{deg}}^{2}$, respectively, we study the prospects for probing dark energy clustering from the measured galaxy power spectrum, assuming the dynamical properties of dark energy are specified in terms of the equation of state and the effective sound speed ${c}_{\mathrm{e}}$ in the context of an adiabatic cold dark dominated matter model. The dark energy clustering adds a power to the galaxy power spectrum amplitude at spatial scales greater than the sound horizon, and the enhancement is sensitive to redshift evolution of the net dark energy density, i.e. the equation of state. We find that the galaxy survey, when combined with CMB expected from the Planck satellite mission, can distinguish dark energy clustering from a smooth dark energy model such as the quintessence model (${c}_{\mathrm{e}}=1$), when ${c}_{\mathrm{e}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.04$ (0.02) in the case of the constant equation of state ${w}_{0}=\ensuremath{-}0.9$ ($\ensuremath{-}0.95$). An ultimate full-sky survey of $z\ensuremath{\sim}1$ galaxies allows the detection when ${c}_{\mathrm{e}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.08$ (0.04) for ${w}_{0}=0.9$ ($\ensuremath{-}0.95$). These forecasts show a compatible power with an all-sky CMB and galaxy cross correlation that probes the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. We also investigate a degeneracy between the dark energy clustering and the nonrelativistic neutrinos implied from the neutrino oscillation experiments, because the two effects both induce a scale-dependent modification in the galaxy power spectrum shape at largest spatial scales accessible from the galaxy survey. It is shown that a wider redshift coverage can efficiently separate the two effects by utilizing the different redshift dependences, where dark energy clustering is apparent only at low redshifts $z\ensuremath{\lesssim}1$.
NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF PASSIVE FLOW CONTROL DEVICES ON A BACKWARD FACING STEP

A study of passive sub-boundary layer vortex generators (VG) on a backward step surface is presented. Both numerical and experimental analyses are carried out on an array of skewed vane-typed vortex generators. The RANS code FLUENT 6 is used in the 3D simulations to predict the flow fields using a hybrid mesh with k-ε turbulence model and standard wall function. The flow measurements are made at different flow velocities by using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. The results suggest that the passive vortex generators are able to s uppress t he s eparation f low r egion. The comparison b etween e xperimental a nd computational me thods reveals a satisfactory agreement.
Occurrence and health hazard status of aflatoxin in human food and animal feed of wheat from Pakistan : A review paper

Aflatoxins (Afs) are the most important and naturally occurring health hazard mycotoxin which is carcinogenic and mutagenic found mainly in cereal grain food and feeds. Disease caused by ingestion of aflatoxin through food and feed are called aflatoxicosis. They cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer mainly in humans and some animals. Considering its significant impact on human, animals and poultry health, the main aim of the present review is to provide a comprehensive overview on Afs affecting human food and animal feed of wheat from Pakistan. Afs are principal toxic secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungal plants (viz., Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus) on host crops either before harvest or post-harvest mainly during grain storage period. Research focuses that there are two main external factors e.g. humidity and temperature which affect the incidence of Afs producing Apergillus species. Warm and humid climatic condition prevails in most of the agricultural land of Pakistan. Humidity encourages Aspergillus to attack the wheat grains. Favorable condition for its growth is high temperature and high moisture content (>7%). The optimum temperature for Afs production is recorded as 30C. In Pakistan very little information regarding Afs status of cereal grains is available on toxicological data in general and wheat grains in particular. But few researchers highlighted the presence of Afs in wheat food and feeds. Based on their limited published work I found a mixed trend regarding the status of Afs in wheat food and feeds. Some analyzed samples were found above, and some were below the health hazard limit or permissible limit as proposed by European Union (EU) and FDA (US Food Drug Administration). Therefore, more research is needed to be carried out on the potential threats to human beings, animals and poultry after consumption of Afs contaminated wheat food and feeds.
Continuing care after inpatient psychiatric treatment for patients with psychiatric and substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE This observational study examined the association between continuing outpatient care for a psychiatric disorder, a substance use disorder, or both and decreased risk of readmission to psychiatric care after an index episode of inpatient psychiatric treatment. METHODS Treatment records from all patients with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders discharged from an inpatient psychiatric setting in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005 (N=26,826), were used to determine the impact of psychiatric and substance use disorder continuing care on readmission to inpatient psychiatric treatment in the 90 days after discharge. RESULTS Over 23% (6,280 of 26,826) of patients with both a psychiatric disorder and a substance use disorder who received inpatient psychiatric treatment in the VA were readmitted for additional psychiatric care within 90 days of discharge. Survival analyses indicated that receiving continuing care for a substance use disorder (hazard ratio [HR]=.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.77-.92, p<.001) in the 30 days after discharge from the index episode was associated with a lower likelihood of rehospitalization. Psychiatric continuing care was not associated with risk of rehospitalization. A supplementary analysis indicated that substance use disorder continuing care was still associated with a reduced risk of rehospitalization over the 12 months after discharge, although the overall magnitude of the association was diminished (HR=.92, 95% CI=.86-.99, p=.02). CONCLUSIONS Readmission to inpatient psychiatric treatment was common for patients with co-occurring disorders, and these observational findings indicate that continuing care for a substance use disorder was associated with lower risk of early readmission.
Probability of Detecting Caribbean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Infestations by Fruit Dissection

