Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroapplication of amplatzer vascular plug for therapeutic sacrifice of major craniocerebral arteries: an initial clinical experience.

INTRODUCTION Clinical use of the Amplatzer vascular plug in the cardiopulmonary and peripheral vasculatures has been described extensively in the literature. We present our initial experience in adapting this device for therapeutic sacrifice of major craniocerebral arteries. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between July 2007 and November 2008, 8 patients (mean age 59.1 years; range 18 to 82 years) underwent therapeutic occlusion of major craniocerebral arteries using the device, for direct caroticocavernous fistula (1 patient), symptomatic unruptured giant cavernous internal carotid aneurysms (2 patients), and preoperative embolisation before surgical resections of skull base tumours that had encroached upon the internal carotid or vertebral artery (5 patients). The plugs were used alone or in conjunction with detachable platinum coils. The applications of the device, as well as the angiographic and clinical results of the procedures were evaluated. RESULTS Applications of the plugs were straightforward and successful in all cases, with hermetic occlusions of all target arteries. When used without additional coils, several plugs were deployed in tandem to achieve complete occlusion of the artery. No migration of the device was seen. No patient developed untoward neurological deficits following the procedures, and the 3- and/or 6-month follow-up showed stable results. CONCLUSION The Amplatzer vascular plug could be a valuable addition to the neurointerventional armamentarium, particularly in therapeutic occlusion of major craniocerebral arteries. Rigidity of the delivery system limits its current use to vessels below the skull base. The potential risk of distal thromboembolism also requires further evaluation.
Identificação do estresse e sintomatologia presente em mulheres mastectomizadas

O estudo objetivou verificar a ocorrência de estresse e descrever sintomatologia associada em mulheres mastectomizadas por meio da aplicação do Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos de Lipp. Pesquisa transversal, realizada em junho de 2009, com 14 mulheres pertencentes a um Grupo de Mulheres Mastectomizadas, em Fortaleza-CE, Brasil. Os sintomas experimentados na semana antecedente à reunião e que denominavam o estresse em fase de resistência foram os mais presentes, sendo o quadro de estresse observado em seis mulheres. Concluiu-se que as mudanças estruturais nas mamas consistiram em fonte de estresse, devendo assim, serem reconhecidas e abordadas por profissionais da saúde, em especial pela equipe de enfermagem, cotidianamente em contato com esta clientela, visando à construção de estratégias de autoconhecimento e de aceitação do corpo modificado.
A primer on the molecular virology of hepatitis C

Abstract: Exciting advances have recently been made in the understanding of the molecular virology of hepatitis C. Powerful model systems have been developed that allow to systematically dissect important steps of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle. These include new systems for functional analyses of the HCV glycoproteins, providing insights into possible HCV receptors and cell entry mechanisms, and the replicon system, which has revolutionized investigation of HCV RNA replication and has facilitated drug discovery efforts. The largest gaps remain in the understanding of the virion structure and the processes that lead to the assembly, packaging and release of virions. However, given the pace of current HCV research, progress in these directions may be expected in the near future. Here, we provide a primer on the molecular virology of hepatitis C, with particular reference to novel antiviral targets and therapeutic strategies.
Scene-Adaptive Image Colorfulness Enhancement

The paper proposes a colorfulness enhancement of pictorial images using chroma-histogram based image classification. The algorithm firstly estimates strengths of colorfulness of images and image types. Based on determined information, the algorithm automatically adjusts image colorfulness for a pleasant image look. With a help of an additional detection of skin colors and a local pixel chroma adaptive processing, the algorithm produces more natural image look. The algorithm performance had been tested by an subjective image quality judgment with 20 persons. The experimental result indicates a better image preference than original images.
Laboratory visibility studies of directional symbols used for traffic control signals.

