Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Positron emission tomography study of regional cerebral blood flow and flow-metabolism coupling during general anaesthesia with xenon in humans.

BACKGROUND The effects of xenon on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) are controversial. Moreover, the precise sites of action at which xenon exerts its effects in the human brain remain to be established. METHODS rCBF was sequentially assessed by H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography in six volunteers. rCBF was determined at baseline and during general anaesthesia induced with propofol and maintained with one minimum alveolar concentration xenon. rCBF measurements were started after the calculated plasma concentration of propofol had decreased to subanaesthetic levels (<1.0 microg ml(-1)). Changes in rCBF were calculated for 13 cerebral volumes of interest by measurement of a semi-quantitative perfusion index (PI). In addition, voxel-wise changes in rCBF were analysed using statistical parametric mapping. RESULTS Xenon had only minor effects on PI in grey matter volumes of interest. In contrast, PI was increased in white matter [from 1.01 (0.11) to 1.24 (0.15) kcnt ml(-1) MBq(-1), P=0.05, mean (SD)]. Voxel-based analysis showed an increase of rCBF in white matter and a relative decrease of rCBF during xenon anaesthesia in distinct grey matter regions, particularly the orbito- and mesiofrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, hippocampus and bilateral cerebellum (P<0.05 corrected). When correlating PI with cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (previously obtained in another group of six volunteers using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose as tracer), the flow-metabolism coupling was preserved during xenon anaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS Xenon exerted distinct regional effects on CBF: relative decreases in several cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar areas were accompanied by an increase in white matter. Flow-metabolism coupling was not impaired during xenon anaesthesia.
Knowledge management, problem solving and performance in top Italian firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the link between knowledge management practices, problem-solving processes and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses survey data from 112 leading Italian companies. To test the structural relations of the research model, we used the partial least squares method. Findings Results show a strong relationship between knowledge management practices and intermediate activities of creative problem solving and problem-solving speed. In addition, creative problem solving has a direct impact on both organizational and financial performances, whereas problem-solving speed has a direct effect only on financial performance. Research limitations/implications The focus on top Italian firms limits the generalizability of results. Practical implications This study provides empirical evidence of the importance of knowledge management practices for problem-solving activities and firm performance. Originality/value The present paper fills an important gap in the extant literature by conceptualizing and empirically testing the relationship between knowledge management, problem-solving processes (creative problem solving and problem-solving speed) and firm performance. This study is the first ever to study these relationships within the Italian context.
Anthropometric Characteristics, Passive Hip Flexion, and Spinal Mobility in Relation to Back Pain in Athletes

Anthropometric characteristics, passive hip flexion, and spinal mobility were examined and back pain was registered in 116 top Swedish male athletes representing four different sports (wrestling, gymnastics, soccer, tennis). Differences in stature, body weight, passive hip flexion, mobility of the spine in forward flexion, and asymmetry of the back were found when each group of athletes was compared with the rest of the athletes. These differences could be explained by a natural selection of individuals with the physical constitution required for the sport concerned, but they may also be a long-term effect of training. A small sacral inclination, defined as the sacro-horizontal angle, correlated significantly with back pain.
Antecedents to E-File Adoption: The U.S. Perspective

One of congress' goals for 2007 was for 80% of all tax and informational returns to be filed electronically. However, to date that lofty goal has fallen well short. This research proposes a model of e-filing adoption that incorporates risk perceptions to explain intention to use e-filing systems. To test the model we administered a survey to over 250 participants. The results of a multiple regression analysis are consistent with our predictions; effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence, perceived risk, and optimism bias significantly influence intention to use. Implications of these results for practice and research are discussed.
Systemic Lipoplatin Infusion Results in Preferential Tumor Uptake in Human Studies

