Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attempts at evaluation of the function of various laryngeal muscles in the light of muscle and nerve stimulation experiments in man.

Muscle and nerve stimulation experiments have been carried out on a series of 12 human larynges with malignant disease of essentially unilateral involvement. In the course of total laryngectomy tests were applied to several internal and external laryngeal muscles as well as the recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves on both sides. Muscle stimulation experiments were carried out also on the recently excised larynx. The effects were studied on the relatively unaffected side, where vocal fold mobility was apparently free. Stimulation of the sternothyroid muscle constantly led to dilatation of the laryngeal inlet and widening of the glottis. Abduction of the vocal fold occurred only in 50% of the cases (3 out of 6) on stimulation of the posterior crico-arytenoid muscle. Various explanations of these phenomena are discussed. Stimulation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve produced adduction of the vocal fold to the paramedian plane. In two experiments out of seven, however, stimulation of the recurrent laryngeal.
Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Activates Innate Immunity in Rat Kidneys

Background. There is growing evidence of a role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but the influence of I/R injury on innate immunity is still undetermined. Methods. Sprague-Dawley rats were used. I/R injury was induced by clamping both renal arteries for 45 min, and the rats were killed 1, 3, 5, and 7 days later. Activation of innate immunity was evaluated in terms of the expression of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 or TLR4 mRNAs and protein, by the level of the TLR ligand (heat shock protein [HSP] 70), and maturation of dendritic cells by double-label immunohistochemistry of dendritic cells for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen. Results. I/R injury increased TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA and protein expression, and they were mainly observed on renal tubular cells. I/R injury also produced endogenous TLR ligand (HSP70) on renal tubular cells. I/R injury increased not only the numbers of dendritic cells but also the production of MHC class II antigen in dendritic cells, suggesting maturation of these cells. Activation of innate immunity was observed at day 1, peaked at days 3 to 5 after I/R injury, and thereafter gradually decreased. Conclusions. I/R injury rapidly activates the innate immune response.
A Simple Parameter Relating Sequences with Folding Rates of Small α Helical Proteins

It is found that the helix parameter (HP), which favors clustering of non-polar residues, is linearly correlated with the logarithms of rate constants of folding of small two-state α-helical proteins. The definition is HP = NH _1 ∑ (fi+ (fi-1+fi+1)/2), where fi=1 or -1, if the i'th residue is hydrophobic or hydrophilic, respectively, NH is the number of hydrophobic residues and the summation is taken over the hydrophobic residues.
Maternal folate status, but not that of vitamins B-12 or B-6, is associated with gestational age and preterm birth risk in a multiethnic Asian population.

BACKGROUND Maternal folate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin B-6 concentrations during pregnancy have been shown to influence birth outcomes, but the evidence is inconclusive. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine the associations of maternal B-vitamin status with gestational age, birth weight, and length in a birth cohort study in Singapore. METHODS Maternal blood samples (n = 999) collected during weeks 26-28 of gestation were assayed for plasma folate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin B-6 concentrations. Birth weight and gestational age data were obtained from hospital records, and other anthropometric variables were measured within 72 h after birth. Relations between B-vitamin status and birth outcomes were assessed by linear or logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS Median (IQR) plasma concentrations were 34.4 (24.5-44.6) nmol/L for folate, 209 (167-258) pmol/L for vitamin B-12, and 61.8 (25.9-113) nmol/L for vitamin B-6. We found that higher plasma folate concentrations were associated with a longer gestational age (0.12 wk per SD increase in folate; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.21) and tended to be associated with lower risk of all preterm birth (delivery at <37 wk of gestation; OR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.00) and spontaneous preterm birth (OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.56, 1.04). Overall, concentrations of maternal folate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin B-6 were not independently associated with birth weight or being born small for gestational age (SGA; birth weight <10th percentile for gestational age). CONCLUSIONS Higher maternal folate concentrations during late pregnancy were associated with longer gestational age and tended to be associated with a lower risk of preterm birth in this multiethnic Asian population. In contrast, the results of our study suggested little or no benefit of higher folate concentrations for reducing the risk of SGA or of higher vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 concentrations for reducing the risk of preterm birth or SGA.
Angiotensin II induces differential insulin action in rat skeletal muscle.

