Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased cerebral blood flow after leukapheresis for acute myelogenous leukemia

Leukapheresis is often considered in the management of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) with hyperleukocytosis and its sequelae, including myocardial infarction, pulmonary complications, and stroke. It is utilized on the assumption that leukapheresis improves blood rheology. We present a woman with AML and a history of meningioma encasing her left internal carotid artery. She presented with hyperleukocytosis and symptoms of ischemia. As her white blood cell continued to rise despite initiation of hydroxyurea therapy, she underwent leukapheresis emergently. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound demonstrated increased flow velocities in the left internal carotid and the right middle cerebral arteries, which normalized after leukapheresis. This is the first documentation that leukapheresis, in combination with hydroxyurea, improves cerebral hemodynamics in a patient with AML. Am. J. Hematol. , 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Accessing linked open data

A core objective for linked data is the seamless mash-up of information from different data sources that serve data in an easy-to-deliver, resilient manner. The focus on the ease of serving data, however, puts significant burden on the consumer of linked open data. In particular, the consumer service must manage (i) data source discovery, (ii) data access, (iii) data source availability and (iv) data model and schema. In theory, querying, i.e. either federated querying of SPARQL 1.1 endpoints or link-traversal-based querying, is supposed to provide a layer of abstraction to facilitate data consumption. In practice, we will analyze and find that such querying is very useful, but using standards such as SPARQL 1.1 is far away from solving use case needs of data integration from linked data. We provide an analysis of the issues encountered when accessing linked open data and present our approach to tackle this problem. The approach includes effective and efficient capabilities for querying and programming against linked data sources indexing data in various ways, querying for objects represented in linked data and allowing for programming with them.
Comparing GNG3D and Quadric Error Metrics Methods to Simplify 3D Meshes

: The primary objective of this paper is to carry out a performance comparison of two models to generate simplified meshes representing 3D objects, the GNG3D model and the Quadric Error Metrics (QEM) model. The QEM model constitutes a well-known classical algorithm based on interactive contraction of vertex pairs and represents perhaps the best balance yet between speed, fidelity, and robustness of the proposed models and algorithms for mesh simplification in the last years. The GNG3D model is based on a neural network algorithm and a reconstruction phase of the object. For the purpose of comparison, several error measurements are proposed and motivated in order to evaluate the quality of the approximations that both models produce. It is justified with numerical results that the GNG3D model exhibits better performance for several 3D objects with different topologies and geometric properties.
Hydrogel Contact Lenses Surface Roughness and Bacterial Adhesion

Contact lenses are a safe and effective mode of vision correction and today’s industry offers wearers the choice of continuous wear, overnight orthokeratology, frequent-replacement or daily-disposable lenses among others. However, despite these options, including different care and maintenance systems, there are still features of contact lenses that could be improved such as possible microbial contamination (Weisbarth et al., 2007).
Detection of human papillomavirus DNA sequences in oral squamous cell carcinomas and their relation to p53 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression

Background. The etiology of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is still obscure. Since human papillomavirus (HPV) DNAs are associated with carcinoma of the uterine cervix, carcinomas of the oral cavity were investigated to ascertain if these viruses are present in squamous carcinomas of this anatomic site.
A review of the factors involved in older people's decision making with regard to influenza vaccination: a literature review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this paper was to develop an understanding of the factors involved in older people's decision making with regard to influenza vaccination to inform strategies to improve vaccine uptake and reduce morbidity and mortality. BACKGROUND Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide. In the UK, it accounts for 3,000-6,000 deaths annually; 85% of these deaths are people aged 65 and over. Despite this, and the widespread and costly annual government campaigns, some older people at risk of influenza and the associated complications remain reluctant to take advantage of the offer of vaccination. METHODS A review of the English language literature referring to older people published between 1996 and 2005 was the method used. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified and applied. RESULTS The majority of the literature was quantitative in nature, investigating personal characteristics thought to be predictors of uptake, such as age, sex, co-morbidity, educational level, income and area of residence. However, there was little discussion of the possible reasons for the significance of these factors and conflict between findings was often evident, particularly between studies employing different methodologies. Other factors identified were prior experience, concerns about the vaccine, perceived risk and advice and information. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The wealth of demographic information available will be useful at a strategic level in targeting groups identified as being unlikely to accept vaccination. However, the promotion of person-centred ways of working that value the health beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and subjective experiences of older people is likely to be more successful during individual encounters designed to promote acceptance. Without more research in investigating these concepts, our understanding is inevitably limited.
Photoactive Gel for Assisted Cleaning during Olive Mill Wastewater Membrane Microfiltration

