Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Initial evaluation and management of gunshot wounds to the face.

BACKGROUND The literature on early management of gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the face is scant, with only six series reported in the English-language literature in the last 12 years. In the current study, we present a large series from a busy trauma center in an effort to identify early diagnostic and therapeutic problems and recommend management guidelines. METHODS Retrospective analysis was done for all GSWs of the face during a 4-year period. Data were obtained from the Trauma Registry and Trauma Patient Summary hard copies. RESULTS During the study period, there were 4,139 admissions for GSWs, with 247 (6%) involving the face. An associated brain trauma was found in 42 patients (17.0%), and cervical spine fracture was found in 20 patients (8.1%) with GSWs to the face. In 43 patients (17.4%), there was a need for emergency airway control because of local hematoma or edema. Angiography was performed in 70 patients (28.3%) for evaluation of a large hematoma or continuous bleeding, and in 10 of these patients successful embolization of bleeders was achieved. No patient required operative control of bleeding from facial structures. Overall, only 96 patients (38.9%) underwent operation for soft-tissue repair or reduction of facial bone fractures. There were 36 deaths (14.5%) from severe brain injury or severe bleeding from associated chest or abdominal injuries. No death occurred in isolated GSWs to the face. CONCLUSION Most civilian GSWs can safely be managed nonoperatively. Airway control is required in a significant number of patients and should be established very early. Bleeding from the face is best controlled angiographically. The brain and cervical spine should be aggressively assessed radiologically because of the high incidence of associated trauma.
Ubiquitin Ligase Hul5 Is Required for Fragment-specific Substrate Degradation in Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated Degradation*

To identify new components of the protein quality control and degradation pathway of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), we performed a growth-based genome-wide screen of about 5000 viable deletion mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As substrates we used two misfolded ER membrane proteins, CTL* and Sec61-2L, chimeric derivatives of the classical ER degradation substrates CPY* and Sec61-2. Both substrates contain a cytosolic Leu2 protein fusion, and stabilization of these substrates in ER-associated degradation-deficient strains enables a restored growth of the transformed LEU2-deficient deletion mutants. We identified the strain deleted for the ubiquitin chain elongating ligase Hul5 among the mutant strains with a strong growth phenotype. Here we show that Hul5 is necessary for the degradation of two misfolded ER membrane substrates. Although the degradation of their N-terminal parts is Hul5-independent, the breakdown of their C-terminal fragments requires the ubiquitin chain elongating ligase activity of Hul5. In the absence of Hul5, a truncated form of CTL*myc remains to a large extent embedded in the ER membrane. Hul5 activity promotes the interaction of this truncated CTL*myc with the AAA-ATPase Cdc48, which is known to pull proteins out of the ER membrane. This study unravels the stepwise elimination of the ER membrane-localized CTL*myc substrate. First, N-terminal, lumenal CPY* is transferred to the cytoplasm and degraded by the proteasome. Subsequently, the remaining C-terminal membrane-anchored part requires Hul5 for its effective extraction out of the endoplasmic reticulum and proteasomal degradation.
Long run technical change in an energy-environmenteconomy (E3) model for an IA system

A world macroeconomic model is being developed to investigate policies for climate change and sustainable development, as a module of an IAM structure for the UK Tyndall Centre. This requires an economic model for the next 50-100 years, to show how changes in industrial structure and technology change GHG emissions. There is no suitable and generally accepted theory of long term technical change/development (Kondratiev waves) for incorporation in a macroeconomic modelling structure. However, there is now a good descriptive theory, which is intended to provide an economic history perspective of long term change. This is Freeman and Louçν (2001). The objective of our model is to interpret this descriptive theory in quantitative terms, in the context of the macroeconomic analysis. It will model the dynamics of Input-Output coefficients and the implied industrial structure, incorporating endogenous technical change from R&D and investment, with learning-by-doing.
High red blood cell nitric oxide synthase activation is not associated with improved vascular function and red blood cell deformability in sickle cell anaemia