Angiotensin II (ANGII) is reportedly involved in the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance. The present investigation evaluated the effects of two ANGII doses on the phenotypic characteristics of insulin resistance syndrome and insulin action and signaling in rat skeletal muscle. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were infused with either saline (SHAM) or ANGII at a commonly used pressor dose (100 ng/kg/min; ANGII-100) or a higher pressor dose (500 ng/kg/min; ANGII-500) via osmotic minipumps for 14 days. We demonstrated that ANGII-100-infused rats exhibited the phenotypic features of non-obese insulin resistance syndrome, including hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance of glucose uptake in the soleus muscle, whereas ANGII-500-treated rats exhibited diabetes-like symptoms, such as post-prandial hyperglycemia, impaired insulin secretion and hypertriglyceridemia. At the cellular level, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in the soleus muscle of the ANGII-100 group was 33% lower (P < 0.05) than that in the SHAM group and was associated with increased insulin-stimulated IRS-1 Ser307 and decreased Akt Ser473 and AS160 Thr642 phosphorylation and GLUT-4 expression. However, ANGII-500 infusion did not induce skeletal muscle insulin resistance or impair insulin signaling elements as initially anticipated. Moreover, we found that insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in the ANGII-500 group was accompanied by the enhanced expression of ACE2 and MasR proteins, which are the key elements in the non-classical pathway of the renin-angiotensin system. Collectively, this study demonstrates for the first time that chronic infusion with these two pressor doses of ANGII induced differential metabolic responses at both the systemic and skeletal muscle levels.
Anticipatory Stress in the Population Facing Forced Removal From the Gaza Strip

The Israeli government decided in March 2005 to remove the settlers of the Gaza Strip, a process known as “disengagement. ” One person per household residing in 13 settlements was randomly selected for a telephone interview that included the Demoralization Scale of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview. Women respondents and those with fewer years of education, higher risk perception, greater alienation from government, poorer perceived health, no social support outside the West Bank or Gaza, worse religious coping, and residence in a secular settlement had enhanced risk for higher emotional distress. Positive current satisfaction with life was associated with greater place attachment, less risk perception, stronger ideological stand, less feeling of alienation from the government, a more positive view of the future, and plans to return to Gaza. This population, as others in transitional states, may be at risk for emotional distress compared with some but not all stable Israeli groups.
Teaching the Radical Catalog

During a recent information literacy session for a group of first-year students enrolled in an African-American women's history course at Sarah Lawrence College, I discussed the changing Library of Congress (LC) subject headings for this field: NEGRO WOMEN; BLACK WOMEN; AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN; etc. A student raised her hand and asked whether students specifically interested in the history of White women needed to search the catalog using the term WHITE. My colleague, a reference and instruction librarian with five years of experience, answered yes. While we might wish that LC acknowledged White as a racial category and marker for domination, it does not. LC is rooted in historical structures of White supremacy; as such, the catalog presumes White to be the normative term. The librarian got it wrong. We must get it right. Currently at stake is, first off, the problem of giving students wrong information. A class busily searching for works about WHITE WOMEN will come up empty, when a search for WOMEN would serve them quite well. A second stake, less obvious but more insidious, is the risk that by teaching a catalog uncritically, we hide and extend the universalizing, hegemonic tendencies of our classifications into our teaching. This chapter takes up the moment where critical classification theory intersects with critical pedagogy. Considering critical interruptions of classification as a social and political project, I argue that classification schemes are socially produced and embedded structures; they are products of human labor that carry traces of all the intentional and unintentional racism, sexism, and classism of the workers who create them. Political efforts to change terminology or localize classification schemes are inevitably limited by the nature of classification itself. We cannot do a classification scheme objectively; it is the nature of subject analysis to be subjective. Teaching, done critically and done well, offers a potential way out of this dilemma. This will require a challenge to our standards-based information literacy discourse, and a turn toward radical pedagogical theory.
The Acceptability of Mental Health Screening in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Objectives: The purposes of the study were (1) to assess the acceptability of mental health screening in the pediatric emergency department (ED) for children and their parents; (2) to measure providers' perceptions on whether screening has an impact on patient care; and (3) to determine the impact of screening status on acceptability. Methods: A validated pediatric mental health screening instrument was administered to 384 parent-child dyads. A 6-item satisfaction questionnaire was administered by a trained research coordinator to assess parent-child reactions to the screen. Emergency department providers rated how difficult the screening made it for them to care for the patient. Research staff reported the difficulty of conducting screening during the ED visit and the amount of time parents/children spent completing the screen. Results: Most parents (82%) and children (75%) felt the screening was acceptable. Parent reports of pediatric mental health problems were not associated with lower acceptability scores. The number of mental health problems reported by a child was associated with an increased likelihood that the screening made the child upset (P = 0.02). Parents who reported pediatric mental health problems were more likely to find the screening helpful (odds ratio,1.84 [95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.93]), with black parents more likely to report that the screen was helpful (odds ratio, 2.5 [95% confidence interval, 1.43-4.33]). Nearly all doctors (99%) and nurses (97%) reported that the screening did not make it difficult for them to care for the patient. Conclusions: Overall, mental health screening appears to be acceptable in the pediatric ED.
What Does Virus Evolution Tell Us about Virus Origins?

