Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of preservatives and antiglaucoma treatments on the ocular surface of mice with dry eye.

PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that benzalkonium chloride (BAK) alters the ocular surface in normal and dry eye mice and that a BAK-free commercially available antiglaucoma treatment does not induce the same effects. METHODS Eight- to 12-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were used under normal environmental conditions and in a controlled environment chamber (CEC) which induces dry eye. Study and control groups included treatment with BAK, bimatoprost, BAK-free travoprost, and 0.9% NaCl and nontreated mice exposed and nonexposed to the CEC, respectively. Treatments were instilled 4 times a day in the right eye for 7 days. Aqueous tear production was measured by cotton thread test, corneal fluorescein staining (score 0-15), corneal thickness, goblet cell density, and CD45(+) cell expression in superior, inferior, and fornix conjunctiva by a masked observer. RESULTS After 7 days of treatment with BAK, mice showed significant increase of corneal staining, reduction of goblet cells, and increase of inflammation under normal and CEC conditions. The commercial preparations of bimatoprost containing BAK and travopost did not show the same effects. Travoprost showed a significant corneal thickening under CEC conditions compared to that in all other groups. CONCLUSIONS This study indicated that use of BAK has negative effects on the ocular surface under normal and dry eye conditions, even if the association with bimatoprost does not confirm the same results. A BAK-free travoprost preparation showed positive effects on tear secretion and corneal protection.
Wireless Surface Acoustic Wave Pressure and Temperature Sensor With Unique Identification Based on ${\rm LiNbO}_{3}$

Wireless sensor applications at elevated temperatures of around 200<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{\circ}{\rm C}$</tex> </formula> and above call for robust technologies such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor designs. A combined pressure/temperature sensor with identification has been developed based on <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${\rm LiNbO}_{3}$</tex></formula> substrate for condition monitoring applications in the baking industry. Due to the given temperature specification and to avoid adhesives, the design of the sensor was conceived as a classical beam arrangement supported by three balls. This paper presents an overview on the design process of the sensor beginning with the mechanical simulation of the sensor and the derivation of the SAW delay line to measure pressure, temperature, and to realize an ID functionality. The main result is a pressure sensitivity of 3.7 rad/bar with a temperature drift of 0.013 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${\rm rad}/^{\circ}{\rm C}$</tex></formula>. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor is also temperature dependent. This compound temperature drift can be compensated with the inherent temperature information of sensor.
Low-Level Motion Characteristics Do Not Account for Perceptions of Stream-Bounce Stimuli

The stream-bounce effect refers to a bistable motion stimulus that is interpreted as two targets either “streaming” past or “bouncing” off one another, and the manipulations that bias responses. Directional bias, according to Bertenthal et al., is an account of the effect proposing that low-level motion integration promotes streaming, and its disruption leads to bouncing, and it is sometimes cited either directly in a bottom-up fashion or indirectly under top-down control despite Sekuler and Sekuler finding evidence inconsistent with it. We tested two key aspects of the hypothesis: (a) comparable changes in speed should produce comparable disruptions and lead to similar effects; and (b) speed changes alone should disrupt integration without the need for additional more complex changes of motion. We found that target motion influences stream-bounce perception, but not as directional bias predicts. Our results support Sekuler and Sekuler and argue against the low-level motion signals driving perceptual outcomes in stream-bounce displays (directly or indirectly) and point to higher level inferential processes involving perceptual history and expectation. Directional bias as a mechanism should be abandoned and either another specific bottom-up process must be proposed and tested or consideration should be given to top-down factors alone driving the effect.
Double Jeopardy: Schizophrenia and Substance Use

