Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment and outcomes of acute intracranial vertebrobasilar artery occlusion: one institution's experience.

OBJECT The treatment of acute intracranial vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBO) has been described but often with poor results. The authors of this study set out to evaluate their institution's outcomes following multimodal treatment of VBO. METHODS They retrospectively reviewed their endovascular database for all patients treated for acute intracranial VBO between December 2004 and June 2010. Twenty-four patients were identified. Two patients were excluded from evaluation-one because of incomplete medical records and one because the etiology was basilar stenosis and not stroke. Occlusion location, hypercoagulable causes, time to endovascular treatment, time to revascularization, comorbidities, devices used, procedural anticoagulation, and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS Among the 22 eligible study patients, the mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at presentation was 15.3. The mean time from presentation to initiation of the endovascular procedure was 4.77 hours. The mean time for recanalization from the start of angiography was 1.63 hours. In 16 patients (73%), revascularization was successful (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] score of 2 or 3). Thirteen (59%) of the 22 patients were discharged to home or a rehabilitation facility. One patient was transferred to a chronic care facility. The overall survival rate was 64%. The average NIHSS score for the 14 surviving patients at discharge was 3.9. At the follow-up (average 14.5 months, range 1-58 months), 10 patients (71%) had achieved good outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score ≤ 2) and 4 (29%) had poor outcomes (mRS Score 3-6). CONCLUSIONS Published case series have historically shown poor outcomes and high mortality rates in association with the treatment of acute VBO, prompting surgeons to be less aggressive in the treatment of this disease than they might be otherwise. Data in this series show that the revascularization of posterior circulation occlusions is feasible and that good outcomes and lower mortality rates with newer endovascular technologies are possible, and thus more prompt and aggressive treatment of this disease may be warranted.
LOW TEMPERATURE SOLUTION PROCESS FOR FABRICATION OF ELECTRODES ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE USING GOLD NANOPARTICLES

Inkjet printing technology has emerged as major contender for large area electronics. The major challenge for this technology is the development of suitable conductive ink to obtain high quality patterns with desired electrical conductivity comparable to metals. The conductive ink should have good film formability on the flexible substrate as well as lower annealing temperature compatible with plastic substrates. Gold nano particle (AuNP) is the material of choice due to its very low sintering temperature in addition to excellent electrical property and resistance to corrosion. We have synthesized the butanethiol encapsulated Au-NP by the Brust method. We demonstrate a sintering temperature as low as 150°C for butanethiol capped gold nanoparticles of size less than 2 nm. The conductive gold films obtained after transformation have been investigated using four point probe method to measure sheet resistance as a function of process time. We show that the electrical properties degrade as annealing time increases. The reason for changes in electrical property has been investigated using SEM, TEM and XRD. The decrease in conductivity is traced to the formation of large micron sized gold crystallites on the film surface at temperatures as low as 160°C.
Understanding the role of B cells in atherosclerosis: potential clinical implications

Atherosclerosis is a progressive inflammatory disease of the medium to large arteries that is the largest contributor to cardiovascular disease. B-cell subsets have been shown in animal models of atherosclerosis to have both atherogenic and atheroprotective properties. In this review, we highlight the research that developed our understanding of the role of B cells in atherosclerosis both in humans and mice. From this we discuss the potential clinical impact B cells could have both as diagnostic biomarkers and as targets for immunotherapy. Finally, we recognize the inherent difficulty in translating findings from animal models into humans given the differences in both cardiovascular disease and the immune system between mice and humans, making the case for greater efforts at addressing the role of B cells in human atherosclerosis.
Electrodeposition in support: concentration gradients, an ohmic model and the genesis of branching fractals

The technique of paper-supported copper electrodeposition provides examples of well-presented fractal and dense radial structures. The growths may be developed to reveal concentration gradients around the growths at low cell overpotential. Measurements for current and length scale against time, within a mid-range of cell overpotentials, fit an ohmic model of the growth conditions. To examine the relation of growth morphology to the micrometre-scale structure, we grew first at one overpotential and then continued at a lower overpotential. Electron microscope observations of this growth reveal a distinct change in microstructure from irregular to dentritic microcrystalline from the high to low potential respectively. The interface between the growths is a distinctive compact granular deposit. The granular deposit is unstable to branching and dendrite growth.
Dynamic look at DNA unwinding by a replicative helicase

