Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain

The assessment and management of low back pain often poses an elusive diagnostic problem for both the patient and physician, and this book, authored by an orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal disorders, provides a very insightful discussion into the spectrum of the low back pain patient. A conservative, nonsurgical approach is emphasized throughout, in that only 1 to 2% of all low back pain patients will be candidates for any type of surgical procedure, based on an epidemiologic review detailed by the author in the first chapter. Other sections pertain to the clinical anatomy of the lumbosacral spinal elements and their relationship to low back pain with appropriate illustrations, history, and physical examination, wherein many clinical pearls are offered, and a discussion of the various radiographic and laboratory tests, outlining the benefits of each in relation to the specific underlying pathologic process. Presented in the remainder of the book are discussions dedicated specifically to the subjects of idiopathic low back pain, herniated lumbar disk disease, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, lumbar instability, postoperative complications, and the failed low back syndrome. An interesting commentary is also provided on such diverse topics as osteoporotic compression fracture and differentiation from vertebral tumor, primary and metastatic spinal tumors, infection, and effects of pregnancy on low back pain generation. This book will be a useful addition to the libraries of practitioners of various disciplines who are involved in the care of patients with low back pain, as well as of those interested in seeking a broader understanding of this common and perplexing pain syndrome.
A Novel Gene (PLU-1) Containing Highly Conserved Putative DNA/Chromatin Binding Motifs Is Specifically Up-regulated in Breast Cancer*

A novel human gene (PLU-1) has been identified which shows a highly restricted expression in normal adult tissues but which is consistently expressed in breast cancers. A fragment of the PLU-1 cDNA was identified by differentially screening a fetal brain library with cDNAs prepared from ce-1 cells (a human mammary epithelial cell line overexpressing c-ErbB2) treated or untreated with the antibody 4D5, which inhibits c-ErbB2 phosphorylation. Clones covering the full cDNA sequence of 6.4 kilobases were isolated from a breast cancer cDNA library. Although expression of PLU-1 in ce-1 cells is regulated by signaling from c-ErbB2, the gene is expressed in all the breast cancer cell lines examined, in cells cultured from primary breast cancers, and in the invasive and in situ components of primary breast cancers. Translation of the open reading frame predicts a protein of 1544 amino acids, which contains three PHD/LAP motifs, a specific DNA-binding domain found in aDrosophila protein (dri) and novel domains showing extensive homology with other human and non human gene products. Transient transfection of cell lines with MYC-tagged PLU-1 showed the protein to be localized in the nucleus and associated with discrete foci. The presence of the dri motif and PHD/LAP fingers together with the clear nuclear localization and consistent expression in breast cancers, suggest a role for PLU-1 in regulating gene expression in breast cancers.
Dynamic MIMO Multiple-Carrier Multiple-Access: Adaptive Radio-Resource Allocation Under Realistic Constraints

This paper proposes a multiple-access (MA) radio-resource-allocation (RRA) scheme under realistic constraints: dynamic space-frequency-division multiple-access (DSFDMA), which is characterized by collectively and simultaneously considering the bandwidth assignment (subcarrier-clustering), power-allocation, beamforming vectors and user's data-transmission-latency requirement. This scheme optimizes the multi-user MIMO multi-carrier systems through a weighted-mutual-information maximization. Applicable to diverse configurations of user-terminals, the DSFDMA conducts the RRA in a cognitive manner to address the system requirements in both of bandwidth efficiency and users' data queue-length balancing (user-fairness). It is modeled and derived with a multiple-user MIMO-setup and characterized by an iterative gradient-based algorithm. Two major realistic constraints are introduced to the modeling: single-user power limits and the maximum number of spatial-beams supported and separable by the base-station receiver. Even though the optimization problem under such realistic constraints is not a convex or concave problem, through a multistage optimization, the designed algorithm exhibits a robust and superior performance, which is verified by a large number of Monte Carlo simulations. The scheme also possesses valuable scalability and generality.
Design of Novel Algorithm for Brain Tumor Detection: A Review

– Papers in the literature show that various algorithms were applied on MRI images for detection of brain tumor. However, not all of them were found to be effective in terms of parameters like efficiency, computational complexity, reliability & execution time. So the proposed work is to design a novel algorithm by combining best features of various algorithms, so that the accuracy, execution time, reliability & efficiency is improved.
Influence of pressure on the low‐frequency vibrational modes of lysozyme and water: A complementary inelastic neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulation study