A photoactive gel has been fabricated on the surface of polyethylene membranes for enhancing the fouling resistance during olive mill wastewater treatment. Light and pH responsive materials have been introduced in the membrane surface through the build up of a layer-by-layer pattern, which is formed by photocatalytic nanoparticles and ionic polyelectrolytes. The best working conditions to contrast foulants adsorption have been explored and identified. Repulsive interfacial forces and assisted transfer of foulants to catalytic sites have been envisaged as crucial factors for contrasting the decline of the flux during microfiltration. Tests in submerged configuration have been implemented for six continuous hours under irradiation at two different pH conditions. As a result, a worthy efficiency of the photoactive gel has been reached when suitable chemical microenvironments have been generated along the shell side of the membranes. No additional chemical reagents or expensive back-flushing procedures have been necessary to further clean the membranes; rather, fast and reversible pH switches have been enough to remove residues, thereby preserving the integrity of the layer-by-layer (LBL) complex onto the membrane surface.
Region-to-region visibility analysis using data parallel machines

We propose an algorithm for solving region-to-region visibility problems on digital terrain models using data parallel machines. Since global communication is the bottleneck in this kind of algorithm, the algorithm we propose focuses on the reduction of global communication. The algorithm analyses a strip of the source region at a time and sweeps through the source strip by strip. At most four sweeps are needed for the analysis. By exploring the coherence properties in the processor structure, global communication is minimized and complexity is substantially improved. Furthermore, all global write operations are exclusive and concurrency in global read operations is minimized. Since the problem size is usually large, we also designed rules of decomposition to efficiently handle the cases where the required number of processors is greater than available. The algorithm has been implemented on a Connection Machine CM-2, and results of computational experiments are presented.
VERBAL STRESS IN OLD ENGLISH VERSE

It has long been an established part of the theories of scanning Anglo-Saxon verse, and especially Beowulf, that the place of the verb in the alliterative structure is of importance. The poet of Beowulf seems to have been less inclined than other poets to allow a finite verb to take precedence of a noun in alliteration; in the Finnsburg Fragment, for example, the finite verb is given a greater share of alliterative stress. In this matter there is a fundamental difference between the first and the second half-line; for in the first half-line the verb often shares in double alliteration. In the second half-line containing both a noun (other than a noun used in adverbial function, usually in the dative plural, as, for example, Beowulf 741 slat unwearnum) and a verb, it is rare for the verb to come first and take the alliteration, and particularly rare in Beowulf. The poet of Beowulf does not even allow an imperative to usurp a noun's place in alliteration, though, as R.W. Chambers pointed out long ago, other poets do. More recently, A.Campbell, in an important discussion of Anglo-Saxon second half-lines with verbs taking precedence of nouns in alliteration, suggests that such lines in Beowulf may be traditional and that they may point to metrical practice in Germanic less restricted in this
Echocardiographic follow-up after heart valve replacement