ABSTRACT Despite recent advances in our understanding of diverse aspects of virus evolution, particularly on the epidemiological scale, revealing the ultimate origins of viruses has proven to be a more intractable problem. Herein, I review some current ideas on the evolutionary origins of viruses and assess how well these theories accord with what we know about the evolution of contemporary viruses. I note the growing evidence for the theory that viruses arose before the last universal cellular ancestor (LUCA). This ancient origin theory is supported by the presence of capsid architectures that are conserved among diverse RNA and DNA viruses and by the strongly inverse relationship between genome size and mutation rate across all replication systems, such that pre-LUCA genomes were probably both small and highly error prone and hence RNA virus-like. I also highlight the advances that are needed to come to a better understanding of virus origins, most notably the ability to accurately infer deep evolutionary history from the phylogenetic analysis of conserved protein structures.
Microglial phagocytosis is enhanced by monomeric α‐synuclein, not aggregated α‐synuclein: Implications for Parkinson's disease

Gathering evidence has associated activation of microglia with the pathogenesis of numerous neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the CNS whose functions include chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and secretion of a variety of cytokines and proteases. In this study, we examined the possibility that α‐synuclein (α‐syn), which is associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, may affect the phagocytic function of microglia. We found that extracellular monomeric α‐syn enhanced microglial phagocytosis in both a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner, but β‐ and γ‐ syn did not. We also found that the N‐terminal and NAC region of α‐syn, especially the NAC region, might be responsible for the effect of α‐syn on microglial phagocytosis. In contrast to monomeric α‐syn, aggregated α‐syn actually inhibited microglial phagocytosis. The different effects of monomeric and aggregated α‐syn on phagocytosis might be related to their localization in cells. This study indicates that α‐syn can modulate the function of microglia and influence inflammatory changes such as those seen in neurodegenerative disorders. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Two-step Membrane Binding by Equinatoxin II, a Pore-forming Toxin from the Sea Anemone, Involves an Exposed Aromatic Cluster and a Flexible Helix*

Equinatoxin II (EqtII) belongs to a unique family of 20-kDa pore-forming toxins from sea anemones. These toxins preferentially bind to membranes containing sphingomyelin and create cation-selective pores by oligomerization of 3–4 monomers. In this work we have studied the binding of EqtII to lipid membranes by the use of lipid monolayers and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The binding is a two-step process, separately mediated by two regions of the molecule. An exposed aromatic cluster involving tryptophans 112 and 116 mediates the initial attachment that is prerequisite for the next step. Steric shielding of the aromatic cluster or mutation of Trp-112 and -116 to phenylalanine significantly reduces the toxin-lipid interaction. The second step is promoted by the N-terminal amphiphilic helix, which translocates into the lipid phase. The two steps were distinguished by the use of a double cysteine mutant having the N-terminal helix fixed to the protein core by a disulfide bond. The kinetics of membrane binding derived from the SPR experiments could be fitted to a two-stage binding model. Finally, by using membrane-embedded quenchers, we showed that EqtII does not insert deeply in the membrane. The first step of the EqtII binding is reminiscent of the binding of the evolutionarily distant cholesterol-dependant cytolysins, which share a similar structural motif in the membrane attachment domain.
Hemostatic effects of tranexamic acid in elective thoracic aortic surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE We studied the hemostatic effects of tranexamic acid in patients undergoing elective surgery involving the thoracic aorta. METHODS In a double-blind, randomized fashion, 60 consecutive patients were assigned to two treatment groups: 30 patients (placebo group) received infusion of saline solution, and 30 (treatment group) received tranexamic acid (1 g before skin incision, an infusion of 400 mg/h during the operation, and 500 mg in the pump priming). Perioperative bleeding was considered as a primary outcome. Perioperative allogeneic transfusions, major thrombotic complications (myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, renal insufficiency), and surgical outcomes were also considered. RESULTS Patients treated with tranexamic acid showed significant reductions in postoperative bleeding, both in terms of the amount collected during the first 4 postoperative hours (median 307 mL, interquartile range 253-361 mL in the placebo group vs median 211 mL, interquartile range 108-252 mL in the treatment group, P =.002) and in terms of total bleeding (median 722 mL, interquartile range 574-952 mL in the placebo group vs median 411 mL, interquartile range 313-804 mL in the treatment group, P =.04). Consequently, the number of patients transfused differed significantly between groups (21 patients [72.4%] in the placebo group vs 13 [44.8%] in the treatment group, P =.033). Patients in the treatment group showed significant reductions in the total amount for the entire group of packed red cells transfused (13,500 mL in the treatment group vs 28,000 mL in the placebo group, P =.012) and in the total amount of allogeneic transfusions (23,400 mL in the treatment group vs 53,000 mL in the placebo group, P =.024). No differences in perioperative thrombotic complications were found. CONCLUSIONS In this initial series of patients undergoing thoracic aortic surgery, tranexamic acid appeared effective in reducing perioperative bleeding, with a significant reduction in the need for allogeneic transfusions and without any increased risk of thrombotic complications.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of multiple-session early interventions following traumatic events.