We performed complementary inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the influence of pressure on the low‐frequency vibrational modes of lysozyme in aqueous solution in the 1 atm–6 kbar range. Increasing pressure induces a high‐frequency shift of the low‐frequency part (<10 meV = 80 cm−1) of the vibrational density of states (VDOS), g(ω), of both lysozyme and water that reveals a stiffening of the interactions ascribed to the reduction of the protein and water volumes. Accordingly, high pressures increase the curvature of the free energy profiles of the protein quasiharmonic vibrational modes. Furthermore, the nonlinear influence of pressure on the g(ω) of lysozyme indicates a change of protein dynamics that reflects the nonlinear pressure dependence of the protein compressibility. An analogous dynamical change is observed for water and stems from the distortion of its tetrahedral structure under pressure. Moreover, our study reveals that the structural, dynamical, and vibrational properties of the hydration water of lysozyme are less sensitive to pressure than those of bulk water, thereby evidencing the strong influence of the protein surface on hydration water. Proteins 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Impact of Macrophage Insulin Resistance on Advanced Atherosclerotic Plaque Progression [2010;106:58–67] The RAGE Axis: A Fundamental Mechanism Signaling Danger to the Vulnerable Vasculature [2010;106:842–853] The Promise of Cell-Based Therapies for Diabetic Complications: Challenges and Solution

Both cardioand microvascular complications adversely affect the life quality of patients with diabetes and have been the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in this population. Cardiovascular pathologies of diabetes have an effect on microvenules, arteries, and myocardium. It is believed that hyperglycemia is one of the most important metabolic factors in the development of both microand macrovascular complications in diabetic patients. Several prominent hypotheses exist to explain the adverse effect of hyperglycemia. One of them is the chronic activation by hyperglycemia of protein kinase (PK)C, a family of enzymes that are involved in controlling the function of other proteins. PKC has been associated with vascular alterations such as increases in permeability, contractility, extracellular matrix synthesis, cell growth and apoptosis, angiogenesis, leukocyte adhesion, and cytokine activation and inhibition. These perturbations in vascular cell homeostasis caused by different PKC isoforms (PKC, 1/2, and PKC) are linked to the development of pathologies affecting large vessel (atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy) and small vessel (retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy) complications. Clinical trials using a PKCisoform inhibitor have been conducted, with some positive results for diabetic nonproliferative retinopathy, nephropathy, and endothelial dysfunction. This article reviews present understanding of how PKC isoforms cause vascular dysfunctions and pathologies in diabetes. (Circ Res. 2010;106:1319-1331.)
Caries experience and status in school-age children residing in four North Italian communities.

PURPOSE The aim of this paper was to describe the caries experience in four North Italian areas. The areas selected were four North Italian medium-sized cities: San Remo located in western Liguria, Ferrara in Emilia, and Varese and Melegnano (Milan suburbs). MATERIALS AND METHODS 1104 subjects (560 males and 544 females) were examined. Several dental outcomes were used: DMFT Index and SiC index following WHO recommendations; and the caries experience ratio; the percentage of children with high caries disease and with rampant caries was calculated as the percentage of subjects with DMFT > 0, DMFT > or = 4 and DMFT > or = 7. RESULTS Mean DMFT ranged from 1.21 +/- 1.65 in the Ferrara group to 1.83 +/- 2.49 in San Remo. Among the groups, statistically significant differences were observed for DT and DMFT (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01 respectively). The SiC index was 3.75 +/- 1.87, 3 (2-5) in all samples, with significant differences among the four areas (p = 0.04). No statistical differences were observed among the four areas regarding caries experience and the proportion of children with high and rampant caries. An elevated proportion of subjects with high caries (DMFT > or = 4) was noted in the San Remo group (22.9%). The distribution of children by gender according to DMFT levels was not statistically significant either. The F/DMFT ratio was similar in the survey areas, from 0.30 in San Remo, 0.38 in Varese and Ferrara, to 0.40 in the Milan suburbs. CONCLUSION Information drawn from this study can be helpful to describe and plan future dental prevention programmes aimed at reducing caries experience and promoting better oral health level.
LumiNOC: A Power-Efficient, High-Performance, Photonic Network-on-Chip

To meet energy-efficient performance demands, the computing industry has moved to parallel computer architectures, such as chip multiprocessors (CMPs), internally interconnected via networks-on-chip (NoC) to meet growing communication needs. Achieving scaling performance as core counts increase to the hundreds in future CMPs, however, will require high performance, yet energy-efficient interconnects. Silicon nanophotonics is a promising replacement for electronic on-chip interconnect due to its high bandwidth and low latency, however, prior techniques have required high static power for the laser and ring thermal tuning. We propose a novel nano-photonic NoC (PNoC) architecture, LumiNOC, optimized for high performance and power-efficiency. This paper makes three primary contributions: a novel, nanophotonic architecture which partitions the network into subnets for better efficiency; a purely photonic, in-band, distributed arbitration scheme; and a channel sharing arrangement utilizing the same waveguides and wavelengths for arbitration as data transmission. In a 64-node NoC under synthetic traffic, LumiNOC enjoys 50% lower latency at low loads and ~40% higher throughput per Watt on synthetic traffic, versus other reported PNoCs. LumiNOC reduces latencies ~40% versus an electrical 2-D mesh NoCs on the PARSEC shared-memory, multithreaded benchmark suite.
The parallel break construct, or how to kill an activity tree

