Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity of low-dose radiation therapy.

PURPOSE To investigate the hypothesis that modulation of the function of activated macrophages is one of the mechanisms of the clinically observed anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy of low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of a variety of painful joint diseases with total doses between 1 and 6 Gy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Metabolic activity, cell proliferation, reproductive integrity, nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression by unstimulated or [LPS/gamma-IFN-stimulated macrophages in vitro was investigated at different times after radiation doses ranging from 0.3 Gy to 10 Gy. In vivo, chronic granulomatous air pouches were induced in mice and either sham treated or irradiated with 2 Gy on day 2 or day 6, or with five daily doses of 0.5 Gy. On day 7, the iNOS expression was assessed by Western blot and localized by immuno-histochemistry in cryostat sections. RESULTS In stimulated macrophages, metabolic activity, proliferation and reproductive integrity were not affected by radiation doses up to 10 Gy since they are apparently irreversible post-mitotic cells. However, a dose-dependent modulation of the NO pathway was observed with significant inhibition by the low radiation doses used in anti-inflammatory radiotherapy but with super-stimulation by the high radiation doses used in cancer therapy. CONCLUSIONS The empirically based anti-inflammatory radiotherapy of benign diseases appears to act through specific modulation of different pathways of inflammatory reactions such as the nitric oxide pathway in stimulated macrophages.
The Effects of Local and Intravenous Anesthetics on Recombinant Rat VR1 Vanilloid Receptors

Capsaicin, acting at the vanilloid 1 receptor (VR1), may potentiate local anesthetic activity, and as a ligand-gated ion channel of the transient receptor potential family, may also be a target for IV general anesthetics. We have examined whether local (lidocaine, prilocaine, and procaine 0.1–10 mM; 10 mM represents 0.25%–0.27% wt/vol) or IV anesthetics (propofol 10 &mgr;M, thiopental 100 &mgr;M, and ketamine 100 &mgr;M) interact with recombinant rat VR1 expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells (VR1-HEK293). We have assessed receptor interaction functionally by monitoring intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in Fura2-loaded cells at 37°C. The addition of capsaicin (60 nM) produced a time-dependent biphasic increase in [Ca2+]i amounting to 50–100 nM above than basal, which was inhibited by capsazepine 10 &mgr;M and was absent in wild type HEK293 cells. Lidocaine and prilocaine alone (e.g., at 10 mM) significantly increased [Ca2+]i by 67 ± 6 nM and 33 ± 7 nM, respectively, and concentration-dependently inhibited the capsaicin response. The effects of procaine were obscured by anesthetic-induced quenching of Fura2. In wild type HEK293 cells, lidocaine (10 mM) alone produced a small increase in [Ca2+]i. All IV anesthetics failed to modify capsaicin-increased [Ca2+]i. In conclusion, the present data suggest that local but not IV general anesthetics interact with recombinant rat VR1 receptors with the former anesthetics having antagonistic activity. IMPLICATIONS: Vanilloid receptors (VR1) are activated by capsaicin, the pain-producing component of hot chili peppers. We suggest that local (but not IV general) anesthetics may have inhibitory actions on this receptor.
Agreement between administrative files and written medical records: a case of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

OBJECTIVES This study examined the reliability of Department of Veterans Affairs' health information databases concerning patient demographics, use of care, and diagnoses. METHODS The Department of Veterans Affairs' Patient Treatment files for Main, Bed-section (PTF) and Outpatient Care (OCF) were compared with medical charts and administrative records (MR) for a random national sample of 1,356 outpatient visits and 414 inpatient discharges to Department of Veterans Affairs' facilities between July 1 and September 30, 1995. Records were uniformly abstracted by a focus group of utilization review nurses and medical record coders blinded to administrative file entries. RESULTS Reliability was adequate for demographics (kappa approximately 0.92), length of stay (agreement=98%), and selected diagnoses (kappa ranged 0.39 to 1.0). Reliability was generally inadequate to identify the treating bedsection or clinic (kappa approximately 0.5). Compared with medical charts, Patient Treatment Files/Outpatient Care Files reported an additional diagnosis per discharge and 0.8 clinic stops per outpatient visit, resulting in higher estimates of disease prevalence (+39% heart disease, +19% diabetes) and outpatient costs (+36% per unique outpatient per quarter). CONCLUSIONS In the absence of pilot work validating key data elements, investigators are advised to construct health and utilization data from multiple sources. Further validation studies of administrative files should focus on the relation between process of data capture and data validity.
Price-based device-to-device communication underlying cellular networks

