Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
cAbl Tyrosine Kinase Mediates Reactive Oxygen Species– and Caveolin-Dependent AT1 Receptor Signaling in Vascular Smooth Muscle: Role in Vascular Hypertrophy

Important output signals of the angiotensin subtype 1 receptor (AT1R) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are mediated by angiotensin II (Ang II)-stimulated transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), which is critical for vascular hypertrophy. Ang II-induced EGF-R transactivation is mediated through cSrc, a proximal target of reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) and is dependent on AT1R trafficking through caveolin1 (Cav1)-enriched lipid rafts. Underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, proto-oncogene cAbl is a substrate of Src and is a major mediator for ROS-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of Cav1. We thus hypothesized that cAbl is important for ROS-, cSrc-, and Cav1-dependent growth-related AT1R signal transduction. Here we show that Ang II induces tyrosine phosphorylation of cAbl in rat VSMCs and mouse aorta, and that Ang II promotes association of cAbl with AT1R, both of which are Src-dependent. Pretreatment of rat VSMCs with the NOX inhibitor diphenylene iodonium or the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine or ebselen significantly inhibited Ang II-induced cAbl phosphorylation. Cell fractionation shows that both EGF-Rs and cAbl are found basally in Cav1-enriched membrane fractions. Knockdown of cAbl protein using small interference RNA inhibits Ang II-stimulated: (1) trafficking of AT1R into, and EGF-R out of, Cav1-enriched lipid rafts; (2) EGF-R transactivation; (3) appearance of the transactivated EGF-R and phospho-Cav1 at focal adhesions; and (4) vascular hypertrophy. These studies provide a novel role of cAbl in the spatial and temporal organization of growth-related AT1R signaling in VSMCs and suggest that cAbl may be generally important in signaling of G-protein coupled receptors.
Reliability of testing measures in Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy.

In a multiinstitutional collaborative study, we ascertained the interevaluator and intraevaluator reliability of six physical therapists who performed assessment measures on 36 boys (11.7 +/- 3.9 years) with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy. Upper and lower extremities were evaluated by manual muscle testing for function, range of motion, and strength. The data were analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). For the interevaluator phase, ICCs were as follows: average muscle strength, . 90; range of motion, . 76; and upper extremity functional performance, . 58. For the intraevaluator phase, corresponding ICCs were . 80 to . 96; . 33 to . 97; . 34 to 1.00. Our results confirm and extend observations by others that these assessment measures are sufficiently reliable for use in a multiinstitutional collaborative effort. Such results can be used to design clinical trials that have sufficient statistical power to detect changes in the rate of disease progression. Investigators planning clinical trials in a multiinstitutional collaborative setting should first standardize the assessment methods, provide evaluator training, and document reliability.
Penetrating neck trauma with common carotid artery injury caused by a percussive drill

Abstract Rationale: Penetrating neck traumas are dangerous and have a high mortality rate, particularly in patients with common carotid artery injuries. Advances in diagnostic imaging technology have shifted management of penetrating neck injuries from mandatory exploration to selective management. The question is now regarding optimal selection of auxiliary examinations to assess “stability” rapidly and guide clinics in managing such patients. Patient concerns: A 56-year-old man suffered neck trauma with the right common carotid artery caused by a percussive drill. The carotid artery could not be clearly displayed in computed tomography (CT) angiography imaging. Diagnoses: Penetrating neck trauma due to percussive drill bit with common carotid artery injury. Interventions: X-ray and bedside duplex ultrasound with color Doppler flow imaging were used to assess the state of trauma and the foreign body was removed under general anesthesia. Outcomes: The patient was discharged at postoperative day 10 with no complication. The patient had no sequelae from this injury at 6-month follow up. Lessons: X-ray provides a comprehensive assessment of damage, and can efficiently detect foreign bodies in the skull and cervical vertebrae. Duplex ultrasound to be a viable method to exclude macrovascular injury in unstable patients who are not eligible for computed tomography angiography (CTA) or catheter angiography imaging. Widely available duplex ultrasound and x-ray should be considered in emergency situations.
Vertical tunnel field-effect transistor

