Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Protein Prenylation In Vitro and In Vivo Using Functionalized Phosphoisoprenoids

Post‐translational modifications (PTMs) expand the number of protein isoforms in eukaryotic proteome by orders of magnitude. Protein modification with isoprenoid lipids is a common PTM affecting hundreds of proteins controlling the transport of information and materials into, through, and out of the eukaryotic cell. In this modification, a soluble phosphoisoprenoid such as farnesyl (C15) or geranylgeranyl (C20) pyrophosphate moiety is recruited by one of three protein prenyltransferases to covalently modify a C‐terminal cysteine(s) in a target protein. The three mammalian prenyltransferases are farnesyltransferase (FTase), geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase I), and Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (also termed geranylgeranyltransferase type II ‐ GGTase II). In this unit, synthetic isoprenoids conjugated to either a fluorophore or biotin group are used to assay the activity of protein prenyltransferases in vitro or to affinity tag prenylatable proteins in cell lysates. These protocols and their modifications can be used to study the mechanisms of protein prenylation, identify prenylation targets, and characterize inhibitors of protein prenyltransferases in vitro and in vivo. Curr. Protoc. Protein Sci. 62:14.3. 1‐14.3. 15. © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Plagiarism in Residency Application Essays

BACKGROUND Anecdotal reports suggest that some residency application essays contain plagiarized content. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of plagiarism in a large cohort of residency application essays. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING 4975 application essays submitted to residency programs at a single large academic medical center between 1 September 2005 and 22 March 2007. MEASUREMENTS Specialized software was used to compare residency application essays with a database of Internet pages, published works, and previously submitted essays and the percentage of the submission matching another source was calculated. A match of more than 10% to an existing work was defined as evidence of plagiarism. RESULTS Evidence of plagiarism was found in 5.2% (95% CI, 4.6% to 5.9%) of essays. The essays of non-U.S. citizens were more likely to demonstrate evidence of plagiarism. Other characteristics associated with the prevalence of plagiarism included medical school location outside the United States and Canada; previous residency or fellowship; lack of research experience, volunteer experience, or publications; a low United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score; and non-membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. LIMITATIONS The software database is probably incomplete, the 10%-match threshold for defining plagiarism has not been statistically validated, and the study was confined to applicants to 1 institution. Evidence of matching content in an essay cannot be used to infer the applicant's intent and is not sensitive to variations in the cultural context of copying in some societies. CONCLUSION Evidence of plagiarism in residency application essays is more common in international applicants but was found in those by applicants to all specialty programs, from all medical school types, and even among applicants with significant academic honors. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE No external funding.
An extension of the Q diversity metric from single-label to multi-label and multi-ranking Multiple Classifier Systems for pattern classification

Multiple Classifier Systems can show better performance than a single classifier, provided a careful choice of the individual classifiers composing the ensemble. Furthermore diversity among single classifiers, measured through some diversity metrics, is known to be a necessary condition for improvement in the ensemble performance. In this paper we extend the use of the Q diversity metric, a metric used for an oracle output context, to a soft output context for the choice of the best classifier ensemble. We present the Qt diversity metric, i.e., an extension of the Q metric to multi-label and multi-ranking Multiple Classifier Systems. This metric is tested in a text categorization case study, using the standard Reuters-21578 document corpus and the results strengthen its use in multi-label and multi-ranking Multiple Classifier Systems.
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis of Von Hippel-Lindau disease cancer syndrome by combined mutation and segregation analysis

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant cancer syndrome, associated with the development of tumors and cysts in multiple organ systems, whose expression and age of onset are highly variable. The VHL disease tumor suppressor gene (VHL) maps to 3p25-p26 and mutations ranging from a single base change to large deletions have been detected in patients with VHL disease. We developed a single cell PCR protocol for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of VHL disease to select unaffected embryos on the basis of the detection of the specific mutation and segregation analysis of polymorphic linked markers. Multiplex-nested PCR using single buccal cells of an affected individual were performed in order to test the accuracy and reliability of this single-cell protocol. For each locus tested, amplification efficiency was 83% to 87% and allelic drop-out rates ranged from 12% to 8%. Three VHL disease PGD cycles were performed on cells from a couple with paternal transmission of a 436delC mutation in exon 2 of the VHL gene, leading to the identification of three unaffected embryos. Independent of the mutation present, this general PGD protocol for the diagnosis of VHL disease can be used in families informative for either the D3S1038 or D3S1317 microsatellite markers.
Susceptibility to phorbol ester skin tumor promotion in (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) F1 mice is inherited as an incomplete dominant trait: evidence for multi-locus involvement.

