Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the Density of Suppression to Identify Risk of Intractable Diplopia in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Background/Aims: Occlusion used to treat amblyopia towards the end of the developmental component of the critical period gives a risk of inducing intractable diplopia. In the United Kingdom, the density of suppression is assessed via the Sbisa/Bagolini filter bar, but there is very little research evidence to guide clinical practice or interpretation of the tests used. The aims of this study were to determine current practice and estimate the incidence of intractable diplopia following amblyopia treatment. Methods: Current practice and incidence of intractable diplopia following amblyopia were determined via a questionnaire distributed to head orthoptists in every eye department in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire explored testing and test conditions, interpretation of the test results, and cases of intractable diplopia over the last 5 years. Results: There was considerable variation in clinical practice of the measurement of the density of suppression and interpretation of the results to guide the treatment of amblyopia. The minimum age of patients taking the test ranged from 2 to 8 years and the minimum filter considered still safe to continue treatment ranged from 4 to 17. It is estimated there were 24 cases of intractable diplopia over the last 5 years. Conclusion: The issue of intractable diplopia and amblyopia treatment is likely to become increasingly important as there appears to be greater plasticity and scope to treat amblyopia in teenagers and adults than was previously thought. Lack of knowledge of how to evaluate the risk may lead to more cases of intractable diplopia or alternatively treatment being withheld unnecessarily.
Ricci flow on Orbifolds

In this paper, we study the behavior of Ricci flows on compact orbifolds with finite singularities. We show that Perelman’s pseudolocality theorem also holds on orbifold Ricci flow. Using this property, we obtain a weak compactness theorem of Ricci flows on orbifolds under some natural technical conditions. This generalizes the corresponding theorem on manifolds. As an application, we can use Kähler Ricci flow to find new Kähler Einstein metrics on some orbifold Fano surfaces. For example, if Y is a cubic surface with only one ordinary double point or Y is an orbifold Fano surface with degree 1 and every singularity on it is a rational double point of type Ak(1 ≤ k ≤ 6), then we can find a KE metric of Y by running Kähler Ricci flow .
After 3 decades of paediatric HIV/AIDS - Where do we stand?

“We believe by 2015, children everywhere can be born free of hiv and their mothers remain alive” declared the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in its “Countdown to Zero” Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children1. We are closer to realizing this target than ever before, with most high income nations almost achieving this goal, and many low-middle income nations have already moved significantly towards achieving the same. The road towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive has been paved in India, as India now successfully undergoes transition in a phased manner, in line with the current WHO recommendations to the more efficacious PPTCT (prevention of parent-to-child transmission) regimen (Option B +). The WHO recommends providing lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all HIV positive pregnant and breastfeeding women, which will not only boost PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) services, but will also significantly improve their health, and prevent the spread of infection to their partners2.
Fréquentation de buses dédiées aux passages de la petite et moyenne faune sous deux autoroutes de l’ouest de la France. Bilan des deux premières années de suivis par pièges photographiques

— Use by small and medium mammals of wildlife crossing structures on two motorways in southwestern France. Results of the first two years of camera-trap surveys. — Since 2012, camera-trap surveys have been carried out to study the use by wildlife of 9 newly-constructed underpasses on two motorways in southwestern France (8 modified culverts and 1 underpass for small animals). A total of 5338 successful crossings of 16 small, medium and large mammal species were detected over a 9 to 24 month period (the duration varied with each site). The results comprise the majority of roadkill species, but micro-mammals were excluded from the survey. The mean observed daily crossing rate of 1.20 ± 0.70 SD per structure is comparable to other studies carried out in Western Europe at similar sites. Of the detected crossings, 91 % were made by 5 species: Eurasian badger Meles meles (45 %), Red fox Vulpes vulpes (19 %), Common rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (9 %), Common genet Genetta genetta (9 %) and Stone marten Martes foina (9 %). For these abundant species both the duration of the survey (number of days) and the season were shown to have a significant influence on the number of crossing events. Monitoring began shortly after the installation of each crossing structure. Over a 2-year period, an almost eight-fold increase in use was observed as wild fauna found the crossing structures and incorporated them into their movement patterns through adaptation periods and learning processes. Throughout the survey a decrease in refusal rate by Red fox and Badger was observed, supporting the 'habituation' hypothesis. Usage was significantly different throughout the seasons for Badger, Red fox, Rabbit, and Stone marten. Each of these seasonal patterns could be correlated with species activity throughout the year. The initial survey results are encouraging and suggest that continued long-term monitoring is important to assess the effectiveness of crossing structures after the period of adaptation. To this end, our camera-trap surveys must be accompanied by appropriate additional sampling to measure the individual and population benefits for wildlife of these underpasses.
Arthroscopic treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus with correlation of outcome scoring systems.