Abstract Three criteria are used to find the best of eight directional symbols suitable for traffic control signals: visibility when blurred, visibility at low contrast and identification in relation to acceptability. These are used instead of the more conventional field type criteria of recognition distance and reaction time. The results of the three experiments show that: 1. the rank order of performance with different symbols differs with the criterion used, 2. the blur variable, which is a relatively new visibility criterion, has proved successful in differentiating between symbols, and 3. visibility can be better for unconventional symbols than for the more conventional forms.
Evaluation of the effect of donepezil on cerebral blood flow velocity in Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of Donepezil on cerebral blood flow velocity using non-invasive transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography. METHODS This clinical trial was carried out in the Department of Neurology, Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran from March 2008 to July 2009, on Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in 2 groups of case and control, each consisting of 11 patients. The case group who received Donepezil medication was examined by TCD before (baseline), after 4 weeks of oral treatment with 5 mg per day Donepezil, and a further 4 weeks of 10mg per day Donepezil, orally. The control group comprised AD patients who did not receive any medications, and were examined by TCD only once. Peak systolic (PSV), end-diastolic (EDV), and mean flow (MFV) velocities of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and the middle cerebral artery (MCA) was assessed by TCD. Also, mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was carried out. RESULTS There were no significant differences between the case and control groups, in terms of age and gender. In the case group, the mean MMSE score reached 20.2 +/- 2.8 from a baseline value of 15.8 +/- 3.3 after 4 weeks of oral treatment with 5 mg/d Donepezil, and reached 20.6 +/- 3.9 after 4 more weeks at 10 mg/d Donepezil. In the MCA, the difference in PSV and MFV values after 4 weeks of treatment with 10 mg/d Donepezil was statistically significant compared with the baseline values. In PCA, the values of MFV and EDV after 4 weeks of treatment with 10 mg/d Donepezil were statistically significant in comparison with the baseline value. CONCLUSION Donepezil (10 mg/d) increased cerebral blood flow velocity and MMSE score in our AD patients, but more extensive trials are recommended.
Annual cycles of ecological disturbance and recovery underlying the subarctic Atlantic spring plankton bloom

Satellite measurements allow global assessments of phytoplankton concentrations and, from observed temporal changes in biomass, direct access to net biomass accumulation rates (r). For the subarctic Atlantic basin, analysis of annual cycles in r reveals that initiation of the annual blooming phase does not occur in spring after stratification surpasses a critical threshold but rather occurs in early winter when growth conditions for phytoplankton are deteriorating. This finding has been confirmed with in situ profiling float data. The objective of the current study was to test whether satellite‐based annual cycles in r are reproduced by the Biogeochemical Element Cycling–Community Climate System Model and, if so, to use the additional ecosystem properties resolved by the model to better understand factors controlling phytoplankton blooms. We find that the model gives a similar early onset time for the blooming phase, that this initiation is largely due to the physical disruption of phytoplankton‐grazer interactions during mixed layer deepening, and that parallel increases in phytoplankton‐specific division and loss rates during spring maintain the subtle disruption in food web equilibrium that ultimately yields the spring bloom climax. The link between winter mixing and bloom dynamics is illustrated by contrasting annual plankton cycles between regions with deeper and shallower mixing. We show that maximum water column inventories of phytoplankton vary in proportion to maximum winter mixing depth, implying that future reductions in winter mixing may dampen plankton cycles in the subarctic Atlantic. We propose that ecosystem disturbance‐recovery sequences are a unifying property of global ocean plankton blooms.
Murine Gcm1 gene is expressed in a subset of placental trophoblast cells