OBJECTIVE The authors sought to determine the efficacy of multiple-session psychological interventions to prevent and treat traumatic stress symptoms beginning within 3 months of a traumatic event. METHOD Nine computerized databases were searched, and manual searches were conducted of reference lists of selected articles as well as two journals. In addition, key researchers in the field were contacted to determine whether they were aware of other relevant studies. The reviewers identified randomized controlled trials of multiple-session psychological treatments aimed at preventing or reducing traumatic stress symptoms in individuals within 3 months of exposure to a traumatic event. Details of the studies were independently extracted by two reviewers, and outcome data were entered into the Review Manager software package. Quality assessment was also conducted by two researchers independently. RESULTS Twenty-five studies examining a range of interventions were identified. For treatment of individuals exposed to a trauma irrespective of their symptoms, there was no significant difference between any intervention and usual care. For treatment of traumatic stress symptoms irrespective of diagnosis, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was more effective than waiting list or supportive counseling conditions. The difference was greatest for treatment of acute stress disorder and acute posttraumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSIONS Trauma-focused CBT within 3 months of a traumatic event appears to be effective for individuals with traumatic stress symptoms, especially those who meet the threshold for a clinical diagnosis.
Thalamic Stimulation in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: To assess tremor control and side effects in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with chronic thalamic stimulation for relief of upper extremity tremor. Methods: Five patients were studied before and after thalamic placement of a deep brain stimulation (DBS) system. Preoperative and postoperative evaluation included magnetic resonance imaging, Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS), the Bain-Finchley visual analog scale for tremor, video recording and neuropsychological testing. Stereotactic targeting of the Vim nucleus was done using computed tomography; intraoperative testing was done under local anesthesia before permanent implantation. Results: Functionally useful tremor suppression was obtained in 3/5 patients. Neuropsychological deficits of higher cortical function, memory and visuospatial coordination were observed in all patients before surgery; in 1 patient with improved postoperative visuospatial coordination, worsened memory was found. New brainstem plaque formation was seen several weeks after surgery in 1 patient who had an acute worsening of MS which improved after high-dose intravenous steroids. Conclusions: Chronic thalamic stimulation may help selected patients with MS-induced tremor. Given the complexity of their underlying illness, patients must be selected carefully, and long-term follow-up is vital to evaluate the true utility of DBS.
A K-6 Computational Thinking Curriculum Framework: Implications for Teacher Knowledge

Adding computer science as a separate school subject to the core K-6 curriculum is a complex issue with educational challenges. The authors herein address two of these challenges: (1) the design of the curriculum based on a generic computational thinking framework, and (2) the knowledge teachers need to teach the curriculum. The first issue is discussed within a perspective of designing an authentic computational thinking curriculum with a focus on real-world problems. The second issue is addressed within the framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge explicating in detail the body of knowledge that teachers need to have to be able to teach computational thinking in a K-6 environment. An example of how these ideas can be applied in practice is also given. While it is recognized there is a lack of adequate empirical evidence in terms of the effectiveness of the frameworks proposed herein, it is expected that our knowledge and research base will dramatically increase over the next several years, as more countries around the world add computer science as a separate school subject to their K-6 curriculum.