The number of patients with prosthetic valves is steadily increasing, in particular because of the epidemic of aortic stenosis in the elderly. In Germany alone, more than 24 000 patients undergo valve replacement per year. In addition to the patient’s history and physical examination, echocardiography is the key element in the follow-up of individuals with a prosthetic valve (box 1). #### Box 1 The following questions should be systematically answered when examining a prosthesis by echocardiography The first routine postoperative assessment is particularly important, since it serves as baseline for later comparison, especially with regard to transprosthetic gradients, prosthetic regurgitation, right ventricular peak pressure, left ventricular function, and other aspects. The examination of the patient with a prosthetic cardiac valve, however, is one of the most challenging tasks in echocardiography. For several reasons echocardiography in these patients is more difficult than in others:
Longer-Term Functional Outcomes and Everyday Listening Performance for Young Children Through to Young Adults Using Bilateral Implants

Objectives: First, to document a broad range of functional outcomes of bilateral implantation for young children through young adults at a postoperative point at which stable outcomes could be expected. Second, to evaluate the relationship between functional outcomes and age at bilateral implantation and time between implants. Design: A study-specific questionnaire was administered to parents in an interview 3.5 years or more after sequential (n = 50) or simultaneous (n = 7) implants were received by their child. Median age at bilateral implantation was 4.1 years (range 0.7 to 19.8) and time between implants was 2.7 years (range 0.0 to 16.7). Results: On the basis of parent report, 72% of the sequentially implanted children and young adults found it easy/only “a bit difficult” to adapt to the second implant, and were “happily wearing both implants together most of the time” by 6 months or before; 26% had not adapted, with both implants not worn most of the time or worn as a parental requirement. Seventy-two percent of sequentially implanted children and young adults had a positive attitude toward the second implant, including 9 whose early postoperative attitude was negative or neutral. The majority of children and young adults preferred bilateral implants (70%) and used the two full time (72%), while around half demonstrated similar performance with each implant alone. The proportion of nonusers or very minimal users of the second implant was just 9%. Eighty-eight percent of parents reported superior performance with bilateral versus a unilateral implant (n = 40), or that only bilateral implants were worn (n = 10) so performance could not be compared. The most commonly identified areas of superiority were localization, less need for repetition, and increased responsiveness. In balancing risks and costs with benefits, most parents (86%) considered the second implant worthwhile. Regarding the relationship between outcomes and demographic factors, the group achieving similar performance with each implant alone was younger at bilateral implantation and had less time between implants, and the group bilaterally implanted before 3.5 years of age (who also had less than 2 years between implants) had a higher proportion of positive outcomes on all functional outcome measures. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate primarily positive functional outcomes for children and young adults receiving bilateral implants at all ages, including when the delay between implants is long. The results are important for evidence-based preoperative counseling, which helps families to make informed decisions and develop appropriate expectations. The results are also important for the development of clinical management practices that support and encourage the minority of recipients who have difficulty adapting to bilateral implants or achieving full-time use.
Entwicklung und Anwendung einer Methode zur Metabolomanalyse von Corynebacterium glutamicum