The realization of a novel vertically grown tunnel field-effect transistor (FET) with several interesting properties is presented. The operation of the device is shown by means of both experimental results as well as two-dimensional computer simulations. This device consists of a MBE-grown, vertical p-i-n structure. A vertical gate controls the band-to-band tunneling width, and hence the tunneling current. Both n-channel and p-channel current behavior is observed. A perfect saturation in drain current-voltage (I/sub D/--V/sub DS/) characteristics in the reverse-biased condition for n-channel, an exponential and nearly temperature independent drain current-gate voltage (I/sub D/--V/sub GS/) relation for both subthreshold, as well as on-region, and source-drain off-currents several orders of magnitude lower then the conventional MOSFET are achieved. In the forward-biased condition, the device shows normal p-i-n diode characteristics.
Wide-band characterization of average power handling capabilities of some microstrip interconnects on polyimide and polyimide/GaAs substrates

Based on some derived closed-form equations for determining the wide-band frequency-dependent ohmic attenuation constant, loss tangent, and equivalent permittivity, the average power handling capabilities (APHC) are accurately characterized for some thin-film microstrip interconnects (TFMIs) on a single-layer polyimide and a microstrip on a double-layer polyimide and GaAs substrates, respectively. The accuracy problem arising from some closed-form equations for calculating the ohmic attenuation constant is highlighted, and the temperature-dependent property of thermal conductivity needs to be considered in calculating the temperature rise in some substrates, such as GaAs, etc. Possible ways to efficiently predict and improve the APHC are suggested, which could be useful when applying the microstrip interconnects in a high-power operating environment.
Development and application of a high throughput natural language processing architecture to convert all clinical documents in a clinical data warehouse into standardized medical vocabularies

OBJECTIVE Natural language processing (NLP) engines such as the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System are a solution for processing notes for research, but optimizing their performance for a clinical data warehouse remains a challenge. We aim to develop a high throughput NLP architecture using the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System and present a predictive model use case. MATERIALS AND METHODS The CDW was comprised of 1 103 038 patients across 10 years. The architecture was constructed using the Hadoop data repository for source data and 3 large-scale symmetric processing servers for NLP. Each named entity mention in a clinical document was mapped to the Unified Medical Language System concept unique identifier (CUI). RESULTS The NLP architecture processed 83 867 802 clinical documents in 13.33 days and produced 37 721 886 606 CUIs across 8 standardized medical vocabularies. Performance of the architecture exceeded 500 000 documents per hour across 30 parallel instances of the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System including 10 instances dedicated to documents greater than 20 000 bytes. In a use-case example for predicting 30-day hospital readmission, a CUI-based model had similar discrimination to n-grams with an area under the curve receiver operating characteristic of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.74-0.76). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Our health system's high throughput NLP architecture may serve as a benchmark for large-scale clinical research using a CUI-based approach.
Bus Dwell Time Modeling Using Gene Expression Programming

This article proposes a gene expression programming (GEP)‐based approach to model and estimate bus dwell time (BDT) as an alternative to the more commonly used multiple linear regression (MLR) model. The proposed model is calibrated and validated using the data collected from 22 bus stops in Auckland and compared against the MLR model based on five different performance measures namely: mean error, mean absolute error, root mean square error, mean absolute percentage error, and R2 value. The proposed GEP‐based approach shows prospects to estimate BDT more accurately and overcome some of the issues associated with the MLR method, including the restrictions to stick with a predefined model form and the need to satisfy assumptions made on multicollinearity, homoscedasticity, and the normality of random error, which are often difficult to satisfy in real world applications.
Beyond Word Embeddings: Dense Representations for Multi-Modal Data