PURPOSE The goal of this study was to perform a retrospective review of arthroscopically treated osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCLTs) to determine their outcome and to analyze the correlation of 3 subjective outcome scoring systems for the ankle. METHODS Between 1985 and 1999, 37 arthroscopic debridement or subchondral drilling procedures were performed on 33 ankles to treat OCLTs. The charts of these patients were reviewed for general demographic, preoperative, surgical, and postoperative information. Patients were sent a questionnaire that included 3 subjective outcome scoring systems: the Martin Score questionnaire; the Berndt and Harty scale; and the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) question. Twenty-eight people responded to the questionnaire. Twenty-four patients reported a history of trauma. There were 17 lesions on the medial aspect of the talus, 10 laterally, and 1 centrally. The lesions were classified according to their arthroscopic appearance. There were 7 stage I, 2 stage II, 10 stage III, and 9 stage IV lesions. After all data were analyzed, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) and correlation of determination (r2) were performed among the 3 outcome scales. RESULTS The mean follow-up time was 66 months (range, 6-169 months). Outcome results varied according to the scoring system. Using the Berndt and Harty scale, 13 (46%) patients had good, 13 (46%) fair, and 2 (8%) poor results. According to the Martin Score, 1 patient (4%) had excellent, 10 (35%) good, 9 (32%) fair, and 8 (29%) had poor results. According to the SANE score, 5 patients (18%) had excellent, 8 (29%) good, 9 (32%) fair, and 6 (21%) had poor results. Seventeen patients reported some form of pain at follow-up examination. Analysis of variables, including age at operation, stage of the lesion, length of follow-up, and previous surgery revealed no statistical significance. All 3 scales showed positive correlations. Based on these outcome data, the Berndt and Harty scale showed good correlation with both the SANE and the Martin outcome systems (r =.81 and r =.69, respectively). The Martin Score showed moderate correlation with the SANE outcome system (r =.57). CONCLUSIONS The outcome results for our patient population were not as successful as has been previously reported. Our analysis showed positive correlation among the 3 subjective outcome systems. However, it remains difficult to compare these data with previous results secondary to the variety of outcome measures employed by previous reports in the literature.
Exciton bimolecular annihilation dynamics in supramolecular nanostructures of conjugated oligomers

We present femtosecond transient absorption measurements on p-conjugated supramolecular assemblies in a high-pump-fluence regime. Oligo( p-phenylenevinylene! monofunctionalized with ureido-s-triazine ~MOPV! self-assembles into chiral stacks in dodecane solution below 75 °C at a concentration of 4310 24 M. We observe exciton bimolecular annihilation in MOPV stacks at high excitation fluence, indicated by the fluencedependent decay of 1 1 Bu-exciton spectral signatures and by the sublinear fluence dependence of time- and wavelength-integrated photoluminescence ~PL! intensity. These two characteristics are much less pronounced in MOPV solution where the phase equilibrium is shifted significantly away from supramolecular assembly, slightly below the transition temperature. A mesoscopic rate-equation model is applied to extract the bimolecular annihilation rate constant from the excitation fluence dependence of transient absorption and PL signals. The results demonstrate that the bimolecular annihilation rate is very high with a square-root dependence in time. The exciton annihilation results from a combination of fast exciton diffusion and resonance energy transfer. The supramolecular nanostructures studied here have electronic properties that are intermediate between molecular aggregates and polymeric semiconductors.
Strategic Reasoning in Games

Strategies are the basic objects of study in a game-theoretic model. The standard interpretation is that a strategy represents a player’s general plan of action. That is, a strategy for player i describes the action that player i will choose (allowing players to randomize their choices) whenever she is required to make a decision according to the rules of the game. Traditional game theory has focused on identifying profiles of strategies that constitute an “equilibrium” (typical examples include the Nash equilibrium and its refinements or the various notions of iterated dominance). These “equilibrium profiles” are intended to represent the “rational outcomes” of a strategic interactive situation. Much of this work has led game-theorists to rethink the basic view that strategies are simply instructions that “rational” players follow when playing the game. For example, in a well-known paper on the foundations of game theory, Ariel Rubinstein writes:
Helicobacter pylori HP1512 Is a Nickel-Responsive NikR-Regulated Outer Membrane Protein