Underlay device-to-device (D2D) communication is envisaged to improve the spectral efficiency in cellular networks. One main challenge in this technology is how to control transmit powers from D2D pairs in order to preserve a certain quality of service requirement for cellular users. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a price-based power control game, by which transmit power of D2D pairs is so adjusted that a given transmit rate for a cellular user is satisfied. Numerical results are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Blahut-Arimoto algorithms for computing channel capacity and rate-distortion with side information

This work presents numerical algorithms for the computation of the capacity for channels with noncausal transmitter side information (the Gel'fand-Pinsker problem) and the rate-distortion function for source coding with decoder side information (the Wyner-Ziv problem). The algorithms are based on the reformulation of the mutual information expressions in terms of Shannon strategies.
Context and Healthcare Access: Looking Beyond the Individual

Background:Although health is influenced by an individual's characteristics and choices, accumulating evidence suggests that contextual attributes may influence a variety of health outcomes. Whether these factors also represent “upstream” factors affecting one's ability to enter the healthcare system is less clear, however. Objective:The objective of this study was to assess associations between contextual characteristics and an individual's report of having a usual source of health care. Research Design:Cross-sectional, survey-weighted data assessing demographics, insurance status, needs, and healthcare access were obtained through telephone survey in 1998 and were linked with county-level data from the 1998 Area Resource File and the 1990 US Census. Subjects:A state-representative sample of 16,261 adult residents, living in urban, suburban, and rural settings throughout Ohio comprised this study. Measures:Operational measures for social, economic, and health system characteristics were used in multilevel logistic regression models to test associations with an individual's report of a usual source of care. Results:The weighted proportion of individuals reporting no usual source of care was 18.0%. Although individuals’ current health, insurance status, income, demographics, educational attainment, and social support were closely associated with this outcome, significant associations remained for county-level characteristics representing the level of poverty and degree of urbanization. Conclusions:Persisting health status disparities increase the need for programs that promote equitable access to health care. Policy interventions may be more effective if they look beyond individual characteristics to incorporate strategies that address economic factors in areas where healthcare access is inequitable.
Multimedia Event Detection using Visual Features

Learning spatial features from static images has traditionally involved approaches such as SIFT, HOG and SURF, to name a few. These approaches typically learn low-level hand-designed features which are difficult and time-consuming to extend to the video domain. Furthermore, recent research has shown that there is no universal set of hand-designed features for all datasets. Therefore, learning features directly from the dataset in an unsupervised manner has become popular. In this project, we use unsupervised feature learning to learn features directly from video data. More specifically, we use the independent subspace analysis(ISA) algorithm to learn invariant spatio-temporal features coupled with deep learning techniques like stacking and convolution to learn hierarchical representations. This approach was taken by Le et al.[14] for the task of action recognition. We apply it to the more complicated task of Multimedia Event Detection. We present our results on a subset of the TRECVID 2011 Multimedia Event Detection dataset using only visual features as well as a fusion of visual and audio features (the audio features were developed by team 2).
Names and Symmetry in Computer Science (Invited Tutorial)

Nominal sets provide a mathematical theory for some of the key concepts that arise when representing and computing with data involving atomic (or 'pure') names: freshness, abstraction and scoping of names, and finiteness modulo symmetry. This tutorial introduces the notion of nominal set and explains selected applications of it to logic in computer science, to automata, languages and programming.
Analog circuit fault diagnosis based on sensitivity computation and functional testing

