Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changing separating distances between immune receptors as a sensitive mechanism regulating T-cell activation.

It is widely believed that T-cell activation typically requires T-cell receptor (TCR) to form clusters, a necessary prerequisite for activation of proximal signaling proteins. How close the receptor molecules should approach each other to trigger the signaling? Is this just receptor gathering or whether the clusters of the receptors have internal organizational infrastructure that can lead to variations in the proximal signaling?
Targeted mutagenesis of Lis 1 disrupts cortical development and LIS 1 homodimerization.

*Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel; †Instituto de Nuerociencias, Campus de San Juan, Alicante 30071, Spain; ‡Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey—Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854; §Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich 80804, Germany; ¶GSF-Research Center Clinical Neurogenetics, Institute for Mammalian Genetics, Munich 80804, Germany; and iDepartment of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020
The effect of beta-elemene on alpha-tubulin polymerization in human hepatoma HepG2 cells.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of beta-elemene injection on the growth and alpha-tubule of human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. METHODS Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The mRNA expression of alpha-tubulin was measured by RT-PCR. Western blot analysis was used to determine protein expression of alpha-tubulin and the polymerization of tubulin. RESULTS Beta-elemene injection inhibited HepG2 cells proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner; FCM analysis indicated beta-elemene injection induced cell cycle arrested at S phase. RT-PCR and western-blot analysis showed that beta-elemene injection down-regulated alpha-tublin at both mRNA and protein levels, presenting a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, beta-elemene injection reduced the polymerization of microtubules in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS Beta-elemene injection can inhibit the proliferation of hepatoma HepG2 cells and induce cell apoptosis, the mechanism might be partly related to the down-regulation of alpha-tubulin and inhibition of microtubular polymerization.
Are Age Differences in Verbal Learning Related to Interstimulus Interval and Education?

The present study investigated the effects of a narrow range of interstimulus intervals (ISI; 1, 2, or 3 s) on word-learning performance in relation to age and education. Individuals (N = 338) from four age groups (24 to 76 years) with low or high educational attainment were randomly assigned to one of three ISI conditions. Older age, lower education, and shorter ISI each led to lower performance. However, age differences in performance were not affected by ISI. Furthermore, lower educated individuals needed more time to achieve the same performance level as higher educated individuals.
EFFECT OF CONTINUOUS PASSIVE MOTION (MACHINE‐ASSISTED) EXERCISE AS AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF TRAINING ON PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILES OF WOMEN AGED 40‐‐65 YEARS

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of 16 weeks of continuous passive motion (CPM) or machine-assisted exercise as an alternative form of training on body composition, muscle strength, and flexibility in women aged 40–65 years. Thirty-one exercisers and 8 controls completed 16 weeks of training, with the exercisers averaging 3 sessions per week. Six toning tables targeted different muscle groups by moving the body and/or limbs while subjects attempted to resist the movements. Body composition was assessed by individual measures (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, hydrodensitometry, and bioelectric impedance) and a 4-compartment model, flexibility was assessed by a Leighton flexometer and the sit and reach procedure, and strength was measured by standard 1 repetition maximum procedures before training began, after 5 weeks of training, and after 16 weeks of training. When the 2 groups were compared after week 5 and week 16 of training, few significant (p < 0.05) group by trial differences were noted; however, these differences were minimal and represented little or no practical significance (very low effect sizes). In conclusion, CPM training did not appear to provide a sufficient stimulus to significantly alter measures of strength, flexibility, or body composition in women aged 40–65 years.
Cancer Treatment in Patients With HIV Infection and Non-AIDS-Defining Cancers: A Survey of US Oncologists.

PURPOSE HIV-infected individuals with non-AIDS-defining cancers are less likely to receive cancer treatment compared with uninfected individuals. We sought to identify provider-level factors influencing the delivery of oncology care to HIV-infected patients. METHODS A survey was mailed to 500 randomly selected US medical and radiation oncologists. The primary outcome was delivery of standard treatment, assessed by responses to three specialty-specific management questions. We used the χ(2) test to evaluate associations between delivery of standard treatment, provider demographics, and perceptions of HIV-infected individuals. Multivariable logistic regression identified associations using factor analysis to combine several correlated survey questions. RESULTS Our response rate was 60%; 69% of respondents felt that available cancer management guidelines were insufficient for the care of HIV-infected patients with cancer; 45% never or rarely discussed their cancer management plan with an HIV specialist; 20% and 15% of providers were not comfortable discussing cancer treatment adverse effects and prognosis with their HIV-infected patients with cancer, respectively; 79% indicated that they would provide standard cancer treatment to HIV-infected patients. In multivariable analysis, physicians comfortable discussing adverse effects and prognosis were more likely to provide standard cancer treatment (adjusted odds ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.07). Physicians with concerns about toxicity and efficacy of treatment were significantly less likely to provide standard cancer treatment (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.85). CONCLUSION Provider-level factors are associated with delivery of nonstandard cancer treatment to HIV-infected patients. Policy change, provider education, and multidisciplinary collaboration are needed to improve access to cancer treatment.
Effects of in ovo vaccination with herpes virus of turkeys against Mareks disease on chicken performance in the absence of a challenge with Marek's disease virus