Neben gut etablierten, analytischen Techniken im Proteomics- und Transkriptomicsbereich wird eine erganzende Metabolomics-Technik fur einen kompletten systembiologischen Ansatz benotigt. Heutzutage sind die kompletten Genomsequenzen vieler Organismen vollstandig entschlusselt und frei zuganglich. Doch nur fur einen Teil der Gene ist die Funktion bekannt. Bei der Aufklarung von Genfunktionen ist eine analytische Methode notig, die eine moglichst grose Anzahl von Metaboliten erfasst. Hierfur bieten sich massenspektrometrische Techniken wie GC-MS und/oder LC-MS mit ihrer grosen Universalitat, Selektivitat und Einfachheit besonders an. Wegen der grosen chemischen Diversitat von Metaboliten gegenuber den chemisch relativ homogenen Proteinen oder der mRNA, stellt die Entwicklung einer analytischen Methode zur Metabolomanalyse eine grose Herausforderung dar. Der Modellorganismus Corynebacterium glutamicum wird in der Industrie fur die Produktion von L-Glutamat und L-Lysin benutzt. Es besteht ein groses Interesse an der Optimierung von Produktionsstammen, aber das Wissen uber die metabolische Organisation in der Zelle ist limitiert. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde eine GC-MS basierende Methode zur Metabolomanalyse entwickelt und etabliert. Die aufgenommenen GC-MS-Chromatogramme enthalten die Information von ca. 1000 detektierten Komponenten. Davon lassen sich 300 Metabolite quantitativ, reproduzierbar messen, das entspricht ca. 50% der erwarteten Metabolite. Von diesen wurden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit 121 (88 in der polaren Phase, 33 in der lipophilen Phase) identifiziert. Durch eine Methodenoptimierung war es moglich, eine Prazision innerhalb von 6% mittlerer Standardabweichung bei der Messung allein und 15% bei Extraktion und Probennahme zusammen zu erreichen. Die Anwendung dieser Methode fur die funktionelle Genomanalyse wurde am Beispiel von Deletionsmutanten des Trehalose-Stoffwechselweges durchgefuhrt. Entsprechend den Erwartungen lies sich nach der Deletion der Trehalose-6-phosphat- phosphatase (kodiert durch OtsB) eine ca. 100-fache Akkumulation des entsprechenden Substrates Trehalose-6-phosphat messen. Umgekehrt fuhrte eine Deletion des Gens OtsA (kodiert fur Trehalose-6-phosphatsynthase) zu einer Abnahme Trehalose-6-phosphat. Zur Evaluierung der Methodenempfindlichkeit wurden Wachstumsbedingungen (Temperatur und Kohlenstoffquelle) variiert. Es wurden dabei multiple Anderungen beobachtet, die den experimentellen Fehler uberstiegen. Damit die hier entwickelte Methode als Datengrundlage fur eine computergestutzte Modellierung metabolischer Netzwerke eingesetzt werden kann, ist eine Kenntnis uber die tatsachlichen intrazellularen Metabolitkonzentrationen notwendig. Daher wurden fur 71 der identifizierten Metabolite Kalibrationskurven aufgenommen, um den jeweiligen linearen Massenbereich zu charakterisieren und Responsefaktoren zu ermitteln. Als erganzende Technik zur Analyse von hochmolekularen nicht fluchtigen GC-MS Verbindungen wurde mit der Etablierung eines HPLC-HILIC-ESI-MS Ansatzes begonnen.
Examining smoking behaviours among parents from the UK Millennium Cohort Study after the smoke-free legislation in Scotland

Objectives To investigate parental smoking behaviours between England and Scotland after the smoke-free legislation in Scotland came into effect in 2006 and examine inequalities in maternal smoking behaviours between countries. Methods 5954 white mothers and 3757 fathers resident in England and 1522 white mothers and 904 fathers resident in Scotland who participated in the Millennium Cohort Study (a prospective nationally representative cohort study) when the cohort child was age 9 months (before legislation) and 5 years (after legislation in Scotland but not in England). The main outcome measures were smoking at 9 months and 5 years, quitting smoking by 5 years, starting smoking by 5 years. Results In England and Scotland approximately 30% of parents reported smoking at 9 months with only a slight decrease in smoking at 5 years. There were no differences between countries in parental smoking after the smoke-free legislation in Scotland came into effect, taking into account prior smoking levels. Light smokers (1–9 cigarettes/day) from Scotland were less likely to quit by 5 years than those from England, but there were no differences between countries among heavy smokers (10+ cigarettes/day). Non-smoking mothers from Scotland (6.2%) were less likely to start smoking by 5 years than mothers from England (7.3%). Mothers from more disadvantaged circumstances in both countries were more likely to report that they smoked or started smoking. In England quitting was also socially patterned, but in Scotland, after the legislation was introduced, the gradients in quitting smoking were flatter across social groups. Conclusions Smoking behaviours among parents with young children remained relatively stable, highlighting the need for additional tobacco control efforts to support smoking cessation. However, the smoke-free legislation does not appear to widen health inequalities and may even help reduce them by encouraging quitting across socioeconomic groups.
Comparison of the Prevalences and Diversities of Listeria Species and Listeria monocytogenes in an Urban and a Rural Agricultural Watershed

