Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current issues in managing sports-related concussion.

THE ISSUE OF DETERMINING THE readiness of athletes to return to action following a head injury has received recognition as a major public health issue. Concern over the health of the athlete with a concussion has prompted the development of parameters to guide management and returnto-play issues. These guidelines, however, have been controversial within the sports medicine community. The controversy appears to result from a lack of scientific foundation, and thus an arbitrary delineation of concussion grades and return-to-play criteria. This article critically examines concussion management guidelines and makes recommendations for the development of practical strategies. Two actual concussion cases illustrate these issues.
The establishment of intracellular symbiosis in an ancestor of cockroaches and termites

All cockroaches examined so far have been found to harbour a bacterial endosymbiont in specialized cells of the fat body, whereas Mastotermes darwiniensis is the only termite currently known to intracellular symbiont. The localization and mode of transmission of these bacteria are surprisingly similar, but so far no data have been published on their phylogenetic relationships. To address this issue, molecular sequence data were obtained from the genes encoding the small subunit ribosomal RNA of the M. darwiniensis endosymbiont, and compared with those obtained from endosymbionts of seven species of cockroaches. Molecular phylogenetic analysis unambiguously placed all these bacteria among the flavobacteria-bacteroides, indicating that the endosymbiont of M. darwiniensis is the sister group to the cockroach endosymbionts examined. Additionally, nucleotide divergence between the endosymbionts appears to be congruent with the palaeontological data on the hosts’s evolution. These results support previous claims that the original infection occurred in an ancestor common to cockroaches and termites. A loss of endosymbionts should subsequently have occurred in all termite lineages, except that which gave rise to M. darwiniensis.
Spatiotemporal Structure of Host‐Pathogen Interactions in a Metapopulation

The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of species are influenced by spatiotemporal variation in population size. Unfortunately, we are usually limited in our ability to investigate the numerical dynamics of natural populations across large spatial scales and over long periods of time. Here we combine mechanistic and statistical approaches to reconstruct continuous‐time infection dynamics of an obligate fungal pathogen on the basis of discrete‐time occurrence data. The pathogen, Podosphaera plantaginis, infects its host plant, Plantago lanceolata, in a metapopulation setting where the presence of the pathogen has been recorded annually for 6 years in ∼4,000 host populations across an area of 50 km × 70 km in Finland. The dynamics are driven by strong seasonality, with a high extinction rate during winter and epidemic expansion in summer for local pathogen populations. We are able to identify with our model the regions in the study area where overwintering has been most successful. These overwintering sites represent foci that initiate local epidemics during the growing season. There is striking heterogeneity at the regional scale in both the overwintering success of the pathogen and the encounter intensity between the host and the pathogen. Such heterogeneity has profound implications for the coevolutionary dynamics of the interaction.
Investigation of low-level laser therapy potentiality on proliferation and differentiation of human osteoblast-like cells in the absence/presence of osteogenic factors

Abstract. Several studies have shown that low-level laser irradiation (LLLI) has beneficial effects on bone regeneration. The objective of this study was to examine the in vitro effects of LLLI on proliferation and differentiation of a human osteoblast-like cell line (Saos-2 cell line). Cultured cells were exposed to different doses of LLLI with a semiconductor diode laser (659 nm; 10 mW power output). The effects of laser on proliferation were assessed daily up to seven days of culture in cells irradiated once or for three consecutive days with laser doses of 1 or 3 J/cm2. The obtained results showed that laser stimulation enhances the proliferation potential of Saos-2 cells without changing their telomerase pattern or morphological characteristics. The effects on cell differentiation were assessed after three consecutive laser irradiation treatments in the presence or absence of osteo-inductive factors on day 14. Enhanced secretion of proteins specific for differentiation toward bone as well as calcium deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity were observed in irradiated cells cultured in a medium not supplemented with osteogenic factors. Taken together these findings indicate that laser treatment enhances the in vitro proliferation of Saos-2 cells, and also influences their osteogenic maturation, which suggest it is a helpful application for bone tissue regeneration.
Complete genetic linkage maps from an interspecific cross between Fusarium circinatum and Fusarium subglutinans

The Gibberella fujikuroi complex includes many plant pathogens of agricultural crops and trees, all of which have anamorphs assigned to the genus Fusarium. In this study, an interspecific hybrid cross between Gibberella circinata and Gibberella subglutinans was used to compile a genetic linkage map. A framework map was constructed using a total of 578 AFLP markers together with the mating type (MAT-1 and MAT-2) genes and the histone (H3) gene. Twelve major linkage groups were identified (n = 12). Fifty percent of the markers showed significant deviation from the expected 1:1 transmission ratio in a haploid F1 cross (P < 0.05). The transmission of the markers on the linkage map was biased towards alleles of the G. subglutinans parent, with an estimated 60% of the genome of F1 individuals contributed by this parent. This map will serve as a powerful
Internal stresses evolution of non conductive pastes (NCPs) and underfill materials for flip chip applications

