Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influencing Human Affective Responses to Dynamic Virtual Environments

Detecting and measuring emotional responses while interacting with virtual reality (VR), and assessing and interpreting their impacts on human engagement and “immersion,” are both academically and technologically challenging. While many researchers have, in the past, focused on the affective evaluation of passive environments, such as listening to music or the observation of videos and imagery, virtual realities and related interactive environments have been used in only a small number of research studies as a mean of presenting emotional stimuli. This article reports the first stage (focusing on participants' subjective responses) of a range of experimental investigations supporting the evaluation of emotional responses within a virtual environment, according to a three-dimensional (Valence, Arousal, and Dominance) model of affects, developed in the 1970s and 1980s. To populate this three-dimensional model with participants' emotional responses, an “affective VR,” capable of manipulating users' emotions, has been designed and subjectively evaluated. The VR takes the form of a dynamic “speedboat” simulation, elements (controllable VR parameters) of which were assessed and selected based on a 35-respondent online survey, coupled with the implementation of an affective power approximation algorithm. A further 68 participants took part in a series of trials, interacting with a number of VR variations, while subjectively rating their emotional responses. The experimental results provide an early level of confidence that this particular affective VR is capable of manipulating individuals' emotional experiences, through the control of its internal parameters. Moreover, the approximation technique proved to be fairly reliable in predicting users' potential emotional responses, in various affective VR settings, prior to actual experiences. Finally, the analysis suggested that the emotional response of the users, with different gender and gaming experiences, could vary, when presented with the same affective VR situation.
Thalidomide inhibits UVB‐induced mouse keratinocyte apoptosis by both TNF‐α‐dependent and TNF‐α‐independent pathways

Background: Thalidomide is an anti‐inflammatory pharmacologic agent that has been utilized as a therapy for a number of dermatologic diseases. Its anti‐inflammatory properties have been attributed to its ability to antagonize tumor necrosis factor‐alfa (TNF‐α) production by monocytes. However, its mechanism of action in the skin is not known.
Antioxidant Status of Bilirubin and Uric Acid in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis

Oxidative stress and changes in antioxidant status have been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and free radicals can cause considerable damage to the acetylcholine receptors. 388 individuals, including 97 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), 135 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 156 healthy controls, were assessed for serum levels of bilirubin and uric acid (UA), in order to determine the levels of these natural antioxidants in the serum. We found that serum UA levels in patients with MG were significantly lower (266.03 ± 93.09 µmol/l) compared with those of the healthy control group (338.87 ± 107.10 µmol/l, p = 0.001). However, there was no significant difference of serum UA levels between patients with MG and those with MS (p = 0.071). We also found that serum levels of total, direct and indirect bilirubin in patients with MG were significantly lower, compared with those in the healthy control group, whether male or female. From this study, we conclude that serum levels of bilirubin and UA are lower in MG patients.
Experimental Aminoglycoside Nephrotoxicity: Accomplishments and Future Potential

will verify or deny the results of the investigation. The characteristic features of experimental nephrotoxicity largely mimic the observations in humans. The importance of age, sex, dosages, concurrently administered drugs, and other important variables in animals require clinical confirmation. Based on available data, it is postulated that aminoglycoside antibiotics are largely filtered, then bind to the luminal membrane of the proximal tubular cell and subsequently undergo pinocytosis. The binding site may be acidic phospholipids. Intracellularly, the aminoglycosides are sequestered in lysosomes and may also interact with ribosomes, mitochondria, nucleic acids, and other intracellular constitutents. The relationship of calcium metabolism to the mechanism of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity appears to be an area of potentially fruitful study. The ultimate goal of research in experimental aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity is to acquire sufficient understanding of the mechanism(s) of toxicity to allow generation of measures to prevent toxicity. It is the purpose of this paper to review the current status of experimental aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity. The characteristic features of renal toxicity in animals due to aminoglycosides are discussed, and those variables that modulate the nephrotoxic injury are described. A summary of studies that compare the nephrotoxic potential of the various aminoglycosides is presented. Finally, the mechanism of renal injury due to aminoglycoside antibiotics is discussed in terms of current knowledge of both total nephron and proximal tubular-cell interaction with
Lead Exposure, Urinary delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Concentrations and Haematological Parameters of Road Sweepers Working in Congested Areas of Bangkok

