Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Idiopathic Cavovarus and Lateral Ankle Instability: Recognition and Treatment Implications Relating to Ankle Arthritis

Hindfoot malalignment and chronic lateral ankle instability may lead to degenerative ankle arthritis. We retrospectively analyzed 10 patients with 13 cavovarus feet. None of the patients had underlying neurologic disorders. All patients presented with a history consistent with chronic lateral ankle instability, clinically with cavovarus feet, and radiographically with varying degrees of varus talar tilt and ankle arthritis. Ankles with severe degenerative change were fused. The ankles with mild or moderate change underwent calcaneal osteotomy with lateral ligament reconstruction and/or dorsiflexion osteotomy of the first metatarsal. A quantitative radiographic Coleman block test was utilized to aid in the preoperative planning of the calcaneal and metatarsal osteotomies. All patients had correction of preoperative deformity and resolution of pain and instability. Recognition of the association between cavovarus and chronic ankle instability and degenerative ankle arthritis may be important in developing the appropriate treatment strategy in this patient population.
Factores genéticos asociados a la degeneración lobar frontotemporal. Análisis de susceptibilidad genética y correlación fenotipo-genotipo

La Degeneracion Lobar Frontotemporal es un grupo heterogeneo de enfermedades, la segunda causa mas frecuente de demencia en edad presenil y la que presenta el mayor numero de casos hereditarios. Se caracteriza por una gran variabilidad clinica, genetica e histopatologica. Las personas afectas pueden presentar sintomas que abarcan desde los trastornos de conducta hasta las diferentes alteraciones del lenguaje, con o sin enfermedad de motoneurona o parkinsonismo asociado. La atrofia en los lobulos frontales y temporales es el hallazgo radiologico mas relevante. En los ultimos 10 anos, el conocimiento de esta entidad clinica ha presentado remarcables cambios a nivel genetico e histopatologico que han servido para establecer criterios clinicos mas consistentes. Hasta el momento han sido descritos diez genes asociados a DLFT y cuatro diferentes proteinas de agregacion han sido detectadas en los cerebros afectos. Este trabajo aporta la experiencia clinica de mas de 15 anos en pacientes con DLFT y el trabajo de colaboracion con diferentes grupos de investigacion en genetica de enfermedades neurodegenerativas.
How to expand the safe limits in hepatic resections?

The size of the remnant liver after an extended hepatectomy is currently the main limiting factor for performing curative hepatic surgery in patients with tumors and liver metastasis. The current guidelines for extended hepatectomies require that the future remnant liver volume needs to be higher than 20% of the original liver in healthy organs, of 30% in livers with steatosis or exposed to chemotherapy, and of 40% in patients with cirrhosis in order to prevent the “small‐for‐size” syndrome, characterized by the development of liver dysfunction with ascites, coagulopathy and cholestasis. Observations from the use of small liver grafts in liver transplantation and an increased surgical experience has improved our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the development of liver dysfunction after extended hepatectomies. Increasing the size of the future liver remnant, the introduction of the “small‐for‐flow” concept with the perioperative monitoring and modulation of portal blood flow and pressure, and the exploration of the potential effects of regeneration preconditioning, are all promising strategies that could expand the indications and increase the safety of liver surgery.
Application of New Primer-Enzyme Combinations to Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Profiling of Bacterial Populations in Human Feces