In this paper, effects of internal stress on material properties such as CTE, modulus, and glass transition temperature (T/sub g/) of various NCPs and underfill materials for flip chip applications are discussed. And a simple method for the internal stress estimation using material properties is introduced. Usually, internal stresses are generated inside NCPs and underfill materials during a curing process. And these internal stresses affect thermomechanical properties of cured NCPs and underfill materials. Using thermo-mechanical analyzer (TMA), dimensional changes of all materials were measured. Dimensional changes after 1st heating cycle rapidly increased near T/sub g/, however, it was not observed after the 2nd and 3rd heating cycles. This difference between the 1st and 2nd cycles is due to excess free volume built during curing processes. Also, using dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), modulus and T/sub g/ were measured. The modulus of the 1st cycle was smaller than that of the 2nd cycle for all materials. Based on these differences in the 1st and 2nd cycles, internal stresses of various materials were theoretically estimated. The estimated stresses build-up of the 1st cycle was different from those of the 2nd cycle for all materials. It is considered that internal stresses generated during a curing process alter the stress state inside materials.
The Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer: Focus on Basal-Like Carcinomas

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that is characterized by a high grade of cell plasticity arising from the contribution of a diverse range of factors. When combined, these factors allow a cancer cell to transition from an epithelial to a mesenchymal state through a process of dedifferentiation that confers stem-like features, including chemoresistance, as well as the capacity to migrate and invade. Understanding the complex events that lead to the acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype will therefore help to design new therapies against metastatic breast cancer. Here, we recapitulate the main endogenous molecular signals involved in this process, and their cross-talk with paracrine factors. These signals and cross-talk include the extracellular matrix; the secretome of cancer-associated fibroblasts, macrophages, cancer stem cells, and cancer cells; and exosomes with their cargo of miRNAs. Finally, we highlight some of the more promising therapeutic perspectives based on counteracting the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells.
A Multiple Input Multiple Output Switched Capacitor DC-DC Converter with Reduced Switch Count

Switched Capacitor (SC) Converters have drawn attention of researchers recently due to their small size and high power density, primarily due to the absence of inductors. Integration on a single chip is facilitated as there are no magnetic components. A switched capacitor dc to dc converter circuit with two voltage levels as input, which can be converted to other voltage levels in buck or boost mode offering wide output voltage is presented in this work. The proposed circuit is capable of delivering 11 different output voltage levels from two input voltage levels, which includes summation of inputs, double and half output voltage levels. The novelty presented in the circuit is it uses only 9 switches, 2 charge pump capacitors and one filter capacitor to obtain the 11 gain modes. Further, an equivalent circuit model has been developed based on the differential charge theory and the mathematical equations are analyzed to obtain the optimum duty ratio at which the gating pulses to the switches are given. PSIM simulations validate the proposed circuit confirming the expected multiple output modes of the proposed circuit. This circuit can be used to power portable electronic devices and can be a potential driver for LED circuits.
Software Metrics: A Rigorous and Practical Approach, Third Edition

A Framework for Managing, Measuring, and Predicting Attributes of Software Development Products and Processes Reflecting the immense progress in the development and use of software metrics in the past decades, Software Metrics: A Rigorous and Practical Approach, Third Edition provides an up-to-date, accessible, and comprehensive introduction to software metrics. Like its popular predecessors, this third edition discusses important issues, explains essential concepts, and offers new approaches for tackling long-standing problems. New to the Third Edition This edition contains new material relevant to object-oriented design, design patterns, model-driven development, and agile development processes. It includes a new chapter on causal models and Bayesian networks and their application to software engineering. This edition also incorporates recent references to the latest software metrics activities, including research results, industrial case studies, and standards. Suitable for a Range of Readers With numerous examples and exercises, this book continues to serve a wide audience. It can be used as a textbook for a software metrics and quality assurance course or as a useful supplement in any software engineering course. Practitioners will appreciate the important results that have previously only appeared in research-oriented publications. Researchers will welcome the material on new results as well as the extensive bibliography of measurement-related information. The book also gives software managers and developers practical guidelines for selecting metrics and planning their use in a measurement program.
Weakly labeled acoustic event detection using local detector and global classifier