Objective: Although the clinical reality of substance dependence and/or abuse among schizophrenia patients is widely acknowledged, the interaction of these diagnoses is not well understood. Perhaps the largest study documenting the comorbidity of substance abuse is the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, which found the rate to be 47% in schizophrenia patients 1. The present study examined substance use and compared the broad categories of substance users versus nonusers vis-à-vis schizophrenic symptomatology, hospitalizations, compliance, and demographic variables. We further examined the two subcategories of alcohol versus other substances of abuse (hereafter called “drugs”) to determine differences. Methods: Data were collected by the same person retrospectively from the charts of schizophrenia outpatients in a public inner city mental health center. Patients must have had at least 10 outpatient visits within a 2-year period for data to be used. Results: Data were compiled from 262 charts. Of the schizophrenia patients, 55% had a history of past or current substance use. Consistent with previous reports, substance-using schizophrenia patients were more likely to be younger and male than nonusers. Substance users had significantly more hospitalizations and more outpatient visits with positive symptoms. There was also a higher rate of missed appointments in the substance-using patients, and there was a correlation between missed appointments and hospitalizations. As for the differences in the two subcategories of alcohol versus drugs, drug users had notably more negative symptoms, except in those cases for which the alcohol user required treatment for alcoholism. Current drug use also correlated with higher tardive dyskinesia scores, higher incidence of cognitive deficiency, less education, and higher average neuroleptic dose than with nonuse or alcohol use. Conclusion:These results extend the previous findings to a large inner city group of subjects and to a population that is at high risk for relapse. Our findings further emphasize the impact of substance use on outcome in schizophrenia and the need for more research on the nature and treatment of the patient with a dual diagnosis.
The effects of aging and degree of association on the semantic priming of lexical decisions.

Adults completed a lexical decision task in which they saw two strings of letters on each trial and were asked to respond "yes" only if both strings were words. Later, participants were tested for incidental free recall and incidental forced-choice recognition of the words presented in the lexical decision task. These tasks were given to 20 young (mean age = 31.1 years) and 20 old (mean age = 69.5 years) non-student adults in Experiment 1, and to 20 young college students in Experiment 2. In both experiments, semantic priming occurred, i.e., lexical decisions were faster when the words within a pair were related than when they were not. For the college students in Experiment 2, but not for the non-students in Experiment 1, this effect was greater for high-dominance pairs (e.g., BIRD-ROBIN) than for low (e.g., BIRD-DUCK). Experiment 1 revealed no age differences in priming, but significant age differences favoring the young in both free recall and recognition. The results are interpreted in light of theories that distinquish between automatic and effortful activation of semantic memory.
Four new steroids from two octocorals

In search of analogues of isogosterones A-D (1-4), a group of antifouling 13,17-seco-steroids found in octocorals of the order Alcyonacea, we have isolated four new steroids possessing aromatic, enone, or dienone A-rings from two octocorals, Alcyonium gracillimum and Dendronephthya sp. These compounds, 3-methoxy-19-norpregna-1,3, 5(10),20-tetraene (5), 3-(4-O-acetyl-6-deoxy-beta-galactopyranosyloxy)-19-norpregna-1,3, 5(10),20-tetraene (6), 22,23-dihydroxycholesta-1,24-dien-3-one (7), and methyl 3-oxochola-4,22-dien-24-oate (8), showed no antifouling activity against barnacle (Balanus amphitrite) larvae, but lethality to barnacle larvae at a concentration of 100 &mgr;g/mL (LD(100)).
Protective immunity following vaccination: How is it defined?

Vaccination represents an important medical breakthrough pioneered by Edward Jenner over 200 years ago when he developed the world’s first vaccine against smallpox. To this day, vaccination remains the most effective means available for combating infectious disease. There are currently over 20 vaccines licensed for use within the US with many more vaccines in the R&D pipeline. Although vaccines must demonstrate clinical efficacy in order to receive FDA approval, the correlates of immunity vary remarkably between different vaccines and may be based primarily on animal studies, clinical evidence, or a combination of these sources of information. Correlates of protection are critical for measuring vaccine efficacy but researchers should know the history and limitations of these values. As vaccine technologies advance, the way in which we measure and define protective correlates may need to evolve as well. Here, we describe the correlates of protective immunity for vaccines against smallpox, tetanus, yellow fever, and measles and compare these to a more recently introduced vaccine against varicella zoster virus, wherein a strict correlate of immunity has yet to be fully defined.
Role of Radiotherapy for Local Control of Asymptomatic Adrenal Metastasis From Lung Cancer