This study tested the effects of in ovo vaccination with or without herpes virus of turkeys (HVT) on the performance of broiler chickens in the absence of a challenge with Marek’s Disease virus. It also investigated how the concentration of HVT, determined using real–time quantitative PCR, varied with vaccine dose and age of the bird. Female Cobb 500 broiler chickens (n = 320) were either not vaccinated, vaccinated in ovo on day 18 of embryonation with 4000 or 8000 pfu of HVT, or injected with diluent alone (sham– vaccination). Measurements were made of liveweight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and weights of breast muscle, small intestine, abdominal fat pad, liver, bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen. Administration of HVT in ovo at the highest dose reduced liveweight and feed intake relative to the sham–vaccinated treatment and had no major effects on feed conversion ratio or organ weight. The process of in ovo injection alone improved feed conversion at week 7. These results suggest that the process of in ovo injection is beneficial to performance in the absence of a challenge, but administration of HVT vaccine during in ovo vaccination neutralises this effect. The concentration of HVT recovered from spleen tissue of HVT–vaccinated birds increased over time, but the dose of vaccine had no effect.
Performance Comparison of Featured Neural Network Trained with Backpropagation and Delta Rule Techniques for Movie Rating Prediction in Multi-criteria Recommender Systems

Recommender systems are software tools that have been widely used to recommend valuable items to users. They have the capacity to support and enhance the quality of decisions people make when nding and selecting items online. Such systems work based on which techniques are used to estimate users' preferences on potentially new items that might useful to them. Traditionally, the most common techniques used by many existing recommendation systems are collaborative ltering, content-based, knowledge-based and hybrid-based which combines two or more techniques in different ways. The multi-criteria recommendation technique is a new technique used to recommend items to users based on ratings given to multiple attributes of items. This technique has been used and proven by researchers in industries and academic institutions to provide more accurate predictions than traditional techniques. What is still not yet clear is the role of some machine learning algorithms such as the articial neural network to improve its prediction accuracy. This paper proposed using a feedforward neural network to model user preferences in multi-criteria recommender systems. The operational results of experiments for training and testing the network using two training algorithms and Yahoo! Movie dataset are also presented.
The effect of enforcing tobacco-sales laws on adolescents' access to tobacco and smoking behavior.

BACKGROUND Enforcing laws banning tobacco sales to minors is widely advocated as a way to reduce young people's access to tobacco and tobacco use. Whether this approach is successful is not known. METHODS In a two-year controlled study, we assessed sales of tobacco to minors and young people's access to and use of tobacco in six Massachusetts communities. Three communities (the intervention group) enforced tobacco-sales laws, whereas three matched communities (the control group) did not. To assess compliance with the law, minors working for the study investigators attempted to purchase tobacco from all retail vendors in each community every six months. Three annual anonymous surveys of a total of 22,021 students in grades 9 through 12 (response rate, 84 percent) measured access to tobacco and smoking behavior. RESULTS At base line, 68 percent of 487 vendors sold tobacco to minors. Compliance with the law improved significantly faster in the intervention communities than in the controls (P<0.001). By the study's end, 82 percent of the merchants in the intervention communities complied with the law, as compared with 45 percent in the control communities (P<0.001). However, adolescents under 18 years old reported only a small drop in their ability to purchase tobacco and no decline in its use. Communities with and those without enforcement programs did not differ with respect to these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Enforcing tobacco-sales laws improved merchants' compliance and reduced illegal sales to minors but did not alter adolescents' perceived access to tobacco or their smoking. Test purchases of tobacco do not accurately reflect adolescents' self-reported access to tobacco, and reducing illegal sales to less than 20 percent of attempts -- the goal of a new federal law-- may not decrease young people's access to or use of tobacco.
Nurses’ perceptions and practice of physical restraint in China

Background: There is controversy concerning the use of physical restraint. Despite this controversy, some nurses still consider the application of physical restraint unavoidable for some of their clients. Aim: Identify the perceptions and practice of physical restraint in China. Research design: This was a descriptive study that combined qualitative interviews with a quantitative cross-sectional survey. Participants: A total of 18 nurses were interviewed and 330 nurses were surveyed. Ethical considerations: Approval of the study was obtained from the hospital ethics committee. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the director of nursing. Participants were assured that their participation is voluntary. Results: Physical restraint was commonly used to protect patients’ safety. Naturally, intensive care unit nurses used physical restraint much more frequently than general medical/surgical ward nurses (p < 0.01). In addition, night shift nurses tended to use physical restraint more frequently. Conclusion: Nursing managers should be aware of the role nurses play in the use of physical restraint. In-service training regarding the proper use of physical restraint should be strengthened and nurse staffing levels should be improved in order to minimize the use of physical restraint in China.
"Memory of the future": an essay on the temporal organization of conscious awareness.