Lipoplatin, a liposomal formulation of cisplatin, was developed with almost negligible nephrotoxicity, ototox ic ity , and ne ur otoxicity as de monstrated in pre c linic al and Phase I hum an studies . A polye thy le ne-gly col c oating of the lipos ome nanopartic les is s uppos ed to r e sult in tumor acc um ulation of the drug by ex travas ation thr ough the alte re d tum or vas culatur e. We e xplor ed the hy pothe s is that intr av e nous infus ion of Lipoplatin r es ults in tumor tar geting in four indepe ndent patient c as es (one w ith hepatoce llular ade noc ar cinom a, tw o w ith gas tr ic cance r, and one with colon c anc er ) w ho unde r we nt Lipoplatin infusion follow ed by a pr es che dule d s ur ger y ~ 20h later . D ir ec t m easur em ent of platinum le ve ls in s pec im e ns fr om the ex c is ed tum or s and norm al tis sues show e d that total platinum le v els w er e on the ave r age 10-50 time s higher in m alignant tis s ue c ompar e d to the adjace nt norm al tis sue s pe cim ens; most effe c tive targe ting w as obse rv e d in colon c anc er w ith an acc umulation up to 200fold highe r in c olon tumor s com pare d to nor mal c olon tis sue. Of the s e ve ral s ur gic al spec ime ns , gas tric tum or s dis playe d the highe s t le v els of total platinum sugge sting Lipoplatin as a c andidate antic anc er agent for gastr ic tumors ; gas tric tum or s pe cim ens had up to 260 m icr ogr am s platinum /g tis s ue that w as highe r than any tiss ue le v el in anim als tre ate d at much highe r dos es . Fat tiss ue dis play e d a high acc um ulation of total platinum in sur gical s pe c im ens in thr ee diffe re nt patie nts c or re lating to the lipid caps ule of c is platin in its Lipoplatin for mulation. It was als o infer r ed that norm al tiss ue had m or e platinum tr apped in the tis sue but not r eacte d with mac romolec ule s whe re as tumor tis s ue dis playe d platinum that r e ac te d with c ellular macr omole c ules ; the data w er e c onsis te nt ____________________________________________________ Correspondence to: Dr Teni Boulikas, Ph.D., Regulon, A.E. , 7 Grigoriou Afxentiou, Alimos, Athens 17455, Greece; Tel: +30-2109858454; Tel/Fax: +30-210-9858453, e-mail: teni@regulon.org
Comparative analysis of Bacillus weihenstephanensis 1 KBAB 4 spores obtained at different temperatures 2 3 4

22 The impact of Bacillus weihenstephanensis KBAB4 sporulation temperature 23 history was assessed on spore heat resistance, germination and outgrowth capacity at a 24 temperature range from 7 to 30°C. Sporulation rate and efficiency decreased at low 25 temperature, as cells sporulated at 12, 20 and 30°C with approximately 99% 26 efficiency, whereas at 7°C and 10°C, a maximum 15% of sporulation was reached. 27 Spores formed at 30°C showed the highest wet heat resistance at 95°C, with spores 28 formed at 7 and 10°C displaying only survival of 15 min exposure at 70oC, indicating 29 their low level heat resistance. RT-PCR analysis revealed expression of sporulation 30 sigma factor sigG, and germinant receptor operons gerI, gerK, gerL, gerR, gerS, and 31 (plasmid-located) gerS2 to be activated in all sporulation conditions tested. 32 Subsequent germination assays revealed a combination of inosine and L-Alanine to be 33 very efficient, triggering over 99% of the spores to germinate, with spores obtained at 34 30°C showing the highest germination rates (99%). Notably, spores obtained at 12, 20 35 and 30°C, germinated at all tested temperatures, showing >70% spore germination 36 even at temperatures as low as 5°C. Less than 5% of spores obtained at 7 and 10°C 37 showed a germination response. Furthermore, spores produced at 12, 20 and 30°C 38 showed similar outgrowth effiency at these temperatures, indicating that low 39 temperature sporulation history does not improve low temperature outgrowth 40 performance. Insights obtained in sporulation and germination behaviour of B. 41 weihenstephanensis KBAB4, in combination with the availability of its genome 42 sequence, may contribute to our understanding of the behaviour of psychrotolerant 43 spoilage and pathogenic Bacilli. 44 45
Obstacles à la pratique de l’échographie par le médecin généraliste au cabinet : étude qualitative

La pratique de l’echographie en cabinet de medecine generale est peu repandue en France. Le but de cette etude etait d’identifier les obstacles a la pratique de l’echographie dans les cabinets de medecine generale et de comprendre pourquoi elle etait si peu pratiquee par les generalistes francais. Une enquete qualitative a ete realisee aupres d’un echantillon heterogene de generalistes de Savoie et de Haute-Savoie, pratiquant ou non l’echographie. Des entretiens individuels et collectifs ont ete realises apres constitution d’un guide d’entretien. Ils ont ete retranscrits puis codes a deux en respectant la regle de la triangulation. Le logiciel N’vivo a ete utilise pour le codage et le classement des donnees. Notre etude a conduit a identifier des obstacles qui portaient sur la difficulte a maitriser la technique de l’echographie, le manque d’experience de l’echographie en medecine generale, la place incertaine de l’echographie dans l’activite du medecin generaliste, des reticences liees a la sensibilite personnelle du medecin et le risque medico-legal. Un enseignement de connaissances elementaires en matiere d’echographie pendant les etudes medicales permettrait d’apporter une meilleure information aux futurs medecins generalistes et une certaine familiarisation avec cette technique d’imagerie, leur ouvrant ainsi la possibilite eventuelle de se l’approprier. La creation d’un diplome specifique pour les medecins generalistes pourrait etre discutee. Des etudes francaises devraient etre realisees dans l’avenir, afin de preciser l’interet et la place de l’echographie dans l’exercice de la medecine generale.
Autoradiographic detection of animal cell membrane mutants altered in phosphatidylcholine synthesis.

