Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Monte Carlo algorithms for many-fermion systems.

I discuss algorithms for simulating many-fermion systems via global updatings of auxiliary fields followed by an accept-reject stage which eliminates finite-step-size errors. When the system size is larger than the correlation length, these procedures should require computer time growing only slightly faster than linearly with the system volume V. A corrected Langevin scheme should asymptotically display a ${V}^{4/3}$ behavior, while the hybrid Monte Carlo scheme can behave as ${V}^{5/4}$. I present some tests of the latter algorithm on a simple model of interacting electrons on a two-dimensional lattice.
Clinicoradiologic Profile of Involvement and Healing in Tuberculosis of the Spine

Background: There is no much information about how tuberculous lesions of the spine progress/heal; what clinical and radiological features suggest progression/healing; what is the optimal duration of antitubercular treatment; and what clinical, laboratory, and radiological investigations and their frequency should be done to monitor the disease course. Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate what specific clinicoradiologic features suggest involvement and healing in tuberculosis of the spine. Subjects and Methods: Fifty spinal tuberculosis patients (30 males and 20 females) diagnosed clinicoradiologically were enrolled in the study. Patients were evaluated clinically, radiographically, and by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at regular intervals to monitor the disease course till 24 months of the initial presentation. Results: Wedge/collapse (23/50 cases), soft tissue mass (29/50 cases), disc narrowing (45/54 discs), and endplate erosions (89/107 endplates) were the plain radiological findings of tubercular spinal involvement. Earliest sign of healing on plain radiography was decrease in fuzziness of endplate, ultimately leading to either sclerosis of endplate or fusion of adjacent vertebrae. Initial MRI findings included bone marrow edema (50/50 cases), discitis (53/62 discs), endplate erosions (105/123 endplates), pre- and para-vertebral collections (45/50 cases), epidural involvement (26/50 cases), epidural spread (77/109 vertebrae), and subligamentous spread (42/50 cases). Earliest feature of healing on magnetic resonance (MR) examination was decrease in inflammatory soft-tissue masses and reduction in marrow edema. Conclusions: Salient features of spinal involvement in tuberculosis on plain radiograph were paradiscal involvement, endplate destruction, and soft tissue masses. Marrow edema, paravertebral collections, subligamentous spread, extradural component, endplate erosion, and discitis suggested tubercular involvement of the spine on MRI. A decrease in these was observed to have prognostic value both in monitoring disease course and response to chemotherapy. Based on the clinicoradiologic findings of the present study, we propose decision-making algorithm, follow-up algorithm, and MR examination protocol for spinal tuberculosis.
Hierarchical Model of Generalized and Specific Vulnerabilities in Anxiety

This study evaluated a theoretical hierarchical relationship among the general anxiety vulnerability variable of neuroticism, the specific vulnerability variables of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty, and variables reflecting specific anxiety foci including panic symptoms, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and generalized anxiety/worry. Questionnaires assessing these variables were administered to a non-clinical sample of 91 first-year psychology students (64.8% women). Path analysis results were highly consistent with the hypothesized hierarchical model. Neuroticism was found to have a significant direct effect on both anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. Both neuroticism and anxiety sensitivity had direct significant effects on panic symptoms, neuroticism and intolerance of uncertainty both made significant direct contributions to the prediction of worry, and neuroticism made a significant direct contribution to the prediction of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Contrary to the hypothesized model, anxiety sensitivity but not neuroticism uniquely predicted health anxiety. The results of this study provide initial empirical evidence for a hierarchical relationship among general and specific vulnerabilities, and specific anxiety manifestations.
Lack of Adverse Neonatal Neurobehavioral Effects of Lidocaine

The effects of epidural anesthesia on the early neonatal neurobehavioral scale (ENNS)following delivery were studied in 22 parturients given 1.5% lidocaine epidural anesthesia during labor and delivery. These results were compared to those obtained in a control group of 17 neonates whose mothers received no analgesics, medications, or local anesthetics for labor or delivery. There was no significant difference in ENNS in the two groups of neonates. Lidocaine as administered in this study has no adverse effects on the early neurobehavioral status of the neonate.
Failure of school physical education to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