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori is dependent upon the production of the highly abundant and active metalloenzyme urease for colonization of the human stomach. Thus, H. pylori has an absolute requirement for the transition metal nickel, a required cofactor for urease. To investigate the contribution of genes that are factors in this process, microarray analysis comparing the transcriptome of wild-type H. pylori 26695 cultured in brucella broth containing fetal calf serum (BBF) alone or supplemented with 100 μM NiCl2 suggested that HP1512 is repressed in the presence of 100 μM supplemental nickel. When measured by comparative real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), HP1512 transcription was reduced 43-fold relative to the value for the wild type when cultured in BBF supplemented with 10 μM NiCl2. When grown in unsupplemented BBF, urease activity of an HP1512::cat mutant was significantly reduced compared to the wild type, 4.9 ± 0.5 μmol/min/mg of protein (n = 7) and 17.1 ± 4.9 μmol/min/mg of protein (n = 13), respectively (P < 0.0001). In silico analysis of the HP1511-HP1512 (HP1511-1512) intergenic region identified a putative NikR operator upstream of HP1512. Gel shift analysis with purified recombinant NikR verified nickel-dependent binding of H. pylori NikR to the HP1511-1512 intergenic region. Furthermore, comparative real-time qPCR of four nickel-related genes suggests that mutation of HP1512 results in reduced intracellular nickel concentration relative to wild-type H. pylori 26695. Taken together, these data suggest that HP1512 encodes a NikR-nickel-regulated outer membrane protein.
Snapbot: A reconfigurable legged robot

We develop a reconfigurable legged robot, named Snapbot, to emulate configuration changes and various styles of legged locomotion. The body of Snapbot houses a microcontroller and a battery for untethered operation. The body also contains connections for communication and power to the modular legs. The legs can be attached to and detached from the body using magnetic mechanical couplings. In the center of this coupling, there is a multi-pin spring-loaded electrical connector that distributes power and transmits data between the controller and leg actuators. The locomotion algorithm is implemented on the microcontroller. The algorithm enables Snapbot to locomote in various configurations with one to six legs by recognizing configuration changes and selecting the locomotion method according to the current configuration. Snapbot will be utilized for further research on legged locomotion.
Growth hormone therapy and children with idiopathic short stature: a viable option?

Since the production of biosynthetic growth hormone (GH) began in 1985, there has been growing controversy over appropriate usage for short stature alone. Despite clinical trials for nearly 2 decades, knowledge about the efficacy, safety, and long-term results of GH for this population remains limited. So far, studies of children without growth hormone deficiency (GHD) have found an initial acceleration in growth, but no increase in adult height above pretreatment target height percentiles. Additionally, recent studies have been unable to link normal short stature with adverse psychological effects, while use of GH therapy has been associated with an exacerbation of problems. Thus, there is evidence that GH therapy does not provide the means to overcome either the physical or psychosocial dilemmas of short stature. Health care providers need to recognize the complexity of problems surrounding short stature and look to other "solutions. "
Improvement Quality of LMS Through Application of Social Networking Sites

The rapid development of information technology (IT), especially in education, influences all educational institutions to adopt eLearning. E-learning as a primary means of instruction is expanding significantly at the college and university level. However, most of these colleges and universities tend to emphasize on its benefits only. This does not mean that eLearning is without deficiencies. Studentsâ? interactions, attention and communications are relatively low in the current Learning Management Systems (LMS). LMS is missing the direct relation between learning content and studentsâ? collaboration and in an inappropriate educators approach towards eLearning. Additionally, collaboration among learners themselves in real time is not supported by LMS. Simultaneously, the growth of social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, twitter and others are also rising among todayâ? s college students. The main aim of this research is to propose a comprehensive model for eLearning, which might be a roadmap for educational institutions over the whole world to adopt. The focus of this new model will be on incorporation and integration of social networking platform (SNP) with LMS to overcome some of the limitations of LMS in order to improve the quality of educational process to make it much better, attractive and more cooperative.
Physical and Functional Interaction between Dorfin and Valosin-containing Protein That Are Colocalized in Ubiquitylated Inclusions in Neurodegenerative Disorders*

Dorfin, a RING-IBR type ubiquitin ligase (E3), can ubiquitylate mutant superoxide dismutase 1, the causative gene of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Dorfin is located in ubiquitylated inclusions (UBIs) in various neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS and Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we report that Valosin-containing protein (VCP) directly binds to Dorfin and that VCP ATPase activity profoundly contributes to the E3 activity of Dorfin. High through-put analysis using mass spectrometry identified VCP as a candidate of Dorfin-associated protein. Glycerol gradient centrifugation analysis showed that endogenous Dorfin consisted of a 400–600-kDa complex and was co-immunoprecipitated with endogenous VCP. In vitro experiments showed that Dorfin interacted directly with VCP through its C-terminal region. These two proteins were colocalized in aggresomes in HEK293 cells and UBIs in the affected neurons of ALS and PD. VCPK524A, a dominant negative form of VCP, reduced the E3 activity of Dorfin against mutant superoxide dismutase 1, whereas it had no effect on the autoubiquitylation of Parkin. Our results indicate that VCPs functionally regulate Dorfin through direct interaction and that their functional interplay may be related to the process of UBI formation in neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS or PD.
Actin and Flagellar Filaments: Two Helical Structures with Variable Twist

