Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of different therapeutic courses in treating 47 cases of rheumatoid arthritis with acupuncture.

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of acupuncture therapeutic courses on rheumatoid arthritis. METHOD Forty-seven patients were treated with acupuncture for 6 courses and at the end of the third and sixth course of treatment, the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on morning rigidity, swelling and pain of joints as well as rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were observed. RESULT At the end of the third course, the markedly effective rate was 34.0% for morning rigidity, 9.5% for swelling and 23.4% for pain, the RF negative-turning rate was 2.2%, and there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the reduction of ESR and CRP as compared to that before treatment. However, at the end of the sixth course, the markedly effective rate was 80.9% for morning rigidity, 64.3% for swelling and 87.2% for pain, the RF negative-turning rate was 26.7%, and there was a very significant difference (P < 0.01) in the reduction of ESR and CRP as compared to that before treatment. CONCLUSION More acupuncture therapeutic courses can bring about better therapeutic results on rheumatoid arthritis.
Physiological responses to resistance breathing during short and prolonged exercise.

Respirators which impose a resistance to breathing may cause a limitation in maximum exercise intensity. This limitation is of particular concern when respirators are used in emergency situations requiring high levels of exercise intensity. Many studies have defined the limitations of exercise intensity imposed by breathing resistance as the point where the subject feels "uncomfortable". Perhaps of greater importance is the true physiological limit. Using motivated subjects, the physiological limits of exercise intensity and related respiratory responses resistances of 11, 16, 25, 40, and 57 cm H2O pressure at a flow rate of 120 L.min-1 exercise limits were 72, 72, 79, 60, and 54 percent of maximum aerobic capacity (% VO2 max) for the short term and 58, 60, 49, 43, and 35% VO2max for the prolonged exercise (1 hour). The presence of significant external resistance to breathing was found to influence the traditional relationship between exercise intensity and duration.
160-Gb/s stokes vector direct detection for short reach optical communication

We propose the Stokes vector direct detection (SV-DD) algorithm to achieve photo-detection nonlinearity cancellation and phase diversity. A 160-Gb/s single-polarization modulated SV-DD signal is successfully received after 160-km SSMF transmission with 7.76-bit/s/Hz electrical spectrum efficiency.
Biochemical and pharmacological characterization of cannabinoid binding sites using [3H]SR141716A

This study describes the binding characteristics of cannabinoid binding sites expressed in rat cerebellar membranes using the tritiated derivative of SR141716A, the newly described cannabinoid receptor antagonist. A single population of high-affinity binding sites (KD = 0.59 ± 0.08 nM; Bmax = 3.86 ± 0.42 pmol mg−1 of protein) was demonstrated. Kinetic, competition and saturation experiments give similar results in terms of SR141716A affinity. δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and the 11-hydroxy derivative competitively inhibited the specific binding of [3H]SR141716A (Ki = 47 ± 9 and 32 ± 4 nM, respectively). The cannabinoid agonist WIN55212–2 has a 25-fold lower affinity for [3H]SR141716A than for [3H]WIN55212–2, showing that the two ligands do not recognize the cannabinoid binding site in the same fashion.
One-Year Outcomes After Minimally Invasive Sacrocolpopexy

Objective The primary aim of this study was to report anatomic, symptom, and quality of life outcomes in women with symptomatic stage 2 or greater prolapse 1 year after randomization to robotic and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. Methods This is a planned ancillary analysis of the Abdominal Colpopexy: Comparison of Endoscopic Surgical Strategies trial, a randomized comparative effectiveness trial comparing costs and outcomes of robotic and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy at 2 academic medical centers. At baseline and 1 year after surgery, women underwent standardized assessment including validated subjective pelvic floor outcomes and physical examination with prolapse assessment. Results Sixty six (85%) of 78 randomized participants completed 1-year follow-up: 33 (87%) of 38 in the laparoscopic arm and 33 (83%) of 40 in the robotic arm (P = 0.59). Ninety-seven percent (32/33) in the laparoscopic group and 100% (33/33) in the robotic arm considered that their prolapse symptoms improved (P = 0.999). The cohort had significant improvement in all pelvic floor symptom and quality of life measures, which did not differ by treatment arm. Of women who were sexually active at 1 year, sexual function improved in both cohorts. No new serious adverse events, including mesh exposure or reoperation for prolapse, were identified between 6 months and 1 year after surgery. No women had a sacrocolpopexy mesh complication or reoperation for mesh exposure. Conclusions Minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy is associated with significant improvement in pelvic floor symptoms, anatomy, and sexual function. In addition, mesh exposure rates with lightweight polypropylene mesh seem to be lower than those reported with multifilament and heavier polypropylene mesh.
Comparative evaluation of Smart Grid AMI networks: Performance under privacy