R.58um. D'apr.s notre exp6rience, Ia gastrocam6ra CT-S est un instrument utile pour l'6tude exp6rimentale de la cicatrisation de l'ulc.re gastrique chez le chien. Grace . cet appareil, les ulc.res gastriques ainsi provoqu6s peuvent . tre facilement photographi6s, notamment Ia paroi ant6rieure, Ia petite courbure et Ia grande courbure au niveau de la portion inf6rieure du corps de l'estomac. La paroi post6rieure demeure g6n6ralement invisible. Les ulc.res thermiques se cicatrisent g6n6ralement en 15 ? t 19 jours, laissant une petite cicatrice contract6e, Un gel anti-acide vient tapisser Ia muqueuse gastrique g6n6ralement dans la portion la plus expos6e de l'estomac, soit la portion inf6rieure et l'antre. Nous n'avons pas observ6 qu'il y ait eu de rev.tement pr6f6rentiel des ulc.res.
Neural Activation During Performance of Number-Letter Sequencing

Recent advances in neuroimaging have enabled researchers to establish relatively specific areas of the brain that are involved in working memory. In this positron emission tomography study we examined the pattern of neural activation associated with performance on number-letter sequencing, a purported measure of working memory included in the new Wechsler scales for memory and intelligence. After controlling for basic audition, verbalization, and attention, areas of activation were observed in the orbital frontal lobe, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. This is highly consistent with reports from the literature on activation patterns associated with working memory. More activation peaks were observed in the right hemisphere, suggesting the participants utilized visualization of the verbal information. Consistent with task conceptualization, this study provides support for number-letter sequencing as a task involving working memory.
Circle of Willis in cerebral vascular disorders. The anatomical structure.

Introduction There is great variability in the normal configuration of the circle of Willis (Alpers, Berry, Paddison). 1 Relatively little information is available concerning its structure in cerebral softening due to thrombosis and embolism and in cerebral hemorrhage and aneurysm. The present study was undertaken in order to determine the incidence and nature of the anomalies of the circle of Willis in the various forms of cerebral vascular disorder, particularly in occlusive vascular disease, where the factor of collateral circulation appears to have greater significance than in cerebral or meningeal hemorrhage. Material and Methods The basis of the present study is formed by 194 gross brain softenings. Of these 56 were found to be the result of thrombosis; 53 were due to embolism; and the cause of the softening was unidentified in 85 cases. The high incidence of an unidentified source is due to the fact that many of the
Cognitive control in alcohol use disorder: deficits and clinical relevance

Abstract Cognitive control refers to the internal representation, maintenance, and updating of context information in the service of exerting control over thoughts and behavior. Deficits in cognitive control likely contribute to difficulty in maintaining abstinence in individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD). In this article, we define three cognitive control processes in detail (response inhibition, distractor interference control, and working memory), review the tasks measuring performance in these areas, and summarize the brain networks involved in carrying out these processes. Next, we review evidence of deficits in these processes in AUD, including both metrics of task performance and functional neuroimaging. Finally, we explore the clinical relevance of these deficits by identifying predictors of clinical outcome and markers that appear to change (improve) with treatment. We observe that individuals with AUD experience deficits in some, but not all, metrics of cognitive control. Deficits in cognitive control may predict clinical outcome in AUD, but more work is necessary to replicate findings. It is likely that performance on tasks requiring cognitive control improves with abstinence, and with some psychosocial and medication treatments. Future work should clarify which aspects of cognitive control are most important to target during treatment of AUD.
Assessment of methods for tissue-based detection of the HER-2/neu alteration in human breast cancer: a direct comparison of fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

