Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are “Structural Abnormalities” on Magnetic Resonance Imaging a Contraindication to the Successful Conservative Treatment of Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain?

Study Design. Prospective study. Objective. To examine the association between structural abnormalities recorded on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and outcome after evidence-based conservative treatment in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP). Summary of Background Data. In most guidelines for the management of LBP, MRI is not recommended unless the diagnostic triage suggests serious spinal pathology or nerve root involvement for which surgical treatment is foreseen. This is because many structural changes seen on MRI appear to be as common in asymptomatic individuals as in people with LBP and are, therefore, considered of little value in either explaining the cause of pain or deciding the subsequent course of management. However, to our knowledge, no studies have assessed whether the presence of such MRI abnormalities influences the outcome of the conservative treatment that patients with chronic nonspecific LBP typically receive. Methods. T2-weighted, 4-mm spin-echo MRI sequences of the lumbar spine were obtained from 53 patients with chronic nonspecific LBP before a 3-month program of exercise therapy. Disc degeneration, disc bulging, high intensity zones, and endplate/bone marrow changes were assessed for each lumbar segment. Back pain (average and worst) and disability (Roland Morris score) were assessed before and after therapy, and 12 months later, and the improvements were examined in relation to the presence or absence of baseline MRI “abnormalities. ” Results. Eighty-nine percent of patients had severe disc degeneration (grade 4 or 5), 74% had disc bulging, 60% had high intensity zones, and 62% had endplate/bone marrow changes in at least 1 lumbar segment. Only 11% patients had none of these changes at any level. The MRI abnormalities showed only minimal association with baseline symptoms. In multivariate regression analyses, in which age, gender, and baseline symptoms were controlled for, only 1 significant association between the MRI variables and outcome was observed: the presence of a high intensity zone in any vertebral segment was associated with lower average pain at the 12-month follow-up (standardized &bgr; −0.376, P = 0.006, 16.5% variance accounted for). Conclusion. In the patient group examined, the presence of common “structural abnormalities” on MRI had no significant negative influence on the outcome after therapy.
Functional dissection of the three‐domain SepJ protein joining the cells in cyanobacterial trichomes

Heterocyst‐forming cyanobacteria grow as filaments of cells (trichomes) in which, under nitrogen limitation, two interdependent cell types, the vegetative cells performing oxygenic photosynthesis and the nitrogen‐fixing heterocysts, exchange metabolites and regulatory compounds. SepJ is a protein conspicuously located at the cell poles in the intercellular septa of the filaments that has three well‐defined domains: an N‐terminal coiled‐coil domain, a central linker and a C‐terminal permease domain. Mutants of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 carrying SepJ proteins with specific deletions showed that, whereas the linker domain is dispensable, the coiled‐coil domain is required for polar localization of SepJ, filament integrity, normal intercellular transfer of small fluorescent tracers and diazotrophy. An Anabaena strain carrying the SepJ protein from the filamentous, non‐heterocyst‐forming cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum, which lacks the linker domain, made long filaments in the presence of combined nitrogen but fragmented extensively under nitrogen deprivation and did not grow diazotrophically. In contrast, a chimera made of the Trichodesmium coiled‐coil domain and the Anabaena permease allowed heterocyst differentiation and diazotrophic growth. Thus, SepJ provides filamentous cyanobacteria with a cell–cell anchoring function, but the permease domain has evolved in heterocyst formers to provide intercellular molecular exchange functions required for diazotrophy.
Novel Inhibitors Complexed with Glutamate Dehydrogenase