Since current evidence suggests that the tumor promotion stage is a primary determinant in susceptibility to multistage carcinogenesis, we have characterized the genetics of susceptibility to phorbol ester skin tumor promotion in inbred mice. Susceptibility of hybrids (B6D2F1), between DBA/2 (sensitive) and C57BL/6 (resistant) parents, initiated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was similar to DBA/2 mice at doses of 13.6 nmol per mouse but clearly less when doses of 1.7-6.8 nmol per mouse were used. In addition, no significant differences were observed between male and female B6D2F1 mice in terms of tumor incidence although some differences were observed in tumor multiplicities between male and female F1 mice at the highest TPA dose. Reciprocal F1 mice initiated with DMBA (i.e. D2B6F1) were also responsive to TPA. Female D2B6F1 mice were of lower sensitivity at lower doses of TPA, compared to female DBA/2, a finding similar to that observed with B6D2F1 mice initiated with MNNG. Further analyses of the susceptibility of B6D2F2 and B6D2F1 X C57BL/6 backcross mice to TPA promotion indicated that more than one dominant genetic locus must account for the differences in promotion sensitivity between DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice. To understand further the genes responsible for promotion sensitivity, histological evaluations were performed on DBA/2, C57BL/6 and B6D2F1 mice. Histological examination revealed that the epidermis of DBA/2 mice showed a marked hyperplasia and the presence of a much greater number of dark basal keratinocytes (DCs) compared with C57BL/6 mice 48 h after the last of four applications of TPA (doses greater than or equal to 3.4 nmol). A marked dermal infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) was observed in DBA/2 mice, whereas little infiltration was observed in the skin of C57BL/6 mice. The hyperplasia in the skin of B6D2F1 mice was intermediate between DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice at all TPA doses examined except the lowest dose (1.7 nmol), whereas the DC response, although significantly lower at doses of 6.8 nmol or below, was similar to DBA/2 mice at higher TPA doses (13.6 and 17.0 nmol). The infiltration of PMNs in the dermis of B6D2F1 mice was similar to or greater than DBA/2 mice at all doses of TPA tested. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Teaching medical students in community-based practices: a national survey of generalist physicians.

BACKGROUND This study was undertaken to determine the extent of medical student teaching by community-based generalists, differences between teachers and nonteachers, and physicians' perceptions and attitudes about teaching. METHODS Two questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 4974 generalist physicians in community-based practice in the United States including family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians. The first survey instrument was a postcard with two questions; the second was a 4-page questionnaire sent to postcard responders. These mailings were supplemented by a telephone survey of nonresponders. RESULTS Forty-two percent responded to the postcard, and, of those, 47% responded to the questionnaire. Adjusted by the results of a telephone survey of postcard nonresponders, 30% of family physicians and general pediatricians and 20% of general internists taught medical students in their offices. The average teaching physician worked with three students per year for approximately 10 days each. Family physicians and general internists who had community-based educational experiences while in medical school were more likely to be teachers. Teachers were somewhat younger than nonteachers (year of medical school graduation 1977 vs 1973), but there were few other differences. Controlling for specialty, teachers did not differ from nonteachers in patient-care volume or payer mix of the practice. Teachers noted a 30-minute (median) lengthening of their workday when a student was present, and 30% saw fewer patients per day when a student was in the practice. Only 9% of the teachers reported being paid for their teaching. More than 90% of both nonteachers and teachers believed that students should receive part of their education in community-based practices. CONCLUSIONS Depending on specialty, 20% to 30% of community-based generalists teach medical students. Although teachers perceive that teaching lengthens their work day and may decrease productivity, the great majority of both teachers and nonteachers believe that community-based education is important.
Social inclusion of persons with moderate head injuries: The points of view of adolescents with brain injuries, their parents and professionals

Primary objective: This study explores the perceptions of adolescents, their parents and professionals as to the social inclusion of adolescents who have suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research design: Exploratory descriptive qualitative study. Methods and procedures: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three adolescents who had suffered a moderate TBI and with their parents. In addition, a focus group was conducted with four professionals. Main outcomes and results: The results show that the perceptions of adolescents, as well as their parents, affect different aspects of their lives, such as the adolescent's personal experiences, the family, friends, the environment and school. A great number of repercussions were indeed noted, which facilitate and sometimes limit the social inclusion of these adolescents. In general, the professionals shared the same perceptions, but added some ideas that did not come up in interviews with the adolescents and their parents. Conclusions: The results of this study should enable health professionals to better understand the social inclusion experienced by these people. They should also provide professionals with guidelines on how to better support the social inclusion of adolescents with TBIs and help families cope with this difficult situation.
[Treatment of neurovegetative menopausal symptoms with a phytotherapeutic agent].

