Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The powerful placebo: from ancient priest to modern physician

A solution to get the problem off, have you found it? Really? What kind of solution do you resolve the problem? From what sources? Well, there are so many questions that we utter every day. No matter how you will get the solution, it will mean better. You can take the reference from some books. And the the powerful placebo from ancient priest to modern physician is one book that we really recommend you to read, to get more solutions in solving this problem.
The Mid-Infrared Properties of Starburst Galaxies from Spitzer-IRS Spectroscopy

We present 5-38 μm mid-infrared spectra at a spectral resolution of R ≈ 65-130 of a large sample of 22 starburst nuclei taken with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra show a vast range of starburst SEDs. The silicate absorption ranges from essentially no absorption to heavily obscured systems with an optical depth of τ9. 8 μm ~ 5. The spectral slopes can be used to discriminate between starburst and AGN powered sources. The monochromatic continuum fluxes at 15 and 30 μm enable a remarkably accurate estimate of the total infrared luminosity of the starburst. We find that the PAH equivalent width is independent of the total starburst luminosity LIR as both continuum and PAH feature scale proportionally. However, the luminosity of the 6.2 μm feature scales with LIR and can be used to approximate the total infrared luminosity of the starburst. Although our starburst sample covers about a factor of 10 difference in the [Ne III]/[Ne II] ratio, we found no systematic correlation between the radiation field hardness and the PAH equivalent width or the 7.7 μm/11.3 μm PAH ratio. These results are based on spatially integrated diagnostics over an entire starburst region, and local variations may be "averaged out. " It is presumably due to this effect that unresolved starburst nuclei with significantly different global properties appear spectrally as rather similar members of one class of objects.
Flavonoids as Important Molecules of Plant Interactions with the Environment

Flavonoids are small molecular secondary metabolites synthesized by plants with various biological activities. Due to their physical and biochemical properties, they are capable of participating in plants’ interactions with other organisms (microorganisms, animals and other plants) and their reactions to environmental stresses. The majority of their functions result from their strong antioxidative properties. Although an increasing number of studies focus on the application of flavonoids in medicine or the food industry, their relevance for the plants themselves also deserves extensive investigations. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the functions of flavonoids in the physiology of plants and their relations with the environment.
The role of radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis: from guidelines to real practice - a literature review

The epidemiologic features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis have been changing over the last decades as documented in field cohorts where the prevalence of elderly patients with severe comorbidities is progressively increasing. This may account, at least in clinical practice, for changing of treatment modalities for liver-confined HCC and for the worldwide increased popularity of percutaneous ablation which is undoubtedly more easily applied to weak patients. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the standard reference technique for percutaneous ablation and it is currently included among the curative therapies of early HCC in cirrhosis by international guidelines. In particular, for single HCC<2 cm, RFA should be the first choice therapy, being effective as surgery but less invasive and less expensive. For larger HCCs (not exceeding 4 cm), RFA competes with resection in terms of survival benefit even though the latter provides better local disease control and longer disease-free survival. For non-resectable HCC greater than 4 cm, a treatment combining RFA and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) can be performed to expand the ablated area. However, this approach needs to be standardized. Microwave (MWA) is a new ablative procedure potentially able to overcome some technical limits of RFA. The effectiveness of MWA is still under investigation even though preliminary results are encouraging. Emerging data from clinical practice outline the increasing role of ablative procedures for treatment of HCC in cirrhosis in the near future.
Quantitative detection of hepatitis C virus RNA with a solid‐phase signal amplification method: Definition of optimal conditions for specimen collection and clinical application in interferon‐treated patients

