Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of chronic cholinesterase inhibitor treatment. I. The pharmacological and physiological behavior of the anti-ChE-treated monkey (Macaca mulatta) iris.

In spite of continued daily or twice daily topical anticholinesterase (ChE) application (isoflurophate [diisopropyl fluorophosphate] or echothiophate iodide), the pupils of monkey eyes redilate to near normal size by the fifth day of the chronic cholinesterase inhibitor treatment. The light reflexes appear to be unaffected even after weeks of isoflurophate treatment, but the irides of these eyes become unreactive to normal doses of pilocarpine hydrochloride or carbachol. There was no evidence that topically applied pilocarpine interferes with the light reaction in either the normal or the anti-ChE-pretreated monkey eye. After termination of the chronic isoflurophate treatment the pilocarpine insensitivity is maintained for at least three days, and normal sensitivity to pilocarpine does not completely return within seven days of the last isoflurophate treatment.
Altered Sleep Patterns in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Implications for Insulin Regimen

Changes in sleep duration and pattern are well described in adolescence. Only 20% of adolescents meet recommendations for hours of sleep during the week (9–9.25 h) (1), and adolescents frequently overcompensate on weekends with delayed awakening times (2). Limited data exist describing sleep patterns in type 1 diabetic patients. This is directly relevant to determining optimal insulin treatment regimens and achieving target metabolic control. We describe sleeping times in adolescent diabetic patients in relation to age-matched peers with attention to the influence of insulin regimens. Seventy-five adolescent patients with diabetes and 54 healthy individuals aged 12–18 years were assessed. Sleep timings on typical weekends and weekdays were collected as part of a larger, institutional …
THE EFFECT OF PH AND IONIC STRENGTH ON THE REACTION BETWEEN ANTI-D AND ERYTHROCYTES.

The effect of pH and ionic strength on the reaction between anti-D and erythrocytes was investigated using 131I-labelled antibody. The following observations were made. 1. The association constant of the reaction was influenced by the pH of the suspending medium. The highest values were obtained in the pH range 6.0–8.0. The association constant was considerably reduced above and below these values. 2. There was considerable heterogeneity of the rate of dissociation of the antigen—antibody complex at pH values below 6.0 3. The antibody was separated into fractions which, at neutral pH, had different rate constants for dissociation. 4. The rate of association between anti-D and erythrocytes was greatly increased by a reduction in the ionic strength of the suspending medium.
Utility of the N-back task in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The N-back task is often used in functional brain imaging studies to activate working memory networks; however, limited information is available on its association to clinical outcomes in children or cancer survivors. A total of 137 survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL; mean current age = 14.3 years, SD = 4.8; time since diagnosis = 7.6 years, SD = 1.6) completed the N-back task and comprehensive neurocognitive testing, including standardized measures of attention, processing speed, and working memory. Results indicated that females demonstrated significantly slower reaction times (0-back p = .02; 1-back p = .03) than males. Survivors <15 years old at the time of testing demonstrated a significant decrease in accuracy as working memory load increased compared to survivors ≥15 years old (p < .001). Performance on the N-back task was associated with nonverbal working memory (rs = .56, p < .001) in survivors ≥15 years of age. For younger survivors, N-back performance was more strongly associated with attention skills. Results suggest the N-back assesses different cognitive constructs at younger compared to older childhood ages. These age differences should be considered in interpreting functional brain imaging results.
Severe Thrombocytopenia in a Splenectomized Patient with Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