Human red blood cells (RBC) express an active and functional endothelial‐like nitric oxide (NO) synthase (RBC‐NOS). We report studies on RBC‐NOS activity in sickle cell anaemia (SCA), a genetic disease characterized by decreased RBC deformability and vascular dysfunction. Total RBC‐NOS content was not significantly different in SCA patients compared to healthy controls; however, using phosphorylated RBC‐NOS‐Ser1177 as a marker, RBC‐NOS activation was higher in SCA patients as a consequence of the greater activation of Akt (phosphorylated Akt‐Ser473). The higher RBC‐NOS activation in SCA led to higher levels of S‐nitrosylated α‐ and β‐spectrins, and greater RBC nitrite and nitrotyrosine levels compared to healthy controls. Plasma nitrite content was not different between the two groups. Laser Doppler flowmetric experiments demonstrated blunted microcirculatory NO‐dependent response under hyperthermia in SCA patients. RBC deformability, measured by ektacytometry, was reduced in SCA in contrast to healthy individuals, and pre‐shearing RBC in vitro did not improve deformability despite an increase of RBC‐NOS activation. RBC‐NOS activation is high in freshly drawn blood from SCA patients, resulting in high amounts of NO produced by RBC. However, this does not result in improved RBC deformability and vascular function: higher RBC‐NO is not sufficient to counterbalance the enhanced oxidative stress in SCA.
A study of the performance of fine wine on the Swiss market

This paper studies the price evolution and the performance of an investment in fine wine on the Swiss market over the period 2002-2012. Using a repeat-sales-regression approach we calculate different wine indices based on auction hammer prices obtained by Steinfels Weinauktionen. Our results show that different fine wines followed a similar evolution across the sample period but that the amplitude of returns strongly depended on wine regions and types. While Bordeaux and Burgundy wines performed well, wines from the Rhone valley and Italy show a poorer performance. Compared to financial assets wine has significantly outperformed stocks, but not bonds. We further find that the Swiss franc appreciation has had a significant impact on wine prices.
Biological Stoichiometry: A Chemical Bridge between Ecosystem Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The mission of the American Society of Naturalists is “to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance the conceptual unification of the biological sciences. ” In this article, I argue that the area of biology least integrated with knowledge of organic evolution is the field of ecosystem ecology, as evidenced by a semiquantitative literature survey of use of terms in the scientific literature. I present an overview of recent theoretical developments and empirical findings in the emerging field of biological stoichiometry (the study of the balance of energy and multiple chemical elements in living systems). These developments hold some promise as a means to conceptually integrate ecosystem ecology, with its emphasis on flows and pools of energy and chemical elements, with evolutionary biology, with its emphasis on genetic fitness and the biochemical products of the genome. For example, recent evidence indicates that organismal C:P and N:P ratios have a major impact on biologically mediated flows of energy and phosphorus; in turn, variations among taxa in these ratios are connected to evolved differences in organismal growth rate because of the connection between growth rate and the need for increased allocation to P‐rich ribosomal RNA. In this way, evolutionary change in growth‐related traits, by altering organismal P requirements, has direct biogeochemical implications, while ecosystem conditions can constrain evolutionary acceleration of growth rates by imposing a direct P limitation on production of the needed biochemical machinery of growth. Thus, stoichiometric theory provides a broad biological principle that can interconvert the currencies and concerns of ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology, facilitating integration of diverse fields of study and contributing to conceptual unification of the biological sciences.
Dynamic regulation of IP3 receptor clustering and activity by IP3