ABSTRACT New primer-enzyme combinations for terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) targeting of the 16S rRNA gene were constructed by using the T-RFLP analysis program (designated TAP T-RFLP) located at the Ribosomal Database Project website, and their performance was examined empirically. By using the fluorescently labeled 516f primer (Escherichia coli positions 516 to 532) and 1510r primer (positions 1510 to 1492), the 16S rRNA gene was amplified from human fecal DNA. The resulting amplified product was digested with RsaI plus BfaI or with BslI. When the T-RFLP was carried out with fecal DNAs from eight individuals, eight predominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected with RsaI and BfaI digestion and 14 predominant OTUs were detected with BslI digestion. The distribution of the OTUs was consistent with the results of the computer simulations with TAP T-RFLP. The T-RFLP analyses of the fecal DNAs from individuals gave characteristic profiles, while the variability of the T-RFLP profiles between duplicate DNA preparations from the same samples were minimal. This new T-RFLP method made it easy to predict what kind of intestinal bacterial group corresponded to each OTU on the basis of the terminal restriction fragment length compared with the conventional T-RFLP and, moreover, made it possible to identify the bacterial species that an OTU represents by cloning and sequencing.
Electromyographic analyses of global synkinesis in the paretic upper limb after stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Global synkinesis (GS), or motor irradiation, is an involuntary movement associated with the coactivation of numerous muscles in one limb when the opposite limb is active. The electromyographic (EMG) patterns of people with stroke and people who were healthy were analyzed to characterize GS development in relation to joint involvement and to attempt to relate these findings to clinical observations. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Twenty patients with stroke, divided into 2 groups with either greater levels of irradiation (SG, n = 10) or lesser levels of irradiation (SL, n = 10), and 20 subjects in a control group were studied. A dynamometer was used to provide resistance for voluntary isometric muscle contractions of the flexor muscle groups of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. The summated and standardized net EMG amplitudes of 8 principal muscles of the unexercised (paretic) upper extremity were used to characterize intensity and spatial representation of GS. Clinical measurements included the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale (FMA), Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (BI), and the stage on the Brunnström Stages of Motor Recovery Scale (BR). RESULTS In the SG and control groups, a more substantial GS intensity was associated with muscle contractions of the flexor muscles of the opposite proximal joint than was the case for contractions of the flexor muscles of the distal joint, whereas such a gradient change was absent in the SL group. The corresponding spatial patterns of GS exhibited a predominant cross-excitation over the unexercised pectoralis major and extensor carpi radialis muscles in the control group, contrary to the enhanced activation of the brachioradialis and biceps brachii muscles noted in patients with stroke. The SG group had a better FMA score and a more satisfactory BR stage than did the SL group, and the 2 neurological scores were related to GS intensity for patients with stroke, depending on joint involvement. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Intensity of GS provided an affiliation with motor deficits and a promising window for poststroke recovery mechanisms.
B k Activation of NF-Cutting Edge: TCR Ligation Triggers Digital

TCR-mediated activation of the transcription factor NF-k B is required for T cell proliferation, survival, and effector differentiation. Although this pathway is the sub-ject of intense study, it is not known whether TCR signaling to NF- k B is digital (switch-like) or analog in nature. Through analysis of the phosphorylation and degradation of I k B a and the nuclear translocation and phosphorylation of the NF- k B subunit RelA, we show that TCR-directed NF- k B activation is digital. Further-more, digitization occurs well upstream of the I k B kinase complex, as protein kinase C u translocation to the immunologic synapse and activation-associated aggrega-tion of Bcl10 and Malt1 also demonstrate both digital behavior and high correlation with RelA nuclear translocation. Thus, similar to the TCR-to-MAPK signaling cascade, analog Ag inputs are converted to digital activation outputs to NF- k B at an early step downstream of TCR ligation. The Journal of Immunology , 2010, 185: 000–000.
Relation of Iufaa to persons found beside his shaft-tomb at Abusir (Egypt)