Introduction. Patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) can present with a diverse array of findings. One such manifestation is autoimmune thrombocytopenia which may occur as a consequence of autoantibody activity against platelets. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 57-year- old African American male who presented with a two-week history of fatigue, recurrent epistaxes and gingival hemorrhage. His past medical history was significant for liver cirrhosis secondary to Hepatitis C and a splenectomy 2 years prior for traumatic rupture of the spleen. Complete blood count demonstrated platelets 3 x109/l. Serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation demonstrated an IgM Lambda monoclonal paraprotein of 7.6 g/dl. Serum viscosity was elevated at 10.8 cP. He was diagnosed with a hyperviscosity syndrome secondary to suspected Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) and plasmapheresis was emergently initiated due to bilateral retinal vein thrombosis. A bone marrow aspirate and biopsy revealed an interstitial plasmacytoid proliferation which was CD138 positive and lambda restricted. With plasmapheresis, his serum IgM was lowered to less than 4 g/dl and his serum viscosity decreased to 4.4 cP. A weekly regimen of bortezomib, dexamethasone and rituximab (BDR) was used for treatment. On follow-up three months later he continued on the weekly BDR regimen and his platelet count had normalized to 219 x109/l. Conclusion. Severe thrombocytopenia is an uncommon presentation of WM that may be secondary to complement mediated thrombocytopenia associated with monoclonal IgM antiplatelet antibody. In such cases, therapies for ITP such as corticosteroids and high-dose immunoglobulins may not be as effective as anti-tumor chemotherapy.
Aerobic power and insulin action improve in response to endurance exercise training in healthy 77-87 yr olds.

Previous studies have demonstrated that frail octogenarians have an attenuated capacity for cardiovascular adaptations to endurance exercise training. In the present study, we determined the magnitude of cardiovascular and metabolic adaptations to high-intensity endurance exercise training in healthy, nonfrail elderly subjects. Ten subjects [8 men, 2 women, 80.3 yr (SD2.5)] completed 10-12 mo (108 exercise sessions) of a supervised endurance exercise training program consisting of 2.5 sessions/wk (SD 0.2), 58 min/session (SD 6), at an intensity of 83% (SD 5) of peak heart rate. Primary outcomes were maximal attainable aerobic power [peak aerobic capacity (Vo(2peak))]; serum lipids, oral glucose tolerance, and insulin action during a hyperglycemic clamp; body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and energy expenditure using doubly labeled water and indirect calorimetry. The training program resulted in an increase in Vo(2peak) of 15% (SD 7) [22.9 (SD 3.3) to 26.2 ml.kg(-1). min(-1) (SD 4.0); P < 0.0001]. Favorable lipid changes included reductions in total cholesterol (-8%; P = 0.002) and LDL cholesterol (-10%; P = 0.003), with no significant change in HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. Insulin action improved, as evidenced by a 29% increase in glucose disposal rate relative to insulin concentration during the hyperglycemic clamp. Fat mass decreased by 1.8 kg (SD 1.4) (P = 0.003); lean mass did not change. Total energy expenditure increased by 400 kcal/day because of an increase in physical activity. No change occurred in resting metabolism. In summary, healthy nonfrail octogenarians can adapt to high-intensity endurance exercise training with improvements in aerobic power, insulin action, and serum lipid and lipoprotein risk factors for coronary heart disease; however, the adaptations in aerobic power and insulin action are attenuated compared with middle-aged individuals.
[Drug-induced hiccup: a review of the France pharmacologic vigilance database].

Hiccup is a sudden contraction of the inspiratory muscles, followed by an abrupt closure of the glottis, thus producing a characteristic sound. Some drugs have been reported to induce hiccup. Using the French Pharmacovigilance Database, the aim of the present study was to investigate reports of such an adverse drug reaction (ADR). Between 1985 and 1997, 53 cases were reported to the French pharmacovigilance network. The sex ratio was 16.6. Mean age was 52 years (range 18-83). Of the total number, 23 per cent were related to corticosteroids. 15 per cent to psychiatric (mainly non-imipraminic antidepressants), 13 per cent to neurologic (mainly dopaminergic antiparkinsonians), 12 per cent to anti-infectious (beta-lactams, macrolides, fluoroquinolones), 7 per cent to cardiovascular (mainly digitalic compounds), 6 per cent to analgesic (opioid drugs), 6 per cent to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Rechallenge was positive in 7 cases. Two cases were 'serious' according to the WHO definition. The diagnosis of drug-induced hiccup is difficult and often achieved only by a process of elimination. The mechanism of this drug-induced ADR remains often not clearly explained.
Toll-Like Receptor Agonists Synergistically Increase Proliferation and Activation of B Cells by Epstein-Barr Virus