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) are intracellular Ca2+ channels. Their regulation by both IP3 and Ca2+ allows interactions between IP3Rs to generate a hierarchy of intracellular Ca2+ release events. These can progress from openings of single IP3R, through near-synchronous opening of a few IP3Rs within a cluster to much larger signals that give rise to regenerative Ca2+ waves that can invade the entire cell. We have used patch-clamp recording from excised nuclear membranes of DT40 cells expressing only IP3R3 and shown that low concentrations of IP3 rapidly and reversibly cause IP3Rs to assemble into small clusters. In addition to bringing IP3Rs close enough to allow Ca2+ released by one IP3R to regulate the activity of its neighbors, clustering also retunes the regulation of IP3Rs by IP3 and Ca2+. At resting cytosolic [Ca2+], lone IP3R are more sensitive to IP3 and the mean channel open time (~10ms) is twice as long as for clustered IP3R. When the cytosolic free [Ca2+] is increased to 1µM, to mimic the conditions that might prevail when an IP3R within a cluster opens, clustered IP3R are no longer inhibited and their gating becomes coupled. IP3, by dynamically regulating IP3R clustering, both positions IP3R for optimal interactions between them and it serves to exaggerate the effects of Ca2+ within a cluster. During the course of these studies, we have observed that nuclear IP3R stably express one of two single channel K + conductances (γK ~120 or 200pS). Here we demonstrate that for both states of the IP3R, the effects of IP3 on clustering are indistinguishable. These observations reinforce our conclusion that IP3 dynamically regulates assembly of IP3Rs into clusters that underlie the hierarchical recruitment of elementary Ca2+ release events.
Age‐Related Fibrillar Material in Mouse Brain

We have described the age-related deposition of fibrillar material in brains of B6 mice and SAM. Since in other inbred strains similar deposits were absent or occurred only occasionally and only in aged individuals, a genetic predisposition of B6 mice and SAM to accumulate the fibrillar material is suggested. The deposits are mostly associated with astrocytic processes and have been referred to as astrocytic inclusions. HSPG- and laminin-like molecules have been identified as components of the fibrillar material. The deposits have similarities with CA in humans, but they also show some important differences; thus there is presently insufficient evidence to consider the deposits the murine equivalent of CA. Although the physiological significance of the fibrillar material is not yet clear, the awareness of the deposits appears pertinent because they might contribute to various aspects of CNS function of susceptible strains of mice, and therefore could lead to possible misinterpretations of the results of studies employing these strains. Future directions of our research will determine the potential of the murine deposits to model aspects of human neuropathology, in particular, whether the deposits may mimic the deposition of ECM molecules as an early-event in the pathogenesis of amyloid plaque formation.
The Platelet Membrane Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Complex

The GPIIb/IIIa complex functions as the aggregation site on the platelet membrane surface. This complex has been purified, characterized biochemically and morphologically, and reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. Fibrinogen and fibronectin bind to reconstituted GPIIb/IIIa with many of the properties that characterize their binding to intact platelets. The GPIIb/IIIa complex appears to be a member of a widely distributed family of cell-surface glycoproteins that mediate cellular interactions. The terms cytoadhesins30 and integrins39 have been suggested for the members of this family of two-subunit molecules. The aminotermini of the alpha subunits of these molecules have been sequenced and appear to be homologous. Three beta subunits have been identified for this family of receptors, indicating that many alpha subunits have a common beta subunit. The three beta subunits have been sequenced, and there is about a 40 to 50% identity among their amino acid sequences. It thus appears that the receptors mediating cellular interactions have evolved from a common ancestral gene.
Protection against renal disease in (NZB x NZW)F(1) lupus-prone mice after somatic B cell gene vaccination with anti-DNA immunoglobulin consensus peptide.