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is an indispensable part of a Smart Grid (SG) initiative. AMI applications collect data measured by smart meters in the SG. This process may leak information about consumers. In this paper, we build an IEEE 802.11s-based SG AMI network testbed consisting of Beaglebone Black boards and investigate the performance of privacy-preserving protocols in real-life and compare it with the ns-3 simulations. We develop an application that collects data periodically. This mechanism runs in two modes: Hop-by-hop and end-to-end aggregation. The application is tested on TCP and UDP. We use Paillier cryptosystem for privacy, and ECDSA for authentication. The application is also simulated in ns-3. The testbed results are compared with the ns-3 results in terms of packet delivery ratio, throughput and data collection completion time. Comparison showed that the tested privacy-preserving protocol behavior may not accurately reflect that of ns-3, especially with data completion time metric.
Age-Dependent Acquisition of Hepatitis G Virus/GB Virus C in a Nonrisk Population: Detection of the Virus by Antibodies

ABSTRACT Until now there have been few seroepidemiological data for hepatitis G virus/GB virus type C (HGV/GBV-C). A four-antigen HGV/GBV-C immunoblot was established to examine 446 serum specimens from healthy individuals without risk factors for parenteral viral transmission. These individuals were divided into seven groups according to age. Seroprevalence rates were low for children and adolescents (5.6%) and increased for the age groups assumed to be the most sexually active (15.3 to 26.8%). Remarkably, none of the 80 individuals who tested positive for HGV/GBV-C antibodies were simultaneously positive for HGV/GBV-C viremia. From our data we conclude that HGV/GBV-C infection is widespread in the general population (16 to 25%). The development of an antibody response is associated with clearance of HGV/GBV-C viremia. Due to the lack of risk factors for HGV/GBV-C infection of blood, other efficient transmission routes must exist. It must be assumed that HGV/GBV-C transmission may be linked to sexual activity.
Self-reported quality of life in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES To continuously assess overall quality of life (QOL) and disease progression in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at different stages of the disease and compare the results between these two variables. DESIGN/SUBJECTS Twenty-six patients with ALS were interviewed with a questionnaire to assess their QOL from 0 to 10, where 10 is the highest QOL and questions concerning physical function, psychological status, and civil status. Their disease progression was estimated by ALS Functioning Rating Scale (ALS FRS). Nine patients were interviewed only once and 17 patients were interviewed 2-7 times. The interviews were repeated every second visit (range, 4-7 months). All values were ranked and linear regression was used to calculate the slope of QOL and ALS FRS. RESULTS The mean QOL value for all 26 patients was 5.8 (0-10-point scale). For the 17 patients interviewed 2-7 times, which correspond to a follow-up period of 5-28 months, there was no significant change in QOL-value (p = 0.247) among the interviews despite a significant disease progression (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION It can be concluded that ALS does not necessarily result in a low overall QOL and that despite disease progression overall QOL changes only slightly over time.
The Voliro Omniorientational Hexacopter: An Agile and Maneuverable Tiltable-Rotor Aerial Vehicle

Extending the maneuverability of multirotors promises to yield a considerable increase in their scope of applications, such as carrying out more challenging inspection tasks and generating complex, uninterrupted movements of an attached camera. In this article, we address the promise of multirotor maneuverability by presenting Voliro, a novel aerial platform that combines the advantages of existing multirotor systems with the agility of vehicles having omniorientational controllability. In other words, Voliro can fly in any direction while maintaining an arbitrary orientation.
Impact of ocean barriers, topography, and glaciation on the phylogeography of the catfish Trichomycterus areolatus (Teleostei: Trichomycteridae) in Chile

We examined the role of several earth history events on the phylogeographic distribution of the catfish Tricho- mycterus areolatus in Chile using the cytochrome b gene. We explored three biogeographic hypotheses: that sea level changes have resulted in the isolation of populations by drainages; that glaciation has impacted genetic diversity; and that ichthyological subprovince boundaries correspond to phylogeographic breaks in our focal species. We found seven well-supported clades within T. areolatus with high levels of genetic divergence. The strongest signal in our data was for an important role of sea level changes structuring populations. Five of the seven clades mapped cleanly to the geographic landscape and breaks corresponded closely to areas of narrowest continental shelf. In addition, few haplotypes were shared between rivers within clades, suggesting that only limited local movement of individuals has occurred. There was no relationship between the levels of genetic diversity and the proportion of individual drainages covered by glaciers during the last glacial maximum. Two phylogeographic breaks within T. areolatus did match the two previously identified faunal boundaries, but we found three additional breaks, which suggests that faunal breaks have only limited utility in explaining phylogeographic patterns. These results imply that the narrow continental shelf coupled with sea level changes had a strong influence on the obligate freshwater fishes in Chile. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 97, 876-892.
Feasibility of cross-protective vaccination against flaviviruses of the Japanese encephalitis serocomplex