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) efficiently drives proliferation of human primary B cells in vitro, a process relevant for human diseases such as infectious mononucleosis and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease. Human B-cell proliferation is also driven by ligands of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), notably viral or bacterial DNA containing unmethylated CpG dinucleotides, which triggers TLR9. Here we quantitatively investigated how TLR stimuli influence EBV-driven B-cell proliferation and expression of effector molecules. CpG DNA synergistically increased EBV-driven proliferation and transformation, T-cell costimulatory molecules, and early production of interleukin-6. CpG DNA alone activated only memory B cells, but CpG DNA enhanced EBV-mediated transformation of both memory and naive B cells. Ligands for TLR2 or TLR7/8 or whole bacteria had a weaker but still superadditive effect on B-cell transformation. Additionally, CpG DNA facilitated the release of transforming virus by established EBV-infected lymphoblastoid cell lines. These results suggest that the proliferation of EBV-infected B cells and their capability to interact with immune effector cells may be directly influenced by components of bacteria or other microbes present at the site of infection.
A discriminant-analysis-based suction detection system for rotary blood pumps

A new suction detection system for rotary blood pumps used in left ventricular assist devices is presented. The system can correctly classify pump flow patterns, based on a discriminant analysis (DA) model that combines several indices derived from the pump flow signal to make a decision about the pump status. The indices considered in this approach are frequency-, time-, and time-frequency-domain indices. The frequency-domain indices detect changes in the harmonic and subharmonic energy content of the pump flow signal when a suction event is occurring. The time-domain indices detect changes in pump flow pulsatility based on a beat-to-beat analysis of the pump flow and first derivative of pump flow. The time-frequency index can track variations in the standard deviation of the instantaneous frequency of the pump flow signal. These indices are combined in a DA decision system to generate a suction alarm. The proposed system has been tested in simulations and in-vivo experimental tests and produced satisfactory results
An Empirical Study on Determinants of Web Based Question-Answer Services Adoption

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the driving factors of web based question‐answer services (WBQAS) adoption. As an emerging knowledge acquisition method and service there are currently few studies addressing the antecedents of the service's acceptance, in particular concerning Chinese users. , – This paper employs the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology as its theoretical background and applies it to the field of WBQAS. A survey was conducted. , – Based on 169 useful questionnaires the results show that both performance expectancy and effort expectancy are significant predictors of the intention to use WBQAS. Additionally behavioural intention, together with facilitating intention, significantly influences the actual use of WBQAS. Social influence has no significant impact on the intention to use the service. , – As research on WBQAS is in its infancy this paper is among the first in the field, in particular regarding Chinese users. In addition the research applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model to the context of WBQAS and validated the adoption model using structural equation modelling.
Life Expectancy of Women with Lupus Nephritis Now Approaches That of the General Population

Immunosuppressive treatment has changed the prognosis of Lupus nephritis over time, but improvement in prognosis is difficult to analyze in different historical periods, and should be better demonstrated in comparison with life expectancy of sex-and age-matched people. Long-term patient and renal survival of 90 patients diagnosed with Lupus nephritis at our center from 1968 to 2001 with a follow-up time of 14±8 years was retrospectively evaluated. Patient and kidney survival significantly increased over time. Multivariate analyses show that risks of patient and renal death decreased by 8% at each year of follow-up, and increased by more than 5 time in patients aged > 30 years at diagnosis. As only 14 patients were men, relative survival as compared to that of the sex- and age-matched general population of the Piedmont Region was calculated for the 76 women. Improvement in the survival of the cohort of women was seen at any time of follow-up: in particular, it was sharply lower in the first period (relative survival at 5,10 and 15 years = 0.784, 0.665, and 0.620, respectively) and increased in the second (relative survival at 5,10 and 15 years = 0.939, 0.921, and 0.850, respectively) nearly approaching that expected for the general population, i.e. 0.993, 0.983 and 0.967, respectively. Taken together, our data allow us to draw the conclusion that life expectancy in women with Lupus nephritis has improved over time, paralleling an improved awareness of the disease and a significant increase in steroid pulse therapy as induction/remission phase. Improvement in survival is for the first time demonstrated to cover the gap with life expectancy of the general population for women with Lupus nephritis.
ALVIC versus the Internet: Redesigning a Networked Virtual Environment Architecture