The gcm gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a transcription factor that is an important component in cell fate specification within the nervous system. In the absence of a functional gcm gene, progenitor cells differentiate into neurons, whereas when the gene is ectopically expressed the cells produce excess glial cells at the expense of neuronal differentiation. Recent searches of databases have uncovered high sequence similarity between the Drosophila gcm gene and an anonymous human placental cDNA clone (Altschuller et al., 1996 ; this communication). Here we report the molecular organization of the murine Gcm1, its spatio‐temporal pattern of expression in developing placenta, and its map position at E1‐E3 on murine chromosome 9. The murine gene is composed of at least 6 exons. The promoter region contains an “initiation sequence” and is GC rich, characteristics of the promoters of several transcription factors. The mRNA has a modest 5'UTR (ca. 200 bases) but an extensive 3' UTR (ca. 2kb). Northern blot and mRNA in situ hybridization studies showed that Gcm1 expression was readily detectable only in the placenta. It began at embryonic day 7.5 within trophoblast cells of the chorion and continued to about embryonic day 17.5 within a subset of labyrinthine trophoblast cells. Comparison with other transcription factors revealed that Gcm1 expression defines a unique subset of trophoblast cells. Dev Dyn 1999;214:303–311. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fatty acid transport and fatty acid-binding proteins

Les protkines de liaison ou de transfert des acides gras sont prCsentes dans les fluides intraet extra-cellulaires de la plupart des organismes. Elles jouent un r61e dans le transport ou le ciblage des acides gras, mais peuvent kgalement agir en interaction avec different processus par la modulation de la concentration de la liaison libre. Quelques protkines de liaison des acides gras sont assez spkcifiques, d’autres, telles que l’albumine skrique et la protkine cytoplasmique de liaison des acides gras (FABP) cystoliques du foie, sont associCes par des liaisons hydrophobes. Certaines protCines lient Cgalement des acides gras sans fonction de transport, comme la protkine du choc thermique et les glutathion S-transferases (EC 2.5.1.18). La captation des acides gras dans les cellules peut se dCcrire par une skquence d’ktapes qui peuvent Ctre rkversibles. Les etapes lentes, potentiellement limitantes du taux d’absorption n’ont pas Cte bien Ctablies. La diffusion et la dissociation de I’albumine peuvent limiter la captation des acides gras, mais elles peuvent &re facilitkes dans certaines cellules par des rkcepteurs spCcifiques de I’albumine ou par des modifications de la surface. La transcytose de l’albumine avec des acides gras liCs a travers les cellules endothkliales peuvent moduler le transport des acides gras dans certains types de cellules telles que les cardiomyocytes. Cet acide gras libre peut facilement basculer (flip-flop) a travers la membrane plasmatique sous sa forme non ionisCe. La preuve de l’implication d’une protkine like aux acides gras de la membrane plasmatique dans l’absorption des acides gras a cependant CtC obtenue pour un grand nombre de types de cellules avec des donnCes cinCtiques et de couplage, I’isolation de protCines, et l’inhibition de l’absorption par des inhibiteurs et des anticorps. La masse molkculaire, I’identitC, la structure tertiaire et le mkcanisme d’action de ces protCines sont encore ma1 definies. Les FABP cytoplasmiques ont ktC bien caractirides. Ce sont des protCines 14-15 kDa constitukes de 127-133 acide aminks avec une structure p-clam. Sept types ont CtC identifies avec une identite d’acide amink de 25-70%, avec une modification de charge de surface et une distribution de tissu caracteristique. Le type FABP du foie n’a, contrairement aux autres types, aucune spkcificitk de liaison, et est prCsent dans le foie, I’intestin et le rein. Le type du coeur est le type le plus rCpandu. Les types du foie et du coeur diffkrent dans leur affinitC pour les acides gras diffkrentes longueurs de chaine, et l’etendue de l’insaturation. Le contenu du tissu du type FABP hepatique est davantage susceptible de variations physiologiques. Les FABP interviennent dans le transport de la membrane plasmatique vers les organites cellulaires comme on peut le conclure des expkriences de transport avec marquage par photo-affinitk et des incubations de FABP avec des membranes moddes et naturelles, et
Acute dislocation of the patella: MR findings.