Significance Precise replication of the genome is essential for maintaining the integrity of genetic information in all forms of life. A key step in this process is the unwinding of the DNA double helix, a subject of intensive research and debate. We took a multifaceted approach to study fundamental mechanisms of helicase function, using the E1 helicase from papillomavirus. Our findings reveal that E1 employs a strand exclusion mechanism to unwind DNA with the N-terminal side leading at the replication fork. Intriguingly, DNA unwinding by E1 is modulated by the origin-recognition domain, suggesting a previously unsuspected role for this domain in regulating helicase activity. A prerequisite for DNA replication is the unwinding of duplex DNA catalyzed by a replicative hexameric helicase. Despite a growing body of research, key elements of helicase mechanism remain under substantial debate. In particular, the number of DNA strands encircled by the helicase ring during unwinding and the ring orientation at the replication fork completely contrast in contemporary mechanistic models. Here we use single-molecule and ensemble assays to address these questions for the papillomavirus E1 helicase. We find that E1 unwinds DNA with a strand-exclusion mechanism, with the N-terminal side of the helicase ring facing the replication fork. We show that E1 generates strikingly heterogeneous unwinding patterns stemming from varying degrees of repetitive movements, which is modulated by the DNA-binding domain. Together, our studies reveal previously unrecognized dynamic facets of replicative helicase unwinding mechanisms.
Study on the Model of Logistics Management of ERP Teaching

ERP (enterprise resource planning) is a logistics management course, which is very important for ERP course and the characteristics of logistics management. By means of the modern educational technology and the classroom practice of computer simulation, the connotative definition of ERP can be comprehended easily. The innovation of the model of teaching methods can bring about a striking effect.
Comorbidity between myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles and fibromyalgia.

This study compared myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles to fibromyalgia. Study data show that, in both myofascial pain and fibromyalgia patients, facial pain intensity and its daily pattern and effect on quality of life are very similar. This indicated that fibromyalgia should be included in the differential diagnosis for myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles. However, with the higher prevalence of neurologic and gastrointestinal symptoms, and the stronger words used to describe the affective dimension of pain, it is apparent that fibromyalgia may be a more debilitating condition than myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles. Since the intensity of facial pain was strongly and significantly correlated to the body-pain index in fibromyalgia but not in myofascial pain patients, it can be concluded that facial pain may be part of the clinical manifestations of fibromyalgia, but it is unlikely to be related to body pain in myofascial pain patients. On the other hand, while body pain is episodic in most myofascial pain patients, it is constant and more severe in the majority of fibromyalgia patients. This difference in the pain patterns suggests that body pain in fibromyalgia and myofascial pain could have different etiologies. The lack of correlation between the intensity of pain and the length of time since onset also supports the concept that myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles and fibromyalgia are unlikely to be progressive disorders.
Efficient mining of association rules based on gravitational search algorithm

Association rules mining are one of the most used tools to discover relationships among attributes in a d atabase. A lot of algorithms have been introduced for discovering these rules. These algorithms have to mine association rules in two stages separately. Most of them mine occurrence rules which are easily predictable by the users. Therefore, this paper discusses the application of gravitational search algorithm for discovering interesting association rules. This evolutionary algorithm is based on the Newtonian gravity and the laws of motion. Furthermore, contrary to the previous methods, the proposed method in this study is able to mine the best association rules without generating frequent itemsets and is independent of the minimum support and confidence values. The results of applying this method in comparison with the method of mining association rules based upon the particle swarm optimization show that our method is successful.
COnteMporary Modalities In Treatment of Heart Failure: a report from the COMMIT-HF registry.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Heart failure (HF) has become a global health problem and is a significant burden for health-care systems worldwide. It is reported as the reason for 1-4% of all hospital admissions in developed countries. The prognosis in HF remains unfavourable. Having at our disposal a large group of patients with systolic HF at a high-volume reference cardiovascular centre with the possibility to implement complete diagnostics and therapy we decided to analyse the clinical data, administered therapies, and prognosis in HF patients. METHODS The COMMIT-HF is a single-centre observational study that is underway in the Third Chair and Department of Cardiology of the Silesian Centre for Heart Diseases in Zabrze. The study population is a cohort of adult HF patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35%. Patients with acute coronary syndromes are excluded from the analysis. Complete patient demographics: medical history, hospitalisation data (diagnostic and therapeutic), and in-hospital results are collected. Twelve-month follow-up is based on the information acquired from the national health-care provider. RESULTS As of 31 December 2013 a group of 1798 patients have been enrolled (mean age 60.9 ± 12.8 years, 20.3% of subjects female, mean LVEF 26.06 ± 6.09, ischaemic aetiology 64.5%, atrial fibrillation 33.2%, diabetes mellitus 41.2%, chronic kidney disease stage ≥ III 29%). A significant proportion of patients underwent invasive procedures (ICD/CRT-D implantation 61.1%, coronary angiography 56.2%, PCI 19.6%, CABG 5.1%, heart transplantation qualification 5.5%, IABP 2.5%). All-cause 12-month morality was 12.5%. HF-related rehospitalisation rate was 28.9%. CONCLUSIONS The COMMIT-HF study will provide valuable information on the HF patient population. Initial analyses show that in this difficult patient population satisfactory long-term results can be achieved.
Betrayal Aversion: Evidence from Brazil, China, Oman, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States