The explosive growth of the number of applications based on networked virtual environment technology, both games and virtual communities, shows that these types of applications have become commonplace in a short period of time. However, from a research point of view, the inherent weaknesses in their architectures are quickly exposed. The Architecture for Large-Scale Virtual Interactive Communities (ALVICs) was originally developed to serve as a generic framework to deploy networked virtual environment applications on the Internet. While it has been shown to effectively scale to the numbers originally put forward, our findings have shown that, on a real-life network, such as the Internet, several drawbacks will not be overcome in the near future. It is, therefore, that we have recently started with the development of ALVIC-NG, which, while incorporating the findings from our previous research, makes several improvements on the original version, making it suitable for deployment on the Internet as it exists today.
An efficient CoAuPd/C catalyst for hydrogen generation from formic acid at room temperature.

which greatly hinders their large-scale practical applicationsbecause of their high costs and low reserves in the earthscrust.Thefirst-rowtransitionmetals(FRTM)innanoscale,suchas cobalt (Co) nanoparticles (NPs), have been widely inves-tigated as the catalytic materials in many important reactionsbecause of their potential activities and relatively low costs.
Design and implementation of discrete cosine transform algorithm on FPGA device

Nowadays, the field of digital signal processing represents a bottleneck in computer systems design, because the applications used by computers are getting more complicated thus need more resources. FPGAs have been placed as parts on embedded systems to carry heavy loads out of the processors or microcontrollers. The main advantage of FPGAs is that they can do more than one job in parallel. The Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is often used in signal and image processing, especially lossy data compression, because it has a strong "energy compaction" property. The aim of this project is to solve the problem of implementing DCT algorithm on FPGA using Hardware Descriptive Languages (HDLs). The design will be optimized to decrease consumed logic cells and therefore provide maximum hardware utilization. The designed system was implemented and tested. The results were as expected; however some limitations were discovered and should be eliminated in the future.
A combined electrophysiological and morphological examination of episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are characterized by neuropathological changes within the medial temporal lobe cortex (MTLC), which lead to characteristic impairments in episodic memory, i.e., amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Here, we tested the neural correlates of this memory impairment using event-related potentials (ERPs) and voxel-based morphometry. Twenty-four participants were instructed to encode lists of words and were tested in a yes/no recognition memory task. The dual-process model of recognition memory dissociates between acontextual familiarity and recollection of contextual details. The early frontal ERP old/new effect, which is thought to represent a neural correlate of familiarity-based memory, was absent in aMCI, whereas the control group showed a significant early old/new effect at frontal electrodes. This effect was positively correlated with behavioral episodic memory performance. Analyses of brain morphology revealed a focused gray matter loss in the inferior and medial temporal lobes in aMCI versus healthy controls. Moreover, the positive correlation between gray matter volume in the MTLC and the familiarity-related early frontal old/new effect supports the notion that this effect relies upon the integrity of the MTLC. Thus, the present findings might provide a further functional marker for prodromal AD.
Identiﬁcation and Characterization of Novel and Potent Transcription Promoters of Francisella tularensis (cid:1) †