Skeletal remains of Iufaa found inside his intact Shaft-tomb at Abusir in 1998 by the Czech Institute of Egyptology have been compared with two adult skeletons unearthed in a corridor adjoining the Shaft-tomb, discovered in 2001. Craniometrics show a striking proximity of an old male Nekawer and a mature female Imakhetkherresnet. At the same time, the young adult male Iufaa, due to the very broad and low neurocranium and broad face, reveals a two and half bigger distance from both of them. If only splanchnocranic dimensions (except bizygomatic breadth) were compared, the three persons appear very close, lufaa resembling more Nekawer (both males) than Imakhetkherresnet (female). Similarities between the three individuals can also be detected in cranial indices, cranial profile angles, cranioscopic features and postcranial skeleton (cranial variation of the spine and foramen arcuale atlantis). Craniometric comparison was not possible in a fourth person, male Padihor, found in another tomb 25 m east of Iufaa's tomb, because of the fragmentary state of his skull. However, on the skeleton as well as in his body build and stature no features similar to any of the other three persons were revealed, making thus his blood relationship with them improbable. The anthropological results are discussed in light of the archaeological and textual evidence.
Immunogenic proteins in cell-free culture supernatants of Haemophilus influenzae type b

Cell-free culture supernatant (CFCS) prepared from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was examined for the presence of soluble Hib proteins. Two proteins with apparent molecular weights of 100,000 (100K) and 116K were predominant in the CFCS, and antibodies directed against these proteins could be detected by radioimmunoprecipitation or Western blot analyses of serum from adult rats immunized with Hib. Radioimmunoprecipitation analyses and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of these two proteins demonstrated that the 100K CFCS protein was also present on the cell surface of Hib, whereas the 116K CFCS protein was only detectable in culture supernatants. Both the 100K and 116K CFCS proteins were immunogenic in human infants with Hib meningitis and in infant rats systemically infected with Hib. In addition, the first detectable antibodies produced in these Hib-infected rats against Hib proteins were specific for the 100K protein in both its CFCS and cell-associated forms. These two CFCS proteins were also immunogenic in rats immunized with CFCS in the absence of Hib infection. Monoclonal antibody directed against the 100K protein reacted with 34 of 55 Hib strains examined by using a colony blot radioimmunoassay. The immunogenicity of the 100K and 116K CFCS proteins suggests that one or both of these proteins may have potential for vaccine development, either by themselves or covalently coupled to Hib capsular polysaccharide.
Legionella pneumophila growth restriction in permissive macrophages cocultured with nonpermissive lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages

Macrophages can be activated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from gram-negative bacteria to evince a number of biological activities, including increased resistance to intracellular infection by opportunistic bacteria. In the present study, intraperitoneal injection of LPS into A/J mice activated peritoneal macrophages so that they resisted subsequent in vitro infection with Legionella pneumophila. Coculture of these macrophages with those from nontreated A/J mice converted the entire population of cells from permissive to nonpermissive. This effect did not appear to be mediated by soluble factors released from the LPS-treated macrophages, since the levels of interleukins-1 and -6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha produced by the macrophages were not found to be markedly elevated at the time when the macrophages from the LPS-treated mice were most effective in converting normal macrophages to nonpermissiveness. Furthermore, macrophages from mice injected intraperitoneally with either interferon or tumor necrosis factor alpha did not evince nonpermissiveness and also did not have the ability to convert normal spleen cells to nonpermissiveness. Polymyxin B, a known inactivator of LPS activity, did not inhibit the macrophages from the LPS-treated mice from inducing this resistance. It seemed unlikely that free LPS released from the macrophages mediated this effect. The results of this study thus showed that macrophages activated by LPS in vivo can evince nonpermissiveness for Legionella growth in vitro and also can induce macrophages from normal, permissive mice to become nonpermissive for Legionella growth in vitro.
Torulene and torularhodin, protects human prostate stromal cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress damage through the regulation of Bcl-2/Bax mediated apoptosis

Abstract The current study was designed to elucidate the cytoprotective effects and possible mechanisms of torulene and torularhodin on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress damage in human prostate stromal cells (WPMY-1). After treated with H2O2, a notable decrease was appeared in cell viability, yet the decrease was attenuated when cells were pretreated with torulene and torularhodin (0.5–10 μM) as evaluated by WST-1 assay. Pretreatment with these two carotenoids significantly attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis in WPMY-1 cells through the inhibition of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) overproduction, as well as the activation of the activities in catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Finally, pretreatment of cells with carotenoids resulted in the regulation of the mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in H2O2-exposed prostate stromal cells. The present results indicate that both torulene and torularhodin can protect human prostate stromal cells from oxidative stress damage via Bcl-2/Bax mediated apoptosis.
Rapid inhibition of the Na+‐K+ pump affects Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger‐mediated relaxation in rabbit ventricular myocytes