Introduction: Several studies have reported improved survival after adrenalectomy in patients with adrenal metastases from lung cancer. In this study, we evaluated the clinical results of radiotherapy performed for local control in patients with this disease. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 19 patients with adrenal metastasis from lung cancer, who were treated by radiation therapy between 1999 and 2008. The patients included 18 men and 1 woman, and had a mean age of 63 years. Adrenal metastasis was defined as synchronous and metachronous in 11 and 8 patients, respectively. All tumors were asymptomatic with a median size of 30 mm, and were treated with doses of 30 to 60 Gy (median, 45 Gy) in 1 to 27 fractions (median, 10 fractions). Results: The estimated overall 1-, 2- and 5-year survival rates for all patients were 56%, 33%, and 22%, respectively. More favorable prognosis was observed for patients with a metachronous metastasis, with overall 1-, 2-, and 5- year survival rates following adrenal irradiation of 83%, 56%, and 56%, respectively. Conclusion: Our results indicate that radiotherapy may contribute to survival of patients with adrenal metastasis from lung cancer. We suggest that radiotherapy is a treatment option that can be used in addition to surgical resection.
Human fat tissue: A microwave communication channel

In this paper, we present an approach for communication through human body tissue in the R-band frequency range. This study examines the ranges of microwave frequencies suitable for intra-body communication. The human body tissues are characterized with respect to their transmission properties using simulation modeling and phantom measurements. The variations in signal coupling with respect to different tissue thicknesses are studied. The simulation and phantom measurement results show that electromagnetic communication in the fat layer is viable with attenuation of approximately 2 dB per 20 mm.
Is Pleasantness of Biscuits and Cakes Related to their Actual or to their Perceived Sugar and Fat Contents?

Perceptions of sugar, fat and moisture contents, as well as their influences on pleasantness were investigated in commercial foods. One-hundred-and-two-normal-weight men rated the "pleasantness", "flavour intensity", "moisture", "sweetness" and "fatness" of 39 different biscuits and cakes. Sugar content was accurately perceived up to a maximum content of about 33% weight/weight. The perception of fat content was less accurate and depended on both fat and sugar contents. High sugar contents seemed to decrease perception of fatness. Pleasantness was influenced mainly by sugar content and less by fat content. Pleasantness was better predicted by rated contents than by actual contents; it was even better predicted by the overall flavour intensity. Preferences for high fat stimuli did not appear to be based on conscious perception of their fat content. We conclude that the classical results obtained with simple experimental stimuli remain valid, as a first approximation, for commercial biscuits and cakes, despite their complex sensory characteristics.
Sustainability of Depression Care Improvements: Success of a Practice Change Improvement Collaborative

Background:Long-term sustainment of improvements in care continues to challenge primary care practices. During the 2 years after of our Improving Depression Care collaborative, we examined how well practices were sustaining their depression care improvements. Methods:Our study design used a qualitative interview follow-up of a modified learning collaborative intervention. We conducted telephone interviews with practice champions from 15 of the original 16 practices. Interviews were conducted during a 3-month period in 2008, and were recorded and professionally transcribed. Data on each of the depression care improvements and the change management strategy emphasized during the learning collaborative were summarized after review of the primary data and a consensus process to resolve differing interpretations. Results:During the period from 15 months to 3 years since our project began, depression screening or case finding was sustained in 14 of 15 practices. Thirteen practices sustained use of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire for depression monitoring, and one additional practice initiated it. Seven practices initiated self-management support and 2 of 3 practices sustained it. In contrast, tracking and case management proved difficult to sustain, with only 4 of 8 practices continuing this activity. Diffusion of use of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire to other clinicians in the practice was maintained in all but 3 practices and expanded in one practice. Six of the practices continued to use the change management strategy, including all 4 of the practices that sustained tracking. Conclusions:Practices demonstrated long-term sustained improvement in depression care with the exception of tracking and care management, which may be a more challenging innovation to sustain. We hypothesize that sustaining complex depression care innovations may require active management by the practice.
Extending virtual organizations to improve trust mechanisms