Two alternative promoter trap libraries, based on the green ﬂuorescence protein ( gfp ) reporter and on the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase ( cat ) cassette, were constructed for isolation of potent Francisella tularensis promoters. Of the 26,000 F. tularensis strain LVS gfp library clones, only 3 exhibited visible ﬂuorescence following UV illumination and all appeared to carry the bacterioferritin promoter ( Pbfr ). Out of a total of 2,000 chloramphenicol-resistant LVS clones isolated from the cat promoter library, we arbitrarily selected 40 for further analysis. Over 80% of these clones carry unique F. tularensis DNA sequences which appear to drive a wide range of protein expression, as determined by speciﬁc chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) Western dot blot and enzymatic assays. The DNA sequence information for the 33 unique and novel F. tularensis promoters reported here, along with the results of in silico and primer extension analyses, suggest that F. tularensis possesses classical Escherichia coli (cid:1) 70 -related promoter motifs. These motifs include the (cid:2) 10 (TATAAT) and (cid:2) 35 [TTGA(C/T)A] domains and an AT-rich region upstream from (cid:2) 35, reminiscent of but distinct from the E. coli upstream region that is termed the UP element. The most holarctica LVS was isolated by the method of Marmur (28). The puriﬁed DNA was partially digested with Sau3AI and size fractionated by agarose gel electrophoresis. DNA fragments ranging from 0.3 to 2.0 kb were puriﬁed and ligated into the BglII site of pTRAP. The ligation mixture was introduced into E. coli DH5 (cid:1) cells, and transformants were plated on LB agar containing 100 (cid:2) g/ml ampicillin, resulting in about 9,000 colonies. Visualization of ﬂuorescent colonies expressing the gfp (cid:3) gene was carried out at a wavelength of 365 nm using a UV illuminator. Estimation of the number of insert-containing colonies was carried out by PCR analysis using primers GFP-F and GFP-seq. The extent of genome coverage of the library was calculated using the equation N (cid:6) ln(1 (cid:7) P )/ln(1 (cid:7) a / b ), where N is the number of library clones needed for full genome coverage at the desired probability ( P ), a represents the average insert size (bp), and b is the complete genome size. One microgram of plasmid DNA prepared from a pool of the E. coli clones was electroporated into competent LVS cells and plated on large (10- by 10-cm) CHA agar plates containing 2 (cid:2) g/ml Cm. Screening of the resulting colonies was performed using UV light. Fluores- cent colonies were isolated and stored for further analysis. The pTRAP ( groEL-gfp ) vector was constructed by PCR ampliﬁcation of the groEL promoter region using primers groEL -F and groEL -R and subsequent ligation into the BglII-SnaBI linearized pTRAP vector. a PCR frag- ment containing the bfr promoter region was ampliﬁed using the bfr -F and bfr -R primers and ligated an XbaI-PstI linearized pKK214 vector obtain pKK ( bfr-cat ) plasmid.
Analyzing attacks on cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC)

Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) is one of the driving applications of vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) and promises to bring more efficient and faster transportation through cooperative behavior between vehicles. In CACC, vehicles exchange information, which is relied on to partially automate driving; however, this reliance on cooperation requires resilience against attacks and other forms of misbehavior. In this paper, we propose a rigorous attacker model and an evaluation framework for this resilience by quantifying the attack impact, providing the necessary tools to compare controller resilience and attack effectiveness simultaneously. Although there are significant differences between the resilience of the three analyzed controllers, we show that each can be attacked effectively and easily through either jamming or data injection. Our results suggest a combination of misbehavior detection and resilient control algorithms with graceful degradation are necessary ingredients for secure and safe platoons.
Folding of peptides and proteins: role of disulfide bonds, recent developments

Abstract Disulfide-containing proteins are ideal models for studies of protein folding as the folding intermediates can be observed, trapped, and separated by HPLC during the folding reaction. However, regulating or analyzing the structures of folding intermediates of peptides and proteins continues to be a difficult problem. Recently, the development of several techniques in peptide chemistry and biotechnology has resulted in the availability of some powerful tools for studying protein folding in the context of the structural analysis of native, mutant proteins, and folding intermediates. In this review, recent developments in the field of disulfide-coupled peptide and protein folding are discussed, from the viewpoint of chemical and biotechnological methods, such as analytical methods for the detection of disulfide pairings, chemical methods for disulfide bond formation between the defined Cys residues, and applications of diselenide bonds for the regulation of disulfide-coupled peptide and protein folding.