Due to betrayal aversion, people take risks less willingly when the agent of uncertainty is another person rather than nature. Individuals in six countries (Brazil, China, Oman, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States) confronted a binary-choice trust game or a risky decision offering the same payoffs and probabilities. Risk acceptance was calibrated by asking individuals their “minimum acceptable probability” (MAP) for securing the high payoff that would make them willing to accept the risky rather than the sure payoff. People’s MAPs are generally higher when another person rather than nature determines the outcome. This indicates betrayal aversion.
Dithering in quantized RSS based localization

We study maximum likelihood (ML) position estimation using quantized received signal strength measurements. In order to mitigate the undesired quantization effect in the observations, the dithering technique is adopted. Various dither noise distributions are considered and the corresponding likelihood functions are derived. Simulation results show that the proposed ML estimator with dithering is able to generate a significantly reduced bias but a modestly increased mean-square-error as compared to the conventional ML estimator without dithering.
Regulation of ERK and AKT pathways by hepatitis B virus X protein via the Notch1 pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the dominant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV X protein (HBx) plays crucial roles in HCC carcinogenesis. HBx interferes with several signaling pathways including the Notch1 pathway in HCC. In this study, we found that Notch1 was highly expressed in HCC, especially in large HCCs. Notch1 and HBx co-localized in HCC and their levels were positively correlated with each other. Notch1 expression was more elevated in HepG2.2. 15 cells than that in HepG2 cells. HBx activated the Notch1 pathway in HepG2.2. 15 cells. Suppression of HBx and the Notch1 pathway attenuated the growth of HepG2.2. 15 cells. Notch1, ERK, and AKT pathways were inhibited after γ-secretase inhibitor treatment. Dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) were upregulated after γ-secretase inhibitor treatment and Hes1 inhibition. Luciferase reporter assays showed that Hes1 suppressed the promoters of DUSP1 and PTEN genes, which was reversed by γ-secretase inhibitor treatment. Western blotting demonstrated that DUSP1 dephosphorylated pERK and PTEN dephosphorylated pAKT. Collectively, we found a link among HBx, the Notch1 pathway, DUSP1/PTEN, and ERK/AKT pathways, which influenced HCC cell survival and could be a therapeutic target for HCC treatment.
The Diversity of Bioactive Proteins in Australian Snake Venoms*S

Australian elapid snakes are among the most venomous in the world. Their venoms contain multiple components that target blood hemostasis, neuromuscular signaling, and the cardiovascular system. We describe here a comprehensive approach to separation and identification of the venom proteins from 18 of these snake species, representing nine genera. The venom protein components were separated by two-dimensional PAGE and identified using mass spectrometry and de novo peptide sequencing. The venoms are complex mixtures showing up to 200 protein spots varying in size from <7 to over 150 kDa and in pI from 3 to >10. These include many proteins identified previously in Australian snake venoms, homologs identified in other snake species, and some novel proteins. In many cases multiple trains of spots were typically observed in the higher molecular mass range (>20 kDa) (indicative of post-translational modification). Venom proteins and their post-translational modifications were characterized using specific antibodies, phosphoprotein- and glycoprotein-specific stains, enzymatic digestion, lectin binding, and antivenom reactivity. In the lower molecular weight range, several proteins were identified, but the predominant species were phospholipase A2 and α-neurotoxins, both represented by different sequence variants. The higher molecular weight range contained proteases, nucleotidases, oxidases, and homologs of mammalian coagulation factors. This information together with the identification of several novel proteins (metalloproteinases, vespryns, phospholipase A2 inhibitors, protein-disulfide isomerase, 5′-nucleotidases, cysteine-rich secreted proteins, C-type lectins, and acetylcholinesterases) aids in understanding the lethal mechanisms of elapid snake venoms and represents a valuable resource for future development of novel human therapeutics.
Identification of internal control genes in milk-derived mammary epithelial cells during lactation cycle of Indian zebu cow.