Methods that calculate dense vector representations for text have proven to be very successful for knowledge representation. We study how to estimate dense representations for multi-modal data (e.g., text, continuous, categorical). We propose Feat2Vec as a novel model that supports supervised learning when explicit labels are available, and self-supervised learning when there are no labels. Feat2Vec calculates embeddings for data with multiple feature types, enforcing that all embeddings exist in a common space. We believe that we are the ﬁrst to propose a method for learning self-supervised embeddings that leverage the structure of multiple feature types. Our experiments suggest that Feat2Vec outperforms previously published methods, and that it may be useful for avoiding the cold-start problem.
Intermuscular Interaction between Synergists in Rat Originates from both Intermuscular and Extramuscular Myofascial Force Transmission

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the origin of mechanical interactions between the rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle and the grouped tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus muscles (TA+EHL). The proximal and distal tendons of EDL as well as the tied distal tendons of TA+EHL were transected and connected to force transducers. Connective tissues at the muscle bellies of the anterior crural compartment were left intact. Supramaximal stimulation of the common peroneal nerve activated all muscles maximally and simultaneously. Length-isometric force characteristics of distal TA+EHL were assessed. Simultaneously, forces exerted at the proximal and distal tendons of EDL, kept at constant muscle-tendon complex length and position, were measured. Intermuscular interaction was tested in two conditions: (a) after full longitudinal compartmental fasciotomy, and (b) after blunt dissection of the intermuscular connective tissue linkages between EDL and TA+EHL. Note that in the latter condition, intermuscular myofascial pathways were eliminated. In the initial condition, lengthening TA+EHL by 12 mm increased proximal (by 0.14 N, i.e. 9.5%) and decreased distal EDL force (by 0.21 N, i.e. 11.8%), despite the fact that EDL muscle-tendon complex length was kept constant. Blunt dissection decreased TA+EHL and distal EDL forces at low TA+EHL lengths only, while proximal EDL force decreased for all TA+EHL lengths tested. The dissection caused no changes in the TA+EHL length effects on proximal EDL force. In contrast, the amplitude of change in the distal EDL force curve decreased significantly (by 39%) subsequent to blunt dissection. It is concluded that mechanical interaction between synergists originates from both intermuscular as well as extramuscular connective tissues. The highest contribution, however, should be ascribed to the extramuscular pathway.
Perioperative complications of scoliosis surgery in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, focussing on wound healing disorders

Purpose: Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) or spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), both neuromuscular diseases, sustain spinal scoliosis in the course of their disease. To reduce the concomitant major morbidity and to improve their quality of life, patients require surgical spine stabilization. This can lead to complications like respiratory, cardiac or neurological complications or wound healing disorders (WHD). To find out the different complexities and risk factors increasing the chance to develop a WHD, the inpatient database was analyzed. Methods: We performed a retrospective statistical study. Therefore, we analyzed the inpatient database of 180 patients (142 DMD and 38 SMA patients). The focus was on WHD. To figure out the risk factors leading to WHD, we conducted a logistic regression. Results: Cardiac complications occurred most frequently, followed by pulmonary complications and neurological lesions. Fifty-seven out of 180 patients developed a WHD. In 23 cases the WHD was aseptic, in the other 34 cases dermal organisms, Pseudomonas species and intestinal organisms were responsible. By means of the logistic regression, we were able to identify two more risk factors, in addition to diagnosis and gender, for developing a WHD in our patients: the year of surgery and the direction of pelvic tilt. Conclusions: Most common complications following scoliosis surgery are respiratory and cardiac complications. WHD is a severe complication that implies a prolonged therapy. Some risk factors for developing WHD could be identified in this analysis. Specifically, these were the date of surgery and the direction of pelvic tilt.
A Strategic Analysis Reference Model for Mobile Middleware Technology Providers