Mammalian glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is a homohexameric enzyme that catalyzes the reversible oxidative deamination of l-glutamate to 2-oxoglutarate using NAD(P)+ as coenzyme. Unlike its counterparts from other animal kingdoms, mammalian GDH is regulated by a host of ligands. The recently discovered hyperinsulinism/hyperammonemia disorder showed that the loss of allosteric inhibition of GDH by GTP causes excessive secretion of insulin. Subsequent studies demonstrated that wild-type and hyperinsulinemia/hyperammonemia forms of GDH are inhibited by the green tea polyphenols, epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate. This was followed by high throughput studies that identified more stable inhibitors, including hexachlorophene, GW5074, and bithionol. Shown here are the structures of GDH complexed with these three compounds. Hexachlorophene forms a ring around the internal cavity in GDH through aromatic stacking interactions between the drug and GDH as well as between the drug molecules themselves. In contrast, GW5074 and bithionol both bind as pairs of stacked compounds at hexameric 2-fold axes between the dimers of subunits. The internal core of GDH contracts when the catalytic cleft closes during enzymatic turnover. None of the drugs cause conformational changes in the contact residues, but all bind to key interfaces involved in this contraction process. Therefore, it seems likely that the drugs inhibit enzymatic turnover by inhibiting this transition. Indeed, this expansion/contraction process may play a major role in the inter-subunit communication and allosteric regulation observed in GDH.
A monomeric intermediate in the reconstitution of potato apophosphorylase with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.

The process of reconstitution of potato apophosphorylase with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) has been investigated to elucidate the structure-function relationship in phosphorylase [EC 2.4. 1.1]. In time-course studies, the recovery of enzyme activity was found to be delayed, especially at low temperatures, compared with the binding of PLP to protein. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, an intermediary enzyme species was detected which bound PLP in the same binding mode as the native holoenzyme does, but which had neither enzyme activity nor affinity for the substrate amylopectin. The intermediate is monomeric and is converted to the active holoenzyme with concomitant dimerization. NaBH4-treatment of the monomeric intermediate produced the reduced monomeric enzyme, which could be converted into the reduced dimeric enzyme with considerable enzyme activity. The findings support the view of the catalytic activity of phosphorylase requires the dimeric structure of protein. As in the animal enzyme, the aldimine bond between the PLP and the epsilon-amino group of the lysyl residue is also not essential for enzyme activity in plant phosphorylase.
Effects of Pyriproxyfen on Female Reproduction in the Common Cutworm, Spodoptera litura (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The common cutworm, Spodoptera litura, is a rapidly reproducing pest of numerous agricultural ecosystems worldwide. The use of pesticides remains the primary means for controlling S. litura, despite their negative ecological impact and potential threat to human health. The use of exogenous hormone analogs may represent an alternative to insecticides. Juvenile hormones (JHs) play an important role in the reproductive systems of female insects, but the effects of pyriproxyfen, a JH analog, on reproduction in S. litura were poorly understood. In this paper, we topically treated the newly emerged females with 20, 60, or 100 μg of pyriproxyfen to determine its effects on reproduction. Then, we examined the expression of vitellogenin (Vg) and three hormone receptors, USP, HR3, and EcR, using quantitative reverse transcription and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and found that pyriproxyfen up-regulated the expression of Vg, USP, and HR3, whereas the expression of EcR was unaffected. An analysis of fecundity showed that the peak oviposition day, lifespan, and oviposition period were progressively shortened as the pyriproxyfen dosage increased. We also found that pyriproxyfen decreased egg laying amount, whereas the number of mature eggs that remained in the ovarioles of dead females increased as the pyriproxyfen dosage increased. We examined oocytes using transmission electron microscopy and found that treatment with 100 μg of pyriproxyfen increased the metabolism by increasing the amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in the primary oocytes. Our results suggest that the topical application of pyriproxyfen on newly emerged females can efficiently reduce reproduction in S. litura and may represent an alternative to the use of insecticides for controlling the agricultural pest.
Understanding and optimizing asynchronous low-precision stochastic gradient descent

Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) is one of the most popular numerical algorithms used in machine learning and other domains. Since this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, it is important to study techniques that can make it run fast on parallel hardware. In this paper, we provide the first analysis of a technique called BUCKWILD! that uses both asynchronous execution and low-precision computation. We introduce the DMGC model, the first conceptualization of the parameter space that exists when implementing low-precision SGD, and show that it provides a way to both classify these algorithms and model their performance. We leverage this insight to propose and analyze techniques to improve the speed of low-precision SGD. First, we propose software optimizations that can increase throughput on existing CPUs by up to 11×. Second, we propose architectural changes, including a new cache technique we call an obstinate cache, that increase throughput beyond the limits of current-generation hardware. We also implement and analyze low-precision SGD on the FPGA, which is a promising alternative to the CPU for future SGD systems.
Determinants of Inflation in Pakistan

This study investigates the determinants of inflation in Pakistan. The data used in this study were collected from the period of 1981 to 2010. Unit root test confirms the stationary of all variables at first difference. The multiple regression analysis technique is used to identify the significance of different factors. Results indicate that gross domestic production is having negative relationship with inflation, while exchange rate, interest rate, fiscal deficit and unemployment have positive relationship inflation. It is recommended that the policy makers should critically evaluate and analyze the exchange rate, remittances, gross domestic production and foreign direct investment on continuous basis to reduce the trade deficit. It is recommended that government spending should be controlled in order to control inflation. It involves increase in tax levels and reducing government spending. The government should reduce borrowing. The more the government borrows, the more money supply increases and hence inflation increases.
Effect of vasopressin and protein kinase C inhibitors on junctional conductance in isolated heart cell pairs.

The effect of vasopressin on junctional conductance (gj) in isolated heart cell pairs was investigated. The results indicated that vasopressin (60 nM) causes a decrease in gj of 53% (S.E. +/- 5) (n = 10) within 15 sec. of its administration to the bath. The effect of vasopressin was dose-dependent and was suppressed by staurosporine (50 microM)--a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C. Inhibitors of protein kinase C by themselves increased gj. The results indicate that protein kinase C plays an important role in the control of gj in heart muscle.
Fluid Distribution Pattern in Adult-Onset Congenital, Idiopathic, and Secondary Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus: Implications for Clinical Care

Objective In spite of growing evidence of idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a viewpoint about clinical care for idiopathic NPH is still controversial. A continuous divergence of viewpoints might be due to confusing classifications of idiopathic and adult-onset congenital NPH. To elucidate the classification of NPH, we propose that adult-onset congenital NPH should be explicitly distinguished from idiopathic and secondary NPH. Methods On the basis of conventional CT scan or MRI, idiopathic NPH was defined as narrow sulci at the high convexity in concurrent with enlargement of the ventricles, basal cistern and Sylvian fissure, whereas adult-onset congenital NPH was defined as huge ventricles without high-convexity tightness. We compared clinical characteristics and cerebrospinal fluid distribution among 85 patients diagnosed with idiopathic NPH, 17 patients with secondary NPH, and 7 patients with adult-onset congenital NPH. All patients underwent 3-T MRI examinations and tap-tests. The volumes of ventricles and subarachnoid spaces were measured using a 3D workstation based on T2-weighted 3D sequences. Results The mean intracranial volume for the patients with adult-onset congenital NPH was almost 100 mL larger than the volumes for patients with idiopathic and secondary NPH. Compared with the patients with idiopathic or secondary NPH, patients with adult-onset congenital NPH exhibited larger ventricles but normal sized subarachnoid spaces. The mean volume ratio of the high-convexity subarachnoid space was significantly less in idiopathic NPH than in adult-onset congenital NPH, whereas the mean volume ratio of the basal cistern and Sylvian fissure in idiopathic NPH was >2 times larger than that in adult-onset congenital NPH. The symptoms of gait disturbance, cognitive impairment, and urinary incontinence in patients with adult-onset congenital NPH tended to progress more slowly compared to their progress in patients with idiopathic NPH. Conclusion Cerebrospinal fluid distributions and disease progression were significantly different among the patients with adult-onset congenital NPH, idiopathic NPH and secondary NPH. This finding indicates that the pathogenesis of adult-onset congenital NPH may differ from those of idiopathic and secondary NPH. Therefore, adult-onset congenital NPH should be definitively distinguished from the categories of idiopathic and secondary NPH.
Monetary Transmission Mechanism in Sri Lanka: A Comprehensive Assessment with New Evidence