Helical assemblies of protein subunits are filamentous; that is, they are much longer than they are wide. It is natural for us to concentrate on this aspect of the structure in thinking about their biological functions. Microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments are correctly thought of as struts or cables, which are used, for example, to push or pull other subcellular structures. A less obvious aspect of helical structures is their twist and its biological role. What is twist? Helical symmetry can be described by the product of two primitive operations: 1) a translation and 2) a rotation (FIGURE 1). The repeated pairwise application of these two operations generates a helical lattice; that is, it describes the spatial relationship between two equivalent subunits in the helical structure. In the case of actin, the translation, Az, is about 27 A and the rotation, A$, about 167O. Twist is related to the angle of rotation. If a structure changes its twist, the angle of rotation between equivalent points changes. In nature, there are a variety of structures that show a variation in twist: DNA (rightversus left-handed, for example). 2 There are two extremes of variable twist structures one can imagine. At one extreme, a structure might have a continuously varying twist along its length at any instant of time. At the other extreme, a structure would possess different twists a t different times, but a t any one time the twist would be essentially constant along the length. Actin is an example of the former, and the bacterial flagellar filament of the latter. Let us begin by considering the bacterial flagellar filament. The macroscopic shape of this structure is a corkscrew, and it acts as a bacterial propellor connected via the hook structure to a rotary motor3" located in the membrane of the cell: that is, the cell works like a motorboat. The filament, which consists of a helical array of 1 I rows of flagellin subunits,' is not a simple helical structure in which all subunits are equivalently positioned. Indeed, it has been proposed by Asakura (1970),' Wakabayashi and Mitsui ( 1972),8 and Calladine ( 1975)9 that this structure normally consists of nonequivalent but chemically identical subunits, which can exist in one of two conformational states-let's call them R and L. The corkscrew shape represents strain or deformation resulting from the stress of having within a filament some rows in which all of the subunits are in the R state and the rest of the rows with all subunits in the L state. In Salmonella, the filament is a dynamic structure. In response to a change in the direction of rotation of the motor additional rows switch from the L to the R state causing a change in twist and hand of the filament. Macnab and Ornston (1977)" suggested that this dynamic behavior is involved in the cell's ability to change swimming direction by causing the cell to tumble. When bacteria such as Salmonella
On the limits of effort testing: Symptom validity tests and severity of neurocognitive symptoms in nonlitigant patients

Modern symptom validity tests (SVTs) use empirical cutoffs for decision making. However, limits to the applicability of these cutoffs may arise when severe cognitive symptoms are present. The purpose of the studies presented here was to explore these limits of applicability. In Experiment 1, a group of 24 bona fide neurological patients without clinically obvious cognitive symptoms was compared to a group of 24 patients with rather severe symptoms. A comprehensive test battery was employed, which included four SVTs (the Test of Memory Malingering, TOMM, the Word Memory Test, WMT, the Bremer Symptomvalidierung, BSV, and the Amsterdam Short-Term Memory Test, ASTM). In Experiment 2, a group of 20 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease was compared to 14 healthy controls. Results of both studies showed that cognitive impairment may significantly interfere with SVT performance. Correlation analyses revealed dissimilar relationships between SVTs and neuropsychological test measures. Whereas TOMM and WMT correlated mainly with tests of declarative memory, the BSV correlated with tests of attention, and ASTM correlated with tests of working memory. Intercorrelations between symptom validity measures were relatively low. The published cutoffs of the TOMM would be suitable for estimating effort in patients with Mini-Mental State Examination scores of 24 or above. More research will be necessary to investigate how performance in SVTs is related to cognitive functioning in populations of severely impaired patients.
Tracking protein dynamics with photoconvertible Dendra2 on spinning disk confocal systems

Understanding the dynamic properties of cellular proteins in live cells and in real time is essential to delineate their function. In this context, we introduce the Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching‐Photoactivation unit (Andor) combined with the Nikon Eclipse Ti E Spinning Disk (Andor) confocal microscope as an advantageous and robust platform to exploit the properties of the Dendra2 photoconvertible fluorescent protein (Evrogen) and analyse protein subcellular trafficking in living cells. A major advantage of the spinning disk confocal is the rapid acquisition speed, enabling high temporal resolution of cellular processes. Furthermore, photoconversion and imaging are less invasive on the spinning disk confocal as the cell exposition to illumination power is reduced, thereby minimizing photobleaching and increasing cell viability. We have tested this commercially available platform using experimental settings adapted to track the migration of fast trafficking proteins such as UBC9, Fibrillarin and have successfully characterized their differential motion between subnuclear structures. We describe here step‐by‐step procedures, with emphasis on cellular imaging parameters, to successfully perform the dynamic imaging and photoconversion of Dendra2‐fused proteins at high spatial and temporal resolutions necessary to characterize the trafficking pathways of proteins.