Acoustic event detection plays an important role in the description of acoustic contents and the computational auditory scene analysis. The majority of previous works on the topic focus on detecting monophonic and polyphonic acoustic events based on fully supervised data. However, it is difficult to make fully supervised acoustic event dataset since making strong labels is a very time-consuming process. In this paper, we propose an acoustic event detection framework for weakly supervised data which is labeled with only the existence of events. The model consists of a local detector and a global classifier. The local detector detects local audio words which contain distinct characteristics of events and the global classifier summarizes the information to make a decision on the recording. The experiments show that the proposed model has a lower EER on the CHiME Home dataset than other neural network based models.
Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR directly from cells without RNA extraction and without isothermal reverse-transcription: a ‘zero-step’ RT-qPCR protocol

Abstract We describe an ultra-rapid and sensitive method to quantify gene expression levels in cultured cells. The procedure is based on reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) directly from cells, without RNA extraction and without an isothermal reverse-transcription step. Human neurons (Lund human mesencephalic cells) were lysed at different stages of differentiation, and the lysates were used directly as template for the combined RT-qPCR reaction. We detected a down-regulation of a proliferation marker and an up-regulation of neuronal dopaminergic genes expression. We were able to detect the reference gene target from as few as a single cell, demonstrating the application of the method for efficient amplification from small cell numbers. The data were fully in line with those obtained by the standard two-step RT-qPCR from the extracted total RNA. Our ‘zero-step’ RT-qPCR method proved to be simple and reliable with a total time from cell lysis to the end of the qPCR as short as 1.5 h. It is therefore particularly suitable for RT-qPCRs where large numbers of samples must be handled, or where data are required within short time.
Induction of Pemphigus Phenotype by a Mouse Monoclonal Antibody Against the Amino-Terminal Adhesive Interface of Desmoglein 3 1

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease that is caused by IgG autoantibodies against the cadherin-type adhesion molecule desmoglein (Dsg)3. Previously, we have generated an active mouse model for PV by adoptive transfer of Dsg3−/− splenocytes. In this study, we isolated eight AK series, anti-Dsg3 IgG mAbs from the PV mouse model, and examined their pathogenic activities in induction of blister formation. Intraperitoneal inoculation of the AK23 hybridoma, but not the other AK hybridomas, induced the virtually identical phenotype to that of PV model mice or Dsg3−/− mice with typical histology of PV. Epitope mapping with domain-swapped and point-mutated Dsg1/Dsg3 molecules revealed that AK23 recognized a calcium-dependent conformational epitope on Dsg3, which consisted of the V3, K7, P8, and D59 Dsg3-specific residues that formed the adhesive interface between juxtaposed Dsg, as predicted by the crystal structure. The epitopes of the mAbs that failed to show apparent pathogenic activity were mapped in the middle to carboxyl-terminal extracellular region of Dsg3, where no direct intermolecular interaction was predicted. These findings demonstrate the pathogenic heterogeneity among anti-Dsg3 IgG Abs due to their epitopes, and suggest the direct inhibition of adhesive interaction of Dsg as an initial molecular event of blister formation in pemphigus.
Comparison of Removal Torques for Implants With Hydroxyapatite-Blasted and Sandblasted and Acid-Etched Surfaces

Purpose:Sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA) implants are widely known and used by many practitioners. A resorbable blasting media (RBM) surface is produced by blasting with bioceramic particles. We studied the correlation between the particle sizes of the media and the biomechanical force, evaluating the removal torque of hydroxyapatite-blasted implants. Materials and Methods:Commercial SLA implants comprised the control group, and RBM surface–treated implants of the same size and design comprised the experimental group. These implants were installed on both sides of rabbits' tibiae. Four weeks after the implants were installed, the implant removal torque was measured using a digital torque device. The roughness of the implant surface was analyzed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results:Both groups of surface textures exhibited a regular porosity. The 2 groups exhibited different surface roughness. No significant differences in removal torques were observed between the control and experimental groups. Conclusion:There were no significant differences in our measures of osseointegration between hydroxyapatite-blasted and SLA implants.
Incorporating weight restrictions on the Two-Level DEA model

Data Envelopmnet Analysis is used to measure the relative efficiency of a set of similar Decision Making Units. In case some inputs or outputs of these units can be grouped into some categories, Two-Level DEA model is applied. Kao [A linear formulation of the two-level DEA model, Omega 36 (2008) 958-962] proposed an approach to get a linear model from non-linear two-level model. In this paper we expand this linearization method to get a linear model in the presence of weight restrictions.
Power module in package with stack configuration of the EZ-pair MOSFETs and its dual gate driver

This paper presents an innovative surface mount bottom power ground device consisting of a dual gate driver and two optimized MOSFETs in a single package to produce a high efficiency DC-DC synchronous buck power stage. The paper illustrates the structure of the new technology, novel assembly method, characterization of device, and explains the benefits of packaging technology in a DC-DC converter application. This device enables high power density voltage regulator solutions ideal for notebook PCs, servers, and graphic cards applications.
The auxometric dimension. A new method for using rate of growth in prognostic staging of breast cancer.