The present research develops a reference model to support the strategic analysis of Mobile Middleware Technology Providers, shedding light on the business models currently employed, as well as assessing the potential overlapping of positioning between such actor typology and other incumbent players. The framework is built up through a research methodology integrating multiple case studies and a significant literature analysis. Through the creation of a system of strategic clustering matrices, the four key business models currently adopted by MMTPs – “Pure Play”, “Full Asset”, “Third Parties Relationship-focused” and “Platform & Content Management – are identified, and insightful conclusions on the impact of these actors’ newly emerging influence on the competitive dynamics characterizing the Mobile Content market are drawn.
Perinatal factors and the risk of developing anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

CONTEXT Few prospective studies to date have investigated the role of obstetric complications in anorexia nervosa, and no study to our knowledge exists for this in bulimia nervosa. OBJECTIVE To explore the role of obstetric complications in the development of eating disorders. DESIGN A blind analysis of the obstetric records of a sample of subjects with anorexia nervosa, with bulimia nervosa, and normal subjects was performed. All of the subjects included in the study belong to the same population birth cohort and were born in the 2 obstetric wards of Padua Hospital, Padua, Italy, between January 17, 1971, and December 30, 1979. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS Part of the sample of subjects with eating disorders and all of the controls took part in a prevalence study carried out in 2 randomly selected areas of Padua. In addition, all of the subjects with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa of the same birth cohort who were referred to an outpatient specialist unit were included. The final sample comprised 114 subjects with anorexia nervosa, 73 with bulimia nervosa, and 554 control subjects. RESULTS Several complications, such as maternal anemia (P = .03), diabetes mellitus (P = .04), preeclampsia (P = .02), placental infarction (P = .001), neonatal cardiac problems (P = .007), and hyporeactivity (P = .03), were significant independent predictors of the development of anorexia nervosa. The risk of developing anorexia nervosa increased with the total number of obstetric complications. In addition, an increasing number of complications significantly anticipated the age at onset of anorexia nervosa (P = .03). The obstetric complications significantly associated with bulimia nervosa were the following: placental infarction (P = .10), neonatal hyporeactivity (P = .005), early eating difficulties (P = .02), and a low birth weight for gestational age (P = .009). Being shorter for gestational age significantly differentiated subjects with bulimia nervosa from both those with anorexia nervosa (P = .04) and control subjects (P = .05). CONCLUSIONS A significantly higher risk of eating disorders was found for subjects with specific types of obstetric complications. An impairment in neurodevelopment could be implicated in the pathogenesis of eating disorders.
Connexin 43 phosphorylation in subsarcolemmal mitochondria: a general cardioprotective signal targeted by fibroblast growth factor-2?

This editorial refers to ‘The FGF-2-triggered protection of cardiac subsarcolemmal mitochondria from calcium overload is mitochondrial connexin 43-dependent’ by W. Srisakuldee et al. , pp. 72–80, this issue. During the last years, our knowledge on the role of connexin 43 (Cx43) in myocardial pathophysiology has expanded substantially. Initially thought to participate only in propagation of the electrical impulse, Cx43 gap junction channels were later shown to mediate metabolic coupling between neighbouring cells, and to associate their fates during ischaemia and reperfusion.1 Cx43 was then found outside gap junctions, forming unopposed hemichannels with paracrine signalling functions,2 and more recently has been found in locations other than the plasma membrane. Cx43, or its carboxyterminal domain, can translocate to the nucleus, where they may modulate cell growth and gene expression,3 and interact with intracellular signalling cascades involved in important functions as glucose metabolism.4 We know now that Cx43 is also present at the inner mitochondrial membrane of subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM) of cardiomyocytes,5 that it modulates mitochondrial K+ uptake,6 complex I respiration,7 and radical oxygen species generation,8 and that this localization is important for preconditioning protection.9 In a recent study, ischaemic preconditioning protected SSM submitted to ischaemia–reperfusion in vitro , …
Root contact during drilling for microimplant placement. Affect of surgery site and operator expertise.