Most parallel languages provide means to express parallelism, e.g. a parallel-do construct, but no means to terminate the parallel activities spawned by such constructs. We propose three high-level primitives for this purpose, which are defined by analogies with primitives that break out of sequential iterative constructs. The primitives are pcontinue, which terminates the calling activity, pbreak, which terminates all the activities in the construct that spawned the calling activity, and return, which terminates all the activities created in the current function call. These constructs are especially useful in search problems, where an activity that finds a solution can terminate other activities that are investigating inferior approaches. Given that parallel constructs can be nested, activities form a tree rooted at the original activity that started the program. The main challenge in implementing pbreak and return is identifying the subtree of activities that should be killed. Three algorithms were designed and implemented, and experiments show that using these constructs can provide significant performance benefits.
Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 - II. The spatial, temporal, and physical nature of the outflow from HST/COS Observations

Context. AGN outflows are thought to influence the evolution of their host galaxies and of super massive black holes. Our deep multiwavelength campaign on NGC 5548 has revealed a new, unusually strong X-ray obscuration, accompanied by broad UV absorption troughs observed for the first time in this object. The X-ray obscuration caused a dramatic decrease in the incident ionizing flux on the outflow that produces the long-studied narrow UV absorption lines in this AGN. The resulting data allowed us to construct a comprehensive physical, spatial, and temporal picture for this enduring AGN wind. Aims. We aim to determine the distance of the narrow UV outflow components from the central source, their total column-density, and the mechanism responsible for their observed absorption variability. Methods. We study the UV spectra acquired during the campaign, as well as from four previous epochs (1998−2011). Our main analysis tools are ionic column-density extraction techniques, photoionization models based on the code CLOUDY, and collisional excitation simulations. Results. A simple model based on a fixed total column-density absorber, reacting to changes in ionizing illumination, matches the very different ionization states seen in five spectroscopic epochs spanning 16 years. The main component of the enduring outflow is situated at 3.5 ± 1.1 pc from the central source, and its distance and number density are similar to those of the narrow-emitting-line region in this object. Three other components are situated between 5−70 pc and two are farther than 100 pc. The wealth of observational constraints and the anti-correlation between the observed X-ray and UV flux in the 2002 and 2013 epochs make our physical model a leading contender for interpreting trough variability data of quasar outflows. Conclusions. This campaign, in combination with prior UV and X-ray data, yields the first simple model that can explain the physical characteristics and the substantial variability observed in an AGN outflow.
Ligand-Gated Chloride Channels Are Receptors for Biogenic Amines in C. elegans

Biogenic Amine Receptors Biogenic amines have important effects on behavior in humans and other animals. These agents can act by binding to heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein (G protein)–coupled receptors, but can also activate ligand-gated ion channels. Ringstad et al. (p. 96) explored the family of ion channels that respond to biogenic amines in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and characterized two family members that appear to function as chloride channels. One was a receptor activated by dopamine that could bind drugs used in humans as antipsychotics. The other was activated by tyramine and was shown in genetic studies to modulate behavior. Thus, the worm family of biogenic amine–activated channels is larger than previously recognized. If the same is true in humans, related channels may account, in part, for effects of currently used drugs or could be beneficial targets for development of therapeutics. An expanded family of receptor channels that bind neurotransmitters in worms might help to explain behavioral effects in humans. Biogenic amines such as serotonin and dopamine are intercellular signaling molecules that function widely as neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. We have identified in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans three ligand-gated chloride channels that are receptors for biogenic amines: LGC-53 is a high-affinity dopamine receptor, LGC-55 is a high-affinity tyramine receptor, and LGC-40 is a low-affinity serotonin receptor that is also gated by choline and acetylcholine. lgc-55 mutants are defective in a behavior that requires endogenous tyramine, which indicates that this ionotropic tyramine receptor functions in tyramine signaling in vivo. Our studies suggest that direct activation of membrane chloride conductances is a general mechanism of action for biogenic amines in the modulation of C. elegans behavior.
Language as a Foundation of the Semantic Web

This paper aims to show how language-related knowledge may serve as a fundamental building block for the Semantic Web. We present a system of URIs for terms, languages, scripts, and characters, which are not only highly interconnected but also linked to a great variety of resources on the Web. Additional mapping heuristics may then be used to derive new links.
Collagen fibril formation.