OBJECTIVE Ig molecules contain epitopes that can induce T cell-mediated immune responses. B cells can process and present such epitopes and activate T cells. The purpose of the present study was to test our hypothesis that T cells that recognize an Ig consensus sequence presented by B cells will modulate lupus-like disease in mice. METHODS (NZB x NZW)F(1) (NZB/NZW) lupus mice received somatic B cell gene transfer of a DNA plasmid encoding a consensus sequence of T cell determinants of murine anti-DNA IgG or control plasmids. Treated animals were monitored for the production of antibody, the development of renal disease, and the phenotype, number, and function of T cells. RESULTS Treatment of mice with Ig consensus plasmid induced transforming growth factor beta-producing CD8+,CD28- T cells that suppressed the antigen-specific stimulation of CD4+ T cells in a cell-contact-independent manner, reduced antibody production, retarded the development of nephritis, and improved survival. Significantly, adoptive transfer of CD8+,CD28- T cells from protected mice into hypergammaglobulinemic NZB/NZW mice effectively protected the transferred mice from the development of renal disease. CONCLUSION Gene expression of anti-DNA Ig consensus sequence induces immunoregulatory T cells that delay the development of lupus nephritis by suppressing hypergammaglobulinemia and renal disease.
Assessing the relationship between functional impairment/recovery and depression severity: a pooled analysis

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between assessments of functional impairment, emotional well-being, and depression symptoms. Data were pooled from 3530 outpatients with major depressive disorder enrolled in 10 desvenlafaxine clinical trials. The primary outcome measures included (a) the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) as a measure of depressive symptom severity and (b) the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) and five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) as measures of functional impairment and well-being. A linear regression model was used to identify the SDS and WHO-5 values that equate to the predetermined clinically relevant three-point difference between active treatment and placebo on the HAM-D17. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted to determine the SDS score that equates to a remission of depression symptoms (i.e. HAM-D17 ⩽7). An approximate three-point difference between active treatment and placebo on the SDS (2.8) and WHO-5 (2.5) was determined to be clinically relevant in relation to improvements in depressive symptoms. An SDS of less than or equal to 7 was equivalent to a remission of depression symptoms, providing a definition of functional remission. A better understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and functional impairment and well-being may provide clinicians with a more comprehensive means of assessing treatment effects in major depressive disorder.
Platelets and ATP Prime Neutrophils for Enhanced O2
‐ Generation at Low Concentrations but Inhibit O2
‐ Generation at High Concentration

Platelets are currently thought to play a role in tissue injury and inflammatory states both directly and indirectly through their action on neutrophils (PMNs). Both stimulation and inhibition of PMN superoxide anion (O2 ‐) production by platelets has been reported. To clarify these discrepant observations, we investigated the effects of wide ranges of platelet to PMN ratios as well as concentrations of ATP and ADP on human PMN O2 ‐ production. Platelets, at low platelet‐to‐PMN ratios (1:1 and 5:1), primed PMNs which were stimulated with either FMLP or PMA. However, at higher platelet‐to‐PMN ratios (25:1, 50:1, and 100:1), inhibition of O2 ‐ production was seen. ATP also had a biphasic effect on O2 ‐ production: low concentrations of ATP (1 x 10‐6 to 3.2 x 10‐4 M) increased O2 production and high concentrations of ATP (6.4 x 10‐4 M and above) inhibited O2 production. ADP, when added to stimulatory concentrations of ATP, also caused inhibition of O2 ‐ production. The incubation time for platelet‐neutrophil interactions in vitro was also crucial. Short incubation periods lead to priming, whereas longer periods (> 5 min) lead to inhibition. We believe that these studies help to resolve the controversy over the effects of platelets upon the production of O2 ‐ by human PMNs and lend further support to the notion that platelets may modulate injury resulting from neutrophil activation.
Spiral array inspired multi-depth cost function for 2D sparse array optimization