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the transmission of monetary policy in Sri Lanka starting from changes to central bank policy to the response of final target variables-output and prices. As such, the study provides estimates for interest rate pass-through and suggests that pass-through is yet to achieve the completeness except for prime lending rates. Based on the empirical estimates obtained employing both unrestricted and structural vector auto regressions, this study observes that monetary policy in Sri Lanka is quite effective to influence the target variables of the central bank. It also suggests that monetary policy changes affect target variables through different intermediate transmission channels such as bank credit, exchange rates as well as asset prices. These results provide important policy implications for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in the conduct of monetary policy and assessing its effectiveness.
Regenerative and non‐regenerative calcium transients in hamster eggs triggered by inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate.

1. Inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (InsP3) injected into unfertilized golden hamster eggs elicits a hyperpolarizing response (HR) that is due to stimulation of calcium‐activated potassium channels in the egg plasma membrane. 2. A single injection of InsP3 gave a single HR above a threshold value of 0.3 nM. At 5 nM and above, InsP3 induced HRs with no detectable latency. At concentrations between these two values a latency was observed. The amplitude of the HR was independent of InsP3 concentration. 3. A second HR could be elicited by injection of InsP3, but five times more InsP3 was required to trigger a second HR, and 10‐100 times more to give an HR of similar magnitude to the first, and there was no latency. 4. The increase in [Ca2+]i in response to an initial injection of 1 nM InsP3 could be resolved into two distinct components: a slow, early rise immediately after InsP3 injection (phase I) followed by a larger and more rapid increase (phase II). The initiation of an HR coincided with the second component of the [Ca2+]i increase. 5. Further injection of InsP3 resulted only in slow, smaller increases in [Ca2+]i that resembled phase I and often did not cause an HR. Phase II appeared to be absent. However, 100‐fold greater InsP3 concentrations gave slow, larger Ca2+ transients (and HRs) with no detectable latency. 6. If large amounts of InsP3 were allowed to leak into the eggs constantly from a pipette, repetitive calcium transients were seen. Unlike the sustained repetitive responses seen at fertilization, they were often smaller than the initial transient and less well sustained. However, a subsequent transient could still be elicited on injection of very large concentrations of InsP3. 7. InsP3 can induce regenerative, all‐or‐none [Ca2+]i increase (CICR) in hamster eggs, often with a long latency, as well as non‐regenerative increases. InsP3 injections desensitize CICR and cannot mimic all the features of Ca2+ signalling at fertilization in the hamster egg, in particular, the sensitization of CICR caused by the sperm.
Patient Perception , Preference and Participation Knowledge , satisfaction with information , decisional conflict and psychological morbidity amongst women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ ( DCIS ) §

Objective: To assess knowledge, satisfaction with information, decisional conflict and psychological morbidity amongst women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and to explore the factors associated with less knowledge and greater confusion about DCIS. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of women diagnosed with DCIS in Australia (N = 144). Results: This study found misunderstanding and confusion amongst women diagnosed with DCIS and a desire for more information about their breast disease. Approximately half of participants worried about their breast disease metastasizing; approximately half expressed high decisional conflict; 12% were anxious and 2% were depressed. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that worry about dying from the breast disease was significantly associated with not knowing that DCIS could not metastasize (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.03–14.25); and confusion about whether DCIS could metastasize was significantly associated with dissatisfaction with information (OR 12.5; 95% CI 3.8–40.2). Conclusion: Good communication about how DCIS differs from invasive breast cancer is essential to alleviating the confusion and worry amongst women with DCIS. Practice implications: Recommendations about how best to communicate a diagnosis of DCIS, including the uncertainties, are needed to guide health professionals to promote better understanding about DCIS and increase the well-being of women with DCIS. 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chronic Helicobacter pylori Infection Does Not Significantly Alter the Microbiota of the Murine Stomach