OBJECTIVE To determine the surgery site dependency of root contact during drilling for orthodontic microimplant placement and to analyze the influence of clinicians' expertise on the results. MATERIALS AND METHODS Dental arches with resin teeth were mounted on a dental phantom (P-5/3 TS, Frasaco, Germany). Drilling was conducted in six locations frequently selected for microimplant placement: between the central incisors, between the maxillary first molar and second premolar, and between the mandibular first and second molars, bilaterally. The 28 qualified dentists who participated were divided into two groups based on their clinical experience. A total of 192 drillings were performed by the experienced group and 240 by the inexperienced group. The damaged root surfaces were classified as "moderate" or "severe. " RESULTS Significant differences in both overall and site-dependent rates of root contacts were found between the groups. Overall rates for the experienced and inexperienced groups were 13.5% and 21.3%, respectively. For the experienced group, the incidents occurred predominantly in the lower left (34.4%) and upper right (18.8%) posterior regions. The most susceptible teeth were numbers 36 and 16. In contrast, for the inexperienced group, all four posterior regions were susceptible. CONCLUSIONS The surgery site and clinicians' expertise had significant effects on the rate as well as the pattern of root contacts.
Patterns of glenohumeral joint laxity and stiffness in healthy men and women.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify gender-related differences in glenohumeral (GH) joint laxity, stiffness, and generalized joint hypermobility in healthy men and women. METHODS Fifty-one healthy men and women were tested for generalized joint hypermobility, and anterior-posterior (AP) joint laxity and stiffness using a single-group factorial design. RESULTS Women exhibited significantly more anterior joint laxity (men 8.3 +/- 2.2 mm vs women 11.4 +/- 2.8 mm, P < 0.001) and less anterior joint stiffness (men 20.5 +/- 5.0 N x mm(-1) vs women 16.3 +/- 4.2 N x mm(-1), P < 0.01) than men. Men had significantly more posterior joint laxity than anterior (Ant 8.3 +/- 2.2 mm vs Post 9.6 +/- 2.9 mm; P < 0.001), and women also had significantly less anterior joint stiffness than posterior [Ant 16.3 +/- 4.2 N x mm(-1) vs Post 22.1 +/- 6.9 N x mm(-1); P < 0.01], Women also demonstrated significantly more generalized joint hypermobility than men (men 1.0 +/- 1.7 vs women 2.9 +/- 2.1; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Our findings may indicate a possible increased risk for instability in women, especially those participating in sports that require repetitive overhead-throwing motion. Future investigations should seek to determine the contribution of increased GH joint laxity and decreased joint stiffness to various injury states and examine these variables in other populations such as overhead-throwing athletes.
Evolutionary dynamics of a rapidly receding southern range boundary in the threatened California Red‐Legged Frog (Rana draytonii)

Populations forming the edge of a species range are often imperiled by isolation and low genetic diversity, with proximity to human population centers being a major determinant of edge stability in modern landscapes. Since the 1960s, the California red‐legged frog (Rana draytonii) has undergone extensive declines in heavily urbanized southern California, where the range edge has rapidly contracted northward while shifting its cardinal orientation to an east‐west trending axis. We studied the genetic structure and diversity of these frontline populations, tested for signatures of contemporary disturbance, specifically fire, and attempted to disentangle these signals from demographic events extending deeper into the past. Consistent with the genetic expectations of the ‘abundant‐center’ model, we found that diversity, admixture, and opportunity for random mating increases in populations sampled successively further away from the range boundary. Demographic simulations indicate that bottlenecks in peripheral isolates are associated with processes extending tens to a few hundred generations in the past, despite the demographic collapse of some due to recent fire‐flood events. While the effects of recent disturbance have left little genetic imprint on these populations, they likely contribute to an extinction debt that will lead to continued range contraction unless management intervenes to stall or reverse the process.