PURPOSE The authors describe magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of acute traumatic dislocation of the patella. MATERIALS AND METHODS MR imaging at 0.1 T was performed in 25 patients with an acute patellar dislocation, 24 of whom underwent surgery. All patients were young male conscripts, aged 18-22 years. RESULTS Signal intensity abnormalities of bone, seen as areas of decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted images, were found in all 25 patients (100%). The lateral femoral condyle was involved in all cases. Signal intensity changes also appeared in the patella in eight patients and in the lateral tibial plateau in three. Osteochondral fragments seen at plain radiography and cartilage fissuring noted at arthroscopy were not visible at MR imaging. Injury of the medial patellar retinaculum was seen at MR in each case. All patients had a joint effusion. Lateral subluxation of the patella was a common finding. CONCLUSION Constant findings at MR imaging were (a) contusion of the lateral femoral condyle, (b) tear of the medial retinaculum, and (c) joint effusion.
Receptor-Mediated Activation of Heterotrimeric G-Proteins: Current Structural Insights

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) serve as catalytic activators of heterotrimeric G-proteins (Gαβγ) by exchanging GTP for the bound GDP on the Gα subunit. This guanine nucleotide exchange factor activity of GPCRs is the initial step in the G-protein cycle and determines the onset of various intracellular signaling pathways that govern critical physiological responses to extracellular cues. Although the structural basis for many steps in the G-protein nucleotide cycle have been made clear over the past decade, the precise mechanism for receptor-mediated G-protein activation remains incompletely defined. Given that these receptors have historically represented a set of rich drug targets, a more complete understanding of their mechanism of action should provide further avenues for drug discovery. Several models have been proposed to explain the communication between activated GPCRs and Gαβγ leading to the structural changes required for guanine nucleotide exchange. This review is focused on the structural biology of G-protein signal transduction with an emphasis on the current hypotheses regarding Gαβγ activation. We highlight several recent results shedding new light on the structural changes in Gα that may underlie GDP release.
Do generalized visual training programmes for sport really work? An experimental investigation

We assessed the effectiveness of two generalized visual training programmes in enhancing visual and motor performance for racquet sports. Forty young participants were assigned equally to groups undertaking visual training using Revien and Gabor’s Sports Vision programme (Group 1), visual training using Revien’s Eyerobics (Group 2), a placebo condition involving reading (Group 3) and a control condition involving physical practice only (Group 4). Measures of basic visual function and of sport-specific motor performance were obtained from all participants before and immediately after a 4-week training period. Significant pre- to post-training differences were evident on some of the measures; however, these were not group-dependent. Contrary to the claims made by proponents of generalized visual training, we found no evidence that the visual training programmes led to improvements in either vision or motor performance above and beyond those resulting simply from test familiarity.
Influence of a loose-fitting sensing garment on posture recognition in rehabilitation

Several smart sensing garments have been proposed for postural and movement rehabilitation. Existing systems require a tight-fitting of the garment at body segments and precise sensor positioning. In this work, we analyzed errors of a loose-fitting sensing garment on the automatic recognition of 21 postures, relevant in shoulder and elbow-rehabilitation. The recognition performance of garment-attached acceleration sensors and additional skin-attached references was compared to discuss challenges in a garment-based classification of postures. The analysis was done with one fixed-size shirt worn by seven participants of varying body proportions. The classification accuracy using data from garment-integrated sensors was on average 13% lower compared to that of skin-attached reference sensors. This relation remained constant even after selecting an optimal input feature set. For garment-attached sensors, we observed that the loss in classification accuracy decreased, if the body dimension increased. Moreover, the alignment error of individual postures was analyzed, to identify movements and postures that are particularly affected by garment fitting aspects. Contrarily, we showed that 14 of the 21 rehabilitation-relevant postures result in a low sensor alignment error. We believe that these results indicate critical design aspects for the deployment of comfortable garments in movement rehabilitation and should be considered in garment and posture selection.
Employees With Fibromyalgia: Medical Comorbidity, Healthcare Costs, and Work Loss