Virtual Organizations (VOs) are becoming an increasingly important research topic in the field of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). The problem of selecting suitable counterparts to interact with is of particular relevance for agents belonging to a VO. This issue has been extensively investigated, applying probability or cognitive approaches, but very few focus has been given to the use of internal organizational structures and the improvement they can provide. In this paper we analyze how organizational structures can support the agent selection process based an trust mechanisms. Furthermore, we present a way to extend VOs automatically (e.g., their role taxonomies) by detecting and identifying new roles. We show that such extensions lead to an improvement of the agents' decisions when employing trust mechanisms that take advantage of organizational structures.
123 Gbit/in2 Recording Areal Density on Barium Ferrite Tape

The recording performance of a prototype magnetic tape based on perpendicularly oriented barium ferrite particles is investigated using an enhanced field tape write head and a 90 nm wide giant-magnetoresistive reader. A linear density of 680 kbits/in with a postdetection byte-error rate (BER) <;3.2e-2 is demonstrated based on recorded data processed by a software read channel with noise-predictive maximum likelihood detection. With this detector error rate, a user BER of <;1e-20 can be achieved by means of product error correction coding and iterative decoding. Several advances in the area of track-following servo control are also presented. Specifically, we describe a new timing-based servo pattern, which in combination with an optimized servo channel enables the generation of position estimates with nanoscale resolution and a high update rate. Track-following experiments are performed using an experimental low-noise tape transport, a prototype high-bandwidth actuator, and a set of speed-optimized H-infinity-based track-following controllers. Combining these technologies, we demonstrate a position-error signal (PES) with a standard deviation of 5.9 nm or less over a tape speed range of 1.23-4.08 m/s. This magnitude of PES in combination with a 90 nm wide reader allows operation with 140 nm wide tracks. Combined with a linear density of 680 kbits/in, this leads to an equivalent areal density of 123 Gbits/in2.
3D electron fluid turbulence at nanoscales in dense plasmas

We have performed three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear fluid simulations of electron fluid turbulence at nanoscales in an unmagnetized warm dense plasma in which mode coupling between wave function and electrostatic (ES) potential associated with underlying electron plasma oscillations (EPOs) lead to nonlinear cascades in inertial range. While the wave function cascades towards smaller length scales, ES potential follows an inverse cascade. We find from our simulations that the quantum diffraction effect associated with a Bohm potential plays a critical role in determining the inertial range turbulent spectrum and the subsequent transport level exhibited by the 3D EPOs.
Ca2+‐activated myosin‐ATPases, creatine and adenylate kinases regulate mitochondrial function according to myofibre type in rabbit

Mitochondrial respiration rates and their regulation by ADP, AMP and creatine, were studied at different free Ca2+ concentrations (0.1 versus 0.4 μm) on permeabilized fibre bundles of rabbit skeletal muscles differing in their myosin heavy chain profiles. Four fibre bundle types were obtained: pure types I and IIx, and mixed types IIax (approximately 50% IIa and 50% IIx fibres) and IIb+ (60% IIb fibres, plus IIx and IIa). At rest, pure type I fibres displayed a much higher apparent Km for ADP (212 μm) than IIx fibres (8 μm). Within the IIax and IIb+ mixed fibre bundle types, two KADPm values were observed (70 μm and 5 μm). Comparison between pure IIx and mixed types indicates that the intermediate Km of 70 μm most probably corresponds to the mitochondrial affinity for ADP in IIa fibres, the lowest Km for ADP (5 μm) corresponding to IIx and IIb types. Activation of mitochondrial creatine and adenylate kinase reactions stimulated mitochondrial respiration only in type I and IIax fibre bundles, indicating an efficient coupling between both kinases and ADP rephosphorylation in type I and, likely, IIa fibres, since no effect was observed in pure IIx fibres. Following Ca2+‐induced activation of myosin‐ATPase, an increase in mitochondrial sensitivity to ADP of 45% and 250% was observed in type IIax and I bundles, respectively, an effect mostly prevented by addition of vanadate, an inhibitor of myosin‐ATPase. Ca2+‐induced activation of myosin‐ATPase also prevented the stimulation of respiration rates by creatine and AMP in I and IIax bundles. In addition to differential regulation of mitochondrial respiration and energy transfer systems at rest in I and IIa versus IIx and IIb muscle fibres, our results indicate a regulation of phosphotransfer systems by Ca2+ via the stimulation of myosin‐ATPases in type I and IIa fibres of rabbit muscles.
Ponatinib may overcome resistance of FLT3‐ITD harbouring additional point mutations, notably the previously refractory F691I mutation