An approach based on functional testing and on sensitivity calculation of many output parameters for diagnosis of defective elements in analog circuits is presented. A sensitivity matrix that gives the relation between the deviation of output parameters and the deviation of defective components in a circuit forms the basis of the test equations. Diverse types of measurement help improve the diagnostic resolution. Experimental results are presented to clarify the algorithm and prove its efficiency in a practical case. <<ETX>>
Infectious subvirion particles of reovirus type 3 Dearing exhibit a loss in infectivity and contain a cleaved sigma 1 protein

Mammalian reoviruses exhibit differences in the capacity to grow in intestinal tissue: reovirus type 1 Lang (T1L), but not type 3 Dearing (T3D), can be recovered in high titer from intestinal tissue of newborn mice after oral inoculation. We investigated whether in vitro protease treatment of virions of T1L and T3D, using conditions to generate infectious subvirion particles (ISVPs) as occurs in the intestinal lumen of mice (D. K. Bodkin, M. L. Nibert, and B. N. Fields, J. Virol. 63:4676-4681, 1989), affects viral infectivity. Chymotrypsin treatment of T1L was associated with a 2-fold increase in viral infectivity, whereas identical treatment of T3D resulted in a 10-fold decrease in infectivity. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we found that loss of T3D infectivity was correlated with cleavage of its sigma 1 protein. We used reassortant viruses to identify viral determinants of infectivity loss and sigma 1 cleavage and found that both phenotypes segregate with the sigma 1-encoding S1 gene. Comparable results were obtained when trypsin treatment of virions of T1L and T3D was used. In experiments to determine the fate of sigma 1 fragments following cleavage, the capacity of anti-sigma 1 monoclonal antibody G5 to neutralize infectivity of T3D ISVPs was significantly decreased in comparison with its capacity to neutralize infectivity of virions, suggesting that a sigma 1 domain bound by G5 is lost from viral particles after proteolytic digestion. In contrast to the decrease in infectivity, chymotrypsin treatment of T3D virions leading to generation of ISVPs resulted in a 10-fold increase in their capacity to produce hemagglutination, indicating that a domain of sigma 1 important for binding to sialic acid remains associated with viral particles after sigma 1 cleavage. Neuraminidase treatment of L cells substantially decreased the yield of T3D ISVPs in comparison with the yield of virions, indicating that a sigma 1 domain important for binding sialic acid also can mediate attachment of T3D ISVPs to L cells and lead to productive infection. These results suggest that cleavage of T3D sigma 1 protein following oral inoculation of newborn mice is at least partly responsible for the decreased growth of T3D in the intestine and provide additional evidence that T3D sigma 1 contains more than a single receptor-binding domain.
Induction of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage by the plant naphthoquinones plumbagin and shikonin

Plumbagin and shikonin, plant metabolites which have naphthoquinone structures, induced mammalian topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage in vitro. Treatment of a reaction mixture containing these naphthoquinones and topoisomerase II at an elevated temperature (65 degrees C) resulted in a great reduction in DNA cleavage, suggesting that the mechanism of the topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage induced by these naphthoquinones is through formation of a cleavable complex, as seen with antitumor agents such as 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide and demethylepipodophyllotoxin ethylidene-beta-glucoside. Lawson and lapacol, which are structurally related plant metabolites with naphthoquinone moieties, could not induce topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage. Plumbagin and shikonin induced a similar DNA cleavage pattern with topoisomerase II which was different from the cleavage patterns induced with other known topoisomerase II-active drugs. A DNA-unwinding assay with T4 DNA ligase showed that shikonin, lawson, and lapacol did not intercalate into DNA, while plumbagin and 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone intercalate into DNA, but to a lower degree than 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide does.
Special relativity and the single antiproton: Fortyfold improved comparison of p-bar and p charge-to-mass ratios.