Matrix sparse array optimization for 3D ultrasound imaging often uses simulated annealing (SA) algorithms to reduce the number of elements and to find their best position, intensity and size. The aim of optimization is to obtain the best possible radiated beam pattern in terms of main lobe width and side lobe level. This has a direct impact on the image resolution and contrast. However, to limit the convergence time, the calculation of the cost function that drives the optimization was usually based on analytically computed radiated beam patterns. In this work, realistic acoustic simulations are based on the FIELD II software, and a novel multi-depth cost function is introduced. Such a cost function allows taking into account the radiated pressure field at several depths, and not only at the focal depth. The multi-depth cost function was inspired by the recently introduced Blackman-tapered 256-element spiral array. The positions of 256 elements of two 7 MHz sparse arrays were obtained by optimizing the beam patterns at: the focal depth only (opti1d); three different depths (15, 25 and 35 mm) (opti3d). Both the arrays had a 6 mm aperture radius, λ-size square elements and are focused at 25 mm depth. The results show that using the multi-depth cost function significantly improves the sensitivity (+1.2dB) and the SLL (-9.7 dB and -10.7 dB at 15mm and 35mm depths, respectively). The optimization results were compared to the beam patterns produced by a 256-element spiral array and by a 2D dense array (2292 elements), respectively.
The Effect of Potential Activations on the Employment of Military Reservists: Evidence from a Field Experiment

U.S. military reservists are primarily employed in the civilian labor market. During periods of military conflict, such as the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the government may call reservists to full-time military service, requiring reservists to leave their civilian jobs. Federal law requires employers to rehire reservists once their full-time military service ends and also prohibits employers from discriminating against reservists because of their military membership. This article uses a résumé study to examine how the labor market protections provided to reservists and the potential labor market absences affect the employment outcomes of reservists. The results suggest that current membership in the Reserves, as compared to previous membership, reduces the probability of receiving a request for a job interview by 10.7%.
Are We Going In There? The Role of Brief Narratives (TV ADs and PSAs) in Narrative Transportation and Second-Order Cultivation Effects

This study examined the role of brief narratives, such as those found in television commercials (TV Ads) and Public Service Announcements (PSAs), in the dissemination of values messages as mediated by narrative transportation and second-order cultivation effects. Undergraduate students from a midwestern university participated in an experiment administered through the SurveyMonkey website; two experimental groups (TV Ads n=85 and PSAs n=69) each viewed two separate (one dramatic, one humorous) value-laden brief narrative video segments completing transportation, attention, materialism, and altruism response scales following each exposure. Measures taken prior to exposure included television affinity and need for cognition among others. Findings confirm brief narratives do elicit transportation, and among those who watch more television higher levels of transportation were reported. Psychological processes were found to increase the likelihood of experiencing transportation; in particular those paying more attention and having a high need for cognition were more likely to be transported. Additionally, transportation had a modest impact on a number of materialism measures including the summed materialism scale while altruism produced contradictory results. An anomaly was found with the humorous TV ad, raising questions about the role of character identification in the production of narrative transportation.
Microbotox of the Lower Face and Neck: Evolution of a Personal Technique and Its Clinical Effects

Summary: Microbotox is the injection of multiple microdroplets of diluted onabotulinumtoxinA into the dermis or the interface between the dermis and the superficial layer of facial muscles. The intention is to decrease sweat and sebaceous gland activity to improve skin texture and sheen and to target the superficial layer of muscles that find attachment to the undersurface of the dermis causing visible rhytides. For treatment of the lower face and neck, hundreds of microdroplets of diluted Botox are injected into the dermis or immediate subdermal plane to improve skin texture, smoothen horizontal creases, and decrease vertical banding of the neck, as well as to achieve better apposition of the platysma to the jawline and neck, improving contouring of the cervicomental angle. The Microbotox solution is mixed in the syringe by adding a small volume of lidocaine to the calculated dose of onabotulinumtoxinA drawn from a standard bottle of Botox prepared with 2.5mL saline. Each 1mL syringe of Microbotox solution contains 20–28 units of onabotulinumtoxinA per mL of solution and is used to deliver 100–120 injections. The lower face and neck will usually require 1mL per side. The injections are delivered intradermally using a 30- or 32-G needle raising a tiny blanched weal at each point. The author has over 1867 documented cases of Microbotox in various parts of the face (forehead, glabellar, crow’s-feet, infraorbital, and cheeks) and neck, the majority of these patients being treated in forehead or the lower face and neck as described in this article.