Road sweepers are especially exposed to environmental pollution. This study investigates the lead exposure, urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid concentration (ALA) and haematological parameters of road sweepers working in traffic-congested areas of Bangkok. One hundred and ninety-four apparently healthy road sweepers aged 20-59 years were investigated. One hundred and thirty-nine staff from an academic institution served as controls. Both male and female road sweepers had slightly, but significantly, lower mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values. The white blood cell count (WBC) in female road sweepers was significantly higher compared with the female controls. The proportion of reticulocytes was higher in male and female road sweepers compared with the controls, while no difference was found in blood lead levels and ALA between male road sweepers and controls. Female road sweepers had slightly higher blood lead levels compared with the controls. ALA was no different between both groups of .
VARIACIONES ANATÓMICAS ENTRE EL NERVIO ISQUIÁTICO Y EL MÚSCULO PIRIFORME DURANTE EL PERÍODO FETAL HUMANO

El nervio isquiatico, ramo del plexo sacro, abandona la pelvis pasando, generalmente, por debajo del musculo piriforme. Este nervio puede presentar variaciones en su relacion con el musculo piriforme, entre ellas, las referidas a la division alta. Sin embargo, son pocos los trabajos que correlacionan esta division con variaciones anatomicas y su relacion con el musculo piriforme, en fetos humanos. Con el proposito de verificar una posible asociacion entre el trayecto y relaciones de ramos del nervio isquiatico, fueron disecadas 100 regiones gluteas de fetos humanos. Se encontraron 3 tipos de variaciones entre el nervio isquiatico y el musculo piriforme: en 8 casos (16,0 %) el nervio fibular comun paso a traves del musculo y el nervio tibial transcurrio por debajo de su margen inferior (Tipo I). En estos mismos casos se observo que 5 (62,5%) estaban a la izquierda y 3 a la derecha. En un caso (2,0 %), el nervio fibular comun hizo su trayecto por sobre el margen superior del musculo piriforme y el nervio tibial paso por debajo de su margen inferior (Tipo II). Fue observado en el Tipo III,que el nervio isquiatico perfora el musculo piriforme, no presentando ninguna division. El musculo piriforme mostro variaciones de fusion con el musculo gluteo mediano (lado derecho =2,0%) y con el musculo gemelo superior (lado derecho =24,0% e izquierdo =32,0%). Estos datos muestran que existe una equivalencia de variacion entre los trayectos y relaciones del nervio isquiatico con el musculo piriforme en fetos y adultos. Las variaciones en el musculo piriforme no estan asociadas con alteraciones funcionales en la biomecanica de la pelvis.
Varying Allergen Composition and Content Affects the in vivo Allergenic Activity of Commercial Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus Extracts

Background: Diagnosis and immunotherapy of house-dust mite (HDM) allergy is still based on natural allergen extracts. The aim of this study was to analyze commercially available Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extracts from different manufacturers regarding allergen composition and content and whether variations may affect their allergenic activity. Methods: Antibodies specific for several D. pteronyssinus allergens (Der p 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 21) were used to analyze extracts from 10 different manufacturers by immunoblotting. Sandwich ELISAs were used to quantify Der p 1 and Der p 2 in the extracts. Mite-allergic patients (n = 45) were skin-tested with the extracts and tested for immunoglobulin E (IgE) reactivity to a panel of 10 mite allergens (Der p 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 20 and 21) by dot blot. Results: Only Der p 1 and Der p 2 were detected in all extracts but their concentrations and ratios showed high variability (Der p 1: 6.0–40.8 µg ml–1; Der p 2: 1.7–45.0 µg ml–1). At least 1 out of 4 allergens (i.e. Der p 5, 7, 10 and 21) was not detected in 8 of the studied extracts. Mite-allergic subjects showed different IgE reactivity profiles to the individual mite allergens, the extracts showed different allergenic activity in skin-prick tests and false-negative results. Conclusions: Commercially available D. pteronyssinus extracts lack important allergens, show great variability regarding allergen composition and content and some gave false-negative diagnostic test results in certain patients.
Reproducibility of p53 Immunohistochemistry in Bladder Tumors

The National Cancer Institute Bladder Tumor Marker Network conducted a study to evaluate the reproducibility of immunohistochemistry for measuring p53 expression in bladder tumors. Fifty paraffin blocks (10 from each of the five network institutions) were chosen at random from among high-grade invasive primary bladder tumors. Two sections from each block were sent to each laboratory for staining and scoring, and then all sections were randomly redistributed among the laboratories for a second scoring. Intra- and interlaboratory reproducibility was assessed with regard to both staining and scoring. For overall assessments of p53 positivity, the results demonstrated that intralaboratory reproducibility was quite good. Concordance across the five participating laboratories was high for specimens exhibiting no or minimal nuclear immunostaining of tumor cells or high percentages of tumor cells with nuclear immunoreactivities. However, there was a reduced level of concordance on specimens with percentages of stained tumor cells in an intermediate range. The discordancies were due mainly to staining differences in one of the five laboratories and scoring differences in another laboratory. These results indicate that some caution must be used in comparing results across studies from different groups. Standardization of staining protocols and selection of a uniform threshold for binary interpretation of results may improve assay reproducibility between laboratories.
Influence of prosthesis type and retention mechanism on complications with fixed implant-supported prostheses: a systematic review applying multivariate analyses.