The classical tripartite concept of time divided into past/present/future components, has been applied to the analysis of the functional cerebral substrate of conscious awareness. Attempts have been made to localize and to separate the neuronal machineries which are responsible for the experience of a past, a present, and a future. One's experience of a past is obviously related to one's memories. Memory mechanisms (in the conventional sense) have a well known functional relation to superficial and deep parts of the temporal lobe. Some such mechanisms presumably have a more widespread distribution. The experience of a present or a "Now-situation" is mediated by the sensory input. This input also exerts a role for conscious awareness of an inner Now-situation, independent of current afferent impulses, as shown by numerous observations on sensory deprivation. The main discussion is devoted to the experience of a future. Evidence is summarized that the frontal/prefrontal cortex handles the temporal organization of behaviour and cognition, and that the same structures house the action programs or plans for future behaviour and cognition. As these programs can be retained and recalled, they might be termed "memories of the future". It is suggested that they form the basis for anticipation and expectation as well as for the short and long-term planning of a goal-directed behavioural and cognitive repertoire. This repertoire for future use is based upon experiences of past events and the awareness of a Now-situation, and it is continuously rehearsed and optimized. Lesions or dysfunctions of the frontal/prefrontal cortex give rise to states characterized by a "loss of future", with consequent indifference, inactivity, lack of ambition, and inability to foresee the consequences of one's future behaviour. It is concluded that the prefrontal cortex is responsible for the temporal organization of behaviour and cognition due to its seemingly specific capacity to handle serial information and to extract causal relations from such information. Possibly the serial action programs which are stored in the prefrontal cortex are also used by the brain as templates for extracting meaningful (serial) information from the enormous, mainly non-serial, random, sensory noise to which the brain is constantly exposed. Without a "memory of the future" such an extraction cannot take place.
Determinants and Patterns of Survival in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Head and Neck, Including an Analysis of Adjuvant Radiation Therapy

Objectives: The effect of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) on survival in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is much debated. Studies with large numbers of patients and long follow-up are lacking in the literature. Methods: We identified 2286 single-primary ACCs of the head and neck treated with surgery in the National Cancer Institute's surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database. The determinants of survival, including the effect of adjuvant RT, were analyzed with a Cox Proportional Hazards Model. Results: The overall 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-year survival rates for patients receiving surgical resection were 77.3%, 59.6%, 44.9%, 35.0%, 25.5%, respectively. In the interval between 10 and 30 years after diagnosis, 111 patients died of ACC, and 137 died of all competing causes combined. Increasing stage caused a decrease in survival that was proportional over time. On multivariable analysis, distant metastasis, lymph node involvement, higher T classification, increasing age, and submandibular gland, or sinus/nasal cavity subsites were each independently associated with decreased overall and cause-specific survival. Adjuvant RT failed to improve overall or cause-specific survival. Conclusions: Cause-specific survival continues to decline up to 30 years after diagnosis in ACC of the head and neck. In the interval between 10 and 30 years after diagnosis, patients are nearly as likely to die of ACC as from all competing causes combined. Certain clinicopathological factors are associated with decreased survival. There is no evidence of increased survival in patients receiving adjuvant RT.
Effect of Mechanical Ventilation on Cytokine Response to Intratracheal Lipopolysaccharide

Background:Mechanical ventilation may cause lung injury through the excitation of an inflammatory response and the release of mediators, such as cytokines. The authors tested the hypothesis that intratracheal lipopolysaccharide amplifies the cytokine response to mechanical ventilation. Methods:Rat lungs were intratracheally instilled with lipopolysaccharide followed by ex vivo mechanical ventilation for 2 h with low tidal volume of 7 ml/kg with 3 cm H2O positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), high tidal volume of 40 ml/kg with zero PEEP, medium tidal volume of 15 ml/kg with 3 cm H2O PEEP, or medium tidal volume and zero PEEP. Results:In the absence of lipopolysaccharide, lung lavage concentrations of tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1&bgr; but not macrophage inflammatory protein 2 were significantly higher in lungs ventilated at high tidal volume/zero PEEP than at low tidal volume. There was a marked increase in lavage tumor necrosis factor and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 concentrations in lungs ventilated at low tidal volume after exposure to intratracheal lipopolysaccharide at doses of 100 ng/ml or greater. However, in lungs ventilated at high tidal volume, this response to lipopolysaccharide was markedly reduced. In addition, the number of alveolar macrophages recovered in the lavage was significantly lower in lungs ventilated at high tidal volume. Conclusion:Ventilation strategy can modify lung cytokine responses to lipopolysaccharide, likely through an effect on the alveolar macrophage population.
Management of Steroid-Resistant Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis in Children Using Tacrolimus