The direct influence of Na+‐K+ pump activity on the ability of the Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger to remove Ca2+ was investigated in isolated adult rabbit ventricular myocytes. Cell shortening was measured using an edge‐detection system. Cytoplasmic [Ca2+] was monitored using the fluorescent indicator indo‐1. Electrophysiological parameters were recorded using high‐resistance microelectrodes. The Na+‐K+ pump was rapidly inhibited by removal of extracellular K+ and measurements were taken almost immediately to minimise effects on other cellular compartments. Activity of the Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger was monitored during release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) elicited by rapid application of 15 mm caffeine. When Na+‐K+ pump activity was affected by K+ removal, cell relaxation and indo‐1 fluorescence decline were slowed by approximately 40 %. The charge calculated by integrating the caffeine‐induced transient inward current was unchanged, suggesting that there was no difference in the SR Ca2+ content in the two conditions. However Ca2+ flux via the Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger was slower when the Na+‐K+ pump was inhibited. Similar experiments were performed by inhibiting the Na+‐K+ pump using 0.5 mm strophanthidin. In this condition similar results to the ones observed by K+ removal were obtained, suggesting a specific role of the Na+‐K+ pump in the phenomenon observed. This study suggests that the activity of the Na+‐K+ pump influences Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger function in the absence of changes in SR Ca2+ content. This can be explained by a slower removal of Na+ from the subsarcolemmal space. The source of the increase in subsarcolemmal [Na+] requires further investigation. However, calculations derived from modelling suggest that the Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger itself could be involved.
Hardware stream cipher with controllable chaos generator for colour image encryption