A system of auxometric staging for the clinical growth rate of breast cancer can be created by considering the observed duration of the tumor and the concomitant occurrence of transition events. In an inception cohort of 219 women with histologically confirmed breast cancers that had first been treated at the Yale-New Haven Hospital during the interval 1962 to 1964, the overall five-year survival rate was 63%. Within categories of the three new auxometric stages, the five-year survival rates were as follows: slow, 37/45 (82%); intermediate, 85/133 (64%); and rapid, 15/41 (37%). These auxometric categories were combined with conventional TNM anatomic categories to form a composite anatomic-auxometric system of four stages, A through D. A particularly striking feature of the new composite system was the demarcation of 22 patients in stage A who had a 100% five-year survival rate, regardless of whether mastectomy was simple or radical. In stages B, C, and D, radical mastectomy appeared superior to simple mastectomy, but the results may have been affected by bias in selecting patients according to prognostic features that are not included in the composite new stages. The results are pertinent in therapeutic decisions for individual patients, in the design of large-scale therapeutic trials, and in biologic correlation of diverse laboratory research. Because a cancer has biologic function as well as anatomic structure, both the function and the structure require appropriate analytic attention. The exclusively anatomic categories that form the basis of conventional systems of staging for breast cancer can be complemented, augmented, and improved by suitable consideration of the clinical rate of growth. ( JAMA 228:180-185, 1974)
Hepatic microcirculation in ischemia/reperfusion: is there a role for poly(adenosine 5'-diphosphate-ribose) polymerases?

was withdrawn from the market in 2001 because of numerous cases of severe hepatic toxicity, rosiglitazone enjoys an excellent safety profile as an outpatient oral medication. It is tempting, therefore, to speculate that administration of this agent might be beneficial to patients with severe systemic inflammation and incipient organ dysfunction due to sepsis, acute pancreatitis, multiple-system trauma, or other lifethreatening conditions. Of course, the results of a study carried out using a murine model of a human disease definitely should not be extrapolated to nonsystematic “offlabel” clinical use of rosiglitazone in the intensive care unit setting. By the same token, however, I think the results reported by Dr. Cuzzocrea and coworkers (16) should prompt clinical investigators to consider organizing a carefully controlled and thoughtfully designed pilot (phase IIa) study of rosiglitazone for the adjuvant treatment of sepsis in humans. I believe that such a study would be ethical and likely to yield important new information relevant to extending the therapeutic indications for PPARagonists into the intensive care setting. Mitchell P. Fink, MD, FCCM Departments of Critical Care Medicine and Surgery University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, PA REFERENCES
Efficient selection of recombinant adenoviruses by vectors that express beta-galactosidase

Adenovirus serotype 5 vectors which contain the Excherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene driven by the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter as a screenable marker have been made and successfully used in the construction of recombinant adenoviruses. The beta-galactosidase gene has been introduced into viruses in which the E3 region is maintained or deleted and in which the cis-acting packaging sequence has been reiterated at the right end of the chromosome. A unique BstBI site has been introduced 3' of the beta-galactosidase gene. Cotransfection of BstBI-digested vector DNA and a plasmid containing the left end of the viral chromosome followed by staining with X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside) results in clear plaques when overlap recombination has occurred and blue plaques when ligation of the viral arms has occurred within the host cell. The beta-galactosidase-expressing viruses grow to lower titers than do the parental viruses, leading to a relative growth advantage for viruses resulting from overlap recombination. Combined with color selection based on the beta-galactosidase gene, this system permits efficient production and selection of recombinant viruses after cotransfection of BstBI-digested viral DNA with a plasmid including left-end viral sequences and the gene of interest. The beta-galactosidase-expressing viral DNAs were used to construct viruses containing BstBI sites on either side of the cis-acting packaging element as a means of testing their utility.
From Neurogenetic Studies in the Fly Brain to a Concept in Circadian Biology

Abstract This paper is dedicated to Karl-Friedrich Fischbach, who has always shared with me the interest in the function of the fly brain, especially that of its optic lobes. He has accompanied me during my first steps in scientific research. The paper tells the story how our first common attempts to localize the circadian clock in the fly brain finally helped in phrasing the two-oscillator principle of circadian clocks that seems to be valid far beyond the fly circadian system. I hope that Karl-Friedrich will take this story as praise for his generosity in supporting younger scientists outside his own lab, even without the reward of a common paper.