BACKGROUND Menopausal symptoms include hot flushes, insomnia, nocturnal sweating, dizziness, headaches and palpitations. These symptoms reflect adaptation of the body to estrogen deprivation which affects various central neurotransmitters. METHODS In this study, the efficacy has been tested of a plant product based on extracts of the leaves of Salvia officinalis (sage) and Medicago sativa (alfalfa) in the treatment of hot flushes in 30 menopausal women with these symptoms. RESULTS Hot flushes and night sweating completely disappeared in 20 women: four women showed good improvement and the other six showed a reduction in symptoms. GnRH and TRH tests were performed in 8 women to evaluate TSH and Prl responses before and after 3 months of therapy. The plants product induced a significant increase in Prl and TSH response to TRH. Basal levels of estradiol, LH, FSH, Prl and TSH were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS The product seams to have a central slight antidopaminergic action without side effects and is an effective agent in the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
Electrocortical functional connectivity during language selection in bilinguals

This study describes the picture of cortical connections when bilinguals switch between their first and second language. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured in 21 Chinese-English bilinguals during the monolingual task selection context (TSc) and bilingual language selection context (LSc) picture-naming tasks. Then, the wavelet transforms of ERP records were used, and the regions of interest (ROI) for the standardized Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) of the wavelet curve were reconstructed. The correlation coefficients (CCs) were computed for each subject with each frequency between pair scalp electrode or pair intracranial ROIs. By comparing the CC induced by the same first language naming as the TSc and LSc, we find significant networks of gamma rhythm connections, comprising the bundle of connections binding prefrontal and ACC areas. These results revealed an earlier and longer lexical retrieve process in language switch task.
Function of simian virus 40 gene A in transforming infection

In productive infection by simian virus 40, the A gene is known to regulate the initiation of viral DNA replication and to control the synthesis of late viral RNA. The function of the A gene in transforming infection was investigated by the infection of a variety of cell species with six independently isolated temperature-sensitive mutants belonging to the A complementation group. The A mutants failed to initiate the stable transformation of cells during continuous infection at the restrictive temperature. After the establishment of transformation at the permissive temperature and a subsequent shift to the restrictive temperature to block the A function, however, two distinct virus-cell interactions were identified. In one case, the increased colony-forming capacity of transformed cells remained stable after the temperature shift. In the other case, the temperature shift decreased the capacity of transformed cells to form colonies to the level of untransformed control cells. The outcome of the virus-cell interaction depended both on the nature of the A mutation in a given cell species and on the species of the cell transformed by a given mutant. These findings suggest that the transformation process may require two distinct events, each related to A gene expression.
Monoclonal and specific polyclonal antibodies for immunoassay of Clostridium difficile toxin A

Monoclonal antibody, affinity-purified antibody, and monospecific antiserum against toxin A were produced. The monoclonal antibody was an immunoglobulin G2a kappa chain isotype that immunoprecipitated toxin A, as shown by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. These antibodies were compared by counterimmunoelectrophoresis, latex agglutination, and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for their sensitivity in detecting toxin A. Our findings indicate that these antibodies may be useful as immunodiagnostic reagents for Clostridium difficile disease.
Implementation and Per formance of a New Teleconference System by High

In this paper, a flexible middleware system for omni-directional video transmission for various teleconferencing applications is introduced. The omni-directional image has more advantages in that it provides a wider view than a single directional camera and able to realize flexible TV conferencing even between remotely separated small rooms. In this paper, we describe system architecture and functions of the middleware for high-definition omni-directional image control and effective video transmission system using DV and HDV (1080i format). The MidField system which we have developed so far is used for video stream transmission over IPv4/IPv6 networks. The prototype system of a TV conference is constructed to evaluate our suggested high-definition omni-directional middleware. Through the functional and performance evaluation of the prototyped system, we could verify the usefulness of our proposed system
Limitations of the Parsonnet score for measuring risk stratified mortality in the north west of England

OBJECTIVE To study the use of the Parsonnet score to predict mortality following adult cardiac surgery. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING All centres performing adult cardiac surgery in the north west of England. SUBJECTS 8210 patients undergoing surgery between April 1997 and March 1999. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Risk factors and in-hospital mortality were recorded according to agreed definitions. Ten per cent of cases from each centre were selected at random for validation. A Parsonnet score was derived for each patient and its predictive ability was studied. RESULTS Data collection was complete. The operative mortality was 3.5% (95% confidence interval 3.1% to 3.9%), ranging from 2.7% to 3.8% across the centres. On validation, the incidence of discrepancies ranged from 0% to 13% for the different risk factors. The predictive ability of the Parsonnet score measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.74. The mean Parsonnet score for the region was 7.0, giving an observed to expected mortality ratio of 0.51 (range 0.4 to 0.64 across the centres). A new predictive model was derived from the data by multivariate analysis which includes nine objective risk factors, all with a significant association with mortality, which highlights some of the deficits of the Parsonnet score. CONCLUSIONS Risk stratified mortality data were collected on 100% of patients undergoing adult cardiac surgery in two years within a defined geographical region and were used to set an audit standard. Problems with the Parsonnet score of subjectivity, inclusion of many items not associated with mortality, and the overprediction of mortality have been highlighted.
A Study of Rate and Predictors of Fall Among Elderly Patients in a University Hospital