The measured ratio of charge-to-mass ratios for the antiproton and proton is 1.0000000015±0.0000000011. This 1 part in 109 comparison ( 1 ppb) is possible because a single p¯ or p is now directly observed while trapped in an open access Penning trap. The comparison is the most accurate mass spectrometry of particles with opposite charge, and is the most sensitive test of CPT invariance for a baryon system. It is 40 times more accurate than our earlier comparison with many trapped antiprotons and protons, and is more than 45 000 times more accurate than earlier comparisons made with other techniques.
Reducing the Risk of Falls Through Proprioceptive Dynamic Posture Training in Osteoporotic Women with Kyphotic Posturing: A Randomized Pilot Study

Sinaki M, Lynn SG: Reducing the risk of falls through proprioceptive dynamic posture training in osteoporotic women with kyphotic posturing: A randomized pilot study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2002;81:241–246. Objective To assess the effect of a proprioceptive dynamic posture training program on balance in osteoporotic women with kyphotic posture. Design Subjects were randomly assigned to either a proprioceptive dynamic posture training program or exercise only group. Anthropometric measurements, muscle strength, level of physical activity, computerized dynamic posturography, and spine radiography were performed at baseline and 1 mo. Results At the 1-mo follow-up, three groups were formed on the basis of the baseline computerized dynamic posturography results. In general, groups 1 and 2 had no significant change at 1 mo, whereas group 3 improved balance significantly at 1 mo. Conclusion The subjects who had abnormal balance and used the proprioceptive dynamic posture training program had the most significant improvement in balance. Improved balance could reduce the risk of falls.
Status de la población altoaragonesa de cigüeña común (ciconia ciconia) en la década de los 80

Se describen los resultados de sendos censos de la poblacion altoaragonesa de ciguena comun ( Ciconia ciconia ) realizados mediante encuesta en 1984 y 1988. El analisis de dichos censos, en comparacion con otros anteriores, de autores distintos, muestra como el presumible incremento de la poblacion es un artefacto, ya que sufre una regresion lenta, pero constante. Se calcula que la poblacion actual es un 60% de la optima que podria mantener la provincia.
Evaluation of critical body residue QSARs for predicting organic chemical toxicity to aquatic organisms.

The critical body residue (CBR) is the concentration of chemical bioaccumulated in an aquatic organism that corresponds to a defined measure of toxicity (e.g., mortality). The CBR can provide an alternative measure of toxicity to traditional waterborne concentration measurements (e.g., concentration in water causing 50% mortality). The CBR has been suggested as a better estimator of dose than the external water concentration and has been postulated to be constant for chemicals with the same mode of action. CBR QSARs have both theoretical and experimental support, developed primarily from studies on the acute toxicity of narcotic chemicals to small fish. CBR QSARs are less well developed for the aquatic toxicity of non-narcotic chemicals. CBRs vary substantially with the mode of action and toxicity endpoint, and may be affected by genetic, hormonal or environmental variation. CBR QSARs may not be applicable to very hydrophobic chemicals, chemicals with specific modes of action, or those with toxicity controlled by kinetic processes such as biotransformation. CBRs models have not been developed or evaluated for sediment and dietary exposure routes. Application of CBR QSARs to contaminated site assessments will require further research and development.
Placebo analgesia and its opioidergic regulation suggest that empathy for pain is grounded in self pain