PURPOSE To compare the efficacy of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in detecting the HER-2/neu alteration in human breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Unselected stage I, II, and III breast cancer patients (N = 900) were tested for HER-2/neu gene amplification by FISH in paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed archival material. Of these samples, 856 were tested for HER-2/neu overexpression by non-antigen-retrieval IHC with the polyclonal antibody R60, the sensitivity and specificity of which was preliminarily compared with the United States Food and Drug Administration-approved HercepTest (Dako Corp, Carpinteria, CA). Patient survival was analyzed in relation to the presence of the HER-2/neu alteration as determined by these two methodologies. RESULTS A total of 189 (21%) of 900 patients were positive by FISH and 147 (17.2%) of 856 were positive by IHC. This discrepancy is consistent with expected loss of IHC sensitivity associated with tissue fixation/embedding. The HercepTest did not improve sensitivity and introduced false positives. Comparison of R60-based IHC with FISH demonstrates that patient survival is associated progressively to gene amplification level as determined by FISH, whereas for IHC an association is found only in the highest (3+) immunostaining group. Among FISH-negative tumors, 45 (6.6%) of 678 were IHC-positive, with a survival probability similar to that of FISH-negative/IHC-negative cases; FISH-positive/IHC-negative patients have a survival probability similar to that of FISH-positive/IHC-positive cases. CONCLUSION IHC does not consistently discriminate patients likely to have a poor prognosis, whereas FISH provides superior prognostic information in segregating high-risk from lower-risk beast cancers. HER-2/neu protein overexpression in the absence of gene amplification occurs infrequently in breast cancer, in which case, patient outcome is similar to that of patients without the alteration.
RideComfort: A Development of Crowdsourcing Smartphones in Measuring Train Ride Quality

Among the many million train journeys taking place every day, not all of them are being measured or monitored for ride comfort. Improving ride comfort is important for railway companies to attract more passengers to their train services. Giving passengers the ability to measure ride comfort themselves using their smart phones, allows railway companies to receive instant feedback from passengers regarding the ride quality on their trains. The purpose of this development is to investigate the feasibility of using smart phones to measure vibration-based ride comfort on trains. This can be accomplished by developing a smart phone application, analysing the data recorded by the application and verifying the data by comparing it to data from a track inspection vehicle or an accelerometer. A literature review was undertaken to examine the commonly used standards to evaluate ride comfort, such as the BS ISO 2631-1:1997 standard and Sperling’s ride index as proposed by Sperling and Betzhold in 1956. The literature review has also revealed some physical causes of ride discomfort such as vibrations induced by roughness and irregularities present at the wheel/rail interface. We are the first to use artificial neural networks to map data derived from smart phones in order to evaluate ride quality. Our work demonstrates the merits of using smart phones to measure ride comfort aboard trains and suggests recommendations for future technological improvement. Our data argues that the accelerometers found in modern smart phones are of sufficient quality to be used in the evaluating ride comfort. The ride comfort levels predicted both by BS ISO 2631-1 and Sperling’s index exhibit excellent agreement with less than 1% deviation.
[Effects on salivation, xerostomia and halitosis in elders after oral function improvement exercises].

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of Oral Function Improvement Exercises on salivation, xerostomia and halitosis in elderly people. METHODS The participants in the study were 48 female community-dwelling elders in D city. The Oral Function Improvement Exercises were given 3 times a week, for a total of 24 times from August to October 2011. Spitting method, Visual Analogue Scale, and halimeter (mBA-21) were used to evaluate the effects of Oral Function Improvement Exercises on salivation, xerostomia, and halitosis. The data were analyzed using χ²-test and t-test with the SPSS program. RESULTS The experimental group had significantly better salivation, and less xerostomia and halitosis than the control group. CONCLUSION The results indicate that Oral Function Improvement Exercises were effective for salivation, xerostomia and halitosis in the elders. Therefore, it was suggested that Oral Function Improvement Exercise are applicable in a community nursing intervention program to improve the quality of life for elders.
Evidence for Cultured Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Heterogeneity: Isolation of Clonal Cells and Study of their Growth Characteristics