PURPOSE To identify the influence of fixed prosthesis type on biologic and technical complication rates in the context of screw versus cement retention. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis was conducted to determine which factors, when considered together, influence the complication and failure rates of fixed implant-supported prostheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS Electronic searches of MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were conducted. Selected inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to limit the search. Data were analyzed statistically with simple and multivariate random-effects Poisson regressions. RESULTS Seventy-three articles qualified for inclusion in the study. Screw-retained prostheses showed a tendency toward and significantly more technical complications than cemented prostheses with single crowns and fixed partial prostheses, respectively. Resin chipping and ceramic veneer chipping had high mean event rates, at 10.04 and 8.95 per 100 years, respectively, for full-arch screwed prostheses. For "all fixed prostheses" (prosthesis type not reported or not known), significantly fewer biologic and technical complications were seen with screw retention. Multivariate analysis revealed a significantly greater incidence of technical complications with cemented prostheses. Full-arch prostheses, cantilevered prostheses, and "all fixed prostheses" had significantly higher complication rates than single crowns. A significantly greater incidence of technical and biologic complications was seen with cemented prostheses. CONCLUSION Screw-retained fixed partial prostheses demonstrated a significantly higher rate of technical complications and screw-retained full-arch prostheses demonstrated a notably high rate of veneer chipping. When "all fixed prostheses" were considered, significantly higher rates of technical and biologic complications were seen for cement-retained prostheses. Multivariate Poisson regression analysis failed to show a significant difference between screw- and cement-retained prostheses with respect to the incidence of failure but demonstrated a higher rate of technical and biologic complications for cement-retained prostheses. The incidence of technical complications was more dependent upon prosthesis and retention type than prosthesis or abutment material.
Cytokine complex-expanded natural killer cells improve allogeneic lung transplant function via depletion of donor dendritic cells.

RATIONALE Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that target virus-infected and tumor cells. Much less is known about their ability to limit adaptive immune responses. OBJECTIVES Thus, we investigated to what extent NK cells can influence mouse lung allograft rejection. METHODS For this purpose, we employed an orthotopic lung transplantation model in mice. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We demonstrate here that NK cells infiltrate mouse lung allografts before T cells and thereby diminished allograft inflammation, and that NK-cell deficiency enhanced allograft rejection. In contrast, expansion of recipient NK cells through IL-15/IL-15Rα complex treatment resulted in decreased T-cell infiltration and alloreactive T-cell priming as well as improved function of the allogeneic lung transplant. Only perforin-competent, but not perforin-deficient, NK cells were able to transfer these beneficial effects into transplanted NK cell-deficient IL-15Rα(-/-) mice. These NK cells killed allogeneic dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro and significantly decreased the number of allogeneic DCs in transplanted lungs in vivo. Furthermore, DC-depleted lung allografts presented decreased signs of rejection. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that NK cells favor allograft acceptance by depleting donor-derived DCs, which otherwise would prime alloreactive T-cell responses. Thus, conditioning regimens that augment NK-cell reactivity should be clinically explored to prepare lung allograft recipients.
Galectin-3 Promotes Chronic Activation of K-Ras and Differentiation Block in Malignant Thyroid Carcinomas

Anaplastic thyroid carcinomas are deadly tumors that are highly invasive, particularly into the bones. Although oncogenic Ras can transform thyroid cells into a severely malignant phenotype, thyroid carcinomas do not usually harbor ras gene mutations. Therefore, it is not known whether chronically active Ras contributes to thyroid carcinoma cell proliferation, although galectin-3 (Gal-3), which is strongly expressed in thyroid carcinomas but not in benign tumors or normal glands, is known to act as a K-Ras chaperone that stabilizes and drives K-Ras.GTP nanoclustering and signal robustness. Here, we examined the possibility that thyroid carcinomas expressing high levels of Gal-3 exhibit chronically active K-Ras. Using cell lines representing three types of malignant thyroid tumors—papillary, follicular, and anaplastic—we investigated the possible correlation between Gal-3 expression and active Ras content, and then examined the therapeutic potential of the Ras inhibitor S-trans, trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid (FTS; Salirasib) for thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid carcinoma cells strongly expressing Gal-3 showed high levels of K-Ras.GTP expression, and K-Ras.GTP transmitted strong signals to extracellular signal-regulated kinase. FTS disrupted interactions between Gal-3 and K.Ras, strongly reduced K-Ras.GTP and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase expression, and enhanced the expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 as well as of the thyroid transcription factor 1, which is involved in thyroid cell differentiation. FTS also inhibited anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in nude mice. We conclude that wild-type K-Ras.GTP in association with Gal-3 contributes to thyroid carcinoma malignancy and that Ras inhibition might be a useful treatment strategy against these deadly tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(8); 2208–19. ©2010 AACR.
Respiratory reactions induced by food challenges in children with pulmonary disease