We have screened approximately 20,000 colonies of Chinese hamster ovary cells immobilized on filter paper [Esko, J.D. & Raetz, C.R. H. (1978) Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75, 1190-1193] for strains unable to incorporate [methyl-14C]-choline into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable phospholipid at 40 degrees C. Mutant 58, identified in this way, was specifically defective in choline incorporation, and other isolates were also blocked in thymidine and leucine incorporation into DNA and protein, respectively. Further analysis of mutant 58 revealed that the strain grew almost normally at 33 degrees C, the permissive temperature, but divided only once at 40 degrees C, the restrictive temperature. After a 20-hr incubation at 40 degrees C, the phosphatidyl-choline level dropped from 41% to 20% in the mutant whereas other phospholipids, including sphingomyelin, continued to accumulate. Wild-type cells contained approximately 50% phosphatidylcholine at both temperatures. Anion-exchange chromatography of the water-soluble choline metabolites extracted from mutant 58 revealed that phosphorylcholine accumulation increased from 6 nmol/mg of protein at 33 degrees C to 42 nmol/mg of protein at 40 degrees C whereas CDP-choline decreased from 0.42 nmol to less than 0.07 nmol per mg of protein. Phosphorylcholine also increased in wild-type cells shifted from 33 degrees C to 40 degrees C (from 1.8 nmol to 16 nmol per mg of protein), but the level of CDP-choline was not altered (from 0.52 nmol to 0.58 nmol per mg of protein). Enzymatic assays of extracts prepared from mutant and wild-type cells revealed a reduction of CTP: phosphorylcholine cytidylyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.15) activity (CDP-choline synthetase) in the mutant to 1/40th that in the wild type, and mixing experiments excluded the production of antagonists to CDP-choline synthesis in the mutant. Thus, the inability of the mutant to generate normal amounts of phosphatidylcholine in vivo was correlated with an enzymatic lesion in the biosynthesis of CDP-choline in vitro.
Intact Procedural Knowledge in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence from Golf Putting

ABSTRACT Can Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients efficiently learn to perform a complex motor skill when relying on procedural knowledge? To address this question, the authors compared the golf-putting performance of AD patients, older adults, and younger adults in 2 different learning situations: one that promotes high error rates (thus increasing the reliance on declarative knowledge) or one that promotes low error rates (thus increasing the reliance on procedural knowledge). Motor performance was poorer overall for AD patients and older adults relative to younger adults in the high-error condition but equivalent between similar groups in the low-error condition. Also, AD patients in the low-error condition had better performance at the final putting distance relative to those in the high-error condition. This performance facilitation for AD patients likely stems from intact procedural knowledge.
Predicting emotions induced by music using system identification theory

Modeling the emotional content of music is of great importance, since it is believed that music is capable of inducing different emotions. In this study we present an Autoregressive with Exogenous Input (ARX) model based on system identification theory for modeling the emotional content of music in a two dimensional emotion space and also a nonlinear Autoregressive with Exogenous Input (NARX) model to capture the nonlinear characteristics of the system. We also investigate the causal relationship between musical features and the induced emotions by removing the autoregressive terms from the developed model. Finally A brief discussion about the most important features is presented.
Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy of the Cardiac Titin N2B Element

The small heat shock protein αB-crystallin interacts with N2B-Us, a large unique sequence found in the N2B element of cardiac titin. Using single molecule force spectroscopy, we studied the effect of αB-crystallin on the N2B-Us and its flanking Ig-like domains. Ig domains from the proximal tandem Ig segment of titin were also studied. The effect of wild type αB-crystallin on the single molecule force-extension curve was determined as well as that of mutant αB-crystallins harboring the dilated cardiomyopathy missense mutation, R157H, or the desmin-related myopathy mutation, R120G. Results revealed that wild type αB-crystallin decreased the persistence length of the N2B-Us (from ∼0.7 to ∼0.2 nm) but did not alter its contour length. αB-crystallin also increased the unfolding force of the Ig domains that flank the N2B-Us (by 51 ± 3 piconewtons); the rate constant of unfolding at zero force was estimated to be ∼17-fold lower in the presence of αB-crystallin (1.4 × 10-4 s-1 versus 2.4 × 10-3 s-1). We also found that αB-crystallin increased the unfolding force of Ig domains from the proximal tandem Ig segment by 28 ± 6 piconewtons. The effects of αB-crystallin were attenuated by the R157H mutation (but were still significant) and were absent when using the R120G mutant. We conclude that αB-crystallin protects titin from damage by lowering the persistence length of the N2B-Us and reducing the Ig domain unfolding probability. Our finding that this effect is either attenuated (R157H) or lost (R120G) in disease causing αB-crystallin mutations suggests that the interaction between αB-crystallin and titin is important for normal heart function.
Inferior survival in liver transplant recipients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving donation after cardiac death liver allografts