Summary The monoclonal theory of atherosclerosis postulates that the initial vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferative event involves the expansion of a single cell or a sub-population of cells thus implying differences in the replicative potential of VSMC. Using the technique of limited dilution, VSMC clones derived from animal tissues have been previously isolated and shown to be morphologically heterogeneous. However, the same technique applied to human VSMC (HVSMC) has been unsuccessful, possibly because HVSMC do not grow when plated at very low densities. In this report, the anchorage-independent growth of HVSMC in semi-solid medium was studied. Platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and to a lesser extent PDGF-AB and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) induced colony formation. This assay provided a tool for the isolation of HVSMC clones. In terms of their growth characteristics and responsiveness to several growth factors, isolated HVSMC clones and the original parental cell population exhibited marked heterogeneity.
Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Monitoring of the Water Adsorption/Desorption Process in Modern and Archaeological Wood

We investigated the adsorption/desorption mechanism of water and the variation of water adsorption for modern and archaeological wood using near-infrared spectroscopy. A mixture model of water was used to decompose the near-infrared difference spectra into three components (free water molecules (S0), those with one OH group engaged in hydrogen bonding (S1), and those with two OH groups engaged in hydrogen bonding (S2)) based on a principal component analysis. The variations of each water component with relative humidity could be explained by proposing a model that describes water absorption in three stages. It was concluded that the aging phenomenon in wood is due to the decrease of adsorption sites on hemicellulose and amorphous cellulose.
Family planning in the immediate postpartum period.

Using data from the Colombian Profamilia program for May 1969-December 1970 advantages of immediate postpartum IUD insertion are presented. Total IUD acceptors numbered 14922 42.6% of all deliveries during this time. More than twice as many women chose immediate as compared to delayed IUD insertion (11512 and 4826 women respectively). 94.8% of those choosing immediate insertion actually became acceptors compared to 45.4% of those choosing delayed insertion. When immediate IUD insertion was suspended temporarily only 43.4% of the women expressing a desire to return for insertion did so within 3 months of the appointment date. Of 2000 immediate postpartum insertions 44.8% were expelled within 30 days but in 94.6% reinsertions were carried out due to high motivation of the users and psychological preparation for expulsion. 58.9% of all insertions were active after 1 year. Pills offered immediately postpartum had a 95% dropout rate after 3 months. Good contraceptive education is essential for a larger number of IUD acceptors and higher continuation rates.
Aerobic capacity and growth hormone deficiency after traumatic brain injury.

CONTEXT GH deficiency occurs in approximately 20% of all individuals who suffer from a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. OBJECTIVE This study determined whether GH deficiency secondary to traumatic brain injury had an effect on aerobic capacity. DESIGN Subjects were screened for GH deficiency by the glucagon stimulation test and performed a maximal treadmill exercise test. SETTING Patients were studied in the postacute recovery phase after traumatic brain injury. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-five individuals were studied. Groups were formed as follows: normal GH axis, greater than 8 ng/ml response (n = 12); insufficient, GH 3-8 ng/ml response (n = 11); and deficient, less than 3 ng/ml response (n = 12). INTERVENTION There was no intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Aerobic capacity was assessed by measuring expired gases during a graded treadmill exercise test. One-way and two-way ANOVAs were carried out on all peak and submaximal cardiorespiratory variables, respectively. Appropriate post hoc comparisons followed as necessary. RESULTS Significantly higher peak oxygen consumption was found in traumatic brain injury subjects with GH normal vs. GH insufficient and deficient [26.4 +/- 6.9, 20.8 +/- 4.6, and 19.7 +/- 5.0, respectively (P < 0.05)]. Submaximal oxygen consumption was significantly higher in the GH normal group. All other variables were statistically similar. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that individuals with traumatic brain injury with normal GH secretion have below normal aerobic capacity and those patients who have GH insufficiency/deficiency are further deconditioned. Studies of GH replacement in these subjects should be conducted to assess whether GH therapy can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and prevent secondary disability.
The Janus Face of the Archaeal Cdc48/p97 Homologue VAT: Protein Folding versus Unfolding