This study presents hardware realisation of chaos-based stream cipher utilised for image encryption applications. A third-order chaotic system with signum non-linearity is implemented and a new post processing technique is proposed to eliminate the bias from the original chaotic sequence. The proposed stream cipher utilises the processed chaotic output to mask and diffuse input pixels through several stages of XORing and bit permutations. The performance of the cipher is tested with several input images and compared with previously reported systems showing superior security and higher hardware efficiency. The system is experimentally verified on XilinxVirtex 4 field programmable gate array (FPGA) achieving small area utilisation and a throughput of 3.62 Gb/s.
Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in the management of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecological tumors. Carboplatin/paclitaxel represents the cornerstone of front-line treatment. Instead, there is no consensus for management of recurrent/progressive disease, in which pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) ± carboplatin is widely used. We performed a systematic review and metaanalysis to evaluate impact of PLD-based compared with no-PLD-based regimens in the ovarian cancer treatment. Data were extracted from randomized trials comparing PLD-based treatment to any other regimens in the January 2000–January 2013 time-frame. Study end-points were overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), response rate (RR), CA125 response, and toxicity. Hazard ratios (HRs) of OS and PFS, with 95% CI, odds ratios (ORs) of RR and risk ratios of CA125 response and grade 3–4 toxicity, were extracted. Data were pooled using fixed and random effect models for selected endpoints. Fourteen randomized trials for a total of 5760 patients were selected and included for the final analysis, which showed no OS differences for PLD-based compared with other regimens (pooled HR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.88–1.02; P = 0.132) and a significant PFS benefit of PLD-based schedule (HR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.86–0.96; P = 0.001), particularly in second-line (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75–0.91) and in platinum-sensitive (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.74–0.94) subgroups. This work confirmed the peculiar tolerability profile of this drug, moreover no difference was observed for common hematological toxicities and for RR, CA125 response. PLD-containing regimens do not improve OS when compared with any other schedule in all phases of disease. A marginal PFS advantage is observed only in platinum-sensitive setting and second-line treatment.
Deletion of New Covalently Linked Cell Wall Glycoproteins Alters the Electrophoretic Mobility of Phosphorylated Wall Components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT The incorporation of radioactive orthophosphate into the cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied.33P-labeled cell walls were extensively extracted with hot sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Of the remaining insoluble radioactivity more than 90% could be released by laminarinase. This radioactive material stayed in the stacking gel during SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis but entered the separating gel upon treatment with N -glycosidase F, indicating that phosphate was linked directly or indirectly to N-mannosylated glycoproteins. The phosphate was bound to covalently linked cell wall proteins as mannose-6-phosphate, the same type of linkage shown previously for soluble mannoproteins (L. Ballou, L. M. Hernandez, E. Alvarado, and C. E. Ballou, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:3368–3372, 1990). From the phosphate-labeled glycoprotein fraction released by laminarinase, three cell wall mannoproteins, Ccw12p, Ccw13p and Ccw14p, were isolated and identified by N-terminal sequencing. For Ccw13p (encoded by DAN1 [also called TIR3]) and Ccw12p the association with the cell wall has not been described before; Ccw14p is identical with cell wall protein Icwp (I. Moukadiri, J. Armero, A. Abad, R. Sentandreu, and J. Zueco, J. Bacteriol. 179:2154–2162, 1997). In ccw12, ccw13, orccw14 single or double mutants neither the amount of radioactive phosphate incorporated into cell wall proteins nor its position in the stacking gel was changed. However, the triple mutant brought about a shift of the 33P-labeled glycoprotein components from the stacking gel into the separating gel. The disruption of CCW12 results in a pronounced sensitivity of the cells to calcofluor white and Congo red. In addition, theccw12 mutant shows a decrease in mating efficiency and a defect in agglutination.
A Particle Filter-Based Matching Algorithm With Gravity Sample Vector for Underwater Gravity Aided Navigation

Gravity matching algorithm is a key technique of gravity aided navigation for underwater vehicles. The reliability of traditional single point matching algorithm can be easily affected by environmental disturbance, which results in mismatching and decrease of navigation accuracy. Therefore, a particle filter (PF)-based matching algorithm with gravity sample vector is proposed. The correlation between adjacent sample points of inertial navigation system is considered in the vector matching algorithm in order to solve the mismatching problem. The current sampling point matching result is rectified by the vectors composed by the selected sampling points and matching point. The amount of selected sampling points is determined by the gravity field distribution and the real-time performance of the algorithm. A PF-based on Bayesian estimation is introduced in the proposed method to overcome the divergence disadvantage of the traditional point matching algorithm in some matching areas with obvious gravity variation. Simulation results prove that compared with the traditional methods, the proposed method is robust to the changes of gravity anomaly in the matching areas, with more accurate and reliable matching results.
Prognostic Role of BRAF Mutations in Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The impact of tumor biology on prognosis in patients with colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) has been the topic of intense research. Specifically, the presence of BRAF mutations has been recently associated with adverse long-term outcomes. We examined the existing literature on the prognostic implications of BRAF mutations in patients with CRLM. MATERIALS AND METHODS A structured review of the literature was performed between 5/1/2016 and 6/1/2016 using the PubMed database. Original research articles published between 1/1/2010 and 4/01/2016 were considered eligible. The primary end-points were overall survival (OS)/disease-specific survival (DSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) among patients with BRAF mutated CRLM who underwent resection. RESULTS Eight studies were included. All studies reported on OS/DSS, while 6 reported on RFS. BRAF mutant status was a strong independent predictor of both worse OS/DSS and RFS in 7 and 4 studies, respectively. CONCLUSION BRAF-mutant lesions are consistently associated with poor prognosis. Consequently, the indications of CRLM resection in this patient group should be reconsidered.