To determine the optimal conditions for preparation of serum specimens for quantitative hepatitis C virus RNA determination, patient samples were processed such that differences in time from clot formation to centrifugation, centrifugation to separation of serum and collection of serum until freezing could be independently assessed. The effects of multiple cycles of freezing and thawing were also determined. There was progressive and significant loss of hepatitis C virus RNA activity when the time from the formation of the clot until centrifugation was longer than 2 hr. This reduction reached 32% after 6 hr and 49% after 24 hr. If centrifugation was performed immediately after formation of the clot, loss of hepatitis C virus RNA activity was reduced to less than 10% even though the serum remained unseparated from the clot for up to 6 hr. Centrifugation of blood through a paraffin plug (serum separator tube) prevented loss of hepatitis C virus RNA activity for up to 24 hr. There was no loss of hepatitis C virus RNA activity with up to three freeze‐thaw cycles. When patient specimens were prepared under these optimal conditions, the sensitivity of the quantitative branched DNA signal amplification assay in patients with hepatitis C virus infection was 83% and the specificity in patients with liver disease was 100%. Fluctuations in hepatitis C virus RNA levels were shown to correlate with biochemical changes observed in patients treated with recombinant inter‐feron‐α2b. These data demonstrate that improper or inconsistent methods of serum preparation may result in falsely low and unreliable levels of hepatitis C virus RNA. Clinical applications of quantitative hepatitis C virus RNA assays will only be possible when sera are properly prepared. (HEPATOLOGY 1994;19:1337–1341.)
D2 Dopamine Receptors Colocalize Regulator of G-Protein Signaling 9-2 (RGS9-2) via the RGS9 DEP Domain, and RGS9 Knock-Out Mice Develop Dyskinesias Associated with Dopamine Pathways

Regulator of G-protein signaling 9-2 (RGS9-2), a member of the RGS family of Gα GTPase accelerating proteins, is expressed specifically in the striatum, which participates in antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia and in levodopa-induced dyskinesia. We report that RGS9 knock-out mice develop abnormal involuntary movements when inhibition of dopaminergic transmission is followed by activation of D2-like dopamine receptors (DRs). These abnormal movements resemble drug-induced dyskinesia more closely than other rodent models. Recordings from striatal neurons of these mice establish that activation of D2-like DRs abnormally inhibits glutamate-elicited currents. We show that RGS9-2, via its DEP domain (for Disheveled, EGL-10, Pleckstrin homology), colocalizes with D2DRs when coexpressed in mammalian cells. Recordings from oocytes coexpressing D2DR or the m2 muscarinic receptor and G-protein-gated inward rectifier potassium channels show that RGS9-2, via its DEP domain, preferentially accelerates the termination of D2DR signals. Thus, alterations in RGS9-2 may be a key factor in the pathway leading from D2DRs to the side effects associated with the treatment both of psychoses and Parkinson's disease.
Palabras mortales. ¿Rearme y carrera armamentista en América del Sur?

Ultimamente se han multiplicado los comentarios periodisticos y los analisis academicos acerca de un supuesto rearme o del inicio de una carrera armamentista en America del Sur, a partir de la adquisicion de equipamiento militar por parte de Chile y Venezuela. Pero un analisis sistematico y detallado desmiente estas hipotesis y permite comprobar que se trata en realidad de procesos de modernizacion militar con vistas a crear capacidad disuasiva, que no generan reacciones equivalentes del eventual pais adversario. El articulo argumenta que es necesario ser cuidadoso, pues los diagnosticos equivocados pueden generar las situaciones que justamente se quiere evitar.
Communicative genres as organising structures in online communities – of team players and storytellers

In this paper, we examine the question of how participants in online communities enact organising structures. We conduct an empirical study based on interpretative and quantitative data and analysis, and argue that communicative genres fulfil the role of intangible organising structures in online communities. These structures are important in the absence of more formal or tangible structures. Furthermore, we take into account participants' position in the social network and find that distinct participant clusters use communicative genres quite differently. In particular, we distinguish four participant clusters using distinct genre repertoires: team players, who make short, advising messages; storytellers, who post less but longer and very social messages; utility posters, who share knowledge but neglect social interaction; and all‐round talents, who engage in various actions and have average messages, without blinking out in any activity. With this research, we provide an analytical tool that allows practitioners to assess community activities, and inform and evaluate strategies for change toward improved outcomes.
Brief report: bilateral spreading cerebral hypoperfusion during spontaneous migraine headache.