Collagen is most abundant in animal tissues as very long fibrils with a characteristic axial periodic structure. The fibrils provide the major biomechanical scaffold for cell attachment and anchorage of macromolecules, allowing the shape and form of tissues to be defined and maintained. How the fibrils are formed from their monomeric precursors is the primary concern of this review. Collagen fibril formation is basically a self-assembly process (i.e. one which is to a large extent determined by the intrinsic properties of the collagen molecules themselves) but it is also sensitive to cell-mediated regulation, particularly in young or healing tissues. Recent attention has been focused on "early fibrils' or "fibril segments' of approximately 10 microns in length which appear to be intermediates in the formation of mature fibrils that can grow to be hundreds of micrometers in length. Data from several laboratories indicate that these early fibrils can be unipolar (with all molecules pointing in the same direction) or bipolar (in which the orientation of collagen molecules reverses at a single location along the fibril). The occurrence of such early fibrils has major implications for tissue morphogenesis and repair. In this article we review the current understanding of the origin of unipolar and bipolar fibrils, and how mature fibrils are assembled from early fibrils. We include preliminary evidence from invertebrates which suggests that the principles for bipolar fibril assembly were established at least 500 million years ago.
An Agent-based Simulation of the Effectiveness of Creative Leadership

This paper investigates the effectiveness of creative versus uncreative leadership using EVOC, an agent-based model of cultural evolution. Each iteration, each agent in the artificial society invents a new action, or imitates a neighbor's action. Only the leader's actions can be imitated by all other agents, referred to as followers. Two measures of creativity were used: (1) invention-to-imitation ratio, iLeader, which measures how often an agent invents, and (2) rate of conceptual change, cLeader, which measures how creative an invention is. High iLeader increased mean fitness of ideas, but only when creativity of followers was low. High iLeader was associated with greater diversity of ideas in the early stage of idea generation only. High cLeader increased mean fitness of ideas in the early stage of idea generation; in the later stage it decreased idea fitness. Reasons for these findings and tentative implications for creative leadership in human society are discussed.
Characterization of human DNGR-1+ BDCA3+ leukocytes as putative equivalents of mouse CD8α+ dendritic cells

In mouse, a subset of dendritic cells (DCs) known as CD8α+ DCs has emerged as an important player in the regulation of T cell responses and a promising target in vaccination strategies. However, translation into clinical protocols has been hampered by the failure to identify CD8α+ DCs in humans. Here, we characterize a population of human DCs that expresses DNGR-1 (CLEC9A) and high levels of BDCA3 and resembles mouse CD8α+ DCs in phenotype and function. We describe the presence of such cells in the spleens of humans and humanized mice and report on a protocol to generate them in vitro. Like mouse CD8α+ DCs, human DNGR-1+ BDCA3hi DCs express Necl2, CD207, BATF3, IRF8, and TLR3, but not CD11b, IRF4, TLR7, or (unlike CD8α+ DCs) TLR9. DNGR-1+ BDCA3hi DCs respond to poly I:C and agonists of TLR8, but not of TLR7, and produce interleukin (IL)-12 when given innate and T cell–derived signals. Notably, DNGR-1+ BDCA3+ DCs from in vitro cultures efficiently internalize material from dead cells and can cross-present exogenous antigens to CD8+ T cells upon treatment with poly I:C. The characterization of human DNGR-1+ BDCA3hi DCs and the ability to grow them in vitro opens the door for exploiting this subset in immunotherapy.
Improving secure server performance by re-balancing SSL/TLS handshakes

Much of today's distributed computing takes place in a client /server model. Despite advances in fault tolerance - in particular, replication and load distribution -- server overload remains to be a major problem. In the Web context, one of the main overload factors is the direct consequence of expensive Public Key operations performed by servers as part of each SSL handshake. Since most SSL-enabled servers use RSA, the burden of performing many costly decryption operations can be very detrimental to server performance. This paper examines a promising technique for re-balancing RSA-based client/server handshakes. This technique facilitates more favorable load distribution by requiring clients to perform more work (as part of encryption) and servers to perform commensurately less work, thus resulting in better SSL throughput. Proposed techniques are based on careful adaptation of variants of Server-Aided RSA originally constructed by Matsumoto, et al. [1]. Experimental results demonstrate that suggested methods (termed Client-Aided RSA) can speed up processing of RSA private key operations by a factor of between 11 to 19, depending on the RSA key size. This represents a considerable improvement. Furthermore, proposed techniques can be a useful companion tool for SSL Client Puzzles in defense against DoS and DDoS attacks.