Abstract Members of the AAA family of ATPases have been implicated in chaperone-like activities. We used the archaeal Cdc48/p97 homologue VAT as a model system to investigate the effect of an AAA protein on the folding and unfolding of two well-studied, heterologous substrates, cyclophilin and penicillinase. We found that, depending on the Mg2+ concentration, VAT assumes two states with maximum rates of ATP hydrolysis that differ by an order of magnitude. In the low-activity state, VAT accelerated the refolding of penicillinase, whereas in the high-activity state, it accelerated its unfolding. Both reactions were ATP-dependent. In its interaction with cyclophilin, VAT was ATP-independent and only promoted refolding. The N-terminal domain of VAT, which lacks ATPase activity, also accelerated the refolding of cyclophilin but showed no effect on penicillinase. VAT appears to be structurally equivalent over its entire length to Sec18/NSF, suggesting that these results apply more broadly to group II AAA proteins.
Expectations and beliefs in science communication: Learning from three European gene therapy discussions of the early 1990s

There is widespread agreement that the potential of gene therapy was oversold in the early 1990s. This study, however, comparing written material from the British, Danish and German gene therapy discourses of the period finds significant differences: Over-optimism was not equally strong everywhere; gene therapy was not universally hyped. Against that background, attention is directed towards another area of variation in the material: different basic assumptions about science and scientists. Exploring such culturally rooted assumptions and beliefs and their possible significance to science communication practices, it is argued that deep beliefs may constitute drivers of hype that are particularly difficult to deal with. To participants in science communication, the discouragement of hype, viewed as a practical–ethical challenge, can be seen as a learning exercise that includes critical attention to internalised beliefs.
Seven days of exercise increase GLUT-4 protein content in human skeletal muscle.

Insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT-4) content increases by 1.8-fold in skeletal muscle with 14 wk of exercise training [Houmard et al. Am. J. Physiol. 264 (Endocrinol. Metab. 27): E896-E901, 1993]. The purpose of this study was to determine whether more short-term training (7 days) increases GLUT-4 protein content in human skeletal muscle. Seven sedentary men [25.0 +/- 1.1 (SE) yr, 44.1 +/- 2.2 ml.kg-1.min-1 maximal O2 uptake, 14.9 +/- 2.1% body fat] were examined before and after 7 days of cycle ergometer training (1 h/day, 76 +/- 2% maximal heart rate). Needle biopsy samples from the vastus lateralis were used to determine GLUT-4 protein content. Muscle GLUT-4 increased (P < 0.05) by an average of 2.8 +/- 0.5-fold with 7 days of training. GLUT-4 content in skeletal muscle thus increases substantially with short-term exercise training.
Oxaliplatin inhibits proliferation and migration of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells via GAS7C and the N-WASP/FAK/F-actin pathway

The growth arrest-specific gene 7 (GAS7), a member of the growth-arrest-specific family, encodes three protein isoforms (GAS7A, GAS7B, and GAS7C) and plays a potential role in lung cancer as a tumor suppressor gene. In the present study, we found low endogenous expressions of GAS7C mRNA and protein in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines compared with normal liver cells, and that there was a distinct increase of GAS7C expression in HCC cells treated with oxaliplatin. CCK8, apoptosis, and Transwell migration assays showed that cell proliferation and motility of HepG2 and MHCC-97 H cells were inhibited by oxaliplatin, while apoptosis was increased. Interestingly, western blot analysis showed that treatment with oxaliplatin increased GAS7C and N-WASP protein levels and decreased the levels of proteins involved in the fibronectin/integrin/FAK pathway, such as FAK, in both HCC cell lines. In addition, ectopically overexpressed GAS7C obviously inhibited cell proliferation and cell motility. Flow cytometry results showed that overexpression of GAS7C induced apoptosis of HepG2 and MHCC-97 H cells. We further confirmed the correlation between GAS7C and the N-WASP/FAK/F-actin pathway by q-PCR and western blot analysis of in GAS7C-overexpressing HepG2 and MHCC-97 H cells. Inhibition of GAS7C substantially reversed the anti-cancer effect of oxaliplatin and blocked the activity of the N-WASP/FAK/F-actin pathway. Taken together, our results showed that oxaliplatin inhibits HCC cell proliferation and migration ability by up-regulating GAS7C and activating the N-WASP/FAK/F-actin pathway.