Although decreases in regional cerebral blood flow are known to occur in relation to migraine headache, the pattern of the alterations in blood flow has not been precisely delineated. Olesen et al. have described a series of patients who had migraine headaches during serial cerebral blood-flow measurement by the intracarotid xenon-133 technique.1 They observed a pattern of localized decreases in flow that appeared to spread contiguously along the cerebral cortex. These observations were confirmed in subsequent studies,2,3 and with very few exceptions1,4 the pattern of “spreading oligemia” or “spreading hypoperfusion”5 has been apparent only in patients who have .
A directional Wnt/β-catenin-Sox2-proneural pathway regulates the transition from proliferation to differentiation in the Xenopus retina

Progenitor cells in the central nervous system must leave the cell cycle to become neurons and glia, but the signals that coordinate this transition remain largely unknown. We previously found that Wnt signaling, acting through Sox2, promotes neural competence in the Xenopus retina by activating proneural gene expression. We now report that Wnt and Sox2 inhibit neural differentiation through Notch activation. Independently of Sox2, Wnt stimulates retinal progenitor proliferation and this, when combined with the block on differentiation, maintains retinal progenitor fates. Feedback inhibition by Sox2 on Wnt signaling and by the proneural transcription factors on Sox2 mean that each element of the core pathway activates the next element and inhibits the previous one, providing a directional network that ensures retinal cells make the transition from progenitors to neurons and glia.
Mutations in PIGL in a patient with Mabry syndrome

Mabry syndrome, hyperphosphatasia mental retardation syndrome (HPMRS), is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by increased serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), severe developmental delay, intellectual disability, and seizures. Recent studies have revealed mutations in PIGV, PIGW, PIGO, PGAP2, and PGAP3 (genes that encode molecules of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)‐anchor biosynthesis pathway) in patients with HPMRS. We performed whole‐exome sequencing of a patient with severe intellectual disability, distinctive facial appearance, fragile nails, and persistent increased serum levels of ALP. The result revealed a compound heterozygote with a 13‐bp deletion in exon 1 (c.36_48del) and a two‐base deletion in exon 2 (c.254_255del) in phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor, class L (PIGL) that caused frameshifts resulting in premature terminations. The 13‐bp deletion was inherited from the father, and the two‐base deletion was inherited from the mother. Expressing c. 36_48del or c. 254_255del cDNA with an HA‐tag at the C‐ or N‐terminus in PIGL‐deficient CHO cells only partially restored the surface expression of GPI‐anchored proteins (GPI‐APs). Nonsynonymous changes or frameshift mutations in PIGL have been identified in patients with CHIME syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by colobomas, congenital heart defects, early onset migratory ichthyosiform dermatosis, intellectual disability, and ear abnormalities. Our patient did not have colobomas, congenital heart defects, or early onset migratory ichthyosiform dermatosis and hence was diagnosed with HPMRS, and not CHIME syndrome. These results suggest that frameshift mutations that result in premature termination in PIGL cause a phenotype that is consistent with HPMRS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Composite disturbance-observer-based control and terminal sliding mode control for non-linear systems with disturbances

A novel type of control scheme combining the disturbance-observer-based control (DOBC) with terminal sliding mode (TSM) control is proposed for a class of multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) continuous non-linear systems subject to disturbances. The disturbances are supposed to include two parts. One in the input channel is generated by an exogenous system with uncertainty, which can represent the harmonic signals with modelling perturbations. The other is supposed to have the bounded H 2 norm. The disturbance observers based on regional pole placement and D-stability theory are presented, which can be constructed separately from the controller design. By integrating DOBC with TSM control laws, the disturbances can be rejected and attenuated, simultaneously, and the desired dynamic performances can be guaranteed for non-linear systems in finite time with known and unknown non-linear dynamics, respectively. Two simulation examples for a flight control system and a hard disk drive actuator are given respectively to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes compared with the previous schemes.
THE ROLE OF CIRCULATING ANTIBODY IN THE REJECTION OF HOMOGRAFTS

