Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Opening of the blood-brain barrier with an unfocused ultrasound device in rabbits.

OBJECT The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major impediment to the intracerebral diffusion of drugs used in the treatment of gliomas. Previous studies have demonstrated that pulsed focused ultrasound (US) in conjunction with a microbubble contrast agent can be used to open the BBB. To apply the US-induced opening of the BBB in clinical practice, the authors designed an innovative unfocused US device that can be implanted in the skull and used to transiently and repeatedly open the BBB during a standard chemotherapy protocol. The goal of this preliminary work was to study the opening of the BBB induced by the authors' small unfocused US transducer and to evaluate the effects of the sonications on brain parenchyma. METHODS Craniectomy was performed in 16 healthy New Zealand White rabbits; epidural application of a single-element planar ultrasonic transducer operating at 1 MHz was then used with a pulse-repetition frequency of 1 Hz, pulse lengths of 10-35 msec, in situ acoustic pressure levels of 0.3-0.8 MPa, and sonication for 60-120 seconds. SonoVue was intravenously injected during the US applications, and opening of the BBB was determined by detecting extravasation of Evans blue dye (EBD) in brain tissues, quantitative measurement of EBD with UV-visible spectrophotometry, and contrast enhancement after Gd injection in 4.7-T MRI. A histological study was performed to determine adverse effects. RESULTS An opening of the BBB was observed over a large extent of the US beam in the brain corresponding to in situ pressures of greater than 0.2 MPa. The BBB opening observed was highly significant for both EBD (p < 0.01) and MRI Gd enhancement (p < 0.0001). The BBB opening was associated with minor adverse effects that included perivascular red blood cell extravasations that were less than 150 μm in size and not visible on MR images. Moderate edema was visible on FLAIR sequences and limited to the extent of the sonication field. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that the BBB can be opened in large areas of the brain in rabbits with low-power, pulsed, and unfocused US with limited damage to healthy tissue.
Reliability of Two Field-Based Tests for Measuring Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Preschool Children

Abstract Ayán, C, Cancela, JM, Romero, S, and Alonso, S. Reliability of two field-based tests for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness in preschool children. J Strength Cond Res 29(10): 2874–2880, 2015—This study is aimed at analyzing the reliability of 2 field-based cardiorespiratory fitness tests when applied to a sample specifically made up of preschool-aged children. A total of 97 preschoolers (mean age: 4.36 ± 0.4 years; 50.5% girls) performed Course-Navette and Mini-Cooper tests 3 times (familiarization test and retest). The scores obtained were compared with the results provided by the 3-minute shuttle run test, which is considered to be a reliable field-based test for preschoolers. The Mini-Cooper test showed a high reliability for children aged 4 (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]: 0.942; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.903–0.965) and 5 years old (ICC: 0.946; 95% CI: 0.893–0.973). The reliability of Course-Navette was also high for both 4-year-old (ICC: 0.909; 95% CI: 0.849–0.945) and 5-year-old children (ICC: 0.889; 95% CI: 0.780–0.944). The mean scores of the 3-minute shuttle run test did not show a significant correlation with the mean scores obtained in the Mini-Cooper test and in the Course-Navette test in the 4-year-old children. The results of this study suggest that Course-Navette and Mini-Cooper tests are reliable measures of cardiorespiratory fitness that can be used to assess health-related fitness in preschool children. Nevertheless, some considerations must be taken into account before administering them.
Color Accuracy in ICC Color Management System

ICC committee provides us a standardized profile format and a basic workflow for color transform. However, it is the vendor’s responsibility for profile creation and CMM implementation. The color transformation accuracy is determined by both the profile creation and CMM (color management module) implementation. For accurate color transform, ICC profiles that accurately represent the color behavior of color devices or color spaces as well as a CMM that links profiles properly and interpolates colors accurately are required. For the profile creation, we demonstrate huge color differences of color transform due to the change of profile connection spaces (PCS) for a printer ICC profile. We also discuss the color accuracies of color transform for LutType tags with different sizes of 1-D lookup tables (LUT) and different sizes of multi­ dimensional LUT. In CMM implementation, we numerically demonstrate the color differences using different linking methods. We also investigate the color differences using different CMMs for color transformation. The results of this research are useful for profile creation and CMM implementation.
Are antibiotics effective for endodontic pain? An evidence-based review