Significance Empathy is of major importance for everyday social interaction. Recent neuroscientific models suggest that pain empathy relies on the activation of brain areas that are also engaged during the first-hand experience of pain. These models rely on rather unspecific and correlational evidence. Here, we show that inducing pain analgesia also reduces pain empathy, and that this is associated with decreased activation of empathy-related brain areas. We then document that blocking placebo analgesia via an opioid antagonist also blocks placebo analgesia effects on pain empathy. This finding suggests that pain empathy is grounded in neural responses and neurotransmitter activity related to first-hand pain. Empathy for pain activates brain areas partially overlapping with those underpinning the first-hand experience of pain. It remains unclear, however, whether such shared activations imply that pain empathy engages similar neural functions as first-hand pain experiences. To overcome the limitations of previous neuroimaging research, we pursued a conceptually novel approach: we used the phenomenon of placebo analgesia to experimentally reduce the first-hand experience of pain, and assessed whether this results in a concomitant reduction of empathy for pain. We first carried out a functional MRI experiment (n = 102) that yielded results in the expected direction: participants experiencing placebo analgesia also reported decreased empathy for pain, and this was associated with reduced engagement of anterior insular and midcingulate cortex: that is, areas previously associated with shared activations in pain and empathy for pain. In a second step, we used a psychopharmacological manipulation (n = 50) to determine whether these effects can be blocked via an opioid antagonist. The administration of the opioid antagonist naltrexone blocked placebo analgesia and also resulted in a corresponding “normalization” of empathy for pain. Taken together, these findings suggest that pain empathy may be associated with neural responses and neurotransmitter activity engaged during first-hand pain, and thus might indeed be grounded in our own pain experiences.
Characterization of p150, an Adaptor Protein for the Human Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 3-Kinase

Genetic and biochemical studies have shown that the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 3-kinase encoded by the yeast VPS34 gene is required for the efficient sorting and delivery of proteins to the vacuole. A human homologue of the yeast VPS34 gene product has recently been characterized as part of a complex with a cellular protein of 150 kDa (Volinia, S., Dhand, R., Vanhaesebroeck, B., MacDougall, L. K., Stein, R., Zvelebil, M. J., Domin, J., Panaretou, C., and Waterfield, M. D. (1995) EMBO J. 14, 3339-3348). Here, cDNA cloning is used to show that the amino acid sequence of this protein, termed p150, is 29.6% identical and 53% similar to the yeast Vps15p protein, an established regulator of Vps34p. Northern blot analysis showed a ubiquitous tissue distribution for p150 similar to that previously observed with PtdIns 3-kinase. Recombinant p150 associated with PtdIns 3-kinase in vitro in a stable manner, resulting in a 2-fold increase in lipid kinase activity. Addition of phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PI-TP) further stimulated the lipid kinase activity of the p150·;PtdIns 3-kinase complex 3-fold. A PtdIns 3-kinase activity could also be co-immunoprecipitated from human cell lysates using anti-PI-TP antisera. This observation demonstrates that an interaction between a PtdIns 3-kinase and PI-TP occurs in vivo, which further implicates lipid transfer proteins in the regulation of PtdIns 3-kinase activity. These results suggest that the Vps15p·;Vps34p complex has been conserved from yeast to man and in both species is involved in protein trafficking.
Structure of the BgK-Kv1.1 Complex Based on Distance Restraints Identified by Double Mutant Cycles

A structural model of BgK, a sea anemone toxin, complexed with the S5-S6 region of Kv1.1, a voltage-gated potassium channel, was determined by flexible docking under distance restraints identified by a double mutant cycles approach. This structure provides the molecular basis for identifying the major determinants of the BgK-Kv1.1 channel interactions involving the BgK dyad residues Lys25 and Tyr26. These interactions are (i) electrostatic interactions between the extremity of Lys25 side chain and carbonyl oxygen atoms of residues from the channel selectivity filter that may be strengthened by solvent exclusion provided by (ii) hydrophobic interactions involving BgK residues Tyr26 and Phe6 and Kv1.1 residue Tyr379 whose side chain protrudes in the channel vestibule. In other Kv1 channel-BgK complexes, these interactions are likely to be conserved, implicating both conserved and variable residues from the channels. The data suggest that the conservation in sea anemone and scorpion potassium channel blockers of a functional dyad composed of a lysine, and a hydrophobic residue reflects their use of convergent binding solutions based on a crucial interplay between these important conserved interactions.