Serological cross-reactivity providing cross-protective immunity between antigenically related viruses is a cornerstone of vaccination. It was the immunological basis for the first human vaccine against smallpox introduced more than 200 years ago, and continues to underpin modern vaccine development as has recently been shown for human papillomavirus vaccines, which confer cross-protection against other oncogenic papillomavirus types not present in the vaccine. Here, we review the feasibility of cross-protective vaccination against an antigenic group of clinically important viruses belonging to the Japanese encephalitis serocomplex in the Flaviviridae family. We will discuss evidence suggesting that ‘new generation’ flavivirus vaccines may provide effective cross-protective immunity against heterologous Japanese encephalitis serocomplex viruses, and appraise potential risks associated with cross-reactive vaccine immunity. The review will also focus on the structural and mechanistic basis for cross-protective immunity among this group of flaviviruses, which is predominantly mediated by antibodies against a single viral surface protein.
Selecting the donor liver: Risk factors for poor function after orthotopic liver transplantation

Initial poor function and primary nonfunction are important problems in clinical transplantation. The incidence of primary nonfunction is about 6% and that of initial poor function is about 15%. Grafts with initial poor function have a higher graft failure rate in the first 3 mo after transplantation. Severe steatosis and cold preservation in University of Wisconsin solution for over 30 hr will alone cause primary nonfunction. However, primary nonfunction is probably most often caused by the presence of multiple relative risk factors. The major donor‐relative risk factors are moderate steatosis, cold preservation over 12 hr and donor age over 50 yr, whereas retransplantation, high (United Network of Organ Sharing class 4) medical status and kidney failure are recipient relative risk factors. The most important perioperative risk factor is warm ischemia time. Rates of primary nonfunction and initial poor function might be reduced by avoidance of combinations of risk factors. Several tests have been developed to predict primary nonfunction and initial poor function, but none is yet clinically efficient. (Hepatology 1994;20:829–838).
What's the Weather Like? The Effect of Team Learning Climate, Empowerment Climate, and Gender on Individuals' Technology Exploration and Use

Given the pervasive use of teams in organizations coupled with high levels of investment in collaboration technology, there is increasing interest in identifying factors that affect the exploration and use of a broader scope of system features so that firms can benefit from the use of such technology. Prior research has called for a deeper understanding of how managers can encourage greater innovation with technology in the workplace. Drawing on the team climate and technology use literatures, we identify team learning climate and team empowerment climate as key factors that affect employees' propensity to explore a new system's features. We develop and test our use in a field study involving 268 employees embedded in 56 work teams. Three main findings come out of this research. First, the results reveal that the two types of team climate differ in their cross-level effects on individual intention to explore, such that team learning climate promotes greater intention to explore, whereas team empowerment climate reduces employees' intention to explore the technology. In addition, we find that team learning climate and team empowerment climate interact in shaping individual intention to explore, such that the presence of a strong learning climate is more effective in promoting intention to explore when teams also have a strong empowerment climate. Second, the findings show that men and women are affected differently by team climate. We find that for men, team empowerment climate has no influence on intention to explore, whereas for women there is a significant negative cross-level effect. Finally, we find that intention to explore has a positive effect on usage scope, suggesting an important link between team climate, individual cognition, and the scope of features used by employees in team settings. Taken together, the model and results highlight the important role of team climate and gender—and the interplay between them—as drivers of technology feature exploration. Our findings, especially those related to team empowerment climate, are counterintuitive when compared to prior literature and offer useful insights for managers. On the one hand, managers should consider leveraging team learning climate to intrinsically stimulate employees to engage in exploration of technology. On the other hand, managers should be cautious and guard against saddling employees with too many additional responsibilities during the stages of exploration and experimentation with system features. It is possible that through an expanded set of responsibilities and expectations fostered by team empowerment climate, employees may be experiencing work overload, thus reducing their likelihood of exploring a broader set of technology features. Managers should be especially attentive to this based on the gender composition of their teams.
Annexin 2: a Novel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Gag Binding Protein Involved in Replication in Monocyte-Derived Macrophages