Fms‐like tyrosine kinase (FLT3) mutations are the most frequent mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) that confer a poor prognosis. Constitutively active FLT3‐ITD (internal tandem duplications) mutations define a promising target for therapeutic approaches using small molecule inhibitors. However, several point mutations of the FLT3 tyrosine kinase domain (FLT3‐TKD) have been identified to mediate resistance towards FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (FLT3‐TKI), including secondary mutations of FLT3. We investigated the cellular effects of the recently characterised FLT3‐TKI ponatinib (AP24534) on murine myeloid cells transfected with FLT3‐ITD with or without additional point mutations of the FLT3‐TKD including the (so far) multi‐resistant F691I mutation. Ponatinib effectively induced apoptosis not only in the parental FLT3‐ITD cell line but also in all stably transfected subclones harbouring additional FLT3‐TKD point mutations (N676D, F691I or G697R). These observations correlated with a strong inhibition of FLT3‐ITD and its downstream targets STAT5, AKT and ERK1/2 upon ponatinib incubation, as determined by Western blotting. We conclude that ponatinib represents a promising FLT3‐TKI that should be further investigated in clinical trials. The targeted therapy of FLT3‐ITD‐positive AML with ponatinib might be associated with a lower frequency of secondary resistance caused by acquired FLT3‐TKD mutations.
Kaposi's Sarcoma Biology

Cancer remains a major burden for HIV‐infected individuals. The majority of cancers associated with HIV infection are driven by oncogenic viruses like Epstein‐Barr virus, Kaposi's sarcoma‐associated herpesvirus and human papillomavirus. Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumour of endothelium and is the most common malignancy in HIV infected individuals. AIDS‐related cancers are providing critical insight into cancer immunity and viral oncogenesis.
Patterns of recurrence following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy in 243 patients with stage I or II melanoma.

PURPOSE To determine the patterns of recurrence and causes of regional nodal basin failure in stage I or II melanoma patients who had a histologically negative sentinel lymph node (SLN) and whose regional nodal basins were not dissected following lymphatic mapping and SLN biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS The records of 344 patients with primary cutaneous melanoma who underwent lymphatic mapping and SLN biopsy between 1991 and 1995 at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center were reviewed. Of 322 patients who underwent successful lymphatic mapping procedures, 270 had histologically negative SLNs; mapped nodal basins were observed without further surgical intervention in 243 of these 270 patients. Recurrence patterns were analyzed from this cohort and a histologic reevaluation of all previously identified SLNs on which a biopsy had been taken was performed in patients who developed recurrent disease. RESULTS Of 243 patients with a histologically negative SLN, 27 (11%) developed local, in-transit, regional nodal, and/or distant metastases after a median follow-up time of 35 months. Ten patients (4.1%) developed a nodal recurrence in the previously mapped basin, either solely or as a component of the first site of recurrence. Detailed analysis of the SLNs in these 10 patients demonstrated evidence of occult metastases in 80% by serial sectioning or immunohistochemical staining. CONCLUSION Regional nodal failures in melanoma patients following a negative SLN biopsy are infrequent and to date have most commonly occurred because conventional histologic evaluation was unable to identify occult metastatic disease. These data provide further evidence that lymphatic mapping and SLN biopsy accurately reflect the status of the regional nodal basin. Specialized pathologic techniques are necessary to reduce further the already low false-negative rates and to improve disease staging.