ABSTRACT Foods and related processing environments are commonly contaminated with the pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes. To investigate potential environmental reservoirs of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes, surface water and point source pollution samples from an urban and a rural municipal water supply watershed in Nova Scotia, Canada, were examined over 18 months. Presumptive Listeria spp. were cultured from 72 and 35% of rural and urban water samples, respectively, with 24% of the positive samples containing two or three different Listeria spp. The L. innocua (56%) and L. welshimeri (43%) groups were predominant in the rural and urban watersheds, respectively. Analysis by the TaqMan assay showed a significantly (P < 0.05) higher prevalence of L. monocytogenes of 62% versus 17% by the culture-based method. Both methods revealed higher prevalences in the rural watershed and during the fall and winter seasons. Elevated Escherichia coli (≥100 CFU/100 ml) levels were not associated with the pathogen regardless of the detection method. Isolation of Listeria spp. were associated with 70 times higher odds of isolating L. monocytogenes (odds ratio = 70; P < 0.001). Serogroup IIa was predominant (67.7%) among the 285 L. monocytogenes isolates, followed by IVb (16.1%), IIb (15.8%), and IIc (0.4%). L. monocytogenes was detected in cow feces and raw sewage but not in septic tank samples. Pulsotyping of representative water (n = 54) and local human (n = 19) isolates suggested genetic similarities among some environmental and human L. monocytogenes isolates. In conclusion, temperate surface waters contain a diverse Listeria species population and could be a potential reservoir for L. monocytogenes, especially in rural agricultural watersheds.
The Hydrophobic Domain of Infectious Bronchitis Virus E Protein Alters the Host Secretory Pathway and Is Important for Release of Infectious Virus

ABSTRACT The coronavirus (CoV) E protein plays an important role in virus assembly. The E protein is made in excess during infection and has been shown to have ion channel activity in planar lipid bilayers. However, a role in infection for the unincorporated E or its ion channel activity has not been described. To further investigate the function of the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) E protein, we developed a recombinant version of IBV in which the E protein was replaced by a mutant containing a heterologous hydrophobic domain. The mutant virus, IBV-EG3, was defective in release of infectious virus particles. Further characterization of IBV-EG3 revealed that damaged particles appeared to accumulate intracellularly. The phenotype of IBV-EG3 suggested that the hydrophobic domain of IBV E may be important for the forward trafficking of cargo, so we determined whether IBV E facilitated the delivery of cargo to the plasma membrane. Surprisingly, we found that IBV E, but not EG3, dramatically reduced the delivery of cargo to the plasma membrane by impeding movement through the Golgi complex. Furthermore, we observed that overexpression of IBV E, but not EG3, induced the disassembly of the Golgi complex. Finally, we determined that the delivery of IBV S to the plasma membrane was reduced in cells infected with wild-type-IBV compared to those infected with IBV-EG3. Our results indicated that the hydrophobic domain of IBV E alters the host secretory pathway to the apparent advantage of the virus.
The Mechanism for Vertebrate Striated Muscle Contraction

MORE THAN 20 years have elapsed since A.F. Huxley and Niedergerke and H.E. Huxley and Hanson proposed the sliding filament theory for striated muscle contraction. Since that time, an enormous amount of work has been done in this field using diverse biophysical, biochemical, physiological, and theoretical techniques. We could not possibly, in this space, review all of this work. It is, therefore, necessary to limit the scope of this inquiry. The most sensible way for us to do this is to concentrate our review in that area in which we are most competent: the physiology of muscle contraction. Our intent is to focus on the work of Gordon, A.F. Huxley, and Julian,because we believe that the results obtained from this work provide a cornerstone for establishing the validity of the sliding filament theory. (It will be necessary to refer frequently to the work of Gordon et al.' This will be referred to as GHJ when both papers are cited, or GHJ or GHJ when only one of the papers is cited.)