Quarantine inspectors search for fruit fly infestations in incoming shipments by visual inspection and by dissecting or cutting a sample of fruit in each shipment. The reliability of the latter procedure for detecting fruit fly larvae is questionable and, therefore, a test was conducted to determine its effectiveness. Infested grapefruit, mangoes, guavas, and carambolas were cut open to determine the efficacy of cutting fruit in detecting larval infestations of Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). From 1 to 36% of the larvae were detected by dissection, but 17.9 to 83.5% of the infested fruit were detected. The percentage of Caribbean fruit fly larvae present in an infested fruit that can be detected by cutting varies with the type of fruit infested. The overall percentage of infested fruit detected also varies in the same manner. Carambolas were the easiest fruit in which to find larvae and green guavas the most difficult. Overall, only 9.5% of the larvae in field-infested guavas and 16.9% of those in cage-infested fruits were detected. Between 17.9% (green guavas) and 83.5% (carambolas) of the infested fruit was detected. There was considerable variation in the number of larvae found by different inspectors.
The tRNA‐binding moiety in GCN2 contains a dimerization domain that interacts with the kinase domain and is required for tRNA binding and kinase activation

GCN2 stimulates translation of GCN4 mRNA in amino acid‐starved cells by phosphorylating translation initiation factor 2. GCN2 is activated by binding of uncharged tRNA to a domain related to histidyl‐tRNA synthetase (HisRS). The HisRS‐like region contains two dimerization domains (HisRS‐N and HisRS‐C) required for GCN2 function in vivo but dispensable for dimerization by full‐length GCN2. Residues corresponding to amino acids at the dimer interface of Escherichia coli HisRS were required for dimerization of recombinant HisRS‐N and for tRNA binding by full‐length GCN2, suggesting that HisRS‐N dimerization promotes tRNA binding and kinase activation. HisRS‐N also interacted with the protein kinase (PK) domain, and a deletion impairing this interaction destroyed GCN2 function without reducing tRNA binding; thus, HisRS‐N–PK interaction appears to stimulate PK function. The C‐terminal domain of GCN2 (C‐term) interacted with the PK domain in a manner disrupted by an activating PK mutation (E803V). These results suggest that the C‐term is an autoinhibitory domain, counteracted by tRNA binding. We conclude that multiple domain interactions, positive and negative, mediate the activation of GCN2 by uncharged tRNA.
Staphylococcal Alpha-Toxin Is Not Sufficient To Mediate Escape from Phagolysosomes in Upper-Airway Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus has been implicated in the establishment of chronic infections. It is therefore imperative to understand by what means S. aureus is able to survive within cells. Here we use two expression systems with a fluorescent readout to assay alpha-toxin expression and function within phagolysosomes of infected upper-airway epithelial cells: avirulent Staphylococcus carnosus TM300 and phenotypically alpha-toxin-negative S. aureus laboratory strains. Data from CFU recovery assays suggest that the presence of alpha-toxin is not beneficial for the intracellular survival of recombinant Staphylococcus strains. This finding was corroborated by immunofluorescence studies: whereas S. carnosus and S. aureus are able to deliver S. aureus alpha-toxin to lumina of host cell phagolysosomes, the membrane integrity of these organelles was not affected. Alpha-toxin-expressing strains were detected exclusively within lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1)-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-positive vesicles. Measurements of intraphagosomal pH illustrated that all infected phagolysosomes acidified regardless of alpha-toxin expression. In contrast, S. aureus expressing Listeria monocytogenes listeriolysin O leads to the breakdown of the phagolysosomal membrane, as indicated by staphylococci that are not associated with LAMP1-YFP-decorated vesicles and that do not reside within an acidic cellular environment. Thus, our results suggest that staphylococcal alpha-toxin is not sufficient to mediate phagolysosomal escape in upper-airway epithelial cells.
Brugia malayi microfilaraemia in mice: a model for the study of the host response to microfilariae