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in the major natural target cells, CD4+ T lymphocytes and macrophages, is parallel in many aspects of the virus life cycle. However, it differs as to viral assembly and budding, which take place on plasma membranes in T cells and on endosomal membranes in macrophages. It has been postulated that cell type-specific host factors may aid in directing viral assembly to distinct destinations. In this study we defined annexin 2 (Anx2) as a novel HIV Gag binding partner in macrophages. Anx2-Gag binding was confined to productively infected macrophages and was not detected in quiescently infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) in which an HIV replication block was mapped to the late stages of the viral life cycle (A. V. Albright, R. M. Vos, and F. Gonzalez-Scarano, Virology 325:328-339, 2004). We demonstrate that the Anx2-Gag interaction likely occurs at the limiting membranes of late endosomes/multivesicular bodies and that Anx2 depletion is associated with a significant decline in the infectivity of released virions; this coincided with incomplete Gag processing and inefficient incorporation of CD63. Cumulatively, our data suggest that Anx2 is essential for the proper assembly of HIV in MDM.
Chronic Kidney Disease ( CKD ) in Dogs & Cats-Staging and Management Strategies

Dennis J. Chew, DVM Diplomate ACVIM (Internal Medicine) The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Columbus, Ohio, USA Introduction Chronic kidney disease is diagnosed commonly in dogs and cats. The incidence of the diagnosis of CKD in cats is made 2 to 3 times as frequently compared to dogs and is especially common in geriatric cats. CKD is clinically characterized by the development of variably progressive irreversible intrarenal lesions and loss of renal functions. A variety of interventions (diet and drugs) can slow the progression of the renal disease, improve the quality of life for the patient, and/or extend the quantity of life. Compensatory increases (so called adaptations) in glomerular hemodynamics and glomerular volume may actually be maladaptive in some instances as shown in the figure below.
Further evidence that neurofilament light chain gene mutations can cause Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease type 2E

A missense mutation in the neurofilament light chain gene (NEFL, NF‐L) at chromosome 8p21 was recently reported in a single Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth type 2 family (CMT2). This new CMT2 variant is designated CMT2E. The NEFL gene mutation showed co‐segregation with the disease phenotype and is thus most likely the disease‐causing mutation. However, the possibility that it is a closely linked rare polymorphism can not be ruled out with certainty. We observed a novel NEFL missense mutation in a second CMT family, providing supporting evidence that CMT2E is caused by NEFL gene mutations Ann Neurol 2001;49:245–249
Liver specific inactivation of carboxylesterase 3/triacylglycerol hydrolase decreases blood lipids without causing severe steatosis in mice

Carboxylesterase 3/triacylglycerol hydrolase (Ces3/TGH) participates in hepatic very low‐density lipoprotein (VLDL) assembly and in adipose tissue basal lipolysis. Global ablation of Ces3/Tgh expression decreases serum triacylglycerol (TG) and nonesterified fatty acid levels and improves insulin sensitivity. To understand the tissue‐specific role of Ces3/TGH in lipid and glucose homeostasis, we generated mice with a liver‐specific deletion of Ces3/Tgh expression (L‐TGH knockout [KO]). Elimination of hepatic Ces3/Tgh expression dramatically decreased plasma VLDL TG and VLDL cholesterol concentrations but only moderately increased liver TG levels in mice fed a standard chow diet. Significantly reduced plasma TG and cholesterol without hepatic steatosis were also observed in L‐TGH KO mice challenged with a high‐fat, high‐cholesterol diet. L‐TGH KO mice presented with increased plasma ketone bodies and hepatic fatty acid oxidation. Intrahepatic TG in L‐TGH KO mice was stored in significantly smaller lipid droplets. Augmented hepatic TG levels in chow‐fed L‐TGH KO mice did not affect glucose tolerance or glucose production from hepatocytes, but impaired insulin tolerance was observed in female mice. Conclusion: Our data suggest that ablation of hepatic Ces3/Tgh expression decreases plasma lipid levels without causing severe hepatic steatosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;56:2154–2162)
Successful treatment of basilar artery thrombosis with both heparin and tissue plasminogen activator in the setting of traumatic vertebral artery dissection.

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), effective in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke when administered within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms, has not been wellstudied in strokes associated with serious trauma (including arterial dissection) and/or seizure. Patients with these problems were specifically excluded from the controlled, randomized studies that demonstrated the efficacy of tPA. An uncontrolled study of 11 patients whose internal carotid artery dissections were treated with tPA produced no serious complications, but experience in this realm remains limited. Furthermore, standard use of tPA for acute stroke excludes the concomitant use of heparin. We report a case of severe basilar artery thrombosis from a traumatic vertebral artery dissection, accompanied by seizure, successfully treated with both heparin and tPA.