Introduction Falls represent a serious problem facing hospital-admitted patients, and the severity of fall-related complications rises steadily after the age of 65 years. Objectives The aims of this study were (a) to calculate the rate of falls among elderly patients in the internal medicine departments in Ain Shams University Hospital, (b) to identify different predictors and characteristics of falls, and (c) to assess clinical consequences and hospitalization outcomes of falls. Subjects and Methods An observational longitudinal study has been conducted in Ain Shams University Hospital, where 411 elderly patients admitted to the internal medicine departments were included. Upon admission, the patients were assessed for their risk for falling using the Morse Fall Scale (MFS). Information about their medical condition and drugs administered was obtained. Functional assessment of the patients regarding their ability to perform different daily activities was also performed. The patients were followed up during their stay, and once a fall event occurred, complete details regarding the circumstances and consequences of that event were obtained. Results The incidence rate of falls was found to be 16.9 per 1000 patient days. The fallers had a significantly high risk for falling according to the MFS (P = 0.02). The MFS was able to predict patients at risk for falling and identified correctly 82.6% of the fallers. The most common medical conditions associated with falls were diabetes (48.7%), hypertension (58.7%), and visual impairment (41.3%). Anemia (P = 0.05) and osteoporosis (P = 0.02) showed a statistically significant difference between the fallers and the nonfallers. Presence of a history of a fall and increased length of hospital stay were highly significant (P = 0.01) factors that predisposed to falls. Logistic regression analysis showed that anemia, osteoporosis, and history of a fall were independent predictors of falls. Most falls had no serious consequences, approximately 18% had contusions, 2% had subdural hematomas, and 4% had fractures and lacerations. Conclusions Elderly patients with anemia, osteoporosis, and history of a fall are more prone to falls and should be considered in fall protective measures.
Research Brief: Analysis of Responses to the ICDR's 2009 Call for Recommendations on Emerging Disability Research Topics: The Central Role of Collaboration in Advancing a New Policy Agenda

Introduction Public policy, in general, and specifically, the development of public agency agendas and activities are most effectively crafted by including the participation of a wide range of stakeholders (Ward, Baker & Moon, 2009). This participatory approach is particularly valuable when dealing with issues related to vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities. Development and articulation of comprehensive, relevant, effective, and sustainable federal disability and rehabilitation research agendas, buttressed by appropriate policies and funding opportunities, need to be informed by input from people with disabilities, family members, and service providers. In March 2009, the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) launched a three-week Web-based initiative and 'call for comments' to help inform the development of federal disability and rehabilitation research agendas in 2010. Registered participants were invited to make comments on six key themes related to the research agenda. Subsequently, participants were invited to review all comments submitted and vote on their top 10 concerns in each topic area during a specified one-week period. Overall, the initiative garnered a large number of thoughtful recommendations from the public on the six topics: 1) coordination and collaboration among federal agencies (158 responses); 2) health information technology and/or electronic health records (84 responses); 3) health disparities (133 responses); 4) health promotion in the workplace (58 responses); 5) employment and health (112 responses); and 6) other critical research issues (303 responses). A rigorous qualitative analysis of the responses was conducted to advance the ICDR's stated goal of identifying the top ten public concerns in each of the topic areas The results are far-reaching in their scope, reflecting a diversity of responses and areas of interest. In the service of focusing the discussion on key policymaking and funding concerns, this report centers on the specific topic area that received the greatest single number of responses: coordination and collaboration among federal agencies. Collaboration is a pivotal issue in the development of federal disability and rehabilitation research. Researchers, policymakers, and other key stakeholders have typically organized their analyses on groupings around functional impairments (i.e. sensory, mobility, cognitive) or disability categories (i.e. psychiatric, intellectual, physical), which have yielded user type-specific information, but failed to advance disability research as a whole, especially in cross-cutting issues of technology access, employment, learning, workplace environments, and social inclusion (Baker & Moon, 2008; Bricout, 2006). Collaboration across disability silos, and iteratively from the broad issues back to specific populations, on usability concerns is …