Antibiotics are frequently prescribed to aid in the treatment of endodontic pain. Over the past 25years, several surveys of general dentists and endodontists have been conducted that illustrate a persistent pattern of prescribing antibiotics in conjunction with endodontic treatment (1–5). However, despite concurrent advances in our understanding of the biology of inflammatory and infectious processes, and the increased awareness of the side-effects of antibiotics, most notably the emergence of resistant bacterial strains, there seems to be little change observed in the practice of prescribing antibiotics. This review focuses on the effects of antibiotic medications for reducing postendodontic symptoms, primarily pain. This paper is not intended to be a review of endodontic microbiology, and the general pharmacology of antibiotics. The reader is referred to a number of excellent recent reviews on this topic (6– 10). Rather, the clinical studies to be reviewed focus on the efficacy of antibiotics, mostly in conjunction with non-surgical endodontic treatment, for treating postoperative signs and symptoms of endodontic pathosis. Endodontic pain is the result of an inflammatory process, which is most commonly related to microbial irritation but which may also be related to mechanical or chemical factors. A variety of chemical mediators such as arachidonic acid metabolites, cytokines,
Peptide Interactions Stabilize and Restructure Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E6 To Interact with p53

ABSTRACT Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) E6 (16E6) binds the E3 ubiquitin ligase E6AP and p53, thereby targeting degradation of p53 (M. Scheffner, B. A. Werness, J. M. Huibregtse, A. J. Levine, and P. M. Howley, Cell 63:1129–1136, 1990). Here we show that minimal 16E6-binding LXXLL peptides reshape 16E6 to confer p53 interaction and stabilize 16E6 in vivo but that degradation of p53 by 16E6 requires E6AP expression. These experiments establish a general mechanism for how papillomavirus E6 binding to LXXLL peptides reshapes E6 to then act as an adapter molecule.
Impaired adaptive resynthesis and prolonged depletion of hepatic mitochondrial DNA after repeated alcohol binges in mice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS A single dose of alcohol causes transient hepatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion in mice followed by increased mtDNA synthesis and an overshoot of mtDNA levels. We determined the effect of repeated alcohol binges on hepatic mtDNA in mice. METHODS Ethanol (5 g/kg) was administered by gastric intubation daily for 4 days, and mtDNA levels, synthesis, and integrity were assessed by slot blot hybridization, in organello [3H]deoxythymidine triphosphate incorporation, and long polymerase chain reaction analysis, respectively. RESULTS mtDNA levels were decreased for 48 hours after the last dose, with no overshoot phenomenon later on. Two and 24 hours after the fourth dose, long polymerase chain reaction experiments showed DNA lesions that blocked the progress of the polymerases and in organello mtDNA synthesis was decreased, although DNA polymerase gamma activity was unchanged with synthetic templates. Mitochondria exhibited ultrastructural abnormalities, and respiration was impaired 2 and 24 hours after the fourth binge. Cytochrome P450 2E1, mitochondrial generation of peroxides, thiobarbituric acid reactants, and ethane exhalation were increased. CONCLUSIONS After repeated doses of ethanol, the accumulation of unrepaired mtDNA lesions (possibly involving lipid peroxidation-induced adducts) blocks the progress of polymerase gamma on mtDNA and prevents adaptive mtDNA resynthesis, causing prolonged hepatic mtDNA depletion.
Introduction of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in southern California and potential for its establishment.

Isolated incidences of Aedes albopictus in the continental U.S. were reported as early as 1946 and the first incidence in California was reported in 1972. These introductions were referred to as "isolated incidences" because very few immatures were observed in used tires shipped from Southeast Asia. The first major discovery of a large population and subsequent establishment of Ae. albopictus in the U.S. was reported in 1986 from Houston, TX, in a shipment of used tires from Japan. In early June 2001, infestations of this species associated with containerized oceanic shipments of "lucky bamboo" (Dracaena spp.) packaged in standing water were introduced into southern California from mainland south China. Focal points of infestation are currently at the wholesale nurseries in southern as well as northern California. A control protocol for adulticiding and larviciding has been implemented by the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. Surveys are presently being conducted by local vector control agencies in southern and northern California to determine the extent of infestation. Potential forAe. albopictus establishment is discussed.
Conversational Agents

Conversational agents integrate computational linguistics techniques with the communication channel of the Web to interpret and respond to statements made by users in ordinary natural language. Web-based conversational agents deliver high-volumes of interactive text-based dialogs. Recent years have seen signi(cid:2)cant activity in enterprise-class conversational agents. This chapter describes the principal applications of conversational agents in the enterprise and the technical challenges posed by their design and large-scale deployments. These technical challenges fall into two categories: accurate and ef(cid:2)cient natural-language processing; and the scalability, performance, reliability, integration, and maintenance requirements posed by enterprise deployments.
Optimal isotope labelling for NMR protein structure determinations

Nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy can determine the three-dimensional structure of proteins in solution. However, its potential has been limited by the difficulty of interpreting NMR spectra in the presence of broadened and overlapping resonance lines and low signal-to-noise ratios. Here we present stereo-array isotope labelling (SAIL), a technique that can overcome many of these problems by applying a complete stereospecific and regiospecific pattern of stable isotopes that is optimal with regard to the quality and information content of the resulting NMR spectra. SAIL uses exclusively chemically and enzymatically synthesized amino acids for cell-free protein expression. We demonstrate for the 17-kDa protein calmodulin and the 41-kDa maltodextrin-binding protein that SAIL offers sharpened lines, spectral simplification without loss of information, and the ability to rapidly collect the structural restraints required to solve a high-quality solution structure for proteins twice as large as commonly solved by NMR. It thus makes a large class of proteins newly accessible to detailed solution structure determination.
New structure and function in plant K+ channels: KCO1, an outward rectifier with a steep Ca2+ dependency

Potassium (K+) channels mediating important physiological functions are characterized by a common pore–forming (P) domain. We report the cloning and functional analysis of the first higher plant outward rectifying K+ channel (KCO1) from Arabidopsis thaliana. KCO1 belongs to a new class of ‘two‐pore’ K+ channels recently described in human and yeast. KCO1 has four putative transmembrane segments and tandem calcium‐binding EF‐hand motifs. Heterologous expression of KCO1 in baculovirus‐infected insect (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells resulted in outwardly rectifying, K+‐selective currents elicited by depolarizing voltage pulses in whole‐cell measurements. Activation of KCO1 was strongly dependent on the presence of nanomolar concentrations of cytosolic free Ca2+ [Ca2+]cyt. No K+ currents were detected when [Ca2+]cyt was adjusted to <150 nM. However, KCO1 strongly activated at increasing [Ca2+]cyt, with a saturating activity observed at ∼300 nM [Ca2+]cyt. KCO1 single channel analysis on excised membrane patches, resulting in a single channel conductance of 64 pS, confirmed outward rectification as well as Ca2+‐dependent activation. These data suggest a direct link between calcium‐mediated signaling processes and K+ ion transport in higher plants. The identification of KCO1 as the first plant K+ outward channel opens a new field of structure–function studies in plant ion channels.
Disability, social support, and concern for children: depression in mothers with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between disability, concern for children, social support, and depressive symptoms in a group of mothers with multiple sclerosis (MS). DESIGN An exploratory secondary analysis using correlation and multiple regression techniques. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Two hundred one women with MS responded to a survey as part of a cohort participating in a longitudinal study of health promotion and quality of life. OUTCOME MEASURES Depressive symptoms were measured using the CESD-10. RESULTS The results indicate that disability and concern for children are independent predictors of depressive symptoms, and social support can partially mediate the effect of concern for children on depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION Appropriate support should be identified and provided by nurses caring for mothers with disabilities such as MS to decrease the depressive symptoms related to the concern they have for their children.
Herbivore Optimal Foraging: A Comparative Test of Three Models

Three models of herbivore foraging are tested in this paper: contingency models (Owen-Smith and Novellie 1982), nutrient content weighted by food abundance (Stenseth and Hansson 1979), and linear programming (Belovsky 1978). The models are tested using data from two microtine populations, kudu, and moose. In all four cases, the linear programming model solved for nutrient maximization best predicted the diet composition by food classes (grass, forb, etc.) and energy intake. Foraging time and digestive capacity are the two most important constraints in the linear programming model. Contingency models do not appear to predict herbivore diets for several reasons. First, either they often do not contain constraints or the constraints are incorrectly applied. Second, simultaneous search is assumed which may not hold for plant foods. The results presented here contradict Owen-Smith and Novellie's (1982) claim that linear programming is a special case and the contingency model is a representation of herbivore diet choice. Finally, the model of food energy content weighted by abundance might not be expected to work a priori, because it is not an optimal foraging model. In addition, this model's diet predictions are dominated by food abundance. Furthermore, Stenseth's (1981) claim that linear programming is similar to this model is shown to be incorrect.
Effect of Environmental Conditions in Milk Production Under Small-Scale and Semi-Extensive Conditions in Kosovo

© 2012 Bytyqi et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Effect of Environmental Conditions in Milk Production Under Small-Scale and Semi-Extensive Conditions in Kosovo
Glycoprotein Quality Control in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum must discriminate nascent proteins in their folding process from terminally unfolded molecules, selectively degrading the latter. Unassembled Ig-μ and J chains, two glycoproteins with fiveN-linked glycans and one N-linked glycan, respectively, are degraded by cytosolic proteasomes after a lag from synthesis, during which glycan trimming occurs. Inhibitors of mannosidase I (kifunensine), but not of mannosidase II (swainsonine), prevent the degradation of μ chains. Kifunensine also inhibits J chain dislocation and degradation, without inhibiting secretion of IgM polymers. In contrast, glucosidase inhibitors do not significantly affect the kinetics of μ and J degradation. These results suggest that removal of the terminal mannose from the central branch acts as a timer in dictating the degradation of transport-incompetent, glycosylated Ig subunits in a calnexin-independent way. Kifunensine does not inhibit the degradation of an unglycosylated substrate (λ Ig light chains) or of chimeric μ chains extended with the transmembrane region of the α T cell receptor chain, implying the existence of additional pathways for extracting proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum lumen for proteasomal degradation.
Seroprevalence and determinants of herpes simplex type 2 infection in an STD clinic in Milan, Italy