The impact of ischemia/reperfusion injury in the setting of transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been thoroughly investigated. The present study examined data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients for all recipients of deceased donor liver transplants performed between January 1, 1995 and October 31, 2011. In a multivariate Cox analysis, significant predictors of patient survival included the following: HCC diagnosis (P < 0.01), donation after cardiac death (DCD) allograft (P < 0.001), hepatitis C virus‐positive status (P < 0.01), recipient age (P < 0.01), donor age (P < 0.001), Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease score (P < 0.001), recipient race, and an alpha‐fetoprotein level > 400 ng/mL at the time of transplantation. In order to test whether the decreased survival seen for HCC recipients of DCD grafts was more than would be expected because of the inferior nature of DCD grafts and the diagnosis of HCC, a DCD allograft/HCC diagnosis interaction term was created to look for potentiation of effect. In a multivariate analysis adjusted for all other covariates, this interaction term was statistically significant (P = 0.049) and confirmed that there was potentiation of inferior survival with the use of DCD allografts in recipients with HCC. In conclusion, patient survival and graft survival were inferior for HCC recipients of DCD allografts versus recipients of donation after brain death allografts. This potentiation of effect of inferior survival remained even after adjustments for the inherent inferiority observed in DCD allografts as well as other known risk factors. It is hypothesized that this difference could reflect an increased rate of recurrence of HCC. Liver Transpl 19:1214–1223, 2013. © 2013 AASLD.
Comparison of blood flow models and acquisitions for quantitative myocardial perfusion estimation from dynamic CT

Myocardial blood flow (MBF) can be estimated from dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) cardiac CT acquisitions, leading to quantitative assessment of regional perfusion. The need for low radiation dose and the lack of consensus on MBF estimation methods motivates this study to refine the selection of acquisition protocols and models for CT-derived MBF. DCE cardiac CT acquisitions were simulated for a range of flow states (MBF = 0.5, 1, 2, 3 ml (min g)−1, cardiac output = 3, 5, 8 L min−1). Patient kinetics were generated by a mathematical model of iodine exchange incorporating numerous physiological features including heterogenenous microvascular flow, permeability and capillary contrast gradients. CT acquisitions were simulated for multiple realizations of realistic x-ray flux levels. CT acquisitions that reduce radiation exposure were implemented by varying both temporal sampling (1, 2, and 3 s sampling intervals) and tube currents (140, 70, and 25 mAs). For all acquisitions, we compared three quantitative MBF estimation methods (two-compartment model, an axially-distributed model, and the adiabatic approximation to the tissue homogeneous model) and a qualitative slope-based method. In total, over 11 000 time attenuation curves were used to evaluate MBF estimation in multiple patient and imaging scenarios. After iodine-based beam hardening correction, the slope method consistently underestimated flow by on average 47.5% and the quantitative models provided estimates with less than 6.5% average bias and increasing variance with increasing dose reductions. The three quantitative models performed equally well, offering estimates with essentially identical root mean squared error (RMSE) for matched acquisitions. MBF estimates using the qualitative slope method were inferior in terms of bias and RMSE compared to the quantitative methods. MBF estimate error was equal at matched dose reductions for all quantitative methods and range of techniques evaluated. This suggests that there is no particular advantage between quantitative estimation methods nor to performing dose reduction via tube current reduction compared to temporal sampling reduction. These data are important for optimizing implementation of cardiac dynamic CT in clinical practice and in prospective CT MBF trials.
Looking in the Rear View Mirror When Conversing With Back Seat Drivers: The EXCITE Trial Revisited

The initial Point of View: Directions for Research (Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 2007;21:3-13) identified confounders that might limit the impact that rehabilitation multicenter clinical trials may have upon altering practice patterns. Part of that viewpoint addressed the Extremity Constraint Induced Therapy Evaluation (EXCITE) Trial and highlighted some of its perceived strengths and limitations. The present Point of View expands upon factors worthy of consideration in planning and executing clinical trials in neurorehabilitation based upon experiences encountered by the EXCITE team. Cost factors and patient attributes, both of which profoundly influence the ability of clinical researchers to execute the ideal study, are among these factors. In particular, the costs associated with large trials necessitate compromise in study design or implementation, resulting in a dichotomy between what should be undertaken and what can be accomplished.