ABSTRACT We examined the impact of Helicobacter pylori infection on the murine gastric microbiota by culture and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism and found that neither acute nor chronic H. pylori infection substantially affected the gastric microbial composition. Interestingly, the total H. pylori burden detected by real-time PCR was significantly higher than that revealed by viable counts, suggesting that the antigenic load sustaining H. pylori-induced gastritis could be considerably higher than previously believed.
Mixture regression models for closed population capture–recapture data

In capture–recapture studies, the use of individual covariates has been recommended to get stable population estimates. However, some residual heterogeneity might still exist and ignoring such heterogeneity could lead to underestimating the population size (N). In this work, we explore two new models with capture probabilities depending on both covariates and unobserved random effects, to estimate the size of a population. Inference techniques including Horvitz–Thompson estimate and confidence intervals for the population size, are derived. The selection of a particular model is carried out using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). First, we extend the random effect model of Darroch et al. (1993, Journal of American Statistical Association 88, 1137–1148) to handle unit level covariates and discuss its limitations. The second approach is a generalization of the traditional zero‐truncated binomial model that includes a random effect to account for an unobserved heterogeneity. This approach provides useful tools for inference about N, since key quantities such as moments, likelihood functions and estimates of N and their standard errors have closed form expressions. Several models for the unobserved heterogeneity are available and the marginal capture probability is expressed using the Logit and the complementary Log–Log link functions. The sensitivity of the inference to the specification of a model is also investigated through simulations. A numerical example is presented. We compare the performance of the proposed estimator with that obtained under model Mh of Huggins (1989 Biometrika 76, 130–140).
Electrophysiological properties of neonatal rat motoneurones studied in vitro.

The electroresponsive properties of neonatal lumbar spinal motoneurones were studied using isolated, hemisected spinal cords from neonatal rats aged 3‐12 days. The extracellular and intracellular responses to electrical stimulation of the ventral and dorsal root were studied as well as the intracellular response to current injection. Field potentials recorded in the lateral motor area following electrical stimulation of lumbar ventral roots had a triphasic positive‐negative‐positive wave form. The negative component did not return to the base line smoothly but exhibited a 'shoulder' where the negativity increased in duration. Following electrical stimulation of the dorsal root, presynaptic field potentials were recorded upon activation of the afferent axons as well as following synaptic activation of interneurones and motoneurones. The input resistances of neonatal motoneurones determined from the slope of current‐voltage plots were high compared with the adult. The resistance decreased with age with a mean of 18.1 M omega for animals 3‐5 days old, 8.8 M omega for animals 6‐8 days old and 5.4 M omega for animals 9‐11 days old. Values for the membrane time constant were similar to those in the adult with a mean of 4.5 ms. Action potentials elicited by ventral or dorsal root stimulation or by intracellular current injection were marked by a pronounced after‐depolarization (a.d.p.) and an after‐hyperpolarization (a.h.p.). The amplitude of the a.h. p. varied with that of the a.d.p. The amplitude of excitatory post‐synaptic potentials (e.p.s.p.s) elicited by electrical stimulation of the dorsal root was affected by intracellular current injection. Two types of e.p.s.p.s were distinguished: those with a biphasic reversal (early phase first) and those in which the early phase was unaffected by inward current injection while the later phase was reversed. Unlike in the adult, the reversals could be achieved with low current levels and the amplitude of both types of e.p.s.p. was increased by inward current injection. Inhibitory post‐synaptic potentials (i.p.s.p.s) were elicited by dorsal or ventral root stimulation. The amplitude of these i.p.s.p.s was diminished and reversed in sign with inward current injection and their amplitude was enhanced with outward current injection. Activation of neonatal motoneurones with long current pulses revealed that there is one steady‐state firing range. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)