SUMMARY Microfilariae of Brugia malayi were obtained from the peritoneal cavities of infected gerbils and were then injected intravenously into mice. A sub-periodic, nocturnal microfilaraemia was produced. The level of microfilaraemia was proportional to the number of parasites injected, with approximately 1–3% of microfilariae being found in the peripheral circulation. The duration of microfilaraemia was proportional to the number of parasites injected; it subsided by 30 days after injection of 104 microfilariae but was still present at a low level 120 days after injection of 2 × 105 microfilariae. A transient splenomegaly developed after injection of microfilariae. Histopathological examination revealed large numbers of microfilariae free in the lumens of pulmonary small blood vessels and without any accompanying inflammatory reaction. Lesser numbers of microfilariae were seen in the cardiac blood and hepatic and renal blood vessels for the first few days after injection. There was cellular proliferation in the splenic white pulp and vascular congestion of the red pulp. Microfilariae labelled with 51Cr were injected intravenously; 57% of radioactivity was found in the lungs, 8·5% in the liver and 2·9% in the spleen. Mice developed immediate hypersensitivity reactions to B. malayi antigen by 4 weeks after injection, but Arthus and delayed hypersensitivity reactions were not seen at any time. When mice which had been injected 5 months previously were challenged with a 2nd injection of microfilariae, there was an accelerated clearance of parasites over 2 weeks and a marked peripheral blood eosinophilia developed. In contrast with natural infections, in which the continuous production of microfilariae complicates assessment, this model provides a system in which factors controlling the circulation of microfilariae in the bloodstream can be studied independently.
Optimum Pipeline for Visual Terrain Classification Using Improved Bag of Visual Words and Fusion Methods

We propose an optimum pipeline and develop the hybrid representation to produce an effective and efficient visual terrain classification system. The bag of visual words (BOVW) framework has emerged as a promising approach and effective paradigm for visual terrain classification. The method includes four main steps: (1) feature extraction, (2) codebook generation, (3) feature coding, and (4) pooling and normalization. Recent researches have primarily focused on feature extraction in the development of new handcrafted descriptors that are specific to the visual terrain. However, the effects of other steps on visual terrain classification are still unknown. At the same time, fusion methods are often used to boost classification performance by exploring the complementarity of diverse features. We provide a comprehensive study of all steps in the BOVW framework and different fusion methods for visual terrain classification. Then, multiple approaches in each step and their effects are explored on the visual terrain dataset. Finally, the feature preprocessing technique, improved BOVW framework, and fusion method are used to construct an optimum pipeline for visual terrain classification. The hybrid representation developed by the optimum pipeline performs effectively and rapidly for visual terrain classification in the terrain dataset, outperforming those current methods. Furthermore, it is robust to diverse noises and illumination alterations.
Effect of Seed Roasting Conditions on the Antioxidant Activity of Defatted Sesame Meal Extracts

S. -M. JEONG, S. -Y. KIM, D. -R. KIM, K.C. NAM, D.U. AHN, AND S. -C. LEE ABSTRACT: Antioxidant activities of defatted sesame meal extract increased as the roasting temperature of sesame seed increased, but the maximum antioxidant activity was achieved when the seeds were roasted at 200 °C for 60 min. Roasting sesame seeds at 200 °C for 60 min significantly increased the total phenolic content, radical scaveng- ing activity (RSA), reducing powers, and antioxidant activity of sesame meal extract; and several low-molecular- weight phenolic compounds such as 2-methoxyphenol, 4-methoxy-3-methylthio-phenol, 5-amino-3-oxo-4- hexenoic acid, 3,4-methylenedioxyphenol (sesamol), 3-hydroxy benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid, vanillic acid, filicinic acid, and 3,4-dimethoxy phenol were newly formed in the sesame meal after roasting sesame seeds at 200 °C for 60 min. These results indicate that antioxidant activity of defatted sesame meal extracts was signifi-