Fetal lambs were grafted in utero with orthotopically placed split-thickness skin homografts. At the same time the lambs, being essentially agammaglobulinemic, were given large intravascular doses of rabbit anti-sheep γ- and β2M-globulins, the levels of which were maintained in the fetal circulation by an appropriate intracardiac booster injection halfway through the experiment. The presence of persisting levels of these rabbit antibodies in the fetal circulation had no detectable inhibitory effect on the course of homograft rejection by the fetus. It is concluded from these data that conventional circulating antibody does not play an obligatory role in the rejection of solid tissue homografts. It is further suggested that the antibody or antibody-like activity responsible for the specificity of immunologically active lymphoid cells resides not on the surface but rather within the cell.
The stability of the feedback negativity and its relationship with depression during childhood and adolescence

Abstract Feedback negativity (FN) is an event-related potential elicited by monetary reward and loss; it is thought to relate to reward-related neural activity and has been linked to depression in children and adults. In the current study, we examined the stability of FN, and its relationship with depression in adolescents, over 2 years in 45 8- to 13-year-old children. From Time 1 to Time 2, FN in response to monetary loss and in response to monetary gain showed moderate to strong reliability (rs = .64 and .67, respectively); these relationships remained significant even when accounting for related variables. FN also demonstrated high within-session reliability. Moreover, the relationship between a blunted FN and greater depression observed at Time 1 was reproduced at Time 2, and the magnitude of FN at Time 1 predicted depressive symptomatology at Time 2. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that FN and its relationship with depression remain consistent over the course of development, and that FN may prospectively predict later depressive symptomatology. The current results suggest that FN may be suitable as a biomarker of depressive symptoms during adolescence.
Effect of Vegetation Rehabilitation on Soil Carbon and Its Fractions in Mu Us Desert, Northwest China

Although vegetation rehabilitation on semi-arid and arid regions may enhance soil carbon sequestration, its effects on soil carbon fractions remain uncertain. We carried out a study after planting Artemisia ordosica (AO, 17 years), Astragalus mongolicum (AM, 5 years), and Salix psammophila (SP, 16 years) on shifting sand land (SL) in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China. We measured total soil carbon (TSC) and its components, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and soil organic carbon (SOC), as well as the light and heavy fractions within soil organic carbon (LF-SOC and HF-SOC), under the SL and shrublands at depths of 100 cm. TSC stock under SL was 27.6 Mg ha−1, and vegetation rehabilitation remarkably elevated it by 40.6 Mgha−1, 4.5 Mgha−1, and 14.1 Mgha−1 under AO, AM and SP land, respectively. Among the newly formed TSC under the three shrublands, SIC, LF-SOC and HF-SOC accounted for 75.0%, 10.7% and 13.1% for AO, respectively; they made up 37.0%, 50.7% and 10.6% for AM, respectively; they occupied 68.6%, 18.8% and 10.0% for SP, respectively. The accumulation rates of TSC within 0–100 cm reached 238.6 g m−2y−1, 89.9 g m−2y−1 and 87.9 g m−2y−1 under AO, AM and SP land, respectively. The present study proved that the accumulation of SIC considerably contributed to soil carbon sequestration, and vegetation rehabilitation on shifting sand land has a great potential for soil carbon sequestration.
Effect of Statins on the Mortality of Bacteremic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials

Background: Statins modify inflammatory cell signaling during the immune response to infection. This has been considered as a pleotropic effect. Effects of statins in inflammatory conditions such as bacteremia have been found to be controversial. Aims: We examined the effect of statins on the mortality of bacteremia patients. Material and Methods: Major databases were searched for the pertinent clinical trials. Results: Six cohort studies comprising 7553 patients were included. Hospital mortality was lower (15.36% vs 22.28%) in patients on statin. Conclusions: There may be a potential role of statins in similar inflammatory and infective conditions.
A Conceptual Model for Projecting Coccolithophorid Growth, Calcification and Photosynthetic Carbon Fixation Rates in Response to Global Ocean Change

Temperature, light and carbonate chemistry speciation all influence the growth, calcification and photosynthetic carbon fixation rates of coccolithophores to a similar degree. There have been multiple attempts to project the responses of coccolithophores to changes in carbonate chemistry, but the interaction with light and temperature remains elusive. Here we devise a simple conceptual model to derive a fit equation for coccolithophorid growth, photosynthetic carbon fixation and calcification rates in response to simultaneous changes in carbonate chemistry speciation, temperature and light conditions. The fit equation is able to account for up to 88% of the variability in measured metabolic rates. Equation projections indicate that temperature, light and carbonate chemistry speciation all have different modulating effects on both optimal growth conditions and the sensitivity of responses to extreme environmental conditions. Calculations suggest that a single extreme environmental condition (CO2, temperature, light) will reduce maximum rates regardless of how optimal the other environmental conditions may be. Thus, while the response of coccolithophores to ocean change depends on multiple variables, the one which is least optimal will have the most impact on overall rates. Finally, responses to ocean change are usually reported in terms of cellular rates. However, changes in cellular rates can be a poor predictor for assessing changes in production at the community level. We therefore introduce a new metric, the calcium carbonate production potential (CCPP), which combines the independent effects of changes in growth rate and cellular calcium carbonate content to assess how environmental changes will impact coccolith production. Direct comparison of CO2 impacts on cellular CaCO3 production rates and CCPP shows that while the former is still at 45% of its pre-industrial capacity at 1000 uatm, the latter is reduced to 10%.
Radiation of High-Gain Cavity-Backed Slot Antennas Through a Two-Layer Superstrate

The radiation of cavity-backed slot (CBS) antennas through a two-layer superstrate is studied in this paper. A novel transmission-line model is proposed to explain the gain-enhancement effect of the superstrate on cavity-backed slot antennas. Experimental result showed that a single cavity-backed slot antenna can achieve a high gain of 16.7 dBi through a properly designed superstrate, and this gain-enhancement property is valid for array configurations, as well. A rotationally arranged four-slot array, covered by the superstrate, is also investigated, to demonstrate that good circular polarization and high gain can be obtained from the superstrate-covered slot antennas.
A Multi-Scale Approach to Data-Driven Mass Migration Analysis

A system for scenario analysis and forecasting of mass migration is presented. The system consists of a family of multi-scale models to address the need of responding agencies for better situational awareness, short and medium-term forecasts of migration patterns, and assess impact of changes on the ground. Such insights allow for better planning and resource allocations to address migrant needs. The analytical framework consists of three separate models (a) a global push-pull model to estimate macro-patterns, (b) a time-series prediction model for estimating future boundary conditions of crisis regions, and (c) a detailed network flow model that models population diffusion within the crisis region and allows for scenario modeling. The paper presents the framework using the European refugee crisis as a case study. In addition, overall system design, practical considerations, end-user applications, and limitations of the modeling approach are discussed.
Nonlinear Modeling of Brain Motor Waves via Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

In this paper a model of the human cerebral motor area is built and validated. The experimental data are collected by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), i.e. by stimulating the brain motor area responsible of the left hand movements with a magnetic field, and measuring the evoked brain waves with a couple of electrodes implanted at C1-C2 vertebra levels. The model structure consists of a network of Izhikevich neurons, modeling both the motor cortex and the pyramidal tracts. Moreover, stimulus and measurement artifacts have been reconstructed and considered. The results achieved are fully satisfactory and confirm the suitability of the approach.