Objectives: To compare 2005 health care resources among matched samples of employees with fibromyalgia (FM), osteoarthritis (OA), and controls. Methods: Using a claims database of privately insured individuals, FM and OA samples were derived from those with two or more disease-specific claims in 1999 to 2005 (≥1 in 2002 to 2005). Results: Total costs for employees with FM ($10,199) approached OA costs ($10,861, P = 0.3758) and were significantly higher than controls ($5274, P < 0.0001). Cost components varied across disease-specific samples (direct medical: FM $7286 vs OA $8325, P < 0.0287; pharmacy: FM $1630 vs OA $1341; indirect: FM $2913 vs OA $2537, P < 0.0001). Employees with FM had more claims than OA for psychiatric diagnoses, chronic fatigue, and most pain conditions. Use of multiple prescription drug classes was common in both samples. Conclusions: FM imposes significant economic burden. Work loss contributes substantially to the impact.
A subspace algorithm for guard interval based channel identification and source recovery requiring just two received blocks

Blind channel identification techniques usually exploit a known property of the source symbols such as a statistical or finite alphabet property. Recently, a purely algebraic approach that relies on guard intervals (sequences of zeros equal or longer in length than the channel memory) inserted between transmitted blocks has been considered. It was proved that only two received blocks suffice for channel identification and source recovery. We approach the channel identification problem from a z-domain perspective. It is shown that, in the z-domain, the channel is a common factor in all received blocks (this fundamental property appears to have gone unnoticed in the literature). This allows a subspace method for computing the greatest common divisor (GCD) to be applied to the channel estimation problem. The algorithm achieves the theoretical limit in that only two received blocks are required before the channel can be identified, but of course, the more blocks that are used, the better the performance in the presence of noise.
Development of a laboratory model to assess the removal of biofilm from interproximal spaces by powered tooth brushing.

PURPOSE To develop an interproximal laboratory model to compare the potential effectiveness of powered brushing to remove biofilm plaque from interproximal spaces beyond the reach of bristles. MATERIALS AND METHODS Streptococcus mutans biofilms were first grown on glass microscope slides in a drip-flow reactor. The slides were removed and positioned in the interproximal model. Each slide was exposed to 15 seconds powered brushing with either the Sonicare Elite or the Braun Oral-B 3D Excel. The thickness of the biofilm was measured with confocal microscopy at various distances from the bristle tips. RESULTS The Sonicare Elite reduced the thickness of biofilm by 57% at a distance of 0-5 mm from the bristle tips, 53% at 5-10 mm and 43% at 10-15 mm, relative to biofilm in areas unexposed to brushing. All reductions in thickness were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The Braun Oral-B 3D Excel reduced the biofilm thickness by 16%, 13%, and 19% at the same distances respectively, but the thickness reductions were not statistically significant from those in the unexposed areas (P > 0.1).
Perspectives on Bioluminescence Mechanisms

The molecular mechanisms of the bioluminescence systems of the firefly, bacteria and those utilizing imidazopyrazinone luciferins such as coelenterazine are gradually being uncovered using modern biophysical methods such as dynamic (ns–ps) fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR, X‐ray crystallography and computational chemistry. The chemical structures of all reactants are well defined, and the spatial structures of the luciferases are providing important insight into interactions within the active cavity. It is generally accepted that the firefly and coelenterazine systems, although proceeding by different chemistries, both generate a dioxetanone high‐energy species that undergoes decarboxylation to form directly the product in its S1 state, the bioluminescence emitter. More work is still needed to establish the structure of the products completely. In spite of the bacterial system receiving the most research attention, the chemical pathway for excitation remains mysterious except that it is clearly not by a decarboxylation. Both the coelenterazine and bacterial systems have in common of being able to employ “antenna proteins,” lumazine protein and the green‐fluorescent protein, for tuning the color of the bioluminescence. Spatial structure information has been most valuable in informing the mechanism of the Ca2+‐regulated photoproteins and the antenna protein interactions.