This manuscript reviews the current state of our knowledge with respect to respiratory symptoms which have been produced in children during accidental or deliberate food challenges. Although many patterns of respiratory reaction have been reported anecdotally only a few have been confirmed by controlled investigation. In the lung (as opposed to the upper respiratory system) the primary reaction has been asthma. This paper will present the results of the systematic evaluation of children with asthma and food allergy undertaken at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine over the last 18 years (1-3). In addition pertinent and comparable studies from other centers are reviewed. There is also a constellation of symptoms known as Heiner's syndrome which involves the lung and is strongly associated with cow's milk ingestion. This syndrome presents with pulmonary infiltrates, pulmonary hemosiderosis, anemia, recurrent pneumonia, and failure to thrive. The objective of the research at National Jewish has been to define the pattern of reproducible respiratory reactions which may be accurately attributable to ingested food. (Inhaled food substances may also produce hypersensitivity reactions.) Research in multiple centers has shown that while asthma may occur during food reactions, especially severe reactions, it is not a common symptom during symptomatic food challenges.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the subarctic red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus (Decapoda, Anomura)

We determined the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence of the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus (Decapoda, Anomura). P. camtschaticus is one of the largest arthropods and the most expensive commercially available gourmet seafood. The genome sequence of P. camtschaticus is 16,720 bp in size and its gene content, gene order, and transcriptional polarity are almost identical to those of the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus, which is thought to be derived from a common ancestor. However, P. camtschaticus mtDNA showed tRNA translocation in two blocks compared to that of P. longicarpus. Prior to this study, complete mt genomes of only two species of Anomura have been reported. Thus, our genomic data will provide additional information for constructing the decapod phylogeny.
Implementing behavioural medicine in physiotherapy treatment. Part I: Clinical trial

Abstract Objective: To investigate the capacity of the Pain Belief Screening Instrument (PBSI) to discriminate between subgroups for targeting of treatment, investigate effects of treatment tailored to patients' individual and functional goals, and identify a suitable treatment dosage for patients with low risk of disability. Explorative study, Part I. Design: Randomized, controlled clinical trial with four treatment conditions. Methods: Patients in primary healthcare (n=45) with musculoskeletal pain for ≥4 weeks were included. PBSI-identified subgroups were validated by comparing scores on four established instruments. Measures of disability and patients' ratings of global outcome were used to examine treatment effect. Results: PBSI data adequately defined patients with either high or low risk of disability. Patients in the tailored treatment rated global outcome as better than in the non-tailored treatment. No differences were found on disability measures. For the low-risk group, the brief tailored treatment was as effective as the non-targeted control treatment. Conclusion: The PBSI adequately defined subgroups. Tailored treatment was partially superior to physical exercise treatment. Targeting by treatment dosage was effective for low-risk patients but remains to be investigated for high-risk patients. Treatment integrity for tailored treatments was compromised and is to be further explored in the following study.
Incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis in a high-volume cataract surgicentre in Canada.

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of endophthalmitis at a high-volume, multisurgeon Canadian surgicentre and compare the endophthalmitis incidence, incision techniques, and prophylactic regimens with other published data in the worldwide literature. DESIGN Retrospective, consecutive case series. PARTICIPANTS Patients (13 931 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery at the Kensington Eye Institute, Toronto, Ont. , from January 9, 2006, to January 6, 2008. METHODS Cases of endophthalmitis were identified from surgeon quality assurance reports. Prophylactic regimens, incision techniques, organisms cultured, and visual outcomes were reviewed in each case. All surgeons were surveyed regarding their incision techniques and prophylactic regimens. RESULTS Endophthalmitis developed in 6 eyes (incidence 0.043%). No causative organism predominated, and only 1 patient had severe vision loss to less than counting fingers. More cases of endophthalmitis (4 of 6) occurred in patients not receiving fourth-generation fluoroquinolones, despite approximately 75% of surgeons using these drugs before and after surgery (odds ratio 6.3, relative risk 6.3). No intracameral antibiotics were used in any cases, and all incisions were clear corneal. CONCLUSIONS Our incidence of postoperative endopthalmitis after cataract surgery was 0.043%. Slight evidence of reduced endophthalmitis with the use of fourth-generation fluoroquinolones was noted. Our endophthalmitis incidence compares favourably with other published rates in the medical literature, and this rate was achieved without intracameral antibiotic use in a centre that uses exclusively topical anesthesia and clear corneal incisions.