Background: The use of tacrolimus in steroid-resistant (SR) focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has been reported in single and small series case reports. Aim: To determine the efficacy of tacrolimus in the management of SR FSGS in children. Study Design: This was a prospective study of 20 children with SR FSGS treated with tacrolimus (0.2–0.4 mg/kg/day in two divided doses over 12 h adjusted to a trough level between 7 and 15 ng/ml) for 12 months in combination with low-dose steroids. Other therapies included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, folic acid, multivitamins and lipid-lowering agents. Results: The mean age at study entry was 11.1 years (range 5.6–16.8). The mean duration of nephrotic syndrome before initiation of tacrolimus therapy was 4.7 years (range 2.1–7.6). At the end of the treatment period, 8 (40%) children were in complete remission, 9 (45%) were in partial remission, and 3 (15%) failed to respond. The average follow-up period following cessation of tacrolimus treatment was 27.5 months (range 13.7–43.7). At last hospital follow-up, 5 (25%) children were in complete remission, 10 (50%) in partial remission, and 2 (10%) in relapse. Three children died from dialysis-related complications following cessation of tacrolimus treatment. Adverse events included sepsis (2), nausea (2), diarrhea (2), anemia (4) and worsening of hypertension (4). Conclusion: Tacrolimus is a safe and effective treatment for SR FSGS. However, like cyclosporine, some children tend to relapse following cessation of treatment.
Afferent–target interactions during olivocerebellar development: transcommissural reinnervation indicates interdependence of Purkinje cell maturation and climbing fibre synapse elimination

We have used a model of postlesional reinnervation to observe the interactions between synaptic partners during neosynaptogenesis to determine how the developmental states of the pre‐ and postsynaptic cells influence circuit maturation. After unilateral transection of the neonatal rat olivocerebellar pathway (pedunculotomy), axons from the remaining ipsilateral inferior olive grow into the denervated hemicerebellum and develop climbing fibre (CF) terminal arbors on Purkinje cells (PCs) at a later stage of development than normal. However, the significance of delayed CF‐PC interactions on subsequent circuit maturation remains poorly defined. To examine this question, we recorded CF‐induced currents in PCs and analysed PC morphology during the first two postnatal weeks in control animals and following left unilateral inferior cerebellar pedunculotomy on postnatal day (P)3. Our results show that transcommissural olivary axons multiply‐reinnervate PCs in the denervated hemisphere over 4 days following pedunculotomy. Each PC received fewer CFs than did age‐matched controls and the maximal multi‐reinnervation was reached on P7, 2 days later than in controls. Consequently, the onset of CF synapse elimination in reinnervated PCs was delayed, but then proceeded in parallel with controls so that all PCs were monoinnervated by P15. Furthermore, reinnervated PCs had delayed dendritic maturation and subsequent dendritic abnormalities consistent with the role of CF innervation in PC dendritic growth. Thus, within the olivocerebellar system, our data suggest that target neurons depend upon sufficient afferent investment arriving at the correct time for their normal development, and maturation of the target neuron regulates afferent selection and therefore circuit maturation.
Routine use of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for identification of mycobacteria growing in liquid media

A PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) procedure capable of rapidly identifying 28 species of clinically encountered mycobacteria was evaluated for use in the routine identification of acid-fast isolates growing in BACTEC 12B and 13A liquid media. PCR-RFLP identified 100 of 103 acid-fast isolates recovered from 610 patient specimens submitted for culture during the study. The three isolates unidentifiable by PCR-RFLP produced restriction patterns not included in the PCR-RFLP algorithm and could therefore not be assigned to a species. These isolates were characterized by their morphologic and biochemical characteristics. Two of the isolates were identified as M. terrae complex and M. gordonae. The third isolate could not be definitively identified and could only be characterized as a Mycobacterium sp. most closely resembling M. chelonae. PCR-RFLP identifications agreed with the conventional identifications for 96 of the 100 isolates identified by PCR-RFLP. Subsequent identification of the four discordant isolates by gas chromatography analysis supported the PCR-RFLP identification of each isolate. Amplification products were also obtained from isolates of Streptococcus albus and Rhodococcus equi recovered from patient specimens; however, the restriction patterns of these nonmycobacterial species did not resemble the patterns of any mycobacterial species included in the PCR-RFLP algorithm. PCR-RFLP seems to be a reliable procedure for the routine identification of mycobacteria and has the potential for providing identifications of mycobacterial isolates which are more accurate than conventional identification techniques based on morphologic and biochemical characteristics.