A number of studies have shown that the seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) is higher among persons attending clinics for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) than among the general population. The HSV‐2 seroprevalence among STD patients, however, varies greatly among studies, possibly reflecting differences in the baseline prevalence of the infection among different general populations or in the distribution of risk factors. A cross‐sectional study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of and the risk factors for HSV‐2 infection among 776 HIV‐negative persons attending an STD clinic in Milan, Italy. All samples were tested with a commercial HSV type‐2 specific gG ELISA test. The HSV‐2 seroprevalence was 29.5% (95% CI: 26.3–32.7%). The seroprevalence increased with age, yet it did not differ by gender. Among persons with a current STD, the seroprevalence was 44.3%. At the multivariate analysis, older age was independently associated with HSV‐2 infection. A self‐reported history of genital herpes was predictive of HSV‐2 infection. The agreement between history of genital herpes and HSV‐2 seroprevalence was poor, however, stressing that in clinical practice, caution should be used in interpreting the presence or absence of a history of genital herpes as an indicator of the presence or absence of HSV‐2 infection. Our data show that HSV‐2 seroprevalence among persons attending an STD clinic in Italy is high; thus serological screening for HSV‐2 might be advisable for STD patients. J. Med Virol. 67:345–348, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Review of primary care-based physical activity intervention studies: effectiveness and implications for practice and future research.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the literature on primary care-based interventions for increasing physical activity and make recommendations for future research and for integrating successful strategies into practice. SEARCH STRATEGIES We searched MEDLINE (1980 to 1998), psychological abstracts, ERIC and HealthStar databases, the WeB site for The Journal of Family Practice, bibliographies of selected studies, and previous reviews for relevant articles. The search was limited to the English language. Three experts in the field of physical activity were contacted for leads on unpublished trials. SELECTION CRITERIA Inclusion criteria were: randomized controlled trial or quasiexperimental study using a comparison group, intervention delivered or initiated in a primary care setting, and reported results on at least 1 measure of physical activity. Studies that focused solely on patients with cardiovascular disease were excluded. MAIN RESULTS Primary care-based physical activity counseling is moderately effective in the short term, although there is considerable variability across studies. Studies in which the interventions were tailored to participant characteristics and which offered written materials to patients produced stronger results. Unlike many types of health promotion, the reach of primary care-based physical activity interventions is high. Questions remain about the consistency of implementation and long-term maintenance of outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Despite the need for further research, enough is known to recommend integration of key strategies of physical activity counseling into routine practice. We recommend incorporating these strategies into primary care and prioritizing them for further research.
The Development and Validation of an Analytical Training Program for Medical Suturing*

As a result of experimental evidence on skills acquisition of industrial and dental tasks, the concept of utilizing analytical training methods in psychomotor medical education was investigated in this study on “everting square suture” technique used in plastic surgery procedures. Based on attitude questionnaires and film analysis, three simulation training models were developed and compared as to training effectiveness against the “traditional” training method (practice on a pig's foot) currently in use at a number of Medical Schools. The three proposed training models consisted of: 1. Electromechanical training simulator using the progressive parts training method. 2. Perceptual training through film viewing and fault analysis. 3. The combination of (1) and (2) above. Thirty-six medical students with no prior exposure to wound closure techniques participated as subjects. These students were randomly divided into four groups (three experimental and one control). Intergroup comparisons were attained by having subjects from the experimental groups, subsequent to training, practice on porcine skin by placing 35 sutures similar to that of the traditional group. Time, quality, heart rate variability, chin-EMG, neck-EMG and plantar skin conductance data were collected throughout the task and used as evaluation measures. Results indicate that: 1. All three experimental training methods provided for significantly better quality performance levels (from 14.2 to 177.1 percent better) than the traditional training group. Group 1 attained the highest results. 2. The subjects on the experimental traininggroup had briefer training time (ranging between 1.4 to 3.1 times less) than the “traditional” group. 3. The subjects in the experimental training groups had less psychophysiological stress during task performance than did the subjects in the conventional training group.
Computing Reidemeister classes

In order to compute the Nielsen number N(f) of a self-map f : X → X, some Reidemeister classes in the fundamental group π1(X) need to be distinguished. In this paper some algebraic results are given which allow distinguishing Reidemeister classes and hence computing the Reidemeister number of some maps. Examples of computations are presented.