The present study aims to evaluate the suitability of 10 candidate genes, namely GAPDH, ACTB, RPS15A, RPL4, RPS9, RPS23, HMBS, HPRT1, EEF1A1 and UBI as internal control genes (ICG) to normalize the transcriptional data of mammary epithelial cells (MEC) in Indian cows. A total of 52 MEC samples were isolated from milk of Sahiwal cows (major indigenous dairy breed of India) across different stages of lactation: Early (5-15 days), Peak (30-60 days), Mid (100-140 days) and Late (> 240 days). Three different statistical algorithms: geNorm, Normfinder and BestKeeper were used to assess the suitability of these genes. In geNorm analysis, all the genes exhibited expression stability (M) values below 0.5 with EEF1A1 and RPL4 showing the maximum expression stability. Similar to geNorm, Normfinder also identified EEF1A1 and RPL4 as two of the most stable genes. In Bestkeeper algorithm as well, all the 10 genes showed consistent expression levels. The analysis showed that four genes, that is, EEF1A1, RPL4, GAPDH and ACTB exhibited higher coefficient of correlation to the Bestkeeper index, lower coefficient of variance and standard deviation, indicating their superiority to be used as ICG. The present analysis has provided evidence that RPL4, EEF1A1, GAPDH and ACTB could probably act as most suitable genes for normalizing the transcriptional data of milk-derived mammary epithelial cells of Indian cows.
Extreme Pressure Properties of 600 N Base Oil Dispersed With Molybdenum Disulphide Nano Particles

This work presents the extreme-pressure behavior of 600 N base oil dispersed with MoS2 Nano particles with 1 volume percent of polyisobutylenesuccinamide as dispersant. MoS2 Nano particles were dispersed in 0.05, 1.0 wt. % and tested for Extreme pressure behavior on a 4 ball wear tester using the test method ASTM D 2783. The weld load and load wear index of base oil and oil dispersed with Nano particles are evaluated and compared for improvement. Prior to dispersion, the MoS2 Nano particles are suitably surface modified to make them uniformly disperse in oils. The seizure load, weld load and load wear index of Nano particles dispersed oils have improved remarkably compared to Base oil. Metallographic studies done on the wear balls show that Nano particles get deposited on the worn area preventing the welding of the surfaces and hence higher weld load. The wear scar of bottom there balls are also found to be less for Nano dispersed oils compared to base oil and hence lower load-wear index. reduced by applying extreme pressure (EP) and anti-wear (AW) additives. These tend to be sulphur-chlorine and phosphorous containing compounds designed to react chemically with the metal surfaces, forming easily sheared layers of sulphides, chlorines or phosphide and thereby preventing severe wear and seizure. The advantage of using nano materials in lubricants are 2 fold: one they form a barrier between two mating surfaces thereby preventing wear and secondly the spherical nano particles cat as rollers thereby reducing friction.
Whole-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study in men.

BACKGROUND Certain dietary components may play a role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE We examined prospectively the associations between whole- and refined-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes in a large cohort of men. DESIGN Men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study without a history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease in 1986 (n = 42898) were followed for </=12 y. Intakes of whole and refined grains, measured every 4 y by use of food-frequency questionnaires, were used to predict subsequent type 2 diabetes risk through multivariate analysis. RESULTS We ascertained 1197 cases of incident type 2 diabetes. After adjustment for age; physical activity; cigarette smoking; alcohol consumption; family history of diabetes; and fruit, vegetable, and energy intakes, the relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 0.58 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.70; P for trend < 0.0001) comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of whole-grain intake. The association was moderately attenuated when additionally adjusted for body mass index (relative risk: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.85; P for trend = 0.0006). Intake of refined grains was not significantly associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. After further adjustment for magnesium intake, cereal fiber intake, and glycemic load, the association between whole grains and type 2 diabetes was attenuated and the trend no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS In men, a diet high in whole grains is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in men that may be mediated by cereal fiber. Efforts should be made to replace refined-grain with whole-grain foods.
Improved transport service for remote sensing and control over wireless networks

In a bilateral teleoperated system, the signal transmissions between the operator and the slave manipulators have different QoS requirements in comparison to traditional network traffic. Running teleoperated systems over wireless networks poses more challenges in comparison to wired networks. The media streams involved differentiate themselves from other media types in that they require both reliable and smooth delivery. Reliable delivery requires the transport service to have TCP style semantics. By being smooth, the transport service should be able to deliver the control and sensing data with bounded and reduced latency and its variation. For example, we have conducted numerous teleoperated experiments using our system. We have found in some of our applications that if the end-to-end latency variance becomes larger than 0.3 second, the operator has difficulty maintaining smooth control of the slave manipulator. However, our simulations show that using TCP, the end-to-end latency variance can be as much as 2.5 seconds in an ad hoc wireless network. This paper proposes an improved transport service for remote sensing and control (TRSC). The service reduces the end-to-end latency and latency variance (jitter) for real-time reliable media in mobile ad hoc networks by using forward error correction encoding and multiple network paths. Simulation using NS2 shows the approach performs well under different wireless scenarios